MATH

Key Lime Pie and Kotten Kandy took the Saxon placement tests two weeks ago. It was an interesting experiment. I explained to them that I didn't expect them to be able to do all the problems I just wanted to make sure I purchased the correct level of math for each of them.

Key Lime Pie breezed through the test. She didn't struggle much until the end. And she quit when she felt she couldn't answer any more. She tested at an 8th grade level in math. (She would be in 7th grade this year if she were attending middle school.)

Kotten Kandy was really stressed out about the test. She wanted to do her best and it bothered her that she didn't know how to answer some of the questions. I told her not to worry about it, but her perfectionism kicked in. She struggled through most of the test and was plagued by the fact that she didn't do as well as she wanted. I was actually quite pleased with her results. She was right where she needed to be (6th grade math.)

Well, we ordered the books. And they have taken off with math. They do 4 lessons a week. I let them have Fridays off. And both seem to understand and enjoy doing their math. They have the freedom to do it whenever they want throughout the week. Usually they do one lesson a day Monday through Thursday. If they have questions, they ask. When they are finished with their math, they check their own answers and if they make a mistake they try to figure out what went wrong. Usually it is a silly mistake.

So math seems to be going OK! :-)

BEGINNING...

Beginning is an intriguing word. It's the third word in the first book of Genesis. And creates an excitement within me to read about the creation of the world. It is also a "very good place to start" as Julie Andrews points out while teaching children to sing. Sometimes new beginnings scare me because change frightens me... but I need to remember "Never be afraid to start something new; remember amateurs built the ark and professionals built the Titanic." Of course, relying on the Lord helps with the amateur thing. :-)

Well, we are beginning a new chapter in our lives. We are beginning to home school our daughters, Key Lime Pie and Kotten Kandy. They are middle scholars. And really good girls for the most part. As we prayed about the decision to educate our daughters, we felt Heavenly Father's assurance that it would be a good thing to do for our family. We've been home schooling for two weeks now and they have been really fun as we have navigated this new beginning in our lives.

I've already learned a few lessons, myself. I am a naturally organized person and before I began I created a schedule for school complete with times and subjects. Well, it didn't work. I was frustrated because math took longer than the 30 minutes I had assigned to it. And history took less time. We also had the opportunity to pick pears and dry them one day last week, which really threw my carefully, crafted schedule off. My good friend, Amy, suggested that I just make a "To Do" list of the subjects I wanted to cover with the girls every day and cross them off the list as we finished them. It worked! :-) And I wasn't frustrated.

Key Lime Pie and Kotten Kandy love home school. They are both independent learners and it suits them! I will post ideas about school, my daughters and my sweet, supportive husband at least weekly to this blog for those of you who wish to see what we are doing... or at least what I' thinking. This new beginning is great so far! Like Walt Disney said, "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."