Our first day of school 2007

Our first day back to school was HARD!

I had prayed and committed to try and do school the way I know I'm called to. My children are pretty independent and do a good job at getting their own breakfast, helping each other, etc. I had largely taken myself out of the equtation and wanted them to come to me for questions, but do the rest on their own - the little ones still needed alot of hands-on Mama time.

So, yesterday, I tried to direct each facet of school and be as interactive with each subject as I could. By 10am I was ready to quit. 4 kids wanting 4 different things from me for the 3rd time that morning! My usual m.o. is to emotionally pull myself away so I don't end up yelling at them. I still attend to the things that have to be done, but I distract myself with something else that I'd rather do (not housework.) I prayed and tried to stay the course.

By 2pm, when we were NOT done with school - not really even close - I was exhausted and wanted to quit, again. The girls, however, were giddy with learning and asking me for more. They enjoyed their school day, even though I honestly overscheduled us in our lesson plans for the next 2 weeks (remember the vacation post? it's coming up and we just took all that time off!). They were happy to do the work and eager to stay on the same subject or to move on to the next one. They knew that I could make it enjoyable, even while holding them to a very high standard of behavior and work output. Let's see if we can keep it up today. One day at a time!

BTW - Hittite Warrior is a GREAT book!