In The Swing Of Things

We have had a week of getting into the swing of things. Getting in the groove of a new year, even though some people have been schooling for weeks. We, um, haven't. I felt really bad about this last week-- like really guilty-- that I haven't been on the ball enough to start back when my friend Tamery spoke up at our CBS core group and admitted to everyone in the room that she hadn't started back either... and didn't know when she was going to! Well, that just put some wind back in my sails right then and there. I wasn't the only one!

Why is it that just knowing that we aren't the only ones can make us feel better about things?

So, if you haven't started school yet, don't feel bad about it. Cause there are others who haven't. So, you are not alone. I hope this helps someone else out there.

But I did start school this week. (I stopped making excuses, ha ha!) We have had a good time learning about manners and Neil Armstrong's journey to the moon. This afternoon I am even planning to show them the video of his landing that I found on history.com. They both now know that he said, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." (This beats the blank stares I got when I first told them we were going to learn about him.) He went from "Who's that?" to "Oh, I know him!" Which is totally my goal in going through our book of Great Men and Women Every Child Should Know... or whatever that book is called.

We read a great book about Neil Armstrong that was very inspiring called "One Giant Leap." The book said that Neil had a neighbor with a homemade telescope who let him go up on his roof and learn about the stars. This sparked Neil's love affair with space and helped shape his destiny. It made me want to write a devotion about how we can be that kind of influence in children's lives just by sharing things we love with them-- they don't even have to be our children-- but all the better if they are!

Today was our first day at Monday's Artists. They had a great time and came home talking about how Beethoven's music made them feel. Moonlight Sonata made them feel sad but Ode to Joy made them feel happy. Having a conversation with my first and third grader about classical music?? Now that was money well spent!

We have had a great week so far. Tomorrow is our second week of Community Bible Study. Friday we have a "Not Back To School" party at the park with the moms from our church who homeschool. That should be fun! We assembled little goodie bags the other night for each child that contain some fun back to school items-- pencils, glue sticks, little notebooks, etc. Oh, and fruit snacks and gum, which was my contribution. Because my kids are all about the candy and would be ever so disappointed if there wasn't something in that bag to rot their teeth.

Well, that's all for now! Must go get some things done while baby is sleeping and the others are quiet.