We finished up our year last week, what a year it has been! This year was 7th grade, 4th, grade and Kindergarten. We had good days and we had bad days but we all learned and grew and that’s all that matters! Over our celebratory dinner we chatted about what the boys learned and how their year went.
Mister 1: This guy made some big changes in his school day with Challenge A being his curriculum. He not only added several subjects to his school day he increased his workload and did very well with it. He loved latin, fallacies and cartography. He read some great books, read some others he didnt enjoy but he wrote solid papers and had good discussions. Math was his least favorite and he still has a few lessons to work on but over all he did great. Mr1 did a great science fair project on the power of duct tape and how effective Duct Tape is under different environments.
Mister 2: Essentials was this guys major change this year and, though he wont admit it, he enjoyed it. Writing was his favorite and he enjoyed writing some great stories. He was one of the big kids in our CC Community and knows his memory work well. Faces of History was so fun as we learned about Milton Hershey together and had a ball with the costume.
Mister3: Oh this guy gave me a run for my money this year. I had to really challenge myself to stay consistent and also respect his learning style. He is a perfectionist to the point of major frustration. He is the boy who needs to have a goal in mind and lots of encouragement. He is learning to read and though it’s a slow process and he is easily overwhelmed, he is learning it. CC went well for him overall, he learned the memory work and enjoyed community days with his friends. He went from not being able to be in class without me to doing a fairly regular presentation during show and tell time each week.
Me and Mr4: This guy is quite an artist and loves to sit and write and draw. He is happy to copy words that I write down. He is starting to learn his letter sounds just by being with Mr3 and I during reading time and knows a lot of our CC memory work.
We made some big changes in our school day with our move and the boys did very well with all of the changes. We also took on the 1000 hours outside challenge and that has made major changes in our day. We often get outside to check on the chickens and take the puppy for a walk prior to school time and it has molded our school day with a strong foundation. Fitness took a big role in our school year for the big boys. In addition to being outside a lot more they enjoyed fitness time either on the treadmill or walking outside most days of the week. We did a lot of cooking together and the garden took a major part in our year. I wont be directing our CC group in the fall and Id be lying to say I’m not looking forward to that change. With all of the factors with health concerns there was a whole new element to the planning of the year. My boys were troopers as I took lots of phone calls and days planning and working on director jobs.
I’m about to read Teaching from Rest for my annual reading. This is a great way to end our year and start summer, before any major planning for the fall takes place. I am looking forward to the changes that come with growing another year older. Mr4 will be doing a bit of school time that he leads. We hope to add some animals to our homestead and our garden is the largest we have ever planned. Looking forward to all the learning that will happen through those two things alone. We have lots of playing, gardening, swimming, friends time, and family time ahead on the summer and I cant wait!
