For now... I am still making minor adjustments here and there, but I have started doing something called "chunking" with our lessons. This does not mean I am over feeding my children. We have also started to make a few other adjustments with the lessons.
What is "chunking"? For instance. A science unit might be split into three lessons. One will be an introduction, explaining vocabulary, offering concepts. The second may be a workbook page and the third a hands on activity or experiment. Instead of doing these in short bursts, both children agreed it would be more fun to do it all at once. We like this for three reasons. One is that my children really do like the 'hands on' activities in science. The enjoy scooping dirt, planting seeds, filling test tubes, wearing goggles...all of it. The second reason is that they are able to see the whole picture when we do the entire set. They can read the information, write down their new vocabulary words, complete the worksheet and then do a physical demonstration of the work at the same time. The third reason, is this makes it easier to schedule. I set up the entire unit at once, rather than pieces each day. As I still have a job, we have less to carry to my office if we schedule these activities on my off days. We are finding that History works better this way also. Later this week, we will do this with an Art unit to see how that goes also.
Now, for the other adjustments. Since this is new to us, I did initially recommend to my children that even if they felt confident about the material, that they should work through each lesson before taking the "assessment". (The school word for TEST) Now that we are getting more comfortable navigating the material, I can see that we will be adjusting this method as of tomorrow. I have been skimming the material this evening and have found three assessments that I'm sure my younger child can simply take the test and move on. I have found at least two for my older child also. I am planning to let them simply look through it and decide for themselves tomorrow. If they know the material well enough, they can take the test without doing all of the "busy work" and move to the next one.
This second adjustment will show me two things. One of our teachers is concerned we may need to move up an entire grade level. I am hoping to see how this child does. If she still races through, and has no obstacles, then maybe the teacher is correct. (I'm nervous about this and need to really be sure before making such a leap.) Also, this will combat some of the frustration. Both children have expressed that they do not want to do the practice work that leads up to the test. If they do indeed know the material, moving ahead will lead to more challenging work. If they do not, both are reasonable enough to realize they may need the lessons.
So, here is the plan. First, we will complete the composition assignments. Next, I will show them the Math pages for their lessons and let them look at the objectives for the assessments. If they are confident they can score at least 80%, I will let them take the assessment. This is really a 'no fail' situation as the worst that can come from it is they will have to complete the pages to learn the material and then take the assessment again.
Flexibility is really a wonderful thing.
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