It’s that time of year . . . the back-to-school frenzy is at its peak. Hurried mothers everywhere scramble to get things ready. There is so much to do. . . . and I am missing it all. Hehe! Such is the life of the homeschooling mom. Yet another benefit to be added to the growing list.

We have not been homeschooling long. My three children are all six years old. (Twins plus a single who will soon be seven.) All three are entering First Grade this year after spending Kindergarten at home last year. I understand this is not the perfect option for every family, but it is definitely working for us.

I love having the kids home with me and it is such a joy to learn as they learn. This year we are going to focus heavily on science. First Grade is not typically the place for much science discussion, but there you have it, one of the benefits of homeschooling. Nothing needs to by typical. Children, as well as adults, learn best when learning about something in which they have high interest.

All three of my children are extremely inquisitive about everything. They ask tons of questions, and I try to answer every single one. This is never more apparent than when they have me trapped behind the wheel of a car. It is a family joke, that once I get behind the wheel of a car they have trapped me and they know it. Often it is in the car, when I am bombarded with one question after another. (And we’re leaving Monday on a three day trek from California to Oklahoma to see my mom. I will be exhausted by the time I get there.) Obviously, I can’t know all the answers. Do ants have toes? I don’t know, but we can look it up.

Of course we’ll throw in some reading, writing and arithmetic this school year as well. (Science can’t hardly be done without it.) But the main focus I’ve decided will be as much hands-on science as I can throw at them. To do anything else I feel would be to miss a grand opportunity to snag their interest in this area while I can.

Yesterday our bunny rabbit chewed through the power cord to my laptop. (He’s fine by the way.) This incident, of course, turned into an opportunity to discuss how to safely repair the cord, the dangers of electricity, how electricity works, how electricity was discovered, how electricity is used, how grounding must have kept the bunny from being electrocuted, etc. My three normally rambunctious youngsters sat on the floor helping me as I worked to repair the cord hanging on my every word, as if spellbound. And they will still be talking about it tomorrow and probably coming up with questions throughout the three day trip to Oklahoma. I can see with my own eyes what they are learning and it feels so good.

Now, lest you begin to think this is a homeschool blog . . . here are a couple of new sales promotions which have been emailed to me:

Eastbay.com sell shoes in all sizes, including a large variety of wide widths. They are having a Back-to-School Sale and have two new promotional codes available:

• Use Code LKS1JG80 for 10% off of $80 or more. (Exp. 9/2/05)
  
• Use Code LKS12131 for $20 off $125. (Exp. 9/2/05)