Classes Day 2

Liana and I are back in the beautiful library we discovered last week.  She just finished her science homework and I just finished looking over my biology notes which I will be teaching in about 45 minutes.  

Our new schedule gives us a very long day out, but the change is good for us.  While the girls have their early morning class, I have time to "kill".  At my age, should I ever kill time?  My life has limited time left and I need to redeem it, making the most of it.  A friend got into my car this morning and after running an errand together, we sat and talked about important issues in our families.

Afterwards I picked up Liana and we are relaxing in this lovely setting.  The library is so much larger than ours.  Books surround us on every side of this table here, and a huge picture window gives us a view of the rolling countryside, stormy winds shaking the trees.  We'll head back to school in a little bit but we are enjoying the peace and quiet.  Then we'll eat quick lunch and I will present my material on Kingdom Monera.  Fascinating stuff!  I hope the students think so.  Arielle is in my class too and she is watching my every move, desperately hoping I won't do anything un-cool.  She's even choosing my wardrobe on school days.  But last week she told me I did a great job and that means a lot coming from her!

Arielle has a class that she is very excited about and I am too.  She is taking a history class called Omnibus that combines history, literature, writing, and theology.  The students read their textbook plus literature written at the time they are studying and then write essays. World history is combined with the history of the church because aren't most struggles and world events revolving around religion?  I grew up learning history apart from the impact of world religions.  How dry and how unrealistic.  The best part of this class is the discussion when all the students come together after doing their assignments. This kind of learning can't be done in a home setting. The class stresses critical thinking skills rather than a recitation of facts.  Right now Arielle is reading the classic Foxe's Book of Martyrs to better understand England in the 1500's.  She loves the class and is very motivated to do her work.

We have a week to prepare for our next long day.  This includes a field trip to a stagnant pond to collect bacteria-laden water that we will be observing under the microscope next week.  Fun!