School

The school room is cleaned.  Last year's folders are cleaned out.  Sawyer's Freshman transcript is finished.  New curriculum has been ordered.  The new calendar is outlined.  The lesson plan book and the grade book are made.  The library books for the first 3 units in History are reserved (and some picked up already).  And we are ready...sort of.

It has been hard going back to school.  I was so incredibly burnt out the first of the year.  I wasn't sure I could keep going for another decade of schooling....or another month.  Covid hit and everything turned upside down in the world...not ours really, but we used the excuse to slow down, finish out the school year with more independent work and take a break from tutoring, and for me, to go outside and garden.

I saw some amazing transformations just by being outside and active for several months.  I slept better than I had in years.  My plantar fasciitis nearly went away (as long as I wore shoes).  I had more energy.  The daily aches and pains I experienced transformed into only "muscle" aches and pains from working hard when my body wasn't used to it.  I felt better than I had in years, many years in fact.  It was such a noticeable difference that I have entered this year with a lot of trepidation.  I don't want to give up my health.  How do I find a balance between being active and outside and homeschooling full time - sitting to tutor, sitting to read, sitting to help, and being too tired from sitting all day to do anything in the evenings?  Something I am really thinking on.

One (maybe even the) benefits of starting back to school is the structure and routine of regular bedtimes, chores, and meals, which still have not clicked into place but I am working on systems, like I do every year.  What works, what doesn't, something new to try, etc...  

Start back we did, slowly.  The immediate return of attitude from one child started within the first hour or two and the daily aches and pains and tightening of my calf muscles from sitting are returning since I sat all last week doing plans and all this week doing school.  Despite not spending much time with Phil at all during all this (working on separate projects when he was home, and working a lot during his vacation), I missed him this week as he headed back into his work building.  Those things have made it hard but I am glad we have the freedom to take days off when we need it, change and modify schedules to meet the needs, learn how we want to learn (I love reading things together and discussing and learning whole group).

I know that this is the right direction for our family.  I know that we are called to homeschool and it is so apparent when I see what is going on in the world around me.  Social media is a hotspot of sharing as people lives have been turned upside down and they are trying to figure out how to function when the system they were a part of has broken down. Early on in our parenting, we decided that secular government schooling and secular social structures (like camps and sports) was not what we wanted to be yoked to.  We wanted family to be our foundation, we wanted education to be rooted in a Biblical world view, we wanted our social ties to be in the church community.  We wanted to know and keep the hearts of our children and guide their characters and we felt that being with them, guiding them through the every day process of living, and keeping a watchful eye on all that surrounded them was the best way to do this.  






While we were doing school, a large brain projected up onto the ceiling...perhaps it is a sign (of what I don't know).

Somehow, this thing sitting on the windowsill made the image.

East and West, home is best!  
I am thankful that this is the place that we get to school.  I could not be more grateful for the view, the space, the quiet country living.


 I am grateful for modern technology and a handy husband who can fix things!

 This pool has been worth every penny!! 

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