January 5

Well, our first day of homeschooling is in the books. Daisy had preschool today, so we still had to leave the house to drop her off and pick her up. I'll admit; it is weird taking Daisy to preschool and not taking Caleb to school. If I had my way, I would be homeschooling Daisy, too. But she really likes preschool and she isn't on board with homeschooling yet. I am hopeful that she will come around, though, because it was a real hassle to interrupt what we were doing to load everyone into the van for drop-off and pickup. However, the benefit was that when Eli went down for his nap, I had two solid hours with just Caleb and Lily, which was fabulous.

It was a chaotic day, an exhausting day, a fun day, and a frustrating day. I think that once we find our groove, it is going to be phenomenal. I just hope we find our groove before the novelty wears off.

Today we really enjoyed beginning The Story of the World: Volume 2. I think we spent a solid hour learning about the Roman Empire and various activities? I'm excited to see how we build on it tomorrow, and I love that we can just roll with something if it interests Caleb.

The best part was that as Caleb worked on a map of the Roman Empire, Miss Lily decided she wanted to do it, too. She asked for her own sheet of paper and got to work coloring and even cutting! It was just adorable.

Working on his map. 

Working on hers.

This makes my heart happy. The only thing that could have made it better would be if that cup of coffee front and center had been hot. But it wasn't, and I never finished it.

 We also started Life of Fred (Caleb was not a fan, but I think it will win him over), did some DreamBox, did an art project that Caleb dreamed up himself, and then spent over an hour writing when the art project turned into a story that he was really excited to tell. And books. We read lots of books. 

It's funny how I have to turn off the "teacher" that is so deeply embedded in me, because homeschooling my one child is absolutely different from teaching a class of 32 students.  I feel disappointed because today was chaotic, we didn't cover every single subject, and I'm not entirely sure what I'll do tomorrow.

But I love the fact that our schedule can be more relaxed, that we can do two hours worth of science another day, and that I can tell from talking to Caleb that he really absorbed some of the stuff we covered today.

I think that as we find our groove, I will come up with a schedule of sorts, or at least a routine. I am definitely looking forward to feeling like I have a plan, instead of just like I'm flying by the seat of my pants.

I think Caleb really enjoyed today; I am curious how it will be when we hit something that is tough for him. Perseverance is not his strong suit, and building grit and determination is one of my major goals for him. But building and growing is hard work. Hopefully it will be easier for him with his family by his side, encouraging him every step of the way. 

Also growing and developing? Eli. I noticed today that he is sitting up on his knees more, pulling up more, and very interested in trying to stand.

Look how interested he is in the book Chris is reading!

You know he saw me, stopped what he was doing, and crawled over to say hi. Then he crawled back to Daddy and the book.

A huge benefit of having Caleb home is watching his relationship with Eli blossom. Today while the girls finished their naps, Caleb and Eli spent some quality time playing in Eli's room. We often call Caleb "Bubby" (a hybrid of "brother" and "Cay-bub", which is how every toddler starts out saying Caleb's name), and today Eli actually started saying "Bubba" as he crawled over to Caleb and planted slobbery baby kisses all over Caleb's face. It was a fabulous moment, and I am so thankful for it.

But for now, it's time for Daddy to read again.

So. Day 1. I am exhausted, but eager to do it again. I am praying that the Daisy factor doesn't mess up our rhythm; she has a strong personality, and if she doesn't like something, she can easily ruin it for everyone. I sure hope she buys in to what we're doing!