...And It Made Him Shine As Much As A Sleeping Sea Cow (Poesy's First Homework)

If you've been following along on Instagram, you may already know that Poesy started Kindergarten last week.  I'm not really sure how that is possible since she's still a tiny baby and definitely not 5 already, but people are telling me that this is reality.  Up until a few weeks ago, we weren't sure whether we were sending Poesy out to school or homeschooling her.  We've been on a waiting list for our ideal (for Poesy) school since the beginning of summer, and we got a call just a week before I ordered our homeschool books that there was an opening for her.  Poesy is a social butterfly, so we were pretty sure she'd thrive in a classroom full of peers.  Obviously it was hard for this homeschool mama to let go and not be a helicopter parent over my last precious baby, but hey- sometimes good things hurt, right?  I'm happy to report that she is IN LOVE with school and asks every evening if she can please go to school in the morning.  Yay for loving to learn!

Poesy had her first homework assignment this week, which was telling a story about an illustration and a parent writes it all down.  The theme of Poe's stories are piña coladas, quitting gymnastics, and people having a party because there was a car crash but no one died (I have no idea about this one). They were so great, I had to share:


In her words:  "Okay, so they had a car crash and nobody died, so they're having a party.  And they've had a happy day, and the cake is carrot cake."


"At first they went home but weren't having a good day at home, so they went to the beach.  They had a lot of fun at the beach relaxing and having piña coladas, then they went back to the hotel, then they went to the beach again, and then they went back to the pool.  They had a great time."


And my personal favorite... "A baker is baking!  At first he was at gymnastics but didn't like it much, so he spent a lot of money and became a baker and made piña coladas.  And he was smiling as bright as the sun, and it made him shine as much as a sleeping sea cow."


There are a few more, but these are my favorites.  How is this kid so smart AND cute AND funny? She's a little charmer, that one.

Happy first full week of Kindergarten, Poesy.  You really just get better and better.
Love, mama

Why We Home School

I've gotten a lot of questions and comments lately when I've mentioned home schooling in passing, so I thought I'd do a little post about it.  For those of you who may be new-ish to the blog, or maybe just don't log every, single thing I ever tell you (what do you mean I'm not the most important person in your life?), here's a little back story:

Hope was always a VERY shy little girl.  When she was a little one we had to force her to talk to people when they spoke to her.  If we went to the park she wouldn't play with the other little kids, instead she just quietly followed them from a distance, never speaking a word.  Getting her to socialize at all was very tough and a little worrisome.  Johnny and I are a pretty quiet, shy couple, so we were wondering if we had damaged her from the get-go.  Public school was an obvious choice for us.  We were sure it would force her to interact with other kids, talk to teachers (grown-ups!), and be around other personalities for a change.

Hope attended two years of public school.  The first year (Kindergarten) was a good stretch for her.  She made some friends, started opening up, and even loved (and spoke to) her teacher.  It made us very happy to know that even though we were without her for 7 hours a day, she was getting what she needed elsewhere.  A couple of questionable incidents occurred (I'll save those stories for another day), but we just chalked it up to public school.

The second year was a little different.  Over the summer Hope had pretty much come out of her shell.  We had lots of play dates and summertime fun with other kids.  She was excited to get back to school.  The initial separation was difficult at first, but we both adjusted pretty quickly.  (I have to say, having all day free to work was amazing!  I got so much done.)  As the school year progressed, Hope's demeanor began to change.  The kids seemed to really be getting to her.  Her self-esteem seemed to diminish and she was either angry or sad most of the time.  She was still excelling academically, but she disliked school in general and it was changing her.  Where was this vibrant, interesting little girl we had known?  It broke our hearts.

We took the entire summer after First Grade to evaluate our/her situation.  Making such a major decision was so tough.  I had questions like:  What will happen to her social skills?  Will I be able to make the time for my business and school ?  Am I making a huge mistake?  It was scary.  The whole first year of home schooling was scary terrifying.  We failed a lot.  We learned a lot.  We had to take a huge break when Poesy was born.  It was so much to have business, baby, and home school.  I am still figuring things out, honestly.

Having Hope at home for schooling has been amazing.  She is more comfortable, confident, and out-going than ever.  She talks to people like it was never an issue.  She has more friends than ever before.  We all know those "weird home school kids" and I was scared to death of making her one of those.  Hope is a little different, but that is what makes her so great.  She wears what she wants without worry of ridicule, she loves to read and she isn't ashamed, she dances all crazy-like in public and doesn't care a lick about others watching.  She lives in this confident, happy bubble that I'm glad to be a little part of.  :)  xoxo Katie

**I realize that home school is a touchy subject for a lot of people.  I would NEVER suggest that home school is better than public school, or that home school is something that every parent should do.  Every child is different, and this is what was and is right for my child.  We are part of church groups, a home school group, and have friends with children, so she gets tons of time each week with other kids.  We use a combination of the Sonlight core curriculum and some hodge-podge extras for more Math, Reading, Writing, and (extra, extra!) Science experiments.

**We'll be back soon with 10 Things I Love About Home School!