Homeschooling- The New Begining

So this year we decided to home school Oni for 2nd grade and start on preschool for Bug. We've been at it almost a month. And honestly there are some massive ups and downs. Oni gets bored easily. And when I bought the work books we're using (math, science, and language arts- because he likes work books, usually) I bought for his grade level. Well I'm coming to realize, slowly, he is beyond most of the work (esp in math and language arts) and his resistance is from boredom. Now I can't just go out and buy all new books, so I need to get creative. This I'm finding is harder than I think.

I'd love to do unit studies but his interests varies so quickly, what he likes today he may not like tomorrow. For example he really wanted to send and recive some letters to/from people. I called on some friends and he got plenty of mail, but now he doesn't want to send some himself. He still wants to recive more, just not put any effort into recipocating the letters. How do I handle that? He hates writing, he says. But asks to journal daily? {scratching my head}

I found a few websites that have educational games for him and he could spend hours playing them, but is he really learning anything? I don't know, there's no way for me to "test" that.

Wednesdays are turning into our hardest days, with so much resistance. So I'm brainstorming how to handle them differently. I may turn them into art/music/hands-on science day. Just to lighten the load on us all but also to keep him going.

I'm also slacking on Bug's preschool. It was agreed with the husband I'd start with him while doing Oni. Most days he shows no interest. and I don't feel at 3 yo I need to push him. I never did my others and they've all loved to learn.They learn mostly through play at this age anyways. So when he is interested He's playing "school" and wants to be like his big brother. But he's learning.So slowly, at his pace, he's doing preschool- or maybe its really Playschool!

If you home school, and have any great ideas, sites, books or anything- Please comment. We love sharing here! And I'll be sure to share our adventures, gems and duds as we go!