My Kindergartner: Summie was an eager leaner and began to read short books on his own by Christmas. His writing evolved until he was writing at least as nicely as his sisters. His math skills blew all of us away. By the end of the year, he can do simple addition in his head i.e 9+5 or 15+20. Did I mention that he is in kindergarten? All I can say is that he was a joy to teach!
My 2nd Grader: Ella struggled at the beginning of the year with spelling. She just didn't get it. I began to think that she was dyslexic and had her tested. She wasn't! She had a "behavior" problem. We laid off spelling for about 2 months. When she told me she was ready, we began again and WOW what a difference! She could spell. Her math skills improved and she did really well. Her favorite subject is history and we did tons of fun things with it including playing a game called Guillotine when we studied the French Revolution. No worries...no real heads rolled. It is a card, strategy game. Her writing improved and she learned to write a simple poem and illustrate it. Her art abilities would make any art teacher proud! She really came around and began to read chapter books by herself. What a sweet child! I am privileged to be her teacher!
My 4th grader: Isabela really began to excel in her schooling. She did her math on the computer with a CD-Rom. At first, she didn't like it but she grew accustomed to it and eventually scored very high on her EOG. She even says that she likes fractions! Not me! Her reading has always been above grade level but her reading comprehension is average so that is something that we will be working on. Her favorite subjects are science and history. We did some fun experiments. They were assigned the task of getting a 50# box up 2 flights of stairs using a piece of plywood and a lever. She loved levers and points them out every where we go. Izzy did a big project of the state of NC and a unit book on poetry. She copied, wrote and illustrated that book. It turned out to be a beautiful project. She is a fantastic student who is self-motivated and loves to learn!
Somethings that I did this year to ensure success: I made more hands on activities. I tried to go on field trips at least every other week. I required the older ones to volunteer. I began making them a to-do list of subjects they must get done. When they checked everything off the list, then they were done. They like that and it made for an easier day. I set these tasks the night before and they really lived up to their potential this year.
I look forward to next year but for now I am gonna enjoy my 8 week break! We have already cleaned the play room/school room and have it organized for July. Now, I just have to get curriculum for next year and we are all set!
