First Week of School

AKA

The post with no back to school pictures…

I had so many plans for this “Back to School” post. Sadly, teaching my kids, cooking meals, and keeping a house clean had to come first!

Day one: I had planned to do the kid with a sign stating their grade pictures. I had planned to get up early enough to do everyone’s hair. Instead, I hit snooze three times. All of the kids had dressed up nicely for their first day. The girls had done their hair up nice and put on earrings. Everyone was excited to dive into their clean books and break open the new pencils and white erasers. The first day went better than I had hoped for. Other than a few tears shed after having to sit at the table for more than 10 minutes. We started the day with writing a quick journal entry about their summer. The work was all review, so it was quick and pain-free.

Day two: We all got up on time. Kids had brushed their teeth and gotten dressed. No fancy braids or earrings today!

Day three: Prayer came down in her pyjamas and proclaimed, “It’s the best part about homeschooling! Yes?”

No…

She promptly turned around, walked back up the stairs, and got dressed for the day.

Gotta love her. There are days that I wish it were socially acceptable to live in pyjamas too…

We have added some extra creative writing into our curriculum this year. Keona is a natural writer. She is a thinker and her writing usually reflects that. However, Prayer and Elijah tend to be the most “creative” with it. I’ve decided to give them several prompts to choose from each week and they are required to write a short story. Prayer and Elijah both chose, “If I were a kite I would…” Let’s just say that it involved everything from getting shot in Africa, to dancing on the Eiffel tower, being hit by flying bread, and fleeing librarians with scissors. I never get tired of their stories. My more serious children chose “In 20 years I will be…” Which involved celebrating mom’s 50th birthday, teaching at a school, cooking and baking, visiting my 70 year old grandparents, and booking photo shoots. I love having this insight into their thoughts. As scary as it may be sometimes…

Ella is finishing up kindergarten right now and while she didn’t write any stories, she did write a letter to Rupunzel…

Lily runs around causing a ruckus. She steals Ella’s markers and Eve’s stickers. She asks for “choo choos” and the boys will bring down their trains for her. Then she sits there and says, “Help me! Help me!” when she can’t figure out how to build a track by herself. At least the dog isn’t a constant interruption this year. He just sleeps on the couch all morning!

According to the kids this year, I will have a teacher/missionary, a mom/chef, an artist, a photographer, an unmarried doctor, a pilot, and another pilot when they all grow up. I know I say this every year, but I really am so thankful to be able stay at home with my kids. I spoke to another mom at the park who jokingly (or not) said to me, “Eight kids!? You must be excited about back to school time!” And I was… but not for the reasons she was thinking.

Do my kids ever test my patience?

Yes, everyday.

Am I ever tempted to throw in the homeschooling towel?

Probably monthly.

Do I question my teaching ability and curriculum choices?

Every single year.

Do I ever regret past years spent at home with my kids?

Never.

Wouldn’t trade it.

Looking forward to another year of making memories.

One day at a time…