Back to School
Public school starts Monday around here and we are beginning our 6th year of homeschooling. That is hard for me to think about in terms of reality since I started out homeschooling from pure selfishness.
When it came time to send Jacob off to the public elementary school 3 blocks down the street, aka PES3BDTS, I was too selfish to do it. First, because I really enjoyed spending the day with Jacob. He was so much fun to have around and it would be breaking up our merry little band of kids.
Second, I knew he already knew everything he was going to be learning at the PES3BDTS and would no doubt be bored and cause trouble. Last of all, the kindergarten program at the PES3BDTS was only half day. That was really going to put a cramp in my day. So I selfishly kept him at home with me.
The next year came around and I talked Billski into one more year at home. He was working second shift and when he realized he was only going to be seeing Jacob on the weekends, it wasn't that hard to do.
And the rest, as they say, is history. Or in this case, history, math, spelling and a bunch of other subjects.
I always like to make a post about where my kids are in their studies for my own records and since this is my family record of things, this would be that post.
Jacob would be starting 5th grade at the PES3BDTS. At home, he is done with one of his 2 books for 6th grade reading. He is 49 lessons into his 6th grade math. He is well into his 6th grade Language Arts book and loves to work logic puzzles. He still struggles with Spelling and that is a mystery to me. He can read well above his grade level and comprehend what he is reading, but spelling eludes him. We have tried numerous spelling programs, but if anyone has any ideas, I'm certainly open to listening.
Carly and Wes would be starting 3rd grade at the PES3BDTS. They are both doing well with their 4th & 5th grade work. They are 27 lessons into their 5th grade math program. They are about 6 lessons away from being done with their 4th grade reading. They are about 30 lessons into their 4th grade Language Arts and are both great spellers. Carly LOVES to read and is now reading the same books I did at her age. That's cool.
Ryan would be starting 2nd grade at the PES3BDTS. He has already done that -- twice. Once before he started his Ritalin and when he finished, it didn't seem as if he had learned much of anything. So I made him do it again after he started his medicine. He whizzed through it and is now working on his 3rd grade reading, spelling and Language Arts. Ryan is the hardest child to teach (no surprise to anyone who knows him), but he is also the most rewarding, because when he "gets it", it really shows in his face.
Here is an example of Ryan's cursive pre-Ritalin.
Here is an example of Ryan's cursive a couple of months later while taking Ritalin.
I know many people are against medicating children, but I'm here to tell you, it made that much difference in ALL his subjects, not just writing. So I fall into the category of all for it in his case.
Well, time to go read to the kids. We are reading about ancient Rome and they love all the bloody battles.
Edited to add: Anonymous asked about Science -- so I'm adding this.
We do several subjects as a family. Science is one of them. We also do American History, World History and Bible study as a group. The kids also each do Maps & Geography, Vocabulary, Logic problems and cursive.
They also get extra books in any other subjects that they may need help. For example, Carly is now doing a Word Problem book in addition to her regular math.
I'll be glad to answer any other questions you might have.
