First Day of School

 I told Jason last night that it feels like we are finally tasting the fruit of a well-tended tree. We have been working and planning so much for this outcome, and now we get to stretch out and relax into the reality we've only really experienced as a destination on a map up to now. I can't really say "We've arrived." It's not like that. The planning and learning will be a constant task. But each effort toward this goal has been deeply blessed and rewarded.  

Much of our school room was outfitted by Janet, Eric, Jake and Sydney, by Frank, Shranda, Whitney and Zach, and by Chuck and Monica. No joke. So much of the furniture, books and even some of the curriculum came, free of charge, from friends who knew we were building a home school. Their kindness has blessed us in ways I will never be able to express to them. The room looks as if each piece was carefully selected to work together to enhance the learning environment of two children who are very precious to us. I can see God's fingerprints all over it.

Jonathan's reading program was Jake's. It's perfect. Melanie's pre-reading program came from a pre-school friend. It is perfect for her! Our devotion materials came from our pre-school friends as well, and they complement our curriculum as if they were written to work together. Books, posters and fan cards given to us by our across-the-street neighbors in Texas have found places on the bulletin board and were the most important tools I used to teach a small unit on insects and arachnids at our final week of camp. I am picking up those cards all over the house. The kids love them!

It is incredible how little I've actually had to hunt and plan for this. And at the end of the first full week, I'm completely worn out (So are the kids!), but I am fully on board and giddy that I get to do this with my kids!

The kids had their first Classical Conversations class on Friday. It was slightly overwhelming, but at the end of two-and-a-half hours, Jonathan and Melanie had been exposed to five Latin verbs, the first five of the Ten Commandments, the five basic tenets of drawing, seven pegs on an ancient history timeline, the definition of a preposition, skip counting by 2s to 24 and the scientific classification of living things. They had also dissected a seed to identify all its parts, and Jonathan had correctly identified on a map the Fertile Crescent, the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, the Mediterranean Sea, Mesopotamia and Sumer.

This is our memory work for the week. We will build on this each week throughout the school year using songs to help us memorize the facts. At home, the kiddos are working through separate reading programs and an age-appropriate curriculum called My Father's World which incorporates a learning philosophy I love based on the work of a 17th century English lady named Charlotte Mason. I attended a series of seminars at the Boerne Public Library on her philosophies, and I love her laid-back approach to learning. She is long-gone now, but she recognized the deep need that children have to simply explore "Our Father's World" uninhibited for many hours a day without an adult hanging over their shoulder. I love the idea that every moment should not be planned and scheduled for a child. We take frequent breaks during school time and just hunt for bugs or run around outside.

I found a darling music appreciation curriculum that incorporates a very gentle introduction to piano lessons at a used-curriculum sale I attended two days after we arrived in town. It included a little stuffed mouse that Melanie uses named Mozart Mouse. Jonathan uses Mr. Beethoven Bear with his studies. We all enjoy our music time. 

Helping Daddy

Painting bench parts

"Look what Daddy built just for me!"

Melanie helping paint her bench

Hammering practice

 Jason took the family to Home Depot one Saturday to find supplies to build these neat little benches for the kiddos. Jonathan and Melanie picked the paint and helped to paint the pieces before they were assembled. Right now they are acting as cars on a make-believe train out back. The kids love them and so do we! I can imagine these sitting around the fire pit this fall.

Jason has been looking at shed plans and has taken on several smaller building projects around the house. We definitely don't feel quite settled yet, but we love being in our house and yard. We are very happy with our new home.

Jonathan's bench

We've had a lot of fun exploring Northern Virginia this summer. At the end of July, we were invited to the Cobb Theater in Leesburg for a birthday party. Several days a week they open the theater for families to watch movies for free. Melanie had never been to a full-length film in a theater. She did great! We watched the Lego movie, and then played on the splash pad just down the road. Good times!

We didn't try for a garden this summer, but we did have a small container garden on the back porch. All of the seeds were planted by the kids using very old seeds Mama had been saving. We weren't confident that anything would come up, but they did! Sunflowers too!

Playing in the fort!

I am most of the way through a book called The Connected Child written for adoptive families by therapists who specialize in the mental health of adopted children from tough backgrounds.  A neighbor allowed me to borrow it. They have a son Jonathan's age that they adopted several years ago. We are slowly watching a series of videos out of TCU that are very similar to our training prior to receiving our foster-to-adopt certification. However, the information is MUCH more helpful within context of the actual parenting endeavor.  There was so much helpful information presented to us in the classes offered by Pathways, but, prior to Melanie's adoption, I just didn't know what I needed to file away. The review has been a God-send, and such a help in creating an iron-clad bond with our girl. It has also helped me parent Jonathan more effectively. He is the sibling of an adopted child, and he needs help processing all this too! 

Crawfish!

Our final week at camp was a bit of a bust. Mel was sick on Monday, although Jonathan was able to stay for the day. We all got to go on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then I caught some really nasty crud that sent me to urgent care twice. Five days in bed, seven days with fever and a full round of antibiotics. I'm still coughing, but thankfully, the worst is over. Jonathan was a bit annoyed with Mama, and Mama was seriously annoyed to be stuck at home in bed, especially with so much work and planning to be done, but all is well. Daddy had to take several days off work, so both kids were very happy to spend so much quality time with him. As you can see, there's plenty of exploring to be had close to home. They spent several days exploring the rivers at Harper's Ferry. Those pictures are on Jason's phone, so I'll get a post out about that when we get those downloaded! They had a ball!

slugs!

Shucking corn

Miniature golf at the farm

I'm so thankful that we have the freedom to stay home most days and learn together. We can run to the farm on Wednesday afternoons (We all love the farm.), and sit together and read when we want. I love these kiddos and their sweet, loving Daddy, and I'm so glad the Lord made us a family.