first day of school

First Day of School 2024

Today we kicked off the 2024-25 school year, Ladybug’s last year in our little homeschool. I organized the school room as best as I could so we could start fresh, but it’s getting increasingly difficult to find room for all of the books (and Lego sets!) in our collection!

As always, there were Schultüte to open first thing:

And pictures to take. Ladybug is in 12th grade this year, and Chickadee is now a junior high student in 7th grade!

We did some work this morning, but not every subject:

I had to run out to the orthodontist with Turkey before he heads back to college, so we stopped for a first day of school treat at Scooter’s…pumpkin spice season has arrived!

And then, as we usually do, we got to work building our Lego set(s). I decided that instead of a larger set, I would get the mini Disney castles we didn’t already have, so we could complete that collection. Even I got to build this year, because I still had the Sleeping Beauty castle I picked up while we were at the Mall of America this summer!

It a lovely little collection, but I don’t know what we’ll do for space if they make more castles…and at the same time, I really hope they do a replica of the castle at Disneyland Paris!

For dinner, I made one of Ladybug’s favorites…pot roast and green beans. And we enjoyed a cinnamon roll cheesecake for dessert.

It was a great kickoff to the new school year!

Schultüte 2024

Here’s a look at this year’s rendition of my favorite first day of school tradition, the Schultüte:

Our first day of school had something of a Lilo and Stitch theme, including some fun items in the cones:

Blind bag items are always super popular!

I guess next year, I’ll only have to make one of these.

First Day of Twelfth Grade

Ladybug has made it to her senior year of high school here at Veritas Academy! It’s just as hard for me to believe that as it was for me to come to the same realization about Turkey and Bunny four years ago…and I’m still worried that this school year is just going to be one long rendition of “One Last Time!”

And while I’m at it, here’s a picture of her on her very first day of school here at home, way back in 2012:

Mani Monday

This week, in honor of the start of my 17th year as a home educator, I decided to do my nails with our three school colors. I used Holo Taco’s “Red Licorice” (red), “Circuit Breaker” (silver), and “Inside Job” (purple), with a coat of “Silver Flake Taco” on the nail of my ring finger and “Red Flake Taco” on the nail of my pinkie.

Chickadee Thursday

Here are a few more pictures from our visit to the Twistee Treat Diner at The Pink Elephant last week. Chickadee has exclaimed over the elephant every time we’ve driven past on our way to Chicago, so she was very excited to actually stop by!

Away from Home

Today is Bunny’s first day of classes at the four-year college she transferred to to complete her college education. She’s already been away from home for over a week, and we miss her terribly, but we’re also very excited for the opportunities she’s going to have over the next two years!

Schultüte 2023

It’s the first day of school, and that means it’s time for our favorite beginning-of-the-school-year tradition…Schultüte!

This year, I wasn’t able to find Lego minifigs, and I also didn’t see any pins I liked, so I found a few new things to add to the cones…pencil toppers that are absolutely adorable (both girls got rare characters, too!), and bag charms:

The fancy pens I found were also a popular item!

I really love that we continue this tradition every year!