in case you were wondering...

We are trying something new this school year. Homeschool. Feelings are mixed at this point. Most of the time Maggie is thrilled. She can't think of many reasons she wants to go back to regular school. She knows she'll miss her friends but knows she can see them outside of school hours doing fun things instead of during the day. Gracy is SO social. She misses her friends 5 seconds after hanging up the phone with one of them...I think it comes with being a "middle schooler". I am of course thrilled to have the opportunity to let Gracy move ahead as she has the ability. Maggie will have the chance to learn in a way which is easiest for her. With her dyslexia shinning particularly brightly this past year, I've had the chance to research the different ways she will learn best. Reading out loud, and lots of hands on visual learning will help her out.

In the beginning of summer I was trying to explain that homeschool does not have to look like traditional school. Learning can be done in many different ways besides only reading books and taking tests. That yes, books and tests will be part of homeschool, but it's not the only thing we'll be doing. I talked about field trips and experiments, and I'm sure I rambled on way too long because Gracy started reading her book. Maggie's interest were peaked. She asked to go to the Waterfowl Preserve. When I said yes, she jumped up and down and said, "And can I bring my notebook?!"

I'm telling you, it was HARD to not laugh out loud! This new way of learning is so exciting for her. She was running around making notes, drawing pictures, and asking questions. I think Gracy was inspired...she brought her notebook as well, and enjoyed jotting down notes and filling in the worksheet the Preserve provided.

It was fabulous!

As a side note, please read this post by Kelly. It's amazing!