The First day of School (Home School)

I can hardly believe the summer is over. After spending nearly a month from home, it was very tempting to just stay in vacation mode and not have to face the reality of school. But we are home and now and today was the first day of school for my crazy kiddos. 
We decided, after a lot of prayer, consideration and long talks, to homeschool our kids this year. I'm very nervous and anxious about this but after talking with Tucker's doctor and reviewing the options public schools, I feel that this option is our best one for us. 

So here we go. The kids did great today. They were excited and enthusiastic and happy to be learning. 
Happy first day of home-school!

Bailey started 4th grade from home today.

She was very excited to start homeschooling. This girl loves learning and she surprisingly loved being home from school during our stint of virtual school. She definitely misses her friends but she loves learning from home. 

And here is a side by side of Bailey's first day of Kindergarten and first day of 4th grade. 

I can't believe how big she is getting. 

Tucker  started 1st grade today from home. 
He's surprisingly excited about learning from home. I was worried he wouldn't want to stay home because he loved Kindy so much, but he is so excited. 

Tucker's first day of Kindy vs first day of 1st grade. 
He's grown up quite a bit already in just one year. 

 

Tanner's attitude about homeschooling surprised me the most. I think if he was able to be at actual school, he would have chosen that. But, since that wasn't an option, he excitedly decided to homeschool. I'm most concerned about teaching him since he is my oldest and his curriculum is more advanced. But we will figure it out together.  He is such a positive kid that I have no doubt he will keep working hard and he will keep me working hard. 

Here is Tanner's first day of kindergarten picture

and compare that to his first day of 5th grade picture. I can hardly believe how tall he is and how old his face looks. I can already see him, 7 years from now- leaving for his mission. It's crazy. 

And I can't forget this little scamp. He will be starting at home preschool this year. And I'm praying that he is able to attend actual preschool next year! 
This boy is so dang cute and so funny, but I have anxiety about trying to manage him and the other three kids. But having Chris working from home will hopefully help. 

They had a great day first day and they were so excited. 
We were able to kick off the new school year last night with a little party. 
Our theme this year is "One Smart Cookie". 

It was pretty cute. 

I loved making these little smart cookies. Especially the big one in the middle. 
They were delicious. 

We also had little cups of "Cookie Crisp" cereal. These were a big hit with the kids.

And you can't have cookies without milk. Yum!

I made this little banner for the front of the table and if I ever reopen my etsy shop, I will definitely sell this one. I think its so cute. 

And I also made this word banner for the wall. 
I think the thing I'm excited most about is getting to see my kids learn. Usually, I just see report cards and that's how I can measure their progress. But with homeschooling I will get to have a more hands on approach. I'm excited for that!

I know these kids are going to rock school this year. I'm excited to get to be part of it. 

I bought our curriculum mostly from a company called "The Good and the Beautiful" and I'm really excited about it. It's a Christian based curriculum that is actually created by an LDS woman. The curriculum is highly recommended and I'm really excited about it. Here's to our first and hopefully only year of homeschooling!