These pictures were taken at our church's family camp in New Mexico last week. Funny how you can pose children for hours and take pictures, but the candid ones seem to always turn out the best!
Fall is coming and school is starting! I love that sense of renewal in autumn. No leaves have changed or fallen yet, but it's unmistakable that its coming! Public schools in Colorado began last week(!- schools in De and Pa never began until after Labor day while I was growing up!) and it's good to see the yellow buses driving past our house. Makes me me want to go buy pencils or pick apples or something!
Last night I went to my first ever homeschool support meeting! My friend and neighbor Jennifer Churchill invited me although I was representing the youngest children by far. I can see how people might think that 2 1/2 years old is a little on the young side for formal schooling, but, right now, support and encouragement is great and I would call her schooling anything but formal. People at church reminded us right after Dabney was born that we are already homeschooling her and that homeschooling is more than filling little brains with facts. We're shaping her character and teaching her God's law for life. Knowledge is important, but God's wisdom is precious and it begins with teaching our children the fear of the Lord.
As for the knowledge part, we're only doing a few preschool basics, but she's been making real progress lately. For instance, just last Sunday morning, she looked on the window and said "Bzzzz! Flies! Two flies Mommy!" and that was the first time she had ever counted anything in a real life situation. We're still working on numbers and letters and colors, etc. I plan to make a flash card alphabet in the next few days so she can work on letter indentification. As for phonics, I doubt we'll start until next year at the very earliest. (I would love to buy the curriculum ASAP, however, new from the company, it's $190 for the K/1st grade combo kit but you can get it on Ebay for about $100- which is about $100 more than we've alloted for in our budget!)
As for the character shaping part, we still work pretty hard every day. Some days are difficult and some days aren't quite so difficult. Our goal has been that Dabney needs to obey when we tell her to do something. I was brought up with the adage that "Slow obedience is no obedience" and somedays that is very tiring to enforce. I think David will be an easier child on the character part. Not that he's an angel, but he doen't seem to have such a strong will. I'm thankful that he's pretty easy now, so that we can still focus in on where Dabney needs correction. We love her so much and we want her to be as beautiful on the inside as we think she is on the outside. We love that song by Judy Rogers about Isabelle the Pig, "Now pretty little girls when they cry and pout look like Izzy with a ring in her snout- all the ruffles and ribbons and buttons and lace, don't look pretty with a grumpy face". We know that God will work a mighty work in Dabney, we just need to persevere and she will be rewarded. :)
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