Best. First. Day. Ever. Seriously, you guys. The kids were happy, laughing, bummed when our work was complete and told me over and over again how fun they thought school was today. And, it was our first day with three school-goers! I fully understand that not every day will be like this; but, I also know that you can’t let a day this good go by uncelebrated.

So, why so good? There are a few key elements of the day that stand out to me:

#1 MOM GOT UP EARLY

I know, this is so basic and you probably already do this and I am a grown woman who should aspire to a Proverbs 31 approach to life. But, I hate getting up early. Alarms are evil. Maybe I’m part werewolf, but I just prefer the night. It’s so. hard. to get up early. Am I making my position clear? You get how much I hate getting up, right? But, today – I did it. I was awake, showered and had both dogs walked before any of my kids got up. I enjoyed a little quiet coffee and devotional time while my oldest ate breakfast and felt completely ready to tackle the day. I don’t think I will ever LIKE getting up early because it’s just not how I’m wired, but I know I need to in order to set a successful tone for the day.

#2 ENJOYED SOME 1:1 TIME WITH MY LITTLEST BEFORE THE SCHOOLWORK BEGAN

Imagine the most adorable little wood nymph you’ve ever seen. You innocently bend down to tickle his ears with an, “Aw, hi there, little fella. You’re such a cutie p…” and suddenly you’re being hoisted in the air by your ankles in an elaborate vine trap inexplicably rigged by this adorable, evil genius. That’s my three-year-old. But today, he and I enjoyed a quiet breakfast, just the two of us, giggling and chatting without anybody else in the kitchen. I think this filled both our love tanks such that I could breeze through school with my three older kids and he was completely content to play next to us without feeling like he needed extra doses of mom’s attention.

#3 ATTITUDES WERE EVERYTHING

We read The Pout-Pout Fish Goes to School last night before bed to set a tone for our upcoming big day and my best attempt at a Pout-Pout image and his wisdom graced our white board when the kids came downstairs this morning. (See image above. I pursued an art minor for part of my college career; I’ll let you figure out why I ended up dropping it…) My kids woke up excited about school and I did everything I could to keep things upbeat and humming along to match their great moods. I know this won’t happen every day, and if I knew how to manufacture good attitudes in children I could retire now and move to that chicken ranch I’ve always wanted. But, I guess the takeaway for me is to try my best to build joy and excitement into our every day and to acknowledge their great attitudes when I see them.  Today I told them how much I appreciated their great attitudes and hard work and let each one enjoy a piece of candy with lunch. (I know, don’t reward them with food. But candy just seemed more celebratory than an extra apple slice. I’m a flawed human being.)

So, how was your first day? Remember that whether it sung or stunk, tomorrow is a new day and another opportunity to start fresh! If you have any advice or tips on how to make a homeschool day run more smoothly, we’d love to hear. Drop a comment below and lets talk about it!