Back to school already?

It's the first day of school for Millard kids. That means Megan should be going , but she's not.

We got our official paperwork back from the state yesterday that says we are homeschooling. We're in for the year. I also have all her books now, so we could start if we wanted.

I have mixed feelings about today. I think of all the excitement that is going on at Aldrich this morning. The parents, the band, the new backpacks, new classes, hugs from missing each other all summer, the festive atmosphere, pictures of everybody.

But it's not happening today. Megan is staying home and will probably sleep through it all.

Yesterday I was told she was "lucky" that she didn't have to go to school. Is that how I should look at this all? Is she really lucky or is this for her advantage? Is she missing anything by not going to school?

I sometimes wonder what her 2nd grade would be like at school. Since she had the same classroom and teacher for kindgergarten and 1st grade, she would've had a new class, a new teacher, and a new classroom. Who would've her teacher been? Who would've been in her class? What would she have learned from this new teacher? Who would be her new friends?

But I also have to look at what we're doing at home. I'm not second-guessing our decision because I think it is the best one. I don't regret not putting her in school, but if she was in school, I would be down to two kids. You know how much easier it is when you take just one kid out of the mix?? I am kind of tired of breaking up fights and having the girls disrespect each other. I have to deal with this for the next year?? But on the other side, I can continue to discpline them and help them to get along. I am certainly going to need a new game plan when school starts. (Actually I think it will help with Courtney going to preschool and getting some one-on-one time with Megan. I sometimes think they get too much of each other).

I also need to look at this as Matt and I have a huge job ahead of us. We get to educate our child! We can love her all day long and continue to teach her (we're come far on "yes, please" and "no thank you" this summer!). This is such a huge task, but I am excited for her. I want to jump in to these books we have, but half the point of pulling her out was so that she didn't have to go to school so much. Courtney starts preschool on September 7th, so I think we will start then. Why not? I have 160 math lessons, so I figure we need 160 "days" of school. I should really sit down with a calendar and figure our year out- roughly anyway. I am also doing 4 day lesson plans, so we'll see how this all comes together.

It will be a new and exciting year here. A year of transition. I really hope homeschooling works out. 6 months ago, I was set very much against homeschooling. Now, I have come full circle and am excited to get started! I just know that this is something God wants us to do and I feel very confident in our decision. I may need lots of prayer along the way, but I know homeschooling will be a huge blessing in the end!