First Day of School

Since starting to home-educate, we've changed a lot of things about the rhythm of our lives.  One thing that remains, though, is my obsessive need to have first day of school pictures.  My mom always took them, and I even had my roommates take them in college so that I could mail them to her.  We use the first day of Classical Conversations for our "First Day of School" pictures.  The kids get to pick out a new outfit, which they love, and then once they're all schnazzed up, I make us spend seven extra minutes we don't have because we're running later than I'd hoped to get pictures. 

Riley has grown so much in a year.  He really looks like a "guy" now, and he really wants to be, too.  He's struggling with the balance of "big tough guy" and "decent human being" occasionally as he navigates his way to "big person", but his true nature is very compassionate and loving, and he's eager to please.  We're so proud of him and how hard he's working each day at whatever he does.  Smart as all get out, this kid is fantastic at remembering anything he wants to, including the entire Story of the World.  He turns 9 this year (Third Grade) and I can't believe he's half-way to technical adulthood.

Logan is so gentle and interesting.  He's got a vivid imagination, but we work really hard on helping him mitigate his feelings since he's easily wounded by anyone/anything.  He is snuggly and fun, and he's a fantastic reader.  It's so weird for me that he's a First Grader this year and he's never been to school.  Sometimes I worry I'm robbing him of that experience, but he's thrived under our home program and performs well above grade level in most of his subjects.  He's such a sweet boy and we adore him.

Oh my little Savannah Lynn.  I jokingly say that she's got a Napoleon Complex.  Tiny and petite, she will hurt you if you get in her way and fail to yield to her sweet cute side!  She's very much a tough cookie and wants to be the boss, and enjoys the control she has over the men in our family :) She's sassy and smart and wants to do everything her brothers do.  I'm tutoring her class this year and am enjoying already how eager and excited she is to learn.  I'm so excited to see the person she ends up becoming!

I can never get a good picture of all three of these kids!! However, one of the things I love most about homeschooling is that they really do love each other in a way that we were losing when Riley went away to school.  They love their friends and definitely whine if they don't get enough social exposure (and believe me, they get A TON), but they also play so well together and have fantastic imaginary worlds, stories, and games that are constantly happening around me.  It's above my pay grade to be in on all the stories, but they always sound fantastic!!

Here's to a great 2012-2013 year!!