In this picture Jan and Alec are wearing evidence of a great accomplishment for their 2011-2012 school year. Sometime late in 2011 they both decided to try to become "Memory Masters" which required a lot of time and effort beyond what I required of them. They worked hard and passed several intimidating tests, earning the title of Cycle 3 Memory Master, along with those T-shirts! I am grateful to the Lord for His leading, and for allowing us to be apart of a day a week schooling together with others, for classroom time that was interesting and motivating to all four of the kids.
And now, school is out! I mean it is out for most of the family. While the rest of us have discarded formal schooling and are out fishing, swimming, biking and reading, David continues to work hard on studying for another big test coming in the fall.
He does get breaks from work and study and living so close to trails and mountains means that during study breaks he can be outside with us! A friend took him out cross country skiing late in the season and I thought the pictures he brought back were so beautiful.
All four of the kids are doing well on two wheels and David has taken the two oldest on a few mountain biking trails. The highlight of Alec's spring was catching this 16 incher in Ochoco Creek. Catching is much more fun than fishing.
This is Anne waving at the cheering crowd during her race a couple Saturday's ago. Pati was too busy running to wave.
Much to my amazement those around me are already planning and purchasing school materials for next year. I know I will have to do that soon, but not quite yet. We are enjoying a few weeks of summer break before jumping into planning for next year.
Been thinking about perspective, and how mine is generally not the right one. I am amazed at how much I need to be reminded of what I already know, have already been taught, have already read and learned. (Incidentally, that is something that sometimes wearies me about parenting. It not only frustrates me when my children do this, it frustrates me that this is true about myself.) One of the main things I do during the day is remind the children that their perspective is not the only perspective. "Try to see things that way that others see them." But it isn't just that. It is trying to see things the way that God sees them. I remember that being one of the main lessons I learned in my school, at my parents kitchen table, that real wisdom is seeing things from God's perspective. Working with myself, and with my children I see how purposeful we have to be to even see things from ANYONE else's perspective except our own, let alone trying to see things the way that God does. We are all still working on this. That kind of schoolwork isn't over for the summer!
