Homeschoolin' in the 'Hood

Since Ted is at work today (Memorial Day), I decided that our daytime hours would be spent normally, especially since we have taken so much time off school lately. I did let the kids sleep in. OK, so Charis was the only one who took advantage of that, but while she slept until 10:00, the boys got math done and I enjoyed reading some of Arden's Sonlight books aloud to them and Kenna, who was remarkably game to sit and listen. We probably read for nearly an hour!! Very cool.

I chatted on the phone a bit with my friend Julie, whom I sadly see very little of, while Kenna and Arden entertained themselves in a bucket of soapy water in the back yard. (Yes, I should have taken pictures, but I don't multi-task well these days.) After a lunch of yogurt and nachos, Charis began her next math lesson (multiple-digit multiplication, i.e. 325 x 52), which definitely needed my supervision. Unfortunately, so did Kenna, whom I caught happily coloring the table and surrounding chairs purple. In the midst of the commotion a neighbor girl from down the street rang the doorbell wanting to play, but as I was dealing with a diaper change, I told Charis to tell the gal we needed to finish school.

Things settled down after we waded through the math lesson, and Charis finished feeling quite a bit more confident with her skills and I feeling more confident in her comprehension of the whole concept. Then it was time to put the little ones down for afternoon naps and prepare for Sonlight reading (Bible, history, science).

Tobin asked if we could read outside while they had Otter Pops, which has kind of become a ritual around here the last few weeks with nicer weather. We take blankets under the tree in the front yard and plop down to read. I'm sure we're a sight for all the cars that drive in and out of the gate, which is right by our house, and I've often wondered if anyone would ever stop and ask me what we were doing and why our kids weren't in school, but it hasn't happened yet, and with today being a holiday, there was certainly no danger in that. At any rate, I couldn't think of why we shouldn't go read in the front yard with Otter Pops, so out we went...and discovered the neighbor girl sitting on our lawn waiting for us!!

At first I was a bit grumpy...we had told her we were busy, for goodness' sake! But then my heart softened, and I realized this was actually a fantastic opportunity. We invited her to stay and listen with us and let her pick out an Otter Pop as well. She has attended church with us a few times, and her family has a semi-Catholic inclination; at least, the mom's family is rooted in Catholicism. I wasn't sure what she was going to think of our activities, but I figured if she wanted to hang around, she'd just have to listen quietly!

So...she listened in as we read Psalm 8, Lesson 82 in Leading Little Ones to God, which talks about the end of the world and how God's children have eternal security, and--get this--Jesus Christ Himself from our history lesson in A Child's History of the World! Last week we had read about Augustus Caesar, and this lesson began by explaining that at the same time that man lived, another Man lived who changed the world, etc. During the lesson it mentioned that followers of Christ the Messiah are called Christians, and Tobin piped up, "I'm a Christian!" I asked him what that meant (for our friend's benefit), and he basically gave the plan of salvation (with a bit of questioning prompts from me!)! I love it!

The girl was called home after this point, so we continued with our science reading and concluded with a chapter from George Muller's biography, at which point she arrived back at our house. Now the kids are playing together again, and I'm praying that my kids can continue to be a testimony to her.