Letters from Pemberley

Since we were all in quarantine, we decided that our “soft start” to school this week would actually be a real start to school. We did sleep in an extra hour because Tommy was still tired at the beginning of the week, and I had to homeschool briefly from the couch Wed morning before retreating to my bedroom for the rest of the day with body aches as bad as I had after my second vaccine shot this spring, but otherwise, it was a pretty good start to the year, considering all six of us had just tested positive for covid the week before. (For those wondering, Derek didn’t get it, I have mostly had bad cold symptoms for ten days besides that one bad day, Tommy had one high fever and a few days of fatigue, big girls had one day of headaches and fatigue, and Annie was basically asymptomatic.)

This year, we’re pulling back to a much more home-based homeschool. No more driving to Amish country four times a week for stupid classes that are mostly internet-based busywork! Tommy is taking some online classes and tutorials (Algebra II, Latin, Great Books, Biology), doing independent studies with Grandpa (programming) and Dad (theology), participating in a homeschool PE class with all his friends that my friend Jill is leading, and just doing history with me. Elizabeth is taking one online writing class and everything else with me. Susie and Janie are all with me. Annie will be trying out public school preschool to take advantage of their alleged special ed services (though they managed to lose her IEP that we worked so hard on last winter, so she’ll be starting the year as a regular preschool student and getting re-evaluated, so while I have no doubt that she’ll qualify as special ed, I have low expectations as to any benefits or assistance she’ll actually receive), so we’ll even have two and a half dedicated hours every morning to hit the books hard without any little Pub distractions! And now that she has the Delta variant antibodies nice and fresh in her little body, I’m the least freaked out public school mom in Iowa City heading into the school year.

We’re not changing up too much, otherwise–the girls are all doing the same tried-and-true classical core subjects that worked with older siblings, and for our history and science cycles, we’re repeating Middle Ages/Renaissance history and botany (which we studied last time we lived in Iowa!), only with a more Charlotte Mason-inspired twist. I’m scheduling in scientific living book read-alouds every M-Th and nature hikes every Friday. After feeling like we lost our family culture when everyone was going every which way last year, we’re reinstating family morning time. I’m planning to make a big breakfast every morning, have Derek lead devotions before he takes Annie to school, then have all the big kids and me do our hymn sing, Bible memory, and poetry recitation work together before Tommy turns to his classes. Then the girls and I will do our history and science read-alouds before breaking into individual subjects. Tommy will be back to piano (after a two year hiatus!) with Miss Molly, our piano teacher from before, Elizabeth will continue with Suzuki cello with Dr G, Susie will continue with Suzuki violin with Miss Cande, they’ll both do orchestra at our homeschool assistance program in Kalona, and Janie will be starting Suzuki viola group classes in Kalona and hopefully with a private teacher friend of Dr. G’s, as well. Oh, and I’m trying to get Annie into music therapy, because she’s far and away the most gifted musician of the lot and is the only one who willingly practices without complaining. How will I have time to practice with five children every day? I’m as interested to figure out that answer as you are.