We finished off our last month of school for the 2021-2022 school year. The whole month of May, we did a biology class for everyone excepr Susan. Susan had the days off and did her school with me in the late afternoons and early evenings. I learned a few things from this class. First, Adam and Joseph will compete with eachother and they will excell and try harder to be on top. Also, Joseph will learn things of he has tests and quizzes. The same seems to be true for Adam. Rachel will try harder when she has tests too, though to a much lesser degree than Adam and Joseph.
Anya, I think dislikes the tests and tends to learn the same amount with tests versus without tests. But with all that, this means that the future holds plenty of tests and quizzes and grades and final grades for all of my homeschool students. I had stayed away from tests for the most part, but apparently that was a bad idea. My kids do better when they have frequent tests and quizzes to measure their progress. At one point, during the month, Joseph said to me, "I know that we aren't supposed to and that Rachel really doesn't like it, but I think that biology is interesting," I am glad that he has enjoyed.
Ruth has joined the new and local singles ward. She was called as the second counselor in the relief society her second week. They always have activities and classes and sports. I think that they meet together about 4 times a week. Ruth does not attend everything. I think that she goes on average twice a week. She seems happy anout that, and I am glad.
Kate will not attend the singles ward. She has no interest in socializing or in being in a ward apart from her family. I am still trying to get our records into the close ward. I need to contact some people that I have never spoken to. As it stands, we are fairly welcome in the ward, but the bishop is not allowed to simply more our records. Ruth and I have been praying that this change will happen soo. I would like Josh, Arwen, and Susan to all get baptized. I would like Johnny and Kate to get their temple work completed and for the teens to be able to do baptisms for the dead in the temples.
John has been doing a lot of math and photography and how cameras work with Joseph and Adam. At first, Adam and Joseph were not enjoying it. But now, they are doing a lot on their own. Adam turned his window into a camera and got the pictures of what is outside of his window captured on the walls. Adam and Joseph have also been taking a lot of really nice pictures. I have included a few of their photos from our yard.
We've still been playing outside everyday for several hours. Soon it will be too hot to do that. But Gideon loves it outdoors and many of the kids have things that they like to do outside. Johnny and Adam have been gathering up the boys for nearly daily soccer games.
The kids have also been playing their lego game almost daily. That is one things that Gideon likes to do with all of his brother and sisters.
Arwen and Susan have gotten their American Girl dolls out again and have been playing with Rachel and Anya and Ruth and Kate when they can get them.
I have been writing again. I have been trying to get more homeschool curriculum written and up for sale. I think that I will have a new high school essay writing curriculum written by the end of this week. Then it will be time to edit it and make and appendix for it. Then I will put in some drawings and then get it up for sale. I am guessing that it will be ready to sell in three weeks if I can work steadily.
Eliza is 9 months and she has been walking around the furniture. She stands without assistance and she has taken her first two steps a couple of times now. She also says "yes" or "yea" very clearly and meaning yes and she is clear with her no's. Sometimes she says, "nun, nun. nun," and sometimes she shakes her head no.
Sam told me that if I don't let him play starfall everyday, then he won't remember his alphabet. I do let him play, but not as much as he would like.
Gideon is starting to go to the bathroom by himself, though it is clear that his preference is that I drop everything as soon as he tells me that he needs to go and sit in the bathroom with him as long as he wants to stay. I am slowly working away from that, and I am looking forward to have my 12th child independent in the bathroom. He has been potty trained since February, though.
So the kids have finished the school year and some things that I wanted to change have. Adam and Rachel read without being told to read. Sometimes I even find Rachel on the couch early in the morning or late at night reading a book. Adam reads every evening and feels wrong when he doesn't. Joseph is starting to find joy in learning and confidence in his abilities to learn things and to take tests.
Josh can read better, though not as good as I would like him to for the end of 5th grade. But he has had to struggle thorugh dyslexia and I think that he is doing well considering. Susan is starting to read. She is picking up kids books and reading them on her own. I think by the end of next year, she will be a reader. Susan's journey learning to read has been a lot like Kate's, I think. I held Susan back a year. She redid first grade. I have always been against that, but Susan really needed to get some foundational things solid. She needed to redo the first grade. If she catches up at some point, I will officially move her up a grade.
Arwen reads well and can do her math perfectly well, but I think that she needs to work on thinking things out and really trying to understand them. She is on the edge of being a very smart girl, but she needs to put in more effort and thought into what she does and she needs to pay better attention. She has finished the 4th grade.
In May, all of our chickens were killed by coyotes. I bought 15 new chicks just before I realized that all of our ducklings were sick. Now, all but one of our ducklings have died. I have kept the chicks separate and in the garage. Two of them have died and we have had them for two weeks now. We just has 2 gosslings and 9 ducklings hatch from the incubator. One of those ducklings died. But it was not sick, it was born smaller and weaker. We're praying that this new batch and most of the chicks make it to birdie adulthood. I never new how acquainted we would be with death by raising birds. It just is. I have tried so many things to improve their situations with food and vitamins and big spaces and small spaces and separating them and so many things, but sometimes baby birds die and sometimes baby birds get sick and die and the sickness spreads.
Anyway, here's the grades complated. Adam completed 11th grade, Rachel 10th, Anya 8th, Joseph 7th, Joshua 5th, Arwen 4th, Susan 1st, and Sam pre-k. When we start beack in July Adam will be a senior in high school, Rachel a junior, and Anya a freshman. Joseph will be in 8th grade, Josh 6th, Arwen 5th, Susan 2nd, and Sam Kindergarten.
