Prep for next year's adventure

Hi there,
I've been busy lately filling out paperwork to register the kids for an online charter public school called Connections Academy. We are very excited to start this new adventure. Big Daddy and I have been considering homeschooling for quite some time now and it seems to be the right time to embark on this endeavor. When trying to find a curriculum that we could afford, I came across the website for this online school. After reading everything on the site and attending an informational meeting with the Jim Thomas, the President of Oregon Connections Academy, we decided to go ahead and enroll them.

The kids will each have a teacher online whom they will be in contact with via webmail and phone at least once a week or as often as they need to be. I will be the hands on help, referred to as the "Learning Coach". It is actual accredited public school so we will have to complete a set number of days and will have a schedule to keep, but the cool part is that WE will determine the schedule. If we want to have school in the backyard on nice days we can. We can eat lunch whenever we are hungry, take breaks when they are needed and all in all enjoy more freedom than a traditional school schedule would allow. We are planning to join another homeschooling family on a regular basis for science and art activities as well as some outdoor stuff.

If you are interested in this or want to check it out some more to understand what we mean you can visit the Connections Academy website here: http://www.connectionsacademy.com/

Because this is regular public school, we will be adding a Bible curriculum in on our own (and probably a science one as well) for balance. My plan is to make it our morning devotion time before school starts every day. I know that we will only be able to do this successfully when we put God first in our day. That will help set the tone for the rest of the day and hopefully help with the sibling rivalry we constantly battle against. Thanks for your prayers and support. I'm sure we (I) will be needing them. Incidently, I also need a resource for an 8 ft. table. I like the plastic-topped ones like these ones from Costco but I would like to find one for less if I can. I always appreciate tips on saving money.

I know I can do this. I go through moments of panic when I think about how I won't have the same quiet morning routine anymore and it will probably be pretty hard in some ways, but I am really looking forward to having my kids around more often and helping more to shape who they are. I'd rather not rely on the flawed public school system to mould my children.