Returned

 

Finally, I have returned to Blogsville! It's been a long hiatus, admittedly, but not because there's been a lack of activity in our lives. In fact, it's been quite the contrary. We began our school year the day after Labor Day, a tradition that I feel is necessary to the enjoyment of a long, full summer. With great trepidation in some areas, we forged ahead with another 180 (give or take) days of work to do. Trepidation? Yes. Trepidation. Otherwise known as fear and trembling, scared-out-of-my-wit-ness, intimidation, and sheer terror. Why? Because! Because this year, I am solely responsible for teaching one of my children to read. It's no walk in the park or piece of cake, I'm afraid. I think I mentioned the afraid part already, right? Anyway, yes. Another big year of educational responsibility. Some days I still wonder, "What was I thinking?" If you analyze the grammatic content of this blog too closely, you will probably share my horror.

Once the year started, I realized my fears were not nearly what they should have been! Who knew? Who knew that in 5th grade, my daughter would have to learn all about Viking, Portugese, Dutch, French, English, and Spanish explorers, all about map tools and different types of maps, and know all 13 original colonies, who established them, and when? And this all in the FIRST unit of history and geography!!! Not to mention adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing FRACTIONS. And don't even talk to me about finding the main idea of a paragraph or summarizing a newspaper article. It makes my head come up off my shoulders and spin around 3 times.

All in all, truthfully, the joy of homeschooling is still there. Daunting at times, yes. Frustrating some days, you betcha. But do the blood, sweat, and tears we expelled learning these things mean that this venture is an unworthy one? Absolutely not. See, there are some so totally cool things about all of this that at first glance, one might not see. I am the one who gets to see the joy in Nathan's eyes as he sounds out his first words. I am the one who gets to celebrate the victory of an "A" on Riley's history and geography test. I am the one who gets to watch in wonder as Kole discovers the delight of growing salt crystals in a jar. I get to witness my children understanding what DNA is and how it works and how true it is that we are "fearfully and wonderfully" made. I could go on and on. You get the picture.

Speaking of pictures, boy did we get some beautiful ones on our first field trip of the year. Some of you may already be aware of which trip I am referring to. We were so blessed to have been invited on a trip to Colorado for a week in early October! Oh my goodness, what beauty! And we learned a lot, too. We went on a tour of the Chimney Rock National Monument, attended the annual Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering parade, explored the Durango train museum, rode the gondola up the mountainside in Telluride, and most importantly - learned a lot about riding horses from everyone's favorite cowboy, Uncle Gary.

You'll notice the opening photo for this blog. Our week in Colorado was full of the brilliant shades of yellow and orange you see on the trees. The color of the leaves alone afforded many opportunities for learning about plant DNA and why leaves change. Mixed in with that, we heard plenty of Native American history during the Chimney Rock tour. The kiddos even got to grind some corn with stones just like the Indians used to do. Treasure falls was an adventure as well. We learned what a stellar jay looks like and saw some chipmunks up close. The boys toured a wildlife ranch with Paw Paw where they saw wolves, bears, mountain lions, porcupines, bunnies, ducks, and a bull elk. It was a most wonderful time and we will never,ever forget it. Our hearts are still full of gratitude for the generosity and hospitality showed to us by Aunt Pam and Uncle Gary. Thank you guys SO MUCH!!!

I believe I'll close for now. There is much more to tell, but I will save some for next time. I leave you with a few more shots of beautiful Colorado. Take note of the goat pictures. Mom had just said how much she would like to see some mountain goats, and around the next bend, these guys were standing beside the highway!