Evaluation

We visited with out-of-town family last night, to celebrate my niece's graduation from college. (It seems like just yesterday she came to town to go to school. And, it seems like just yesterday that I graduated from the same school.) Anyway, my sister-in-law asked a little bit about homeschooling and was wondering how it was going. She wanted to know if I was on track or something along those lines.

I told her we are about a year behind in our curriculum but that I really wasn't concerned because the curriculum we have used, since first grade, has fourth graders reading Plutarch's Lives and full Shakespeare plays. I am excited about the Shakespeare plays because I just got Henry V in the mail and the book has the play written by Shakespeare on one page and on the opposite page it has a modern translation "that anyone can understand." I can't wait to read it! (I hated Brit Lit in high school.)

Anyway, this past Wednesday we went to the Audubon exhibit in the morning and then spent the afternoon watching a local tree service take down our neighbor's tree, that had been damaged by a down burst, in the last big storm we had.

The kids loved all the trucks and the cranes and watching each guy do his own assigned part to successfully and safely take the tree down. The cut off limbs looked like big pieces of broccoli flying through the air on the end of the crane.

One man got his foot stuck under a big branch. When we talked with his co-worker, to see if he needed a cold drink or some aspirin, his co-worker said he thought he was OK but wasn't exactly sure, because he didn't speak English. (Oh, what an education the kids were getting.)

We watched a backhoe looking things move huge branches around. We watched a big dump truck-like-thing pick up the big branches and put them in the back of the truck. We watched another man run around the dump truck-like-thing with a chainsaw and cut all the over hanging branches. The kids questioned everything. And watched everything.

As I was saying to my neighbor what type of unique school day we had, she mentioned that it probably wouldn't do them much good on any type of standardized test that the schools have to take. Maybe. Maybe not. Thankfully that isn't a consideration while I teach and they learn.

The one thing I love about homeschooling is, my kids are not evaluated by a test or a teacher that has to meet certain criteria to determine whether or not they are learning. I believe the kids are learning skills and information that will help them succeed in life, no matter what they are lead to do.

I don't think I have honestly, ever been, truly concerned about their education, or whether or not they are getting enough. Or the right thing. I just know, that I know, that I know, they are getting the best education for them. And that's enough for me . . .