Carson started kindergarten this fall. He loves his teacher. I do, too. She’s smart, caring, and super-hot.

It’s not something we had planned for Carson since birth, but homeschooling is something Katie and I have moved into naturally and confidentally. With Katie’s background in early childhood education and my having worked as a teacher (holla to all my Brookside Elementary friends!), it’s a natural fit. 

Things we’re excited about:

Flexible scheduling. I don’t work 9-5, M-F. Most of my work is during the afternoons, evenings and weekends. If Carson were in a traditional school, I’d rarely see him. Also, I get the occasional opportunity to travel with work. Being able to travel as a family is nice. Lastly, homeschooling doesn’t have to take 8 hours per day.

Control over the pace of the curriculum. Notice I didn’t say “control over the content.” Carson will be learning all the same content taught in traditional schools, it’s just that we’ll be able to speed up and slow down as necessary. If Carson wants to spend extra time studying something that interests him, no problem. If he blows through concepts quickly, we can move on to more advanced ones.

Social opportunities. Our schedule is open and we’re beyond the bounds of school districts. Carson can go to any classes or groups he/we want. That’s very freeing.

This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for you, Katie, for taking on this incredible responsibility. You’re organized, nurturing and passionate about Carson’s future. You are perfect for this.

Backpack Bear visits each day and has a note for Carson.

Carson and Backpack Bear checking out the weather (rainy that day). Notice the drawings on the windows.

Jumping jacks.

Love this.

We’re not really advocates for homeschooling, per se. It’s not for everyone. We get that. But if any of you are curious about what resources we lean on for ideas and encouragement in parenting/teaching, here are a few of our faves:

Bluegrass Homeschool Learning Cooperative
Positive Parenting
Starfall (their kindergarten curriculm covers language arts, science, social studies)
Singapore Math
Handwriting Without Tears
Dr. Sears
Attachment Parenting
Mrs. Jump

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Katie at mamabubblering@yahoo.com . We’re not experts, but we’re happy to chat about these things.

We recently had the chance to hook up with friends while at Disney World. Together we spend a couple days celebrating not only the birthday of one sweet boy named Cooper, but also the love between friends and family.

To Tiffiney, George, Jordan, Courtney, Michael, Ally, Cooper, Spencer, Rachel, Rosie, Rob and Charlotte—-Thank you for enriching our lives. You rock.

Carson’s birthday fell during our family vacation, so we celebrated a couple weeks beforehand. And since it’s been crazy non-stop since we got back in town, I’m just now getting a chance to share some of these images.

Carson had a great turnout of friends for his dinosaur-themed Oogles-N-Googles party, at which our friend and cake artist extraordinaire Brandi Romines (Happy As A Lark Cakes) surprised Carson with the biggest edible dinosaur cake you can imagine. She spend an enormous amount of time making sure everything was perfect, modeling it after one of Carson’s toys. Thank you, Brandi! You’re amazing at what you do and deserve tons of success!

Awesome, right?

Pretty impressive, eh?

Flying dinosaurs.

Ally as a triceratops.

Volcano!

Carson loved all of his gifts, but he’s especially fond of books and stickers.

While we were singing Happy Birthday, Carson was sneaking a few bites.

Everybody needs hugs.

Especially the kind that lift you off the ground!

After partying with Carson’s friends, we went back home to have both my and Katie’s families over to hang out.

Auntie Rebecca.

Elijah.

We made sure to give Cera a gift, too. Kept her busy for quite some time.

Aidan is a big reader, too.

Nana!

Mimi and Pop-Pop.

The boys and Gigi.

Even Ben from next door popped in.

Dear Carson—You can’t read all of this now, but one day, you’ll stumble across these posts. I hope you’ll always know how much we love you and how proud of you we are. You’re awesome, buddy—and such a big boy now!