Rombs Train

Sweet Annie!

Who is more joyful, ebullient, or LOVELY than Annie?

Valentine's Day Party

How blessed we are to have gotten to go to a Valentine's Day party with friends!  Thank you, Diana, for hosting, and Celeste, for organizing!

Sebastian’s First Haircut

Homeschool Blessings

We are back to homeschooling for one year only, and what a blessing it is. I think I will always see this year as one that stands out in our family’s best memories.  My goal from the start was to engender a love for learning, which is quite a different thing from a performance year.  I wanted to help them imagine themselves as loving math, being great at science, being an accomplished public speaker, as having a keen intellect.  I bought the textbooks used at Cistercian for their grades, bought the teachers’ manuals, set out 10 subjects a day for each child, identified a few standardized tests they need to master, and assigned a public speaking assignment for each week.
     I promise it is not perfect.  There is a lot not happening as I wish it were.  But these young women have made incredible improvements.  This past Friday, we had our oral reports and presentations.  The standard practice is for each student to give feedback on their sisters’ presentations.  It actually brought tears to my eyes to hear them say: “You have made incredible progress since the beginning of the year”; “That was well-organized and well-written”; “congratulations for not using any filler words.”  They are reading outstanding literature, writing on relevant topics, and becoming great thinkers.  How I love these young women! I would not trade this year for anything.