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Today is our last day

We are in the final stages of finishing up our very last offical day of our very first year of homeschooling.
God is good.
What an amazing and incredible year it has been. God has blessed us so much. While all sorts of other chaos has rained down on us this year, homeschooling has remained a steadfast and constant blessing. The calm in the midst of the storm. I am humbled and so very very thankful.
We have planned a fun final day today. The kiddos had a special breakfast, all set out fancy on pretty plates and such. Lunch is a picnic in the yard and then they'll spend some time running  through the sprinkler. This evening we have plans to go out to eat to the restaraunt of their choice where we will give them each a gift- books from their wish lists as well as Congratulations notes from their Daddy and I.
I am so proud of all they have accomplished this year. When asked what they felt they had accomplished the girls said the following:
Maiden- "I overcame my fear of math, learned to like my language arts exercises and improved my handwriting. But most of all my attitude improved. I love to be a help to my mom. It gives me joy."
Sassafras- "I learned addition and subtraction and am learning to tell time. I love my handwriting."
We will be taking a break next week and then start a fun little unit study on pirates the following week. I love how homeschooling has become our lifestyle. I love that the girls came to me to talk about what they wanted to learn and study over the summer. I love seeing them "sneaking" books off the homeschool bookshelves to read at their leisure.
I am thankful that homeschooling is an option for us and how God has made a way for it to be possible and blessed.
It has been a spectacular year for us. Next week I will be putting the final polish on their portfolios and organizing school shelves and what-not. I plan to write an overview of the year for each child and for myself. Ah, that wonderful end-of-year business- setting things to rights and looking towards a summer full of fun and learning and lots and lots of reading!
Thank you Lord.

Congratulations!

5:37 PM, 2007-Jun-1 .. Posted by Lynne

Congratulations to all on your first year of homeschooling.
I was talking to a mom who works very part-time for her husband. She works out of their home 4 days a month graphic designing the photos he has taken for several local real estate magazines.
She was telling me her second son (5th grade) is having a terrible time in school as he has a learning disability. There is a Catholic high school in our area where they will send him at that time that has a special unit that would be great for his disability, but what to do for middle school? Apparently there are no private or public middle schools that are equipped to handle his disability (some sort of a brain to motor skill disfunction that makes him unable to write, but he can read just fine).
I suggested she home school him for middle school, and she acted like I was crazy. Oh well.

I have found something i like...

9:38 AM, 2007-Jun-4 .. Posted by Lynne

Amy,
I found something I really like, and I have decided to pass this info on to a few people who might be like minded.
I read several blogs that have to do with gardening/small farms, etc (which is how I found your blog). I only live on 1/2 an acre, but I have picked up a lot of tips that have been good for my family (like yours about Aldi's).
One blog I like is pocketfarm.com. A few weeks ago the blogger decided to write about and link to another blogger also writing about the Diva menstrual cup. Basically it is a soft removable cup that replaces tampons, and it is resuable month after month.
They are rather pricey ($29 with tax)but one day I was shopping t our local Whole Foods store, and WF has a very liberal return policy so I knew I could return it if it didn't work for me.
I tried it last month, and there is quite a learning curve to correct placement. It took me several days to finally get it right. Now I absolutely love it.
What I like best about it is that I no longer have to carry around a purse full of supplies when I am gone during the day. Environmentalists like it because it eliminates lots of landfill trash, and frugal people like it because you never have to buy tampons again. It would save quite a bit of money over the years.
If you google diva cup you will find their web site with lots of more information and opinions. I cut off the little handle on the end because it was bothering me, and other than that I just followed their instructions and finally got the hang of how to use it.
I wish I had known about this product 20 years ago.

Thanks for the info

9:45 AM, 2007-Jun-4 .. Posted by YPAmy5

Lynne-
Thanks so much for sharing this tip. I will definitely check it out-- and also see if I can purchase it locally.
Thank you!
Amy