Homeschool Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Small Things Are Big Things

June 7, 2016 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Hands-on Caterpillar Activity for First Language Lessons

We have discovered First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind and I’m obsessed!
Read my summary of FLL here.
(You can buy First Language Lessons Level 1 here)

Your kids will love this hands-on Caterpillar activity if they are doing FLL or if you want to do a poetry study on your own. “The Caterpillar” poem is introduced in Lesson 2 but I would do this activity around Lesson 9ish to reinforce the memorization and have something fun to hang up and remind the children of the poem as them move on to the next poem.

Lesson 2: Hands-on Caterpillar activity

Young children (materials – printable on white paper, pencil, brown washable maker, at least two other colors of washable marker, black fine-tip marker or pen, lil’ fingers, green crayons.)

Print “The Caterpillar” copy work printable.
Have children trace the letters.
Use fingerprints to make a caterpillar on the bottom of the paper on the left hand side.
Use fingerprints to make a butterfly on the right hand side of the paper.
Draw antenna, faces, and feet with the sharpie.
Children can make a shady leaf or stalk with crayons on the sides of the paper.
Consider mounting on a piece of construction paper for display.

Older children (materials – printable on white paper, pencil, brown washable maker, at least two other colors of washable marker, lil’ fingers, green crayons.)

Place the “The Caterpillar” copy work for older children. (There is space for their original poem.)
Trace “The Caterpillar” on the left hand side.
Have students write the final draft of their own original poem on the right hand side. (Suggested topics are caterpillars, butterflies, plants or flowers.)
Follow steps 3-7 above to decorate the poems and display.

The kids created some pretty cute butterflies and caterpillars!

Cyrus did the copy work and the older kids created original poetry.
Some of you might have just discovered FLL (like me) and want to blast though Level 1 with your older kids to get to the proper level without gaps. My older were able to do just a bit more than the level one requirements. This hands-on caterpillar activity and original poetry exercise was right up our alley!

This was our first time intentionally writing a poem, inspired by a poem they memorized.
They had so much fun brainstorming their ideas then honing in on what would actually be in their poem. I thought the process would be a little daunting… but it was wonderful!

We did the brainstorm and rough drafts on one day, then final copies on the next day.

Click here for copy work for younger children.
Click here for smaller copy work an blank space for original poem.

First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 1 Hands-On Activities:

Hands-On Activity for “The Caterpillar” poem (FLL Lesson 2) You’re looking at this post!
Hands-On Activity for “Work” poem (FLL Lesson 15)
Hands-On Activity for “Hearts Are Like Doors” poem (FLL Lesson 27)
Hands-On Activity for “Days of the Week” poem (FLL Lesson 35)
Hands-On Activity for “The Months” poem (FLL Lesson 43)
Hands-On Activity for “Mr. Nobody” poem (FLL Lesson 81)

June 6, 2016 by: Kara Noel Lawson

What is First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind?

We have discovered First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind and I’m obsessed!
(You can find First Language Lessons Level 1 here)
What is First Language Lessons? (you ask)

Well, First Language Lessons for the Well-Trianed Mind (FLL) is a grammar curriculum.
Level 1 is first grade grammar – the lessons are awesome and SHORT. We do our FLL grammar right after our morning read aloud. My 2nd and 3rd graders finished level 1 in 2 months.

Since we were just introduced to FLL, and I didn’t want any grammar gaps, we plugged through book Level 1 (doing 2-6 lessons a day) quickly. I wanted to get us on track asap.
(We plan on finishing level 2 this summer and then we’ll be on level three when the next school year starts. Right on track.)

What is First Language Lessons?

Here is my summary of First Language Lessons Level 1:

Lessons 1-45 are all about nouns. The lessons break up common nouns, proper nouns, persons, places, things, and ideas.
About 6 lessons introduce pronouns.
About 8 lessons cover the basic concept of a verb.
Sprinkled throughout the 100 lessons are 9 story narrations, and 4 picture narrations.
Kids will memorize 6 poems by the time they finish the level. (This is my favorite part!)
There are 10 “oral usage “lessons to train the children’s ears for the proper use of common words and word phrases. i.e. ain’t, was/were, see/saw/seen, ordering I and me, pronouns, It is/was I, was/were, sit/set, is/are.
Other topics: memorizing your address, phone number, birthday. Introducing seasons, initials, abbreviations, grammar rules in poetry, types of sentences, oral composition, and introducing copy work.

This book is perfection and stands on it’s own.
But you know I love hand-on activities and the ones in this book are basic.
(Side Note: They are basic by design! I just like a little flare.)

So I’m introducing a Hand-on activity guide for First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 1! Check back this whole week and I’ll be posting new content every other day.

Enrichment activities for First Language Lessons for the Well0Trained Mind Level 1:

Hands-On Activity for “The Caterpillar” poem (FLL Lesson 2)
Hands-On Activity for “Work” poem (FLL Lesson 15)
Hands-On Activity for “Hearts Are Like Doors” poem (FLL Lesson 27) Coming soon!
Hands-On Activity for “Days of the Week” poem (FLL Lesson 35) Coming soon!
Hands-On Activity for “The Months” poem (FLL Lesson 43) Coming soon!
Hands-On Activity for “Mr. Nobody” poem (FLL Lesson 81) Coming soon!

May 22, 2016 by: Kara Noel Lawson

How a Dollar Store Puzzle Rocked our Homeschool Day

Learning how to homeschool has been a… well, it’s been… um… a journey. I’m learning just as much as the kids. And would you believe that something as simple as a dollar store puzzle has rocked our homeschool day.

There are times when all my kids need some sort of instruction at the same time and, as I remind them often, I can only do one thing at a time. If I send one (or two) on a break while I help another, the kids on “break” have a difficult time starting back up again. It’s like they have to be motivated to start their day all over again. And I most definitely didn’t do this whole homeschool thing to battle with my kids more often.

The puzzles at The Dollar Tree have always intrigued me…
So may puzzles.
Does anyone even do puzzles anymore?
Will all the pieces be in the box?
How can a 300 piece puzzle be a dollar?

So I got one… actually I got three.
I mean… they are only a dollar.
I opened up the box and put the puzzle in the homeschool area. I though for sure it would take a few days for us to complete, but we ended up sucked into the dollar store puzzle abyss and finished the 300 piece puzzle in 30 minutes.
We were addicted.
The following day I put the next puzzle out. Whenever I needed to give instruction to one child, without the other kids fully checking out of the homeschool day, I would send them over to the puzzle. They loved it!
And when I had to call them back for more school fun, they were raring to go.
That might be a bit of an exaggeration.
But you get the idea.
I didn’t have to reel them back to school… just redirect to the next activity.

How to use a dollar store puzzle to rock your homeschool day:

Go to the dollar store. (Duh!) Buy 10 puzzles.
Place puzzle on a low table. It’s best if you have a place the puzzle can always stay out. That way the kids can work on in for just a few minutes at a time.
It helps to give the younger kids ideas about what to look for during their break. i.e. “Look for the pieces that have clouds” or “find all the edge pieces.
Take your time and limit time. It’s easy to get sucked into a puzzle! Don’t be afraid to pull them away when you need to.
Use the puzzle area if your child happens to get “bored” during the day too! Even if it isn’t their first choice for fun, they will get sucked in. At least mine do!

November 4, 2015 by: Kara Noel Lawson

How to Make a Catapult with Craft Sticks – Homeschool Science!

In honor of the Discovery Cube’s Annual Pumpkin Launch, we made mini catapults with craft sticks, and now I want to teach you how to make a catapult! They are super easy to make, and you probably have all the supplies around your house already…

We also used this as our science lesson. (More about that at the mid-way thought this post)
I taught the kids about force, mass, leverage. And about horizontal and vertical distances.

How to make a catapult…

Stack 7 craft sticks and wrap a rubber band tightly around each end into a bundle. (Science Note: You can experiment with different sized stacks!)

2. Take 2 more craft sticks and wrap a rubber band on one of the ends.

3. Insert the 7-stick-bundle between the 2-stick-stack and stretch a rubber band criss cross to connect the two pieces. (Science Note: The closer the bundle is to the wrapped edge, the more LEVERAGE the catapult will have)

4. Use 2-4 rubber bands to attach the plastic spoon to the end. (Science Note: Experiment with how far up or down on the craft stick you place the spoon.)

Happy pajama catapult launching!

We had launch competitions for distance and height. You can also try launching things of different weight.

Science stuff:

If you want to make this part of a science lesson then here are some things to talk about.

Weight verses Mass
1. Mass is a measurement of the amount of matter something contains
2. Weight is the measurement of the pull of gravity on an object.
3. Weight is measured on a scale.
4. An object’s mass doesn’t change it’s location changes. Weight can change with location.

To illustrate weight with the catapults we launched things of different weights and took note of their different distances.

Horizontal Distance and Vertical Height

1. Horizontal – parallel to the horizon. “side-to-side” (Great to talk about the horizon here too!)
2. Vertical – right angle to the horizon; top is directly above the bottom. “up-and-down”

To illustrate with the catapults, use painters tape to mark the horizontal distance different objects travel. Use painters tape on the wall to mark the vertical height different objects travel. Measure the distances and compare the differences.

Force and Leverage

1. Force – strength or energy as an attribute of physical action or movement.
2. Leverage – the exertion of force by means of a lever or an object used in the manner of a lever.

Illustrate leverage by experimenting with different placement of the stack between the 2 sticks and force by the pressure you put on the spoon while launching.

Then go to the Discovery Cube’s Annual Pumpkin Launch on Saturday to show you kids the real thing! Giant trebuchets for dayz!
You will have the best time ever.
Because events like these make forever-memories with your family.

Saturday, November 7th from 10am-2pm.
At Cal State Fullerton: 800 N State College Blvd, Fullerton, CA 92831
There will be food trucks but you can bring a pack lunch.
Pack picnic blankets or lawn chairs to watch in comfort!

Schedule of Events

10am-1pm
Hands-on Activities and Food Trucks
• Archimedes Floating Lab • Catapult Shoot-Out • Reaction Rockets • Marshmallow Mayhem
• Medieval Battle Camp • Da Vinci’s Flight School • CSUF School of Engineering

10:15-Noon
Test Firing of Devices

12:00pm – 12:30pm
Stage Show

12:30pm
Competition Begins

1:30pm
Awards Ceremony

September 15, 2015 by: Kara Noel Lawson

DIY CC Geography Maps {week 1 and 2}

We started homeschooling last year and we are loving every minute. Our curriculum is called Classical Conversations and it is fantastic. I wanted to share this printable DIY CC Geography Maps for weeks 1 and 2. All you need is a glue stick, one piece of blue, green, brown and red construction paper and the free printables I have below!

Even if you don’t use Classical Conversations, you may want to make these maps at home – one for the Fertile Crescent (CC week 1) and one for the Assyrian Empire (CC week 2).

Fertile Crescent Map:

-Print the Seas on blue paper.
-I used dry erase markers on the CC Trivium table to show the kids the area on the map we were making.
-Cut out the section of the Mediterranean Sea from the and paste to the left of the map.
-Use pencil to draw where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers run.
-Rip small pieces of blue paper and paste down the flow of the Rivers. We talked about how the water in the river is always choppy, moving, and flowing along the landscape.
-Cut 2 small circles (about 1″ in diameter) to represent Mesopotamia and Sumer.
-Use black marker to draw a big downward crescent (just like the shape of the fertile crescent) in the blank area of the map and write the word “fertile” inside.

Assyrian Empire Map:

-Print the Seas on blue paper.
-Print this page of Assyrian Empire symbols. (This really is a symbol found in Assyrian Empire art. It has a warrior using a bow and arrow, just like the sign in the Timeline song!)
-Us dry erase markers on the CC Trivium table to show the kids the area on the map we were making.
-Cut out the section of the Red Sea, Black Sea, Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf from the Seas printout, then paste them where they are on the section of map
-Cut out one Assyrian Empire symbol and paste to the top of the map.
-Cut 1 small circle (about 1″ in diameter) to represent Babylon.
-Use black pencil to write Assyrian Empire to the bottom of the map.

(Quick printable reference: Click here for the Assyrian Empire symbol. Click here for the Sea outlines)

And for all my local homeschooling friends, looks what’s coming to The Cube!
Here are all the Hot Wheels exhibit details!
We can’t wait to check science off for the month after a trip to the exhibit.

October 4, 2014 by: Kara Noel Lawson

October Language Arts Activities from Spider Magazine

Remember when I shared the awesome Cricket Magazine activities?
I’ve started using the Spider magazine as some of our Language Arts activities.
It’s fantastic.
At least my kids think so!

It will be hard to do some of the Language Arts activities without the magazine. But you can do some of them… and the copy work. It’s worth a look!
Start with making fake moldy cheese…

Writing fiction before we made our own silhouettes.
(All the instructions for the silhouettes are on the activities sheet.)

Language Arts activities Reading Wullus

We wrote poetry, and told jokes, then we made the pop-up card in the back of the magazine. Here are some awesome pop-up card tutorials.

Finally on we learned all about cheetahs and made cheetah masks!

Print out the week of Language Arts activities here in PDF.
Here’s a snip of all the fun in the activity sheets (answer key included)…

September 11, 2014 by: Kara Noel Lawson

One Week of Educational Activities from July/August Cricket Magazines

My aunt got me the best gift for my birthday! A subscription to some amazing titles from Cricket Magazines! And I’ve already put the first issue into good use. Try these activities from cricket magazine this week!

I had never heard of Cricket magazines before and I love them. LOVE! Each magazine focuses on a different theme and is age appropriate. The little tree below explains things pretty well.

I created a week of fun activities to go along with the July/August 2014 issues of Spider and ask magazine.

Monday:
We made “Berry Tasty Roll-Ups” (pg 34). You’ll need ripe berries (we used blueberries), bowl, potato masher, knife, jelly roll pan, parchment paper, rubber spatula and a storage container.

Wash the berries then mash.
The kids loved doing this!

Spread the mashed berries on the parchment paper in the pan, and leave in a warm dry place for 24 hours. I put the pan in our small top oven.

The Berry Tasty Roll-Ups weren’t completely dry in 24 hours. I turned on the oven to 200 degrees for about 10 minutes. Then I turned off the oven and left them inside till they were completely cool. (The recipe originally calls for plastic wrap so I had to transfer ours to parchment paper then bake. Just do the parchment paper from the beginning!)

Next we talked about a book summaries and the rule of underlining the title of a story when you write a title on paper. We read Odin’s Firefly Goodbye on page 27, and I had the children summarize the story. Then we wrote a short summary together.

Tuesday:
We read the poem Summer Sunset Song on page 26 aloud, then we made a list of all things we love most about Summer sunsets. The children picked their two favorite things on the list to write their own Summer Sunset Song. We had fun thinking of rhyming words to go with our favorite sunset activities.

Eli’s Summer Sunset Song
The sun begins to fall,
Daddy and I play baseball.
We watch Cake Boss for fun,
When the day is done.

Wednesday:
We learned about the way ancient Spartans sent secret messages to each other. We read Secret Message Skytales, then made a skytale of our own.

Cut 1/4” strips of paper. If you use computer paper you will need about 5 strips.
Secure the strip to the TP roll and start wrapping. I would tape as I wrapped.

Write a message from left to right, using only one letter per strip.

When you unwind the paper, it looks like gibberish.

But when you wind it back up, you have a message!

Thursday:
Today we learned about Moose! We read The Elusive Moose of Yellowstone and The Little Fly and the Great Moose: A Native American Story. We talked about our trip to Yellowstone and Old Faithful. Then we worked on our cutting cutting and stapling skills while making Moose antlers from the back of the magazine. It was fun!

While we were cutting we learned all the jokes from page 20!
The kids think they are hilarious.
I hope you do too!

Friday:
We got the July/August issue of ask magazine in the mail during the week and it was just too fun not to include!
Vikings.
The whole thing was about Vikings! How sweet is that!?!?
Did you know Vikings didn’t have horns on their helmets? (Those were added for theater costumes in the 1800s). And that Vikings were the first people to land in North America?
I didn’t.
But now I do, and so do you!
You’ve just been (home) schooled!

(pictures snipped from ask magazine clockwise from left p 19, 4, 11 & 26)

We devoured the whole magazine. The whole thing!
How I love to see Eli excited about learning! This is a big deal.

Receiving this magazine was icing on the cake for our week! Since we read the whole darn thing, I decided to have the kids write key words from each article instead of doing separate learning activities for each article. But we really could have done a week of educational activities. Maybe I’ll save that for another post!

You can do something like this with any magazine. But the cricket ones are pretty amazing. We have Babybug, Ladybug, Spider and ask. We love them so much, I think I’ll incorporate at least one activity into our homeschool routine once a week.
This gift is really a something that keeps on giving! It’s especially special to me because it’s something my mom would have given me. My aunt knows this… her mom died when she was only 19. I’m so thankful for people who have gathered around our family. Makes this life seem less lonely.
Is there something you can do for someone to make their life less lonely?
That thing… that thing you thought of right now.
Do it!

September 3, 2014 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Oh hey, we homeschool now! {Classical Conversations Cycle 3 Week 1}

Thank you for the most encouraging words about our decision to homeschool.
That was rad. Truly.
Now that we have been “outted” as homeschoolers, the next question is, what do you actually do during the week with Classical Conversations?
Well, here ya go…

Classical Conversations Cycle 3, Week 1:

Monday we go to the Classical Conversations meeting from 9am to noon. One of the main reasons we chose Classical Conversations, is the weekly class with a tutor. The kids formally learn the week’s lessons in the same class every week, with their trained tutor. Everyday we do the Memory Work we learned at the CC class (explained on Wednesday below), in addition to what I’m breaking down by week. (I really can’t stand the name though, Classical Conversations. Can I say that without being mean? Not really. Oh well, it’s my blog. It just sounds like a retired persons online dating site. Am I right??!?!)

Tuesday we did copy work for Latin, English, and Fine Arts (the OiLs acronym along with what each letter represents). And an activity using the 5 Basic Elements of Shape. Memory work.

We practiced using the 5 Basic Elements of Shape with this fun game from Expressive Monkey. I had them build 5 monsters using the dice, then they each got to build their own from their imagination. We pointed out the elements on each drawing (circles, dots, lines, angles and curves).

Eli’s monster looks like the devil.
Maybe its good we moved toward a faith-based education… ha!

Wednesday was a busy day for our family so we only did the memory work.
Memory work is all the facts you are learning in each category – Timeline, History, Geography, English, Latin, Math, Science, Fine Arts. I used this youtube video for the Classical Conversations timeline and this video for the English grammar. Every week we build on the previous week, for week 1 we are just doing the first 7 events in the timeline, and the first grammar rule. We repeat the each category 7 times. To keep track of how many times we have already repeated a fact, I use colored pencils in a mini mason jar. Obviously. Don’t they look pretty? Small Things make me happy.
We were done quickly, then we (mostly me) spent the rest of the morning cleaning, then we went to a water park with friends. The flexibility of homeschool is pretty neat-o.

Thursday we did copy work for History and Math. We discussed even and odd numbers. Memory work.
(Yes, I did notice he was missing 46, It was corrected. But I had taken the pic already. I’m that lazy.)

Then we did a guided drawing activity to go along with the History sentence copy work. I talked them through a picture of Columbus and the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria using the 5 Basic Elements of Shape.

Friday we did copy work for Science, Geography, and Latin. We used a map to make a color coded key for the states and capitals we learned this week. Then we drew pictures to illustrate the Latin prepositions we learned this week and made silly sentences using the prepositions. The sentences are in English but we would substitute the Latin word for the English word. Memory work.

Cora Jane’s sentence is “There was a cat in (in) a box with (apud) a toy, who went though (per) a door without (sine) water. She thought it was hysterical. Seriously, making a silly sentence was such a Small Thing and it made her day… she had the giggles for 10 minutes and the kids couldn’t wait to share their sentences with Brad when he got home from work. (And I was laughing too, because I can’t think of anything “in a box” without thinking of that SNL skit. You know the one!)

There you have it, our first week of Classical Conversation cycle 3. It was fun. More fun than I ever thought it would be. I’ve always been one of those moms who does fun activities and crafts with her kids*. But not everyday, just when I had the time. With homeschool I have to MAKE the time, and I love that accountability!
This week was also extremely productive. Eli and Cora Jane have memorized everything they were taught. And I learned so much too. I don’t know the state capitols. Never have. That’s sad. But now I know five, and by the end of the year, I’ll know them all. That’s happy. Classical Conversations covers the subjects I’ve mentioned but you need other curriculum for Math and Reading. I’m still waiting for that to come in from our charter school. I’ll let you know when I start.

*Don’t think I’m extra cool and have everything together for one second. I’m one of “those” moms that will shirk responsibilities for the fun easy stuff.

I can’t wait to share the projects we are doing this week! Since Monday was a holiday, we didn’t have our CC lessons. But since we are with a public charter school, we need to do schoolwork everyday, so I’ve come up with some great stuff.

September 1, 2014 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Why we decided to homeschool…

“I will never ever homeschool!”
”Kids need to learn from someone else besides their parents. And I don’t think my kids will learn well from me!”
”I can’t wait till all my kids are in school! My house will be clean and I can workout again!”
”Christians need to stay in the public schools!”
”I want my kids to be put out into ‘the world’, while they will still care about my opinion about it.”

These were my responses to anyone who asked my opinion about homeschooling… and some people who didn’t ask, because I’m a jerk like that. And I still think all of these things.
Strongly.
But we are homeschooling anyway. Because I feel something else.
Stronger.

But first, here are NOT some of the reasons we are homeschooling…

Common Core. I don’t mind common core (gasp). I’m not saying I love it, but I don’t think it’s the end of the world. I also think it wasn’t presented well to the schools. They should have rolled it out from the bottom up – kindergarten and first grade, then adding a grade (or two) a year. Then kids would work their way up with the new learning style. AND this Holocaust assignment was beyond offensive. I get the idea behind it, but how about a different event – the space landing would have been more appropriate. Anything would have been.
I missed my kids. I adore my kids, but I didn’t miss them while they were at school.
At all.
Christian Education. I’m a Christian, but I don’t care if my kids have a Christian education (gasp). Christian education comes from the home, and specifically from the parents. Period. End of story. Here’s a great book all about that: Spiritual Parenting.
School shootings. Someone asked me that. Nope, but here is a post I wrote about them.

“So why the hay are you homeschooling?” (you’re thinking)

Eli summed it up perfectly on his last day of public school. He said, “Mom, we had a bad year.” How sad is that!?! What sweet first grader should have a bad year? But, he was right. We had a bad year.

Logistically school was difficult. I had two different drop-off times and two different pick-up times for Eli and Cora Jane. I had to coordinate those four trips to the school (and four trips home) with the Cyrus and Tessa’s naps and meal times and errands and daily home responsibilities. I know hundreds thousands of women do this too. AND they have to balance working outside the home and a so much more. But for me, this was a lot. I felt like I was a failure everyday, from the dirty looks I got from the office when I picked up Eli late AGAIN, to the guilt over running through McDonalds AGAIN to get the little kids fed quickly before nap time.

I found Eli needed a different way to learn. We all respond better to different styles of learning and Eli wasn’t picking up anything with the traditional education style. At all. In fact, the only thing sticking was his frustration and anxiety about school and homework. My bright boy who can solve a Rubik’s cube couldn’t sound out the word “a-n-d.” He was defeated. He was saying, “I’m not smart… everyone else can do this…I’m dumb.” I get it, a teacher with 28 kids in his/her class can’t cater to the learning style of one child. But I can.

Homework took too much time. Kids are at school for six hours. SIX HOURS. Do they really need homework in elementary school? Well, I suppose kids like Eli do. If a child isn’t grasping the information in those six hours, the new information needs to be learned/reinforced at home with homework. So Eli was at school for six hours then I had to work with him one-on-one just to stay with the class. So why waste those six hours? No point. At least that’s what I think.

We wanted to do extra curricular activities and we couldn’t justify the cost or family time. We have a big family, so I wanted a family band. Obviously. Wait, how much are guitar lessons? Ummm… how about the piano… mmmmm… we’ll just do soccer like every other family in Orange County. The price isn’t so bad… but times that by 4 kids and subtract the family time that is eaten up with early Saturday games and evening practices after a SIX HOUR day of school, during the week. And Brad and I would have to divide and conquer to get all our kids to their specific practices. Eeek. I’m overwhelmed. So we never did anything. But we are using a homeschool charter for our home school program, and we get $1,500 per child per year for extra curricular activities and non-religious curriculum. And since we aren’t spending six hours at school everyday, we can do those activities during the day. No rushed weeknight dinners or feeling overwhelmed about getting everything done after school.

Attendance. Last year we took a two week road trip during the school year. Eli was in kindergarten, so it wasn’t a big deal to miss that time. But this year Eli missed over a month of school because of his asthma, it was a bigger deal. And as time passes, attendance will only become more important. With homeschool I’m not limited by the school year calendar. In fact, I’m not limited by anything.

Even with these reasons for homeschooling, I could have just chocked it up to a “bad year” and trucked on to the next. I mean it wasn’t horrible, and next year both my big kids would have been on the same schedule. A lot of the stress involved with my day would have been gone with that simple change. Thousands of people get to school, and juggle activities everyday. Millions. But Brad and I kept going back to one thought.

We want a slower pace of life.

Homeschool wouldn’t have even been on the table if my mom hadn’t died last year. Really. I love public school.
I love assemblies, and scholastic book orders, and new back packs, and passing notes, and cubbies, and big buddies, and school bus field trips, and class parties, and all the wonderful experiences a child gets in the public school system. I have to mourn a bit that my kids are missing those things, and that I won’t get to be a parent at a public school.
But I want something different.
I don’t want to be rushed during this short life of mine.
I don’t want to feel overwhelmed everyday.
I want so be present in every moment.
I want to quit the rushing, and busywork in our home.
I want all our decisions for our family to lend to a slower pace of life.
And right now, for this season, homeschool is the answer.

(Next post will tell all about our first week!)