of US! I was sitting here trying to think of what to write when I decided to check out my sisters blog. My sister, for those that don't know is also a homeschooler. Her blog is great so please check it out. Here's the link. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/mom45angels

Here is a typical day for us:

6:30 Rise and Shine for mom..this is my quiet alone time, unless you count the cats in my lap or next to me as soon as my feet hit the hard wood floor.

7:30 Boys up, dressed, beds made and down at the breakfast table

8:00 Our day starts. We do a morning rosary, prayer intentions, learn about our Saint of the Day, do our bible verse and go over our religion assignment for the day. This week we are discussing Sin. This has actually been a very interesting topic. We have discused Original Sin, Actual Sin (Mortal and Venial). This is somewhat of a review from when the boys did 1st Reconciliation but we are going more indepth and they have been very curious as to the different types of sin. In fact I heard Christian telling his brother Dustin that he was committing a sin if he snuck in the kitchen and took another Oatmeal Cream Pie after I had told him he had reached the Cream Pie limit for the day.

9:00 From here we begin studies. I have all their worksheets copied and ready to go. They have these wonderful planners (Thanks to my sister Tammy for showing me where to get them) All their lessons for the day are written in and they go to work. That is one good thing about homeschooling older boys, they are independent workers. This allows me to get some work done that I need to focus on and be there when they need me. (Hence the reason you could eat off my floors. I have time to keep them spotless and hey, my husband loves having a clean house..who knew?? haha) We have spelling, vocabulary, english, math, phonics, history and astronomy. History and Astronomy are by far the favorites because they are the most hands on. We are using the history book "How America Began" this year. It's wonderful. It starts off with the beginning of the American Revolution. We are really looking forward to going to Liendo Plantation in November for the Civil War Renactment as it will coincide the same week we begin the Civil War..How cool is that?? We are making a HUGE timeline that will cover one whole wall of our school room with specific dates and events in America's history. The boys are really enjoying that. With Astronomy, we are using "Apologia: Exploring Creation with Astronomy" This I must say is the most AWESOME book!! Our neighbors probably think we are weird because we are outside at 9pm with our star charts and telescope just having a blast. The boys are making a notebook along with this that they keep interesting facts in and illustrate. That has been a kick to see them do as well.

We are usually done with our schoolwork by around lunch time then the boys go off to read for 30 minutes and can then play for a while or watch a movie (*gasp* we don't have cable or local channels and we don't mind either!!*) On Monday's we have Baseball at 6pm, Boy Scouts at 7pm. Tuesday we have Forensics from 3:30 to 5:00, Baseball at 6pm, Cub Scouts at 7pm. Wednesday is Spanish from 2:30 to 3:30pm, CCD from 6 to 7, Baseball again on Thursday and Friday. (Yeah, whoever coined the term STAY at home mom was off their rocker)

Well that sums it up. We are busier than ever but couldn't be happier. It's great to walk in the schoolroom, fresh pot of coffee in hand (Thank you Phillipe, our friend from Bogota who ships us pure Columbian coffee every month) and hear their little brains grinding away. Then 5 minutes later you hear "MOM..Dustin's touching my pencil" or "MOM..Christian's watching me write and I can't concentrate". My little peaceful homeschool dreamworld was nice for a few minutes haha *

**On a side note. I needed to brag on homeschoolers really quick. We were at the first Pack Meeting for Cub Scouts tonight and all the kids were running wild. Well, our two boys were sitting there nicely and quietly talking with their cousin. One of the moms sitting next to me commented on how well the boys were behaving (I was shocked..I had to actually turn and make sure it was still my boys sitting next to me hehe j/k). She asked what school they went to and I proudly said they were homeschooled. She smiled and replied, "Well that explains their lovely behavior. You sure have done a great job." I was so proud of the boys. I know I've seen a change in their behavior since we started homeschooling but it was nice to have someone else recognize it as well.**