first grade here we come

First grade here we come.

Last week was our first homeschooling review and it all went really well. In reality, it was approached more like a celebration of the year versus a check-up and evaluation. And it was really good for me, to be forced to take stock of all that we had done during our first year of "official" homeschooling.

I'll be honest, there were many days where I was ready to throw in the towel, many emails to a few friends begging for advice and encouragement, and days when I questioned if this was the right decision for our family. For me. For Emma.

I learned a lot this year, and I hope Emma did, too. I know Mary did, which is one of the amazing perks of homeschooling. How the little ones can come along for the ride and benefit so much from it. Mary's gone from glazing over when I talked about letters to making very successful attempts at spelling words and trying to read. She begs for school.

I feel like Emma and I reached a sweet spot early this spring. An understanding, perhaps. And I hope that will carry over to next year. I think the physical circumstances will be better next year, things that have made it a little difficult this year--the distractions of living here on the farm, a small apartment where it is hard to find her own spot to work without distraction...

And can I tell you how much relief I felt when a few weeks ago, driving in the car, Emma told me she wanted to be homeschooled again next year? It was a wave of reassurance washing over me. This is what she chooses. This is what she wants, too.

She was still awake when I got home from my review late Thursday night. I went into her room to kiss her goodnight and she nervously asked from under her quilts, "What did they say?" And I could tell she was hiding a very large, very proud smile under all those blankets as I told her how well everything went and how she'd soon be able to call herself a first grader. And that made her happy. And a wave of reassurance (and sleep) washed over her as well. I'm pretty sure of that.

(and what does this post have to do with the picture? absolutely nothing. but when you completely clean out your iphoto and put everything on an external hard drive like a responsible photographer/mother/blogger, you lose that easy-access to some of your old 'go to' pictures.
But this would be one of my grandmother's beautiful roses...and that rain? That would be the rain that arrived the moment my door slammed behind me as I stepped inside from hanging my laundry on the clothesline. Another rinse, perhaps? Or another rinse in acid rain, as my grandmother put it....)