lift off, 2018-2019

Hello, September! I blogged about my home learning plans for this year a few weeks ago and we are now underway. We are transitioning in slowly. We have begun some activities already and some have yet to begin. This has been the smoothest start to the (home)school year of the last several. I had to pause to think about that after I wrote it, because it is unexpected, since we have entered this year with far more uncertainty than the past few.

Perhaps we were itching for rhythm or maybe just a good read aloud. Perhaps the smooth start has had more to do with my attitude about how I truly want this year to be or the fact that we had just come home from a deeply connected, nature filled week away. Regardless, the last two weeks have been a nice blend of gentle main lesson work and time to pursue interests. We began the year with some gifts, annual porch photos (heart tug), and a simple rhythm of weekly nature study, daily read aloud (Carry On, Mr. Bowditch...a beautifully written blend of history, science, and math), language arts work (Arrow guide from Brave Writer), and math. (We have transitioned to mostly online materials for math and are trying Teaching Textbooks through a a free trial. It looks like we might have one kiddo using Teaching Textbooks and one using Khan Academy this year.)

 Checking out Teaching Textbooks. And yes, that is corn on the floor in the background. Brown Mouse loves to drive his big trucks through it, playing that it is gravel. What you can't see is the laundry on the floor beyond that, waiting to be folded.

One of my biggest observations is that I have noticed almost no complaining about this rhythm so far, and both kids are more articulate about what they would enjoy and what would help them be more organized. I needed to see and feel this success and growth.  We love homeschooling, we choose it, it is a gift and privilege, but there are days/weeks/months/years when it is hard.

I am sharing some photos here, from our first couple of weeks. Those of you on Instagram might recognize a few of these, but I haven't shared them here. (You can request to follow me @nicolacreativelightless if you are an IG user.)

Over the next few weeks, we will have a clunky ramp up to our full schedule for the fall and early winter. Soccer games will begin and consume weekends, we have a differently wired kiddo undergoing some assessments to help us offer unique support, 4-H projects will begin, and charter school classes will begin.

I am looking forward to a happy year ahead. Regardless of how and where your kids are learning, I hope the shift into the new school year goes well for you all.

p.s. My friend, Amber of Hearth Magic, is hosting a free autumn blog series called Coming Home, starting tomorrow. I am honored to be one of the contributors. You can sign up to receive the series here.