If my college-aged kids remind me that the life of a Christian parent is one of “catch and release,” then the six still on the homeschool roster are my reality check: while our years of “catching” appear to have come to a close, we’ve quite a while before we’ll be releasing the last of these arrows into the world.
Jack is a junior this year. When Mary Hannah and Mathaus hit their junior years, there was a certain amount of shock that encompassed me. With Jack, it just feels right. I’m tempted to say it’s now a known quantity, but that’s not quite it. This spring, as I surveyed the next steps in this young man’s education, I realized I have nearly exhausted the list of things I had hoped to cover with him before he took his next steps into adulthood. Does he need more time to mature, to grow in Christ, to develop his character, to hone his skills? Absolutely. But academically, I feel confident that this kid could sit in a desk at any college and not have any gaps to fill in his background knowledge. That means that this year will be one where the transcript is rounded out… and he has lots of room to delve deep into the subjects behind the subjects. He’s still very active in Civil Air Patrol, and with his decision to pursue a career in the Air Force, his days have gotten even busier. The next year promises to be packed.
My biggest surprise this year is that Phineas feels like a real, true kindergartener. I’m not sure what the arc of his learning will look like this year, but stocking his box with materials designed for a stage beyond the space in which he’s lingered for so long feels like an invitation to a party I wasn’t sure we’d ever attend. Mothers of children with special needs will understand— this is a monumental year for Phineas.
John Mark is a 4th grader this year. He’s making strides in conquering the challenges of dyscalculia and dysgraphia, thanks in large part to an intense regiment of skill-building we’ve been working since March. John Mark is running cross country with a local team (as is Jack), and he’s still playing cello. All of the activity makes for a busy week, but our extroverted, gregarious 10 year-old is thrilled.
Birdie is a 3rd grader, and right on cue, she’s head over heels in love with horses. She recently hit her first reading milestone of fifty books read independently, and a decent chunk of them were authored by Marguerite Henry. She auditions for the youth symphony tonight. It’s her second season, and she’s excited to see how her violin skills have grown.
We have a new kindergartener! Simon is official now. In our house, that means he has a binder of his own. Setting up his orange binder made me terribly happy. He’s completely ready to tackle new adventures, and has been so excited at the prospect of reading and writing on his own that it just feels right, if that makes sense. Also, he’s starting violin lessons… which he’ll tell you if you ask him what he’s most looking forward to this year.
Waiting in the wings is Jude. He’s a for real preschooler now, something fairly vague in our homeschool. Basically, Jude will follow along with us in morning Circle Time, and Mary Hannah will spend an hour or so on Tuesday afternoons playing readiness games with him. He’ll keep going to the library, handing me twenty picture books a day to read, coloring, playing, counting everything, sorting Legos and Matchbox cars, building with Lincoln Logs, and otherwise being a three year-old.
I’m predicting one of those golden years of homeschooling— the ones you look back on and count among the special blessings you got to be a part of as each day unfolded. It’s going to be busy, there’s no doubt. But I wouldn’t miss it for the world.