First Day of School 2013!

We started our school year today!  I made some last minute changes to my plans and our schedules, which I think will be much for the better.

We are doing five main subjects each day, plus Tapestry of Grace.  Then each day we will have an elective, something we do once a week.  Our five mains are: Veritas Bible, Math-U-See, All About Spelling, Classical Writing, and Elemental Science Chemistry.  Once a week we'll do: McGuffey Readers with questions and copywork; Piano; Song School Latin; Art; Classical Conversations Geography Trivium Tables.

This seems like a much more focused approach to me, and one that is really manageable.  I love the idea of this and hope we can feel like we're accomplishing a lot while still enjoying life.  Today, even with the back-to-school-blues, we were able to finish everything (including Tapestry!) by 2:00 p.m.  Awesome. : )  It frees me up a bit to do those extra subjects once a week, rather than feeling like we have to hit them every day or several times a week.

I also finally got around to do something with our school area.  We've lived in our new apartment for about six months now, and the school space was pretty much just some tables thrown in the corner.  Not anymore! : )  It was so fun putting together a bright, cozy room.  Here are some pictures from our first day at school!

Yes, that is a wooden spoon on the floor, and I'm not afraid to use it. : ) 

So love this young guy!  He is full of life, smarts, and is so fun to be around.  Caring, compassionate, and a wonderful big brother. 

Too bad he didn't display that he loved school today. I need to print this out and hang it on the wall in the school room.... just as a reminder. 

My beautiful little Kiryn!  She's big enough to be starting second grade this year.  Oh my...  She is a tender hearted sweet girl, who is as bright as she can be.  She is becoming a book worm (YES!!) and loves to write and memorize.  Where in the world did she come from?!?

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This is my little Chotu!  (Hindi for small one!)  Levi is so anxious to do "school" with his big brother and sister, so we got his Letter of the Week from Confessions of a Homeschooler all printed out and ready to go.  He's just about to turn four, so this will be a fun thing for him to do this year.  He already knows all the letter sounds, so it's more to include him and make it fun than anything!

And then there's Miss Meryn, taking her aggression out with the do a dots, apparently. : ) 

Levi was not content to do just one page, as I had planned.  Oh well. : ) 

I am really hoping we can find a nearby play school for Meryn to go to in the mornings.  She needs a lot of attention, and I need to give a lot of time to teaching the older ones.  I so wish I could sit on the floor and play blocks and dolls and kitchen all day with no other cares in the world. Considering she only takes a 30-45 minute nap each day, I just can't get it all done in that time!

A quick shot from the Classical Writing Primer.  It seems a little similar to the idea of First Language Lessons/Writing With Ease but with more interesting content, and reading selections from the Aesop for Children.  Kiryn really enjoyed doing it today.  : ) 

Already loving the Tapestry of Grace Unit 1 lap books!  We learned today why we study history.  First day of school every year we read the same article in the Tapestry materials about how history teaches about peoples successes and failures, teaches us how to avoid their mistakes, or imitate their goodness, and how knowing history reveals God's greatness and glory.