Back in the Saddle Again!

Our school year is off and running again! :) And as I sit here near the dining room window I can't help but feel a little bit of sadness as I watch the leaves drift across the front yard and fall softly onto the driveway. I would happily welcome another 2 months of pure sunshine and warm weather! But, I also had a great school day with the kids yesterday, drank a pumpkin latte, and wore socks and boots for the first time in months and it felt so cozy and nice. So, on with the seasons! ;)

Our school year will be slightly different than it was last year. Two years ago I put our names into the lottery for a charter school that offers a distance learning program. We heard great things about them and were thrilled to have our names drawn this year! The kids are technically enrolled as public school kids, but we school at home. The charter school provides a teacher we check in with, testing throughout the year, field trips, and a lot of wonderful resources (like speech therapy for our little stud muffin Jude). I'm liking everything about it so far, and a lot of our Classical Conversations co-op friends are also enrolled in this charter school, so it's fun be a part of it together! Jude, are you excited about that?

(Ok, I may have actually asked him how he'd feel if I gave him 100 Lego sets...)

Selah's CC class this year is all girls, so she's thrilled to see her best friends each week!

Ben gets to be in Classical Conversations with the big kids this year and he's in a class with his buddy David. He's pretty happy about that!

I talk to Jude and ask him a lot of questions when taking pictures because it will often draw a genuine smile from him. But sometimes he just stands there listening and gives me this face... it has become a favorite expression of mine! :)

Yesterday we got to be a part of our first function with the charter school. The kids had their school pictures taken, they got to ride on the Sternwheeler boat, take turns stearing the boat, and they all did the limbo. ;) We saw a handful of co-op friends there and got to have two friends ride along with us! The kids loved it.

We're back in the swing of school work and Jude's doing so great with writing and reading this year! It's amazing what some time will do. I'm so proud of him! He's putting down his pencil less, staying in his seat more, and has gotten so much quicker.

Selah listening to books through the Tales2Go app. while Jude does some extra math.

Ben does a great job working on his writing, math and reading, but his favorite spot to be while the big kids continue on with the school day is right here, surrounded by Legos. :)

Here's to a fun year with my favorite pre-K, 2nd & 3rd grader!