Scrabble Spelling

Every once in a while we pull out our Scrabble board and spell random words, whatever the boys think of (and that we have enough tiles for spelling...). We don't actually play the game by the rules, but here's what they came up with yesterday...mostly Elijah's words. This is what makes learning and schooling fun and exciting!

Letter of Intent

We've sent our "letter of intent" to the school district to inform them of our plans to homeschool for this coming school year. Not a hard letter to write...just one sentence basically repeating what I said above...but nerve racking for me. I get nervous and anxious when doing new things for the first time. I spell checked the letter about 5 times just to be sure I wasn't giving a bad first impression with misspelled words. I re-read the letter about 10 times. I made my husband read it. I looked up the school address 3 times and the superintendant's name 3 times as well. I sent the letter certified mail as recommended and clarified all the merits of certified mail with the postal clerk...twice. All this and I basically copied the sentence word for word from a new homeschoolers packet provided by my homeschool support group...at their suggestion. I think I've got all the bases covered...very well. And yet...I'm nervous. Anxious. Waiting for a response. 10 days.

Chunky Notebooks

Traveling to Iowa was a pleasant experience overall. We listened to several stories on tape, read all our books - many several times over - the boys never tire of the Berenstain Bears, colored lots of pages, drew many pictures, watched lots of TV and ate, ate, ate. I was pleased that the boys really enjoyed their geography folders and hopefully learned some things along the way. It was neat to see Elijah pick out the individual states we were traveling through on his own.

The funny thing was that everyone's favorite activity didn't happen until the end of our first travel day on the way home. It started by Eli asking me to draw a picture for him in his chunky notebook, which I did, but then told him I'd write a secret note as well. Sneaking in some reading and writing time - he, he! There really was no rhyme or reason to the types of things I was writing, but challenging enough that Eli needed to think a bit. Here's a sampling of some of my favorite notes and (Eli's responses). "I do not know if I have a favorite color. Do you have a favorite color?" (blue) "I am thirty-one years old. How old are you?" (five and 5) "I have three or four favorite friends. Do you have a best friend?" (Luke Farwell). "I like to eat and drink lots of food. What things do you like best?" (milk and blue bares aka blueberries) "I miss our home. What do you miss most about our home?" (my bed). I mostly drew pictures for Luke and Isaac in their own chunky notebooks. The second morning of travel toward home, Elijah was practically begging me to sit in the back with them to write notes! I love chunky notebooks! I'm so thankful for fun and pleasant memories!

Isaac enjoys listening to kiddo music and The Berenstain Bears audio stories. He much preferred to hold the headphones rather than rest them on his head. Dirty Dog obviously enjoyed the stories, too!

Elijah working hard!

Luke searching for hidden objects in his Highlights Search and Find coloring book.

Successful

Hooray for the boost of confidence standardized testing has provided me! PHEW! We received the results of Elijah's exams measuring Language Arts and Math (IOWA Tests of Basic Skills - Advanced Kindergarten level). He did exceptionally well. Honestly, testing was really about me this year and finding proof that I can do this. To have proof in hand that I am not delusional about the progress we made this year is a huge encouragement to me. It makes my heart just about burst to know that Eli's learning occurred under my instruction! Watching him learn to read this past year was as exciting as those first steps and first baby words. I am so blessed to be the one witnessing this monumental and crucial step in his education!

Lest you think I am taking ALL the credit...Elijah is a fast learner and eager to show what he knows. He enjoys his workbooks and teaching letters and sounds to Luke. He loves playing learning games and sorting through flashcards. He keeps his chunky notebook close by to write things down (words or numbers) when ever the mood strikes. He loves counting...today, he surprised me by saying he thought he knew how to count to 1,000 (by 100's) and he did! He always loves our challenge game - "I bet you can't spell _____" followed by "Okay, you knew that one, but this is even harder...I bet you can't add 7 + 5!" and so on.

I am grateful for this year of homeschooling. I have never been this intentional with my time and purpose with the boys, but it has proved to be the best choice for our family. I know my children better than before and have deepened our relationships. I know myself better than ever - the good and the bad. Praise the Lord, he's working in my heart! I have enjoyed my children more than ever, ever, EVER...and I can only pray that the future will be just as successful. It's not simply about academics, though. By the state education standards, we were quite successful this year. But that isn't how I ultimately measure our success. It's about doing what's best for our children desiring to please God above all else and challenging them to strive for the same.