The First Day of School

People keep asking, "When are you going to start school? When do the doors of Aloha Academy officially open?" I keep saying, "Oh, sometime after labor day. Sometime after K2's minor surgery. When that is done, we'll get started." It is a question that fellow homeschoolers ask because they are interested or they want to make sure they aren't the only ones who haven't or are wondering if they are the only ones that have. LOL Non-homeschoolers are curious, or want to make sure that my children aren't being worked too hard or too little. They may want of figure out when they should worry about my poor child and his "socialization". So tonight I sat down and began think about the first day: what should I do? My mind began to wander, as it often does, and I started to relive today. Then I realized: By golly! TODAY was our first day! It's done; WE HAVE BEGUN! Yep, this morning we woke up and began with a rousing light saber fight. Kalani worked on his letters with Reader Rabbit. We ate breakfast; we got dressed and made some chocolate chip cookies for our homeschool group that would be coming over later. While we did that, we discussed the meaning of dozen, worked on fractions...1/2, 1/3 and 1/4th and how they related to 1 cup. We successfully made three sheets and burned two. The idea for making these cookies came from the story we read the night before: The Doorbell Rang. A really fun story about sharing and division. Next we were off to the library where the boys picked out some books and we sat down and read one right there. Turnip Soup, a delightful story about a little boy who has to deal with an escaped Komodo dragon in his root cellar. We look forward to searching out a real one to go see. We also picked up a prize that I had won in a drawing. An envelope full of free admissions to local attractions and several free ice cream cones. After that we went home (frigtening, no socialization so far-- the boys did not seem to be withering away though) and had lunch. After lunch it was time for Kalani to rest. Keona had quiet time watching a Magic Schoolbus episode. After Kalani was asleep, Keona and I took the opportunity to work on a little math. The program we chose is Math U See. The first few lessons are mostly preschool review, so it was a breeze for Keona. Truthfully, I wasn't sure he recognized the numbers in their written form. I was pleasantly surprised to find that, in fact, he does. Next I vacuumed and the boys played as we awaited the opportunity to SOCIALIZE. Yes, our friends came over and the children played and played and played. Unfettered. Inside, outside, all through the house....and we served them cookies and shared our story. At 4:30 they all went home and thus ended our day. ... well, okay we read a couple more stories before bed. Now I can breathe easy and quit worrying about "the first day". How cool is that? Tomorrow, we are off to Selden Arcade to look at some art. An experiment on many levels!