Back to school

"School days, school days, 

Dear old golden rule days.

'Readin' and 'ritin' and 'rithmetic, 

Taught to the tune of a hick'ry stick..."

Remember that old tune?  I think I've been humming it all day long-- it just seems the perfect little ditty for the first day of our new year.  Of course, the boys have not been humming along with me, their little cherub faces all aglow.  No, they're not terribly thrilled with the idea of jumping back in to their studies, but then again, neither am I.  Our summer was so hectic, I'd much rather laze around for a few more weeks, enjoy the new pup, and tend my garden in the cooler temperatures. But alas, no... time to hop back in the saddle once again. A fourth grade curriculum awaits Bub, 2nd grade is Noh-man's to tackle, and Big Man is all set for 4 year-old preschool twice a week.  As for Lollipop, she'll be tagging along here at home and learning what she can via osmosis-- as many of my college buddies did, way back when.  

So... this morning, after breakfast and a leisurely stroll around the block with the dogs, we jumped right in with the basics-- reading, writing, and arithmetic (see... doesn't the song work??).  By the week's end, we'll be back on board with latin, and then over the next week or two, I'll fold in the rest of our subjects-- history, science, geography and grammar.  We're also going to attempt a beginner course in spanish with some friends of ours-- that should prove interesting!  Perhaps Hubby-- our fluent French minor and expert on all things french (make sure you catch the hint of sarcasm here, ha ha ha)-- will tag along on that one, as well.

Believe it or not, this photo is not posed-- the boys really did work like this for, oh... ten minutes or so.  Then they got on each other's nerves and decided to spread out (a very wise move, I might add).

Here's Big Man practicing his letters~

Noh-man and Mosby: one's reading, the other is snoring.

Bub and Mosby: again, one's reading, but this time, the other is begging for treats.

And here's the whole gang at a lovely little park down the street.  The boys asked if we could take a picnic outdoors, so we did~

What is it with boys, water, and sticks??  Is it possible to be near water and not get wet?  Is it possible to walk past a stick and not pick it up, let alone turn it into a light saber or some other weapon of destruction??  Evidently not.  Sigh...  I wish I had thought to take a picture of Big Man's wet & muddy bottom when we got home.  Needless to say, he's now wearing different clothes.

All in all, a very successful day.  Tomorrow will be more of the same, though perhaps we'll avoid the fountain...