And as usual, we found that learning didn't stop, but in some cases flourished where it had been floundering in the course of our more formal efforts. Yes, this happens every time we take a break, and yes, I forget that it will happen. Ah well.
At any rate, Scarlett decided that she wanted to learn to write. So one when she asked us how to spell Coco, we told her, and she wrote it.
For three full weeks, Chase made no effort to attempt reading, the area an area in which he struggles. Then for Christmas , I bought books for everyone, and his were some sets of Bob Books. I had a moment or two of panic on Christmas Eve, worried that he would be underwhelmed by the lack of cool factor. As it turned out, he was excited that he could keep them in order and could read them whenever he needed to read something (such as when reading something is a requirement before playing any video games!) The day after Christmas he brought me a book from his set, and asked if I could help him. And he did the best reading he's ever done up until this point.
(And with this I'm outing myself. Is he "behind?" Yes, by many standards he is not even close to reading at a second grade level. But there are many layers to his reading status - one of which may be something we need to evaluate - and none of them mean anything that require fear or worry. In my calmest moments, I know that trust is the key here.)
On to Ryan, who is never, ever idle, bless him. If he can't be on the go, he's planning, plotting, crafting, building....He received an art set for Christmas, and got right to work with it. And then he bought himself a nice drawing book so that he could draw things like this:
(He handed this to me, though, and lamented, "I'm not any good!")
He and Chase also bought themselves some kits to hatch some kind of creatures called triops, which have indeed hatched under their care. So. Weird. But science, so it's all good.
Drew has been reading, reading, reading, of course, and doing some sketching as well (although I can't find a recent one to share). As our current walking encyclopedia, I never worry about him not learning, and in fact sometimes we have to ask him to STOP sharing his wealth of knowledge. For some reason, we found ourselves discussing squid the other day, and Drew was correcting our facts. I said at one point, "But I know I've heard about giant squid that size!" He said, "Only colossal squid reach that size. Giant squid are a different species." Aimee and I laughed/rolled our eyes, and reminded him that when we said "giant," we meant "large" in a general way. Unamused, he said, "But they're different species. You should say what you mean."
So anyway, all is well there. And Aimee - Aimee has been busy reading (there's always plenty of reading going on here, and literary discussions almost daily, which is one of the best things about the kids getting older), writing, editing her novels, and making a name for herself in the writing community. Her twitter account and her blog are gaining followers and getting recognition, and it's just amazing. Here's her blog post about the things she read in 2014 . She also has some great posts about writing in general, and her writing specifically, and it's all really terrific.
Now, it's also true that we watched too much TV and played too many video games. It's time for some structure again, and that's good, too. We aren't completely unschoolers because I DO believe there is value in discipline and structure. But it's good to be reminded that their learning isn't dependent on my successes and failures at scheduling, planning, and teaching.
On to the second half of our school year!
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