School has begun!

Well, it is far from a secret that I homeschool my children.  I like to think of it more as "private school."  But whatever name you prefer.  

Our "school" has been under construction since THE FLOOD.  So school has looked a little more like this lately......  

I definitely prefer our desks and not having all of the books, artwork, science projects, and papers all over my dining room/living room area, but it is working out.  We are LEARNING to be flexible.  Flexible seems to be the key word when starting back to school.  It is so hard to get ourselves back on a regimented schedule without it hurting!  But just like jogging for the first time in three months, the sore muscles begin to give way to stronger muscles.  We become more capable, and faster in getting everything done that we need to in a day.  Soon, (MAYBE) I will be able to get some housework and laundry done during the day too!

But enough of that........

I wanted to tell something exciting that we are trying.  Matthew is attending a "Virtual" school this year---WAVA, WAshington Virtual Academy.  It is so neat.  He has a teacher besides just me, Mr. Terry.  He is excited to have a man teacher, and one that loves dirt bikes too!

He can progress through his grade at as fast as rate as he is learning.  And the k-12 curriculum is awesome.  After studying real artworks of Degas, Picasso and Van Gogh--then he gets to do REAL artwork using water colors and oil pastels (supplies provided).  Three boxes of books, manipulatives, and science tools arrived on our doorstep last month in preparation for school.  And it is all paid for---by the tax dollars I have previously not been drawing upon for the past five years.  That's right, the "virtual" school is essentially a "public" school, and so materials are provided.  We are loving it so far, and it is definitely a NEW experience.