Long-Overdue UPDATE!

I started this little blog almost ten years ago.

It was meant to be a journal of sorts for our homeschooling journey, starting when Aidyn was only three years old.

And now, hard as it is to believe, he is twelve years old and now has a little brother and sister (and soon a second sister!) who has joined him on his learning adventures.

It can be a hectic life, but it's filled with love, learning, and constant growing.

For the past nine years, we have mostly homeschooled in a relaxed, classical and literature-based way. We have read through many of the great books, rousing adventures, solid classics, and books of fantasy and imagination.

Aidyn's brother, Jack, already expresses eagerness to "do school" like his brother. He enjoys painting, drawing, writing, and being read to. He claims his favorite book is The One and Only Ivan though I haven't read it to him yet; he just likes carrying the massive book around with him.

Aidyn's sister, Natalie, is a full-on explorer extraordinaire! She is constantly making messes, dumping water, touching things she shouldn't, and knocking over objects all in effort to understand and explore her world. She is insatiably curious and employs an impressive range of vocabulary.

We also have a baby girl, Ember, due in just a few weeks.

I am beyond excited to see how they all continue to learn and grow together. Now that Jack is expressing more of an interest to tag along with his brother, I'm going to start him on a fun learning adventure, harking back to when Aidyn was only four and we explored the same topics.

We have a Disneyland trip planned for next year, and I want to take them all on a Disneyland-inspired learning journey over the course of this year. Of course, it will be gentle, fun, and exploratory (no boxed curricula or forced table time or worksheets here!).

We will be using the many lands of the Disneyland Resort to inspire our learning adventure. When in Adventureland, we will read books about the jungle and savanna, exotic animals, and tropical fruit. When in New Orleans Square, we will read about pirates and their plunders, ghosts and spooky mansions, and explore the creole culture of Louisiana.

Now that Aidyn is an independent and strong reader, he can enjoy many of the classic works that inspired these stories and lands.

I am going to do my best to continue my little blog-journal, so we can record all of our children's educational journey. It is heartwarming to be able to reach back and read what Aidyn was doing so many years ago and how much he has grown.