Homeschool Notes: The End of the School Year

Saturday was a typical Saturday morning. The kids pulled the video game systems out of a box in the basement and brought them up to our tv for their once a week 30 minute turn. Makayla was working. Jason was doing college assignments. Joseph and I ran errands (post office and library) before going to Aldi for some fresh fruits and veggies.

In the afternoon my sister and I took off for our very first trip to IKEA. Recently a family from church passed a toddler bed frame down to us, but it was in need of a new mattress. It turns out this wasn't a toddler bed, it was a junior size bed at IKEA that has a special mattress size. This means Tobias will be able to use this bed for several more years. You may remember that our 7 sons share the master bedroom - with two triple bunk beds and Tobias' toddler mattress on the floor after his last frame broke because of #boys. Space is at a premium to preserve floor space for building with Legos. My sister and I were able to find the correct size mattress, sheets, and a waterproof cover for less than $90 total. We also realized that IKEA is a wonderful place to wander and gather ideas and plan to go back again.

Sunday was a sweet Sabbath day. Church was uplifting, with wonderful talks and lessons I needed to hear. We arrived home hungry and worked together to make tacos, cut fruit for fruit salad, and eat. There was some game playing in the afternoon: Checkers, Labyrinth, Dr. Microbe. Makayla got senior pictures taken by a sweet friend at church. I'll share some soon. After dinner several of the kids sat down to play Hero Kids together.

Monday began with quiet time for me at 6am (pretty normal, I just don't usually write it down) and then the usual morning line up. School is winding down SO quickly here. Kids are diving into the last of the lessons and books with gusto most of the time. I have not announced the official last day of school, they just all know we are close. (Psst… our last day is Friday! Can you hear my happy squeal?)

In the afternoon I went to see Avengers: Endgame with Emma. She had already gone Friday with Jason and a couple siblings and wanted to use her Christmas gift card to go see it again. She is my Marvel fan and she had spent the weekend talking all about the movie. I was perfectly content to wait to see the movie when it comes out on DVD. When she asked if I would go with her I couldn't say no. So we sat in a theater for 3.5 hours this afternoon. I laughed, had happy feels, and sad ones. I cried right alongside my girl as the movie unfolded. It was worth it to dive into this interest of hers.

Tuesday was my birthday. It was just a normal day with homeschool in the morning and 5 doctors appointments mostly in the afternoon. Jason had another checkup with his surgeon and is cleared to go back to work in two weeks. Hooray! We will miss having him home, but it will be good to have an income again.

Wednesday we told the kids our last day of school is this Friday. There was much cheering in the house. Now, let me be clear, we started our school year on August 13, 2018 - 38 weeks ago. In Ohio homeschoolers do not have a required number of days or weeks to homeschool. We have a guideline of 900 hours and that runs from the beginning of one academic year to the next. Because we homeschool, we have flexibility to accrue hours of learning on weekends, days off, holidays, vacations, and during the summer. While my kids are excited for 'summer vacation', they already know that after a couple weeks off in May they will each choose personal goals for the summer. They will be required to practice math 2 days a week and read at least 3 days a week. The goal is simply to maintain skills and enjoy stories.

Makayla decided to do all the rest of the week's lessons today since she is off work. She is officially finished homeschooling and it has been one long, amazing journey. I'm grateful for every day of it!

Thursday Daddy held down the home and family while Mason and I spent 5.5 hours on a check up with his eye surgeon. Mason had double eye surgery 3 years ago and everything is stable. Hooray! He ordered new glasses.

Friday was the last day of our school year. We snuggled up and read. There was science to talk about with the middle schoolers. The elementary group's first two butterflies hatched. People worked on stories they are writing. It was a good day.

It is now Saturday morning. I will start going through portfolios with each child today individually. We will reminisce over the school year together and see their progress. I will write down notes about what they loved and what they didn't. I will ask for ideas of things they want to learn about next year, or different ways they want to learn. Then we will pack away their books. These portfolios will be evaluated by an Ohio licensed teacher according to Ohio's homeschool laws. It is the last step before the school year is truly 'over'.