week one: wrap-up

We’ve wrapped up our first week of school and we’re still on friendly terms, so that’s something. I’ve revised the six-week schedule about 3 times now (particularly for the 7th grader), but that’s about 3 fewer times than it took me to get it right last year. The kids are waking up at about 7:30 a.m. (give or take) and that’s definitely better than usual and we’re getting quite a bit done. They’re getting enough sleep and are beginning the day wide-eyed and bushy-tailed. So, life is good.

Things are off to a good start. We just need to stay focused and pace ourselves. We’ve got about 2 more weeks before all the extracurricular activities kick in and by then I’m hoping that we’ve begun to develop a healthy rhythm that can withstand more demands on our time. That’s the goal, anyway because this year my 11-year-old’s ballet schedule is going to be brutal.

As an aside, the funniest thing keeps happening when people ask the kids what grades they’re in. They have a moment of total confusion. Wait, am I in 7th or 8th? Is it 4th or 6th? It’s really no wonder, either. They are working on various grade levels simultaneously depending on the subject. Some things are at their grade level and many others are above. They don’t have the same sense of definitive grade level boundaries that they had when they went to (traditional) school. So today when my sister asked Nico what grade he was in, he said, “College.”

College?

Well, not quite—he’s in fourth grade and even by generous measures that’s not even close (thank goodness). He was being funny, and yet there’s some truth to what he was saying. Homeschooling feels more like college than traditional schooling, doesn't it? The children have more freedom, more challenge, more flexibility, and more responsibility for learning. It’s refreshingly like college without all the Animal House antics. Oh yeah, and they get more sleep and eat healthier than your typical college student. It doesn't get much better than that.

It was a good week. We are so blessed.