Homeschooling

Today we put our noses to the grindstone again after taking a few days off.  Between SAT testing last week and preparing for my husband’s graduation with his MBA, we didn’t have the time to “do” school.

Today we started studying the Psalms not just for wisdom, but also as a way to study poetry.  We practiced reading Psalm 1 aloud and discussed its meaning.  Then I had my daughter write her own poem modeled after Psalm 1.  This activity gave her practice writing poetry and also was a way for me to see the level of internalizing she was able to do with the content and “meat” of Psalm 1.  It also gave us the chance to discuss similes and metaphors and other poetic aspects as well as noticing the grammar and structure of the sentences.

This is what I love so much about classical education: taking a short passage and using it as a springboard to learning across several disciplines.  We aren’t just blocking off “language arts” time.  We are holistically studying a piece of God’s Word.  We gain insight and wisdom while we learn how to write our own poetry!

I have a confession to make.  Reading the Psalms awakens a desire in me to write my own psalms to God.  I’ve had the germ of this thought in my mind for years but have not yet taken the time to put ideas to paper.  Perhaps this exercise with my daughter will give me the kick in the pants I need to actually get started!

Fails

Today I learned that the hotfix heat-attaching wand, crystals, skating dresses, and me do NOT get along.  After burning my finger, dropping countless crystals on the floor, getting a crystal stuck in the hotfix attachment, and smearing glue on the dress needlessly, I only managed to affix one crystal to my daughter’s dress before a severe burning backache set in between my shoulder blades. Of all the pains I get with fibromyalgia, this pain is one of the worst because if I keep doing whatever it is that set it off, it spreads to chest. Yuck.

Thankfully my daughter’s coach took pity on me and offered to affix the stones to the dress for me.  I’m sure my husband won’t mind because I was going to have to ask him to do the honors if the coach couldn’t find the time!  Somehow I can’t picture my burly husband delicately gluing crystals to a velvet skating dress…but you know what?  He’d do it for his daughter.  He’d do it for me.  But now I don’t even have to ask him.

🙂