August 23, 2005

Big 'Ole Catch Up Post

I don't know where the time goes!

I planned on blogging Sunday night but I was too tired. (The truth is, I wanted to finish The Painted House by John Grisham) Good book, but I was disappointed in the end. I felt like he was just trying to finish writing and rushed the end of the story. It was still an enjoyable read though. Now I have moved onto East of Eden and I am loving it!

Today we officially started school and it was a great day! I asked Kevin if I could take the boys out to breakfast as a special kick-off to our day and he said, "Absolutely not, no way are you going out to breakfast!" Nooooo, of course not! He said, "That's a great idea, sweetie." He's trained so well, isn't he? he-he

We went out for breakfast and had a great time, what a special treat. We all had pancakes and sausage, yum! I loaded up on caffeine and was ready to begin our school day, until the pancakes hit me. Sleep. Must. Sleep. Now. One should never eat pancakes and then expect to be alert 45 minutes later. I thought a water flush was in order, so I drank a little more than a half gallon of water, ran went to the bathroom and we were ready to begin.

I have to admit, I was afraid that every ounce of carefully selected and patiently taught curriculum had seeped out of my children's brains and through the cracks in the wood floor over our long break, but, it had not! They amazed me with their knowledge and excitement to be jumping back into their schoolwork. Jeremy didn't miss a beat with math or reading and John was writing in cursive like a signer of The Declaration of Independence. Latin, I can only say that a Latin scholar would have been highly impressed at their use of verbiage and vocabulary. I am so proud of them! We are starting slow, just the basics for now, we will add history and science in two weeks.

We also had another treat! We headed over to my friend, and fellow WTM'er, Michelle's house for some food and fellowship. You who frequent the Well Trained Mind message boards know her as Classical Michele. There were some other WTM'ers there, Angela in NJ and Jill in NJ, what fun to put faces to the names. There was no conversation subject left unturned, what a wealth of wisdom and support, I truly had an awesome time. There were 16 kids in Michele's house and you would not have known it. They played knights, construction, nail polish (the girls, not the boys) tag (outside) and legos. They did not want to leave and, honestly, neither did I. Angela said that we had better leave as a group because, "there is safety in numbers" LOL!

Busy days are here!

6 comments:

Jersey Girl said...

Your enthusiasm about beginning the school year is evident in this post. Hooray for you - and your students! I think having breakfast out was a very creative way to begin the new "semester". You really know the way to your sons' hearts.
Sounds like fun was had by all.

J-Lynn said...

What a neat tradition to start! I tried to start school 2 weeks ago but I'm thinking I may try again in September (after Labor Day) and mark it with a breakfast too! :-) A friend of mine has her 2 daughters go out to breakfast with her husband to mark the occassion and then they come home to her all ready and decorated for school. I love traditions!

BTW, what program are you using for Latin? I'm so glad they are all doing so well! THey are little sponges!

What fun about the get-together, I'm hoping beyond hopes I can get to the Dallas/Ft. Worth one on the first. :-)

Randi said...

Sounds like your first day of school was a success! I too am worried that when we drag our books out on Monday, my boys won't remember a thing from last schoolyear-hopefully our day goes as well as yours!

Donna Boucher said...

What a great day!!!

Isn't it wonderful to get together with the other WTM families! We all have a unique bond. Like a bunch of pen pals getting together after many years!

Did you happen to see Janie's children at her website? I have known her on the website for five years and it was so great to see her beautiful, grown up children!

Happy Teaching,
Donna

Maggie Ann said...

Laney, you are such a good writer. I feel as if I've had a 'real' visit with you, and its been fun. Happy school days to you and your family. You're off to a great start! Our Christian school starts next week and I do some of the bulletin boards and I'm dragging my feet I must admit.

LH said...

I just wanted to say hello!
I linked here from Dy's

I'll add you to homeschoolBlogs.blogspot.com if I haven't yet!