Halfway Through Kindergarten!

There is much we would like to share about our reasons for homeschooling and the method we chose to do it, but this post is a celebration. We are halfway through our first year!!! This morning we officially finished week eighteen of thirty-six weeks of kindergarten. Sarah and I are feeling triumphant!

Dave asked her over dinner to think about how long it had been since she started school and then imagine that she has that much school left. She naturally said that it had been a loooooong time since we started :)

Here is a sample of her big writing assignment for the week. This was the prompt:

C: Thank-you Note

Are your children grateful? Are you working to instill in them a servant’s heart that’s always full of gratitude? Use today’s assignment to talk to your children about all they have to be thankful for.

When you’re ready, have your children write a thank-you note to someone. It could be to a friend for a gift or a relative for a nice visit. If your schedule works out well, have your children write thank-you notes for Christmas presents received.

Remember: At this level, they should dictate to you what they want to write. You, then, will write out carefully, in precursive script, what they want to say. Finally, let them copy it onto wide-ruled paper, which they can then decorate to make it into “stationery.”

You’ll want to help them understand the standard personal letter format, which should include the following: the date, a salutation, the body of the letter, and a closing, such as “Yours truly.” If possible, show them a recent letter that someone has sent to you. [I showed her one from Grandma Lynda. Thanks for the note, Grandma!] If necessary, you can even show them junk mail you’ve received. What’s important is teaching them the important parts of a personal letter.

To evaluate their efforts, simply look to see that they’ve clearly expressed their gratitude. If they added interesting details, that’s great! But it’s good enough if they were able adequately to express what they’re thankful for.

She worked really hard, and this was her note:

"Thank you for taking me on dates, just me and you.
I really liked the time we went to the mall to play with trains." 

She put it on dear dad's pillow and the next morning, he had a note for her :)

"I want you to know how much I love you.
I really like taking you places,
and can't wait to take you to McDonalds soon for ice cream."

I am most thankful at this halfway point to see her improvement. She is really learning and it is so neat to watch her grow.