Ready....Set.....GO!

I did not believe it would happen. We have completely organized our class area and ready to begin on time first thing Monday morning.
Finally packed up are samples of last year's work (just in case we find have to show proof) and the items we will use in about four years again when Owen is ready for school.  Walls are wiped and the new calendar is up and ready for discussion. The dress me for weather frog is eager to put some clothes on again. The classroom rabbit has been returned to the classroom area from the living room.  The desks are clean, the shelves are organized and we are ready for fun.

Last year I had a sign up to stop the whining and cries of "can't". It said --I Can, I Do, I Will... I Can do ANYTHING I JUST HAVE TO TRY------ This year I made a sign for the front of the classroom door that shows the girls making bread last year and two snapshots that we called their school photo.  It welcomes them back to Gerald's Learning Academy:  Where anything is possible and learning is fun.  I think I like that one best.

I did get all the new wires and cables that were bunny chewed and replaced all my dry erase markers.  I do not usually use chalk but the girls enjoy a chalkboard from time to time so I got some new chalk.  Last night I spent hours getting the "schedule" completed so that it was neat each time for break would match up. We will begin at 0900 and take a break around 1005. We will return and begin again by 1025 and  break for lunch about one hour later. Following lunch we will come back for our variable class which may take 20 minutes or 1 hour depending on the project we do. I expect school to be completed between 1235 and 1315.  We are very flexible overall but find that the girls need a bit of structure right now, including timeliness in completing the few responsible tasks in the home. 

I cannot believe my life has come to this. I am an educated woman and work in an ICU with critically ill clients every Saturday and Sunday but on weekdays I doodle on construction paper.  It is a blessing to have this opportunity to teach them again this year. Sure, this is not rocket science, but I may be making a scientist or a missionary or a nurse or doctor or a loving mother and someday grandmother by putting my foot forward and take this on with joy in my heart. I do take this calling very seriously.  I have met some wonderful parents and children who are certainly doing well because they are home educated. I have also met some that I quietly wonder about. 

I have found that G has hit that giggle point in her life and enjoys a good joke. I hope she can control it during lesson time because I find it so enjoyable that I am likely to get into trouble with the mom if I break out in a giggle too.

Now I can kick back and wait until Monday morning. (sort of as I do have to work this weekend)