The countdown is on ... and my 13th year officially homeschooling is about to begin. We have had a full August, culminating in this final week purposefully at home with only a few preparatory projects in mind. The school room has been cleaned and rearranged, books and curriculum set stately on their respective shelves, and schedules written and rewritten to adapt to new classes and changes expected this year. Each day, as the number decreases on our back porch chalkboard, our anticipation and excitement rises at the thought of another school year ahead.
I am at the place that I
love about summer .... the weeds are tired and the plants are thriving. It is a time when my eyes can wander over the landscape and treasure the beauty rather than seeing what needs to be done. Each morning, as I open our front door to allow the morning sunshine in, I see this treasure of a flower -- my favorite of the year -- it is ripe with the boldness of a year gone by and another emerging. I have captured it in every light and it still continues to bring me to a quiet stillness each and every day. I love coneflowers (echinacea), but the orange is above all my favorite.
Our back porch is my refuge during these slowed down moments. Dead heading flowers and rereading my sign reminds me daily to be purposeful and prayerful through all of my tasks.
We said the last of our goodbyes to the Coose family when we were able to meet Andy for a snack prior to his flying away (they are now safely and happily lodged in Sydney, Australia through the grace and mercy of God). As their godfather, Andy is
absolutely cherished in the hearts and minds of my children.
Yes, I grew wheat. It was an experiment really .... but it turned out fruitful. No, I do not intend to thresh it (this time), but will use it to create some autumn decorations for our home and others. It looks splendid waving majestically next to my 10 foot tall Indian corn!
I forgot to mention earlier that we have done a bit of home maintenance over the summer, including re-carpeting all of the bedrooms on the main floor and finally moving the bunk beds out of Isaac's room and investing in a new handsome bed and night stand. He is maturing and it was time to "let go of childish things" .... but it was quite a transition for him and hard for him to say goodbye to the bed he has slept in since he was a year old!
August is the month when yellow flowers display their glory. Sunflowers should be Idaho's state flower as they grow quite wild here and show up in my gardens with careless abandon. These combined with the black-eyed Susan's (another favorite) rival the sun in the early morning hours.
Although never more than enough for a good batch of pancakes, my blueberries continue to grow and offer their delicious fruit year after year. I believe that this may be my favorite shade of blue...
We enjoyed four glorious days in the mountains camping along the shores of Lake Cascade for our church Family Camp. These days are the highlight of our summer and year as we all so enjoy the fellowship of our church family. Isabelle especially found her niche with a sweet group of girls this year, spending hours on or in the water.
The boys bide their time playing games of all sorts (here Isaac is learning under a young man from our church who is working to become a chess master). Frisbee, football, card games, swimming, and waterskiing were enjoyed by all.
Back at home, we've spent our hours in yard/garden maintenance, service to others, reading, playing, and harvesting. Josiah opted to continue his college courses through the summer, taking a 6 month course and compacting it into 3 months! He is determined, and yet -- we work to keep him humble and fun-loving through hikes and bike rides and camping trips. He is definitely missed (even though he is at home buried in books and computer)!
This is his final and senior year at Kronz Mountainsage Academy. Yes, he did already earn his diploma and is actually finishing up his final year of college courses, but he still is
only 16 and my sweet son. He'll graduate this spring with the Idaho State Homeschooling class of 2012 in what proves to be a really tremendous ceremony (May 26th for those family members reading). He'll spend his mornings this year working on some life-skill training and discussion, with his afternoons dedicated to his accelerated distance learning. I am "treasuring all these things in my heart" and praying for God's continued direction and blessing on this, his final year.
We will resume our school year on August 22nd. Isaac will be beginning his first high school year, Josiah finishing his last. Isabelle is still young enough to treasure the little things like nature study and reading picture books snuggled close in .... sigh. I'm cherishing each day knowing that all too soon, I will blink and it will be her posing for a senior picture. Blessings all!
The countdown is on ... and my 13th year officially homeschooling is about to begin. We have had a full August, culminating in this final week purposefully at home with only a few preparatory projects in mind. The school room has been cleaned and rearranged, books and curriculum set stately on their respective shelves, and schedules written and rewritten to adapt to new classes and changes expected this year. Each day, as the number decreases on our back porch chalkboard, our anticipation and excitement rises at the thought of another school year ahead.
I am at the place that I love about summer .... the weeds are tired and the plants are thriving. It is a time when my eyes can wander over the landscape and treasure the beauty rather than seeing what needs to be done. Each morning, as I open our front door to allow the morning sunshine in, I see this treasure of a flower -- my favorite of the year -- it is ripe with the boldness of a year gone by and another emerging. I have captured it in every light and it still continues to bring me to a quiet stillness each and every day. I love coneflowers (echinacea), but the orange is above all my favorite.
Our back porch is my refuge during these slowed down moments. Dead heading flowers and rereading my sign reminds me daily to be purposeful and prayerful through all of my tasks. 
We said the last of our goodbyes to the Coose family when we were able to meet Andy for a snack prior to his flying away (they are now safely and happily lodged in Sydney, Australia through the grace and mercy of God). As their godfather, Andy is absolutely cherished in the hearts and minds of my children.
Yes, I grew wheat. It was an experiment really .... but it turned out fruitful. No, I do not intend to thresh it (this time), but will use it to create some autumn decorations for our home and others. It looks splendid waving majestically next to my 10 foot tall Indian corn!
I forgot to mention earlier that we have done a bit of home maintenance over the summer, including re-carpeting all of the bedrooms on the main floor and finally moving the bunk beds out of Isaac's room and investing in a new handsome bed and night stand. He is maturing and it was time to "let go of childish things" .... but it was quite a transition for him and hard for him to say goodbye to the bed he has slept in since he was a year old!
August is the month when yellow flowers display their glory. Sunflowers should be Idaho's state flower as they grow quite wild here and show up in my gardens with careless abandon. These combined with the black-eyed Susan's (another favorite) rival the sun in the early morning hours.
Although never more than enough for a good batch of pancakes, my blueberries continue to grow and offer their delicious fruit year after year. I believe that this may be my favorite shade of blue...
We enjoyed four glorious days in the mountains camping along the shores of Lake Cascade for our church Family Camp. These days are the highlight of our summer and year as we all so enjoy the fellowship of our church family. Isabelle especially found her niche with a sweet group of girls this year, spending hours on or in the water.
The boys bide their time playing games of all sorts (here Isaac is learning under a young man from our church who is working to become a chess master). Frisbee, football, card games, swimming, and waterskiing were enjoyed by all.
Back at home, we've spent our hours in yard/garden maintenance, service to others, reading, playing, and harvesting. Josiah opted to continue his college courses through the summer, taking a 6 month course and compacting it into 3 months! He is determined, and yet -- we work to keep him humble and fun-loving through hikes and bike rides and camping trips. He is definitely missed (even though he is at home buried in books and computer)!
This is his final and senior year at Kronz Mountainsage Academy. Yes, he did already earn his diploma and is actually finishing up his final year of college courses, but he still is only 16 and my sweet son. He'll graduate this spring with the Idaho State Homeschooling class of 2012 in what proves to be a really tremendous ceremony (May 26th for those family members reading). He'll spend his mornings this year working on some life-skill training and discussion, with his afternoons dedicated to his accelerated distance learning. I am "treasuring all these things in my heart" and praying for God's continued direction and blessing on this, his final year.
We will resume our school year on August 22nd. Isaac will be beginning his first high school year, Josiah finishing his last. Isabelle is still young enough to treasure the little things like nature study and reading picture books snuggled close in .... sigh. I'm cherishing each day knowing that all too soon, I will blink and it will be her posing for a senior picture. Blessings all!
1 comment:
Praying for a wonderful and prosperous and "fun" year! Many, many blessings!!
Post a Comment