Roll Call

Aside from the coop, this week was the Back to School week. I have to be absolutely honest here. There was no mega planning ritual, no thumbing through piles of juicy homeschooling supply magazines (ok...maybe a little thumbing), and only a few purchases of some Audubon field guides we didn't have in the library. I was starting to feel a little bad, like the children were being cheated out of the "Back in School" hype that we used to do. But then I remembered that technically for The Queen's Grace she is in the middle of AO's curriculum for Year 2, and I spent Christmas break entering in the first half of that year on my handy dandy monster Excel spreadsheet. Jack is also in the middle of his books, which was easy to pick back up. And, being that my computer holding my ENTIRE UNBACKED UP LIFE was still in the shop, I had no schedule to tinker around with anyway.

So people, we winged it. And gosh darn, if we didn't do great. Nothing a little white board, some colored dry erase markers, and a small amount of planning can't take care of. We even managed to start Spanish (which the entire family will be trying to learn including Tom Builder). Jack doesn't know it, but we are slowly entering into the 1 1/2 year AO Year 1 program that I created for Grace when she started Ambleside. When I asked him for his first narration, he froze, going through all of the motions Grace first went through when we started narrations. But today when I asked Grace for a narration, and she actually froze, he chimed in, "I know!" and off he went.

So we didn't have much fanfare, but it has been a crazy summer, and it all just seems to fit with how life has gone for the last six months. Everything is exciting these days, which perhaps dulls the excitement of what we used to get excited over in the past. I can tell you that there is one change in our schedule, that has me very happy -- The Princess of Wails will start a two-day half-day program at our church beginning mid-August. WAAA-HOOOO!


A large part of me, longs to put her in our Montessori school's half day program, because of the benefits both of the older ones received from such an awesome program. But really, this is less about my already smart-as-a-whip girl's education at this point in her itty bitty life, and more about me trying to homeschool the older ones with a new baby also on the scene soon.

I have no idea what I am up against. I admit it. I'm pretty sure though, that I'm going to need two days of cushion in the mix to get the schooling accomplished. Two days of running around with other little ones is heaven to Faith, and what she loves most. What she doesn't love, is Mom sitting at the table trying to school her siblings when Mom should have her attention on either her or the dishes (what is with that??? I can do dishes or laundry, but sit down with the older ones, and she's a bull in a china shop!). And she has made that loudly clear this week, in addition to zapping her morning nap and saving it for late afternoon!

I'll have just enough time to catch my breath between August and October, and then the rubber will hit the pavement again in full force. But if my sweet Hope turns out to be a floor potato, well then maybe we'll only have to worry about a little wibble wobble here and there.

Floor potato...floor potato...floor potato...