10 reasons I’m excited about the new school year
I was a bit taken aback when I made a trip to Wal-Mart for groceries yesterday and discovered they already have their school supplies on sale! 10 cents for crayons, 17 cents for notebooks, and all sundry totally awesome new supplies! Is July 4th the demarcation line of summer? Does that officially make it “back to school” season? Seems early to me, but I’m not going to complain about bargains! I know it would’ve depressed me when I was in my public school days. It would mean summer freedom was coming to a rapid end. =0)
Since this week’s theme is about things we’re looking forward to in the upcoming school year and I just happen to be in planning mode right now, I thought I would share my list of 10 things I’m excited about for the new school year.
Lil Sis will be 5 in August.
I’m not excited about her growing up so fast, but Lil Sis will be celebrating her 5th birthday in August and I will begin including her more in my lesson planning. Since we like things like Montessori and Before Five in a Row, it hasn’t really been necessary to “plan” for her or Baby Girl (who will be 3 in August). These things just kind of happen in the natural progression of our days around here. Now I’ll be doing more intentional kindergarten activities. Due to her special needs (autism), there will be different challenges than I had with Big Sis, but we’ll work through it together. She already knows her colors, shapes, numbers to 20, and alphabet. Which brings me to . . .
Learning to read and write with Lil Sis.
There is something magical about learning to read and write. Once those concepts click, a whole new world opens up. She can write her name now and can copy any word she sees written. I am so amazed by her ability to form letters so neatly! It’s definitely one of her strengths. She has been gifted with artistic ability, too. She wants to read, so we’ll be working on that together at her own pace. I’m definitely excited about helping her make the connection between those words she’s writing and their meanings!
New school supplies
Another advantage of homeschooling means you can enjoy new school supplies MINUS the sense of dread.
The Prairie Primer
Big Sis (10) is really looking forward to doing this. I feel like it’s a major step because we’ve been so eclectic up to this point, doing piecemeal of this and that. This is a real book with real lesson plans and a real kind of . . . schedule. *shudder* Seems I’m more resistant to schedules and plans than my daughter is, so we’re going for it! We’ve used unit studies before, but not one that lasts an entire year. I love seeing her so excited about something that she basically chose based on her love for the Little House books.
A new planner
There’s something about a new planner that is both promising and overwhelming. All those blank pages to fill. All the possibilities. I’m using the Schoolhouse Planner, which has every form you could possibly imagine and then some!
A new reading list
Again, we’re starting with a blank slate. Last year’s reading list is completed and logged accordingly. This year we’ll fill it up with more great books.
New skills
Big Sis wants to learn to play the violin. She recently learned how to use a sewing machine, thanks to her Grandma. I mentioned Lil Sis’ new skills of reading and writing. Hopefully Baby Girl will be officially potty-trained. All of these new skills are exciting!
New potential
We may have a rough idea of our goals and plans, but it’s always exciting to see where the learning will take us. There are always questions and ideas that just can’t be anticipated ahead of time. We’ve had some of the most fun and best lessons that way.
New field trips
We’ve got a trip planned to the Children’s Discovery museum coming soon. It’s always fun to find things to do nearby for free or low cost. There are several historic sites we want to visit in the near future, too.
New friends
We have plans to meet up with some local homeschoolers next month and hopefully on a regular basis throughout the fall.
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Great list!! Makes me even more excited for the new school year to begin. However, before that happens, I’ve got a lot of things on my to-do list!!! Like preserving produce from our garden, doing more cleaning/organizing projects in the house, and nailing down plans for the school year (well, as much as a flexible homeschool can nail anything down!). 😉
You have some great plans. How exciting. I keep thinking about our year and all that I want to do with my little ones. I love the start of a new year and all of the wonderful possibilities.
I’m excited about the new school year even though we homeschool year round because this is a new start for us. We moved to the family farm in a different state, so different homeschooling laws. We will continue with our core curriculum, Time4Learning, and Vocabulary and Spelling City, but we will have to find a new homeschool group, and new field trips, and new friends. All very exciting, and a little terrifying! Good luck with your school plans.