Homeschool Report

As the local public school's first marking period ends, I thought it a good time to evaluate our first quarter.

So many days I feel we are still not in a groove. The kids seem surprised, even shocked, some mornings when I tell them it's time to gather for lessons. These lessons that we start at the same time every day.

I've been really happy about our curriculum choices. And the kids are all doing very well. We've had many good days. And on those days, it's really easy to love homeschooling.

And then there are the days that we just seem to bump into one another. The house seems crowded. We pick and poke. And I start to compare my day to others. Think about all I can't do, all my kids might miss. I start to tally all that homeschooling costs me. I forget the blessings. Comparison is truly the thief of all joy.

I pray, Lord, help my eyes to see. Please show me fruit in all this laboring.

Last night, as I sat on the floor sorting and filing all the work the kids have completed over the past several weeks, He brought so much to mind...

Will is learning to read. And I can watch and see so many little triumphs followed by high-fives and hugs when he finishes a book.

Hannah and I have great conversations about our history lessons, poetry, nature studies. We are connected by shared experiences.

Peter loves to be a part of our history lessons. And turning what he has gleaned into imaginative play. Hannah and Will join in. They are learning and reading and exploring and experiencing together.

Will loves math and asks for more. He wants to be challenged; and I can move at his pace.

Hannah spends time with Peter while I am teaching Will. She loves to read his story Bible to him, work on his letters, play games. Peter adores her.

We have so many, I don't know - let's find out moments. And we investigate, together.

When given free time, Hannah reads and writes. She writes letters and poetry, practices cursive, reads stacks of books. She is becoming a lover of language.

When they battle and wound each other, and they often do; we can stop, correct, and bind up wounds. Heart lessons abound. Like sandpaper, rubbing sometimes all day long, we become smoother.

Our afternoons are free to read, rest, explore, create, be involved in sports and music lessons. Family dinners are filled with conversations about things we learned that day. We end our days reading together. We have time.

So, while I had intended to write about our marked progress in individual subjects and review our curriculum choices. This tells more of our first quarter experience, the blessings of being home, a heart and mind progress report.