First Day of School!

Yesterday the Halley clan started our 2nd year of homeschool. I am so grateful for the children that I have been blessed with and the opportunity I have to teach them at home. It is amazing to watch them grow and develop before my eyes. I feel a lot more prepared this year. I'm starting to feel like I know what I'm doing (a little). I know I have a long way to go. This year we are studying the Middle Ages, Math, Earth Science and Astronomy, Writing, Grammar, Punctuation, Drawing, Cursive (Summer), Dance (Summer), Italian (Megan), Acting (Megan), and piano (Megan). We are reading a bunch of classics this year, which is a BIG step up from last year.
Some of the things I'm looking forward to are the field trip to the dinosaur museum, the volcano building contest, painting my children blue and spiking their hair to look like Celts and then making them fight a war, making our own books, building some of da Vinci's machines, and going to the Shakespeare festival next summer!
Over the weekend we had our 2nd Annual Family Feast. Our theme for school this year is from Alma 37:6..."by small and simple things are great things brought to pass..." So when I chose this scripture, I thought of an acorn and how it starts out so small and then slowly becomes the mighty oak. I found each of my children an acorn and attached the theme to an oak-leaf-shaped tag. I gave these to them at the Family Feast and talked to them about how they are like acorns now, just beginning to realize the great things they can do, and how if they continue to grow, and learn, and develop their talents, that God will be able to work mighty things through them. We then enjoyed a nice autumn feast of beef stew, rolls, and caramel apple bars (mmmm). Afterwards we took family pictures and the children were each given a blessing from their father. I am so excited for this year and the wonderful experiences that await us!