The Good, The Bad and The Crazy

 

This is a favorite spot to take pictures at the park. It’s a giant tire. Why it calls to me I don’t know, but it has become a spot to take as we grow shots of the kids.  I love my kids. I love homeschooling my kids.

Yesterday was our first day back to school. We took a week of vacation, did nothing… and started doing year-round homeschool. I had envisioned the start being more special, with the kids having cute shots for the first day back like last year, and the classroom very OCD laid out like last year…The day more or less went like this picture, the kids are sweaty, and their hair is a mess. So are the schoolroom(s).

Nothing has seemed to work perfectly as far as rooms go. Our original setup was in our “Breakfast Room”. See below.

Everything has a place, everything is clean…but the room wasn’t big enough, the table was too tall and it was a hazard to little drop-ins to class. I ordered a little table, scooted the big one to the corner and removed some chairs. The room got smaller, and it echoes too much. *sigh*

Then we started doing school in the dining room. The table was never clean for eating. Always covered in books. *double sigh*

*Note: Not covered with schoolwork, they were just coloring here.

 

FINALLY I put a reused old countertop along the back wall of the Breakfast Room, stuck 2 folding chairs underneath and put the little table to the side.

*Still echoes*

The plan? Do circle time in the dining room: History, Bible, Science, Geography, Character Study. Split up into the Breakfast Room for Grammar and Math and all of the other stuff. I feel like I am always bouncing around now. No room is “perfect” for what we do. I have had crazy ideas like moving the schoolroom into the big upstairs room, which is now a playroom. I have thought of moving our bedroom to the playroom (which is not a room, and has no wall or closet or door), and making our bedroom a classroom. (HELP!) I feel like I should have taken another step back and got my system down more before we started. Pause school? Go insane?

If anyone out there has less than perfect times, and would like to share thoughts, suggestions, or tell me to go outside and let the wolves raise my kids…I’d love you forever!

We’ll be right here waiting.