Wednesday, June 1, 2016

First Grade Wrap Up

It's about that time to review what went well and not over the last year.

First, the good:
  • Science. Wow, the level and amount of science! We finished the first volume of Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding. As we moved into more child-led studies, there hasn't been a session go by without The Kid choosing a science topic. While we haven't left BFSU behind, we've added a lot of other resources - Ellen McHenry has especially been a hit.
  • Handwriting. Finally, after much struggle, The Kid has legible handwriting. Not awesome, but legible. I'm calling it good for now. At the end of last year, I wrote, "But we're still nowhere near being able to do copywork and dictation to start first grade." It took us the whole #@%& year, but she can now do copywork. And I might even attempt dictation in the near future.
  • Changes to our school subjects. I wrote in this post about our six-week blocks of four subjects at a time. The Kid feels that she has real power in her school choices now. I have gained clarity about my educational priorities for her. It's been good.
The not so good:
  • Math. This is really coming back around, but we went into full math meltdown last winter. Over the last five months, we have done no formal/required math. Slowly, slowly, the love of math has been creeping back and our math break is looking a lot mathier.  But I suspect we'll have a balancing act on our hands as we incorporate more math into our days again.
  • Executive Functioning. This wasn't even a term I knew until the last couple years, but oh boy, do I know it now. It includes a pile of abilities that The Kid struggles mightily with and make me want to pull my hair out. We've been focused on the basics of emotional regulation for months now, and are just barely starting to edge into more focus on time management and focus. This category is going to be a major part of goals for second grade.
I hope the next year has some great things in store for us!

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