Homeschooling

Toby and Cami are embarking on a new adventure – homeschooling.  He spent Sept-Dec in the public school system in Northwestern Connecticut, but since we were on the road for most of January, and didn’t move to our new home until mid-February, we felt it would be too hard for him to be put in a new public school for the rest of the year.  Therefore, each morning we sit down and work through the things he needs to cover before we return to Mozambique.

The photo at right is a saber-tooth tiger skull, and we found that there were all sorts of useful things to be learned during our travels.  We even found time to do some studies on tides, tide pools, the solar system, and history.

He’ll be entering fourth grade in Moz in September, and needs to know all the times tables, a whole bunch of spelling words, grammar, writing skills, and such.  We also hope to cover medieval history, plant biology, and some information about the planets, which his classmates in Moz are currently studying.  Since his fall class didn’t cover any of this, we have a lot of work to do in the next three months!  In addition, we have also started with reading Portuguese together, to help his mastery of that language.  He is a  good student and catches on quickly, though finds his little brother quite a distraction at times.  Mom is coping pretty well, though I have been surprised at how much time it takes to homeschool!

Benjamin will begin preschool tomorrow – a local Baptist preschool has offered him a place at no charge!  We are just overwhelmed by their generosity, and thankful that Ben will have the English-speaking preschool experience before he goes into Portuguese kindergarten in September.  He is so excited.  – c