Kicking Off Another School Year

You might be thinking, "Isn't it a little early for Top Two Academy to start?" And you would be right: In the previous three years, we have started school the week of Labor Day. This year, however, since I'll be having my own little "Labor Day" in October, I thought it would be wise to get a jumpstart on the school year. Lige is off to Wyoming for the week with high school students, so that gave me the perfect excuse to set up and start a regular routine.


I was so excited to start class, that I forgot to take "First Day of School" pictures until right before dinner! The sun was shining so bright, everyone was squinting...I guess it's not the end of the world!
I asked Anlynn to smile and she gave me this growl sort of expression. Again, maybe the sun?!

Amana in a typical pose...well, she tried to pose while touching the bush with one hand but I told her to please put her hand down for this shot!

Sweet girls together...although why is it so hard for them to look at the camera?!!

And the boys just had to get in on the picture-taking fun!

This is a selection of some of our curriculum for the year.

I just love new school supplies! I buy the cheap notebooks then decorate them myself for the girls' journals.

Preparing for this school year has been a bit tough for me. I love researching curriculum and bargain shopping for the best prices. I love using what we have and adding new areas of learning. But I'll be honest. With a third grader this year, I started feeling pressure. The pressure to really teach Amana something. The pressure to add in more science and social studies. The pressure to carve out the time needed to do all that well, while at the same time keeping up with laundry and dishes and meals and, well, parenting my other children. And the pressure of HAVING ANOTHER BABY IN THE MIDDLE OF FIRST SEMESTER!

Along with the pressure is my selfishness. I've enjoyed our summer off as much as, if not more than, the kids. I have relished in our days without structure and a schedule every minute of the day. I have really liked reading when I felt like it, sleeping in a bit while Lige gets the kids up and fed, and not feeling guilty at the end of the day for not doing what I should have done. I am not organized or structured by nature. In fact, a huge part of my heart rebels at the idea of a ROUTINE. And yet, raising four (soon to be five) kids, homeschooling and managing a home, there's no way around some sort schedule. And that made me feel pressure, too.

After a night of crying and pouring my heart out to Lige, we came up with a plan. Nothing rigid or carved in stone, but a general plan for each day. Not an impossible set of goals that will make me feel like a failure for not meeting them each day...but a loose model to follow as I regain some confidence. I actually started to get excited for school to start.

But the most important change has been what God has been doing in my heart. Lige pointed out that I was taking on the burden of educating our children all onto my own shoulders. It didn't have to be that way. Lige is available to help. He is willing to help. And more importantly, God is there to help me. During the past week I have been reminded of 2 Corithians 12:9 "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'" I've been trying to focus on this verse and the truth found in it. I have been praying that I will remember this verse in the moments when I am feeling weak: when the girls won't focus on the lesson, when they still don't understand a concept after I've taught it several times, when I'm wiped out in the last weeks of pregnancy and just don't feel like doing school. It is in those moments when I truly want to remember that 1. God's grace really is sufficent and 2. That God's power is perfect only in my weakness, and that my weakness can be a worthy sacrifice when I hand it to Him and let Him work in me.

Day one of the 2011/2012 school year is in the books. It was a really good day. The girls were ready to dive back in and we all had good attitudes. We got through everything I had planned, and I still had time for a short rest! I think confidence is brewing...because God's grace is sufficient for me.