make time slow down

We are into our third week of our new home school year. Sigh. I cannot believe my sweet Mae is going to be nine and has started third grade. I vividly remember every moment of her life. Not kidding. And, I remember like yesterday our first day of Kindergarten together. We read Lentil with Five in a Row and practiced puckering. I love home schooling. Love love love love. Now we're onto reading the Gospels, singing hymns, memorizing scripture, loving the unlovable, primary language lessons, thinking math, oral narration, forgiveness, picture study, composer study, geography of the life of Christ, service, intentional nature study, commonplace books of poetry, tales, Shakespeare, good books, and lots of art and prayer and playing outside.

I have {FIAR} sitting here all ready to dig into for this year with the girls, but every time I think we'll start I miss the organic simplicity of our Charlotte Mason days, and I really cannot blend the two seamlessly. I know that Viola would thrive with {FIAR} but I also know my limitations and separating the girls right now with my challenges that Zeb brings and his own full Kindergarten plate, including {B4FIAR}, and I don't think I can be all that I should be to each of these little people, while keeping up with Jack, too.

Mae is really soaking in our days and she loves it. Our smooth and easy routine resonates with her, while Viola hasn't quite found her groove. This is her first true year of school and she hasn't been expected to sit for long periods of time, so we are working on those habits right now. ("Long" in our lessons means 20 min at most for her, at most.) Last year in her "Kindergarten" year she completed into second grade math and she reads and comprehends at an 8th grade level, and she learned about birds so deeply as to put ornithologists to shame, so this year holds a lot of awesome experiences for her that go far beyond the scholastic ... like stillness, discovery, nature, journaling, wonder, art, cursive, Life of Fred math, singing, music lessons, and scripture over a story Bible. She will turn seven near the end of this school year so there is no rush at all with her. This year is again about fueling a fire for learning and experiencing the lovely in the every day, but intentionally making the every day lovely by finding God's hand in it all.

I've been tucking Zeb's Kindergarten lessons here and there between the girls' lessons, and what works best in our home is no real schedule, but rather a framework of lessons done before lunch, lunch with a read aloud, naps, outdoors time, and chores before baths, dinner, stories, and bedtime. I use the Simply Charlotte Mason Organizer and in truth, I could sing its praises all day long and that couldn't express enough my thanks for it. 

Jack is my joy. He centers me every single day and brings complete unbridled happy to this home. A good dose of Jack and the day bubbles over with spontaneity and carefree. We read Bible stories together, build legos, watch trains, color, finger paint, play cars, make play doh picnics, dig in the sandbox, get sweaty outside, play Pictureka, and eat snacks to our hearts' content. He is the baby preschooler, afterall, and I for one am reveling in that bittersweet reality.