It's time to do a review of Xander's first 6 weeks with homeschooling! Overall, he has done really well. He does his work without complaining and seems to be trying hard. I'll give his report card in the order he usually does his work.
Handwriting- P, for progressing-His handwriting is improving but not where I'd like it to be. He is easily learning his Bible verses during his handwriting time, however, and that makes it all worth it even if it had no effect on his penmanship. He is almost done with his basic letter practice and soon we will start copywork.
Spelling- A- He has had 6 spelling tests and has gotten 95-100% every time. Many weeks I am sure on Thursday night that he will bomb the test but somehow he has pulled it off every week.
Math- A- He has completed his first unit in math which was on addition and subtraction. Xander told me that he was "very impressed" with his math and that he had never done math problems like these before. I have seen him advance a lot in his ability to do math quickly and in his head. He got a 94% on his first chapter test. Now, he is beginning a chapter on multiplication and moving very quickly.
Grammar- A- He has completed his main grammar book and did very well on his review and test sentences. Now, he will be analyzing the parts of speech and parts of sentence for one practice sentence a day for the rest of the year.
Poetry- A- He is almost finished with his poetry book. This has been one subject that he has really enjoyed and we've had a lot of good discussions. He has written some pretty good poems that I hope he'll put on his blog and we'll continue by analyzing and reading a poem a day for the rest of the year. Once this book is finished, we will move on to a vocabulary unit.
Greek- A- He has almost finished his first Greek book and we will begin the next level this week. He now knows the alphabet and can write English words phonetically using Greek letters and the reverse fairly quickly.
Spanish- A- He can speak and understand the Spanish in the lessons that we have covered. We're going to spend the next 2 weeks reviewing so that Grace and Greta can catch up.
Science- I- incomplete- We haven't had any reviews or tests yet so I'm unsure how much he is retaining. So far, he seems to really be enjoying the science and experiments. We have covered the parts and functions of cells in our body, the respiratory system, and the circulatory system, in addition to some detective skills and techniques.
History- A- We have gone from Creation to Early Egypt so far. We will be taking a break for a week or two so we can spend more time on Ancient Egypt which I think he may find very interesting.
Reading- He's read a variety of books and while he still prefers his action and adventure stories, he is getting better about reading my choices of fiction and non-fiction for him. Right now, he's reading Old Yeller and says he hates it but maybe he'll change his mind towards the end.
Art- C- completeted- We've been having good discussions and he is enjoying looking at the pictures from our set and making his own.
PE- He got his deputy black belt so I think he must be doing something right!
And that's all I can think of for now! He really is doing better than I had expected. He's doing so well that Grace and Greta will be joining us next week. I hope the girls have just as much fun and do just as well as him!
