First Day Back to School

No pictures. Mid-year pictures don't count. (Heck, I haven't even managed to mail out the Christmas pictures yet - school photos? Probably not 'til college, folks.)

However, it was a pretty good day. The boys were surprisingly easy to guide and teach. Zorak spent his day of mourning off hunting for deer, so the kids and I dove into our studies. By the time he returned home for lunch, we were done with most of the stuff and taking a well-enjoyed game break.

School Day Highlights:

James - loving Delta. Yay. Thrilled to have "designated free reading time" included in the homeschool schedule. (He loves to read - reads in the morning, before he gets up, and reads at bedtime, as well. But he just doesn't quite understand that if you want to go read a book during the day, go read a book. If I'm reading a book, he'll come sit with me and read one of his own, and if I suggest it, he's all over it. But for some reason, he needed a slot set aside just for "free reading". Somehow, seeing "30 minutes free reading" on his schedule of things to do was like getting a "Pass Go, Collect $200" card. Huge highlight of the day.)

John - really able to read his Latin book independently now, and he is so thrilled. So he read the Latin lessons today. So proud! Also, I gave him a Reader to work through, along with his very own checklist to record his progress. This step meant a lot to him (more than I'd figured when I put it together), and he cannot wait to fill in the "I read all ten stories myself!" certificate. This is such good stuff.

James lost another tooth today. John is still in awe of the process, convinced he'll never lose a tooth of his own. He didn't ask for this one, though, so that's good.

Miss Emily awoke this morning with a raging case of pink eye. So, back to Mom's pharmacy. Three treatments with that stuff and she looked a WHOLE lot better, although she's still fairly miserable. Even with the goop, she spent most of her day standing and dancing. She's begun cruising comfortably the past week, and will walk all over the place if you give her a finger to hold on to. It won't be long before she's walking all over the place (and bruised just as thoroughly).

Smidge, so far, has avoided the strep, the pink eye, and the ick. I don't know how much longer his luck will hold, but hopefully Long Enough.

And on that note, I'm not going to push my luck any more than I already have. So, I am off. A good night's rest, and an early start in the morning, and we'll keep moving in this general direction.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy