FUN first day of homeschooling!

We already love homeschooling together! We stuck to our schedule (tweeked it here and there) and had a WONDERFUL time. We're taking notes as we go so that if/when the Swiss educational authorities do their 'surprise on-site visit' we'll have plenty to show them we're working. It was fun to take pictures of him throughout the day...

7AM - breakfast and morning devotional (we found a site at lds.org that reads Friend stories aloud - perfect for while they're eating!)

8:15 - Exercise - he biked while I ran ~

9:30 - Social Studies (we're working thru textbooks that I had already ordered before I knew we'd be homeschooling; his school had said we had to keep up his studies at home since they were just focusing on French...today we studied maps and started memorizing states/capitols)

10 - Science (The first chapter was all about scientific discovery tools; he brought a microscope here that he won at Chuck E Cheese, but we hadn't opened yet, so it was a perfect chance to get it out!)

10:30 - snack and break

10:45 - Rosetta Stone - French (we skipped ahead several chapters ~ last time he was on the program, he was at a beginner level, and now he's gotten so advanced from all that he's learned. We will always be grateful to his school experience for giving him that French foundation)

11:15 - Piano practice

11:30 - Lunch! (So fun to have him home now with Kas and Kenny - it was always kind of sad to have the other 2 here and know that Stephen was on his campus practically alone at lunch for 1 1/2 hours with nothing to do)

1PM - Current events (DrudgeReport.com and Foxnews.com taught us all kinds of interesting things ~ from the Minnesota tornado that killed 89, to Oprah's last show, to scientists studying squid skin to understand how they camouflage themselves, to a 49-million-yr-old spider they found trapped in amber! Good discussions about why it's important to know what's going on around us, not only so we become aware, intelligent people, but also so we can be compassionate toward others in harm's way and be mindful and prayerful for them.)

1:30 - Math - online websites

2PM - Sorting thru Sonlight Homeschooling Curriculum - SO MANY AMAZING BOOKS! We went thru all the materials so we know what to expect when we dive in this August.

2:30 - Finish and Evaluate the day! We loved it - can't wait for tomorrow. Made up the schedule for Mardi (Tuesday) and now we're enjoying after school playtime with the kids. Tonight is Gym class for the boys.