We're Done!

Well, not exactly, but we did discover that we have logged the required 180 days of instruction required by the state. We started in July and typically logged 5 or 6 days a week, with several large breaks throughout the year. I made recording forms that have a reading list on the back and a grid of required subjects and days of the month on the other. It's pretty easy to check off subjects if we keep up with it on a daily or weekly basis. I added "fill out homeschool log" to the list of things that have to be done before tv/video games, and this was enormously helpful in shifting the responsibility of logging to the kids. We use a lot of digital resources like Epic Books and Libby, so if we forget stuff, it's pretty easy to go back and add it later. We review the sheet monthly and then tuck it in a file box along with any work we want to save for the portfolios. 

We do have a few more things to work on. Laurel has to take her math final and a standardized test. Marko needs to finish his handwriting book and work on the final revision and editing of an essay about Shadow. Both of the older kids will write a letter to the evaluator describing their challenges and triumphs of the past year. We did this last year and the evaluator gave us good feedback. Hopefully we can meet with the same person this year. It does feel good to have a system in place that works for us and to not have stressed about meeting the basic requirements.

Things that were so great this year that it was a pleasure to have them in our schedule and we will definitely keep doing :

Poetry teatime

Exercising with the neighbors

Laurel's virtual book club with her aunts

Outschool class for Max

Brave Writer Arrow guides for literature study

Brave Learner subscription for my own professional development

Things that seem like they are good enough to keep doing:

Spectrum + Khan Academy for math study

Duolingo

Girl Scouts

Things to improve for next year: 

Grade level reading - I've taken a "backwards planning" approach, where the kids follow their interests and I kind of trust that we will cover all the topics. We have What Your Fifth/Second Grader Needs to Know books, which they periodically read from. They do learn new things, but it feels tedious, not exciting. I think I need to plan some deeper dives into content to make it more exciting. 

Foreign language study - everybody loves clicking through Duolingo, but nobody can hold anything beyond a basic conversation. 

Making new friends - it's time to look for some homeschooling buddies. The pandemic definitely hampered this over the past year. Luckily, we have next door neighbors who were basically homeschooled this past year, but they will be going back and my kids need to meet some new people.