Our school year so far...

This year has been exciting, challenging, fun, and sometimes a stretch as we've continued in our homeschool journey with Wild Man in kindergarten and Little Lady doing preschool-level work, although that mostly means exactly what her big brother is doing with lower expectations from Mama. ;)

Someone asked me the other day how life had been acclimating to 4. Well, I've already told you that, haven't I? But her main question, after hearing about our autumn was, "Wasn't doing school on top of all that so hard for you?" I had to answer honestly then, and now:

No. Actually, I think homeschooling what was held us together. It gave us a purpose, an agenda for each day. A little structure, learning, fun, and creativity. All without the immense stress of the clock, needing to be somewhere at a specific time, or having to have things completed by a certain date. Yes, there were times it was hard, times I didn't want to plan, or days when I just wanted to loaf around and not execute our plans. But overall, homeschooling was definitely a support rather than a stressor.

When people ask us how we're enjoying having school as a family at home, I answer with a smile, "We love it almost every single day." And that's the honest truth. We're having some growing pains figuring out how to do this thing, with both Hubby and I being first-generation homeschoolers. We're encountering some resistance from WM, already a perfectionist, who doesn't like to do anything he cannot do perfectly. We're figuring it out, one baby step at a time, and every school week looks different than the one that preceded it. Mama is learning how to order days, what works and what doesn't; what is important and what is not. And folks, I am a slow learner.

But really truly, we mostly love it. The kids are learning so, so much about the world around them. And we are all learning so much about our Creator, and about one another. For anyone curious, this year we've been enjoying My Father's World kindergarten curriculum. For now, having a single comprehensive curriculum is really working well for us; it simplifies my planning and helps me not stress out with over-researching and planning. A blog I enjoy reading has an upcoming series about homeschooling, with some practical tips about how to pursue home education with as little stress as possible; perhaps you'd like to check it out. :)

Okay, now to the good stuff:

Sweet Hubby putting together a bulletin board for our kitchen/school room.

Bulletin board a week or so into school; creation unit banner, sun unit stuff.

Love this picture, "quiet" reading time.

Sometimes when she was tiny, Girly Whirl would join us, but girlfriend can no longer be trusted to remain in a seated position in the Bumbo.

Little Man loves to color for about 30 seconds if I tape the paper down. Then he starts ripping the paper, eating the crayons, and throwing them down and saying "Uh-oh!" in a really surprised-sounding voice...

And sometimes I'll notice that the playroom is a little too quiet and find him like this.

Wild Man drew the solar system.

Sponge painting leafy autumn trees.

Isn't it beautiful? I throw away most of their artwork after I take photos, but I haven't been able to part with these paintings yet.

Some more artwork. I love his words; the letters are all over the place, haha! Just get it on the page, right?

Pretty typical "seated" position for boys.

First book he read all by himself!!

Big sister is only too happy to take on the role of teacher.

Snuggle-time on the sofa for reading.

Making words.

Painting pine cone Christmas trees.

Oh, proud boy!! He's so in love with sitting at the table for school when his big kids do.

Our very crowded bulletin board at the moment...this makes me so happy.

Favorite art so far! We made ocean collages when we studied the letter 'O'. Watercolor paints for water and sand, real sand, construction paper, pipe cleaners, sweetgum balls (sea urchins), pine needles (sea anemone), bubble wrap (reef), sticks painted to be coral, shell-shaped pasta, and tempera paint stamps for other animals.

Oh, and hole reinforcers for the octopus' suckers. WM's octopus was red, because as he told me, "The octopus is flushed red because he's angry, and octopuses change colors when they're mad or scared." Thus the angry face he asked me to draw.

School year in brief so far. :) I've been taking pictures of all the work, and I plan to make a photo album for the year when we're done. Hope you enjoyed a little peek into our home school life!