Homeschooling Days

Pearl made a sign for the sprouting acorn:  "dont step here tree growing"

If you don't home school, you might be curious about what a day looks like here. For us, it begins with sleeping in as long as possible. Once the girls get to the breakfast table, I begin to break out the books. We're working through a curriculum that walks us through history (still Pilgrims!), writing, English, and manners, but we add Bible readings (reading our way through I Samuel now) and more advanced math.  The internet has taught me how to teach two-digit addition, and she's picked it up pretty quickly despite some kvetching. Pearl tends to like worksheets printed off the internet rather than all the neat interactive math games I've picked up. I'm sure a younger sister will use those.

On Monday we saw a small window of good weather, so we moved purposefully through the curriculum while the little girls played around the house. We were able to go for a family nature walk, during which we identified a Tulip Poplar (and took a circumference reading), shelf fungus, a natural spring, and poison ivy. The little girls preferred the quarried rocks on the road, good for pitching into the creek.

We dropped Ruby off with Daddy for a nap, then I took the big girls to Chick-fil-a and on to the YMCA for home school swim.  Then we crossed the parking lot to check out some books in the library. Pearl read to me and Sapphire "read" to a huge stuffed dog toy that was interested in cows. During my dinner preparations she asked to help, so I decided it was time she learned to work the rice cooker all by herself. She can do it too, and the rice was great.

That evening I attended an adoption-support-group-for-moms, so Pearl enjoyed some biggest girl time with Daddy and watched part of an adaptation of Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper. She's really into Errol Flynn right now, and she likes the Tudors (especially Queen Elizabeth I).  Her daddy fears she's going to need a man who will swashbuckle for her in another twenty years.

The next day, Tuesday, we headed to our co-op early. After announcements and opening prayer, we scuttled off to our assigned spots: nursery class for the littlest ones (they worked on the letter "u"), solar system, manners, then drama for Pearl, and I helped with solar system, had an hour off, then helped with karate. Usually my husband teaches that one and I stay home and revise my book, at least this semester that's how we've done it, but he had a meeting all day, so I filled in.  We all had potluck lunch together, the girls played with friends, then we headed home.

The little girls both needed naps (pretty desperately in Sapphire's case), so Pearl and I played around with fabric. We usually skip book work on co-op days, but we still learn other things. I taught her how to make napkins, and she even worked up to controlling the foot pedal and the fabric movement herself. She has lots of Christmas present plans (but these weren't for any of you, don't worry...unless you are aged 5 and your name starts with a B). Her favorite part is snipping the loose ends. Then she hand-stitched a Christmas gift while I was on the phone.

Jumping in the leaves

While I cooked she sort of entertained her sisters. Right now she's tied herself to Sapphire, and they are walking around the house as a two headed monster.

So that's two days of education here.

PS: Sapphire just told me that when her own little tiny baby comes, I will have to take her, (Sapphire) to China to get her (the baby). !