Bring on Summer Vacation!

Last Thursday was our final full day of the regular school year.  My son will be doing a research paper, topic of his choice, for World History, next week.  I will be giving him a 1/2 credit for the year, because he just didn't have the time to do enough hours to get a full credit.  But, I think he is going to do an online FLVS for World History next year.  He has to finish up Geometry over the Summer as well.

Caitlin will also be doing a final writing assignment next week.  I let her pick the topic, and she will be posting it to her blog when completed.  She will get the option to proofread and edit it one time, before I grade it.  She knows what the Rubric is, and if she gets a grade of 75 or above, I won't make her do any Writing over the Summer.  If she doesn't she will have to continue practicing.  She will do Math, on Easy Peasy Homeschool, and Reading Assessment, a few days a week over the Summer.

I have to start getting portfolios done.  Well, actually only one this year, because DJ is taking the SAT in August, and that will count as his evaluation this year.  It doesn't save me any money, though.

In the coming weeks you will see me start to post curriculum for next year.  DJ will be mostly doing FLVS, so his will be very easy to arrange.  Caitlin will be in 8th grade, so it will be my last year to really have some fun with her, and her lessons.  You may also see me post ideas for homeschool graduation, and college readiness.

Oh, before I forget, DJ read Dracula, and Caitlin read Ann of Green Gables, plus watched the movie, and is currently reading Gentle Ben.

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Homeschool Evals, the PSAT, and 4H Annual Award Dinner

It has been a busy two weeks.  Today, we did our homeschool evals, and now I can take a deep breath and relax.  Well for about 2 1/2 weeks that is, lol.  Both kids did very well.  No issues, though there are still things I want, and feel they need to improve on.  With two kids getting evaluated, it is a very long day.

DJ took the PSAT, just a week or so ago.  He did quite well for his first time.  He got 1276 for a total score.  Strong in reading and writing, needs improvement on math.  We knew that, lol.  He did fair for math, but needs to bring it up a few points.  He will take the PSAT one more time, probably in January, and then the SAT at the end of 10th grade.  This gives ample time to learn where weaknesses are, plus most colleges take the highest score you get.  So, if you wait until the end of your senior year and bomb the test, then you are in a tight spot.  Both SAT and ACT offer free questions of the day, and we will continue doing them each day, as well. 

Last night was our annual 4H award dinner.  Both kids got their 5 yr pins, and Caitlin got 4Her of the  year, for her age group.  DJ got it last year.  We found out a lot of things at this meeting.  The Guitar Club will continue, this is very good news, and a new bow and arrow shooting group will be starting.  That too is very good news.  Caitlin will be starting Gymnastics in October, so my calendar just got really full all of a sudden.  That doesn't count our regular 4H meeting each month, and weekly teen praise band practice at church.  Now, I need a nap before all the craziness starts up again.

100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know

Ha, I don't even know what some of these words mean, and I have been to college, and will be returning again this year.  My 9th grader will start working his way through this list tomorrow.  He will have to look up the definitions, then put them all in a sentence.  He will then study, and memorize them, with a weekly test.  Here is the list. 

Rather than continue with new spelling words each week, my 5th grader will revisit previous lists and do definitions, sentence writing, find the nouns and verbs, and alphabetical order.  This serves many purposes all centered around one group of words each week.  She too will be tested weekly on these words.

DJ will also be doing the ACT Question of the Day, and the SAT Question of the Day, each day.  This is a great way to practice and prepare for these tests.  There is also an app that I love it is shown below. The first one is free, and the one we use.  The second is not free, and I have never used it.  I have Android phones, so any apps I share should work on Android phones, but be sure and check first.