Kicking Off the School Year

Ah, August, that wonderful time of year when we force ourselves to stop being lazy bums and instead embrace, once again, the idea that our brains can actually function. In other words, the kids and I have started school. Technically, we started two weeks ago, but this is somehow our first full week. Full disclosure, I never plan a full week for our first week back, mostly out of a sense of self preservation. We start on a Wednesday, and by Friday, I'm convinced we're never going to make it through a full week alive. Kidding. Mostly. But it does seem to help if we start a little slower and focus on just getting our feet wet and having fun. 

Littles' First Day

Tiny's First Day

Bee's First Day

Bruiser's First Day
This is his self-portrait.
It looks just like him.

Then I happily allowed our second week of school to get hijacked by taking a fun trip out of state to see friends. The kids got to learn geography by driving through Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. And then back again. We made note of the Allegheny Mountains as we drove through them (one kid cheerfully barfing as we went around the many curves in the road, and then another kid sympathy barfing because that's what siblings are for). We took swim lessons in a friend's pool. And we even really pulled out the educational stops by taking them on a nature walk and then letting them wander around the National Museum of the Air Force for several hours. Because we'd been so diligent in pursuing their education (fine: because the friends we were with are beyond awesome), we decided to stay an extra day in Ohio and only do school that Friday once we got home.

I briefly considered taking this home with me.
I can get behind this kind of propaganda.

The family with the Memphis Belle.
Masks were taken off before we took the picture.
Bruiser was much happier than this picture shows.

So now we find ourselves neck deep in our first full week of school. And of course it's also the first week our homeschool community meets. So really, all my attempts to ease us into the school year gradually, were a total waste. Now we go big or go home. Also, now I self medicate with chocolate covered espresso beans.

This is what planning looks like.
Blythe tries hard to get in the way.

It's a miracle anything get done.

Naturally, this school year is different, much like every school year is. The twins are doing more but still requiring a lot of hands on help. Twinkle cut out her nap completely months ago, so she's with us for pretty much everything (unless the Man succeeds in luring her out of the sitting room where we've been doing school). Littles and Tiny continue to be paragons of scholarly virtue, which helps me maintain my sanity. And I continue to center most of our school work around me reading out loud because that's what makes me happy and no one can tell me what to do.

I promise she's not choking the cat.

Books are read, walks are taken, attitudes are dealt with, piano lessons are given, and before I know it, May will be here and I'll be looking back, wondering where the time has gone. Hopefully, the kids will learn what they need to during that time. Hopefully, I will grow as a teacher and a parent and a human being too. And hopefully, by the end of it, we will still want to keep doing life together and not have driven ourselves crazy.

This pretty much defines our family.

Happy First Day of School, wherever you are.

Many of you are just getting started. Some of you beat me to the punch because you never really stopped to take a break. And some are still hanging on to the last dog days of summer. Wherever you are in the process, and whether you're homeschooling or not (though it seems like more of us are than ever this year), my prayer for all of us is that this school year could help us see truth more clearly, love others more deeply, and every now and then, just enjoy a good book that lets us see how good God is and how full of joy life can be even when things are hard. Maybe I'll have to come back with a book post to help us out on that last one. And since there are rumors that our library here is doing curb side pick up, I'm hoping that will be sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, happy schooling!