It's cold outside

Early morning friends

Calvin has had an adorable habit this year of getting up at the crack of dawn in order to be ready in time to walk his best friend to the bus stop. Aside from the cuteness, there are many hilarious things about this. First, I think I posted a year or two ago, or maybe even both times, about how nice it was to be able to sleep in, especially on winter mornings, instead of having to live on a traditional school schedule. Second, the bus stop is across from our house, so in order to walk her to the bus stop he often actually goes around the corner to meet her at her house first.

No doubt, it's cute.

This morning, as usual, even though it was frigid and snowing like crazy, he was up and out the door at 7:40. He meets his friend and they talk, play, do I-don't-know-what, while waiting for the bus, which comes around 7:50. The bus stop is right outside our door, and his friend usually has a parent there in addition to other parents there on foot or in cars, and now that it's cold I usually shut the door firmly behind him and go back to my coffee until he returns and we start school. This morning, though, I looked up from my crossword to find that it was already 8:00 and no kid. Jon and I both yelled upstairs—had we missed him? Nope, nowhere in the house. I looked out front—everyone was gone from the corner. In the moment before actual panic set in I quickly scanned the whitened neighborhood for signs in the snow, and there he was.

He had shoveled our driveway.

This is not what I meant...

...when I said I wanted to freeze some extra pumpkin to use over the winter.

Still not in school

I realize that recently my blogging has become more of a “where have we been” display throughout the summer months. Jon said last night that it looked a bit like Vladimir Putin Action Man: “here is us in Stratford”, “here we are with ice cream”, “and here in front of Mt. Hood”, etc., etc.

The truth is, it was a crazy, whirlwind of a summer. We were gone more weekends than we were home, and even our longer respites in town were filled with various community activities. It wasn’t planned that way; things just kept coming up, and what started as a summer with two trips planned quickly got a tad out of hand. The last few weeks have been our longest stay at home in months, and they've allowed me at least a little time to try and catch up in the garden and the house, but we have one more trip up our sleeves.

In the past we've been year round schoolers, but this year was a little different. When we first started homeschooling we were aiming for a very unschooling environment, and our summers were little different from our falls, winters, and springs, excepting, of course, for the weather. But in the past few years, as our methods have undergone a slow but decided evolution, have found ourselves more on the side of classical schooling. Now, in the fall, winter, and spring, our mornings are often spent at the kitchen table or a like place, studying or creating together. In the summers we continue to start our days with a little dabble of math and Spanish, but the rest of the day is often spent outside doing one thing or another. I guess you could call the cooler months our classical time, and the warmest months our unschooling time.

The truth being, though, that we still live the life of home learners who find "education" in everything we do.

So this fall, with one more trip still waiting in the wings, we are waiting until October to begin our classical learning months, and we are using the first couple of weeks of September to review a bit, and to plan the months ahead. Rather neatly, Calvin is right at the end of several books—Spanish, math, science, and grammar—meaning that when we get home and pick up classical lessons in October, it will be like a fresh start.

But until then, finishing up, reviewing, previewing, and planning ahead.

Thunder snow

This week was full of fun. We started a new grammar curriculum, we dove into studying the Celts, and on Monday the boy decided to research ventriloquism. If that last study takes I suppose that in due time I can expect the dogs to begin talking to me.

On Wednesday Calvin graduated to the top swimming class, meaning that next week will be his first rec team practice lesson—a full hour of swimming the full length of the pool. It's a big change from the half hour lessons across only the width of the pool that he's had so far. The kid is excited and proud, as he should be. I'm trying to figure out the sudden change in the schedule.

On Thursday, with feet of snow still on the ground and a short warming period underway, we experienced the rare and beautiful thunder snow—flakes as thick as quarters hiding our neighbor’s house from view while lightning lit the world and thunder shook it. Snow lit by lightning is stunning. There are so many splendid things to notice about our world.

This weekend The guys started a couple of different computer projects, and Jon is in the process of setting up my old computer for Calvin's use. Yes, we've reached that point where the computer and the internet are edging their way into our learning world. I never claimed to have banished them completely, I was only holding them off at the door for a little while, and now it seems it is time to let it in.

And then this evening, while I was preparing dinner and Jon was helping Calvin discover the world of blogging (where soon you will be able to read all the book reviews that the kid writes and posts of his own accord), I noticed that the sun was still up and bright at 5:45. We all took a moment to enjoy that realization together. It is a sign the the warmer months are coming, even if ever so slowly.

My favorite creation of Calvin's this week, the dahsboard from the Nautilus. For all the crafts that we do together, it's the things he comes up with on his own and makes when we're not looking that bring me the most joy, really.