Officially Homeschooling!

We are official.  We're a couple weeks into our curriculum, "My Father's World" and enjoying it immensely.  We're made clay jars that hold scrolls, a worm terrarium, growing sweet potatoes and beans from seeds.
I'm teaching them how to draw and we've created many works of art so far.  My girls are also a lot smarter than they let on.  I'm finally beginning to understand how much they learned in Kindergarten, and I can confidently say their previous teachers have done an excellent job.
It's been trying at times, as usually most new things are, but I think with lots of prayer and a stickler for routine, we've found our groove.  I can say I've truly enjoyed these last couple of weeks....we're on school day #17.  Today I drug out "66 thin books" to help the girls visualize how many books are in the Bible.  They both agreed they'd much rather carry around an actual Bible than all those books.  It was entertaining watching their eyes bulge while trying to pick up a stack of books.  They are enticed by our science projects, they remind me when we need to check on the beans or sweet potato that we're growing.  The worm terrarium did not wow them so I'm going to see if I can send away for some ants instead.  We are also studying how things grow while enjoying the fruits of the garden we planted this spring.  Strawberries are sweetening on the vine, the potatoes are ready to be harvested and I have quite a few onions, bell peppers and even a few cucumber for pickles that need picked.  Ummmm, refrigerator dill pickles!  I'm gonna try my hand at canning this year for the first time and am looking forward to making my own salsa and spaghetti sauce.
So back to the kids.  I really wanted to share my insight on their anxieties and speech interactions.  I've asked them if they like having school here at home and each child has said yes, they're not interested in going back to public school in the fall.  They've been pretty resistant to the idea of starting the Co Op on Fridays this fall as well, but that's one thing I'm going to stick to for certain.  They need the social interaction whether they're comfortable with it or not.  Some of that cognitive behavioral therapy stuff.  I called the school district yesterday to make sure they're ready to go for Speech therapy through the school district and I'm even thinking about making them take the music and art class at their old school.   The school they used to go to will allow their participation in 'elective' classes which I found quite interesting.   I haven't sprung this on them yet, but I think I've noticed a calm that has overcome them this summer.  Wishful thinking?....maybe.  Maybe not.  I'm hoping and praying God sees us through this and that He can lead me to help strengthen their confidence and find their voices.