Last day of school/We have a name!

While the rest of the world is posting "first day of school" pictures, we're just wrapping.

  What a year it has been!

To finish off preschool, 1st grade and 4th grade, we had cinnamon rolls, played a math game and took spelling tests.  We also did a solar eclipse craft to finish up science and the best way to end the year of all; we're flying to Kansas to see the eclipse!!!

 

 

Ben took the day off work and did reading with the boys and then took all the kids out.  They came home saying, "Thank you for being our teacher!" and were each holding a gift.  I am very blessed to  have a husband who tells me daily that he appreciates my work and teaches our kids to do the same.

Ben also bought them all new underwear (packing brought it to our attention that all of the underwear in the house has fallen into that long lost abyss that random socks go to...how does this happen?!) and let them each pick a treat for movie time.

And now for the reveal of the name of our school.

 This is the top of the report card Ben made for Alison, that she used to get her first military ID:

We have been talking for several months about naming our school.  It's something that was really important to us as we've felt stronger and stronger that this is the right path for our family.  We wanted to give our kids an answer they were proud of when people ask, "Where do you go to school?" and we want them to have something they can confidently write on their college applications and job resumes.  Our school name is Windsor Academy.  I spent a lot of time thinking about our school name and I wanted it to encompass more than just a title.  Our school is unique; year round schooling, with moves and deployments scattered throughout and little trips to explore the world around us.  The name came to me when I starting thinking about where this path began.  We were in Virginia and my heart was stirring towards homeschooling.  It was on Windsor Castle Trail that I felt an overwhelming peace and answer that I was supposed to teach our children.  I remember a smile came over my face and I was excited about this new adventure.  It was on that trail that I spent hours praying over our school and our kids.  It was a place Ben and I LOVED and would talk about life through our runs.  It was also a place where we would go to regroup as a family and go on nature walks.  It's where it all began, but more than that, it's a perfect metaphor for our school.  We are on a path; it's hilly, windy, rocky and absolutely beautiful.  There are times that running the path is challenging, but there are other days that the flowers are blooming and we soak up the beauty of it.  It's always an adventure and changes throughout the seasons, but we will work hard to complete the course.