Completing a school year is no small feat, whether student or parent, so I thought it would be good to take some time to reflect on it. Maybe that will help prepare me for the next round which is quickly approaching! The next school year is bringing big changes for our family, as Andrew and Melinda venture into the world of schooling in a classroom with more than 4 students (technically they've experienced that at Tahoe Montessori, so perhaps I should have said that this will be their first time in a daily classroom with more than 10 students.) They are both positive about going, and Melinda (in true Melinda fashion) is thrilled. I am alternately relieved (preteen is not my favorite age, as it turns out) and depressed (I'm going to miss them!). Audrey is pretty excited that she gets me all to herself next year, although I find myself wondering how long it will be before she wants to be at Valley Christian too.
Audrey was in 1st grade this year. Structurally, this was the year that Audrey became accustomed to doing school every day, even when she didn't feel like it or didn't enjoy the material. She [mostly] completed her Headsprout Phonics program and is doing a good job reading, but where she really shines is math. She worked through Math Mammoth 1 this year, and just loves being able to figure out her own math tricks. We used Sonlight for history (cultures) and science, and both of these she finished early. She also listened in on history for the older kids, as well as most of the other books I read to them, so she got in more school than she realized. Next year we're going to use Moving Beyond the Page to keep us on track with Valley Christian's topics.
Timothy completed 9th grade this year, and officially passed his dad up in the height department. 9th grade was much easier for him than 8th in some regards...especially in the time and attitude management department. This isn't to say that this year was easy, but that somewhere in the 3rd quarter he seemed to come to terms with the fact that school is not fair, easy, or fun. He will be continuing on at Valley Christian for his Sophmore year, which we are all hoping goes more smoothly still. He is glad that next year will not include band or Spanish, bummed that it will include English. You can't win them all.
For Andrew, this was the year of blissful sleep--one of the things he most loves about home schooling (another thing being his delight at being able to finish all of his school work in a fraction of the time a normal school day consumes.) He made huge progress in his writing skills, and is no longer afraid of a 5 paragraph essay. He's looking forward to making friends and taking electives in 7th grade at the middle school next year, even at the cost of early mornings. It's going to be hard on him, but hopefully the benefits will outweigh the frustrations. Personally, I'm glad that it will force him away from his computer--where he's been contentedly immersed much of the year (even with time restrictions!)
Melinda will be in 6th grade next year, which I'm having a difficult time comprehending. She's young for her grade, and sometimes struggles to keep up--especially in the area of comprehending instructions...next year should be fun. :/
She loves to be busy, so hopefully the jam-packed school days will be right up her alley. This year she amazed me with how much school work she can pump out. She loves earth science and creative writing, merely tolerating history and math. She's growing a lot emotionally right now (translate: hormones are kicking in!) but we'll figure it out. We'll survive!
NOW I'm ready to start summer. If only it weren't already half over. :(
