Not the first day of school

The local public school begins today, so a neighbor girl who also is homeschooled spent the night last night. We went to bed and let the girls stay up as late as they wanted. They are sleeping in this morning. Part of the thrill of this for the two of them is that the friend has a younger brother and sister who both attend the public school. Having the sleepover last night accomplishes a few different things. It allows her Mom to get the other two up and off to school with no interference from their big sister and no ha-ha I get to stay home. It gives the girls something special to celebrate the start of the homeschool year. It reminds them of what they gain by being homeschooled instead of what they miss. This isn't hard for my daughter, but her friend was a social butterfly in public school, and she misses having other kids who are not her brother and sister around her all the time. When the girls get up, I have a tube of cinnamon rolls in the fridge that they can make for breakfast. The neighbor's little brother has a Drs apt this morning, so after her Mom drops him off at school, she will come by and get her daughter, and our two girls will start the year with a half day.

Because it is Tuesday, and I believe that certain things, like spelling, take a full 5 day week, we are going to do other things than regular curriculum this week. I have a kit for learning how to read a non-fiction book-- and we will do that this week. It gives her some hands on fun to get back into the swing of things, and useful information that she will use long-term. It also hits some of the 5th grade standards of learning.