Friday Five- Last Day of School!

The Last Day of School!

Close the books on another academic year! We did it. 36 weeks of schooling complete. We've traveled from Creation to the American Revolution in History. THAT'S quite a journey! We've tackled multiplication facts to Algebra. We've examined all the human body systems, nutrition, and How To Improve Our Survival Skills. All students are writing in cursive, well at least when they feel like it or when it is absolutely required. Everyone is typing (ahem, I guess it's correctly called "keyboarding" now...). We continue in Spanish, and one of us finished Latin 1. ("Sine labore nihil")

But, there's a lot more to schooling than academics.

Today's Friday Five- 5 reasons I am still thankful to school at home!

1. My kids. I know my kids and my kids know me. (ack! The reality of that!) For better and for
worse. There is no place better than home to work on character issues. There are no people better than parents work on character issues. Having our family at home means that it is natural to teach "when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up." (Deut. 6:7)

2. The Word. The Bible is the foundation of our day. It's how we start the school day. We can work on memorizing the Catechism, and take the time to explain and talk out what it means and how it applies to our life. We have the privilege of praying for people around the world, for other countries and cultures and languages.

3. Service. We have opportunity to be available. We can serve meals to the shut-in, in rain and snow and sunshine. We can be a home to kids that need a place to go during the day. We can drive folks to appointments, and we can grocery shop for others, and we can set up for church fellowship hall for dinner at 3:30 on Wednesdays.

4. Activities. We are blessed by community. My kids play volleyball and basketball and baseball. They sing in the choir and ring the bells. We can get our piano lessons done during the day and the practicing too. We have friends to take field trips with and play games with and share i-pod earphones with. And that's not just the kids. Me too! I have friends that pat me on the shoulder when the going is rough and pray with me both when we're rejoicing and when we don't know what else to possibly do.

5. And yes, academics. We are learning. We are walking through history. We are putting our hands into science. We are learning new tongues. We read and read and read. Together. They are beginning to OUT learn me! And isn't that what we dream of, that our kids knowledge will exceed our own? And, they are learning independence- the value of studying and discipline, and hopefully, little by little, order. Learning to go out on their own, one step at a time. As parents, we're still standing on the promise of Proverbs 22:6- "Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old, he will not depart from it."

And so, we joyfully look to summer, and the learning will continue, though in a different setting than sitting around our table. We are thankful for opportunities to travel and to play and to spend the summer season doing summer things! And to be refreshed before traditional "academics" start anew in August!