Monday was our final day of Classical Conversations for the school year.
Luke (7th grade) and Levi (9th grade) had their last classes of Challenge A and Challenge 1, respectively. It was a long haul with few tangible breaks for both of them, Levi in particular, and I wouldn’t say we finished strong, but we finished. Gasping for air and crawling on bloodied knees across the finish line. Okay, it wasn’t that bad… Challenge is a stellar program, but we battle the lazies at our house in a big way. Diligent and focused we are not.
Leif (5th grade) also had his final testing for his first year of Memory Master. The first three tests (or "proofs") involved reciting from memory a 160 point timeline of historical events from ancient to modern (this alone takes a solid 10-15 minutes), 24 history sentences covering people and events from Charlemagne to the end of apartheid, 24 science facts or short lists in ecology and physics, multiplication facts from 1-15 plus squares and cubes, math formulas/conversions/laws, 24 English grammar definitions or lists, 6 Latin verb conjugation endings, plus over 100 geographical locations. Each recitation lasted around 90 minutes, and he had to have it all mastered by the final proof with his tutor. Mondy he had a shorter recitation with the director and passed. He loved every minute of it, and I'm so proud of him!
[Lola learned to read this past year, and that is her own accomplishment (no thanks to her mother). In addition to reading, she also listened to many stories and songs on CD. She did nothing else formal for her kindergarten year other than squirling around on CC community day.]
Tuesday marked our first day of “summer school.” I had planned to stay in my pajamas and watch Netflix all day, but after a morning of complete laziness, the utter disaster that was our house overwhelmed me. It was sunny for once, so we left to explore one of our favorite local spots—a wetland area with trails. I successfully avoided house-cleaning.
Luke and Leif continue piano lessons for a few more weeks. Levi continues an online Tolkien class for a few more weeks. We have a few swim meets coming up for all three boys.
My grand plans for morning Summer Symposium time are not yet solidified, but I do plan to do a great deal of hiking and exploring all spring and summer. Our first official foray happened earlier today despite bad attitudes from one child and his mother. Pictures are forthcoming.
4 comments:
I love your honesty...
I'm struggling to decide what to do next year. My oldest is ready for challenge but we aren't sure it's the right route for her.
Ah... we finished foundations and MM last week. Our community's challenge program has a few more weeks left. I'm so humbled by proofing kids for MM. It is no small feat. Our homeschool curiculum also has about 6weeks left. I'm curious to know what you do in the summer. Do you continue with memory work, math facts, reading, or just give your kids a long break?
We're done with Challenge II on Monday and we are definitely in the gasping for air and bloodied knee stage, lol. The boy who is usually not enthusiastic about his Saturday running sessions (he's on a track team) just gladly went out for a 5-mile run just to get away from debate preparation. He might even add a mile or two, lol! :) Unfortunately, our work is far from over. We still have math to finish up and we're about 8-weeks behind in Latin (we do Latin on our own), but at least we can now buckle down and focus on a few things rather than many.
Our oldest child just finished Challenge A and it was wonderful. There were times when he excelled and other times when he struggled. The curriculum is challenging, diverse and enjoyable. I hope, if you continue with the Challenge years, you and your child experience a rewarding educational endeavor.
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