2018s First Day of School
And just like that we are out of the gate with this years new school year.
Emma is in Challenge A within the Classical Conversations program. It is basically their version of 7th grade. While we are so excited for her and for the chance to watch her grow and mature within the program, it has been a difficult transition into conforming to someone else's schedule. We have always been a family who started school after Labor Day so we could soak up every drop of summer. But being part of this community means things aren't always just about our schedule and so we've had to start school earlier than we usually do. I keep giving myself a pep talk about it...starting sooner will allow for more breaks and for us to end the school year earlier than normal!
We usually take photos of the kids each year. Last year we did this too...you can read about it here. This year, though, was a bit weird in how we started. Usually Nick tries to be home and we all kind of do it together. But he and I were gearing up to leave and the air conditioning in the Flex had taken a nose dive so he was out getting refrigerant to recharge the system. We started without him but had a great time taking pictures together. In a weird turn of events, Emma's back to school outfit from last year still fit and she wanted to wear it. I think anytime you're 12 year old daughter is still willing to wear an Eleanor Rose outfit with Joyfolie Mary Janes, you should take that opportunity and run with it. Emma is the sweetest thing in mostly letting me dress her still but I know any day now she will be declaring her independence. Calvin can sometimes have strong opinions about his clothing but thankfully he was easy peasy. "here're some shorts, here's a shirt" and he's just "okay". I'm so blessed you guys!
We had a good breakfast together and had our morning time while we sat around the table. Morning time is simply a time that we are together and doing things together as a family. We sang a hymn, read some poetry, and read a portion of a book together. We also did a devotion and then I introduced them to their new devotional books that they will be working on individually. It's a great way to begin our day together.
Even though we homeschool, we give our kids lists that we take to go do back to school shopping. The kids love doing this and then when we get home I arrange their school supplies for them. Some things like paper and glue sticks just go into communal receptacles for everyone to use and some things get placed into their desk so just they can use those. This always seems to work great for us and it's always fun to see them excited about getting to use their school supplies! Who doesn't love new pencils?!?
After morning time the kids worked on their work...Calvin only had math, spelling, and handwriting to do. His Classical Conversation community days don't start for a couple more weeks, so until then, he will be doing light classwork. This gives him an opportunity to ease back into the school schedule. Emma had some "about me" papers to fill out for her first day with her CC class and then had latin to do. She was very diligent about her work and very thorough with her tasks. I am hoping she will continue those traits throughout the school year. Sometimes raising a tween is tough!
After school work came chores and piano practice. All in all it was a great first day of school.
That night we dropped the kids off at my mom and dads and took off for our anniversary trip. It's weird to not be with them for their first week of school but they were given all of their work to do with grandparents and they know what is expected of them. And like I said, they have a really light school load this first week so it will be okay. It was hard for my Momma-heart to accept not being with them but in the end this was the way our schedules converged so we made it work.
And that's our day! I can't believe the kids are in seventh and fifth grade! How did this happen? When did they get so old? When did I get so old? Yeesh!
Happy back to schooling y'all! xo