First Day in the Third Grade. And Preschool, Again.

In keeping with tradition , I have to write about our first day of school. Ansley asked me today, "What did we do last year on the first day of school?" Then she remembered a few things, but we had fun going back and looking to discover more memories.

Today, our household has a Third Grader.

With pierced ears and two permanent front teeth. So different than last year's Second Grader.

And, we have a Preschooler. I know, he was in preschool last year too, but if you look closely you'll see that this year he's in Preschool with a capital P, last year was preschool with a lower case p.

I don't really know what that means, except that next year we will definitely have a Kindergartener.

We have used A Beka for the past two years, and this year we decided to make a switch. I always struggle with the "fun factor" of A Beka, since it's very classroom like, lots of worksheets and tests and, well, work. And since it's all I've known, I've wondered if there is something else out there that would be fun, that my kids would really enjoy and have fun with while learning. So, this year we are trying out Winter Promise. For quite a few reasons, but a few that I'll mention: the curriculum incorporates both preschool and 3rd grade, so I can use the same concepts, books, and structure, just age appropriate for each child. Also, it is a four day week, which appeals to me because Ansley will be taking a few classes this year at our church co-op. This way, I'm not scrambling around trying to cram school in on the co-op day; we can just do a few things, if needed, or not, and not stress out about it.

I set up our school room the night before, laying out all the new school supplies and the new books and notebooks we will be using this year.

Just for a fun comparison, the photo above was taken around 10:30 pm on Sunday night. The photo below was taken around 11:30 Monday morning.

School is rarely neat around here.

So we started off the morning with a fun breakfast. Our curriculum is called Animals and their Worlds, so all year long we will be learning about different animals, while incorporating all the needed subjects. Oh, yeah, this was another reason this curriculum appealed to me, because just in case you don't know Ansley or haven't read it here before, ANSLEY LOVES ANIMALS. So to be able to create little bread lions for breakfast was fabulous for them, along with parfaits, which is a favorite for both of them.

Ansley was all smiles when we started.

So was Christian. He was ready to go.

Ansley started with Language Arts, which is something she can do on her own while I worked with Christian.

It wasn't too long before Ansley was complaining about how much she had to do, and how easy Christian had it. That progressed to tears over all the work that she had to do, while Christian just gets to draw lines. So we got to have a heart lesson first thing this morning!

It took a little balance to make sure one was working on something while I was working with the other one. But I definitely underestimated the work load. Christian was done - COMPLETELY DONE - before Ansley had finished Language Arts. I hadn't planned on this.

We got to do lots of reading on the couch together about animals, learning about vertabrates and invertabrates, and we have two read-alouds that I read a chapter a day from. This was fun - I really enjoyed it, and the kids did too.

They both have Animal Notebooks that they will be keeping through the year, so for our fun craft they got to decorate covers for their notebooks. This was a big hit.

Ansley continued on with spelling, handwriting, and creative writing.

Christian played Legos.

Ansley worked on math, did some homework, and reading.

Christian looked at his scrapbooks. Okay, scrapbook. I started running out of spare time by the time he was born. But he really enjoys looking through this. And look at that sweet seven month old! Wow, time sure flies.

Speaking of babies, Avery was pretty fussy today. It could have possibly been her fussiest day yet. She played in her exersaucer, bouncy, on the floor, with toys, chewing on things....but was seriously fussy. Finally, I took her upstairs for her hour long scream-fest. At your home, this may be called naptime.

I got a little ahead of myself, but that's okay. Actually before the hour long scream-fest, we had Puzzle Sandwiches for lunch.

They had to put it back together before they could eat it. It's expanding your mind, while you eat. Actually, puzzle sandwiches just make me feel better for the times I have to turn on the tv to keep Christian occupied. That didn't happen today, but I know it's coming.

And, cake in a jar for dessert.

It was supposed to be rainbow cake in a jar, but you could only see the rainbow from the inside. I'm still a little bitter about this.

And I have to point out because I think it's funny - I just used a white cake mix to make this. My kids were all excited, oohhhing and ahhhhing about it, and then, they took their first bite. I could tell they didn't want to hurt my feelings, but they didn't like it. Either of them, which for Christian not to like something sweet is highly unusual. And I attribute this to the fact that I enjoy making things for my kids, and I don't believe I have ever used a box cake mix. But now I know: don't bother. They won't eat it. So, future wife of Christian: I'm sorry, but you won't be able to get away with cake-in-a-box. And it's all my fault.

Ansley took a little break from school to rock Avery to sleep.

That was very helpful.

We finished school, as in everything was done, around 3 this afternoon. This is definitely a much longer day than I had anticipated, but maybe we will get in a rhythm soon.

And I may have gone a little overboard, because now my kids may expect every day to have lions for breakfast and puzzles for lunch and rainbows in a jar served with a smile.

Tomorrow will just be plain ol' school.

But I am very thankful that I get to be home with my children, teaching and learning together. A very sweet start to our school year!

We will see what tomorrow brings!

Comments

[Marni]

What a great first day! Your curriculum sounds so fun, Jonah loves animals too so this would be right up his alley. I love your cake in a jar, very cute (even if it wasn't tasty). I am gearing up and will definitely have to take cute first day pictures like you did. Love that chalkboard sign! Thanks for showing your school room after too, that is how ours looks five minutes after we get started. Great post! Enjoy the rest of your week. :)

[Christina]

We did Winter Promise for Kindergarten. We really liked it... lots of fun to be had :) Hope you enjoy it and get into a good routine. So, you really never made cake from a box? I am impressed, as scratch cakes usually flop for me! I'll have to get some recipes from you :) Hope today's school day is a blast!

[Renee]

Happy start of your new school year! I really like your chalkboard first day photos. (And the table comparison made me smile too!) I enjoyed hearing about another homeschooler's day, the honest version - fun treats, long lessons, and even tears too. Hope you had a terrific day 2 today!

[Allison S]

aw, Megan love reading this. We could use some rainbow cake in a jar & lion breakfast around here. But, I definitely will copy your puzzle sandwich, yes I'll choose the easiest :) What a special first day for your children. Glad your winters promise finally made it!