Why I Love This Picture So....

Last night Chick-Fil-A hosted a Back-to-School Pirate Party.

All over the eastside of Cleveland, school starts this week. Some started Monday, most started Tuesday. Our district starts today. However, we are embarking on a new challenge this year. We've decided to homeschool both Alex and Allison. Alex will be starting second grade, and Allison will be starting kindergarten.

It was always something we had considered doing ever since we taught both children to read (here and here). But, very early last winter we began thinking and praying much more specifically about it. After a lot of reading, researching, and investigating, we knew by spring that this was the right decision for our family. We waited until the school year was finished before we began processing through our decision with the children.

Truthfully, we are all very excited about it for so many reasons. We are excited to allow the children to move at an unfettered pace. We are excited to incorporate more things in to their educational experience that are of specific interest to them. We are excited to give them more time to be active. We are excited to incorporate the truth that there is a Creator, and that they were designed for a purpose, into their education experience. We are excited for them to become self-learners. We are excited for the freedom in the scheduling. And the list goes on and on and on. The kids are just as excited as we are!

So, back to the picture. In previous years, I spent the day before school started, labeling each crayon, discovering the child's teacher, hoping to meet the child's teacher, finding the right outfit, making sure all supplies fit into the backpack, arranging carpools, packing lunches, etc., etc. Yesterday, after a leisurely morning at the park, we spent the afternoon going through our wardrobes and dress-up clothes in order to assemble the perfect pirate costumes. I feel that the picture above captures beautifully our new lifestyle.