Back to School!

After a nice, long summer break (I think we took about 9 weeks off!), we started school again.

We timed it to start the same day as the seminary began the Fall Semester (Josh's last semester of seminary!?! Can hardly believe that!).

And, I'm a student this semester, too! I'm auditing Dr. Thomas' Hermeneutics class on Monday afternoons. What a privilege to sit under such a gifted teacher. I'm so thankful to have this opportunity. Plus, I've learned what "Hermeneutics" means! It means how to study the Bible. I think that's the best part of the class...it leaves me wanting to read my Bible. Josh has said many times over these past three years that taking these classes stirs his heart to worship God and love Christ more, and now I understand why. It's powerful and I love it. Kind of wish I'd done it before now, but I know God's timing is always perfect. Plus, I'm getting to do it with Rachel, who is auditing the class, too.

Here is my big second grader, fired up about starting school!!

I switched things up this year, and we are using Adventures in My Father's World for Kate's 2nd grade. We'll be doing US History again this year, with a little different emphasis than what we covered last year. We'll cover the early colonists and pilgrims and go all the way through to the early 1900s, plus we'll study all 50 states. We're using Jessie Wise's "First Language Lessons" for English and Singapore Math again.

Kate is super pumped that she'll be learning cursive, and we've got some really cool art and science lined up for the year, plus we'll be learning several hymns.

And of course, we have tons of great books to read!! (both her-to-me and me-to -her)

I'm just as excited about it as she is!!

We had to name and register our school with the state this year since Kate is seven years old. Reed Academy is what we chose (by unanimous decision),

and I love that Kate made a sign for our first day, unprompted.

It says "The Reed Academy is open."

Me and my cutie pie, ready to learn.

And, more exciting news! Our enrollment tripled this year! The boys will be joining us (on the days they don't go to Bay Leaf for preschool). I went ahead and got My Father's World Kindergarten curriculum to use with Carter, although he won't 'officially' start Kindergarten until next year when he's 5. It's phonics based, and a well-rounded, gentle introduction, plus it will correlate well with what they teach up at LLLC. So we're incorporating that into our school days which is really fun! They begin with a study through Creation (from the book of Genesis) and then move into a unit study built around each letter of the alphabet.

Basic math skills, beginning reading and writing are all in there,

plus fun stuff like coloring, cutting and gluing.

With Hudson, we're just having fun and working on coloring and some cutting, plus we do a lot of singing and reading. He is not quite as interested in the whole of it like Carter is, which is fine. I just have Hudson do a little bit with us, and then he is free to play quietly if he wants to.

So fun to be teaching my boys, too. They are pumped about doing school with us! They literally cheer when I say it's time to start and they run to their seats at the table. Love it.

I love, love, love my little book-worm. Reminds me of me at that age. I read all the time, and on a fun side-note, we actually brought home a big box full of classics from Mom's house this summer that I read when I was Kate's age. So we're going to enjoy digging into them this year!

And this is how I find my boys most days after we finish our school time : )

*Lest it seem that we are always all smiley, home-schooling in utopia or something, we most certainly are not. We all struggle with bad attitudes, and frustration, and complaining. As hard as those moments are, and there are a LOT of them throughout our weeks, I welcome them because they remind me that I will fail every time I set out to do this if I'm relying on my own strength to do it. Home-schooling has driven me to depend on the Lord in a way I'm not sure I would have if we had chosen a different path for our family. It sure has been sanctifying, and I know it will continue to reveal sin in all of us. But God's Word tells us that His kindness leads us to repentance, and doing this every week allows for so many teachable moments, invaluable opportunities to train and shepherd my children and their hearts, as well as hear from God about the condition of my own heart and to grow in my relationship with Him.

Plus, I absolutely love this time with them, even the days when I want to tear my hair out. And I know that is evidence of God's grace in my life. Utterly thankful. I honestly would never have said in a million years that I'd be doing this now, and LOVING it. So thankful that God is in control of my life and not me! What a mess I would make of it...