So Long Summer

As a kid I could always count on two nights a year when I would get no sleep: Christmas Eve and the night before the first day of school. Now that we’re a homeschooling family (we had orientation this week so it’s official), I've been looking for ways to make start of our school year extra special for my own kiddos.

Even though I still feel a certain amount of freedom that comes with doing school at home, I still felt like this was our last week to squeeze in some summer fun. We had an impromptu library trip and picnic with our neighbors and spent the day at SeaWorld with my mom. 

Grammy is the best teaching assistant. Also, it was brutally hot... how does she always stay so put together?

This kid loves whales.

Not so put together. But The Bug is beautiful.

That's my daughter, hugging the KILLER whale. 

To celebrate the end of summer we hosted a Back-to-School Party for The Bug and some of her friends.  We've been blessed to be part of the First Years Preschool at our church for the past two years, but kindergarten means our friends will be going in different directions. We ate lunch and played a few Minute to Win It style games, all courtesy of my friend Pinterest. All in all it was a nice opportunity for The Bug to play with her friends and for the moms to sit and catch up before we get back into a busy school routine.

Invitations courtesy of Pinterest.

We used our new school supplies as decorations.

I painted the box to hold our favors (which is impressive because when I draw apples they usually look like tomatoes) and made pencil shaped boxes (again, Pinterest) and filled them with Smarties for the kids.  The moms got lunch box notes (Pinterest, see the theme?) to use for their kiddos.

Lemonade and fresh apples. You know, for the teacher.

 

Managed to fit all seven kids around my table.

Apple plates! Do the cups look like chalkboards? I hope so.

School lunch: PB&J, Cheetos, applesauce, and string cheese.

And cupcakes, of course.

The games were so fun to watch, especially as five-year-olds raced to eat a donut hanging from a string, but my phone was playing DJ so pictures of the actual party will have to wait until they get emailed to me. The Bug loved it though, declaring that throwing parties are her favorite part of school.  Who says homeschooled kids aren't socialized?

EDIT: I got a few pictures of our party guests! No game pictures yet, but that's what happens when (a) they only take a minute to play, and (b) the moms are too busy laughing/cheering on their kids.

Hey there, Samantha! How do you like that apple plate?

And that's a McCutchen face.

And now, with lessons planned and resources organized and printed, I feel like we're ready to start the year.  I'm excited about the opportunities ahead and the time I'll get to spend with The Bug and The Bean. So long summer, this teaching mom is ready for the school year!