Happy December!

Man time really is flying by!It seems like we were just having Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. We have been crazy busy in our house this year and as you may know, we have decided to start homeschooling. (you can read about our decision here.)

As a first time homeschooling family, so many things plague my mind... EVERY DAY! I constantly ask myself "Are they learning?", "Am I teaching them the right things?" "Can I really do this?". Every day I ask myself these questions at least once, and I am being very modest!

The truth is there really is no "one way" to home school, and honestly it will probably take me a few years to really get that burned into my head. I know there are many ways to educate my kids, but when you are trying something so new, so important... you are bound to freak out every once in a while!

SO...

For all my homeschooling readers or those possibly taking the homeschooling route, I want to share with you our 1st year progress, what I thought it was going to be and how it really is!

Our Progress-

So Thai has some learning disabilities which we knew were going to be hard for her to over come. The great thing is, with her getting more one on one time with reading & math and not feeling like she has to "keep up" with other students, she has thrived tremendously! During our reading time, she is comprehending more, engaging in the story and even remembering the context! Thanks to our favorite online curriculum (Moby Max) she is blending words much more easily as well as reading them! Over all, Thai has blossomed into a more confident student!

Baltimore has only been in traditional school for one year (prek) so his transition was a lot easier than his sisters'. Since he was younger, Baltimore would pick things up a lot faster than kids his age. So prek was easy peasy for him! Kindergarten has been the same way. He picks things up easily so I can let him have a little less guided work time.

What I Thought-

I thought we would need to be on a strict schedule in order for them to understand the difference between school and home. I also thought that they were going to need tests, and a ton of curriculum that requires a lot of writing, reading and problem solving.

How It Really Is-

We have a schedule but we start at different times every day. Hey sometimes I have something that needs to be done in the morning or I have a sick kid to attend to. And honestly, sometimes they are so exhausted from the day before they sleep in an extra hour. Once the get up, eat and get situated... it's time for school! We have a layout of subjects, some with times and some only lessons. Once again thanks to Moby Max they are learning at their own pace and not missing anything! We use all forms of learning tools, computers, tablets, printable, games, books and even videos. There really is no wrong way as long as they area learning.

So as we head into our second part of our first year, I'm going to do my best to stay positive and reassure myself that as long as they are learning.... it will be ok!

What does your homeschool routine look like? Have a routine? Suggestions? Let me know in the comments below :)