'Twas the Day Before "School"

'Twas the day before "school,"
and all through our home
was buzzing and busy-ness
wherever I roam.

There are no books stacked
in a backpack with care
only girls in the kitchen
baking with flair.

Recipe books are out
The creative juices flow
Cookies, and soup, and buns
in a row.

Measuring, and calculating
and managing time
debating and  serving
And cleaning up grime

Education is now
And it happens right here.
 It's fun, and it's real
And accompanied by cheer.

So when the yellow bus comes
it will pass us by
We choose to stay home
With freedom to fly.

“There is no school equal to a decent home and no teacher equal to a virtuous parent.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

Loving

My heart was missing my little girl. She's up at the cottage with Grandma and Grandpa, having fun. Not the first time. She did this last year too.
But, I was missing her. My heart actually felt like it was being stretched toward her. I get the term heart strings. I could feel them.

Dave was missing her too. Actually we missed her before she left, but it wasn't getting better.

So, Dave took a day off. We had support in place for Monica morning and evening.
We hopped in the car once the support arrived in the morning, drove 4 hours to Haliburton and spent five delightful, fun, precious hours with our daughter. Then we turned around and drove five hours back home - we stopped for dinner - to arrive while Monica's evening support was still here.

A glorious day. A day of canoing and kayaking swimming and walking to a nearby rapids. And best of all lots of hugs. lots and lots of hugs.

So incredilbly worth it.
She's so loved.

A Flurry of Excitement

God has the steering wheel and He has turned the wheel toward Israel!
If He remains willing, our trip to Israel is a go in just over two months.
Granny, my 11 year old homeschooled daughter, and myself are now excitedly and busily getting ready.
From now on my Israel info will be on my up and running new Israel blog - see in the column to the right above the Compass Rose archives in order to link to it.

 

New Years Resolution - in August

As a Homeschooling Mom, summer is a time for planning, dreaming, preparing, and resolving to do things well come September.

As a Homeschooling Mom of 20 years however, I recognize that all my planning, dreaming, preparing, and resolving, is about as good as most New Years Resolutions! At best, it gives me some semblance of direction. At the worst, it will make me feel like a failure come the second week of "school."

Does that mean I don't do it? By no means! It is good for me to evaluate and reflect, and if only 20 % of what I hope for actually occurs to my dream standard, that is 20% more than if I did not dream.
 
So, dream I will, choosing to smile when we hit the mark, while choosing to refocus when I go wide.

Our Agenda:

• Study up for our trip to Israel
• Go to Israel
• Ballet
• A new Language Arts Curriculum
• A new year of Math - Decimals and Percents
•  Clarinet, Wind Ensemble, Band
• Half a day a week for her to explore her interests
• Exploring History (her favorite subject) through The Great Courses - continue working on Ancient History, and add a section on Explorers
•  Field Trips to the Museum of History on a regular basis
• Bible Study and Devotionals
• Continue with a variety of chores - a sense of responsibilty
• Reading through some selected books on subjects like money management, leadership, and a classic or two.
• Sewing lessons
• Love Learning
• Have fun together