A Fly On My Homeschool Wall

image found here My mom called me yesterday to see how things are going.  We were just home from our weekly breakfast-at-the-park outing, and I was simultaneously changing into dry clothing (we'd gone to a spray park), changing babies, talking to her, and hanging up damp towels. It was a rather busy moment. As I answered my mom's questions I found myself describing the school year activities that are starting as of today (really?  on August 4th??!!??), and I concluded my list with, "Already the school year is beginning and our days are no longer our own. " That unconsciously uttered phrase caught my conscious attention. Our days are no longer our own. I feel rather sad, tired, dispirited when I think of starting school. I am careful, careful, careful about crafting a schedule that is a blessing rather than a curse to us.  I take seriously the guarding of free time and family time.  I have pushed against the cultural tide of filling the calendar with ...

Again, the approach of our one-year anniversary of receiving our new children into our home had led me to lots of introspection.  The week before we picked the children up I told the children we already had, "Just give it a year.  Things will be really different in a year.  At first it will be hard and strange, but after a year it will be okay." I was wrong. It is really different now than it was at first. In many, many ways it is better. But after a year it is not okay; it is still hard and strange. The kids are starting to call me out for my mistake. I haven't known what to answer except to ask, "Would you give them back?" And my angriest children say, "Yes!" . . . I would not give them back . . . most of the time. I would not give them back. They are ours forever. It's just taking far more time to feel that forever connection than I thought. So I'm giving us all another year. And perhaps, after that, another...

*A long time ago, I was advised by Brother's therapist to write about and share what I'm learning about adoption.  I've had a hard time sharing my thoughts, but recently a couple of thoughts have coalesced into a sort of organized form.  Here's one of them . Anne of Green Gables is one of my best friends. I've loved her for over 30 years, and I know her better than I know myself. I've spent time introducing her to my daughters, hoping they will love her as much as I do (they don't seem to, but that's okay because it means she's more available to me when I want to spend time with her). Every time I read her story, I am filled with a sweet peace and joy.  I walk around the house smiling over her childhood antics, inspired by her young love, and determined to follow her tender example of motherhood. I just love Anne. However, her life, her innocence, her healing, her everything is a lie. Kids who are abandoned, abused, and adopted s...

Photo taken and edited by Pixie  I've watched for several years now as various bloggers choose a word to define/guide their year. "Hygge" has been popular recently. I noticed "inspire" for a while. "Aligned," "passionate," and "joy" are other words I've seen and read all about.  I've never once been interested in jumping on the bandwagon. However, I've recently been praying in preparation for the upcoming school year, and I've gotten a single word answer to most of my questions. How can I be a better mother? Wait. How do I best meet the needs of ____________ (fill in the blank with each child's name)? Wait. What changes do we need to implement this school year? Wait. That's a hard one--I feel pressed to make decisions! But I also feel peace about waiting because the advice to wait seems to be directing me not in waiting to make decisions, rather in making decisions that allow roo...

I just realized last night as I was reading aloud to the kids that it is officially the start of the new school year--at least as far as our state defines a school year.  Some years ago I adopted the state's start/stop definition to help me organize our reading list, so it's time to archive this list and begin a new one. The Plant that Ate Dirty Socks by Nancy McArthur Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell Little Pear by Eleanor Francis Lattimore The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo George's Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking The Apple and the Arrow by Mary and Conrad Buff Tirzah by Lucille Travis The Adventures of Buster Bear by Thornton Burgess Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff Old Yeller by Fred Gipson Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton 50 Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin All About Sam by Lois Lo...

Rose Red is a study in contrasts.  She is bright, vibrant, alive, passionate, and fabulous!  She also struggles to learn certain concepts, acts bored, is defiant, and flirts with danger.  I'm usually at my wit's end about how to be her mother, but every time I'm about to fall off that end, she shows me her tremendous worth and her sensitive heart, and I have hope for this precious girl again. Math: We're on a waiting list for learning disability assessments; the tests should take place by August, but it could be later than that.  Rose Red does fine with simple math calculations with whole numbers.  Throw in decimals, fractions, variables, formulas, or practical application of math skills (a.k.a word problems) and she's lost--utterly lost.  It took her 4 years to memorize the times tables, and we've now worked on decimals, fractions, and formulas for 2 years with little to no visible progress.  Variables and word problems have always been part of ...

Pixie suddenly became a young woman this year.  I look at her in absolute wonder almost every single day.  She is gracious, mature, sweet, responsible, and fun-loving.  I can see her moving off into the world as an adult, and I feel no sorrow--only joy that she has her life ahead of her. But perhaps I feel that way because I know we still have 4 years of her at home before she'll truly leave for adulthood. :) Math: She completed Saxon 8/7 and Algebra 1/2 this year.  It was a monumental mistake to have her skip a Saxon year (based on how repetitive their scope and sequence is).  I quickly realized the mistake, but she was bound and determined to work her way through--and she did it.  But it took her almost two years to do it.  She's stopped somewhere near lesson 85 during the previous school year, and we didn't try to pick back up again.  Instead she went back to the start and worked her way quickly through the book, reviewing 2-3 lesson...