Week One is DONE! ;-)

Yep, it's official: WE'VE BEGUN OUR SEVENTH YEAR OF HOMESCHOOLING! Cue the confetti!

(I wasn't able to get a photo of all 3 of them looking at the camera; 2 out of 3 is pretty good these days!)

Our oldest kiddo is now a MIDDLE SCHOOLER, and he was kind enough to hold up yet another first-day-of-school sign. (Will we still be doing this in high school? Yep, we surely will! Ha!)

Thankfully our J-Man is still a goofball, so he "smiled" for the camera without much protest:

Bear Man is now a proud 3rd grader:

And he's just as goofy as his big bro:

Before jumping into this year's adventures, we took a look back at last year's work (click on any photo to launch the gallery):

Annual dry ice fun - 2019

Christmas Party at Olive Tree - 2019

Feed My Starving Children - Feb 2020

STEM Challenge: Build a 5-Foot Tower

Volcano cake! (Winter 2019)

Tasty treat! :-)

Harvest Farm with HUG - Oct '19

European landmarks, 2nd & 5th grades

More volcano fun ;-)

Botanical Gardens with our HUG crew

Oso loves our read-aloud time ;-)

The boys made a book for Evelyn Rose

Baby robins in our yard

Bear Man loves science!

COVID-19 Zoom call with friends

Spelling Humor

Medieval history lessons, Spring '20

Working in costume :-)

Nature walks at RMNP - Fall '19

Butterfly release - May '20

Gorgeous!

Human body experiments in 2019

Drawing Europe for Geography

Egg Drop Challenge 2019

Sir Laughs-A-Lot, April 2020

After a review of 2019-20, we began this year with our traditional game marathon; and, yes, we considered Jenga and Clue to be educational pursuits during the first week of school. ;-)

Fortnite Jenga

The Look After You Crush Your Mom

Clue

Another first-week highlight: J-Man built his FIRST EVER Rube Goldberg machine! Check out the video here:

Here's the look of defeat on his face after his 7,000th attempt failed:

In addition to the usual back-to-school fanfare, we added a NEW element this year: BABY GIRL! Miss Rosie Roo is officially Mommy's Teaching Assistant for 2020-21, and she rocked her role on the first day:

She's already encouraging the boys to READ (such a great assistant!):

When it was time to read "Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!," Miss Rosie Roo brought her A game with a Dr. Seuss hat (now that's commitment!):

More first-week photos (again, you can click on any photo to launch the gallery):

We recited our speeches with gusto!

We enjoyed P.E. with friends. :-)

We practiced standing up. ;-)

We had long chats.

Wow! See the sun behind the smoke?

Celebrating with cookie cake - YUM!

So much happiness this week!

Big smiles! :-)

Thankfully our first week went off without a hitch. God is faithful, y'all. I've been tempted to throw in the towel on this homeschooling thing at least a dozen times (each year!), but God has patiently, gently nudged me to continue onward (His "nudges" have come through doctors, friends, teachers, my sweet husband, books, and our own experiences)... and now, as we embark on yet another year together, I'm so grateful that our tiny "school" is going strong. The boys are happy, healthy, challenged (on most days, at least - ha!), and surrounded by a gazillion friends nearly every waking hour. Knowing that things can change in an instant, we're enjoying this sweet spot of family life... and we're open to any and all changes which might be on the horizon. One day at a time, folks... that's how we roll! ;-)

P.S. - We finally named our school, for good this time. I'd hoped that we'd agree upon ONE school name, but that was apparently too optimistic. So J-Man is attending "Trailblazing Academy," and here's the t-shirt he designed on Custom Ink:

Bear Man, on the other hand, will be attending "Level Up School." Here's the t-shirt he designed (notice the video game references?):

We'll be sporting these beauties on our field trips this year, just like all the other school kids who wear their uniforms/spirit wear to museums and such. (Our official school "uniform" is actually pajamas. Onesies are especially popular among the staff this season.)

We hope that all the kiddos of our extended families and friends enjoy a WONDERFUL school year in spite of the COVID-19 restrictions. May God bless you all! Our prayers are with you!

xoxo!