Saturday, June 21, 2008

Oh, the things we've all learned this year!

We are officially finished with this school year! I could do a little jig from the excitement of having a break ('cept I can't dance so I guess I'll just jig in my head). I'm sure Jefferson could too. Monday was our first day without me running back and forth between baby, toddler, food prep/cleaning, lessons, web research, reading, diapers, more food prep, more lessons, more reading, bandaids, someone's screaming, run a brush through my hair 'cause there ain't gonna be a shower, lessons, preschool "school" crafts, drama queen throwing a fit again, etc., etc., etc........

*SIGH*

Such a relaxing day. Not that we did nothing - just that it wasn't the same structured push to achieve feeling. We read and ate and crafted and enjoyed the weather. There was even some screaming here and there. But we didn't 'push' to get lessons in. And I felt like I could breathe.... :-D
But we learned soooooo much this year that I almost can't believe it! Here is a rundown of our goals and accomplishments.

2007-2008

Jefferson - Grade 1
Reagan - Preschool
Adam -Toddler on the Move
Lincoln - Just Introduced to the World


Jefferson
  • started 1st grade with phonics, reading, Spelling Workout A, and RightStart Math B.
  • his penmanship started strong and improved through daily copywork.
  • worked hard from August until November learning to read
  • learned that phonics is "not fun, Mommy!" (my most frustrating subject thus becomes his most frustrating subject - I must work on my patience and encourage him more); we struggled to remember rules and 'decode' long words even though he could read well
  • learned that math is "my favorite!"; we covered money, place value, addition (2 and 4 digit), word problems, geometry, reading time & graphs, measurements, fractions; his confidence grew with fun games and manipulatives
  • learned to read!! Began the year with "Max and the Cat" reader and now reading "The Indian in the Cupboard" because he 'wants to'; this skill has been the biggest improvement in how homeschool works for he and I - it's amazing and I'm so excited for him; I use this to remind him of just how far he's come in one year
  • learned that grammar can be fun but also can be boring; doesn't really understand the memory work that is required; I've found that he doesn't really realize how much he's learned here either; covered 1st half of FLL
  • history was a favorite with all it's fun activities and books and interesting people; we covered SOTW chpt. 1 to 37, Nomads to the Beginning of Christianity; J struggled learning to listen well so that he could narrate back - he improved greatly at narrating by the end of the year
  • science started out very late (didn't start until after Lincoln was born in Oct) so we didn't cover as many animals or body systems as planned and plants need to be covered casually over the summer; learned lots through living books and observation (butterflies, caterpillars, ants, robins, bunnies, hermit crabs, frogs, our own bodies)
  • spelling was frustrating before Jefferson was reading fluently but after taking a break from SWA he began to really enjoy the lessons and completed SWB by year end; I still feel that he needs to review the last 1/4 to 1/2 of SWB next year however; after considering other books, I've decided to stick with Spelling Workout since he enjoys them
  • he discovered that he can handle simple dictation since he has learned so much from reading, grammar, phonics, and spelling
Reagan
All I can say here is that she has grown by leaps and bounds in just this year, as have her daddy and I! There is so much to write about her that it'll have to wait for another post. I am soooo proud of her and thankful for the wisdom God has given to us in dealing with her!

Adam
This is the year he has begun to find his voice! We thought that he would never talk but thankfully has begun to try harder to communicate with us. His willingness along with speech therapy has resulted in less tantrums and frustration and a happier boy. He also loves to be in the room or involved when the older two are learning.

What a great year!! The LORD has blessed us immensely and given us such wisdom and guidance. He knows exactly what each of us needs and I am so thankful to Him. I've never learned so much myself. I'm so happy for the kids and I'm looking forward to the great things we will learn next year!

5 comments:

Momma Roar said...

Oh, reading this makes me so excited to start first grade in the fall!!

Guess what? Our Rightstart B addon kit will be arriving tomorrow! I'm excited to go through the book and see what we will be working on.

I'm also starting to plug in all the assignments I have so far into homeschool tracker to see how that works for me this year. A friend at church told me she uses it and loves it - so I guess we'll see how it works!!

Congrats on all your hard work and how it has paid off!!

Becky @ BoysRuleMyLife said...

I'm hunting for some advice today:

http://boysrulemylife.blogspot.com/2008/06/dairy-free-quandries.html

Thanks! :)

PS. Whew, y'all have had a busy school year! Good job mom!

E. Tyler Rowan said...

Hi there! Thanks for visiting over at my bloggy carnival. I love meeting new mommys in the bloggy world! I can't wait to get to know you more...saw a post down a bit that I think will help. Have a blessed day!

Beth@Pages of Our Life said...

YEAH! Congratulations, I know it gives you such a perspective when you can stop and see all that you have accomplished in a year. It's so nice to have a break isn't it and I don't even have a little one anymore. ;-(

Mary@notbefore7 said...

YIPPEE...congrats. I feel like we met at a time early in the year and you were so overwhelmed with the baby and homeschooling. Now look at all you have done! Way to go!