My first day of school

I set my alarm to go off an entire hour earlier than I needed to this morning. My husband thought I was crazy but he was able to go back to sleep after nearly falling out of bed and turning the alarm clock off. We're trying to get used to the new school year after a Summer of "sleeping in". Neither of us are getting used to the shrill sound of the alarm.

My reasoning for my early rising was to wake up and become clear headed long before I had to drive to the first day of homeschool co-op. I'd set the timer on the coffeepot (first time since...uh...last schoolyear). I had set the kittie's "nummies" out as usual, waiting to dish up upon my getting out of bed. (They share a can of Fancy Feast each morning just because they are loved. I know the kibble is their real food.)

I learned long ago, when I have to get up this early, I need to prepare the night before. This includes having a spoon for the kittie's food and a separate spoon for the coffee and making sure the two never meet...don't ask. By getting up at this time, I was almost thinking clearly when I had to get my son out of bed an hour later....almost.

By then I'd sipped two cups of coffee, each with International Delight's Pumpkin Pie Spice fake cream (don't tell my daughter but it has to have hydrogenated oils in it). I'd taken my insulin, downed a bowl of cereal and watched Gardner's Diary and Rebecca's Garden on HGTV. I should have had a quiet time but I'm hoping God understands and gives me a break. It's only every-other-Tuesday.

So what was the difference between this day and the last three weeks? Hadn't I been taking him to his class at the junior college three mornings a week? Hadn't I been taking him to work? Hadn't I been taking him to fencing? Yes...but this time I had to think, and talk, and communicate with other people. It's quite different when you're the chauffer or the mom. People don't expect quite so much from you and a glazed nod when someone says hello is fine. This morning was different. I was the teacher!

It is always interesting to teach homeschooled kids. On one hand, they tend to be very verbal and communicative. They are respectful to adults and talk much easier to adults than my son's formally schooled friends. It's just that, well, they're not use to a classroom situation. They sit there and stare at you with that deer in the headlights look for as long as you let them.

I started by asking them why they had taken the class. I knew since there were so many boys, the answer to most would be "my mom made me". (Uh huh...) I had changed the class a bit from how it was taught the last few years. I'm focusing more on how a person's world view affects the way they write books, how they perceive reality, how two authors can look at the same thing and come up with two different opinions. Today was spent helping them see what is a world view and what their world view is compared to others. It turned out to be a lot of fun and even the quiet boys spoke a few words.

We're going to learn more about world views for a couple of class sessions. In November, they will read Dickens' A Christmas Carol (a short and seasonably appropriate classic) and we will discuss how Dickens' influenced England with his books.

So my first day at school went well. Thursday is my first day (this season) of Bible Study Fellowship, where I once again have to be alert and communicative. This time I'm the student but we're studying the book of Romans. Need I say more? Romans... I'd better set the alarm clock even earlier.