First Day of School

We had a bit of a rocky start to our first day of on Monday. Several children began the day with grumpy attitudes and were sure that the summer had slipped by too fast. (One girl, on the other hand, made a paper chain a few weeks ago, counting the days until school began. Her only complaint is that her online English and Starting Points worldview classes won't start until September.) And then I kept finding things that I had forgotten to plan for or places I'd double booked myself or someone else. Throughout the first two days I kept a running list for noting things I needed to tweak, order, or in some way rectify. How could I have failed to anticipate so many things, I wondered?

But even on that first less than perfect day, many good things happened. I'm so glad to be able to teach my children, to learn alongside them, and to watch that lightbulb come on as they interact with big ideas. Biggest surprise for me: This year my high school junior and senior and I are tackling economics, and it is shaping up to be a fascinating journey for all of us.  And then there are the sweet moments, like when my youngest one handed me this marker board.

"I love you mom. Your the best and the same with Dab"

 OK, we need to work on his d's and some spelling, but that's fine by me.