After much anticipation, we kicked off our 2014-2015 homeschool year today!
Per our annual back to school traditions, I purchased all of the kids a new outfit for today along with school supplies. AND we had a special breakfast of strawberry cheesecake french toast…yum!! My husband was also able to take the day off of work to join in on the festivities, which was such a treat that we’re all thankful for!
I want to make school a thing to be celebrated…to really get excited about.
I made a grade sign for each of the kids to hold up in their first day of school pictures.
It’s almost unbelievable to me, but this year I will be teaching…
a preschooler,
a second grader,
and two fourth graders!
Here are a few more pictures of my 2014-2015 class…
We were even able to get a family picture…and that’s a truly special undertaking!
My trick for getting the best possible pictures of my crew of four is to promise a silly picture if they’ll do one really good smiling picture for me.
Today it worked!!!
Here are a few glimpses of our homeschool day…
And lest you be fooled by these photos and think that I have it all together and know what I’m doing with this homeschool gig, I’m going to be completely real with you.
We were truly excited about the start of our new school year.
Maybe a little too excited.
I had high hopes for a “prefect” day…maybe too high.
Before half the day was over, I and every one of my children except for Jenny was in tears.
I was beyond frustrated.
I felt stuck, trapped, and depressed at the thought of facing this every. single. day. for the foreseeable future.
But my wise husband helped us all get it together.
We were able to regroup and reset after lunch.
And we ended the day feeling like our first day was a success and looking forward to doing life and learning together.
We learned some lessons together, but most of all we learned that we’re committed to this homeschool journey.
I’m going to bed tonight happily tired and looking forward to doing this all over again tomorrow.
Barbie says
Have a blessed school year! Your kids are growing up!
Jodi says
Glad your day ended well. We started back this week also. Somedays are easy and other days I want to pull my hair out. Thankful for friends who continue to encourage me. Good luck this year.
Mary says
Monica — these are gorgeous pictures! It looks like you have a class clown, though 😉 I thought of my son when I saw your son in these pictures – too funny!
I hope you have a WONDERFUL year!
Sarah says
I can’t believe MC is taller than your shoulder. And our first babies are 4th graders! I feel so awful when we don’t see eye to eye and tears flow – but we’re all learning together. Best of Luck to all the Andrews this school year.