First day

Wow!

Although we homeschooled last year, it was preschool homeschool and pretty low-key. We did a lot of reading, a lot of crafts and I threw in some language lessons during lunch.

This year, we are *serious* homeschoolers. Mermaid Princess is reading up a storm (a 224 page book in two days). Flash is hungry to read and even hungrier to figure out the decimal system. JackJack just wants to be in the mix.

Some highlights from today, our first day of the year:
Flash drawing a dinosaur shark. Mermaid Princess drawing a fairy out of the word "girl" (it's very cool). JackJack drawing a green puppy that only a mother could see the artistic genius in.

Flash picking up his reading right where we left off in May. Mermaid Princess reading her entire language arts book on the first day. JackJack snuggled on my lap for all of our reading time.

My favorite time was at lunch, when we listened to the soundtrack from The Little Mermaid while we ate. This was JackJack's request; JackJack is like his daddy and would have an iPod at age 2 if he knew what one was.

If perhaps your memory is vague, much of the music in Little Mermaid is, well, it's ominous. Like something nasty is swimming in the deep, dark ocean below (appropriate, of course)... After 3 minutes of orchestral music, I could see that everyone was getting a little nervy. So I asked them to tell me the instruments they could hear. (Flash rattled off 5 in 30 seconds. Mermaid Princess launched into a detailed story of what SHE thought the music meant).

No good. In another minute, JackJack started shaking in his chair, then looked at me with tears overflowing. "This is too scary. Mommy, I need SNUGGLE!!!!," his voice escalating.

He leapt from his chair to my lap and buried his face in my shoulder, foregoing the potato chips on his plate (this was fear, indeed!).

What is this curse that Big E. has married into? I react to ominous music the same way, as does my sister, my mother, my daughter... and now, his son. I pray that Flash retains some of his immunity, so that they may enjoy movies together for a lifetime.

How bad can it be, you think. Well, I wanted to show them a VeggieTales video today because it tied into our lesson on lighthouses. MP utterly refused, making elaborate plans to escape to her room instead of watching something so terrifying. I told her we would pass on Junior Asparagus if she could memorize a quatrain for me instead - she had that thing down in 2 minutes flat.

(My sister used to run behind the sofa when Cookie Monster came on during Sesame Street... it is somehow comforting to know that it's genetic, not just a failure of character. Big E. just about had to strap me down when we saw Monsters, Inc. in the theater - needless to say, movie-going is not an oft-chosen date night activity).

At any rate, today was a huge success. I had fairly low expectations - it is going to be a work in progress, figuring out scheduling and lesson plans and the balance between mommy-ing and teacher-ing. But we had a great time together and got back in the groove. Tomorrow we start our French lessons. Bonsoir, mes amis! A demain...