Good Bye House, Good Bye Texas, Good Bye Homeschool

Well, last month it became official that we are moving from Texas to California. My husband and I believe that the west coast is where the Lord is leading us. So, we are following. As with most things, life has not gone exactly as planned since we decided to move. But things are progressing none the less.

School is Out
I was wondering how I would manage packing up a house and homeschooling at the same time. But the principal (my husband) made it easy for me. School is out until....well....ummmm....... It may be out until next month or it may be out for a couple of months. Flexibility is the name of the game when you homeschool.

So, I have begun packing - getting the children's help whenever possible. And when they aren't helping they have been reading (our library books aren't due back for 2 weeks), watching something on Netflix, eating a meal, or drawing.

The Joys of Boxes
Thanks to my children I found out that if you put a white label on a box then you have an instant canvas. You can also take those same labels and make your own stickers; and then stick them where? Well, on a box of course! Boxes are also a great place to put a few rows of smiley face sticker, after smiley face sticker, after smiley face sticker....

And since life is school, I am having my 6 and 7 year olds label the boxes. Hey, you can't blame me for not wanting their handwriting to get rusty, right? And I must admit that I did consider having the children write out their additions tables on some of the boxes as well. But I know that would probably be pushing it since the principal declared that the official school year has ended.

Still Walking it Out
Despite the packing, we are still trying to meet our goal of exercise 3 times a week. That means that we walk to the park (that's 12 minutes), play for 30 - 45 minutes , and then walk back (another 12 minutes). Actually, the children play while I power walk around the park.

We got a poster from Subway Kids called "Let's Step It Up". It's part of the Random Acts of Fitness for Kids program that Subway had last year. We put up one sticker for each week that we meet our goal. It just so happens that we only have one star to go to meet our goal for this year. I thank God for the timing on that. This is the only poster that remains on the wall in our schoolroom.

It's OK to Let Go
Even though school is out, packing has turned out to be a great way to teach the children about purging. I explained that we will be donating items that: are in good condition that we never use anymore, we have outgrown, or that we just don't want any longer. I thought that the children would take it hard. But so far, everyone has been parting with items amicably.

I am not looking forward to leaving my church family. But I am excited about the next adventure that is our life.