It All Began With Pancakes

Here are a few pics from our first day of school.  These tell a much better story than my foggy memory could put together.

We have kept the subjects light, had plenty of time outdoors, and a few field trips!  It all began with pancakes.  Really!  As I rushed around making sure everything was ready, my 10-year-old requested pancakes for breakfast, to make the first day of school really special.  I took the bait.  "Ok- but you have to make them."  And she did!

I'm trying to work on learning independence, time management, and new skills.  Cooking is high on the list.  The girls now know how to make brownies, scrambled eggs, five-minute rice, pancakes and grilled cheese sandwiches.  Also, microwave quesadillas and popcorn (of course!).


Doing chores without complaining is going to be another biggie this year.  Can you believe the girls asked to sweep out the carport?  Instead of saying, "No - I'm going to do this.  You go play," (I have done this many times in the past) I said, "OK!"  And they merrily swept the gravel and dirt away.  They did a great job!

I should add that the reason work ethic was added to my "must have" list for the year came as the result of reading someone's homeschool blog.  Unfortunately, I can't remember which one.  The point of the article was schoolwork won't teach them work ethic.  Work will.  They can very easily see that they've done a good job when the carport is clean and can take pride in that.  Wading through the pages of a mathbook can be murky, and seem unending.  Doing hard things bring something to be proud of in the end.  An important life lesson.

Enough of this stuff about work - here's some of the fun we've had.  Pool noodle swordfighting (gym class)

Gardening.  Look mom!  We made another carrot!  She loves eating them fresh out of the garden.


And that was our first day of school this year.  I've tried multiple times to take "first day of school" pics, but none of them has turned out well.  Ah well...that's life with homeschoolers!

Hulk Boy, Art Girl, and Shop Girl.  I tried.