Today was our first official day of school for this year. Ethan and Lauren were so excited and kept asking me this morning when we were going to start. Yesterday, we took the day to organize and get ready for today. This year they each have a drawer for their own supplies. I have never seen them go nuts over their own scissors, glue, crayons, folders, notebooks, etc. as I witnessed yesterday. Even Simon put his crayons, paper, and a few books in his drawer. Another thing I did differently this year is type out and laminate a schedule for them. I did this mostly to keep us on task and for each of them to know what they need to be doing while I work one-on-one with the other. I did make sure not to put any specific times so we aren't tied to it completely. Ethan asked if I could print another one for him to hang by his bed. Lauren keeps saying, "I need to go look at my schedule. What am I supposed to be doing, Mom?" Who knew these two little things would be such a big deal. We'll see how long the enthusiasm lasts.
A couple pictures of the morning...
Ethan telling us the date and weather. (This calendar is also new for this year and they both are looking forward to changing it everyday. I got it mostly so Lauren can learn the days of the week better.) Lauren leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Right now they are each having individual reading time and Ethan is working on history. A good start to the year so far.