Beginning at the beginning was a difficult enough feat for me....and today, after I realized that I never sat down to type an update yesterday, it hit me that there is NO way I'll be able to keep track of our days by number!

How do they do that in public school? 

You know how they always celebrate the 100th day of school?  First of all, I have never understood WHY they celebrate that particular day.  Now I find myself wondering how on earth they kept track!  I had to study the calendar (at some length I might add) this morning to figure out what day of the week it was.  I can't imagine myself standing in front of the refrigerator at 4:00 in the morning, ticking off days....thinking for certain it's only Day 99 and I'll have one more day to get myself ready for the big event.....only to find out that it's really THE DAY!  It's Day 100 and I'm supposed to be ready with some huge celebration!

How did I get here?  in front of the refrigerator?  counting down to the 100th day of school?

Oh yeah.  I was realizing that there is no way I'll be able to keep track of our days by number.  It was a clever idea to get things started, I suppose.  But really, sooner or later...I WILL lose count.

So....instead of calling yesterday and today by their numbers, let's just say:

Yesterday and today were great days!  We're in the third week of our adventure and the three of us are still just LOVING it.  

I am SO proud of my boys!  What they couldn't seem to master in 6 years of public school, they have mastered in just 2 1/2 weeks at home.  My boys, who have never mastered their simple addition and subtraction facts, now have them embedded in their memory.

Part of me is very upset with the school system for not forcing them to build a firm math skills foundation before moving them along and then labeling them "slow learners".  Another part of me is very upset with myself for allowing it!  Still another part of me keeps asking, "WHY didn't I make the decision to teach them myself from the beginning?"  

For whatever reason God has appointed THIS as the time for our beginning, I am OH SO THANKFUL that it was now and not later!  It will do me no good (and will do the boys no good) to dwell on what they have missed.  We'll just keep pushing forward and take these little victories (well....these are actually BIG victories!) as they come....and we'll be thankful for every one of them!

We've settled into a very nice little routine.  The boys are becoming more and more 'self sufficient' with regard to their daily schedules.  They know Handwriting will follow Journal time, Logic will follow Handwriting, Math will follow Logic, and English....oh, the dreaded nouns and verbs....will follow Math.  They know Fridays are 'easy math' days (this they learned after only two weeks!), and we'll fill that time with some Latin and Greek roots instead.  They know Friday mornings are short seatwork mornings and we'll be working on a fun History or Science project for the rest of the day!  

*I* know the routine now!  I am getting better at making copies and finding extra supplemental work ahead of time so I'm not interrupting the flow of learning to make quick copies!  I know just how many times I can drill Scott on how to spell the word, "hieroglyphics" before we can take a break for a snack!  I know just how much coffee I can (or cannot) drink each morning to be able to 'hold it' until the boys are working on Mind Benders intently enough for me to slip out for a potty break.  Hahahaha!

I'm having fun.  The boys are having fun.  We're all learning!  So far, so good!

From the House of the Hooligans - Have an awesome evening! (Happy 'almost weekend'!)