Thursday, September 4, 2014

School is in Session

School is in full swing at the Chamblee house!  On August 25th, Jake and Mallory began their first year of full-time homeschool.  We have less than two weeks under our belts, but so far, so good!
I have always held that I was NOT cut out to be a teacher, but the prospect of teaching takes on a whole new light when it's your own kids who will be your students.  It also helps that there are not 20+ of them!  After much prayer and discussion, Justin and I decided that this route was best for our family right now.  As scared as I am that I'll screw it up, I'm also very excited about this adventure.  We have no idea whether we'll continue to homeschool throughout the kids' educational experience, but we're here for now.  We'll take it one day at a time.
My beautiful Mallory is usually excited about school time, though she definitely has a stubborn streak when it comes to skills in which she's not confident.  Give her a creative outlet, however, and she's on cloud nine!
Jake is my methodical man.  He absolutely inherited the Scobey mind for all things logical from Justin's mom's side of the family.  Worksheets are welcomed, as is reading, although he's always thinking through how quickly we can be done with school in a day.
I love that they have a buddy to share in this experience and encourage along.
Goobers.
I've been asked often what on earth I'm going to do with Beau while the big kids and I are having school time.  Little Man usually joins us for things like story time, devotionals and any kind of game.  He's also a big fan of math manipulatives! When we're doing something that doesn't interest him, he's quite content to play on his own in a nearby room.  It's always fun to play with your big brother's toys without interference or limitation!
Beau started school today and is already quite taken with his new teacher, Mrs. Alison.  Bonus: When your teacher shares a name with your mom and one of your babysitters, it's awfully easy to remember!
He's a ham, but he sure is cute! 

Me and my buddy before we dropped him off this morning! And for the record, that bow in the background belongs to Mallory.  :)
Walking in so confidantly!
It hadn't really occurred to me before today that the big kids would miss their little buddy while he was at preschool. Last year, they were either all at school or all at home.  Mal kept asking throughout the day what I thought Beau was doing right then.  Sweet sister.
Everyone is enjoying school so far, and when the task before me seems too large, I will remind myself that this is fleeting.  The days that drag sometimes will in fact all fly by too quickly.  I'm humbled to take on the task of educating our children and trust that God will make something beautiful from the perfect mess that I offer up to Him.