This afternoon my daughter finished ninth grade with flying colors!
In May, she finished Algebra I and Biology I.
Lots of books despite vision issues
She completed Dialectic history and Rhetoric government (studying primary source documents like Declaration of the Rights of Man, Code Napoleon, Alex Toqueville’s Democracy in America all the way to Plessy v. Ferguson) and philosophy in June. Whew!
Today she completed Rhetoric literature, studying all the major poets, Pride and Prejudice, Faust, Les Miserables, The Scarlet Letter, Billy Budd, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and Crime and Punishment among other famous works.
Latin III is still a work in progress but that’s okay.
Perseverance feels great
I asked her how it felt to be DONE instead of merely giving up.
She got a big smile on her face and said it felt GREAT!
She also said she learned A LOT!
Dialectic history and rhetoric literature
At the beginning of the school year, we struggled with how much rhetoric books to read.
After analyzing the books, we finally decided to remain at dialectic level for history but move up to rhetoric for everything else.
IEW key to rhetoric history
Quite frankly, the use of IEW helps us amp the dialectic history to rhetoric, since IEW teaches us how to express our ideas.
Honestly the history curriculum’s list of rhetoric history books are totally collegiate type books!
Not sure that is the best use of time when the writing and math need to be the focus.
Throughout the year I guided her with anything she needed help with and by mid-year she became quite independent in her work.
Although her reading speed is not fast, she understood much of what she read.
Audible and iPod helped her conquer books
To help her read all her thick literature books, I subscribed to Audible.
It’s an extra expense but well worth it.
The audible was wonderful in helping my daughter get through her books.
I also purchased an iPod so we could download the books for her to listen to on the road.
We go to Colonial Williamsburg a lot which is a 2.5 hour drive one way in good traffic.
She has difficulty focusing while reading because of the difficulty, so the iPod on our last drive down worked like a charm!
Awanas
Awanas is even conquered, though no awards program for them to attend.
Since we moved from San Antonio at the end of February, the leaders knew we’d have difficulty connecting with an Awana program while house hunting, with only two months left in the Awana year.
So once a week my kids phone called their Awana leaders to recite verses while I supervised.
They were passed and given credit for finishing their books by the end of the school year.
And I have all the paperwork to pass on to the new Awana leaders next school year.
My son finished 7th grade weeks ago
By the way, my son finished with seventh grade weeks ago!
Not bad for a unique school year, where they learned a lot about real estate when we moved from Texas to Virginia.
Now the focus is on vacation! We are taking one complete month off from studies to relax before we start 8th and 10th grades. Lots of swimming, a trip to the beach, and possibly more Colonial Williamsburg!
Only a few more years before they leave the nest which will be bittersweet.
