Monday, January 19, 2015

Smiling at 2015


Happy 2015!  2015 has kicked off nicely so far.  Boy Wonder got baptized the first Sunday of the month.  The great-grandparents are visiting, and nobody has had a heart attack (see posts from last January for more on that).  The Cowboys made the playoffs.  SMU is actually winning basketball games again.  It's 60 degrees outside!  And since we're so far ahead in school, we decided to enjoy a lighter homeschool J-term schedule.  (I realize that J-terms are usually something that you take in college, but I prefer the college schedule over the elementary school year.)

It's officially been 1 year since we started our homeschooling experiment.  It was last January that we started working through the kindergarten curriculum.  After 1 year, we've come a long way:
  • I've come to the realization that I don't have to follow the curriculum schedule.  If the entire point of homeschooling is to customize my son's education, then why should I commit to following someone else's schedule? This revelation (okay, it's something that I've read in multiple homeschool books) has made homeschooling much more enjoyable for me.
  • Boy Wonder is doing well in school.  He has whipped through kindergarten and first grade math and is currently forging through the 2nd grade curriculum.  He is now reading books aloud and writing/illustrating his own book reports.  He loves science and is thoroughly enjoying studying ecosystems at the museum each week.  He has figured out that the trick to spelling involves memorization and now he is mastering his spelling words as quickly as his Bible verse each week!
  • Tornado Man has begged to start school.  Even though he's 2 years away from kindergarten, he pulled out the kindergarten math book and started working through it ON HIS OWN!  Once I realized what he was doing, I decided to officially let him start homeschooling this January.  Turns out that the little boy who runs into everything, is also a self-motivated perfectionist.  What could be more appealing to a homeschool mom?
  • The little boys, who for the past few years have screamed in the bath tub every time I've tried to wash their hair, are taking swimming lessons.  And they love it.  Go figure.
  • Princess G is finally out of her crib and has adapted well to her big girl room.  She's already learned how to put together matching outfits, change her own diaper, and talk so that you can actually understand what she says.  She also loves coats and boots!  Wonder where she picked that up from? 
  • Mr. Wonderful and I celebrated our 10th anniversary last month!  Not only that, but he's already made reservations for dinner for Valentine's weekend. Need I say more?
  •  We're still hosting a small group at our home once a week.  I realize that this isn't a big deal for most people, but I no longer have anxiety about having people in my home!  Hospitality is something that can be learned.
Honestly, I could have, and probably should, have written dozens of blog posts over the past few months.  God has taught us so much and has revealed some amazing truths and promises this past year.  I really want to communicate more in the future to share what I'm learning with, well, whoever reads these posts.  I might be a little busy, (homeschooling, working as a lawyer, raising 3 kids, etc), but I should never be too busy to share all the good things that God has done!  Hope you had a wonderful 2014 and are able to smile at the future.

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