First Day of School

Wow! Already! It seems that we started swim team practice just a couple of weeks ago. So much has happened over the summer. Troll got a new job. The girls swam their hearts out and they are brown as little nuts. The little one has mastered her new bicycle. The older one has suddenly become less 'tomboy'-ish. They both participated in Science in the Summer. They made it to the beach. (Although *I* did not, for the first summer ever since I have lived in this area - almost 20 years...) They both decided to get their hair cut into bobs - too cute! Too easy, as well! The house was put on the market and sold within 6 weeks, for the price that we are asking. And here we are again: The first day of school.

I devoted this weekend to unpacking all of the school stuff that I had packed away to reduce clutter for showing the house. Their little drawers are back in their spot. The new notebooks, pencils, and glue are on the bookshelf. Their student page workbooks are all lined up neat and pretty.

When they saw the drawers, all labeled with the subject and their name, they got excited. The most favorite drawer for each seems to be the science drawer. The little one is starting 2nd grade and she has all sorts of goodies in her drawer. A spring scale, to measure newtons of force. Oh - I can hardly wait! I remember using that to pull toy cars and sneakers and stuff up a little ramp that we concocted in the living room. Too fun. The magnets are always a hit. Ooohhhh - look at that brandy new graduated cylinder! We'll be doing some kitchen science with that little baby when it's cold and snowy out. A pulley - we normally use the dining room chairs to demonstrate different types of pulleys. Thermometers, seeds, primary rock kit for the little one and the super-duper advanced rock kit for the older one. They went through the rock kits tonight - totally excited - holding different rocks up to me and telling me what they were. Little light bulbs and a battery with wire for building a circuit.

The history drawer for each is full of books. Story books for the little one and books 7-10 of A History of US for the older.

The oldest's Literature drawer contains an introduction to Shakespeare, Don Quixote, Sherlock Holmes, Little Women, Robin Hood and a bit of Dickens. There's more, too! She sat and looked through all of the books, and chose one to start reading right away. The little one was too fascinated with her Science drawer to pay too much attention to her Language Arts drawer. Tons of good stuff there, too. Knights of the Round Table, Peter Pan, Aesop's Fables and much more.

They both claim to 'hate' math. I think this originated from a young lady on the block who they both adore. She is a cheerleader, and had sculptured nails applied at the age of 8. Much to my dismay, they idolize this young lady even though she won't climb a tree with them or even play in the mud. So - she hates math. And now they 'hate' math. I saw them peeking, though! The older one was too excited with the fact that she has introduction to Algebra this year and perused her textbook for quite awhile. The little one looked at her math textbook, too, and decided that she liked it.

The art box is back in its place and the music stands set up again.

I am excited, too. A whole new school year with all of that potential. I'm telling you, this is the ONLY way to fly. I have learned so much teaching my kids. It is a joy to see them excited and enjoying the learning. It is a privilege to be there as they grow.

Happy new school year to everyone!