Endings Mostly

We finished school back on June 13th.  Yes, it was a Saturday.  After taking a much-needed week off to take the boys to the cabin in May, I found myself a week behind.  And so, I crammed two weeks into one week at the end, but I needed an extra day to jam it all in.  Oh, c'mon.  The public schools are doing similar things.  I know.  I used to live there.

Anyway, last week was full to overflowing with jury duty, play dates, a piano recital,  and the OCEANetwork homeschool conference.  Is it any wonder that I only just today accomplished one of our end of the year traditions?  I finally took Luke's picture with his favorite books from the year.  I took Paul's last week sometime.  I'm not even sure which day.  Last week was just one big blur, folks.

So, pictures.  That's we care about.  Right?  Right.  We'll start with Paul and his favorite books from the year.  There are two pictures because I think my son is adorable.

 Lots of books, I know.  He likes books, and we read a lot of great ones every year with Sonlight.  It rocks.

 Same books, different face.  All cute.

This is what happens every time we start talking about favorite books from the year.  He has to stop and reread a few.  September was a long time ago.

And now, through the magic of the digital world, we will pretend I took Luke's picture the same day.  Okay?  Good.


Lots of books.  Luke could not pick fewer than this.  If you don't know what to read to your kids this summer, call me.  I have a few titles to recommend.  ;-)

And just because it cracks me up...the bookshelf with all the books from last year...




And the bookshelf after Luke picked his favorite books:

I have said it over and over.  Sonlight is awesome.

And now a new tradition.  I took a picture of my favorite books from the year.  And I might write a bit about them.  Scroll down if books bore you.  And call me.  Because I might need to get you into a 12 Step Program.



Sticks Across the Chimney by Nora Burglon is the sweet story of a brother and sister, trying to make a living and survive with their now widowed mother in rural Denmark.  Mystery and intrigue are coupled with innocence and ingenuity as they find creative ways to make money while also exploring the ancient Viking tomb on their land.  It's so fun!

Red Sails to Capri by Ann Weil - I'm not kidding...if you haven't read this...stop reading this blog and go get a copy.  It's delightful.  A boy living on the island of Capri welcomes three foreign men to his father's inn.  One seeks adventure.  One seeks beauty.  And one seeks to explain a mystery to the world.  What they discover together accomplishes all three.  I. love. this. book.

Catching Their Talk in A Box by Betty M. Hockett is the biography of Joy Ridderhof, a woman who traveled all over the world making recordings of the Gospel in different languages.  Her dependence on the Lord for all things and her willingness to allow God to change her plans impressed and convicted me.  Yes, this book was part of a homeschool curriculum meant to instruct my children.

Peter the Great by Diane Stanley - Did you know that Peter the Great traveled to Europe and worked as a common laborer for part of his life?  This picture book taught me that and plenty more about a very important Russian Tsar.  I would NEVER know this stuff if I didn't homeschool.

Michelangelo by Diane Stanley - Another amazing picture book through which I learned the great artist didn't really like painting and considered himself more a sculptor than a painter.  Dang.  Better than that, when one of the religious uppity ups criticized him for painting too many naked people, he added the dude to one of his paintings...naked, of course.  WHAT?!?  For real.  Don't mess with Michelangelo, people.

Good Queen Bess by Diane Stanley - Last picture book.  Elizabeth I was awesome.  I think I knew this before I read this book, but hearing the story of how she inspired the troops before the fight with the Spanish Armada...well...it was inspiring!

The Door in the Wall by Maguerite De Angeli - The story of a knight's son stricken by illness in the Middle Ages who loses the ability to walk, thus bringing his entire identity into question.  Without the ability to become a knight, what will he become?  A poignant and meaningful story that prompted important conversations about what defines us as people.

Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski is the story of two families struggling against poverty in Florida at the turn of the century.  The feud that is brought on by a difference of opinion about property rights again sparked great conversations in our house.  Who talks about stuff like that with their nine and seven year old?!?

The Little Riders by Margaretha Shemin - A young girl and her grandfather hide the town's treasure, The Little Riders, from the Nazis during the WWII occupation of Holland.  Suspenseful but not scary, we read the bulk of this book in one sitting!  And I cried at the end because freedom and liberty are beautiful things.

Okay.   End book reports.  :-)  On to the piano recital!

Luke's piano recital was a week ago.  He did great.  I took before and after pictures, but no during pictures.  I was actually waiting backstage for our duet.  :-)

 Luke points out something on his program to his seat buddy, whom he has known since they were two.  For real.

 Smiling for the camera.

After the recital with Mrs. Fox.  We love this woman.

A few more pictures because I took them and they are fun.  This is my friend and me at the OCEANetwork homeschool conference together this past Friday.  We are in the vendor hall.  It might be one of my favorite places on the planet.  

Then on Saturday, Erik and I took a selfie together...in the vendor hall...again.  YES, we attended sessions about homeschooling!  But we also spent lots of time in the vendor hall shopping!  :-)

And this is me with three other dear women whom I adore.

Okay.  Last thing.  We had something end this morning that was a little sad.  Paul's beta fish, Jack, died.  We had some tears.  And then we went and bought a new fish for $3.99 at the pet store about a mile from our house.  Meet Blueflame.

We all like the red and purple combo on this guy. And he is adjusting nicely to life as a Bangsund. :-)

First Ever Standardized Test

Luke took his first ever standardized test today.  And not that these matter, but in the homeschooling world it's the law.  They must be taken certain years and this was Luke's first year of required testing.  Oh, friends.  I won't lie.  I was a little unsure how this would go.  He had never seen a scantron sheet before today.  We took a practice test Sunday, and it went great, but seriously.  A new building.  A person he doesn't know.  What would this look like for our boy?

I scheduled the test with Basic Skills, the independent, state accredited testing site located about twenty minutes from our home.  I chose to pay the extra cash for a private test, meaning it would just be Luke and the person administering the test.  People, he gets distracted easily.  Really easily.  SQUIRREL!  Right?  I mean, make the choice that makes sense for your person.

And then I did something that I ALWAYS wanted to do while teaching public school.  During the week that led up to testing, we did LESS school.  Yep.  We reviewed a few key math concepts that had shown up on the practice test, but overall, he did less seatwork this week than usual.  It was glorious.  We went on play dates.  He read books for pleasure.  (First three Redwall novels in three days. Perhaps a nine year old record?) Nobody would have guessed it was his testing week.  Perfect.

After a decent night's sleep, some piano practice (music relieves stress, people) and some protein, we headed out the door this morning with a calculator, a water bottle, and a Kashi bar.  They provide the pencils and scratch paper.  We arrived at 9:47 a.m. for our 10 a.m. testing slot.  After praying in the car for Jesus to give Luke both peace and joy during this process, we headed inside.  There was a little bit of paper work for me, but then it was time.  As Luke headed down the hall, I said, "Have fun, Buddy!"  And I meant it.  We were told he would be done by 11:30 a.m.  Okie dokie!

Paul and I headed out to visit our favorite homeschooling book store, Exodus Books, located about eight minutes from Basic Skills.  I perused the shelves while Paul played with the toys they put out for homeschool kids.  It's one of my very favorite places.  Curriculum I can touch and look though in an environment that is ultra kid friendly.  Happy Mommy.  Sidenote:  Exodus has the best summer reading program ever that includes fabulous grade level book lists.  You don't have to be local to participate.  It's seriously led us to amazing books that we might not have otherwise encountered.

I kept an eye on the time, deciding that I wanted to be back to Basic Skills closer to 11:15 than 11:30.  We put gas in the Volvo, bought a snack sized bag of potato chips for Paul (little brothers need something special on test day, too) and drove back up the hill to collect our Luke.

Upon our arrival, Jenny Bumcrot, the test adminstrator and co-founder of Basic Skills, popped out to tell me Luke had finished early.  She could tell I wasn't surprised.  She smiled at me, letting me know that she told Luke to triple check his work on each section.  That's how fast he finished.  I thanked her and she made a comment about how quickly he reads.  I didn't tell her about the Redwall read-a-thon (over 1,200 pages) this week.

I just laughed and said, "Yep."  What else do you say?  Then the surprise of the day came.

"His results will be available in just a few minutes."  One of the bonuses of paying for a private test is that you have immediate results.  I had been completely unaware of this fact.  So we sat in the lobby and made small talk with the other family there while we waited.

Sure enough within just ten minutes, our fabulous test administrator arrived with a basket of prizes from which both the test taker and the little brother were encouraged to pick.  She then invited the boys to sit  in the lobby (stocked with books and toys) while we stepped down the hall to go over Luke's results.

Guess what?  Luke did really well.  He took the California Achievement Test/Terra Nova 2 and scored in the 94th percentile overall for reading, language arts, and math.  And this dear, sweet woman who has been doing this a very long time, looked at me and said, "I just love to see children doing well.  You are doing a wonderful job teaching him."  I nearly wept.  She's an expert in her field, folks.  She sees homeschooled kids all day every day.  And those words of encouragement were gold to me.  Absolute gold.

We headed out to the lobby with Luke's test scores neatly folded into an envelope.  They will get filed in case the Educational Service District requests them.  Check that box for the year.  But we gained so much more from this experience.  Mrs. Bumcrot told Luke he did great and then encouraged him to thank me for being such a great teacher.  He grinned and gave me a big hug.  Good enough, Buddy.

We ate celebratory lunch with Daddy at Subway and took a trip to the park and the library to pick up four more Redwall novels.  Yep.  It's summer.  Wanna see a picture I took at the park of the test taker?  Sure you do.

I love the look on his face here.  Contemplative.  Quintessential Luke.