back to (home) school days

You know those ads for back to school sales that feature celebrating parents? You know the ones. The parents, fed up with the kiddos who've been annoying them all summer, are overcome with glee. The kids will be back at school, no longer in their parents' hair. The grown-ups lives with now be so simple. No more cares!

How ridiculous. Even when your kids go to "real" school, they're still your kids, and they're still there to annoy you. They are still there to be your responsibility. And, GASP, they are still yours to ENJOY.

Today our family is "back to school," which has a very different meaning when you are homeschooling. Like "regular" school families, we buy school supplies, and sometimes even get haircuts or new shoes. But on the first day of school, mom is not enjoying a latte after sending the urchins out the door. She's wondering, once again, what she's gotten herself into. She's excited about spending the year teaching her children and learning right along with them. She's a bit overwhelmed with the responsibility, but ever so thankful for this opportunity to form her children.

This year my homeschool has only three students: a first grader, a fourth grader, and a high school senior, all boys. I have an idea about what I want to teach them this year, but I know from experience we may end up learning something else entirely.

Here's a sampling of what's on our bookshelf:
Math 54 by Saxon. A true classic. Starting this book is considered a true milestone in our family: it's the first in a series of "real" math books. Love the content, style and repetition. No surprises here, just good solid math. Love it.

George Washington's World by Genevieve Foster. What a great book! When my Joey read this book history came alive for him. I know John's going to love it too. The others in the series, like Augustus Caesar's World, are just as awesome.

The classic religion series "Our Holy Faith." Published in 1961, they are rock-solid, easy to read, and filled with information. I learned more about my faith through homeschooling with these books that I learned in 12 years of CCD. (But that's another story entirely!)

"Wordly Wise 3000." This vocabulary building series is the best I've come across. It's very challenging, so I have the kids go a grade level lower than what it says on the cover.

Understanding God's World, from Abeka Books. An amazing science book if ever I saw one! Joey and I learned so much through this book when he was in fourth grade- I'm looking forward to using it again this year with his younger brother.

Speaking of science, the Jaye Wile books are out-of-this-world! They are actually written for home schoolers, and the experiments contained in them are easy to do.

I'd like to add more, but as I'm writing away here my young charges are asking to start school! This, like the lovely summer days, will not last. I know that soon (probably by tomorrow) they will complain that they would rather be watching Spongebob.

But I'll be here, ready to teach them what I can, when I can. And I'll try to keep in mind that all those great books are just tools, and that the most important lesson is one I will teach with my life: we are here to learn to know, love and serve God. If we are aiming to do that, everything else will follow.

big yellow school bus takin' my boy away

Sing it with me, Moms.

Listen, early this mornin', I heard the screen door swing,
And a big yellow school bus took my boy away
Now don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got till it's gone
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot

My little boy is going to school.

He's got new shoes, a snappy backpack, and a stash of number two pencils. His uniform is crisp, his hair freshly cut. He's off in the real world now, and I'm not sure I'm ready to let him go.

He is only thirteen, after all.

Joey, along with his three brothers, has been homeschooled from day one. His two sisters had a brief experience with "real" school when they were little, one attending kindergarten and first grade, the other coming back home after just a year in kindergarten. I stuck it out and homeschooled them all the way through high school, and I'm still at it with AJ, who's now a senior, and the urchins, who are six and nine.

But my Joey's off to high school, in a real building a few miles away, a building that is not our house.

Weird.

He looked great this morning, blonde and tan, his shoulders broad, tying his tie, lacing up those new shoes. I know he was nervous and excited, and so was I.

But of course I'm a little sad, too.

For the most part, I've really enjoyed homeschooling him. It has been challenging giving him the structure that he thrives on, and that's one of the reasons we decided to send him to a tradtional school. That and his passion for sports in general, soccer in particular, gave us the push we needed to send him out the door and into a whole new world.

I realize most moms go through this when their boys are five or six. But my heart is still a little heavy today. I'll miss being his teacher, but one thing's for sure: I'm still his mom, and his primary educator.

I'll never stop trying to teach Joey what really matters in life: love the Lord, serve His people, use the gifts and talents He has blessed you with. I've learned a lot from Joey. I hope he can say the same about me.

summer school

I know that summer is winding to a close.

I know that because all my annual flowering plants, the ones that I buy every year despite my "black thumb," are dried up and ready to be tossed. I know that because when I venture out for an evening walk, the sunset sends me home a little earlier each night. I know it's true because the stores have been selling back to school supplies for over a month now. Yep, it's almost THAT time again. Time to go back to school.

We're a homeschooling family, and have been for, let's see, sixteen years. Some of my friends insist on "formal" schooling throughout the summer months, but not me. If my kids weren't begging for lazy days around the pool with absolutely no textbooks allowed, I certainly would be. I love the summer days, the days without lesson plans, spelling tests, and that ever-present question: Did you do your math? Uggh.

We take the summer off.

But just because we don't crack open textbooks doesn't mean we stop learning. In fact, I sometimes think we learn more when we're just not trying to.

So here's a little something called "What We Learned On Our Summer Vacation," by Me.

It is really fun to go swimming at night, even with the mosquitoes.

You can fit approximately 1,798,322 legos on the dining room table if there are no school books hogging the space.

Italians like Jordon almonds, and throwing them at the newlyweds is a fertility ritual. (See this post if you are scratching your head.)

Reading books is fun, especially when you don't have to write a book report.

It takes 18 hours to drive to New Hampshire, not the 14 that is says on Mapquest.

You can survive eating cereal, sandwiches, or ice cream for dinner.

You don't have to travel far to see exotic, interesting creatures. Within blocks of our home we saw hummingbirds, weird moths, and squirrels in at least FOUR different styles.

Little boys can go for days without a traditional shower or bath.

It's important to take the time to make friends with a variety of folks, including your parents and grandparents, single people, and members of the clergy. People exactly like you are boring.

Regarding that last thought...one of my favorite evenings of the summer was spent at a friend's house. This friend is a single woman, a musician who doesn't have any children. She does, however, love the little rascals, and spending an evening at her house is thrilling to them. She has traveled all over the world and has all sorts of interesting artifacts and -- even better -- cool musical instruments. While visiting we spontaneously delved into some off-the-top-of-our-heads storytelling, with my six-year-old acting out the tale while the nine-year-old banged a GONG, shook a rainstick and rapped on several unique drums. Wow! It was amazing! What we would have missed if I had passed on the last minute invitation to bring the family over for dinner. What we would have missed if I had thought we should only hang out with families just like our own. What we would have missed...if we hadn't taken time for summer.

"Real" school will be starting in a few weeks. I don't intend to dread it this year, as I sometimes do. I plan to hold tight to some of the spontaneity of this season. I will remember that the best learning happens when we are relaxed, open, and well-fed on joy and ice cream (even for dinner.)

Now if I could just get those legos back in the box!