Fourth Grade at last!

After waiting anxiously ALL summer, the girls finally made it to the beginning of school and Grade Four (Standard Two for me!).  Well, that's how I remember it.... Really though, they quite enjoyed the summer filled with swimming, playing, lazing around, short trips, VBS's and various lessons.  But for the last two weeks of summer holidays, I must say they were quite excited about the prospect of school again!  Do you remember those days?  Days of anticipation and excitement?  When school seemed to beckon as a welcome respite from the unending structureless days of blissful laziness?  In hindsight, always a cunning trick of utmost cruelty...

Some of my favourite things about the beginning of school were the smell of all the new textbooks; the clean and crisp, white pages of exercise books; the new pens and extra-sharp pencils; the new suitcase; the (usually)new uniforms; the new pencil boxes; the new teachers; seeing old friends again, the smell of new crayons, etc.  Unfortunately for me, reality ALWAYS set in on day two (and sometimes at the end of day ONE) where the homework assignments were piled on, books had to be covered, actual work had to be done, that sort of thing. (Needless to say, in MY school, I ALWAYS have "orientation" for the first day - all the fun stuff about school and NO WORK.  Isn't that great?)

So, the first quarter usually went by fairly smoothly but by the second, my grades had begun to slip, I'd been in trouble with the "law" a few times by then; and it was pretty much a downhill slide from there to the end of the year, at which point I'd be clinging to every little mark in every little test I could, to keep from failing, or falling deeper into the bad graces of all my teachers (never mind the principal himself)... Well, I have to say I'm remembering high school more than primary school.  Primary school was a breeze!  I just hope the high school experience for these two will be a wonderful thing!

I could say more....but let's move on.  Here are some "beginning of school" pics.

Orientation day Pencil Cake

Big smile on the first official day of work!

Another smile!

Painting like Cezanne

Doing a still life.

It's fun to paint!

My prayer for this year is that I'll be able to lead them to learn what's really important in life, rather than just arithmetic, reading, history and spelling. That this experience will be enjoyable and meaningful in an eternal way.  That I won't just be a slave to public standards of secular curriculae but will teach something of lasting value as well.  That I'll help them figure out their strengths and encourage their development in those areas; and also help them to not only accept their weaknesses but to help improve those to a useful level - without becoming a burden of continuous underachievement and failure. (This all sounds so good - just wish I really could DO this!!  It's called self-delusionment)

And now, before I honour you with any more loquacious words of wisdom, I MUST sign off....
Happy school!