January through February 2010

Things in homeschool land are going quite well. Of course there are ups and downs, days in which I wonder what I was ever thinking starting this endaevour that will likely carry us through the next 16 years or so when our youngest is finished. But all in all I think that it is good. My kids are learning at their own pace, from what interests them, with minimal pressure . . . and they're doing it together, forging close sibling bonds that will carry them through the rest of their lives. We hope.

Just by way of general updates:

Serra will turn Ten in July. I can hardly wrap my mind around the idea of double digits. She is an avid reader and audiobook listener. I think currently she is listening to Inkdeath and reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. She loves fantasy and is writing a guidebook to the world of pixies. She is a remarkable artist and has done some really beautiful impressionist paintings. Math is the thorn in her side but she does incredibly well with it and is moving right along on schedule. History for her is covered through American Girl novels and companion books and Little House on the Prairie stories. We found The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life at the library and she is really enjoying it. We may have to buy it! She is always getting on my case to make her or buy her a prairie style dress. Too bad I can't sew, but we'll find her something soon. Here she is enjoying a winter day with her bff (with whom she is forming a band).

Dear Hero has recently turned Eight. She got her ears pierced for the occasion and did a grand job being brave and all that. She was less squeamish than me! She is finally sinking into and becoming comfortable with reading. She isn't what I would call an avid reader (yet) but she does, I think, appreciate the skill finally. She read all three easy readers I checked out for her in one night this week! I was thinking they would take her a week to work through, so this is great progress. She is quite the whiz at math; I think she is just a numbers oriented person, very much into patterns and rhythm. She'll often hum her way through a page of math problems, to which I say "Whatever works" and also "Thank goodness she is homeschooled". She has a very analytical mind and is full of questions, and therefor she is always learning. She is an unschooler at heart, and while I cannot fully go there because of my own anxieties I do try to let her work through things on her own as much as possible.

Eden just turned Six and is just starting to become more academically minded. She can add and subtract and can read some words with guidance, though she hasn't got all of the letter sounds committed to memory fully yet. It is so neat to see a person learning the code. She loves the one on one time of school more than anything else I think, and I love it too. As the number three kid and with her easy going and generous personality she often seems to get overlooked, and sometimes even trodden on I think. It is good to have that time with her, snuggled upclose and seeing how her mind works.

Then There's Haven, the tumbly little bumbly light of our lives. Sort of. She is entering that difficult stage, which can be so fun, and I more and more frequently hear things like "Haven is ruining my life and wrecking my stuff!" But hey, it is way too late to return her, so we'll deal.




We vacationed recently and saw some wonderful things. We visited the Rio Grande Zoo and Aquarium, The New Mexico Museum of Space History,and Carlsbad Caverns.

All in all much fun was had and many miles were logged. Now we're just trying to get back into the swing of things at home.