Yesterday was our first day back at school. If you can call it that. We sort of ease into the new year with a three hour orientation followed by a long weekend.
Sarah is starting her Jr year. Even though next year she will have to write, present and defend a thesis, this is considered the hardest year at Trinitas. Emily has officially left the grammar stage and as a 7th grader has entered the logic phase. Abby is in 4th which begins a new era in school life where much more independence is required. This will be an interesting year for her. Abby is, how can I say it…somewhat scatterbrained loose in her thinking so some maturing will be in order. But she is smart so I have no doubt she’ll be fine. Claire is in K5 and is super excited to be going back to school. There is something rather poignant about my last child heading into kindergarten. (Yes, I know she did the whole K4 thing last year but this is different. K4 was optional and now there is no turning back.)
I started making a quilt a few weeks back and I learned a couple of things. One, the idea of sewing a quilt is much more romantic in my head than the actual reality of sewing a quilt. It’s work. Two, bobbins are the devil’s plaything. Three, my attention span is pretty short. So what was originally supposed to be a big comfy wrap up in and read a good book on a rainy day quilt turned into a I’d like to be finished so Claire now has a handmade napping blanket for school. My binding got a little wonky, as did some of my lines, but she doesn’t care. All she knows is that Momma made her a blanket. (I’ll probably do the whole quilt thing again despite reasons one, two and three. There is something about the colors and piecing together that draws me.)
So, yesterday was the girls orientation and last night was parent orientation. And get this. Rob goes every year and I stay home. I’ve always thought he had to be there because he is a board member. But it turns out he isn’t there as a board member…just as a parent. I found that to be really sweet of him. Of course he does bring home a huge packet of paperwork that has to be filled out and hands it to me. I think he may consider it an even swap. Every year I vow not to wait until the last minute to get all the forms filled out but I’m not very good at keeping that promise to myself. We’ll have to see if this year is any different.
It will be good to get back into the swing of things although I will miss having all my chicks home. I’m not one of those mom’s that can’t wait for her kids to get back into school. I like my kids and I enjoy their company. And we have worked pretty hard over the years to make sure they enjoy each other’s company. Plus I think having a pool helped 🙂
Sam and I will start his schooling on Tuesday when the girls go back. I have some neat things in mind for him
but honestly, I still haven’t figured out what to use for his math yet. One thing that he is excited about is that we are turning over Sam’s Family to him. We decided that it would be a great tool for his grammar and writing skills. And, for the first time Sam will do the boni libri program that the girls do each year.
Boni Libri is Latin for good book and is the reading program at the school They receive a reading medal at the end of the year for tracking at least six hundred minutes of reading a month. I am combining Sam’s with Book Adventure to motivate him a little more. I used the school’s suggested reading list and made sure they are on the site for him to quiz.
It is going to be a good year.
The Common Place 