What I'm Learning in my 5th Year of Seventh Grade

My youngest is in 7th Grade this year. I have home schooled all four of my children and did, in fact, go through it myself (long ago and far away), making this my 5th year in 7th grade. I am diagramming sentences, solving for variables, studying up on ancient Roman history and can tell you the names of all the main areas of the human brain. It's a big year.

With all this learning, I have been trying to find the knowledge hidden in it all. This is also the first year that involves any serious literature. We are reading some wonderful books together and, it is bringing back so many memories. We are currently reading Little Pilgrim's Progress (an adaptation of Pilgrims Progress for a little younger crowd). It is a labor of love for both my son and I. He started this book with his big brother and really wanted to finish it with him. However, the time has come for it in his books as "assigned" and so, we must be about it together. We just read about Christian walking through the Valley of the Darkness. He had to battle a soldier of the Dark Prince, named "Self". Self tried to get him to turn around by reminding Christian of all the things he had done wrong since starting his journey. He tried to convince him that it was just easier to go back... that he would never make it anyway. It was... what I needed to hear. I was reminded anew, that my greatest enemy is often my "self". It is in these moments that I realize how grateful I am that we ended up homeschooling. It isn't easy, and I never intended to do it but, I know that I get to plant seeds in my kids everyday, that may one day reap a great harvest. They too are learning to look for knowledge in the learning.


"Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" Proverbs 1:7