Our first week
Well, the week isn’t over yet, but I’d like to get it down while it’s still fresh.
It seems surreal that we’re really doing this. Home schooling, and at times I wonder what the big deal is. One extreme to the other. I’ve spent years preparing for this. Inside I’ve always known we’d do this, and what I’ve seen around me has only confirmed that my intuition is correct. But, I digress.
Monday we began our 1st official day of home school. I stayed up till 3am the night before preparing. I wanted to do something simple and symbolic on our first day to make it concrete for her.
In the morning I presented her with her first set of carved wooden figures and a blessing to begin her formal education. I lay everything out on our wooden chest in the living room. She was so surprised when she saw the display. She saw the typed blessing next to it and asked me to read it to her. I did, and it was so beautiful how she connected with it.
When I described her like the pine tree, straight and tall and strong, I saw her raise up on her toes and reach her arms high. It was amazing to me how she just intuitively physically absorbed the description into herself. It was the same with the fox, as I described her with the fox properties; she picked it up and made it move quickly to sit under the branches of the tree. The deer moved more calmly and gently, and the rabbit hid behind the tree. It was so delicious to watch. All I did was slowly read the blessing and watch her absorb it. When I was done, she turned to me and asked who wrote that poem. I told her that I wrote that blessing for her, and that her daddy and I wanted to gift her with all these blessings from our heart to give her as he started Kindergarten.
She smiled the sweetest smile and gave me such a strong hug. I was completely blown away. I didn’t think she would get it, but I am so glad I made the extra effort.
Weeks before I had purchased some beautifully handcrafted wooden figures to present her with at the start of the school year. My plan was to have the classroom with all the toys and supplies already set up on our first day. But that’s not how it’s going. Too much stress and pressure, and I want to keep the focus on relaxed learning, joy, rhythmic ease and flexibility. I figure the best way to go about is to just create it all with her. We could make the log blocks together as a craft. Also putting the school room together will be a good project for the two of us. She is just so much more connected to it all when she has a part in it.
Back to our first day, after the blessing, I showed her our weekly schedule, and we talked about how we would take our week slowly so we could learn what worked for us.
Then she played with her wood figures and dollhouse people for the next hour and a half.
In retrospect, it’s good that I didn’t have everything all set out at once. I think introducing it to her bit by bit will make it that much more enchanting.
The rest of this week and next, I want to work on the wood blocks with her. And I think next week or the week after I will bring out the play silks.
Today Tuesday was enrichment day, we went to H.O.M.E. for home
scholars. It’s an enrichment program with lots of classes for homeschoolers. We signed up for Tumbling. She had a ball. She was so excited to go, but when we got there, the amount of kids and the noise was a lot for her. She got a little shy and began hiding behind my legs. The teachers of the tumbling class were 2 young men. One of which was home schooled himself, and whose mother taught the musical theater and piano classes for the group.
The other teacher was so high energy; he had her a little wary. On his first approach I could feel her little body trembling. He came right into her space and very loudly tried to roughhouse her. Needless to say she wasn’t having it. When he walked away she confessed to me that she was scared. I reassured her that that was normal, and reminded her of how she felt her first day of dance class and at the carol center. She still looked concerned, but since I assured her I would stay for the class, she sat down and participated. She had so much fun. They started out with Simon says for stretches, and then there was much jumping and running and bouncing. By the end of the class she and the loud scary teacher were good buddies. On her way out she said she had so much fun, and how now that she was used to the class she was not scared any more. I love her so much.
Then we came home for lunch and a nap before heading back out for ballet.
Then we came home, and I set up the computer for her to work on Kindergarten Jump Start while I made dinner. We ate, washed up put on jammies and finished the last chapter of The Princess and The Goblins. We’ve been reading it for maybe 2 weeks now.
Now she fast asleep while try to capture it all into words, and prepare things for our day tomorrow. How fun and exciting it all is.
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