End of the Year Testing

I have tried to post our science project on color mixing many times but can't locate the pictures in my folder. I have so many and somehow I have lost them. I know they are there I just don't know where. As soon as I locate them I'll share. It was really a pretty project and we truly enjoyed it.

Today we began our end of the year testing. The girls are testing right now as I type. Normally we would have tested in the spring but our school year had a late start so we are testing a bit late as well. We haven't tested in the last few years and the girls have really dreaded it. This is one of the main reasons I decided to begin testing them again. It isn't that I put a lot of stock in the test, it's more that they are familiar with taking them. I had to stop with them after the first one and pray. The fact that they are being timed really brought forth the anxiety in Sky. It is my prayer that she test very well and that her scores will give her a boost of confidence. She is such a smart girl. I believe that her late start in reading and her struggle with spelling has really taken a toll on her self confidence.

We have been schooling right along and we have started some new things. That excites me! I love starting new things. Sky finished up her English, The All in One English Series, recommended by My Father's World and has moved onto Lightning Literature 7 by Hewitt. I am extremely pleased with this program. Sky is having a hard time adjusting to the slang in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer but I think once she finishes the book and gets more exposure to those times that she will have more appreciation for Literature in general and how different each time period and culture use to be. I am confident that we will be able to complete LL 7 and move onto to complete Lightning Literature 8 this school year. I am really looking forward to reading the Hobbit with her.

Sky has is also finishing up The Phonetic Zoo level B and she and Meadow both will be moving into Spelling Power with the activity cards. I am hoping that it will be a success for us also.

Another new program for Sky is in her writing. She has just finished The Student Writing Intensive Level B by The Institute in Excellence for Writing and already started Jump In by Apologia Educational Ministries.

Math is also joining our change this year. Sky has almost completed Teaching Textbooks Level 7 and will be beginning Saxon Math with the Teaching Tape Technology which are teaching dvds. We are not sure what level Sky will be going into yet. She will test once she has completed her Teaching Textbooks.

Meadow is going to continue doing math through real life, hands on and worksheets that I have here. As soon as I feel she is ready and she can pass the entrance test, she will be going into Teaching Textbooks 4.

We are going to continue along in My Father's World Exploration to 1850's and pick up in My Father's World 1850 to Modern Times.

We just finished reading The Hallelujah Lass and we will be moving onto another book in The Daughters of Faith Series. If you have never heard of or looked into this series check them out. They are one of my all time absolute favorites because of the way that Wendy packs Jesus into them!

We are also beginning Sarah Witcher's Story by Elizabeth Yates. This one shouldn't take us long.

For science both girls continue along with Apologia. Meadow is using Exploring Creation with Botany and Sky is continuing on with Exploring Creation with General Science. We are really liking both of these programs. Both are very thorough and very intense. I ease Meadow's for her age and I push Sky to work at that highschool level.

It is summer! I love the summer and we plan to shorten our school days and hit the pool a few days a week around noon. The girls are really looking forward to the break and I'm hoping the pool will be an enticing enough reward that they finish their school in the mornings to receive it!

I'm very pleased with this school year. We have accomplished a lot and completed several things and I'm looking forward to completing more. Lots of bad habits were untrained and I really look forward to next year!