Thankful Thursday

My Thankful Thursday is about school because school is starting. I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to homeschool Taylor and Aubrey. We are beginning our second year of homeschooling and I am so excited to begin another year with them.

One of the joys of homeschooling for me is a deeper relationship with Taylor and Aubrey. We are together many more hours now than we were when they were in public school. This has given me more chances to realize how much I love them and how much I enjoy being with them.

After spending this week getting ready, I am happy to report that we are all stocked up and ready to start our school year!! Everything looks so pretty all arranged on the shelf with nothing out of place. I know it won't stay that way long, so I am enjoying it now!!

What are our plans for the school year you may wonder...I know we are going to attempt some sort of lapbook/notebook. I still have some planning on the subjects, I am hoping to do one per month. For August our study is the Olympics and China. We are learning to write Chinese words and numbers and learning about the Chinese culture this week.

Our church's children's choir groups will be centered around a country each month. I plan on expanding on that country each month in school. This will be interesting to learn about various countries around the world and it will tie in nicely with our Geography.

Of course we will study math, language arts, Bible, reading, science, and history. We will also continue our outside classes at the Zoo, piano, dance, and art. I am looking for sign language and foreign language classes.

One of my favorite things about homeschooling is planning what we learn about and planning different ways to learn. Taylor and Aubrey both learn differently. What works for one does not work at all for the other. The one subject one LOVES, the other can not stand to waste her time doing it!! I enjoy the challenge of finding the right way for each one to learn and to help them love to learn.

So, whether you are homeschooling your children or sending them to public or private school, I hope that we all take time to be thankful for our children and the opportunities we have each day to impact them and make memories that will last a life time. Two of my favorite Bible verses to help me with the challenges of homeschooling are "Commit your work to the Lord, and then it will succeed." Proverbs 16:3 and "In everything you do, put God first, and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success." Proverbs 3:6