And so it goes

Nicholas on our first ' field trip' to our town's war memorial.

Homeschooling during Week 1 continues to bring peace to my heart. It just feels right. I am spending time with my kids, seeing that interests them, watching them interact, getting glimpses into their hearts. I am spending time at home, which I love, rather than using time (our most precious commodity) and energy driving, driving, driving. To my surprise, the house is actually cleaner and more organized than on a usual week. I was warned that homeschooling would produce a messier house because all the kids are home; and while this might be true, we are also home to clean it up, so it ends up working out.

What is also nice is that we are using our time together to work on character traits on which we need to concentrate. Right now, we are concentrating on self-control (that includes me too!) and being respectful of our siblings. I am also working on keeping my temper under control while I sometimes get frustrated with the kids' interrupting, and with my frustration at my own shortcomings, which I tend to take out on others.

In general, things are just taken down a notch in terms of anxiety. We are all calmer. There is less rushing and less pressure. There are a lot of things we need to work on, but at least we are calm enough to steadily make our way.