Let the Preparations Begin

We are excited about starting school around here and preparations are underway!

The kids have their first backpacks and matching folders to keep up with their work and supplies. I was pleasantly surprised at how excited they were about their backpacks once I got home - even through their fatigue from having the stomach virus for two days!

On Tuesday, we took a trip to the library to get some books. This was Brooklee's first time going to the library to look at and pick out books (she's been to a library with a friend for a Cat in the Hat presentation before) and Kellan's first time ever going to a library. Brooklee must have thought that the goal was to collect as many books as possible so filled her backpack full of books in which we had to review and narrow down before leaving. Kellan picked out a book right away and then headed straight for the train table to play. Sadie Quinn started off in her stroller reaching for all of the toys on the train table and trowing them to the floor until they were all out of reach. Once she was able to get out of the stroller, we chased her around the Children's Wing of the library as we hurried to finish our final selections before she created disaster!

I am very thankful to have a nice library nearby for the kids to enjoy and to get resources for our lessons as we begin school. The cost of books can add up (even the cheap ones on Amazon) and we've run out of room to store them all. Its such a blessing to have the option of going to the library and borrowing books that we need for our lessons and not having to find a place for them on our already overcrowded bookshelves! And its even more convenient to be able to find and reserve the book online ahead of time and pick it up when you get ready.

The past few days have been spent making lesson plans, researching ideas, collecting books, printing worksheets, ordering supplies (thank goodness for Amazon Prime's 2 day shipping!) and getting ready to hit the ground running next week. Brooklee is so eager to get started and has asked me a million times (and counting) this week if we can start school, do a worksheet, make something, etc. Today I pushed past my perfectionist hangups and let her help me make the color chart that we will use. So what if its not perfect, right? She did a great job coloring and cutting out each bucket, pasting them to the poster and matching the names with them. I'd honestly had plans to help her to ensure it was all done correctly, but apparently she didn't need any help and was ready to move on to another project in no time.

I am still scurrying around trying to get some last minute plans in place before we begin so I don't feel so unorganized and unprepared. I have to keep in mind that at this point the kids want to learn through fun activities together. They won't care if everything doesn't get done or if it doesn't look perfect - even if it drives me bonkers! I will have to keep reminding myself that this year as I try to remember the reasons that we homeschool have nothing with raising the best, smartest or most talented kids. Instead we pray that our choice to homeschool will result in children who love Jesus, are confident in who he created them to be and are gaining a Biblical worldview as they learn how fun it is to learn about the world that God created for us.