Peeler Family Academy: In Session

School is in full swing, and has been since mid-August. Roll call!

Grady Lee: 7th grade

Micah: 6th grade

Annalyse: 3rd grade

Jaxton: Preschool/Kindergarten

Teacher: Mommy

Principal: Daddy

(And, rumors in the break room suggest the teacher and the principal have a thing for each other!)

We've got a pretty good, tried and true routine going on, and we all seem to work best when we know what to do and when to do it. So, if the school isn't broke, I'm not about to change it! Generally speaking:

Monday: School 9:00-12:00, Recess/Lunch/Chores 12:00-1:30, Coding Class 2:00-3:30

Tuesday: Field Trip or School 9:00-12:00; Errands, Library, Park, Chores, Etc., Community Group 6:00-9:00

Wednesday: Co-op 9:00-2:00ish, Quiet/Reading Time 3:00-4:00, Youth Group 6:00-8:30

Thursday: School 9:00-12:00, Recess/Lunch/Chores 12:00-1:30, Quiet/Reading Time 2:00-3:00

Friday: Bible Study 9:00-11:30, Lunch/Park 11:30-1:00, Gymnastics 1:30-2:30, School and Quiet/Reading Time 3:00-4:00

Obviously things change here and there, because inevitably I gain an extra kid (or four!) on any given day, or friends suggest an impromptu play date, or there is a home school program at a local farm... and you get the gist. 

I love watching my kids learn - and I especially love watching them teach each other. It's really great having Grady and Micah a couple years ahead of Annalyse and Jaxton because they are tutors, partners, assistants, and CLEANER-UPPERS. Because Jaxton. For every experiment. And every art project. Bless.

These pictures show the kids making edible cells - Jello for the cytoplasm, and different candies for the different parts inside.

Generally speaking, my kids are wonderfully average. Not geniuses but not stragglers. The best part of homeschooling is that they have a lot of freedom to explore and investigate and bunny trail in areas that interest them because there isn't a schedule they need to adhere to. My kids do a lot of reading and a minimal amount of workbook pages. They do a lot of touching and feeling and experimenting. 

Grady Lee is our resident Early American Historian. Jamestown, the 13 colonies, Revolutionary War - he knows who, what, when, where, and why. 

Micah has a fact or figure for any subject and can present it at any time. It's usually random and out of context, but always interesting. 

Annalyse can pretend and color and create like it's her full time job. She has been a very reluctant reader, not because she doesn't want to, but because it's challenged her like nothing else in her short eight years.

And Jaxton. I think he's smarter than he should be, but I blame that on trying to keep up with three older siblings. He's sarcastic (who knew a four-year old could be sarcastic?!), he's witty, his vocabulary is huge, and he's 1,000% an active, messy, boy (emphasis on the messy).

It's a strange thing. My boys have worked themselves to almost total independence when it comes to school, which is very surreal. I remember being in the throes of teaching little people ABC's and managing glue sticks and helping with scissors and and counting raisins while singing "The Ants Go Marching" and wiping up messes and needing to make lunch and trying to do laundry and wondering if I had time to use the bathroom. 

And now they don't need me for most of the day! I give them their assignment sheet and hours can go by without a peep from them. It's strange, but some days I actually miss them. It's true. I miss them sitting on my lap reading aloud, or being hovered around the kitchen counter while we pour vinegar over baking soda.

When I start to feel like a lousy teacher because I'm not actually teaching them most of the day, Grady is quick to remind me that our goal at the very beginning was to teach them to be responsible, independent, and find answers. (And, selfishly, our goal was to work ourselves out of a job because they could do it all!)

(And why does it seem like Micah is wearing the same shirt in every picture?) (And will someone please cut Jaxton's hair?) (And will someone please comb Annalyse's hair?) (My kids are homeschooled. And they look it. Sigh.)

We gather every Wednesday with several different families for enrichment projects based on what we've been learning the week before. Sometimes we meet at a church, or a home, or a park. It's always intentional, but it's always casual, and it's always fun.

Whew! We've covered a lot of ground since mid-August. If I had a penny for every page my boys have read I'd be lounging on my new living room furniture. It's easy to wonder if we're making progress or if the information is sticking, but when I step back and look at where we've been and what we've done, I'm satisfied. Even overwhelmed! God is gracious to give us the chance to learn together, with flexibility, with freedom, and with fun.