First Day of School!!

Alan, Sarah and Kaitlyn started their first day of school at Georgia Cyber Academy on Monday, August 13th.   I turned the playroom into a school room for them.  This year I wanted to be different from last year. I wanted my older kids to be happier and feel like they were a part of something instead of just being off in their rooms "doing school" on the computer.  So, I got some "desks" for less than $10 at Walmart, and set up our classroom. I have a giant old bulletin board that I got free from a friend in our ward, and a big old chalk board from Tom's work. All of the curriculum materials come free from the school.  

There was a time when I scoffed at the idea of desks in a homeschool setting, and that's why for the past 2 years I hadn't done it. But, since my children came from a traditional school setting,  they had a REALLY hard time adjusting to such an informal school experience.  Alan cried every day for months the first 6 months he was home.  They wanted something that tied them to the same experience their friends were having so they wouldn't so isolated and lonely. So, that's why did the desks. They were a surprise for them on the first day as well as the entire classroom, and they were MUCH happier this year with this change.

 

 I try to coordinate the lessons from the 3 grades the best I can, but there are many times when they're all working on something different.

The kids were very happy to see their new "school room" and it made it a much better experience this year.