Safe at Home

  What do teenage homeschoolers do after their science class?

Jump rope.

Beats dope.

This Year's Fools

 Quite a few fools showed up for our annual "fools in the pool" day.  There were goose bumps on all the white winter skin and on the countdown they all jumped in the very very very cold water.
And the biggest fools of all? (they insisted they were actually the winners)  Eleanor, Emma and their friend Kullen stayed in the water for 25 minutes.  Hypothermia is not for the faint of heart.

Warming Up to Ice Cream

Going to our local Cone Zone for a treat seemed like such a good idea a few hot days ago when we planned it.  Tonight we sat huddled on the picnic tables, frozen faces, eating our ice cream, our hair whipping and dipping in the chocolate, stubbornly refusing to waste one spoonful.  Spring may have abandoned us, but are undaunted.  Here's to hot sunny days ahead!

Stay a Little While

  Tomorrow is Emma and Samuel's birthday and I took a long look at them before I tucked them into bed.   Growing them up is what we signed up for but it seems to be slipping by at an ever increasing speed.  And for this last hurrah family, maybe I don't want it to go so fast.  I find myself reluctant to correct Samuel's funny words and when I kissed Emma good night she was more happy than I for her to wake up a teen. Savoring them like a good cup of coffee.

I'm either late or early

I realized today that something had to give.


The kids watched anxiously as James opened the pool for tomorrow's annual "fools in the pool" swim.






Meanwhile their snow pants were still
hanging in the mud room.  And with this
fickle weather I don't know which of the
two is inappropriate.

Boots or bathing suits?-it's anyone's guess.

                                          

Light at the End of the Tunnel

  While getting a first grader settled in at home, on the other end of the spectrum is AnnaClaire.  Today in the mail she got her acceptance letter to college!  Exciting!  AnnaClaire has been homeschooled since 6th grade - shortly after she came to be our daughter and her academic progress has been remarkable.  The biggest struggle we had was convincing her that she really could know stuff.  And now she has an acceptance letter to prove it.  So as Samuel begins - AnnaClaire is stepping out and I couldn't be more proud of her.  And that is her graduation gown she was trying on when the letter arrived!

You Can Jump and Learn at the Same Time

  
  I've never been a militant homeschooler.  You know the kind that hates everything about public school.  I've had kids that have started public school in Kindergarten and never missed a year through 12th.  Some have spent most of their years learning at home. This year our three "littles" are in public schools and the other six are being educated at home.  With two graduating this year I didn't think I could listen to three learning to sound out words while helping my oldest write their research paper.  And it was all going so smoothly.
  But then I started getting reports from the teacher that Samuel wasn't sitting still and listening well enough.  He wanted to play and move around.  Imagine that from a six year old boy.  She felt he wasn't learning to read as quickly as he should.  And then last week he was sent to the principal's office because while walking down the hall, he jumped up and tried to touch the Cat in the Hat artwork that was hanging there.  Here's the real truth.  Samuel likes to jump.  And he likes to play.  And that's okay with me.
  After a few conversations with his, really great but under pressure to produce 6 year old boys that can pass the end of the year tests, teacher, I withdrew Samuel from public school.
  This is Samuel coming home from his last day of being educated before he's ready.  He'll probably jump for joy.