14 Down, 12 To Go

. . . . first days of school, that is!  Yes, I am officially past the half-way point. . .this is our 14th "First Day of School", and as Amy is starting Kindergarten, I've got 12 left.

You can start praying for me now.  Thank you.

*Warning!  This is a picture-heavy, grandparent-friendly post.  If seeing pictures of my kids drives you crazy, read no further.  You've been given advance notice. **

We usually have a special breakfast each year, and this year I took Amy to our new Dunkin' Donuts.  (Yes, I'm still a Yankee at heart.  I prefer Dunkin' to Krispy.  There you have it.)  She thought the donut balloons were cute, and got her own chocolate donut in a bag.  Happiness.

My big Kindergartener!  Emily made her own school box. . .  it's purple, there in the picture.  She's got her favorite bug, and is ready to go.

Each year, I make the kids fill out a "First Day of School Questionnaire".  Yep, I still have the one Kathryn did when she was 4!  This is Nathaniel measuring Amy, to see how tall she was for her to write down on her paper.

And now. . . the Cast of Characters!

Amy, Kindergarten.  Ready to go!  I can't believe how big she is. . . . sniff. . . . .

Hannah, 4th grade, age 9.  She's going to be my big science helper this year - she'll be helping Amy by teaching her Sonlight Science K each week, with my supervision.  Should be fun!

Emily, 6th grade, age 11.  Why do they grow up so fast?  (And. . . would you believe she's excited about learning Latin?  Yay, Emily!!)

Speaking of growing up . . . .this boy will be 14 in two days.  Entering high school.  Wow.  He's embracing his new work load - I'm so proud of him.  He wanted to move his desk back downstairs, said it was too lonely & quiet up in his bedroom.

Excuse me while I get a tissue.

*tears up*

Kathryn.  Her last year.  I'm having a moment. 

She was actually pretty funny about this picture.  She wouldn't let me in until she had it arranged - and she piled ALL her school stuff, plus her laptop, on her desk.  Check out this picture:

(play I-Spy.  See the driver's license/learner's permit in the picture above the camera?  And the knitting?  She'll be busy, I tell you!)

The whole gang, posed on our front steps:

And a funny picture, because they wanted to:

Couple more random pictures/happenings:

The look on her face says it all.  She's Pretty. Excited. about school starting!

This is Amy.  While I was helping the older girls with their math lessons, she snuck into her book basket, pulled out Go Dog Go, and read it.  Unfortunately, that book was planned for her to read in, oh, March.

I guess we can skip that part of the reading curriculum, eh?

Finally:  If you've read this far, I've got a story for you.

During lessons this morning, Amy spent a LOT of time drawing on the white board.  (Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of it.  Boo.)  She kept saying she was drawing her "paper city", and insisted I make it with her today.  I had NO idea what she was talking about.  At all.  But kept placating her to get lessons done.

Finally, it was the hour of decision.  Amy became almost frantic, because no one seemed to understand what the paper city was.  Enter Emily.  Somehow she listened, understood, and helped her little sister make this creation:

It's an almost exact replica of a city scene from our Wii game, entitled, "I Spy".  THAT is what Amy had drawn, and then dear sweet Emily replicated it.

I could kiss her.

And that moment, that "my-big-sister-understood-me-and-made-a-paper-city-for-me" moment, is reason #2,396 that I homeschool.

Onwards and upward to Day Two. . . . .