Cornerstone Lutheran Academy - Week 1

I guess technically we started homeschool on July 18th, but with the move things got insane so I am going to say this was week one. Our first (almost) full week is in the books for the 2016-17 school year. And... it was awesome!

Things have been really, really hard since deciding to move. Aiden has struggled a lot over the past few weeks, and I finally really understood what I have heard about so many times before when parents talk about their child regressing during big life changes. He got to the point where he couldn't be away from us at all... not even to spend time with Grandma. So, I was definitely relieved when we started settling into more of a routine this week and he started seeming more like his normal self. Not only that, but I was blown away at how well he jumped into school this week! Clearly he has been craving some sense of structure during this chaos.

In this house, we have a school room as opposed to a school area in the kitchen like we did in the apartment. I think there are definitely both pros and cons to this fact. I miss how easy it was to include cooking in our day for one thing. This kitchen is not nearly as kid-friendly. However, I know we will figure that out as we go. We also have yet to get all of our stuff up on the walls. I have really been missing our magnet board in particular. So there are little things that will continue to help us settle in. I know that really, though, the last thing a good homeschool needs is a classroom. It just helps my particular personality feel more stable in what we are doing.

When I think about how I want to keep a good record of our homeschool here, I always have these visions of polished and uniform weekly wrap-ups... clearly the reality is much more "me" in the rambling nature of this post. I am most definitely out of practice when it comes to blogging, and my brain is still cluttered with remnants of the move. I didn't want to put off posting something about our first week, though.

We have pretty much unpacked and organized everything here at the new house. Now it is just a matter of cleaning at the old place, and continuing to settle into a routine here. It is strange how much different things feel, but I also feel overwhelmingly secure in the fact that this is exactly where we are supposed to be. I know once I have time to just live here I will be able to process more. Today was that final push to really finish setting things up before our little day care honey starts coming again tomorrow. So, tomorrow will start the process of figuring out what the combination of day care and home school look like for the year. I will just be excited to not be sorting through boxes for yet another day, ha!

So I guess I should actually post something about the week of school before I close this post! How about some of my beloved bullet points?

• I love Saxon math. Aiden does too, thankfully. I am once again glad we chose this curriculum. We are working through chapter 5 of the 1st grade book. We both love the manipulatives, I love the linear and "old math" structure of the lessons, and overall it just all makes sense to both of us. 
• We started back in on Apologia Astronomy. (I guess I should back up a bit and mention that pretty much all of the curriculum we bought last year is actually being used for this year. Last year I spent a lot of time thinking about the fact that he was only 5 and chose to forego more formal studies. This year, we are both ready for more structure so here we go!) I love the focus on narration, and he is excited about the content. He enjoyed sharing his vocabulary words with Grandma, and by far that is going to be the coolest part of schooling here... having Grandma to share in it with us!
• We spent a lot of time outside! Recess is good, and so is outdoor learning! My favorite of the outdoor classroom times was tea time, which we plan to do daily. I also loved when my nephew did some watercolor painting out at the picnic table with Aiden. We are just 2 blocks from a park, and having a sidewalk out front for scooting and biking during "play breaks" is the best! 
• We are finishing up the library summer reading program. I will miss it in some ways... those goals and check-ins are good motivation! However, I am also anxious to return to a more leisurely reading environment. I have been thinking about how I will log his reading... I do still want to keep a log, but I don't want to focus too much on it. I want him to be free to re-read books and also read his magazines and stuff. I know one thing... this little bookworm won't be reading any less, he will just read differently perhaps. 
• I am super excited to start Story of the World tomorrow. While history was never my thing in school, this curriculum makes me excited to dig in. I am hoping we both love it!

There is a lot more I could write (there is always more for me to ramble on about!!) but for now I need to get to bed and make sure I am up and ready for new adventures tomorrow! I look forward to catching up with some of my fav homeschool mamas on insta and blogs over the coming weeks! I am so thankful for online community when the school year gets going!