First Day of School // 2020

Happy First Day of School!

Yes, I realize it's May 4th. And no, I'm not crazy. 😉

See, we finished our 180th day of our 2019-2020 school year last Wednesday.

We took Thursday off for E's 7th birthday.

We took Friday off for our summer break. HAHAHAHAHA! 😂😂😂

And we started our 2020-2021 school year today (Monday)!

I had already scheduled our current school year to end the last week of April. Then we were going to take the month of May off to enjoy all.the.summer.fun while the public schools were still in session, and start back with our new school year the first week of June. This is what we did last year, and it worked well for us! It allowed us to have lots of downtime and flexibility in our year.

But then COVID-19 happened.

Plans changed.

I didn't see any reason to finish up our school year and take the month of May off only to sit around the house and stare at each other, as we've been doing so very well for the past two months during quarantine.

So we all decided it just made more sense to roll right into our 2020-2021 school year this week... after a 5-day weekend/summer break - LOL!

The good thing is we're pretty much just continuing with all of our current subjects through the summer, so I haven't been in a major rush to nail down our "official" curricula for the new year. We had planned to join an Upstate area co-op this fall, but those plans are currently way up in the air as our family's health and safety may mean we buckle down for another year together at home on our own, especially with a new baby due in 7 weeks! I'm TOTALLY on board with that game plan, but will continue to seek the Lord's direction in this decision. Until then, let's move forward with our new school year!

Check out these beautiful kiddos! They are my 3/5 of my heart! 💖

My sweet LO is in 8th grade. EIGHTH GRADE, y'all! I'm so proud of her and can't wait to see the growth she has this year!

We are shifting gears BIG TIME as she will be taking several honors courses this year for high school credits. It will be a whole new world for her as the requirements and obligations for her academically will increase dramatically this year. I'm confident she's up for the challenge, though!

Then there's this guy. My 5th grader! Chase could not BE more ready for his final year of elementary studies! I'll digest the fact that he'll be starting middle school next year MUCH later.

Chase had a great year in 4th, and I have big expectations for his 5th grade year! He's super strong in Math and his English skills have grown so much this year. His cursive handwriting is lightyears above his print handwriting (I tell him this all the time - LOL!). He LOVES drawing and writing/illustrating comics. He still has aspirations to be a professional gamer when he grows up.

Look at this cute face! E's in 2nd grade and I'm so excited for him!

I mean, really, I just love this cutie-pie! He's grown SO MUCH over the past year, and I know he's going to continue to thrive in 2nd grade! He is a reading machine, has THE MOST impressive handwriting, his math skills are off-the-chart, and he is always wanting to do his very best work. It's such a joy to watch him learn!

Oh - let's not forget the (current) youngest and soon-to-be big brother, Squish, who will be turning THREE in less than 40 days! I just love these crazies and the incredible family God's blessed me with!

And they're not weird at all.

Okay, 2020-2021 school year... Let's Do This! 💙

Welcome Home, Lucy!

((Still playing catch up with the blog, y'all))

On November 19th, we surprised the kids with an early Christmas gift surprise by placing a single wrapped gift with a question mark label on it under the empty Christmas tree. They were perplexed to say the least. See?

Can you just take another look at Squish's face? Literally the best. 😂

We gave them the option of opening the gift or not, and not surprisingly, they all agreed to go for it!

Inside they found... a book on beagle puppies! I also included a flyer with our new pup's info on it for them, too!

Here's the big moment on video:

So on Saturday, November 30th (the day after we informed the kids they would be getting a new sibling!), we loaded up the kids in the Suburban, temporarily dubbed the "Christmas Express," and hit the road. The kids each had a Christmas gift bag in their seats stocked full with Christmas coloring books, candy, popcorn, activities, and more. They also each had a cup of hot chocolate in their cupholders, a Christmas movies was queued up in the DVD player, and I even went so far as to (gag) put reindeer antlers and a red nose on the Suburban (TEMPORARILY).

Now we were ready to hit the road! Destination? North Carolina. More specifically: Shiloh Farm! We were surprising the kids with a MAJOR Christmas gift a few weeks early... their very own beagle puppy!

They were all instantly in love the second they met her!

Somehow they were all able to come to agreement rather quickly that her name should be Lucy. Her middle name is Opal. Our last name starts with L, and they purposely chose Opal for her middle name so her initials would be LOL. Aren't they crazy? They thought Opal would be a good fit because she was born in October, and opal is the birthstone for October.

She was so tiny!

The kids settled in with her at home in no time flat! They loved watching her sleep.

Without a doubt, Lucy prefers Chase's "nap lap" over all others. She will curl up with him and take the best naps!

LO has been the best mama to her sweet Lucy. I love watching her take care of her little four-legged baby.

As you might have noticed, one of her favorite activities her first month or so with us was SLEEPING. She slept all.the.time. And she still sleeps a good bit! She stays in her crate at night and when we're gone, she loves running and playing in the backyard, and she's so great in playing with the kids inside. She's really been a wonderful addition to our family! The kids all love her so much, and though I'm not much of a pet person, I've been pleased at how well the kids have taken care of everything (with help from hubs): feeding, bathing, picking up poop, cleaning up inside messes, keeping little toys/choking hazards picked up and out of her reach, etc. Lucy has been a wonderful addition to our family!

Welcome home, Lucy!

First Day of School // 2019

Today was our first day of the 2019-2020 school year! Yay!! I think it's kind of hilarious that we're starting our new school year the same week our local public school system is finishing up their last week of school. LOL!

We have some big firsts coming up this fall when our Classical Conversations community begins our new year in August. Our oldest, sweet LO, will be entering Challenge A, the 7th grade program. And me? Oh, right. I'm directing (leading) the program for our community. Just me and a room full of 12-year-olds. Eeeeek!

I decided to switch up our school year a bit this year to help us stay organized and engaged, while providing plenty of flexibility to give us a restful year of homeschooling. We typically don't start our year until August, but I decided to kick us off today--June 3rd!

When I put together the calendar to track our 180 days of school, I absolutely loved how it turned out! We start our year out easy, just 3 days per week through June and July, taking the entire week of LO's birthday off of course, because, PARTY TIME!!! Then we start full weeks in August, taking entire weeks off to align with our CC breaks (rather than only taking the Tuesday co-op day off). This alone is a major win for us! Actual break weeks ftw! Hurray! We also take off all holidays, family birthdays, and plenty of December for Christmas.

The best part? We finish our school year the same day we finish Challenge A on April 28th! This is HUGE for us. Usually we still have a whole month or so to go after CC ends, and it leads to lots of frustration and confusion amongst my children.

"Why are we still doing school? The End-of-Year Celebration at CC was last week!"

LOL!

Now we will finish at the same time as the last day of Challenge A, we'll take the entire month of May off, and start back up again the first week of June 2020. I'm hopeful that this schedule works out as well in reality as it does in theory! LOL!

Our first week was a total success, and I'm excited to start week 2 on Monday!

Meanwhile, back to my First Day of School post!

Here's my beautiful 11-year-old (she'll be 12 in 47 days!!!) as she officially begins the middle school  years: 7th grade, to be exact. I cannot even express to y'all how amazed I am by this smart little beauty every.single.day. She is so intelligent and driven--at least when it comes to academics. Chores? Notsomuch. ((eyeroll))

Yep! First day of 7th grade. I just couldn't be more proud of her, and I couldn't be more excited about what lies ahead for her this year. It's going to be a HUGE year of growth and OWNERSHIP. I love her so much!!!

Chase. My sweet, sweet Chase. This handsome young fella right here is heading into 4th grade! Isn't he just the cutest little 9-year-old you've ever seen? We have a big year ahead for Chase, too! This will be his first year in Essentials at CC. There's a lot of growth ahead for him -- especially in grammar, writing, and math!

First day of 4th grade! Love that smile!

Would you look at this guy? E is 6 and is starting 1st grade! He is so stinkin' adorable!! I'm excited for him to make some big leaps in school this year, especially in his reading skills. I've found that each of my kids learns at different tempos and I embrace, encourage, and support their growth at their own pace.

Look at that smile! Love!!

Here they are: my heart. I just love these beautiful souls God so graciously entrusted to me! I cannot wait to see what He has in store for our homeschool this year! Every day is such a blessing -- even though some days are harder than others. I'm just rejoicing in the plan we have ahead of us for this year, and praying that we have a restful, yet solid, academic year!

Christmas 2018

// Still playing catch up on the blog... posting on 6/7/19. Better late than never?

- - - - -

We had a great Christmas with our family! Here are a few quick snapshots.

First up? O playing peek-a-boo with Mona! LOVE.

The spread for Santa! Chocolate milk not pictured.

Buddy the Elf delivering candy canes to our goofballs.

Santa's been here! Ready for Christmas morning!

Had to share a pic of my kiddos with all of their cousins. My mom and I made matching pajama bottoms for ALL of them! Aren't they adorable?!

My sweet crew! I love these guys so much!!

Wait--is that a Santa sighting?? Love my Chase!

Snow Day // 2018

// Still playing catch up on the blog... posting on 6/7/19. Better late than never?

- - - - -

It snowed in December. We felt obligated to enjoy it for the one day it'd stick around, especially since the entire county shuts down here in South Carolina when a single flurry is spotted.

O was excited about his first time playing in the snow...

...until he had to gear up! As you can see, he wasn't a fan. LOL!

The older three didn't have any issues with the snow.

O was still not a fan.

He didn't find any joy in the white stuff.

Nice side-eye to the snow-covered roof, O. LOL!

Look out! Chase nails 'em!

O? Still. Not. A. Fan.