Thursday, September 2, 2010

mornings - that first hour...

i heard the rumbling sound of a school bus this morning - & my sister says that's the sound of fall...
i slipped out of bed, careful not to wake my tiny bunkmate - & climbed downstairs to greet my classroom.
Soon, coffee was brewing, tea kettles singing, bagels toasting, oatmeal cooking....
& amidst the busyness of our breakfasting, sunshine boy came down & needed to go potty & snuffly baby needed his nose wiped & a fresh diaper.
Soon we were gathered around the table.
We sang O Canada & recited Our Father - and then i read our Proverb for the day (chapter 11). Cai led our devotional - (God is Holy) & we sang a hymn (Holy Holy Holy). Then, 'round the table we went - bringing our hearts to God - showing him what's inside & asking Him to take care of it all...
& then i read them a poem from _Immortal Poems of the English Language_ - 'How do i love thee? Let me count the ways...' & they giggled when i told them it's about daddy & me. i want them to get used to hearing language that sounds strange to their ears at first, so we try to read a poem a day. Sometimes i'll read it & then have the bigs read it again. Some poems are worth hearing 2 or 3 times in one shot...
Mollen was delighted that it was her turn to pick 5 words from our latin & greek flashcards. We went over & over them 'till we knew them by sight... "digitus, jactum, dia..." trying to think when we've heard those words changed & twisted into new words in our language. The big girls are getting pretty good at it...
We skipped geography - 'cause we were talking about Greek myths in history. Sloanie loves a good story & i could tell she could have given the lesson herself - answering every question & filling in extra blanks with things she learned on her own time. i gave the big girls an assignment due in a week and a half - to write a short play of one of the more famous Greek myths - & put it on for a family show.
Over an hour had passed.
Gagey had whined & cried... (i think he's getting that cold that Cai had...)
Charter had gotten distracted & got in trouble for singing to himself while i was trying to teach...
Baby Ephraim tried to grab every ones drinks off the table & the table looked like a disaster zone with dishes, crumbs, books & papers all over it.
Maybe if you were an outsider looking in - you would have wondered if my littles got anything at all out of that 3 ring circus i called school this morning.
...& this is a pretty typical first hour at Chrysalis Academy.
But learning is happening... gradually.
Children are growing... peacefully.
Characters are taking shape... carefully.
God is faithful... constantly.
This is homeschool - intentionally encouraging curiosity & work ethic... exposing little ones to the treasures of wisdom... bending for babies, striving for peace, juggling needs... long after the school bus rumbles by.
****************************
* ps - even though homeschool is right for us - i am fully aware that there are many, many families who are diligently building into their childrens lives who are in the public systems too. i don't think homeschool is the only way to educate little ones - nor do i think that all the good things i expressed just don't happen if little ones do jump on that rumbly bus in the morning. Homeschooling is just something that we do - that we love - & that is a part of who our family is in this season. i hope that it comes across the way i intend in this post...

6 comments:

Mae said...

Sounds lke a wondreful joly morning to me!!

Your monring sounds so much like i would like ours to be, but it isn't.
I am so proad of you for the wondeful morning devotions!! I so wished we did that every mroning. If we tried hard enough i know we could.

Keeep it going!!!
You sound like an awesome mom!

fawne said...

sounds so delightfully familiar even though it's been many years now....
love it!

Melissa said...

Paige - I love your heart. If I homeschooled, this is what it would look like. Your heart is so soft towards your Father and towards your littles, and also sensitive to those of us whom He has not released to hs. Thank you for that.

Lesley said...

What you said came across beautifully.

stephanie said...

Wonderful words (again). My kids are in a homeschool/school combo and I am really enjoying it. I would love to have more devotion time... maybe that's one of my goals now...

Anonymous said...

Wow-you accomplished a LOT of learning in that first hour! You had Bible, public speaking, music, audience behavior, poetry appreciation, latin (which is GREAT brainercize), drama and history. If I was your supervisor I would give you top marks for that!! Sherilyn

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