Catching Up: June

In June, we completed our second  year of homeschooling. Although it does seem like forever since we stepped foot into a brick and mortar school, it also seems like we've only just begun on this homeschool journey. I have doubts almost every day about whether we are making the right choice for our kids. It's not easy, but parenting isn't easy. Having four little boys is just not easy no matter what choices you make for their education. So, we will just keep taking it as it comes.

Alexander finished up his third grade year, scoring very well on his standardized test, and having truly enjoyed a good many of the things he accomplished. He did not love every activity, of course, but in general I think he found a great number of things that he connected with. He enjoyed learning about Ben Franklin, the American Revolution, other inventors, and electricity, among other things. He continued to dislike writing and I continued to have hopes that, in time, he'll come to find pleasure in it as both his father and I do. He did well in his extracurricular sports: swimming, karate, tai kwon do, and soccer.

Jack finished up a gentle kindergarten year, impressing me with the speed at which he picks up math. He was easily working through second grade math by the middle of the year! He's steadily improving with his reading, although that doesn't come as easily as the math does. He is working diligently, though, and it was a pleasure to see him grow academically over the year.

While I did not do any formal preschool activities specifically for Kai, he picked up plenty just by hanging around. He wormed his way in to many of Jack's activities and ended the year reading at about a second grade level. It's fabulous to see what homeschooling does for the younger siblings. At times I worry that I am not giving the little ones the same amount of attention they would have to themselves if their brothers were at school for seven hours a day. However, they do get the benefit of overhearing some really rich lessons which I wouldn't necessarily think to present to a three or four year old, but that some preschoolers are in fact interested in and able to comprehend. They also get to participate in our art projects, field trips, and playdates, and they get to spend extra time with their brothers than they would if their brothers were at school all day.

We celebrated our last day of school with bowling, which the kids loved.