Kelly Academy

We are now into our 4th calendar month of homeschooling for this year.  Beginning in August we have been pursuing together a deeper knowledge and understanding of the the history of the Middle Ages through the development of the church, reading good, old books like Eusebeus's The Church History and Augustine's Confessions.  In Literature we are exploring the worldview and literary merit of various works from Tolkein's Hobbit and Fellowship of the Ring, to Dorothy L. Sayers's The Nine Taylors.
 The kids and I are going back to our memorizing of Scripture and have almost finished the first chapter of the book of Philippians.  And we are attempting to learn Logic- which is sorely needed in our world today!

Once again we have joined the Kardia Homeschool group for the Sciences and have added Writing as well, meeting on Thursdays for a full day of classes, (study halls) volunteering, and fellowship.  This is a welcome break to the routine here at home and all three of us are enjoying the opportunity to be with these other families to share learning and friendship.  (And I appreciate not needing to dissect anything in my kitchen!)

The nuts and bolts of Grammar and Math fit into our daily work, Erin took a wheel-throwing class at a local art studio (and hopes to do more with them in the future), Isaac ran with the Mifflin Cross Country team again this Fall, and Scouting/Venturing activities round out  our learning.

It's hard to believe that we are almost to Thanksgiving.  Our days are packed so full and our weeks spin past so quickly that it seems time really is flying by.  We did have a whole week without power after the surprise October snowstorm.  Though we did our school work every day, (huddled in front of the fireplace when it was colder- Little House on the Prairie anyone?) and the work is duly recorded in our ledgers, it still feels as if that week was skipped over, or dropped from our schedule, entirely.  The kids finished a two-week book the week after our power outage, and I kept asking them, are you sure we did this for two whole weeks?

While there are times where we are impatient with the process and may even get, well, cranky, with one another, we are still genuinely enjoying pursuing our education at home.  The work is challenging, to be sure, and some days it's difficult to get it all done, but we're doing this together and taking responsibility for our learning ourselves.  Erin and Isaac are spending precious time together which would otherwise be spent entirely apart, and as a result their relationship is growing so much stronger.  As a family we are their first line of defense against the assault of the world on their character and faith.  This time spent together is resulting in a high standard of education, to be sure, but the strengthening of our family bonds and the deepening of their faith is a treasure beyond the scope of any stack of educational materials.

May God give us the grace and endurance to finish well, in pursuit of excellence, for the sake of His glory.