Well, here we go with our first full year of homeschooling! I started planning the first week a couple of nights ago and almost have everything figured out. We're starting next Monday because both the kids and I need to have structure again in our lives! Our summer has been very full and busy but I live off of a schedule and the kids are starting to be very grumpy so this will be a good thing:) My job this week has been to get our classroom cleaned up from last semester (it took us longer to get done than I anticipated so I kind of just left it and "shut the door" so to speak on everything in June!), get the first week planned and to finish up painting our kitchen table and chairs. I just have some touch up work to do on those and then the polyurethane coating and we're good to go. I'll have to remember to post some before and after pictures when it's all done:)

A few friends that I met last semester at the Swim & Gym class that the twins took invited me to start up a co-op with them for this fall. We had our second planning meeting tonight and I'm starting to look forward to getting that started. It will be the first three Friday mornings of the month with the third Friday being a field trip. The first two Fridays will consist of a conflict resolution "Bible Study" time, a science class, an art class, and a PE class. Each of the moms will be taking turns with the teaching and hosting. The main purpose of the co-op is for fellowship for the kids (& the moms, of course!) Kaitlyn, especially, will like this as she will also be with this same group of kids on Tuesdays again for Swim & Gym and she made some friends there last year. She misses the socialization at school and this should help with that. There are 10 moms and 18 kids not counting one baby - yikes!!

My biggest challenge this year will be....ETHAN! I'm going to start off doing a preschool curriculum with him and if he's ready we'll start the kindergarten curriculum in January. We'll see - some days he comes up with random new things that he learned from somewhere (I know I didn't teach it to him!) and some days he has no interest at all in those same things.

Here we go!!!