Back To School

Okay, it has taken me a few days to get this blogged . . . but we are officially back to school. We started Wednesday and (with the exception of an unexpected trip tot he doctor's office) things are going really well. It's funny b/c this summer has been so crazy and school snuck up on me so fast . . . it has been a source of pretty intense stress for the past few weeks. I REALLY didn't want to start school! I could have pushed it back, but that would have messed up our academic calendar. We do four 9 week quarters with a break in between each (a week of for fall break and spring break and 2 weeks off for Christmas). If I wanted to finish our semester before Christmas, now was the time to start. I managed to get things ready (still dreading it all along!) and we actually started. The reason it's so funny to me is because I'm really loving it! It's so nice to be reminded of the fact that I love teaching my kids! : ) It's also nice because school forces a routine. No more choas . . . it's time to get back into the swing of things . . . and we are all thriving!

I did manage to take real back to school pictures this year (if you remember, last year I went out to take pictures before we started school and then realized that I had left my camera at my mom's house. I ended up using the camera on my phone!). So here are my girls for the '08-'09 academic year.

The fabulous four!
-

Ali is starting Third Grade this year. She is really enjoying Geography and always loves Reading. She is dreading Math but is already encouraged by the progress she is seeing in herself with her Math Facts.
-

Emma is starting the First Grade (according to her age anyway . . . the Kindergarten cut-off for Rockwood is July 31st and her birthday is August 1st. So she should be in first grade, but all of her work is second grade stuff). She is also enjoying Geography (maps fascinate her). Math is a favorite with her, though she hates practicing those math facts. Language Arts probably ranks at the bottom of her list.
-

Aren't they cute?
-

Meg is four and is starting reading lessons this year. She is very eager to learn, and her lessons will begin on Monday.
-

Julie is 2 and is just plain cute. No real school for her yet, but she loves coloring. Yesterday she sat and colored for a good hour and a half . . . I was impressed! She and Meg are often heard saying "I want to do school!"
-

Don't you love the strangle hold?
-

Here's Ali, hard at work copying her memory verse for the week.
-

Emma working on her reading journal - The Boxcar Children . . . how fun!
-

I love this one of Meg! Like I said, she is very eager to learn how to read. She also knows that when you learn how to read you track with your finger. So, here she is "reading" Ali's Bible - no pictures . . . she's just tracking line after line!