First let me start by saying I'm no pro, I still have a lot to learn. For anyone preparing to embark on your first year, you're probably surfing the Internet for any advice you can get your hands on, so here's my 2 cents.
- Give your kids time to detox from the conveyor belt style schooling. Don't jump into workbooks, worksheets and memorization, have several days if not weeks of fun. Go on field trips, take nature walks, do art projects, read great books together, just for the fun of it.
- It's tempting to try and recreate public school at home because it's all most of us know. If kids are excited about being home schooled, only to find out the first week it feels just like public school but without their friends...they'll be very disappointed. Make it a cozy environment and don't forget the hugs.
- Before starting your school year (summer's a great time to start), get a routine going. Teach them to do chores. A chaotic environment is no place for learning, and with all your new responsibilities, you'll need the extra help around the house. Learning to take care of their things is a great lesson, and kids enjoy the sense of accomplishment.
- Don't set your schedule/calendar in stone. Allow room for life to happen. Your kids will be learning so much by being with you all day and having so much one on one help, a few sick days aren't going to hurt. Remember, one of the beauties of home school is flexibility.
- Having said that...It's OK to say "no". Your new priority is your kids education. You aren't Wonder Woman, and people need to know you aren't available for luncheons, babysitting and constant interruptions. Of course service is important, and you don't want to be a hermit, but choose carefully what you put on your plate.
- If possible, borrow curriculum before you buy it. If you're a member of a home school group, ask if anyone has the books you're interested in. After looking at it, you may decide it's not for you. Curriculum isn't cheap and it's easy to get carried away at first.
- Be selective how many sports, music lesson & clubs you allow your kids to join. You want them to build friendships and be well rounded, but kids need to be kids. Over scheduling only leads to burn out and frustration for the whole family. It's much harder to tell them no once they've fallen in love with it and made friends. Choose wisely, especially in the elementary years. There's no need for children to be competitive swimmers, concert pianists AND black belts by the time they're 12!
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Bulk cooking can be a life saver. Jen at
Balancing Beauty and Bedlam is queen of how to home school and still feed your family quick, delicious and inexpensive dinners. If you're cooking up a pound of meat, why not cook 5 pounds? Divide it up in zip lock bags, season it (Italian, Taco, or whatever) and freeze it. Then all you have to do is defrost it and you've got the most time consuming part taken care of. If you have a spare freezer you can bulk cook many different things, cookies, french toast, bread, muffins, you name it.
- Take care of yourself! Make workouts and healthy living a priority. Also, don't forget the 'me time'. You're kids need a break from you just as much as you need a break from them. Take a bubble bath, read a book, go running...just do something every day. I learned the hard way and now I'm spending the summer trying to shed my winter weight. Home school can be stressful and exhausting at times, daily exercise helps regulate your weight AND your sanity.
- Homeschooling can be isolating. Make sure you nurture existing friendships and try to make new ones, whether it's a mom's club, book club, home school group, or online friends. Having other people (besides our poor husbands) to bounce ideas and concerns off is a must.
- Brace yourself! Homeschooling is great, but it's a big adjustment at first. Your house will be messier, you'll have less time for your friends, your spouse, and yourself. It may take several months to get into your groove. Starting the day with personal prayer and scripture study helped me have more patience and a clearer vision of my children's needs.
I could keep going but I won't. Good luck on your new and exciting journey!
There was a military fly over, and color guard, among many other tributes.
Above are two Pearl Harbour Survivors...little cuties.
I honestly can't think of anyone I'd rather meet in person as much as him...no, not even Kurt Warner, (though he's a very close second). His speech was fabulous, the weather was gorgeous, the kids behaved awesome, and my sweetie pie basically took one for the team. He drove us there safely and on time, he then stayed behind with the stroller & Sophia while I grabbed the boys by the hands and made our way to the very front row! It wasn't pretty, or fair, but the way I see it, those "older folks" have probably had many chances in their lifetime. If not, that's OK too, we sat on the ground as not to block their view.
The boys sat in the hot sun without any water (my bad, it was with Kimball) for almost 2 hours. Actually, they were almost as excited as me.
There's my little Kade next to McCain. It was hard to take pictures because I was RIGHT in front of him, being pushed and shoved. All the elderly people wanted to reminisce about the old days. It was pretty funny.
Jaxon had hoped he'd get to meet Senator McCain, but I didn't want to get his hopes up (or mine), so I had told him probably not...this was a sweet surprise.
Who wants a signature? I just wanted to shake his hand!! I never dreamed in a million years I'd get to a.) hear him speak, b.) sit close enough to see him (without my glasses), or c.) shake his hand (TWICE) and rub his bicep (have I said too much)?
There was a gun salute, patriotic music and a releasing of the doves.
It was an emotional morning, listening to the speeches, seeing the families who have lost their loved ones, and the graves of those who gave their lives for our our country.
If for some lame reason you haven't read McCain's book Faith Of Our Fathers you really should, it was life changing for me. To read my review, just click on the Goodreads sidebar.
I was amazed by all the vets, and motorcyclists all decked out in their flag gear. There were hundreds of motor cycles lined up all along the roads leading up to and into the cemetery...it was super cool.
As a kid, I didn't like making the rounds to all the cemetery's. My parents would stuff the trunk with flowers, stopping at all the various relatives graves. I'm super tender hearted, and it honestly made me too sad, (though I never told them that). I realize now, that's no excuse. I'm grateful they were good examples to me and I hope to pass it on to my children.
My sister Jackie had the great idea to get a hand print from the boys and frame it, saying "this hand shook John McCain's". It's brilliant considering they didn't want to wash their hands ever again. I am still giddy about all of this. I think I'll stop now. Amen. 
