"End" of the School Year

Homeschooling is a bit different when it comes to "start of school" and "end of school".  Our school year started last July with a more casual start and then when daddy started back to school, it marked the beginning of our structured school year.


Stephen is still finishing Kindergarten. He's really struggled with phonics and I'm not going to rush this process. A few weeks ago he was having a particularly challenging day and he finally put his head down on his arm at the kitchen table where we were working and said, "Mom, by the time I get done with Kindergarten I'm going to be an old man"! Thankfully this third time through he's doing much better and we're hoping to graduate him the first of September.

The last month of school they had some special events that made "summer fever" a little less severe. They had the opportunity to learn and play a little basketball through our Christian school connected to the college. They enjoyed it .....as much as children who know nothing of basketball can. Before Daniel's first game he said, "I don't even know what I'm supposed to do"! I had to laugh but he wasn't the only one. Here are some clips of their first games.

Allan is number 9.

Daniel is number 2.

I'd heard some really good things about the art classes at the Lively Learning Lab so we decided to give it a try since art is one thing I have a hard time to find the time and energy for. The teacher was phenomenal! Very upbeat, positive about every stroke of the brush and did such a great job of breaking down the steps so that all of their artwork was done on their own and it turned out well. It helped to build their confidence while encouraging independence.

Watercolor:

Acrylic:

Silhouette:

And Chalk:

They enjoyed every class and I was impressed that they did so well.

We'd planned for Friday, May 29th to be our last day but the boys wanted to finish the courses they hadn't been able to finish. So after a two week break (which the teacher has needed!) they will work on those at their own pace while I continue to work with Stephen. Plans are to start up the first of July again - the boxes have already arrived.....but I've not finished cleaning and organizing from last year - that's part of my "to-do" list for this month and then I can organize next year's materials.