So Far So Good

Week 1 of homeschooling was successful! And so was week 2. Not just successful, but a joy! We've had a few bumpy moments, but they were nothing more than that - moments. I've generally worked very hard to make sure our home has a sense of learning and fun throughout the day, not just during school hours. Sometimes we don't get done with all of our lessons by lunch, so it goes into the afternoon schedule or onto Friday, our "leftover day". It's worked so far!

Some successes and funnies thus far:

• As the boys are working on some color-by-number worksheets as part of their math today. (JK's are math problem color-by-number.) I explain they need to go slow and be careful, to not rush through, as I was checking their work when they were done.

B: Fail you must not. 

(Thinking we watch too much Star Wars at night.)

• We took a Nature Walk over the weekend with Daddy. We had been outside hiking for about an hour and finally crawled down into a ravine with a creek. There was a small pebble beach where we chose to picnic. My youngest (5 yo), always with a flair for the dramatic, raised his arms to some passersby far above us on the trail and proceeded to loudly recite some of the previous day's reading from "Trumpet of the Swan"."Welcome to  the pond! Welcome to the sunlight and water!" I was overtaken in a fit of giggles and shock that he remembered the story at all. He's usually my bouncy fidgety one that is somersaulting off the couch inattentively.

• Several times during some of our readings, JK has very specifically caught "foreshadowing", which I find so interesting! I never understood that until high school, but his little spidey-senses detect upcoming story lines and sub-plots incredibly well for his age. Watching those little light bulb moments and moments of furrowed brow as he attempts to comprehend have been so amazing! These are the very moments I would have missed had he gone to public again this year.

There HAVE been moments of frustration and irritation on my part. After the heat of the moment is gone, I realize it is almost always rooted in my own stress about not completing the day in a timely manner. We don't HAVE to finish by lunch. But that's my goal. And when my goal looks like it's going to fail, then I get irritable. Which does wonders for the joyful learning environment I'm trying to create for these little men. 

Please read that with the sarcasm intended.

I know this journey is a marathon. I know it'll be exhausting, but I'm glad it's not a sprint. These guys are growing up way too fast. I want to be able to savor it!