Kindergarten, Week 18

     Week 18 has come and gone and according to our curriculum, we are half-way through our first year of homeschooling and half-way through Kindergarten.  My, how time flies!

     Our week was jammed-packed.  With Classical Conversations, then a Christmas party planning meeting for me, a play-date for my daughter, then my birthday, plus having to help out with a science project; needless to say it was all a blur.

      Let's start with Classical Conversations.  Every week the kids are to prepare a presentation for their group.  This week my daughter shared her experience at Pitfire Pizza (where one of my step-daughters is the GM).  As I mentioned in my last post, there is a pizza making event every week.  On one of those occasions, I snapped pictures of my Little Toughie during the pizza making process.  I loaded them onto my tablet and she shared the pictures, telling the group what she was doing in each one.  The group thought it was pretty cool.  I enjoy that fact that the children get to practice their speaking and presentation skills at a young age and as they continue to do this they will hone those skills.  By the time they reach high school, they'll be able to present anything with eloquence.  I can only imagine how that will permeate their higher education and later, their careers.

     We had a play-date where my aptly named Little Toughie showed she could hang with the boys.  She was playing with twin boys and while running she was tagged just a bit too hard.  She fell, using her nose as a brake. (Gah!)  Her nose was scraped (Pretty good!) but there were only a few tears before she was ready to go again.  I even observed her standing up for one of the twins when another boy at the playground starting calling him a "little girl".  Ever the diplomat, I saw my daughter take her friend by the hand and approach the offender.  I couldn't tell what was being said, but since my daughter is always very animated when she speaks, I could tell that boy was getting a good talking to!  Later, I asked her what she was saying and she said, "I was telling him that it's not nice to say things like that, but he wouldn't listen."  I pray she will always stand up and speak up for herself and for those who can't.

     The rest of the week was filled with a meeting and my birthday plus a science project for my son.  As I type this, I'm waiting for him to get back so that we can finish working on it.  My kids were so excited it was my birthday (I think it was the fact we were all going to have cake, including myself!) and were telling everyone who would listen.  I was getting birthday wishes from people passing out samples at Whole Foods!

     That was our week.  As we head into Thanksgiving, I pray that you are surrounded by loved ones and take a moment (or a few) to count your blessings and share what you are thankful for.

Homeschooling, Weeks 16 and 17

     I missed a week!  I can't believe I did, yet I can understand why.  The days are passing quickly and the weeks are flying by.  My birthday is coming up and then Thanksgiving is exactly a week after.  Between both kids, as most parents know, there's more to do (on top of what is already scheduled) around the holidays.  As a runner turned CrossFitter, I know how to pace myself in all things, but it can still be a lot.  At the beginning of October, all our weekends in November and December were already booked!

      Despite the busyness of this time of the year, we take our time when it comes to homeschooling.  With the Sonlight Curriculum I'm using, there's a lot of reading (which my daughter and I LOVE) and I want to make sure she understands everything she's listening to.  At the same time I don't stress out if she doesn't get a particular concept immediately.  It takes time for things to really sink in and for everything to make sense.  Sometimes, we parents can freak out, especially when we fall into the trap of comparing our kids to other kids.  That can rub off on our kids as well.

     Recently, my daughter caught something at the end of the news (she walked in when it was on) about a 5-year old boy who knew all the countries in the world.  Yes, ALL.  Every single country.  Did I mention that he knew all the capitals as well?  My daughter was amazed and at the same time disappointed with herself for not knowing all the countries.  I had to remind her, and you as well, that we are all blessed with different talents and skills.  I took the opportunity to tell my daughter that God created each and every one of us for a different purpose, with a different set of abilities, and different personalities and that if we were all the same it would get particularly boring.  She was happy to know that God made her special.

     During those times I don't think it's sinking in or that it may be too much, God gives me a glimpse of the work He's doing in her.  This week we finished our Bible study on the Kings (Saul, David and Solomon).  That was a lot of reading and there were different details to the each King's story.  I secretly underestimated her comprehension when she decided to create her own bible and draw pictures to go with each King's story.  She was able to retell the stories, which she so carefully did while on her daddy's lap.

     On the flip side, we squeezed in some fun the past couple of weeks making pizza at my step-daughter's restaurant, Pitfire Pizza (she's the head honcho there).  Every Tuesday she holds a pizza making event and we brought a couple of friends with us.

  

     This was a perfect outing for us because we got to see my step-daughter (and all her gracious and patient staff) and she got to make pizza plus share a meal with her friends.

     Ah, the simple things!