We are nearing the end of homeschooling for the recent academic year. In four more years my oldest daughter may be leaving for college. It is a bit sobering.
Last week and today Janine had the girls take a set of standardized tests so we'll have a sense of how they are doing. We like to know what areas the girls are strong in, and what areas we need to work on.
It has been a good year. My daughters are progressing on the fronts I care about. They are mastering academic subjects. I am pleased with their characters. They are kind, hard working and thoughtful. Most of the time they get along with each other.
One of the nice things about homeschooling is they have time to chase things that interest them.
For example my oldest spends every free minute reading. I've been surprised to find that some of her free time books are not just fantasy and science fiction. I caught her reading a book about Shakespeare this last month!
My middle daughter has become a cooking fiend. She cooks almost every day, often doing a full meal. When I was about twelve I complained to my mother that we needed more deserts. She replied that if I wanted more cookies and cakes I could bake them. For the next couple years I used simple recipes to satisfy my sweet tooth. My second daughter has a much greater range. She'll cook sweet stuff, but she also cooks almost everything else.
A couple months back my youngest daughter expressed an interest in flying remote control planes. A friend at work was willing to donate his starter plane, the basic frame, but we needed to buy things like a battery and the transmitter. I was surprised by how expensive all the pieces would be. I made a deal with my youngest that I'd pay half. For over two months she worked odd jobs. She saved and saved. Finally we got the parts and this last Saturday my friend came over to our house and put the servos and receivers on the plane. We needed to special order the battery. It comes in tomorrow. Wednesday morning we'll get up around 6:30 AM, much earlier than normal, and go fly a plane!
I love homeschooling. We are able to provide our daughters with a solid academic education, while giving them a chance to explore the wide world.
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2 comments:
Was that this Henry, who left a comment on my "common sense" post? If so, thanks for visiting. If you would like to define "common sense", I would be happy to link to you. :o)
Ah, the standardized test thing. We also are the parents of daughters, and we will have a 9th grader this year. I go around and around in my mind with the testing question -- should we or shouldn't we? Are our academic standards the same as the world's standards? Do I even care how my girls' education compares to all the rest? Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. Like you, I am thankful that our girls are able to explore and to pursue their interests.
I don't leave many comments, but I enjoy many of your entries. Thanks for the brain food.
Sally
We don't feel a great need to match the world's academic standards, but we do want to know how our girls stand compared to others their age.
Thank you for the kind words.
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