Happy New School Year!

Today in Michigan is the day most kids return to school. They are probably wearing new clothes, still itchy from where the tags were. Their new shoes still pinch in an odd spot that will be worn down by next week. Their books, even if not brand-new, will make that gentle "crack" when they open afresh.
Some will open up their new box of crayons. Others will figure out how to put fresh lead in their mechanical pencils. A third group will figure out that "erasable pens" really don't exist, no matter what the advertising says.
Their names will be mispronounced... once. Their teachers will get them right after that. They will reunite with old friends and start to make new ones. They'll learn their teacher's name, the location of the bathroom, pencil sharpener, and office.
They will all have said good-bye to a parent or two at a door, whether school, classroom, or car. I'm sure a few give a kiss goodbye, but not as many as parents want.

Then there are mine. We just plodded on, almost indifferent to the majority activity. Madeleine has done a page of math and one of phonics. Dale did a lesson of reading and asked his daddy this morning for a phonics book. His big sister says it's easy, so he wants to try it.
We scheduled his speech sessions with the teacher and went for a walk around the block. This afternoon, while little sister naps, we'll do some grammar with the big one and he can do some math. We'll hang some laundry and play in the yard later. She'll hide in the tree house or the little house with a book of her own choosing, and he'll dig for worms.
I like being on our own schedule.