It's been awhile since I checked in to report on homeschool progress, but it isn't for lack of activity!
The "Education and Career Planning" class requirements have been fulfilled, and Emily turned her portfolio in to her teacher on Monday (whew!! what a relief!). Interest assessments suggest that Emily would be a world-class executive secretary, but that is not her career goal. She'd like to include teaching in her future plans, and is also interested in the relatively new field of professional organization.
Geometry and English are both at exactly the halfway mark, with 4 weeks yet to go in the semester. She's currently writing a research essay on "Bats" (her choice of topic--she thinks they're "cute").
We've picked up the pace with history, so she can complete the current book and begin the second volume in January, to meet requirements for "World History". We've been taking our time and including lots of writing and projects in history. Now, it will be largely reading and taking tests. It's kind of a shame, but we'll try to enjoy it along the way.
Home ec is going well, and she really likes the Lifepac books. She's in the cooking section right now, and we're enjoying her experiments with new recipes (like ambrosia salad) along with old favorites (macaroni and cheese). At Pathfinders this week Emily sewed a laundry bag.
French is coming along well, and I purchased two simple French readers so she can see what stories in French look and sound like. Excellent though the Rosetta Stone program is, it isn't big on conversational French, so conversing at the beginner level is difficult. Piano and violin are big commitments, and making the time to practice has been a challenge. Youth symphony is a high point each week--the favorite activity. The GROW Bible study will be over this Friday, and although we'll both be sad to see it end, we'll be enormously relieved to be home on Friday mornings, getting schoolwork done.
Emily and I both stay in touch with friends using "Facebook" and "My Space". She's even reconnected with a friend who moved away in 3rd grade, and a couple early childhood friends who moved away several years ago. She also stays in touch with a few friends from "Pacific Quest" by way of "My Space".
The schedule is still crazy, and burnout is looming. We're in the midst of a mid-term "slump". It's hard for Emily to get out of bed these chilly mornings, and hard to keep the motivation going. We find ourselves pondering the question of what to do next year for school. . .and we don't have answers. Busyness is not lacking, and "boredom" isn't a problem. It's more a lack of "fun". The church social circle has become--for Emily, anyway--far too small. We're grateful that 2 of her 3 best friends are still in that circle, and getting together with them has saved her from ennui.
