Wrap Up

Our 2009-2010 school year is nearly over. The next week will be three days of schooling (mostly fun stuff) and a field trip on Friday. It's hard to believe that I already have two years of experience under my belt. When I look back at our progress, I know this year probably won't be recorded as one of our best years homeschooling. We made it through, but I felt like we really didn't take advantage of the opportunities we had in front of us. Here are some of our highs and lows:

Positives:

EM made solid progress in his reading. He is now working his way through chapter books, reading level N. At the start of the year, he didn't want to spend any free time reading. Now I find him reading alone without my encouragement.

EM has moved quickly through the first and almost all of the second grade math material from Calvert. We used those textbooks in more of a review fashion, while he also did work with Singapore Math 1B, Key Curriculum Press Introduction to Fractions, and various other math workbooks. He probably could have been more challenged than he was, but I had a hard time finding just the right fit for him. I plan to continue with Key Curriculum Press since he really liked the way the material was presented.

JT did an excellent job with spelling this year. We used the English Root Card set to develop our lists. I felt that he is finding it easier to decipher the meanings of strange words he encounters now that we are looking at the origins of the words on his list.

JT enjoyed his social studies material through Calvert. He learned a lot about the geography of the United States. He also had to write the research paper on California. This was a challenging assignment for him. It really made him have to think about organizing information. We also discussed the need to be able to communicate things you have learned in order to share that knowledge with others.

Negatives:

JT's math was not what it should have been this year. He raced through the Calvert material and then we floundered around for a bit. I hadn't planned well for what to do with the second half of the year. He worked his way through Life of Fred, Fractions. I feel that I should have had more supplemental material ready to go along with that book. I plan to have him do Singapore Math's placement test and start him in that series in the Fall.

EM spent far too much time waiting for me to be able to work on things with him. Many times I just assigned worksheets to keep him busy while I got JT pointed in the right direction. I had hoped JT would be more self-directed this year, but soon found EM was the one who can self-direct. Next year I plan to give EM his own notebook of assignments, like I already do for JT, and see if he can work independently.

Once again, I dropped the ball in science. We covered all that Calvert offered...but not much more. That said, the boys still manage to learn about science through their own explorations and reading. If I follow through with my summer plans, I'm hoping to be ready to dive deeper into science next year.

I also found that I waited too long to really get started on a few things. JT's German class through the cyber has been working out fairly well. I wish I had looked into that earlier in the school year. He has completed 1 out of 4 units. I hate to try to continue it through the summer, but don't want him to lose any ground, so we probably will. Also, I picked up an old high school poetry text book in the library discard pile earlier in the year. I just started having JT work through it a week ago. He has really enjoyed the depth of the study. I avoided pulling that out sooner because of the need to finish the Calvert test assignments.

All in all, the year was still a success. The boys were able to learn at their own pace. They could go off on tangents when the whim hit them. We were able to maintain a schedule (most days) that allowed us to finish school work and have time for outside activities. I still believe that this is the perfect fit for our family. I worried at the beginning of this year that EM would miss his friends from his year of schooling. He mentioned them from time to time in the Fall, but since then has decided being home is far better than being in a 'regular' school environment. I am still having fun. Things could change...the boys could decide they want to try something new. Either way, it will continue to be an adventure!