School Started!

We officially started the school year August 3. It was a typical Monday: laundry and getting the house back together. It was also an atypical Monday: Renee's 14th birthday, first day of school, me frantically trying to finish the paperwork I needed to do before the start of school, and sweet potato and peach casserole (the requested birthday dinner) instead of potatoes for dinner.

We each have our box of books. This year Lorissa and Renee are doing Bible, Classical Astronomy, Physical Geography, and Spanish together. They have a Speech class with Petey and Jerimiah Tiemersma.

Lorissa, Margaret, and Renee

Lorissa is a junior and Renee, a freshman. I remain the primary teacher, Keith, the principal, was at his paying job at Cigna on opening day of Trinity Christian School (TCS), our homeschool.

TCS has only half the students it had compared to the years of peak enrollment from 01/02 to 06/07. It also has no enrollment in the elementary classes for the first time since 96/97 when Nathan was in kindergarten and Janine in 2nd grade. Janine was in TCS for kindergarten in 94/95, the first year of TCS. She went to Central Valley Christian for her 1st grade year.

Homeschooling

Here is Nathan busy reading literature for school. This loveseat is his spot for doing his school work. Isn't that a comfortable way to get your schoolwork done?Lorissa and Nathan are taking chemistry this year, so that involves doing some experiments. Sometimes we sort of have to make do with our lab equipment. We needed two test tube this week so champagne glasses were the best thing we could think of. The left glass has water and salt, the right glass has vegetable oil and salt. This was to see what happens when you put an ionic compound in a polar covalent and a purely covalent substance.

Homeschooling

Ironing is not one of my favorite chores. While ironing the other day I thought of how nice it would be to send all of Keith's dress shirts to the dry cleaners to be cleaned and pressed. Of course it would also be great to get the windows washed professionally and have a regular house cleaning service. But I seem to have more time than money, so I do it myself with the help of the family.

I am blessed to be able to be a stay-at-home Mom. And the reason why? This quote from Gregory and Martine Millman's book, Homeschooling: A Family's Journey, summarizes the decision that Keith and I made.

"One of the most important decisions we made on the road to homeschooling was that our children would have a very costly "luxury": a full-time mom."

I know that homeschooling or being a stay-at-home mom isn't for everyone. I enjoy getting out to work at Koetsier Ranch at my very part-time job. But this lifestyle works for this family and I am glad for the 19+ years we have been able to do it!

Chemistry

You know how when you are busy or immersed in some activity you start dreaming about it? Well, the other morning when Keith was getting up, I glanced at the clock and saw this:

I wasn't dreaming, but I read that as SO4 which is the chemical symbol for Sulfate. I am teaching Nathan and Lorissa chemistry, and I must have gotten too much of it the other day. They feel like any day with chemistry is too much!