A New School Year

Summer was so much shorter than it's ever been for us. I still gotta work on posting all of that but I figure I should just start where I am.
I can't believe it's a new school year already. I especially can't believe it's a new school year because I'm in charge of it.

We have a new Educational Specialist through Sky Mountain this year since our former one started a new job at a different school. I wasn't thrilled to hear we'd have to start fresh with someone who didn't know us already but she seems nice and has been very helpful so far. She's also planning on coming to the house for meetings which will make things a lot easier for me with Thea and Leo. I'm hoping it'll be a good change overall.

It'll be interesting to see what our second year of homeschool brings and how the kids like it. I'll be able to do more actual teaching for both instead of scrambling and Henry will get to take piano lessons. Maybe at some point things will slow down and I'll get to process the first year!

Now what better way to rub in the advantages of homeschool than being able to begin your first day in your PJs with waffles. The kids loved helping stir and opening and closing the waffle iron.

Apparently there is now "Pre-school," "Pre-K," and then "Kindergarten." Yeesh. She loved feeling important today though too. Twas worth it.

Henry the second grader. Oh, Henry. Years go by so quickly.

Couldn't get Leo to stay up for a picture but this cracked me and the kids up so we named him our school's mascot.

While I didn't have a chance to get as much planning and organization done this summer as I hoped, I did at least get their new desks assembled. Hoping to keep everything centralized in the home school room instead of spread out everywhere, especially on the dinning room table.

I was so worried about getting back into the groove of schooling and sure there would be tons of problems or issues but it was incredibly smooth and I honestly felt more gratitude to God than anything else today. It reminded me why we decided to do homeschooling in the first place. I'm still not sure we'll do it forever but for now it's a blessing. Not one without challenges, but it definitely has it's rewards as well.


In addition to the first day of school, we had the first tiny tots practice for Thea. After having such on and mostly off luck with Henry's soccer coaches I decided I couldn't keep complaining if I wasn't going to do anything about it. Hence, I am now the coach of some of the cutest ever tiny tot soccer kids. Thea has been so excited talking about soccer and me coaching but then when she realized it was me coaching lots of the kids and not just her, she didn't exactly do well. She took off for Henry and wherever else *not* on the practice field. So, I'm going to have to think of how to help her out with all of that and still give attention to the rest of the kids. Wish me luck.
Henry was also a little grumpy because I had said he could help me and he didn't feel I was utilizing him to the best of his ability. In the car on the way over he asked, "So what exactly am I for the soccer team?" Thinking fast, "Uhm, you're the junior assistant!" "Is that even real? I feel like maybe you made it up." Caught. Don't worry about him though he's still sure he needs a shirt with his name and a bouncing soccer ball to do his made up job...

I love these kids. And while I never saw myself as the homeschooling, soccer coaching mom per-say, I'm grateful I can do these things for my kids. They really are the lights in life.