This week we hit the books again—hard. Only math books though. Since our year got disrupted (took half a week off to go out of state, then another week as our 16yo settled back in at home, then the following week was VBS) I have decided that, with the two remaining weeks we have left in our ‘school year’, we will just focus on math.
The boys have cooperated for the most part. D2 has jumped in and been doing about two assignments a day. He took a math test on Wednesday, so he got through a lesson in 2 days. That’s pretty good! Not that I’m rushing them. I’m not. D1 can’t work that quickly, and if he feels pressure at ALL he can’t even function. I am encouraging them to really work on it though. We are no where near done with their math books.
Yes I know, we don’t have to finish them. The only thing is, we use Math-U-See. There isn’t a month of review built into the start of each book. They just START. When we begin again in September, D1 will have about 8 weeks of completing his Gamma book before moving into Delta. D2 will have maybe 2 or 3 weeks of finishing Beta before moving into Gamma. Of course I WISH it wasn’t this way, but it is what it is. I can’t rush them, especially D1, because it becomes very counterproductive. Yes, he is going into 5th grade and no, he doesn’t have ALL of his times tables memorized, nor has he done any division. That’s okay. I know that when he gets to division he will be ready for it. I work at his pace.
History has sort of fizzled out. It’s too hot to really concentrate much. We garden in the mornings, get math done before lunch, and then I just let them GO. Their friend’s house, run through a sprinkler, play XBox or wrestle with the puppies. Whatever, just so they aren’t stuck in the books all day long. It IS summer!
I contacted the Running Start counselor at the high school and left a message on her voice mail. The school secretary said that she comes in twice a week to check her messages. I don’t know about that, because we haven’t heard back from her yet. I am going to call again first thing Monday morning. I know that the likelihood of getting J into Running Start for Fall quarter is slim, but I still want to talk to her about it. The RS counselor at the college said to just submit the application, set up a testing date, and we’re set. Of course, the college runs through the summer and the high school offices don’t officially open until mid-August. Arg. If she can’t get in for fall, she will spend the fall going through an Algebra 1 & 2 refresher course. I need to give her an evaluation to find out where she needs practice.
Next week is our last week of school, and I’m participating in Back to (Home)School 2010 over at The Classic Housewife. Every day we’ll link up posts on set topics regarding homeschooling. I hope to see your posts too!
