Highs and lows

Last night as my husband had to work I decided to Watch 'Pride and Prejudice', It is such a beautiful movie and so, so romantic without any of the impropriety so common in popular 'romantic' movies. I love period dramas and often spend hours afterwards dreaming about the dresses the women wore, I think if they knew what many of us wear now they would weep- imagine our plain cotton t-shirts and jeans in comparison with their beautiful embroidered dresses of beautiful fabrics.

It got me thinking how I have hardly done any History with Aviva at all! Of course she knows a fair bit of the Bibles history but nothing really else. I was looking at the Charlotte Mason Website and it suggests for Aviva's age I should be focusing on, in the coming year the 1400 - 1600 (Renaissance to Reformation) Sometimes I feel so inadequate when I read what I 'should' be doing. I find it hard enough to get Aviva to write a page in her book, on the up side her reading age is far, far above what it should be, but if I try to get her to sit down and do some 'book work' it seems to take forever.

I know in my heart that this is the best decision I ever made and that we could not live any other way. When I think of the days she was in school and would come home distraught and barely able to read a sentence I see how far she has come. Her social skills have sky rocketed, her confidence has blossomed and her faith in her own abilities is a joy to watch.

Maybe it's time I spent less time comparing what other children and mothers are doing and focus on how far Aviva really has come. After all the Renaissance isn't going anywhere! I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to home school my children. I know if we were living in Turkey I would never have got the chance.