Our homeschool adventure begins

Day one is done, and we survived!

The morning began so very, very sweetly, with Dylan sliding right out of bed and sneaking to the kitchen to bring me (his teacher) a shiny red apple. I was so touched! Then, since we were the only ones up (Darren had just left for work), he sat at the kitchen counter and helped me make breakfast. I had him read the recipe to me, and then give me step by step instructions as I added each ingredient. He did such a great job! Caitlyn joined us before too long, and she was eager to help, too, so she took over the job of pouring and stirring. Our Apple Cinnamon Muffins were soon ready for the oven, and while they baked, we read the story of creation from our Book of Bible Stories. Meghan woke up just in time to join us for breakfast, and it was delicious!

We listened to a really fun CD featuring bible based songs while we got ready and finished our morning chores, and then it was finally time to begin our lessons! I told Dylan and Caitlyn that there was a surprise for each of them in the school room, where I had placed backpacks on the backs of their chairs (both containing small gifts for the kids). They were sooo excited! I let them play for a little bit with their new treasures, then Dylan led us through our morning routine (rotating the calendar display, reciting the pledge of allegiance, and praying an Our Father and Hail Mary.)

Dylan completed Lesson 1 in My Very First Catholic Speller with little help from me, and Caitlyn, eager for work of her own, finished three pages in one of her preschool workbooks. We read How do apples grow? and Apples, then Dylan filled in a supplemental worksheet to accompany the book. (Thanks again for bringing these to my attention, Celeste!)

Naturally, after learning so much about apples, Dylan wanted to type a story about them. :) So, while he did that, I worked on cleaning up the kitchen and getting Meghan down for a nap. While she slept, I read Grandfather Tang's Story to the kids, and they practiced replicating the animals in the book with their tangrams while I made lunch. We decided to have a tea party right after we ate, enjoying leftover muffins as our dessert and reading from Little House in the Big Woods. This was ever so delightful, and by far my favorite part of our day! Dylan and Caitlyn really loved it, too, although they decided after only a few sips that they didn't really like hot Cinnamon Apple tea, after all. :)

Since Meghan was still asleep when we finished chapter 1, I decided to try an art project with the big kids. I thought it would be fun to "stamp" some apple prints onto cardstock using an apple half and paint, but they didn't really work as well as I had hoped. My kids didn't mind, though...they just painted their own pictures!

Despite a few rough moments, it really was a wonderful first day and I look forward to doing it all again tomorrow. I think we'll probably simplify things just a bit, but I anticipate another fun day of learning!