First Day of School 2011

We decided to wait and start school at our house this past Thursday. Last year, I started on the day that all the schools around here start, which is always around the 2nd or 3rd Monday in August. That has always seemed so early to me, but it was my first year, so we were kind of flying by the seat of our pants. Since we started so early last year, and even with 1 full week of during Sweet Repeats (a kids consignment sale that I coordinate), most of Thanksgiving week off and 2 weeks off at Christmas, we were done with Caleb's curriculum by late February.
I ended up spending the last couple of months trying to piece together work for Caleb to do so that he wouldn't get out of the habit of working on school, which was a stressor for me.
This time around, I felt more confident and our curriculum dictated that it would best to start on a Thursday. So, I picked this past Thursday, the 1st, to start school, even though both kids were begging me for weeks beforehand.

This isn't the best quality photo, but it's the cutest. These two look so big this year. It's hard to believe...
When I was a kid, my mom always made it a point to take me to breakfast on my first day of school. Last year, we just went for donuts at the place down the street, but Caleb and Piper have developed a fascination for the International House of Pancakes (IHOP), so that's where we went. Both kids wanted those super bad for you, sugary Funny Face pancakes, so that's what they both ate. The pancakes are around twice the size of my kids' heads, and you better believe that they both ate every single bit of them. It's such a treat for them and me!


This year, like last, we are using My Father's World for Caleb's curriculum. I was pleasantly surprised at how easily Caleb took to working on school work again, as the beginning of last year's school year was a huge battle. He just sat down, started his work and went about his business, all with a smile on his face. Love that boy!

Piper's been begging to work on school with us as well. I tried to get some curriculum for her together, but she's not too keen on all of it yet. So basically, what she's been working on is coloring and gluing shapes to paper. I figure, she's having fun and learning a little, so it's totally fine. Caleb and I are sure to include Piper when we are reading or doing some sort of art project, but she's doing great working for a bit on her own.
All in all, I'm super excited about this school year and it seems that the kids are too!