Learnin'

Several weeks ago marked the beginning of Little Man's kindergarten year. After much thought and many discussions ending with, "I don't know," the Preacher and I decided to homeschool him for the time being. 

Little Man thought it was a smashing good idea until he remembered something he'd seen on tv and groaned, "Aww, man. I don't like school!" 

My mommy brain raced into lecture mode: "He doesn't like school?! He's never even been to school!"

Thinking twice about the whole lecture thing, I replied enigmatically, "We'll see." (Clever, right?)

And then I started decorating. 

He oohed and aahed, while Royal Princess cried. (She hates it when Her Older Highness moves furniture.)

Still, I worked my fingers to the bone. Or maybe I worked until it was halfway finished and then went home to visit family for a week. But the end result was the same: It got done, and Little Man loved it.

In case you're slow to the draw tonight, I'll just say it out loud: The school room is in our dining room. 

And while I was at it, I thought I'd throw in a loveseat, so now the Preacher generously calls this his "reading room." (Really it's just a couch and a lamp, but I love that guy for his gratitude. *swoon*)

Anyway. 

That's pretty much it. Books, desks, pencils, marker boards, signs . . . and not one single picture of the entire room all together. Because I'm awesome, and really getting back into the groove of blogging. 

(If I were the type to say, "Ahem," this would totally be the place to do it. But we all know I don't do that.)

Before I fall into bed, dead to the world after weeks of hard work teaching phonics, reading, cursive, and the concept of zero, I thought I'd share the best part of homeschool: The Little Man himself.

Yes, he's wearing his Batman (pajama) shirt. And no shoes. Happy school!

This is the pose he earned after smiling through millions of happy-face pictures.*

Some other day, I'll blog about my brilliant solution to teaching rambunctious, two-year-old Royal Princess while Little Man does his kindergarten duties. For now, I'll leave you with this: 

(Did you see it? Hint: She's not usually green.)

Loving this, 

Becki* 

*I am required by all that is holy to note that in no way does this barefooted, superhero-shirted, marker-wearing homeschool day represent other families who choose to educate their children at home. Thank you for your understanding.

So It Begins

Obviously if I were a good citizen, I'd be watching the debates tonight. 

So now that cat's outta the bag.

I have a hard time with debates; it might be because I never know the answers to any of the questions, or it might be that it's too much thinking for a weeknight. Most likely it's because I'm always convinced by whoever's talking at the moment. (Which gets really confusing when it's down to two candidates.) 

Either way, election season is cruising along, while I'm befuddled by the pairing of "billion" and "dollars." Since I never really hold more than five dollars at a time, those words rattle like loose change in my head. 

This is why I don't watch debates. 

I wonder, though, whether your family is like mine when it comes to politics. I wonder if, around the Thanksgiving table, you've got Democrats and Republicans and Libertarians and Independents chewing on turkey all at the same time. It's like a little miracle of peace brought about by pumpkin pie. 

And then you finish eating turkey and dressing, and head back to everyday life. Sitting safe at your computer, the Facebook debates begin. Before it's all over, you tie yourself into knots, sacrificing peace for the sake of politicians. 

But I wonder what would happen if we skipped all that mess this year. What if we remembered that while the President will change every so often, our loved ones will be stuck with us for life?

After all, they're not numbskulls. (Everybody knows numbskullery runs in families.)  

Let the Fun Begin, 

Becki*