The Bend in the Road...

"...my future seemed to stretch out before me like a straight road.

I thought I could see along it for many a milestone.

Now there's a bend in it.

I don't know what lies around the bend, but I'm going to believe that the best does.

It has a fascination of its own, that bend...

...I wonder how the road beyond it goes - 

what there is of green glory and soft, checkered light and shadows - 

what new landscapes - 

what new beauties - what curves and hills and valleys further on."

L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

We have so enjoyed reading Anne of Green Gables! 

One of my goals when I decided to homeschool was to share more books with my children and more "classics". The classics have such beautiful writing, descriptive language - far more beautiful than my own or more modern books we generally read. We occasionally stop, and I will point out alliteration, or a simile, without losing our flow of the story too much. I think you could do worse than share a whole of heap of classic novels with your children as a major part of their education.

So, I was very excited this week when we received our package of Michael Clay Thompson annotated classics (Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and Wind in the Willows) along with the homeschool parents manual of activities based on the books (which we may or may not get to!). We already own these three books, but I bought the package as an introduction to Michael Clay Thompson and also to enjoy the annotations as we read.

However, after today, I feel smugly confident that we are not doing too badly in the classic literature appreciation and grammar departments. As I read the title of the last chapter of Anne, entitled "The Bend in the Road", Video Boy (not always known for his subtle appreciation of the finer things in life) pipes up with "well, you can bet that is also meant metaphorically!" I couldn't have been more proud! This boy, this reluctant writer who thinks he is no good at English, gets it!

On a more reflective note, I love that quote because I thought we were on the straight road last year - I could see me teaching for longer, the kids would finish primary school, we would choose what high school they would go to and then hopefully, they would find their way (if that's what they wanted) to university. Well, we came to a bend in the road and now we are wondering what new landscapes and beauties await us. Exciting, isn't it?