Something Beautiful Part 1

I am thankful I homeschool Katie.

Monday morning was a slow start. She woke up at the usual time (7:30am) but she felt like lying in my bed snuggled in a sea of soft blankets for an hour and I was glad she could do that on a cold winter morning without being rushed out the door.

After she got herself ready and made her own breakfast--a sliced up banana with whipped cream--(she is getting so independent!), we worked on Math and Language Arts. I feel joy seeing her progress as we work through the curriculum. We practiced the piano together and I thought about how nice it is that she can work on this in the mornings when she is fresh and without being rushed before school.

After we finished up lessons, I asked her to go read books. She went inside a cool blanket fort she and Isaac constructed last night in the family room and cheerfully read a stack of books out loud to her stuffed animals. I was filled with warm happiness about how perfect and supportive this environment is for her right now at age 7.

I am grateful for the distance program she is enrolled in. The activities she does at the school during the 1.5 days she attends are hands on and hold her interest. She comes home talking about the fun projects and bubbling over with stories about history and processes. I feel happy that she is exactly where she needs to be academically and that she can be in our home with me.

She has lots of social interaction with friends. I am blessed that her best friend comes over every afternoon. On Mondays, her friend Jase who is almost 5, comes over and they play together so sweetly. We have had snow dumping on us for weeks so there is about a 2-foot accumulation in our yard. Monday afternoon there was a beautiful, whirling, silent blizzard with giant snowflakes falling gently. Katie and Jase grabbed their snow clothes and headed to the yard for an hour of imaginative fun. I was happy they could experience the magical weather without being confined to a classroom and restrained by a schedule. I am thankful to have her here with me for a tiny bit longer before this tender child goes out in the big, big world. This girl is a bright spot in my days.