first day

lesson # 425 in homeschooling:

each day brings new and challenging...uhh....challenges



starting back to school after a month off is rough. i won't lie or sugar coat it. screaming 2 year old, wiggly 5 year old, daydreaming 8 year old, and heartburned and tired of pregnancy mommy/teacher. but, the first day is over and we look forward to a new start tomorrow. and the rest of this week. and the weeks after. all uphill from here*!
*keeping up the optimism.



answer to general question of the month:

what is year round homeschooling? well, i'll tell ya! you have state laws for homeschooling, different in every state. in tennessee it is a minimum of 4 hours a day, 180 days a year. however you choose to use those parameters is up to you (unless you register with a public school or christian school that has set requirements). the first year, i took off every friday, and then a whole month off in summer (give or take days here and there). the past two years we have done a month, plus some, from thanksgiving to christmas, a lesser month in spring, and a lesser month in summer. and it works splendidly for us. so, our school year pretty much goes from september to september.

today, our school day was about 5 1/2 hours (doesn't include lunch break), due to the aforementioned daydreaming daughter. and we also took an unexpected bonus trip to france on the internet and painted the Pont du Gard, that then led to a mini lesson on the roman aqueducts. here is the inspiration pic:



here is keaton's rendition (the 5yr old)




and, oh......ok! here is mine (cause i like to show off my mad watercoloring skillz)





i sit back now, relaxing in sublime peace. children are either in bed, or doing chores quietly. the baby is moving a bit, probably digesting my dinner. and off in the background, my husband plays baseball on the ole x-box.


in a few minutes i will fall off into some daydreaming bit, most likely involving schooling projects, baby things, or lives that i would live if given the time, money, and sanity. perhaps that vegan/raw restaurant that i will own someday, or the call from martha stewart herself asking me to be her assistant photo editor. sigh.........



oh, this girl can daydream.......