Shrinking our Schedule

As our school year winds down in the next few weeks, it's nice to look back and see what we've managed to accomplish, not so much in terms of scope and sequence, but in terms of overall growth.

This year, Asher went from hardly reading to reading graphic novels and has finished the year off with completing a unit study in Where the Red Fern Grows. That's an impressive amount of progress. He also advanced from reading basic stories at the beginning of the year and writing very brief summaries to reading a chapter book each week and writing a book report. 

Savannah has gone from reading moderate chapter books to reading full-fledged novels this year. She has read Harry Potter novels, Nancy Drew, Monster High, and towards the end of the year we've thrown in the classics in varying degrees of difficulty. Right now she is reading Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea. Her book reports have advanced from simple one to two paragraphs to one to two pages. I continue to be impressed with her ability to read, but even more so, her true love and appreciation for reading.

Math, which has been one of the few subjects that the kids struggled with in the last few years started as one of the easiest and favorite subjects this year, but as we wind down, it is again one of the most difficult. Fortunately, Teaching Textbooks really has made a difference, and the kids seem to be excelling even while they are not particularly fond of the subject just yet. 

Science this year has been an amazing journey into the deep blue sea. We have learned about all manner of sea creatures and their classes. We have done a number of interesting experiments and projects. The Ocean is a topic that has enthralled Asher since he watched Finding Nemo at three years old. He has been drawn to all sorts of marine creatures and books about sharks, jelly fish, and octopus, taking Savannah along with him, so it has been really fun to study these creatures in depth.

At the beginning of the school year we were completing a move. In the middle, Jeremiah joined our family, Trevor started a new job, and we both earned college degrees. You can just imagine how much our schedule has changed with so many events happening within this year. Some of the changes were easy (not having coursework to complete has certainly given me more time!) and other changes have required us to adjust (like Trev's schedule). Overall, this has been our best year homeschooling yet! 

As we prepare for our year to end, I will be scheduling some assessments, ordering curriculum for next year, and planning summer activities and review. Though we don't like to admit it, we really need a schedule to keep us on track, even in the summer.