It is done~

Not a miracle or life changing event but today we purchased all our curriculum for next year. They have decided to stick with a 100%  A Beka home school curriculum. The task as been completed and payment via their new flex pay will permit a payment again on June 10 and July 10. Then the books will ship and we will have them in plenty of time to get ready for the next school year.

Now for the reflecting aspect of this. G will officially be a second grade student and F will be officially in first grade.  We did not begin this year expecting F to complete the entire Kindergarten program in one year. After all, we only began playing school with the books but it quickly became a real school schedule for her and off she went. Based on Illinois school laws F will not be able to begin kindergarten in the public school until Fall of 2013. It was never our intention to begin her so soon and we do not push it upon her. As a matter of fact, F, has had several moment that she has gotten up and walked away proclaiming to be finished. We recall her true age and let that fact go, it is not like it is a weekly event or we would need to redirect.

Tonight G and F are spending the night with me. It has been a while since they both have done that. They use to get that opportunity all the time but now that K is a home-maker and not a paralegal I have discovered less nights with them.  I expect that to change in the summer as we will all spend time around the pool. 

I have concluded that the math book does a lot of repeat, repeat work and it is the book that makes math a boring subject. Today I tried to get excited about math to foster excitement in G for the same; it worked for a moment but then I was not as patient as I needed to be. When she began looking to the ceiling for an answer and not at my face for direction or the problem for an understanding, well lets just say, we stopped and prayer together at that time.  We offered thanks for the wonderment of math and asked for a patient and calm teacher.  I have discovered that talking to the Lord together in rough times has a way of calming me and capturing the girls' attention to how they may impact my responses. Prayer even in young ones creates a self-reflection much of the time.

We looked at the second grade math and have concluded that we will begin the year with CLEP style test until we find the area she will need to produce new material. We do plan to keep math going all summer or until she has completed all lessons in the plan book. For that reason she will not need the forty something lessons that review what may be forgotten during summer break.

I have fallen short of fun activities and I hope that K comes off of bedrest after her ultrasound on May 5th.  We would like to take a trip to the St. L:Louis Butterfly House and a lesson on insects.  So much I have in my mind but little of me left at the end of the day right now.

Tomorrow I will post pics of my two grandchildren birthday celebration that I took vacation from my job for. I rarely take or need a vacation at my job. I do work only two 12 hour shifts per week so most times it is not necessary to take a vacation.
I hope you enjoy them.