I have two daughters, Amelia and Olivia. At 5 and 3, these kids are a handful. So it has become glaringly apparent to me that I’ve lost my mind since I decided to homeschool them. Together. At the same time. In addition to working part-time early mornings and taking online and late night college classes. Ok, so all “what the heck were you thinking?!” comments aside, I am fully confident in my ability to not screw this up. Over the coming months, I’ll be keeping you up to date on the exciting life of my crazy family and our journey.

Has it really been 3 months since the 1st day of school?!

Well, I am happy to report things are going very smoothly! We seem to have fallen into a routine that makes sense, which was a HUGE challenge to begin with. Figuring out what time is the best time for each subject is more of an undertaking than it seems. For us, doing phonics right before lunchtime is a BAD idea. Why? Because The girls are so hungry that they totally isn’t up for sounding words out. A lot of “I don’t knows” and “UUUUUGH” sounds ensue, which is never conducive to a learning environment! So just by moving phonics to a time when their bellies are a bit fuller did wonders for the calmness of our “classroom.” It really is the little things that make the biggest difference!

The World is our Classroom!

We also have taken advantage of the fact that home school doesn’t have to be done at home. It can be done anywhere! In the car, its totally music time. At the grocery store? Oh man, we can do math, social studies (which is basically “good-citizen” rules and cultural norms) phonics and more there! At the state park down the street? Its a scientific expedition! Last week, we got an up-close and personal view of some really neat plants and critters in this super green pond nearby.

So while we do still have some issues from time to time, home schooling has gone from an “Oh my gosh, can I do this?” situation to a “Oh fun! How can I do this next?” situation. It has become pretty much embedded in most everything we do: the trips we plan, the movies we watch and even the foods we make. For example, during our unit on India for history class we made (and ate) samosas, read (and watched) The Jungle Book and made a “spice painting” of the Taj Mahal!

The next issue we’re planning to tackle? SOCIALIZING.

It’s a non-shocker that two sisters don’t actually want to play together all the time, despite the notion that they are “built-in playmates.” In fact, they have days where they absolutely loathe each other, so we’re really striving to get them involved in outside activities. Unfortunately, our own busy schedules can make that difficult. But we’re working on it!

Are any of you home schooling or were homeschooled? Do you have any valuable tips or tricks? Let us know! We can use all the help we can get!

Check back next time for an update and wish us luck! You can read the rest of the Adventures in Home Schooling by clicking here!