A Marvelous Day

Today was one of those days that reaffirmed my commitment to homeschooling.

I have some lovely pictures of my children working together and independently and all of us having a marvelous day. Unfortunately, my camera and my computer aren't speaking to each other this evening. As I'm only qualified to do marriage and family counseling and not technology counseling, I'll have to wait for someone else to try to bridge the communication gap.

The thing that most struck me about today is that it wasn't perfect but it was still wonderful. My dd10 took all day to do only half of the things on her list and much time was wasted. There were squabbles, mediation, correction, distraction and redirection. The thing that made today wonderful is that we were all together, working and playing successfully in a way would never be possible if we didn't homeschool.

I can't tell you how fulfilling it was for me when I suggested that dd5 get her upper/lower case letter set and dd13 asked if she could be the one to help dd5 with it. The letter set is the same one I used when working with dd13 on her letters. Each one of the dc talked about what they remembered about the letter set. Dd10 remembered it smelled like baby food and Sharpie marker. It still does. Ds7 even went over to join the letter matching/sound game when he finished his writing. It was lovely to have so many teachers for dd5 and all of them intent on the exchange of information and ideas.

All through lunch today, the dc played Connect 4 discussing strategy, coordinating team plans, making sure everyone had the opportunity to win at least one game. If I'd asked them to do this, it would have been met with groans and rejection. It was their idea and they had a marvelous time at it. Only with homeschool could we have spent our lunch hour together, engaged in conversation and play, learning all the while.

Even this evening as I fearfully waded into The Well Trained Mind Part 3: The Rhetoric Stage, I was able to be thankful for the blessings of homeschool. The idea of taking my dc to graduation at home is frightening and exciting. There are so many experiences and ideas I'll get to share with them. There is so much to expect from all of us.

My prayer is that I'll maintain my ability to recognize the marvelous days, even when they aren't perfect.