School Is In Session

To be honest, it was never really out of session, but I can't fit "Sitting At A Table And Doing Workbook Pages, Handwriting Practice, and Other Textbook Learning Has Now Re-Commenced" in the subject line.

Since life occurs year-round, learning occurs year-round here at Apollos Academy. This summer was full of swimming lessons, trips to the local pool, trips to the neighbor's pool, hiking, museum visits, festival fun, family film fests, 4H, reading, watching thunderstorms, working in the garden, baking (both food in the kitchen and ourselves in the heat), church picnics, vacation bible school, and just being. With all that fun and learning, you'd think the kids wouldn't want to settle down with books, would you? Well, that's where you'd be wrong.

I called the girls into the kitchen this afternoon (after 2.5 hours working in the 4H garden) and told them that it was time for math. Both Primo and Secondo said, "Yay! Math!" Yay? Math? After half an hour, I asked them to clean up their Cuisenaire Rods and hand me thier worksheets,

"Now?! I was having fun."

"Just a few more minutes. PLEEEEAAAASSSEEEE!"

I gave in. Who wouldn't? They're begging to do math for goodness sake. A couple minutes later I hear:

Primo - "Mom, come look at my computer bars."

Tutor - "Computer bars?"

P - "Yeah. You know, like the bars on your cell phone or when you're waiting for a thing that you clicked on to come up on the computer."

T - "You mean a download?"

P - "That's what I said."

Secondo - "Mom, look. I can make steps this way (places rods vertically) or this way (stacks rods horizontally) or if I mix them up like this (places rods of random heights in a line vertically) it looks like New York City!"

T - "Very cool!"

I finally convince them to put the rods away after reassuring them that we can play with the rods again tomorrow, and they quickly clean up then scatter. I call them back in mere minutes later. Secondo arrives first and sees me holding books in my hands. "Are we having a spelling quiz?" I confirm that we are, indeed. Secondo enthusiastically screams, "Primo! Come here! Spelling quizes!"

"Spelling quiz?! Woo hoo!" Primo yells as she runs to her spot at the table. " I like spelling."

The rest of this week will be more of the same mix of conventional and unconventional:

Tuesday: Deskwork, housework, and swimming (maybe some car washing)

Wednesday: Deskwork, library trip, and swimming exhibition for grandparents at the local pool

Thursday: field trip to the county fair to see the girls' displays, eat fattening foods, and take in everything the fair has to offer

Friday: deskwork and swimming

And thus begins our re-commencement of "Sitting At A Table And Doing Workbook Pages, Handwriting Practice, and Other Textbook Learning"... and then some.