"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit...Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that.'"
This year we decided to begin school in mid-August. Our books had arrived and the kids were anxious to get going. On Sunday we had a little celebration and gave the kids their traditional "school gifts." Stephen and I had smuggled these treats during our last trip to the dollar store. Sis got a Sleeping Beauty doll, and the boys each got a new character car (from the movie "Cars"). These have provided endless fun...
On Monday morning we rose early and ate donuts with Stephen before starting our first day of school. The kids and I had rehearsed their "chore cards" over the weekend so they knew exactly what was expected of them. Baby Boy was perplexed by these changes and more than a little resentful of this new structure. This week he has expressed his frustration in some creative ways (coloring our couch, tearing books out of his siblings' hands, breaking 2 bowls, dumping his new water bottle in the family room, and yelling "MAAAAAMAAAAA!!" while I'm trying to read. It became clear that HIS training was going to become a bigger priority in our orientation week than I had anticipated. Fighting tears of frustration, I reminded myself that God has promised strength in proportion to the tasks He requires of me. These kinks in my "perfectly planned" schedule were clearly part of His best plan to humble me and teach me flexibility.
Our week did improve with only a smattering of mishaps along the way; somehow I was even able to laugh when our "talking globe" nearly went up in flames (some sort of electrical jumble that resulted in vile fumes, smoking components, and shrieks from the children). Time and again I took a deep breath, prayed a quick "HELP, GOD!" and moved on to Plan B (i.e. locating Peru on a WALL MAP).
I am truly excited about all that we will be learning this year. Over the past two years we have studied Old World History. Now we are using Sonlight Core 3 (part one to U.S. History). I have supplemented this program with some great items from Veritas Press (including Shurley English, Latina Christiana, and "A Reason for Handwriting" - in which the kids copy Scripture passages and catechism, and Saxon Math. We are doing an Introduction to Biology (with hands on experiements) and a fun Lyrical Life Science program. Other "extras" include Sequential Spelling, Bible reading/memory work, an Overview of Classical Poetry and Introduction to Orchestra.
Our favorite part of the day is when we curl up with our readers. This week we began "Poccahontas" and "Walk the World's Rim" to enhance our understanding of Native Americans. In the evening, we have been reading a chapter of "Mountain Born" with Stephen (Buddy's special book).
I am so thankful for the opportunity to choose my children's curriculum and to learn with them each and every day. As challenging as homeschooling can be, I wouldn't trade this adventure for anything.
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