This is how I document and keep track of exactly what I’m doing with the kids as far as their schooling goes. I did the same thing last spring when I first pulled Anika out of school. This is not what I send in to the district, they basically just get a summary of subjects, hours, and materials covered…this would be too much info for them but perfect for my tracking needs.
The much anticipated moment has arrived: (well…almost)
For almost TWO years we’ve been waiting to see if Anika will have the opportunity for an appropriate public school placement, if not the future holds many years of homeschooling for us all.
WHEN AND HOW WILL PLACEMENTS BE MADE?
By the end of July, the ELA and Math standardized test scores will be combined and totaled, and applicants will be placed in
ranked score order.
Eligible students will be considered for placement based on ranked score order in conjunction with seat availability within
their zoned district.
By August 15, 2008 families of eligible students being offered placements in district schools with G&T programs will be
contacted.
Families of students who cannot be offered placements in 2008 will be notified by mail.
Aside from having very active days both Anika and Dante have been avid readers this summer. For Anika we’ve been sticking to award winning best seller books and for Dante series chapter books that interest him and he can read on his own. His skills just jumped by leaps and bounds from last summer and that was not necessarily attributable to his kindergarden teacher. She certainly encouraged him along the way but he was generally way ahead of the curve from what she was teaching. His decoding skills were just phenomenal and before you knew it at this time last year he was just reading. His first book was Are You my Mother by Dr. Seuss and it just went from there. It also helped that he has an unlimited focused attention span and he doesn’t give up easily. The goal has been a chapter a night but it’s often been more. Anika has been known to stay up to the wee hours reading because the book is so good and Dante can read upto 3 or four in one shot. Since Anika’s typically free to sleep in as long as she needs to we usually just let her read as long as she wants.
Here’s Dante’s reads so far:
The Search for Missing Bones
The School Skeleton
and currently on:
The Jaguar’s Jewel
and here’s Anika’s list:
Princess Academy
The Tale of Despereaux
My Side of the Mountain
Ingo
and currently on:
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Bubbles
Balls
Giant chess game
Go! - A Chinese/Japanese strategy game that this museum volunteer taught us to play. We even found out that there is a renown Go! school across the bridge in Jersey directed by an international Go! champion.
Finally a snack break.
the Japanese House (it’s the real thing, was donated to the museum).
Special exhibit on China.
For Father’s Day the kids did the cutest little singing presentation of the wise man building his house upon the rock. They’re constructions workers. Get it…builders…yes…ha ha….too cute. This is pretty much the core group of regular kids at OriginsChurchNYC. No, not too many but Anika and Dante love it nonetheless. They absolutely love going to church because they have so much fun with their friends there.
It’s an impressive physical feat to make down and back those 8 rings for a total of 16. The kids can do that. Again and Again. All the blisters and callouses are like trophies on their hands.
The kids actually just made handrolls, we got to make the fancy stuff though.
