that is a wrap.

The day that seemed so far away last August….it has arrived. We have wrapped up our school year and celebrated with some of our favorite Chinese food, hot pot. We survived. Another year of homeschooling in the books and I do believe that we all are a bit smarter. At least, I am smarter. That is something to celebrate! (My 5th time through Kindergarten was the charm. I think I might have passed this time!)

Here is a peek at what we accomplished and how much our kiddos have grown.

Little Man: Our Kindergarten graduate (kinda)

Age: 5

We started Kindergarten with this kiddo because he was dying to do school with the other kids and frankly we homeschool so we have the freedom to start when the kids want to learn. Another layer of honesty, he is a busy kid. Giving him things to learn keeps him busy with the rest of us. Win. Win. Now – what to do next fall? My grand plan had been two years of Kindergarten, then he informed me that he had passed kindergarten and sure hoped 1st grade would be more of a challenge. HA! Now, if he could just learn to sit still in a chair. Hmmm.

Favorite subject: Geography. This kid knows crazy facts about the States and can put together a State puzzle faster than I can. Need to know a capital or in what order a State entered the union? Ask Little Man. I am not joking.

What he wants to be when he grows up: A baker or a dragon trainer.

Favorite food: Noodles

Biggest accomplishment: He is well on his way toward reading and knows his basic math facts. He claims knowing how to add and subtract is not an accomplishment – “You just use your fingers. Everyone knows that.”

Little Monkey: Our 3rd Grade Graduate

Age: 9

Favorite subject: Reading and art. Little Monkey also added piano to her list of studies this year. She is whizzing through the first book, but isn’t so sure about playing in front of people for the recital coming in a few weeks.

What she wants to be when she grows up: A baker or a teacher (Not sure what is up with my kids all wanting to bake. I told them I would hire them now!)

Favorite food: Rice

Biggest accomplishment: Learning to read music and completing a special science course that she chose. If I was giving out end of the year awards, “most diligent” would be hers. She is so good about staying focused, going down her list of daily work. She is becoming more and more independent in her work. Maybe that is what I should have put for biggest accomplishment; she is growing in confidence and character.

Roo: Our 6th Grade Graduate

Age: 12

Of all of our children, Roo loves homeschooling the most. I often find her sitting in a corner of her room working away on a school assignment with headphones tuning out the rest of the world.

Favorite subject: Art and piano

Biggest accomplishment: Roo has learned how to use iMovie and is using this new platform to extend her creativity. Many afternoons, you will find her along with her two best friends dressing up for roles in the latest film they are producing. She might be creative, but she also is rock’n sentence diagraming. She can tell you the difference between an IO, DO, OPN and PN faster than any kid I know. Helps to have a daddy who is a whiz at languages. (Have I mentioned that my kids are smarter than I am? Makes homeschooling more and more challenging!)

What she wants to be when she grows up: An artist, film maker, or a beautician.

Favorite food: Broccoli soup and French bread

Soccer Dude: Our 8th grade graduate

Age: 14

This kid will be in High School this fall. What?!# He started his school career going to a Chinese emersion preschool in Michigan. It seems like yesterday…kinda. We have all come a long way since then.

Favorite subject: History

Biggest accomplishment: Surviving online classes with North Star Academy. He took two online classes this year – Math and Language Arts. It was a huge learning curve, but by the end of the year we were getting in the swing of things. We are leaning towards him taking a full course load at NSA next year. It has its pros and cons, for sure, but they offer classes he wants like Latin and advanced science classes.

What I love about homeschooling at this age…the great conversations. There is nothing like sitting down with your teen and hearing their perspective on what went wrong during the Civil War. I love hearing his passion for equality, human rights and what he would do differently if he were in leadership. Add that to his volunteer work with the disabled children at the orphanage….he is going to be a world changer. Okay, I am a proud mom. A proud mom who is struggling thru the teen years, but seeing the beauty of them too.

Favorite food: Coke and candy (Keep’n it real, folks!)

What he wants to be when he grows up: He isn’t sure. Actually, that helps this momma’s heart. He might be entering High School in the fall, but he isn’t ready to launch into the world yet. We still have some time!