New Year, or rather, Schoolyear

I enjoy New Year's like anybody else, and we often have a bunch of people over to bring in the New Year together. However, New Year's in this house begins with the first day of school. The week school starts always feels more like a new year than the actual holiday. EVERYTHING changes! No more lazy days of summer, beach days, vacation, or daily afternoon popscicles. Being a homeschooling mom, I still have these options, but we try to stick with the routine as much as possible.
This year, my eldest returned to school. There she goes, growing up on me. Well, I knew it was time, even last year, to send her back. She started getting very bored at home, and needed some more friends who could sit and talk to her about the latest news on the Jonas Brothers, or crack jokes that only make sense to Jr. Highers. Don't get me wrong.....we have a wonderful relationship. But it's just not the same as your buddies. So, she's had a couple of days of school, and she's so happy, which of course makes me very happy, too. My other two have also started school here at home, and they are settling in well. It almost seems like they don't have enough to do, but I guess that means they're working hard! By 11:00 they have their grammar, reading, vocab, spelling, writing, math, and science done! We haven't added in history, yet, which will begin next week.
I just have to say we started a new curriculum....Total Language Plus. What an awesome curriculum. All the language arts is in one book, and is related to an award winning book the kids read. This has made life so much easier for us, so we're not shuffling through bookshelves, looking for the lost vocab or spelling book. It also makes it more streamlined, and less transition time is needed. If you homeschool, check out their website http://www.totallanguageplus.com/
So, as we journey through the elementary, jr high and high school years, each New Year, beginning in September (or end of August) for us, brings new challenges, and much to look forward to. Hey...maybe we should have a New Year's party in September?