Report This

I know I don't speak for all homeschooling parents, but for the past couple of years, when I hit May, things start to unravel just as I need to button everything up for the reports. Our schedule becomes incredibly complicated, the warmer afternoons are ideal for just running around outside, and I'm tired, oh so tired.

But, even though I want to just take a nap, in my head, I mentally go through all the items on my school district's required reports for Belly, my 2nd grader:

Did we do art this year? Well, yeah, I can easily recall paintings, and drawings, and toothpick-and-gum drop creations, beaded jewelry, clay people, tribal paper-bag masks. But art history? Well, no, not really. But boy, I'm glad I didn't waste time teaching her the whole "crazy Van Gogh chopped off his ear" story.

Now what about music? We have a piano! I review CD's of kids' music, and she has to listen to them too. She even used to sing in the church choir until that interest sort of waned (funny, right at the same time as my interest in church).

Science? Meh. . .we did ok.

Social Studies? I still don't even know what that is.

Foreign Language? Ummmmmmmmmmmm. . .I say "Je ne sais pas" and "Mon Dieu!" a lot around the house; does that count?

We've done awesome in the "Go Outside and Play" subject area (oh, wait, that's called "PE" in report-language). We've made real progress in Math (after a very rocky start). We kick ass in History, if I do say so myself. Reading & Grammar? Not bad, not bad. Oh, crap, Spelling. . .she's up to Lesson 9! Out of 30. Whoops.

Call me cocky, but I think it'll be ok. I know she's learned things this year, even if they don't all neatly fit into "subject areas".

And, really, I need to relish this reporting season. Next year, I'll have two kids to report.