I always start to feel the pressure of the calendar at this time of year.
School seems like it's going well, but I always feel like we have a lot of things to do before the end of the year. I have so many things that I want to accomplish and we are almost to February.
The basics are going great. John is doing really well in math. He has passed the middle of the book and he is still getting A's on all of his tests. He rarely misses more than two on his assignments. His writing is coming along. He does great with anything creative. We haven't done enough formal writing yet though. I want to have him write a couple of reports and some letters. His typing is progressing so well, which really makes writing less painful. He can fly through the writing and the editing is so much easier than when we used to have rewrite papers over and over.
He is doing great on the computer and most of that is just stuff he does for fun.
His music is coming along and in Religion he has almost finished the requirements for the year.
It's the History and Science that I want to work harder at. I love history and I really want to make it more fun and be sure it's sticking. He does great on his tests, but we have to go into World History next year and I want to be sure that what we've learned about the US is going to stick.
Brendan just went into the 3rd grade Math book. He is doing really well. Not liking it, but he is cooking! He is also starting to write and I am very impressed with his ability to memorize. He likes to play with words and he's a great speller! He seems to like any subject that he can read his way through.
I am going to have both John and Brendan take standardized tests this year, which is a new one. We haven't done that. I have just figured that until now, if they were working above grade level, they certainly must be on par with their peers. But now I am thinking that I can really use the information to find the areas where we need to strengthen our program.
Paul is so funny. He is just putting along. He is so easy to teach! In fact, I don't think I am teaching him. I'm not sure how he got where he is. I just give him a lesson to do and he does it. He has no idea of where he should be or what kids his age should be learning, so he just kind of soaks up everything. He is doing Science with the boys this year and we are doing Astronomy, when I quiz them on terms and concepts, he answers as many of the questions as the other two.
He is five. He doesn't need to be doing first grade math, or reading at a 2nd grade level. I don't push him at all! I don't slow him down either. It is just a joy to watch him learn!
So I guess I have convinced myself that all is well. I am going to have a few extra projects to do with them, but most of those things are just fun. We got a really great gift from the Bowens for Christmas, a planetarium! The boys, especially Brendan, want to spend every evening with it, as soon as it gets dark! They are learning to find all the constellations and the computer is a wonderful teacher. Now there are several winter constellations that they see as soon as they look up!
