Lesson in JOY

A friend of mine asked what it has been like homeschooling the kids now that Tate is home. To be honest, not much of our schedule has changed. Here is a glimpse of one morning of school this past week. We are in the middle of our Unit Study on the Fruits of the Spirit.

The morning started off when Bailey picked a huge basket of lemons from one of our trees. Totally off subject, but this particular tree is very special. When we bought our home several years ago we had 3 trees in the very back of the property that were dead. Mike decided to leave one of the trees to see if he could bring it back. It was such a sad sight- diseased, dehydrated and covered in ants. That lemon tree is now a PERFECT mature tree that gives us some of the most beautiful, crisp lemons ever.
(this is not my tree...it is too dark right now to take a picture of it)



Back to school. I had all of the kids sitting at the table making puppets with brown bags. They were instructed to make happy and sad puppets. Obviously the little boys just scribbled on the bags but they are always included. Tate is very careful with crayons and enjoys sorting them after he has done his artwork (I'll have to do a post about it- super cute!). While they were coloring I was reading them a story and drinking my hot chocolate (thanks, Courtney).



After the puppets, Buddy helped in the kitchen. His first job was to wash the breakfast dishes. About a year ago, with my friend Coley's prodding, we stopped using paper plates. Although, I'm not convinced that the amount of water we use washing dishes isn't just as bad. The concept is however a much better teaching tool for the kids- less TRASH! And, I feel better about it too. After the kitchen was clean, Buddy started on his second project. He stood at the counter and made fresh lemonade- with a twist. The twist came when all of the kids taste tested Buddy's drink. He was missing a ingredient and they were quick to point it out. With a little help from mom (and sugar) the lemonade was perfect!


I had Bailey sit down to write a letter to Gracie about our lesson. I think she got the point pretty spot on. We talked about how we are like lemonade without sugar if we don't have the JOY of the Lord in our lives.


Brooklyn practiced her letter by writing out her bible verse about Joy. While the girls were working at the table the boys and I were on the floor listening to music and building with blocks.


Add in a disagreement or two, no make that three and you've pretty much got our morning at school. Of course, Bailey still has work to do in the afternoon to cover a broader scope of things. The mornings, however, are spent together as a family. We enjoying keeping it simple.