July ended with the two birthdays, a trip to the beach, cleaning, mowing, and organizing for the new baby. The baby is now a week late, so we have continued with school, but the kids are anxious for a new baby to snuggle and vacation time again.
Adam is still working on reading quickly but understanding what he reads. That has been a difficulty for him for a long time, but now it is something that he is conscientiously working on. Adam's still one of my right hand men. He's often available to do the dirty work, like clean up trash that an animal got into or sweep goose poop off from the back deck. Adam's in 11th grade and doing alright. He's advanced in most areas and tests well, but really needs to work on learning for good.
Rachel is in the 10th grade. She reads well and knows what she reads. she has started algebra 2 for math and is spending a lot of her day on art and learning to sew. Rachel would rather not do school and has no real academic goals, yet she's quite smart and knows what she reads and learns her math fairly accurately. Rachel's also pretty funny to have around.
Anya is swift and smart and does well with most things that she puts a hand to. Anya is learning to sew and spends a lot of her school day on art. She is really good at drawing and she has made us a new pot holder and a pillowy bed for the baby. Anya is excited to get a newborn baby to snuggle and take care of.
Joseph is struggling to read and know what he reads and to pay attention. But he is really smart and about 3 years ahead for his age, so I am not too worried yet. He just needs to learn to stop wasting his time.
Joshua is reading much better now than he was at the end of the last school year. He would be officially in the 5th grade now. His math is probably at the 6th grade level and his reading at the beginning of 4th grade. Josh is interested in all things bugs and lizards. He is also a very good artist and draws new pokemon that he makes up all the time.
Arwen is officially in the 4th grade and her reading is more likely at a 7th or 8th grade level. She is right on par for 4th grade and maybe a little accelerated. She doesn't complain too much about school and generally works pretty quickly to get her assignments done.
Suzy is officially in the 2nd grade, but her reading is still at a kindergarten level and her math is probably the end of the 1st grade. For reading, I just restarted her Good and the Beautiful from last year and we are moving slowly through it. But one of the nice things about homeschool is that you can work where your child is at and not move them beyond where they are ready or keep them back when they are ready to move ahead. Suzy is moving along a lot more quickly this year. Hopefully, she'll continue to improve.
Sam is pre-k and learning his alphabet and numbers quickly. He really likes to be read to. I had a funny conversation with Sam the other day. He asked me if I liked dogs and then asked me if I had ever thought about getting a dog. Right then I thought the conversation was funny to be having with a 4 year old, but I told him I had thought about it some to breed dogs for money. Sam then said, "Mom, do not get I dog. I HATE DOGS!!" That was not where I thought the conversation was going. I thought that he would be asking for a dog, not making sure that I would not get a dog.
Gideon likes me to read to him. He's usually pretty decent during the school day and has begun getting his own paper and pencil when school begins, to draw circles and things. Gideon is always playing make believe and always making bomb and gun noises. The other night, he was lying between John and I in bed. He had his fingers bumping into each other and making exploding noises and then suddenly dropped off to sleep.
