First Day of School?

If my children were going to public school, they would have started today. Megan would start 3rd grade and Courtney would be off to kindergarten.

The first day celebrations are something that I miss because we have chosen to home educate our children.

Going back to school is always so exciting.  The kids are seeing each other again after a long summer, meeting new kids, meeting your teachers, getting into new routines, new classrooms, new school supplies, forms to fill out, school physicals, new shoes and clothes, etc.

At the first day at Aldrich, they always have a band playing and everybody meets on the blacktop to walk in class by class. The band always played, "As the saints go marching in" and it was always a very happy occasion. Every parent was busy taking pictures and wishing their kids a good first day of school.  The dads would be videotaping while the moms stood by and cried. (that was us :)

Would I trade our homeschool experience for these "fun" days?? No way!!!  As much as I miss the first day festivities, I wouldn't trade having my children home for the world! (Even though it is hard at times) Matt and I believe home is the best place for our children.  We can teach them the things that we want them to learn and we can raise them with our morals and values.  I am in control of their education.  I can design the curriculum to fit their needs and can pursue their interests.  I love the flexibility with home education and I love it that they have time to be a kid and not just get one twenty minute recess a day and only twenty minutes to eat their lunch out of an eight hour schoolday. I love the bonds that my children are building and I love it that I get to know each of my kids deeper and deeper each day. I am glad I am the one that gets to deal with 8 year old attitude and 6 year old silliness.  I love learning with my children and seeing them get excited about what they are learning. (like Courtney's "easy peasy Math" right now and Megan's little game about learning the different kids of sentences.)

So with this being said, sleep, homeschoolers, sleep!!!

BTW- Life would be so different if two of my kids were at school. It would only be me and Christian here during the day! Wow! I've never thought of that before.