The 2008-09 school year has begun!

We started school today . . . finally! Lael especially has been asking for school for weeks now! (And we only took 5 weeks off this summer . . . can you tell why I love homeschooling?!) So this morning when they came down for breakfast, they were greeted with their GodSeekers Academy notebooks -- which had our theme Scripture passage, school rules, the Pledge of Allegiance and their memory verses for August in it. Needless to say, they were so excited!

They were so excited that they:

• ate breakfast quickly
• got dressed
• brushed their teeth
• made their beds
• tidied up their bedrooms

all by 8:30 AM! (Then they were waiting on Mommy!)

Here we are on the front porch for the official "first day of school" picture!

All in all, we had a GREAT first day! We are beginning the year with a unit on the Olympics and China! We read this book by B.G. Hennessy this morning and can't wait to watch the opening ceremonies on Friday night!
Jaden is starting preschool this year and is not wasting any time! Can you figure out what the letter of the week is? He did a great job today -- phonics, math and learning about the Olympics! I have decided to incorporate a new element for Lael in language arts . . . copywork. Every day she will copy something -- a Bible verse we are memorizing, a quote from a book, a song or hymn. It allows her to really focus on good literature and absorb it more deeply than if she simply read it in a book. It's also good handwriting practice!
Another first-day-of-school task for Lael was to do a reading assessment. I'm so amazed at how well she reads . . . she can basically pick up anything and read it! She easily reads at a mid-second grade level; I have a feeling that I will be busy keeping her challenged in her reading this year! She is reading Stuart Little independently right now -- during quiet time in the afternoon she reads at least two chapters and then shares with me her favorite parts.
Lael and Jaden used their Funtastic Frogs to see what 100 looks like! Each log holds 10 little frogs, so they filled 10 logs and then practiced counting by 10s . . . whoever said math is boring didn't get to hang out at the GodSeekers Academy!
Thanks for visiting us on the first day of school . . . please stop back often and let us know what you think of our adventure!