High School Life

I have so little time to blog these days, but things keep piling up on my "mental list of things to blog about" that I almost feel short circuited.  I don't know if I can actually get out a coherent blog entry because of the overflow of thoughts.  We'll see...

As I thought, the football-thing has been a challenge for Ben.  Darin and I wondered how he would take the added stress of the football schedule along with his other responsibilities.  We're grading him on a curve on this one since this is a new situation for him.  He's used to having plenty of time for school and chores, but now we are three weeks away from the end of the season and he seems to still have a ways to go in figuring out how to balance everything.  He keeps thinking he should have the same amount of free time he always had.  Funny.  I find myself still thinking that way sometimes.  It's just one of those lifelong struggles, isn't it?

We began World Views of the Western World I with Ben this fall.  Where we live, most sign their kids up for an outside class for this curriculum.  The author, David Quine, says that when he wrote it, he had in mind the parents and student going through it together and having conversations about it.  So Darin and I decided to go for it and we're really glad we are going through it with Ben.  Not only are we learning things we never even had inklings about, but there have been a few conversations with Ben that have really been enjoyable.  It is such a privilege to homeschool our high school boy.  I can't imagine missing all the fascinating conversations we're going to have with him over the next four years.  And those ah-ha moments don't stop after elementary school.  They're continuing, and it's so fun to see connections being made in his mind - growing up, young adult connections, that will lead to more mature thoughts and beliefs.  I am just in awe of this homeschooling thing.  I wish we were doing it perfectly, but I'm praying that God is taking care of the graded curve on this one for us.  ;-)

I have farmed out one aspect of Ben's schooling.  Writing.  I was an English major in college and got pretty good grades, but I am no writing teacher.  A friend of mine told me about Patrick Henry's Writing Mentors for High School Students.  I thought about it for a bit, then remembered that MY SISTER is a High School English teacher.  Big "duh" moment for me.  ;-)  She has always been very supportive of our homeschooling, so it was a no-brainer to ask for her help.  And so she is working with Ben and helping him to fine tune his writing skills in a way that I would have really struggled to do.  It's worked out so well that she has begun to also work with Lydia, our comma queen. 

It's a great blessing - next time our kids complain to us about their brothers and sisters, we need to remind them that they have the family they have for a reason!  Of course I know that I don't have my sister only to teach my kids writing, but I know it's part of the reason.  God knew I would need my big sis in this way one day.  :-)