Teacher workday:)

Oh my…momma’s heart is beating a little faster and I feel a bit excited and nervous just like I used to back in my teacher days. Monday is our first day of homeschool here, and I truly have no idea what to expect. Everyone tells me your first year is the hardest, but after that you start to see so many of the rewards of teaching your children at home and teaching to their learning styles and at their own pace. I worked with my soon-to-be kindergarden princess some this summer…and looks like she’ll start kindergarden in 1st grade;). (Not really–but she’s pretty stinkin’ close in most areas! I see I’m gonna have to watch out with a few of my cookies–I mean, we don’t want them graduating too early…but then again–if they did we could totally go have a “gap year” in Zambia or Ethiopia or wherever together before too cool college began;) We’re going to do a bit of kindergarden as review for both of my kids–but I think they are pretty much on the same page 1st grade, and we’ll be ready to roll come Monday morning! (Go ahead and pray for my two room helps Isaac and Frank…MWF are going to be nuts. They go to preschool on Tu/Th…so that will help our focus some!)

I have my FIRST day planned all out. I’ve gone back and forth how to schedule our day

…do we do all subjects each day like “normal school”

…or do we take the university approach and do 2 days math/science/mandarin and 2 days english/reading/history (with touches of latin through history too)

…all of our arts on Tuesday (they are privately done through art and music teachers on Tuesdays)

…Bible each day (to start our day)

I’m leaning toward that right now because after planning our English, reading and history lessons–I think we pretty much get in a full day. For those of you who homeschool and have found what works well for your younger kids–please spill the beans and I’d love to hear what you have found works beautifully for your team.

Might I add that I’m stoked–super excited–can’t sleep at night can’t wait and I’m coming up with creative deliveries instead of counting sheep–for the curriculum we chose this year!!! I probably have way TOO MUCH curriculum this year, but being a former teacher I just had way too much fun researching and considering my kiddos’ learning styles and which they’d be most intrigued and challenged by.

I sat for HOURS and HOURS today pouring over books deciding what our first day would look like…and I’m really excited for Monday to get here. We do have a “pre-learning” activity set for tomorrow which involves 8 interviews to conduct of family members. Monday will cover “What is History” (totally digging Story of the World curriculum already!) and we’re making our personal history books before diving into cave man status.

I think I’m going to love knowing exactly what the kids are learning and how we can just talk about it here and there throughout the day. I’m excited about seeing more of their hearts and even more of their flesh…and working through things beautiful and ugly in our hearts together. I can’t wait to spend Tuesdays watching them grow in their music and drama classes…walking the nursing home and assisted living halls of our chosen places to invest our Friday afternoon in together…watching them be uncomfortable and hopefully throughout the year it becoming second nature to run up to people we would normally not have the privilege to know and be friends with. We are doing life different here folks–and to some we might look really weird…but this is where and how we feel called to live right now. Not for the culture or to fit in…but to just do what we feel in our hearts is right day by day. It may lead to crazy field trips, over our head service projects or many days just in our pjs re-doing a chapter we just are struggling to grasp. My main goal this year…is the hearts of my children. And I’m so honored to have the privilege to nurture them a little bit more this year through homeschool.

So stay tuned…to our first day on Monday.

And our first day will be followed by a Wiphan board meeting at our house…so stay tuned for more Wiphan updates too. So excited about the year ahead in SO MANY WAYS!!! I feel like we are really living…and while I will be plum tired at the end of each day I’m sure–I have a feeling I’ll be rocking on the front porch (that we don’t have) when I’m old and grey affirming with Rico Suave that it was all worth it.

Signing off…to go count more lesson plan ideas rather than sheep:)

XOXO,

andrea

P.S. I thought you’d like to know…my laptop broke several months ago, and I finally got a replacement today. High five to Apple–they gave me the teacher/student discount for being a homeschool teacher:). PRETTY SWEET DEAL!!! So thankful!!!