Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Math Success!

So, Mitchell had his first math test today after approximately one month of my teaching him.  The test was from the actual Math Makes Sense curriculum that his former teacher so graciously provided to me.  He got 95%.  And the minor mistakes he made were just that--they were minor.  In one question he placed the decimal incorrectly and in the other question he forgot to place the decimal at all.  In all reality, he should have aced the test . . . obviously he didn't check it over as well as he thought he had.  But he grasped the concepts and obviously learned something.  I think I'm more excited than he is about how well he did.

Next, we're on to geometry.  Oh joy:(  Thankfully, my husband appears to be a geometry whiz:)  I'm so grateful that he's willing to help!

The rest of Mitchell's courses are going very well.  I really love the fact that our English Language Arts program revolves around literature--he loves to read, so this program is a great fit for him.  All of our spelling, grammar, research skills, etc. branch off from a book he is assigned to read, or a passage from a book.  Science is taking off - we've done many experiments as we are learning about Flight.  Social Studies is where I find my enthusiasm lacking but that's probably because I'm still waiting on the curriculum to arrive.  I had to delay that purchase for various reasons, so I've just been making my own material from Internet resources and I don't know that the activities always reflect a true grade 6 level--or maybe they just don't reflect my son's capabilities.  I am really excited to get started on the history part of our social studies curriculum once it arrives.  Ty is going to be learning it alongside us, which I think will be fun.  We are learning about the history of the world - starting in Genesis.

My favorite part about homeschooling thus far (aside from the fact that my son is now emotionally safe and stable, and he is no longer suffering from the physical side-effects of anxiety), is the fact that there is flexibility with our schedule and it doesn't matter if we start school at 9 a.m. or 2 p.m.  So long as we get the work done, both teacher and student are happy:)

I am loving this!  And I am loving that my son is loving this!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry if this ends up being a repeat comment - but it looks like my original comment didn't publish.

I think it is wonderful that you have given your son the opportunity to learn at home, especially due to circumstances. Congratulations on the math success! May you continue to be blessed and encouraged on this journey.

Anita

~Rain``` said...

Yay, Yay, and Yay! So excited that you are excited!

Melanie said...

this is an awesome blog! thanks for sharing :)

aennswind said...

I'm teaching Math 9 at KCS this year, using the Math Makes Sense material. In my opinion the practice test for each chapter and the test included with teacher resource materials are HARD. The way in which the questions are worded are awkward and force students into higher level thinking than most are ready for. All of this to say that if you are using those tests for your son, and he is acing them, he has a very talented young mathematical mind. Wow!

Stacey said...

so glad this is working out!!

Lovella said...

So glad things are going to well on the home schooling front for you, Kim. I knew you'd do a great job and Mitchell is a smart guy! Also, so thankful to hear that he's happy and thriving! I really think you made the right decision. Kudos to you and Wayne and will definitely keep you in our prayers. Love you!