Discoveries

Homeschooling sometimes gets to me. There, I said it. Some days, I want to whine, "I don't wanna go to school today." Occasionally, I see the neighborhood kids getting on the school bus and I wonder what I would do with a whole day to myself. No kids underfoot, no squabbles, no frustrations, no complaints. Peace and quiet. I wonder...

Yesterday, Ben figured out how to spell discipline, without my help and without a dictionary. Discipline has a silent-c. The vowels all make the "soft vowel" sound, so it shouldn't end in silent-e. The spelling rule is clear: when a vowel says its name, add a silent-e. Yet, somehow, he figured it out.

Last night, while waiting on Nathan to finish rehearsal, Ellie managed to capture a ladybug that rode along with us. Just last week we read all about ladybugs. They have two sets of wings. The hard, protective outer wings that lift away, kind of like a convertible hardtop. The enormous underwings unfold so the bug can fly. As the bug crawled up her hand, she pointed out all the parts she could see. She studied its spots. She wondered about its scientific name. She is only five.

As I write this, the laundry sits in folded piles beside me, somehow never making it to dresser drawers last night. Beakers and glasses clutter the end of the kitchen counter, filled with liquid in several different hues (a "science experiment" the kids dreamed up to study color combinations with food coloring and water). The coffee table is stacked high with Latin, geography, science and a rough draft: all Ben's work I had to grade last night, now waiting for him this morning.

The school bus just pulled away, loaded up with the neighbor kids, but I think I'll choose to be content with what I have here. After all, I get the front row seat as my kids make new discoveries. Soon enough, they'll have families of their own. And then, I'll have more quiet time than I want.