We got to have a mini Sonlight “Box Day” this week.  It was, in a lot of ways, even more fun than our first “real” box day last summer, because Turkey and Bunny knew what the box was, knew there would be lots of books in it, and followed me (along with Moose and Ladybug, who were just plain curious), like a parade to the schoolroom.

It’s a decent amount of books, even though all I ordered was the next levels of Language Arts and Readers, which we’ll begin using in a few weeks.  Nothing like a full box day, with all the subjects, but Turkey and Bunny entertained themselves for quite a while looking through the books, picking out which ones they’ve read before (some of the Dr. Seuss), guessing what others were about, and wondering if they would *really* be able to read some of them on their own before too long.  It was kind of a nice break to the regular routine of school.

I had a moment of panic, however, as I looked through the teacher’s guide.  We started our homeschooling journey, what, seven, eight months ago?  And I had forgotten in just that short amount of time how daunting a task it is to hold that new teacher’s guide in my hands and realize that my children’s education is falling solely on my shoulders.

I remembered (rather quickly) having that same feeling as I looked at our first core purchase–I didn’t know how I’d be able to do it!  Would they really be able to read the whole Fun Tales set by the time the year was over?  (The answer is a resounding yes!)  Would I be able to teach the things they need to know?  Would I find a way to schedule my days to make the most of all of our time?

But as we settled into a routine, and I saw how eager they were to learn, most of those questions and concerns vanished.  So here I am, back to square one, wondering how I’m going to be able to teach them to read longer words, to use proper grammar, to write on their own.  I’m guessing that these concerns will also fade as we get started (I hope!).

I wonder if I will feel this way every year, as I see the difficulty levels of their materials increasing?