First Day of (home)School!

Time flies. Time Heals. Time changes. Time reveals.  Time does a lot of things, and apparently, so do it. I have added another 'hat' to my collection. I am starting something new. Something I said I would NEVER do. It is a big change, a big decision, and not something I take lightly. It's a huge undertaking, and it's gonna be hard, but there will be freedom in it. Freedom for the whole family. Today begins our first day of homeschooling!!! Now that is a big change. If you wanna know more about the process behind the decision, please read this. It explains everything. But Today, now, I'm just gonna share with you how fun it was! And I'm pretty sure that was unanimous ;)I love that this photo shows exactly what the younger two think of the older two not going off to school.Yep. This might be harder than I thought... ;)One of the things I'm so excited about is that we can go anywhere, (almost) any time we want. And we can go as family. Nobody gets left out of the fun! I've lost sleep over such things - - - I know. I know. But, this is freedom for me people. We are free to go to the Minnesota Children's Museum in the middle of the week, on a school day. And the first day of school mind you.You know, it always made me sad to send my kids on the bus every single morning. I hated that they were away from me for more than eight hours a day, and I really had no idea what their little lives were like. (My boys don't offer much information even when thoroughly interrogated). I couldn't help them understand their work. I couldn't encourage them to try new things. I couldn't encourage them when they were down, or hold them up when there were tears. I know that's all a part of learning and growing, but I just didn't have a peace about where all that change was happening. I just felt like I wasn't able to shape them the way I knew I was suppose to be. Now I know why. Seriously, you have to read this because that is my real reason for deciding to homeschool. Not because I couldn't live without being part of their every move (like this kinda sounds). That said, it is so nice to enjoy more of these experiences together, and learn and grown all together. Steve even took the day off of work because he didn't want to be left out. :)  He's such a kid ...and a great father.Now, if we could only get him to work from home... HA - I'm so kidding. Then we'd really be weird. ;)I'm not sure who had more fun with this little contraption, the boys, or their dad. We probably spent the most time here learning about water flow.We had a few really good crane operators, but a couple could benefit from a greater understanding of their left and right.This was EJ's favorite spot. We learned the process behind how paper is made. All the steps, from the tree to the table. He wanted to make a paper creation for everyone he knows. So sweet.And then there's this place, where they could get some real wiggles out.This is really why I let him come - so I can capture images like this! ;)The big boys enjoyed learning how the ants live as they crawled around inside this human sized replica of an ant hill.My favorite part was on the rooftop. Art, music, and great light - - - ahhh.We may or may not have hogged this little studio in efforts to make a few music videos of each family member. The kids noticed a pattern:  We would go to an exhibit that no one was around/in, and as soon as we started having any fun, other (let's just call them not-so-well-behaved) children would come out of the woodwork to join in. I'm not saying my kids are angels, but they know their boundaries. That's kinda been a thing for me though. Ever since high-school, I have been a naughty kid-attractor in public places. It's true. I even had to have a mother peal her stranger-0f-a-temper-trantrum-throwing four year old off of my leg in a Disney World line. I can't make this stuff up people, it happens. Anyway, had a blast here!So, if you live in the area, and you haven't been, GO. Or if you haven't been for a while, GO AGAIN. Or if you don't live in the area but you're thinking about making a trip, it's worth the time! We could have stayed all day, but I didn't pack a lunch. There's a little area for lunch breaks! Now I know! Next time.So we went home found a few tree frogs, and ate lunch. Well, we didn't eat the tree frogs, we ... You know what I mean! We washed our hands.It takes time. But we're always changing. Always learning. Always growing. And now there's a little more freedom to do so :)