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Grizzly Mama

There's a Grizzly who has escaped the City of Brotherly Love..(and she's going back to homeschooling!!)

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Location: Out of Philly, Pennsylvania, United States

"All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth." Aristotle - Greek Philosopher.

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

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!

15 Comments:

Blogger tweetey30 said...

We sat down with Kora last night and played a game and then we talked to her about school. I had showed her the math book you sent when it got here and she loved looking. i just told her to be careful where she didnt tear any pages out. But she didnt and it was all in tact today when we did a few pages of the easy stuff. The coloring and counting and such. Then we did a few pages out of her workbooks we bought over the summer that had some language left in it. I want to go get a few more tomorrow or in the next few days. I didnt make it to the library today. I found the construction paper so art will be tomorrow maybe instead of reading to them. Kora read to me part of Arthurs little sister learning to read this morning with not to many mistakes. Suprisingly. LOL... She wasnt happy last night at first when she realized she was staying home today and her friends were going back to school. But she will adjust. I hope!!!!! Well I will keep you posted.

04 September, 2007 15:55  
Blogger Grizzly Mama said...

Thanks for letting me know how the first day of school went. I was worried at first when they were little - wondering if they felt left out or different. After awhile every single neighborhood kid told my girls they were so lucky to be homeschooled, how they hated school and wished and wished that they could be homeschooled. Several even went and told their parents that they wanted to be homeschooled - to which the parents replied, 'No Way!' I felt bad for those kids and I usually saved science projects for the afternoon when the kids started knocking up so that they could participate, too. They love it. I have also sought out activities for homeschooled kids so that the girls know that they are not the only kids who are educated in this way. Now there are two other homeschooling families on the block. I think that most parents are afraid and believe that they are not capable of teaching their kids.

04 September, 2007 20:41  
Blogger Abouna said...

How quickly this summer seemed to slip by. Now it is back to your role as teacher, principal and guidance councilor.

Glad all went well with the sale of the house. Tell Troll I wish him well in his new job.

04 September, 2007 22:28  
Blogger Grizzly Mama said...

Thank you, Abouna.

05 September, 2007 00:18  
Blogger Mike's America said...

That reminds me of the Chemistry sets I had. I never did any official experiments, just kept mixing stuff together until I made something that either smoked or smelled.

That and a World Book Encyclopedia and a pre teen can be dangerous. Thank God we didn't have the internet, I probably would have made a nuke.

05 September, 2007 00:25  
Blogger tweetey30 said...

You are welcome. I rather enjoyed myself. Today until we figure out what we want to do for a cirriculm I am going to do an art project instead of reading to them. Or maybe one book and then an art project. Kora read Arthurs Reading Race to me Yesterday. Or most of it I should say. Well off to start school here in a few minutes. Or by 8. So I have a few more blogs to check out before starting. Happy schooling.

05 September, 2007 08:25  
Blogger Dionne said...

Happy New School Year to you too!! I usually start the day after Labor Day but I'm a bit behind this year. I'm getting my ducks in a row and planning on starting next week.

06 September, 2007 00:33  
Blogger Grizzly Mama said...

Mike - they don't make chemistry sets like that anymore, do they?! We usually go for the fizzing, smoking stuff, too. Exciting when it works the way it's supposed to!

Keep enjoying yourself, Tweetey!

Dee - Thanks! That's the beauty of homeschooling - the flexibility.

06 September, 2007 00:49  
Blogger Mr. Grey Ghost said...

Geez, first day of school brings back so many memories, some good, some bad, just hated getting up early. Hope Troll does well with the new job.

06 September, 2007 17:16  
Blogger Grizzly Mama said...

Thanks, Mr. GG. One of the serious advantages of home educating (for us) is being able to sleep in a bit. Troll and I are both night people - our oldest is as well. The younger seems to be the morning glory in the house - - yet she still sleeps until 8 or 9 a.m.

I remember having a terrible time getting up every day for school. I was always tired and feeling buzzy in the head for several hours after getting to school. By evening I was fine. When I inadvertently got a job working nights in my early 20s - I finally felt like a human being. I love nights - love working graveyard shift and sleep like a baby during the day.

06 September, 2007 23:26  
Blogger The WordSmith from Nantucket said...

I'm glad school's back in session. Signing on to work summer camp, I had no life.

I love my newfound freedom! I can sit here and visit more blogs, again, for one.

07 September, 2007 17:43  
Blogger Grizzly Mama said...

Glad to see you enjoy some time for yourself, Wordsmith. Running crazy like that can get to you after awhile. Thanks for visiting and get some rest and relaxation!

07 September, 2007 22:38  
Blogger Kate said...

I am so sorry I haven't been around much... I am just starting to make some time to get back into reading blogs... time - where does it go??!!

Congrats on your first day - it sounds like you are off to a great start. There's nothing like the feeling of being excited to start. It really sets the tone of the year.

It sounds like you've got a great plan. The lit sounds awesome. I loved those books!!

11 September, 2007 10:09  
Blogger Grizzly Mama said...

Thanks Kate. It's been a wierd first week and a half. I keep waiting for that perfect school day to come along, but they all seem to be interrupted by life. lol.

Actually - we have had more than a few 'perfect' school days. Those kind of days where everyone is just humming along and nothing interrupts. No huge worries on the horizen or big changes to deal with.

Don't apologize for not being around! I know how that is and glad to see you back.

12 September, 2007 00:46  
Blogger Grizzly Mama said...

horizen s/b horizon. Of course. Blushing, I'm blushing!

12 September, 2007 00:47  

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