Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Our first art project











The first art project of the year was decorating our school boxes. One of the things I got on clearance at Target was magnetized school boxes that were able to be colored in. It was a perfect way to save money, personalize the school items and have a simple art project. I picked up a pack of permanent markers at Pat Catan's(for the second art project) and the kids were allowed to color them any way they wanted to. Even Becca got in on the action! She wanted to be like the big kids, so I got her a few school supplies as well and that included a school box. She had a lot of fun coloring, but she was using washable markers! :D

The schoolyear has begun!


One of the perks of being a homeschool family is the fact that we can start school pretty much whenever we want to! Since we always vacation over the week of Labor Day, we didn't get started until yesterday. This year I have a 1st grader and and 3rd grader. I am excited to see what 3rd grade brings! There are a lot of changes in the curriculum this year. We have testing in every subject instead of just having simple "readers" for things like Science, Social Studies & health. Also, Alaina has some big changes coming for her in 1st grade! She is going to be doing spelling tests and independent studies. She hasn't had to do those before!

Anyways, our first day went really smoothly. It always feels good to have a great start to the schoolyear. I am a realistic parent/teacher, though, and realize that tougher days are ahead. School is school no matter where the classroom is. There are days when kids just don't want to do the work. But, I am choosing to be positive. I am making some changes to my teaching. I have been researching some different homeschool methods and I think that the improvements will be good ones for both me AND the children!

Another great sidenote is the fact that we went to Target yesterday and got ALL of our school supplies on clearance! LOVE IT! I got filler paper for $.18, rulers for $.12, composition notebooks for $.25, and much much more!