We came back home and with the unpacking began the thinking, budgeting and planning for a new school year. Rushed and hurried because there's a little baby in the house that demands a lot of mom's attention, and there is a house to run and a life to live, and in the middle of it all, there are things to learn!
So thankful for women who love their kids, love to teach, and have a few more years under their belt with this home schooling thing! We joined a Literature Study Group where not only the kids learned about History and Literature, but I also learned how to make it happen.
Elena sat in one class. While Adriana and Benny joined a rather smaller group that Elena ended up joining, just because that is how interesting it was made for her! We studied Ancient Egypt.
Elena will start 5th Grade this year, Adriana will remain (officially) in 3rd Grade, and Benny in 1st. This is a better time to hold them back and strengthen their Math and reading skills (respectively).
We devoted the first semester to learning all about Ancient Egypt with our Literature Group. We culminated the semester with a Display Night where we set out on display all the projects we worked on and the girls did a little oral presentation.
Teaching the children at home is such a rewarding challenge. To see first hand their challenges can be so heart breaking, but then to see their success is just priceless! I'm so thankful for the opportunity to see them grow in character, to develop and function in the world around them. I'm thankful that we can do this. I'm so thankful that I get a first row seat to this area of their lives. Display night brought one such stretching opportunity for growth.
Elena was asked to work on a presentation on one of the books she read. We began by having her fill out a Book Report format and then I had her write the story in her own words. I helped her "smooth out" the story and her transitions throughout and she read her paper in front of everyone who was there that night. She did so well!
Adriana had written a few speaking points that she was going to use as "talking cues" when anyone came to see her portion of the display. She made an Egyptian house out of cardboard and construction paper. Once there she found out she actually was expected to share publicly --she was not ready for that! But we decided she would use those "talking cues" and read them as an oral report. Adriana does not handle improvisation very well. It was already super stretching that she was going to speak in public with little to no notice. When she was called to share, half of her index cards were GONE! Disappeared, completely --nowhere to be found. PA.NIC! She was so distraught and mad, but there was no time to lose, she went to the front, read what she had with the best game face she could muster and she did so beautifully well!! Naturally, no one ever noticed that she was unprepared! She did so well! It took a while to calm her down afterwards and convince her that she did a good job. In her book, that went down like a complete failure. She did not do as well as she would have wanted to do. My prayer is that one day she will realize that the win in all of this was how well and composed she handled herself in spite of how terrified and frustrated she was feeling! That was no easy task!