Reflections on our first school day

We are officially "back to school", and our first day of school was voted quite a success, even if one student complained that it was "hard" and that he didn't particularly like school.

My day began early, literally before the crack of dawn, as I forced myself to stumble out of bed at 5:32. Coffee and cold cereal---a little reading---and I was off to the gym for a vigorous workout. Then it was grocery shopping and back home to get ready for our first school day. Excitement was running high on all sides!

After a special breakfast of blueberry blintzes, we began "school" with prayer and a Bible reading from the book of John, with a little comment and discussion thrown in. Next, I read something about the origins of our Labor Day holiday. We bagan reviewing the Veritas Press history cards that we began using before the summer and, as soon as we hit the one about Cortes, I was urged to read Henty's "By Right of Conquest". This did not at all go along with my lesson plans, but I thought it was a great idea. So off we went...

After we'd read enough of Henty (in my opinion, which was not shared by everyone) we discussed an article in that morning's paper about a study regarding obesity in young girls. That was a great introduction for our health and nutrition unit. Our next activity was to read and discuss a chapter in "Healthy Foods".

Next on the agenda was spelling. I administered a test from "Spelling Power" while some of the other kids did worksheets. After that, everyone got out their italic handwriting books and, after a few mild complaints (what is it with boys and penmanship?) each set to work. A grammar lesson on nouns followed, with a little history of the English language thrown in for good measure.

In between, we had taken a brief snack break, but now it was time for lunch. After that was reading: 45 minutes of quiet reading for the older kids, and a lesson for the younger ones.

Then there was art: "Drawing Basics", a video course featuring Thomas Kincade. Our final school actifvity was setting up accounts on "Edventure" for the older three students. Miriam began whipping through projects while I fixed a crockpot dinner and tried to make arrangements for Isaac's falconry exam.

That done, we dashed out the door to our martial arts classes. After teaching two classes and talking with students and parents, we came home rather late, had dinner, and went to bed.