Testing

Today was our annual testing day.  None of us really like it, but it has to be done to satisfy the state requirements.  I have explained all this to the kids:  this isn't a true measure of what we've learned this year, this doesn't measure how you can cook or care for animals, and that it certainly is not a measure of your worth.

It was still a rough day for a couple of the kids, but we had some positive stuff come out of it.   For the first time, Peter was able to finish his entire reading sections in the time allotted - that's never happened before!  Caroline finished all her math and felt pretty good about it! Victoria was lucky to finish strong - she got pretty bored at the end of the reading part - but this was her first time having to read all the instructions herself.  Jonathan - well, he smoked it.  Always does!

The kids understand the necessity of the testing, and they're taking it well.  I'm so glad they enjoy homeschooling enough to work through it!

Vitamins

I recently took my oldest to the doctor for some acne treatment - it's pretty bad - and the doctor commented that many times, acne is better in the summer than the winter.

We returned home and while we were talking about what needed to be done, he said, "maybe I should start taking vitamin D since acne is better in the summer than the winter."

Holy cow - he's been listening!