Back to Blogging

Well, school is underway and so is fall. We have spent the month of September getting our school year started and trying to get into a routine again. Now that it's going I can hopefully get back to more regular blogging. I have been working on some fall things for my Etsy shop. I just listed a couple today and will have more later this week.
Don't forget to sign up for the Naturally Comfy Newsletter here. I am planning a giveaway or two in the next few weeks for my newsletter subscribers.
See you next time.

Homeschool Thursday

Well, we started school this week. We have started out slow, only doing a couple of subjects. Next week we will get more going on. This week though we took our first field trip of the new school year. We went to the zoo. It was a great day, sunny but not too hot. We had a nice time and got some cute pictures. We were able to get a look at the 3 week old giraffe outside with the other giraffes. See the baby over there?

Here's the daddy. Isn't he cute?

We visited the dog shark area, where you can touch the sharks. The kids love that!

The polar bear is one of our favorites too.

We also took in the dolphin show, but I can never get good pictures in there.
We didn't get to all the animals this trip. Next time I guess. I think our next field trip will be the beginning of October. Stay tuned, I'll be posting about it.

Gearing Up For School

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted anything new. I have been trying to get things more organized and cleaned out around home before we start school for this year. We will be starting school the week of the 31st. We are usually earlier than that, but I need some organization before we start. We have parted with a ton of stuff this week and hopefully next week will be just as productive. We have a small house and it is just too full.
This school year I am already planning some field trips. We didn't do many last year and I want this year to be a little more exciting and fun. Our first official field trip will be the zoo. And it will actually be our second day of school. What a great way to start the school year.
So anyway, after we get things underway for school I'm hoping to have more time for blogging more often and regularly and also for my etsy shop. And of course I'll be sharing pictures of our field trips. So check back and I'll see you soon.

Homeschool Hiatus

The how to get started homeschooling posts will be on hold for a couple of weeks. But will be back shortly.

How to Get Started Homeschooling

Lately I have had a few people ask me how to go about starting to homeschool. So I decided to devote my Thursday blog posts to homeschooling information for beginning or even pre beginning homeschoolers. For the parent contemplating it, it can be a little unnerving. It doesn't have to be. Arm yourself with the right information and you'll be an old pro in no time.
The first thing you need to do is find out the laws and requirements for homeschooling in your state. Here is a link to the Indiana Department of Education. It has requirements for Indiana homeschooling. Another site for Indiana is here. For those of you in different states look here for your state. Also look at this link http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp and find your state then click the Legal Analysis link.
The next thing is to read, then read and then read some more. Look at your local library. There are lots of books on homeschooling.

• Homeschooling Handbook by Mary Griffith
• First Year of Homeschooling Your Child by Linda Dobson
• The Homeschooling Book of Answers : The 88 Most Important Questions Answered by Homeschooling's Most Respected Voices by Linda Dobson

There are many more books on the subject, just have a look around the library or book store. I will leave you with a couple more links to check out. http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/regional/Indiana.htm
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/articles/083198.htm

There is a lot of information in all of these links. Read through it to get an idea of the legalities and homeschooling basics. Next Thursday I will be posting about the cost of homeschooling, general curriculum concerns and record keeping.

Gentlemen and Ladies Start Your Engines

This is May and around these parts it is all about the racing. http://www.indy500.com/From the big cheesy grin of Helio to the serious face of Danica, these people are big around Indy this month. I visited the track in my younger days. These days though, hearing about the racing makes me think of summer. We are moving from cool springtime to hot summertime. Everything summer seems to start with the Indy 500.
This month the ferns that come up every spring have grown to about 45" tall.

I started out with 3 little ferns a few years ago and they have turned into a huge monsterish bunch of ferns. Baby birds are everywhere trying to learn to fly before the cats catch up with them.
By race weekend the pools will open up and everyone will be flocking to them to cool off. School will be out and bored kids will be looking for things to do. Here are some ideas.

http://www.kidsturncentral.com/summer/summer.htm
http://www.homeschool.com/articles/101ThingsToDoThisSummer/default.asp
My kids still like to catch bugs. I am going to try making some bug keepers. Look for them in my etsy shop later this month (hopefully). http://www.naturallycomfy.etsy.com/
I will be busy trying to fill up my shop and keep my kids learning this summer.
So, since we are racing on into summer, I would love to hear what you will be doing this summer.