Starting School

Ahh, the smell of pencils, new books, new crayons. It’s time for school to start! Our family will start school on Monday. I can’t wait. The kids are even excited. The other day Kade came into our bedroom at 6 am to ask if it was time for school. One of the wonderful things about homeschool is being able to start whenever you want. Here in Boise, August is normally extremely hot and the air quality is terrible. Since the kids have to be inside anyway, I figure we might as well be learning. That also gives me the opportunity to take more of December off.

The annual rush for school supplies has begun. I am amazed at parents grabbing everything and kids begging for more. I just stand at the end of the aisle and watch. Don’t get me wrong, I love it too. I buy new crayons every year whether we need them or not, but I still have glue and pencils etc. leftover from last year. In fact, I don’t think I’ll ever need to buy pencils again. Everyone seems to be handing out pencils this year. I have pencils that fight breast cancer, pencils from the National Guard, and solar pencils that are heat sensitive. I couldn’t even buy those!

I am also amazed when I watch parents buying new school clothes. I am so thankful we can do school in torn jeans – wait those are back in style. Well, I am glad I don’t have to pay for torn jeans. I got to figuring it up and I think we probably pay in curriculum the same that other parents spend on new clothes. What a luxury to spread the cost of clothes out over the year.

In Germany, on their first day of school children are given “schultute” to help ease the first day jitters. “Schultute” are large paper cones filled with candy, chocolates, and toys (see above picture). I loved this idea and now I try to surprise the kids with some sort of gift on the first day.

Another of my traditions is making the first two weeks of school sacred. This means we don’t plan anything and we avoid anything that is not part of school. This helps us establish our routines without distractions.


Do you have any traditions or advice for the start of school? I’d love to hear your ideas.

Beat the Heat

Summer time and the living is…..easy? Here in Idaho it is very hot. My kids tend to get bored and cranky. Below are some ways to beat the heat and entertain everyone. Sometimes we devote all day to these projects and sometimes just a few hours. I’d love to hear your ideas.

1) Crayon melt -
Supplies:
Old crayons, with wrappers removed
Foil muffin tin – or one you are willing to part with
Craft sticks, sponges, cotton balls, string etc. – any disposable craft object
Newspaper – to cover your working space.
Paper – to paint on

Break the crayons into small pieces and place in muffin tin. Just 2 or 3 in each compartment. In the heat of the day, place the tin in direct sunlight. Cover the area where you will be working with newspaper. Once the crayons begin to melt, use the sponges, sticks, etc. to smear the crayon goo on your paper. We also smeared it on jars to make penny banks.

Warning: Expect a mess, on the pavement, on your hands. Everywhere! Around here our motto is “IF YOU AREN”T GETTING MESSY, YOU AREN’T HAVING FUN!”

2) Sprinkler Keep Away
Same as normal keep away, but the person in the middle is also standing in the sprinkler.

3) Pajama Camp Out
This builds on the great tradition of staying in your p.j.s all day. Start with cereal in the back yard. Spread a blanket with books, snacks, pillows, and make yourselves comfy. When it gets too hot, head indoors and watch a movie or read in Mom and Dad’s bed (what is it about Mom and Dad’s bed that kids like?).

4) Make a Tent
If you have a real tent put it up and let the kids entertain themselves. If not, try building one out of a large blanket and chairs, ropes, trees, or whatever is in your yard.

5) Read Everything
Pile a TON of story books around your favorite reading spot and see how many you can read in one day. I love doing this when our bookshelves are a mess so we can tidy up when we replace the books.

6) Do Nothing Box
Just pull out games, toys, coloring books which your kids haven’t played with in a while. Place them in a box or basket and tell the kids they “have to” play out of that box all day. I also do this on rainy days or when I am sick. If I was really organized, I would have a box ready, but I don’t

7) Don’t Cook
Okay, so that’s a personal fantasy. When it’s too hot to bake cookies, pull out your favorite no-bake recipe and let the kids help.

8) If, all else fails, fill the bathtub with water and let them all climb in in their swimsuits. Don’t ask me why they like this, they just do.