Back to School

Back to school, back to school!  

It was an eventful couple of weeks, but ready or not - here back to school comes. We started a day later than normal due to my Grandpa Walker's funeral. (We were grateful for our flexible homeschool schedule!) The day started with all of our new coursebooks, some fun books, and a letter for each child at the table. Then we made a fort and read books together and did a few small homeschool things to help us get started into the swing of things. We left the fort up all week and had a really nice first week of starting back into our homeschool routine. 

Some things about our homeschool routine this year: 

-We have a lot of things going, more than we have in the past. The kids are getting older and need a little more than before. I'm going to try to keep a really good balance of "doing things" and still having the time at home that we need for peaceful learning and growing. The balance of "do all the things" and "slow down" is not an easy one, but I'm confident that we can find a good balance this year. 

-Last year we joined a coop that met on Monday mornings. Through a series of events, I turned into the director of that coop (still doesn't feel totally true, but it is on paper), and we had a good year. This year as I looked at our schedule, I knew that we couldn't do a Monday coop again and I petitioned to change the date to Friday. I tried not to be like "We have to change the day of the week to Friday or I won't come back", but I actually felt like that and wasn't planning to return unless it moved. Thankfully, most of the people were on board and we were able to move the day to Friday. I feel really good about that because we will have three solid homeschool days, then a busy Thursday that I am hoping to still do homeschool on, but on Friday we can just go to coop and then do our Friday Field Trip afterward. (It was so hard to come home from coop and still try to do homeschool last year.) I am excited for the things that we are doing with coop this year, including structured field trips, and a monthly mom's night. 

-Lydia has been attending the Middleton Mentor Coop for the past year and this year we have decided to host a "mini-coop" at our house during those same hours (Thursday 9:30-2:30). I will pick up two of the boys (siblings of some of the kids that go to Mentor Coop) when I drop off Lydia and bring them home with me. We will be doing a rotation of STEM, Cooking Class, and Art Lessons, as well as a literature and math activity each week. I am hoping that this will help me do some fun things with Austin and Caleb while Lydia is gone on Thursdays. (Last year, I kind of let that day get away with me, running errands or catching up on household things.) The boys are both excited about it. (Especially the cooking classes) 

-This may be the year that I have been the most confident about what we are doing and the rightness of homeschooling since the very first year. (Not that I haven't been happy and sure of myself in the other years, this year I just feel an increased sense of confidence.) I had the chance to go to a couple of homeschool retreats that inspired and rejuvenated me. I feel planned and prepared and grateful to watch my children continue to learn and grow in a faithful, them-centered environment. I know that we will have challenges this year, and I know that we will have to work hard, but I also know that it will all be for our good. 

Weekly Schedule: 

Monday: Clean rooms/Monday Jobs, start out homeschooling week strong

Tuesday: Piano lessons for Lydia and Austin (morning), Makerspace for Lydia while I take the other kids to one of the Thanksgiving Point Venues (afternoon)

Wednesday: Sewing Lessons with Ava for Mom (morning), Girls club for Lydia (afternoon)

Thursday: Speech class for Austin (morning) Middleton Mentor Coop for Lydia (9:30-2:30), Mini-Coop at our house for Austin, Caleb, Lucy. Afternoon spent in West Jordan visiting Cal and Sue (3-6) 

Friday: SPARK Coop (9:30-12), Friday Field Trip (afternoon) 

Lucy, Preschool: favorite color Purple

Lucy is starting the Waterford Upstart program this year and is excited to have her own computer time. She loves sitting with me while I do homeschool for the other kids and insists that she gets to do homeschool, too. I have an alphabet sticker book that I am working through with her and it's been really good to have something that she can work on, too. 



(What the pictures look like before adding the sunglasses - squinty eyes) 

Caleb, First Grade: wants to be a scientist builder

Caleb is in 1st grade this year! That means he has a full schedule. One of the things that he is most excited about is to help host a "mini-coop" with two of his friends (siblings of the kids that go to coop with Lydia). He has helped me plan out some fun activities that he wants to do, and is excited about it. 

Austin, Third Grade: wants to be an inventor

Austin is doing so fantastic and I can't wait for this year with him as a third grader. He is doing piano lessons on Tuesday morning, and a speech class on Thursday morning, and is excited about the Mini-Coop we are hosting each week. I haven't given it to him yet, but we also got a Harry Potter coding set for him to start working on for his Exploring Technology class, and I know he is going to LOVE that. 

Lydia, Sixth Grade: 

Lydia has the most on her plate, by far. I am working with her to help her stay on top of things and not get so overwhelmed. We sat down and planned out how many math/LA lessons she wanted to get done each week, and when she said that she only wanted to do 3 math lessons a week, I supported her decision - both of us understanding that meant she would continue to work on math through the summer. She chose to do only LA on Monday, then LA and math on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. She has Makerspace on Tuesday, Girls Club on Wednesday, Middleton Mentor Coop on Thursday, and SPARK Coop on Friday. It's going to be a big year but I know that she is up for the challenge and I can't wait to see her learn and grow this year. 

Homeschool Room 

I love this little homeschool room of ours. It's right by our front door and that can sometimes be inconvenient (every once in a while I wish we still had couches for people who just pop over for a visit), but overall I love having our homeschool room in this space. It has a big beautiful window. A table that is perfect for bookwork. My favorite "TGTB" bookshelves. Enough space for all of our homeschool bins. A beautiful piano. Maps, a globe, and clipboard to hang our most recent work on. I love everything about it. 

My friend (@daniellelindsay.m) asked me what I needed to feel ready for the homeschool year to start. I had a short list that included both getting my daily schedule onto paper and organizing my homeschool room. One week into our homeschool year and I finally tackled all the papers from last year, summer sewing stuff, and random items that had gathered in our school room. It feels so nice and I feel much more organized and excited for this upcoming school year!

(Watch me clean ——>)

First Field Trip Friday Hike

And what is "Back to School" without a hike to celebrate fall? This year I am really focusing on getting field trips put together for our groups. I have a good mix of hikes, formal field trips, and fun adventures - but sometimes I have a hard time bringing a big group somewhere that I've never been before. We are going to go on this hike next month with the group - but I wanted to check it out first. We had a good time together (see how Lydia brought her book, ha.) I'm excited for all of the field trips and adventures that we are planning to go on together this year. (Field Trip Friday = the best part of homeschool, maybe)