Homeschooling is a Bad Idea

School...now that makes sense. I mean, I have things that must get done in order to live a sanitary life. Dishes, clothes, bathrooms, floors, on occasion must be cleaned. Air conditioner filters need to be changed, the cats need their shots, dinner must be prepared...At the moment my lawn looks like the boogey-man could rise up from the grass and weeds at any moment because there has been no time to mow or weed back there. Once in a while I need to sleep. and shower.

So I hear that it works like this--in the morning the kids walk down to the corner, jump on the bus and go to school. The teacher gets all her plans for the day done. The lunch ladies serve food.  The principle  manages disorderly conduct, and the secretary deals with all the interruptions. The kids come home relatively clean, supposedly better educated, and richer for their experiences. I know, right? Sounds like a great deal. I mean, we did it and turned out okay (don't laugh). (Oops...I meant principal. I would edit the error, but the comment below from a kind anonymous reader who felt the need to correct my spelling deserves to be noticed)

This homeschooling life is balanced on a very thin thread, I find. Whether we start math at 8:30 or 9:00 can affect the entire outcome of the day. If something comes up that cuts into lessons for too long on any given day it can throw off the whole week. I get so sick of thinking what we're going to eat for lunch that I could scream sometimes. I look in the laundry room and realize that the wet clothes have been in that washer for days--so much for my water-saving washer--how do you get rid of that smell again?

But there is this thing that I find I am so addicted to that I can't consider the alternative. It is the time that we spend face-to-face, side-by-side, heart-to-heart reading, looking up, cutting and pasting, discussing, watching...praying. Today my kids and I started our day by talking seriously about 9/11, an opportunity that I would not trade for anything. It was not on my "agenda." Later they jumped into their science lesson with both feet, and while I read they made collages of swimming creatures to put on their science notebook covers. One of them learned how to receive a compliment from the other without boasting, and how to ask forgiveness for careless words when they were done. They learned how to be ready to serve when the neighbor had to take her sick son to the e.r. and we watched her two other little ones. A blogger I follow has a title description on her front page which reads "living. lovely." And I think "of course." It just makes sense.

And while all the little frustrations seem to add up at times, there is just nowhere else that a kid can do his physical geography lesson outside in the sun with good friends, wearing an army helmet for no apparent reason without someone noticing. Really, not one person even mentioned it...

Maybe this isn't such a bad idea after all.

Remembering

On September 11, 2001, I received a call from my husband at Coast Guard HQ, Washinginton, DC, telling me something had happened in New York. Could I turn on the TV and see what exactly was going on?

Oh, it was no small plane. Watching in horror, the second one hit. Then a bit later the attack on the Pentagon shook the ground. I could see the smoke from my upstairs window. I could no longer reach my husband by phone...or anyone. For some reason people could call me but I could not call them, and so I asked family to call about every 30 minutes to check in. At the moment I wasn't sure we wouldn't need to evacuate.

Four weeks and two days earlier I had given birth to our son. I held him in my arms all day. I cried, and panicked privately that this was the day that his small life could be cut short. I didn't want to put him down for even a second. Standing in my kitchen with tears streaming down my face I stared into his tiny face and wondered--should I try to get out of town to safety? Should I stay and wait for his dad to get home? What on earth has fate brought you to? What world awaits you, small boy? Amidst those swirling thoughts--he smiled at me. It was only his second smile, the first had come just a morning or two earlier when we awoke--he had wrinkled his nose and lit up his eyes at me. A strange sense of calm washed over me and I knew that no matter what was coming, for that day, we would be okay.

Today, ten years later I sat in church with that boy beside me. I remembered that beautiful, horrible day, that moment, every thought that had surged through my head. We prayed the litany of remembrance for 9/11. I am caught by grief every time I remember that day, but I thank God for this--it changed my perspective forever. I cannot, and will not take the moments of loving and holding my children and my husband for granted. I cannot, and will not expect that we have a right for things to go as we hope and imagine they will. I cannot, and will not place myself as judge and jury over the sins of my friend, my neighbor, my countryman, a foreigner, or my enemies. I will make no claim to know what God has in store, but will walk by faith every day, trusting that I am his and he will never leave me nor forsake me.

My boy does not fully comprehend the tears I shed. He does not understand how to me he can be so big when in my memory, especially on this day, he is so tiny and frail and innocent. All that he is, and all that he is becoming amazes me every day. I thank God for the opportunity to share that experience with him, to be bonded together in that moment. I thank God for the gift of life.

We grieve those who were lost. We must not forget to humbly embrace those who remain, and steward each day with great care.

Week 2: It happens...

Every school year, it happens. Labor Day weekend we try to eek out that last bit of summer, exhaust ourselves, then catch a cold. On Tuesday morning we began our Tapestry of Grace group, and by the afternoon the black circles under the eyes, the whining, and the complaints of strange pains and miseries of various types had begun. By Wednesday we were cancelling piano lessons and watching documentaries on the sofa with lots of fluids being taken in. On Thursday there was boredom, bickering, and minimal school work accomplished. By Friday there was a delayed school day, but stuffy noses and general malaise still prevailed, causing there to be a need for schoolwork to be done on (gasp!) Saturday.

On top of it all, the monsoon also named Tropical Storm Lee dumped about 12 inches of rain on Thursday. There had been rain in significant amounts every day since Monday, and local flooding closed the schools for two days.

In spite of it all, we made the best of our situation. We watched a delightful documentary on the Lewis and Clark expedition which I highly recommend, especially for kids. They do an excellent job of combining the action and adventure aspect of the journey (which my kids loved) and the voices and first-hand experiences of the members of the Corps. I also highly recommend this video, done by Ken Burns, and is appropriate for all ages but will not likely hold the interest of the youngest viewers due to its length. I enjoyed it so immensely that I even shed a tear or two near the end of it.

Even though we did not do the daily stuff of math and grammar this week, we did focus on getting the "fun stuff" done. Matty and Molly completed their first presidents book pages, and we started our science. It has been a difficult decision for me as science does not factor into my normal mode of thinking. (I tend to be a humanities gal when it comes to what excites me in teaching.) Even so, I have long known that my kids adore fish, as do I. We were blessed with some free fish, and so we put together our old fish tank and were off and running. The first ones died, but a few days later were given more! One of these lived, and a week later we decided to go to the pet store and add a few more fish. The lady at Petco handed me a bag of fish that someone had brought in to exchange, which they don't do. Ta Da! We had a bag full of about fish valued at about $40! Suddenly the kids were all about studying fish, so we decided to do a study on the biology, chemistry, and physics involved with underwater creatures, keep a log of our own fish tank's daily statistics. I already had the Apologia Swimming Creatures book, and so we pulled that out and started reading. The kids were completely thrilled with the idea. (Phew! I love when school happens naturally!)

Apple seeds were sprouting in the Pink Lady apple

Later in the year, I had hoped to cover botany, particularly in the spring when we plant our garden. Serendipitously, Molly was eating an apple the other day that she complained tasted "moldier and moldier" as she got further in. Daddy, who is not so picky (think of the rat dad in Ratatouille), ate the strange-tasting apple down to the core, and this is what he found (which could also explain the weird taste.)

We popped the seeds in a pot and today, I found them sprouting. It would be so exciting to see them to maturity! Even better, they were from "pink lady" apples, our favorite!

Apple seeds two days later

*Faith builder moment* I have to pause here and reflect. In the spring when I was considering what to cover this term, I once again felt as if I was selling my kids short on science. I prayed earnestly that the Lord would show me how to approach science with them and give me a plan for it. I really didn't know how to continue. All summer I pondered it, but decided not to worry (imagine that!) and here in these two situations, I have my answer. Do I believe that God cares about the smallest details and concerns of our lives? Absolutely!

Psalm 139:16, 17
"...In your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I could count them, they outnumber the sand. I awake, and I am still with you."

Wordless Wednesday: Jack's in the Box

Summer's End: The Threshold of a New Season

I wish I had pictures of last night to share, but on the other hand, there are times when I just don't want to stop and fuss, but would rather enjoy the moment...

I think we can call our summer break officially ended as of last night. Our good friends came over and we grilled salmon and chicken, baked sweet potato fries, steamed broccoli glazed with butter, garlic and balsamic vinegar, made a huge salad with feta, pecans, craisins and champagne vinaigrette, and enjoyed some very nice wine with it all. The kids played wonderfully together, watched a movie, chased each other around with marshmallow guns, and gave us a spontaneous fireworks display that was left over from Matty's 10th birthday (when we actually forgot to set them off). This lasted for quite a while, as he had amassed quite a stockpile of explosives!

Tired and full of fun, we flopped into bed, and now today I will put together the week's lesson plans, wrap up the weekend laundry, and put kids to bed early tonight. The cooler fall weather and rain is already in the air. I could not have asked for a more perfect end to a great summer, which began just as nicely with a week-long beach vacation at the Outer Banks on Memorial Day weekend.

Tomorrow we begin week two of our Tapestry of Grace curriculum and meet for the first time with our group. We are all excited to step out on this journey with some friends to help make it fun.

But as I read this over I have to consider a Facebook conversation this morning amongst a few of my mom friends, one of whom said she almost wants to shut down her account to protect herself from all the rosy reports of other moms who seem to have it all together. Of course, I am one who is more than willing to post a "rosy report" of children's behavior or a perfect summer evening on facebook or my blog.  Why am I writing about this in the first place? It is because last night was nearly a perfect evening that I want to record and share it because such times are rare. Perfect behavior from my children is even more rare--you'd better believe I'm going to write that down. The average evening involves tired parents, rowdy kids, needling to get chores done, discipline for crummy attitudes, stress over the plans for the next day's lessons, the occasional headache, the plans that didn't work out just right, the argument over what was supposed to be a good dinner...These I don't share--who wants to? But this I want to share, because when the average evening is present in all its daily-ness, I want to remind myself that great days happen, too. 

This summer has felt very long, and at times I felt I was taking on too much. Planning the new fall schedule seemed overwhelming, and I wondered if I was hearing God correctly when I felt called to continue taking part in a ministry that takes me far away from home weekly, for a whole evening. Surely he couldn't mean for me to do that on top of the new homeschool group that we were forming! But as each element was surrendered in prayer to his management, I watched him remove things from the calendar to give me time to rest, rearrange the fall schedule to give me breaks between each thing, bring wonderful friends alongside to help, and even enjoy date-night swaps. Every detail has been tended to by the Best Manager of all.

Proverbs 16:9
   In his heart a man plans his course,
   but the LORD determines his steps.

How grateful I am that I have witnessed His hand at work in this way all summer long, and it builds my faith to trust even more that I don't have to worry about details when I know He knows them all, and will manage them to His glory.  It all began with surrender...and now I am excited to cross the threshold of summer into fall and see how it will all come about. I will continue call for help and rejoice with others when they are victorious.

Psalm 20    

For the director of music. A psalm of David

¹ May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
   may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
² May he send you help from the sanctuary
   and grant you support from Zion.
³ May he remember all your sacrifices
   and accept your burnt offerings.
                         Selah

⁴ May he give you the desire of your heart
   and make all your plans succeed.
⁵ We will shout for joy when you are victorious
   and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
   May the LORD grant all your requests.
 ⁶ Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
   he answers him from his holy heaven
   with the saving power of his right hand.
⁷ Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
   but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
⁸ They are brought to their knees and fall,
   but we rise up and stand firm.
 ⁹ O LORD, save the king!
   Answer us when we call!

Week 1: The Launch!

We are off and running with our new school year and our new curriculum. If I were to grade the start to this school year based on other starts, I would give it a solid A! We all enjoyed it, and I made some solid scheduling discoveries along the way.

Every year I have struggled with morning routine with the kids largely because I am a night owl, and most certainly not a morning person. Last week (before we started school) both kids were in a day camp which forced me into a morning routine of getting up at 6:30 a.m. and getting them out the door by 8:30. It was the best thing that could have happened to us. This week I kept that routine, and the simple fact that I was up before both kids, even by half an hour, made all the difference in our days.  The two secrets I discovered on our best days of school this week were that I had gone to bed by 10:30 the night before, and breakfast was finished and we were downstairs for school by 8:30. Last year we normally started at 9:00, and I was always struggling to get everything done in a day. This week I discovered that the 8:30 start made a huge difference, and we were able to fit everything in! The two days that I was dragging were the days I had stayed up too late the night before. It is a very delicate balance, really.

We finished the goals we set out for the week, minus just a couple of little things that we can easily fit in Monday morning of the Labor Day holiday before setting out, and I was amazed at how well DS 10 managed to complete the reading assignments in TOG week 1. Both children loved the geography work and both did very well with their Phonics Road and Bridge to the Latin Road work.

Next week we will be adding in spelling to the schedule, and the week following that, French. Since we seem to be on a routine, it should not be too tough to add these in, but we will see...I repeat, it is a very delicate balance.