Well, hi there! I’m back! Work is over.  It has been for a month actually.  As much as I wanted to dive back into Big Binder – I had some home-work to do.  First, I had to fix my kids.  They got used to being in a large group of loud and semi-naughty kids with a fairly dispassionate adult tending to them.  We had some attitude adjustments to make. More difficult was re-adjusting their appetites.  Do you KNOW what they feed kids in daycare? It’s gross.  Everything is sort of a pale yellow color and exactly the same consistency.  I still get a little ‘bleccchh’ shiver when I think about it.

I think it’s only fitting that I re-emerge into the blogging world on a day I can participate in Things I Love Thursday.  Jill was one of several people who talked to me or took the time to write and encourage me to get off my butt and fire up Big Binder again.  It’s amazing to be thanked and encouraged to do what you love, so a big thank you to everyone who showed me the love and kept checking back in to see if I had started writing again.

My kids are both in half-day programs at school, so we have a lot of time for fun things in the afternoons.  Fortunately, living in what I think must be the homeschool capital of the universe, there is a lot going on.  It began to dawn on me that homeschooled kids go to a lot of performances, presentations, and seminars.  And then it dawned on me that although I send my kids to school, I am also a homeschooler.  Kind of. Well, sort of. OK maybe it’s a bit of a stretch, but I can live with that.

A few weeks ago, I called and got tickets to the ‘school’ performance of the Grand Rapids Symphony’s Lollipop Concert, Hansel and Gretel.  This was WAY better than going to the Saturday morning performance – it wasn’t as crowded and the majority of the kids showed up on busses so we got a way better parking spot.  The next performance is Ferdinand the Bull,  a book my kids love so we are not going to miss this, (even if we have to go to the Saturday performance.)  Just call the Symphony and ask when the school performances are, and get your tickets directly from them.

Next month, we are going to some homeschool programs at Blandford Nature Center.  Click on their website, then go to “Education Programs”, then “Homeschool Programs”.  I have two websites I like for finding more ‘homeschool’ opportunities.  First is Grand Rapids Learning Exchange.  It is really thorough and is a fantastic resource.  Next is the Homeschool Building website, although I just look at the calendar.  I don’t have enough guts to show up to anything – I’d be sniffed out as a phony in a second.  But seriously; why should the homeschoolers have all the fun ?  For more Things I Love Thursday, check out the Diaper Diaries.