Last Day of School

Yesterday was our last official day of school until after the holidays! I had decided at the beginning of the school year to start a couple of weeks early so that we could enjoy the first few weeks of having a baby and also all the fun that the holidays bring. Last year I think we stopped Thanksgiving week although I didn't plan for it. We ended up doing school through the end of June. But, this year I planned way ahead. Now we can play, clean, bake, create, shop, visit and do whatever we want to make all the holidays special. The girls are making their Christmas presents for friends. We plan on baking a lot. Going to all of the concerts, ballets and performances we can. Maybe even see a movie or two if any good ones come out. It takes the stress out of the holidays for us to take so much time off. Last year we seemed to have plenty of time to do whatever we needed to do. I suppose we will keep up with math, reading and writing to some extent only because those are skills I believe need to stay fresh. We will continue our free reading books every night which has basically become habit whether we are in school or not. But things will be laid back, no strict schedule. If something comes up we have the flexibility to school around it if I want to. We have done 14-15 weeks of school already and I am ready for the break. Plus, part of the homeschool is the "home" schooling and what better way to teach some of the more domestic aspects of life then around the joy and excitement of the holidays . . . .