If You're Still Around

I've never been absent so consistently and so long, and trust me I feel it.

 Each week it's "Oh, just as soon as I get done with this event, then I'll finally catch up with blogging." I can see you smiling. Yep, the events never stop coming. And each night I close my eyes, I hear a 'whoosh.'   It's memories and funny stories and quotes flying away that I'm sure I can never get back. Too much happens each day, each week that makes me smile - too many I really want to remember this moments.

But I'm going to try. This year I homeschooled Sam and Katarina. Kind of a best of both worlds scenario - public school curriculum and accountability with the unique opportunity to do it at home. Lots of pros and its share of cons went with it as well.

The curriculum I loved - the kids were reading classics, studying history, art, and science in depth, and being challenged at a national level in math. The paper work and red tape that went with it, not so much. The kids had to develop a strong work ethic - I liked that, they didn't.

I learned first hand that Sam is all about concepts. Give him a concept and he'll take it and run with it. Busy work is completely unnecessary in his world.

Consider science - we were studying molecules and DNA and what chromosomes mean. He'd see funny decorations in public and crack jokes about what the molecules were doing on the gift bag (it did look like molecules on the gift bag). Then out of the blue he asked me, "So it's illegal to marry my sister, right?"
"Um, yeah."
"Why?"
So I explained what can happen when two blood relatives have a baby and the possibilites involved with chromosomes, blah, blah, blah.
Sam thought about it a moment and said, "So you're telling me that if a brother and sister got married they could have a kid with an extra nose on it's back?!?'"

Snicker. Serious Face. "Well, not exactly, but yeah sort of."

"And people knew this but they still had to make it a law?"
I shrug.
"'Cause people are stupid," he deducts.
"Um, well, uh . . . yeah."

So Sam gets concepts real well. With math, history, science, you name it. Then he begins to make up jokes to show his understanding of concept. Sometimes this gets tedious, but mostly it's hilarious. And I really enjoyed being there to see his eyes light up when he 'got it,' whatever the 'it' was at the time.

Katarina was stretched to what I remember being a middle school level of study. The first month was excruciating for her with such a large volume of history and science added to the normal language arts, lit, math, and spelling, but she rose to the challenge and by the end I was absolutely blown away by the change in her study skills. The first semester she'd tear up and struggle over each history unit exam. By the second semester, it seemed old hat and for the semester finals I saw her ace both history and science. In writing, she grew as not only she was challenged to research and write essays and articles and her assigned public teacher called to encourage her to dig even deeper, but combined with the intense language arts and spelling Mike and I looked at each other in disbelief at some of her descriptions as she recited an oral speech.
Not a single piece of writing from Katarina this year will go in the recycling bin.

Anabelle learned that occassionally she HAD to stop talking. And the times that she was forced to play alone for a bit before preschool only increased her abundant imagination. Her vocabulary, however, I still can't account for - I blame Mike for that. The girl shocks me all the time. Although, I must admit Anabelle knows some pieces of history, science, and art that probably isn't normal thanks to Sam and Katarina wanting to play 'teacher' at times.

I learned that all my children are perfectionists but it appears differently in each of them. I wonder if that's possibly true for the entire human race, but we all cope or exhibit it in such radically different ways that we don't recognize it for what it is.

I felt I grew more as a person this year than I have in a decade past. And it sucked and it was wonderful. At the same time.
Seriously.
I won't say it was all because of homeschooling, because it wasn't but I think having school happen in your house causes serious self-analyzing and change to occur. I could go on and on but I think this post is getting excessive as it is.

All of my children have a wicked sense of humor. Sometimes without meaning to. For instance, Anabelle, after not being allowed to get a piece of candy, shouted, "EVERY DAY is the Worst Day Ever!"

Okay, and I have lots more to say but I ran out of time. What you've all been waiting for:  

PICTURES!

Sam chose a slipnslide for his birthday. I'm so glad he did!

Sam also got a Dog Science kit.  He made his own dog treats.  Doesn't Sugar look interested?
Sam's wearing special Dog Goggles that apparently are supposed to allow you to see the world as a dog would see it.  Sam says he's glad he's not a dog.



Katarina is learning to sew. And I'm glad!  Here she's fixing the dog bed that Sugar made a hole with her teeth in protest to us being gone from home for a week.

And here is Sam after he did 'surgery' on our tulips to analyze and name all the flowers parts.   Here he's thinking, "Now, how do I put them all back together again?"  Just kidding. ( ;