A new school year has started and we are six days in! After a lovely day spent at the beach while most of the other kids in our neck of the woods had their first day back at school, we began our 2019-2020 school year last Wednesday. Our grades this year are 2nd, 4th, 10th and 11th, and this is my 21st year of teaching my kids at home.
We always start with a half-week of school so that we can all get used to the new grades and new books and can get back into the routine of a well structured day. We sure do enjoy the freedoms of summer, but it does make transitioning back to school a little bumpy! Now we are hitting the books hard and working to stay on top of the schedule I’ve laid out. This way, when it’s time for our field trips, we will have the freedom to go without feeling like we are falling behind.
Speaking of field trips, I have a whole mess of them planned for this year! I am doing a Maryland History course with my younger boys, so we will be visiting every single one of the 24 counties. Almost all of these trips will include a hike of at least 2 miles, so I’ll be counting these as a part of our Physical Education as well! We will be doing some camping, visiting some historical places like St. Mary’s City, a one-room school house and the Maryland State House as well as going to some nature reserves and museums. It’s going to be so much fun!
My boys really love science, so I invested in some magnifying glasses for them to explore around our yard and to use on our hikes. I think that hands-on learning is the absolute best way for kids to learn. They’ve already started collecting different bugs and stuff. I just hope that they don’t decide to let any of the creepy crawly things they find loose in my house!
We always start our day out together with all four students sitting around the table where we have our Bible time and pray for our day. The boys are learning the books of the Bible as well as having weekly memory verses. My girls are pretty much independent with their school work, but we are studying Proverbs 31 together and I am looking forward to all of our discussions about what being a godly woman looks like.
I was able to get away with a good friend of mine for 2 nights before school started, and we were able to have some really good time alone with God, seeking his heart for us and for our families. One thing that I was reminded of, is that one of the greatest things to invest my time in is in the minds, hearts and souls of my kids. While their minds are the obvious investment when you think in terms of school, it is really the hearts and souls of my children that I should be focusing on the most. Everything that I am teaching my children should be able to be used to point them to Christ.
It’s been a long time since I have only had four kids to teach. It’s actually kind of weird, to be honest. I have adult children who have moved out, and other adult children who live at home and work full-time. I am embracing the changes that are inevitable and accepting the challenges that I will most certainly face. I know that God’s grace will be sufficient, His joy will be my strength and that His mercies are new every single morning.
I am really excited about all that He has in store for our school this year!
