Little Explorers

This week we took advantage of another warm (70 degree!) spring day. One of our favorite things to do with the kids is to take them exploring outside. So we headed out last Monday for a little adventure. I brought along some things to help engage the kids and help them to really SEE. Dollar store magnifying glasses, reused egg cartons to collect treasures, and an old point-and-shoot camera for Canaan.

Lainey is getting SO tall - she's a year younger than Ezra but you wouldn't know it by looking at her!

{ what Canaan captured }

A little news! We have unexpectedly found ourselves entering the world of homeschooling! I have thought a lot about maybe homeschooling the kids later on - around grade 4 or 5 - but here we find ourselves - jumping in to this awesome new adventure - something I'm sure God had planned for us and I didn't even see it coming (this soon, anyway). We have been so blessed for Canaan to also get to be a part of a new Christian school in our area - he'll go a couple of days a week starting this fall on the days that I am working.

Meanwhile, I have been obsessively soaking up all I can learn about curriculum, organizing, homeschool methods/philosophies, teaching styles, learning styles, hands-on activities, state standards - all of it. I'm learning a ton and working through what I think might work for us. I am pretty pumped in an extremely dorky way about school. When I'm up too late -- you'll find me now reading homeschool blogs, diving into teacher manuals or organizing binders.

My dream is for many of our homeschool days to look a lot like this day - for the kids to soak up traditional subjects as they explore and have hands-on adventures.

As we start this new chapter I know there will be tough days ahead. I know a day of being burned out will come and we'll have to power through. I know it's not going to be easy to homeschool with two little ones. But I am still overwhelmed with joy, excited, and so thankful! :)