Better late than never, right?

*****Well! Due to the whole picture download/computer illiterate issues that exist in my brain, I'm just NOW getting this post from APRIL done?!?!? You still love me , right? :D




 I'm going to post some pictures of the kids' end of year celebration (from April!) with our homeschool group.  You can click on the various classes if you are interested in what each kiddo's tutor had to say through the year.  There's a national website too. Anyway.....

I had the privilege of tutoring the Journeyman 1 class! Let me just take a moment to marvel at these amazing kids! Ondepenya was in my class this year (that's the age group I had). They dubbed themselves the "Wolfpack" because I had been calling them my "chickens" or "bunnies" and it became a big joke and well..... these kids just have such a unique identity and love for each other and learning! I was a blessed tutor.

Each class did a short skit to demonstrate some aspect of our studies. We all learn the same information it's just that different age levels take it to different extents.

 Glitter's class had beautiful posters that demonstrated some of the things we studied in science.

Warrior's class did some hand motions along with some of the history songs we learned! (They were soooooooooo cute!) That's his best friend in the suit coat. Popcorn has a thing for dressing up!

Our class, with Ondependya, sang the grammar songs from the year. Wish I had a picture of the whole class but I was not behind the lens at the time. I was on stage with them!

The big kids, the Masters along with Electron, chanted some math prompts and formulas and that sort of thing.... military style! It was quite impressive. Amazing how much a "trained to memorize" mind can accomplish when it is made out to be fun. He has benefited immensely from the amount of information he has committed to memory! It has made things like math and grammar a breeze and has given him a leg up when studying science/history... ok, I'm, stopping rambling.:)


At the end of the ceremony, kids are given awards for memorization. There are different levels but only one gets "official recognition". It's called Memory Master.  That's a kid that has memorized all 24 weeks of work in every subject and can repeat it back verbatim without any help/clues/hints. They go through a rigorous "proofing" (testing) with 1-mom, 2- a different mom, 3- their own tutor, 4- the director. If they pass they get a trophy (and they have all the info packed into their heads for later reference! I've also noticed that it shows up on the Cat5 test.)

Anyhow, this is my goal each year. The older kids are old hat at this. Been there, done that and it has proven useful on more than one occasion. "Hey, Electron, how many feet are in a mile?" or "What year did World War 2 start? Did x,y,z start before or after?" Yes these and many more are all questions I've needed answered on more than one occasion and they happily chant the needed song to find the answer.

8 subjects, 24 weeks each, 3 year cycles of information (We repeat every 3 years so that the info. gets really pounded in.) I love it! I never knew all that I didn't know! Math, grammar, history, geography, Veritas Press timeline cards (sequential world history), science, latin, ... we also do science experiments, art and music but it's not for testing.

This year, all 4 kids were gunning for it. Due to the chaos and interruptions of house hunting, only 2 actually made it. If i'd had about 2 or 3  weeks left to continue drilling all 4 would ave gotten it. The younger 2 were a bit crushed but they got "Memory Excellence" medals instead because they had 5 or more subjects perfectly memorized.  Latin and geography were just a bit tricky. Geography involved locating countries and drawing in cities/mountain ranges/rivers/canals on a blank map - tough work for an 8 and 5 yr old! But they almost had it. Next year, next year. As you can imagine, it is A LOT OF WORK! One year I actually counted up each bit of info and it was crazy. (if you're curious, YES! I can do it too except for the timeline cards. I wouldn't make them do anything I didn't try to do myself. Though they are much better at it than me. My class LOVED to test me to stump me. :D)

Ok: pictures of the 2 that did it!

Electron, Memory Master in all 3 cycles! You go baby, I'm so proud of you!

Glitter, 2 time Memory Master "whoot-whooting" at Electron's best friend who was a first timer after a lot of blood, sweat and tears!!!!!!! You go Batman! We are ALL!!!!! so proud of you!!!!!

And all 4 of them at home with me after the hooplah had settled! Warrior and Ondepenya were given their medals by me at the after party. There is no "official" recognition for "almost" getting it, but the moms all did something for those who passed a (or in our case, several) subject perfectly.

Anyhow, for a homeschool kid, this is the only event, school wise, that gets attention so I just had to share the pictures and kuddos to my kids who really did achieve gold medal status in my eyes this year. During a year of chaos, heartbreak, and lack of stability.... they climbed Mt. Everest (and can draw/locate it on a map- hahahaha) and I'm VERY proud of how hard THEY worked!


**** Since I'm posting this AFTER the new year has started, I can tell you that they are all busting their tails to get that trophy! It's too cute, and what a blessing..... I don't have to ask twice when I say, "Come to the table to review!"  They just come with smiles and are so far, nailing it! Warrior is even drawing his maps he though he still can just point at testing time! We are so blessed to be a part of this group.