Our First Days of School

3 Moose, ready for their first day of school!

Thanks to Meadows Elementary School, my Alma Matter, for the I Love to Read inspiration. 

I am starting my own I Love to Read Program for our homeschool. I used a friend's Cricut to cut out these cute letters. Each time the kids finish a book, they will write their name, the date, and the book title on a label, and stick it to the poster. The goal is to fill it up this year. I plan to create some awards for the end of each semester for the kids based on the books they read.

The Bookshelf

This is the hub of school for us. Everything is labeled and organized, and the kids can get out and put away their own stuff. If you look closely, you will see that books are the primary form of education for us. And since I took this picture on the first day, we have added at least another 20 books to this shelf. I have had to rein the kids in and not let them just read every single book on the shelves at their own pace, or we would run out by the end of September! I know, it's a good problem to have.

The Homeschool Table

Through the generosity of family and friends, we own some really nice pieces of furniture. This table is not one of them, and yet it is probably my favorite piece we own. If you look closely, you can see red paint, faded stain, nail polish, crayon...etc.  We bought it for $50 on Craigslist last year, including the 4 chairs, and I am so glad we did. I don't put newspaper on it when we paint, I scrub it down with soap daily, it sits on a sturdy rug, and we use it all day long. If it gets too covered, I will simply sand it down and start over.

The First Grader

He loves numbers, spelling, Bible, and history. He is eager, willing, and a quick learner. His smile is constant, even when he is practicing the dreaded handwriting, and he does anything he is asked. If only I could get him to stop asking to play Xbox every hour, even though he knows it's only for weekends, he would be the perfect student.

The Preschooler

Ready to learn, this student of mine loves to write, draw, trace, and create. If all learning could involve crayons and rhymes, she would be thrilled--and at this age it can. So we read fun books, we trace big letters, we make fun lapbooks, and we color--lots. And whenever she is done, she is allowed to play dollhouse or dress up, and she can rejoin us at anytime. Mostly she loves that I made her a history book this year so she can follow along with what we are studying.

The Third Grader

We have yet to start math, so thus far my darling girl is a happy student. She earned 100% on her spelling test, reads ahead in her first book, Poppy, and wishes we could spend more hours of the day in school. Her ability level is, on occasion, so much higher than I think it is, that I have to push myself and allow her to set the pace. The math I ordered is completely computer based, and since her favorite activities so far have been doing research online, I am hopeful she will thrive with this program.