I wanted to do 31 days of Homeschooling for 31 days in October, and then I realized that about 99.9999% of you would most definitely stop reading. Blue stripe omissions + lots of pics of kids in giant t-shirts since I no longer dress my family + massive posts on the great world of homeschooling that doesn’t really apply to anyone else but me = yeah, no.
So I thought I’d stick to what I know, and give you some fun little updates now and then instead, sprinkled in with our usual. Many of you amazing friends requested updates. Here’s where we are:
Con: I haven’t worn makeup in four days or waxed my brows in quite a while. Thereby rendering me similar to a mix between Willem Dafoe and Christopher Walken. My apologies to anyone who comes to my door. If I even answer said door as opposed to my every day escapism/ninja approach, because I’m not exactly fully dressed, and I’m pretty sure floppy t-shirts and pajama pants sans appropriate undergarments for the lady parts don’t count as ‘fully’. Not to mention opening the door is how you die. (I have hermit issues.) I was bemoaning my situation to Jamin the other day, who says I’ve always done this… it’s just that now I have an official title to go with it: “Home Education.” Yay. I can now add to the stereotypes with my voluntary appearance ::Slowly claps hands::
Pro: I haven’t had to put on makeup. And this time I have a real excuse. So there’s that.
Con: We’re doing second grade math. I had no idea that cardinal numbers are actually called cardinal numbers. And I totally thought that the Arctic ocean was by Antartica. Yeah. I just wrote that little gem of a confession. I mean, why isn’t it? Who was in charge of that, anyway? Stupid globe-namer-viking people. I’m sure I’ll find out if I just stay with our curriculum. I’m also pretty sure the public school system failed me as a child because I don’t remember any geography and it’s easier to point fingers and blame others, so I’m going with it.
Pro: They have lesson plans for that.
Con: My children now hold exclusive rights to happy meal runs + ten extra minutes on the ipad + ten extra minutes for bedtime + Krispy Creme boxes in the form of prettily designed certificates in grand symbolism of all their hard work. We will pry them from their cold dead fingers and they are oh so proud.
Pro: At least they’re doing their work… ???
Whatever works. Even if they asked me to be an angry pig for class.
No judging.
Week two. We’re… adjusting. I’m They’re learning a lot. And we’re having fun.
Really.
Making this switch to homeschooling from our regular all out schedule, feels a lot like having a baby, but (on a much smaller scale). Life kinda stops, in a way. We stay at home a lot, but make time for the things that truly matter, like gymnastics and fun dinner outings with friends. Oh, and I’m in love. So much so, that right now, their education is consuming me, and I’m having trouble switching gears from school, to work midday. Who am I? I don’t even know anymore, and I had absolutely no idea that this would happen.
I’m passionate about it in ways that I never thought I could be. And honestly? It’s made me a more productive person. I told Jamin the other day that I feel like I’m on my A-game. “I was truly meant to do this,” I proclaimed (before the whole Arctic Ocean blip-on-the-radar moment we’ll now pretend never happened but is officially documented for all the internets forever and ever amen). High fives, rap songs about incredible moms and awkward slow-mo chest bumps all around. I’ll take my teacher appreciation gift (in the form of a new Big Chill fridge from the principal) early, please.
Then, as all things go in the world of plummeting in the gigantic nose dives of life, Jamin stayed home one morning. Sitting in the next room, working. He had a front row seat for one of those days. It was actually the first one of ‘those’ days. The kind where the kids complain, and I threaten to move their ‘clothespin’, and we have to work our way through it. Suddenly, I’m doubting everything and want to wave a wooden spoon in the air for dramatical scary effects. We all hate our lives, my eyeballs may just pop out and roll across the floor, faces will melt off if the math is completed, and we will die.
So yeah. Switching to homeschooling is a lot like having a baby, on a (much!) smaller scale… A super beautiful, gloriously idealized wonderful baby… with a tiny touch of colic + reflux. (I can say this because I had one with full blown nightmare colic + reflux for nine whole months… (see Emerson) I was a crazy delirious person… sending emails to people that weren’t supposed to go to them, about them. Not one of my finer moments with a short fuse, no sleep and a constantly screaming baby. When are they going to invent mannequins who safely sway babies and smell and sound like mom? Duh, baby product people. Good thing said email recipient of my wrath was Jamin’s best friend. We all recovered. The end.) In the meantime, I think a lot of this is me, learning to let go. Deep down in my rule-abiding, standards-of-living, freakaworkaholic self.
One day at a time, I’m readjusting my expectations, and taking it all in stride.
Deep. Breaths.
Into a paper bag.
This just may be the best thing that ever happened to any of us.
They say that the first year of homeschooling is the hardest. It’s hard, but we love it. Now if only I can fine tune it and figure out this whole working thing…
Survive all the things!
Oh. They also say, that if you can potty train a child, you can homeschool a child. Jury’s out on the four year old. He (still) craps his pants.
Heather says
I love your homeschool classroom space!
Alexis says
Love. This.
Erin Billups says
On my birthday I had let our dog out while still in my large tshirt and knome pants (in June) sans appropriate undergarments when he took off after a very attractive lady runner who was then subjected to the vision of me chasing him down. Also it is hard to do ninja avoidance of doorbell ringers when your two year old is visible through the glass inset waving energetically. Lastly the wooden spoon from my childhood nightmares is waiting on top of our fridge for its future appearance for my own children’s benefit.
You truly make my day, every day. đ
ashley @ the handmade home says
HAHA ERIN! Train your children! I have taught mine to scatter to the back like little ninjas. ;} JK. That vision of you in knome pants was priceless. I have no idea what those are. Are they similar to MC Hammer pants?
marsha sefcik says
Love your updates on your home schooling journey. Keep ’em coming.
Kelly McDonald says
Great post! I just had to Google Arctic Ocean and Cardinal numbers. If we didn’t have google, I wouldn’t be able to help my kids with their homework. It’s amazing how much you forget.
ashley @ the handmade home says
SO GLAD I’m NOT ALONE!
April says
Glad it’s working out for you and your family. I could see where it would be a lot like just having a baby (since I just had one) where you can’t/don’t leave your house for days and just have stuff ordered and shipped to you. I am sure you all will get in a groove and once you start doing the fun field trip type home-school stuff during the day while everyone else is sitting in a classroom, I’m sure you will really love it.
Lindsay Boseman says
Love reading about your home-school adventure. I’m very curious about the whole thing and it’s awesome to get your candid take on it. Two quick questions… 1. What do you do with your youngest while you’re homeschooling the older two? 2. What do you do with the kids during your “working hours”… sounds like you work in the afternoon?!
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hey Lindsay! đ Malone goes to preschool right now t-th. on Mondays, I plan to start letting him do his own version, and working with us. (Jamin was home this Monday) and on Fridays, we plan to do field trips but I call them Fun Fridays. This month, they are freaky Fridays since its October and they’re obsessed with Halloween. This Friday, for instance, we’re learning about Egyptian burial rituals and mummies since its “spooky” and were also in the middle of Egypt with our history lesson. Malone will want to participate in those as well đ
In the afternoons I do work. We bought a trampoline, so we have a no TV no computer time rule unless its educational and in small snippets. They also have their hideaway in the yard so I send them outside a lot. I view it like a parking meter and take small breaks to put my parental “quarters” in, but they mostly entertain themselves, which I think is good for them to learn, and we’re integrating them into the work process as well. Monday afternoon the boys did some math & cut with dad, and Emerson measured and did a little sewing with mom. Life skills & math= playroom redo. đ at night, we try to meet up with friends and do extracurricular stuff. It’s definitely a play by our ear kinda thing, it definitely needs some fine tuning and we by no means have it figured out. but so far it’s working. I hope that helps!
Charron says
Well I don’t care how many of “those” days you have, you are my hero! I really want to homeschool my kiddo. It just kills me that 3 months of the year (tax season) I am working 40-60 hours a week and wouldn’t know how that would affect the kiddo. She is responsible, I just worry that she would have to be left alone during that time…. oye… and… and… and….. NO MORE AND!!! Feel like a bad movie talking myself in and out of it…
Please keep us up to date, and if you figure out the home school/work balance… even the small wins please share!
Charron says
Opps… not left alone… I work from home… she would just have more to do on her own…
lesli says
You could schedule her summer break around those 3 months!
Rebecca says
You are doing great! I was told by a wise neighbor, “you had tough days at public school, you will have tough days at homeschool, it is just life.” Brillant words! Nothing is perfect, you just need to find what is the closest to perfect for your family. It sounds like you are being very creative and having fun!
About the Artic Ocean, this too had me puzzled. Think Article circle, that is up north. So is the Artic ocean. Antarctica, is the anti…the opposite of the Artic. It is south and the ocean nearest it is called the Southern Ocean. You will be AMAZED at what you will learn teaching your kids. It is one of the reasons I love doing it. And yes, we all forgot so much of our educations, didn’t we?! I strive each day to make it stick with my kids. But in reality, they won’t remember it all either, but you are giving them the tools to find the info again when they need it. Think of it as exercises for the brain, they need to learn, even if they don’t retain it all forever, to have healthy brains.
Love you blog, your creativity, and your humor!
PS my iPad is not allowing me to scroll up to proof my comment, so no judging this momma’s grammar and spelling, before her coffee kicked in!
ashley @ the handmade home says
I had to check my spelling for Arctic when writing this blog. Heck, I didn’t even know where it was last week, so ya know. No judging here. Ever.
Liz says
Okay, so this has nothing to do with your post, but could you tell me where you got your dining table? It is lovely!
And serious kudos to you for tackling something so important that you were afraid to do. That in itself is inspiring to me! Thank you!
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hey liz! This was an old dining room table we purchased about eleven years ago and recently painted. More on that, here (with our homeschool room makeover) but I was planning on sharing more soon on a how-to. I hope that helps!
Naomi J says
*ahem* (puts teacher cap on) The Arctic Ocean is simply named after the Arctic, which is in the north. Arctic literally means “very cold,” and so was probably named such because of those vikings you mentioned earlier, who happened to live in the northern hemisphere. Antarctic literally means “the cold place that is opposite to the original (northern) cold place” as the prefix “ant” means “opposite”. So the Arctic in the north, and the Antarctic in the south, and when you remember that, then the Arctic Ocean being in the north with the Arctic makes much more sense than the Arctic ocean being in the south with the Antarctic. (takes off teacher hat)
Or something. That is how it was explained to me at least by a much better teacher than I. It apparently one of the few things about elementary school that stuck.
I love reading about your homeschool adventures. Would you think I were weird if I was totally excited for 31 days of homeschool posts? And then a little disappointed when you said you weren’t going to? Oh well. This is fun too!
Jane B. says
I’ve been homeschooling my 4 kids for 5 years now. The first year is hardest but TOTALLY worth it. It took me a whole year to learn to relax and have fun with it. When questions pop up (like the whole Arctic / Antarctic thing) go ahead and deviate from the schedule and pull out the computer and look up the answer together. This is what leads to enjoying learning for life. So when you have a tough day call a pajama reading day and curl up on the couch with hot chocolate or tea and read to the kids out loud and enjoy each other while you learn.
ashley @ the handmade home says
YES! The computer is our best friend right now. ;} We looked up tornadoes yesterday because we’re working on a weather unit. I just need to master safe search. Boobies are eminent. >:(
Aubrey says
Hi Ashley! I just adore your blog! I look forward to reading it each morning and you have become my motivation to do better and gain simplicity. It is my mission to have less and be happier and more focused. I have been struggling with the amount of homework that comes home for my three kids… and the added pressure to learn more, faster. Expectations are extremely high at our school and my kids try their best, but their best doesn’t seem to be enough and I hate that they feel defeated… My daughter (third grade) is already stressed about not passing her end of the year tests. That breaks my heart. She is a child who should be learning and having fun. Not crying because she knows a test is coming in April. Back to my question. Did you purchase two sets of curriculum? Yikes! How did you justify (for lack of better word) that huge expense? Also, what does your four year old do while you homeschool? Personally, I would LOVE for you to post more about this! I love the honesty. We need that.
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hey Aubrey! I’m so sorry about that stress for your children. What happened to childhood? It breaks my heart. One of the main reasons we have made this choice.
Right now, Malone is being traded around between Jamin and me (he has a flexible job when it needs to be flexible and we go through major changes and that has always been a major pro) until I am settled with the other two, but we plan to integrate him on Mondays (he goes to preschool T-TH) and we have fun fridays (field trips, a little math + spelling, documentaries, real life applications) that he can easily participate in. It’s our “enrichment” day. I wrote a little more about that, above, in a comment ;} (see: mummies this friday = our session on egypt=freaky friday for october) I try to make fridays (and all the little things we do) super fun so they’re learning and don’t even realize it. ;} So Malone will be participating more and more with us.
We did purchase two sets of curriculum. Again, your school may be similar to ours, but we were downshifting from magnet, which is advanced. Right now the kids are getting double the science, double the history, double the math, double the everything, and I like it that way, right now. I’m not drilling it into them or anything, but this is what they were already accustomed to, so right now, it works. They enjoy it. The beauty of Sonlight, is that you can recalibrate it to work with each child, (one curriculum can work with both kids if you supplement math, etc. on their level) and I’m still getting a grip on that, but for right now, I preferred two, since we don’t know what the future holds and honestly, it just made me feel better. Ask me again in a year, but we started out with what we were comfortable with. Emerson (kindergarten) can already break down a sentence and tell you what a noun is. And she had fun learning how to do it. Can she read yet? No. But she already has this great foundation, and is doing it with her brother. I love that. So I think two curriculums has its benefits. We are still finished by about 11 every day. We give and take a little out of both, and it’s just part of it, being flexible.
As far as justifying the expense? I’ve never even thought about justifying it. We chose something that made me feel like I could do this, as their teacher and as their mom. Something they would feel inspired by, as well. Two things were important to me: a strong base (history – it is a part of everything we do, and sonlight stresses that) and a love for reading. It’s something I’m extremely passionate about and something we were lacking a love of in their last school situation. So this is why we went with this. We just finished a chapter in Aiden’s reader, and he asked me to keep going. (MAJOR) I needed hand holding right now. It’s what’s best for our children and family unit right now, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get us there. ;}
Hope this wasn’t too long, and I hope it helps a little! ;}
lesli says
Aubrey, I saw this post and I was a bit taken aback too when I saw the cost for Sonlight alone…especially if you have more than 1 child. Even though they can share some parts of it depending on their age. Eek. That is a huge expense for families that may be on a single parent income, or just lower income. So I feel ya on the cost. I would love to have a curriculum like that and maybe someday will but I just plain can’t AFFORD it! đ Try Five in a Row, literature based, get books at the library, $35 manual. Cheap.
Melissa says
Oh, me oh my. So, if it makes you feel any better, the schizophrenic thing happens even when you’re a seasoned vet of a teacher. Five years into the classroom, and I’d still be like “I RULE THE WORLD!! I HAVE THE BEST KIDS!” on Tuesday and on Wednesday they’d totally revolt and refuse to learn anything and pound each other and I’d want to die and then the principal would walk in and I’d be all “seriously, remember how my test scores are the highest in the district? Please let me keep my job!” It happens. To EVERYONE. Second to parenting, I’m convinced that teaching is the hardest job on the planet. At least when you teach 8th graders, you only have to make it through one little (sometimes really, really really long) hour and then you get to start over with a different group. Homeschool, some days are just like that. đ The best of times and the worst of times, if it’s a day ending in “Y.” Keep up the good work!!
Lisa Brown says
I don’t usually comment, but I thought I would tell a story about my sister. She lives in northern Michigan,and where they lived the public schools were awful. She has 5 boys,now ages 19-37. The youngest did go to public school as they moved to a decent school district and is in college on a full scholarship, but she homeschooled the other 4. All are well educated,successful young men with good jobs. One has his masters in graphic design from Savannah College of Art, one is fulltime airforce with 5 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, another has a contractors business, and the last is running a logging business up there in North Michigan. She educated them all, and 2 of them are self taught musicians, violin and guitar, as well. If she could do it with a below poverty level income coming in,then you certainly will be raising happy, well educated kids,too.
Brie says
Ashley!!!!! YOU are ssso FREAKIN hilarious!!!!! Thanks for the laughs today. I’m so glad I found you a couple years ago, I look forward to checking in here daily
Keep up the great work
hugs,
-Brie
ashley @ the handmade home says
Thank you so much Brie. Hugs to you! ;}
Britt says
Ok. I need to meet and know you. You are just too fun and I adore your humor. You’ve embraced all things good and bad with this new adventure and it’s simply awesome and inspiring. I need you for a role model! đ It’s no surprise you’re on your A game. Taking a risk (although looking back in a few short years may seem like no risk at all) diving in new and learning while you go, sounds like the writer I’ve been following for sometime. I appreciate the update and congrats on a more freeing lifestyle! đ
ashley @ the handmade home says
Awe thank you Britt. That doesn’t mean there haven’t been tears already – but I like looking like a man in the middle of the day sans undergarments. It’s awesome. ;} Thank you for dropping by + for the sweet comments. It truly means the world.
Mandy says
It must be an Emerson thing. My son, Emerson has made me question how the human race survives becausei truly can’t see myself having multiple children after 11 months of colic and reflux. For sure, him being handsome saved his life in multiple occasions.
BJ says
It’s so nice to see your enthusiasm! I have to say, though, that because every year is different, I can’t honestly say one particular year is harder than any other one. They all present challenges. Because I have six children, every couple of years, I’m adding another one to be taught to the mix, so there’s always adjustments. There’s unexpected surgeries (for the teacher!), and flu’s that hang around for two or three weeks. And then there’s moments when it all seems to be running so smoothly. Most attitudes are in check, kids are diligent, and Mom’s not pulling sobbing when the school bus passes her house every morning. It’s a very challenging lifestyle, but it has so many benefits, that even on the hardest of days, you know you could never quit now. God bless!
Meg says
Loved this post! Thank you for your honesty!
Susan says
I enjoyed this post because it made me nostalgic. We made the switch to homeschooling for my two youngest children when they were a little older (5th and 7th grade) by their choice and homeschooled through high school. Both had good test scores and were accepted into every university they applied to – with scholarship offers. So, in spite of many days where I wondered what were doing, days when my two boys pointed their fingers at the other one and declared “he should go back to PUBLIC school, days where I never managed to get dressed, I wouldn’t change a thing. Well, maybe one or two things – I would have homeschooled my oldest when he asked, and I would have started younger for the others. It’s a great experience!
Crystal says
I’m in my first year of homeschooling AND have my 3rd baby on the way next month. Please pray. For my sanity and my children’s survival. We are also using Sonlight and love it. Although, I don’t do every little thing (I never got around to getting a copy of the nursery rhymes book), and we only do 4 days a week. For kindergarten this seems to be working fine. I started at the beginning of the summer so we can take a break when the baby comes. We’re settled in our routine, even the 2 year old knows that we start with the Bible etc. Usually when we have one of “those” days, it’s because I’m worried that we’re not doing enough and pushing too hard. I find the biggest challenge is simply not getting a break from kids. I love them, but sometimes they drive me crazy! So thank you for being real and sharing the ups and downs.
Nickie Moseley says
LOVE your description of life soooooooo much – eyeballs popping out – melting of the face – omgosh that is sooooo funny and SO MY FAMILY too!!!! I have a 4th and 6th grader and we are talking homeschool but havne ttook the plunge due to missing out on some activities that only can be done in public school…..thanks for taking the time to write you post and keeping up this awesome blog – you have SKILLZ!
Erin @ FierceBeagle says
Hey, don’t worry about it. That’s why they invented Oops, I Crapped My Pants â˘.
Minnesotamom says
One more reason for me to love your blog! We made the choice to begin homeschooling this year as well, and 1 1/2 months in, it’s going pretty well! We love the flexibility, the extra time with the kids (MOST of the time…:), and I am redeeming my own education as well! We’ve had our tears over handwriting and our fights between the children, and I, too, had MAJOR doubts about pulling my daughter from her classical charter school (highest test scores in the state)…BUT. She is enjoying learning, and we get to do it together, and we get to keep God at the center where He belongs. Thank you for sharing your journey, joys and struggles alike!
Rose D. Frenchtown, NJ says
Okay, I love everything about this post! Made me laugh, made me relate–made me want to homeschool more than ever!!! Thank you.
Wendy Till says
This was a great post and laughed so many times. It does totally consume you at times (in a good way). I love learning right along with the boys.
Oh…the jury is still out on my 3.5 year old.
Glad you are loving it so much! Thanks for posting an update.
Sybil says
AWESOME! You are an awesome writer! I was hooked! Welcome to homeschooling. I’m in my 6th year! GASP! I have an 8th grader and 5th grader at home, and a first grader in public school one more year.
Rhonda says
Oh my goodness – my husband just yelled from the living room to the bedroom to ask me how many eggs I had laid. You are so so funny!
Katie says
I can relate. To all of this! Not being able to answer the door. Waving the wooden spoon. On and on. I am learning so much this first month. And thankfully my kiddos are small enough to just go with it. I so love having them all home though! Even if it adds chaos to my day! Excited for your family! Sounds like y’all are enjoying this new life already!!!
Barbi says
Best Wishes and God’s Blessings!
Toodles, Barbi
Rachelr says
You are so hilarious.
Thank you for giving an update! And like another reader mentioned, I was kinda bummed when you said you weren’t going to do 31 days of homeschooling…however I understand. >sniff<
More good, positive thoughts sent your way for the rest of the first year!
Tanya says
I love, love, like, so-needed-to-read-this-and-laugh love this post. Here’s to surviving all the things! xo
Jackie says
You will never regret doing this. It’s difficult at times, but so, so, so, so worth it.
And one thing I found in the 8 years of homeschooling our crew is that God intended it to be as much about me as it was about them. Teaching me. Growing me. We learn along with our kids. Plus, it reignited a love of learning for me. I treasure every moment of it. Even the hard ones.
You’re going to do great.
Mandy says
Homeschool pride!!! I’ll raise a venti sized coffee cup to you! I was amazed at how much of my brain was consumed by becoming a homeschool family. The biggest shock was how many new concepts I learned while teaching 3rd grade math. Roman numerals? I thought everyone just learned them from Google during the Super Bowl. Lol. We are a get dressed before school so we can run out at any time kind of family, but I still have ninja avoiding the door moves as well. You will find your rhythm, and it will be wonderful!.
Melissa says
We’ve been homeschooling 7 years now and my nearly 4 year old is still not fully potty trained, I almost always spell “Arctic” wrong, and we have plenty of ‘those’ days! It does get easier (or maybe it just “fits” better)! I love these posts and the way your faith is being expressed through your homeschooling journey. God is good!
Erin says
You rock! You somehow manage to drop all of the wonderful truths of motherhood in a very humorous and loving light! Have a great day!
Brittney says
Oh, man! You had me laughing so hard, and I TOTALLY RELATE to the hermit-baggy T-shirt-lack of appropriate undergarments bit!! So glad I am not the only one who becomes a stealth ninja whenever someone unexpectedly comes to the door. You are awesome, I love your blog, and I am really interested in your homeschooling experience.
Wendy says
Lol, Ashley, I love your sense of humor! You always make me laugh. Best of luck to you in your home schooling adventures. You are a brave women to take that on! I have one piece of advice: Google is your friend. So many times it has prevented me from looking like an idiot to my kids! I always look forward to reading your posts. đ
Lisa says
Great post!! I think the public school system failed me on Geography too because I always thought that Alaska was always by Hawaii because that’s where it was on all the maps they showed us. Is it really that hard to put it where it belongs?! Cheers to you for taking on such a huge, yet rewarding, task!
lesli says
This was funny. Homeschooling is pretty much being a stay at home mom to kids that never leave, with a lot more responsibility thrown in to completely throw you over the edge! However, this is our first year, and I love it too! I would like to actually wear appropriate undergarments but here I sit at 1 pm and have yet to accomplish that. Even my two year old son will try to help me, “Mama, here’s your bra…” Have you connected with any local homeschooling groups? They are great! We have an active group nearby and we do things at least once a week usually…this week was a homeschool tea party, a nature walk/scavenger hunt, an next week is an egg farm tour! Being around other frazzled moms makes you feel a bit better about yourself and good for the kids to see other kids once in a while too.
Susan Krauss says
lol Ashley!!!! LOVE IT! Rock on with your bad self!!!
alisha says
I too used to fantasize about that kind of mannequin!
Christie says
Girl, I am so with ya. I have coined homeschooling “the new nursing.” (this is our first year) And I had no clue about cardinal numbers EVEN THOUGH I’M USING THE SAME MATH MY MOM USED FOR ME. Apparently I can no longer blame my tragic math skills on what I always assumed was a poor curriculum.
Cheering for you!
Sara Beth says
I am so excited for you and your family! Thank you for always being so candid – makes me feel like my thoughts are normal! I promise one day the littlest will crap his pants and his girlfriend will make fun of him and he’ll never do it again. Just hope it doesn’t take him 10 more years to get a girlfriend đ
Carrie says
Thank you for your last sentence. Today my 3 year-old crapped his pants at the froyo shop WHILE MY DAUGHTER STARTED PUKING UP HER FROYO. It was one of those ‘I’M FAILING MOTHERHOOD” type days. Your journey makes me feel better. Now excuse me while I add 10 more minutes to their t.v. watching and read blogs as my escapism for a few more moments…
Nicole W. says
Oh, the fun! love it! right there with ya, only a few years ahead. It’s def like having a baby! And I have another one every time I add another child into the homeschool mix. (read: a child grows old enough to join our learning ranks.) 3 homeschooling and two others along for the ride. This is one of those years–gloriously high moments fallowed by “the depths of despair” a’la Anne Shirley having just dyed her hair green…good times. Welcome to the ranks!
Blessedmomma says
Thank you for this post! We are also in our first year over here. I feel ya! I have literally had the exact same top of the mountain, I rock at this to ….. Get in the car we are going to the public school bus stop right this minute moment. (With husband listening from next room). I have lost count of how many times I met my husband at the door with, “did you know….(insert random fact apparently all second graders know here)”. So don’t stress over the little Artic ocean mishap. You are not alone!!!!!! đ
ashley @ the handmade home says
BWAH! I went through all the things I’ve learned yesterday. The list was very VERY long. ;}
Carrie says
Oh my goodness! I was searching for homeschool rooms on Pinterest and was brought to this article. I was laughing so hard I almost woke the kiddos sleeping in bed with me đ the baby analogy is so spot on, love it! I’ve enjoyed your blog when I’ve stumbled upon it but now you’ve just made me a subscriber. I look forward to hearing of your adventures!
Natalia says
I’ve never read your blog before, you are one funny lady! I found your pin on pinterest and am OBSESSED with the box runner on your table…gotta make one of those puppies for myself. My fam bam and I will be embarking on mission homeschool this fall… a Kindergartner, a four year old and a baby due in September…should be fun. Yay me. Anyways, I just had to leave a comment, your blog was literally laugh out loud, the girls kept asking me what was so funny. Seriously it was the resonance in all you said, mental pictures and all. It felt like I was reading something I would write in the future 2 years from now (hopefully). Keep truckin’ mama and know I am inspired and impressed.
ashley @ the handmade home says
Thank you so much, Natalia! Congratulations on your soon-to-be new addition!;}
CiCi says
Looooove the last line of this post!!!! I burst out laughing.
I will start schooling my two children at home this fall (not traditional homeschooling, but thru online public school)— just 11 short days away from the 1st day! I’m freaking a bit and was searching the internet for others that school their kids at home. Enjoyed several of your posts.