School's Out!!!

Here they are, the last day of school pictures.  They have worked so hard and got done a month early!  I am so proud of all their hard work.  We have a few tests to do next week to show their improvement from the start of the year but they will not take long.

Alex is very excited that the last day landed on his 9th birthday, as you can see by the smile on his face!

Sarah finishes up on her History Final Exam.

 

 Jake is having fun coloring and excited to get his computer and materials to start Kindergarten in the fall.

Happy Birthday Jake!

I know I am behind, but here are the pictures from Jake's 5th Birthday Party.  Before the festivities we had a little hot dog roast in the back yard with our cousin Briam.  The all had lots of hots dogs and smores.  He had a great party with all of his family and friends.  Thanks to everyone who came and for the gifts he received.

We thought We Heard Something........

During that big storm last night Kevin & I thought we heard something.  We couldn't figure out what it was and just tried to get back to sleep.  This morning Sarah showed us what we heard!  Since it was outside her window she heard it more clearly and saw it last night.  It was quite a storm!  It will be some work to clear it but it means more firewood for next winter.

Kindergarten, here we come!

Jake has been enrolled in Kindergarten.  We have chosen the half day program and he should be getting his computer and materials some time in July.  He is very excited to be part of all that he has been watching for this year with Sarah and Alex.

I Am So Proud!!

Sarah just took her final exam for the whole year of Math and got 100%!!!!  We have struggled so much in Math with her since the second grade that I am amazed how well she has done with the online/home school curriculum.  Next year introduces Algebra and we may have to get a tutor to help since I did not do very well in Math either.  We can have one provided by the school that will come right to our house.  We are coming down to the end of the year and I cannot believe how fast it went.

We're still here........

I know I have been pretty quiet lately.  We have really been hitting the books so that school will be finished on May 6, a full month before the official end date.  They are ahead in progress as well as the number of hours required for the year.  Alex and I had an online conference with his teacher and she is very happy with his progress and my oversight of what needs done on a daily basis.  He is finished with Spelling, Grammar, History, Art and Analogies so all we have to finish up is Math, Literature, Composition, Science & Music.  Sarah has completed Art and will finish up with Math next week.  Being in 6th grade she has more lessons and most of her classes are all year.  They have both worked very hard and I am very proud of them. 

This whole process has been an adjustment for all of us.  Are there bad days when I get frustrated beyond words?  Yes.  Are there days when I wonder what I was thinking? Yes.  Are there days when they are frustrated and wondering what we were thinking?  I am sure there are for them.  But for me those days are fewer than the good days so I have decided to re-enroll them for next year.  Kevin and I talked it over and he told me that the final decision was mine since I have the work on a day-to-day basis.  If I didn't feel up to it for next year he wasn't going to insist I continue.  We did discuss how we are unhappy with the level of education they were getting in the local school district as well as the social/moral/influence issues that led us to pull them out in the first place.  We still feel as their parents that we have a duty to protect them from what we can and if educating them in the safety of our home helps eliminate some of the bad influences at the local school, then I will take the bad days.

Now if I can just get Sarah to take her time and stop rushing through her lessons and get through re-teaching long division to Alex without having a stroke we are looking forward to a great summer vacation!

Atwood Lakers 4-H Club Elect Officers

Below is the article in our local paper regarding the first meeting of our 4-H Club. 

ATWOOD — Members of Atwood Lakers made cards when they met in Good Hope Lutheran Church. Fundraisers and field trips were discussed.  Members discussed the purchase of new shirts and questions about the project books.


The following positions were filled: Mikala Metzcar, president; Taylor Allen, Vice President; Abby Ackerman, Treasurer; Barbi Boyd, Reporter; Nate Ackerman and Alex Adams, Phone Committee; Shay-Ann Twyman and A.J. Johnson, Refreshment Committee; Sarah Adams, Health Officer; and Anna Thompson, Safety Officer.

The next meeting will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 12, 2011 in the church where members will also make more cards for nursing home residents.

Copyright 2011 The Times-Reporter. Some rights reserved