School

Except for two math problems, Peter is done with school for the year! We can now say of the year what he used to say of the day, when he was little, "I'm done with school for the day; yay, yay, yay, yay!" I've even finished putting his portfolio together, and gotten the record sheets filled in, ready for our review. I have a secret though: I decided not to do grades for him this year. It's not required, and he's not in high school. And I can just tell him, "Wow, you did great!" ...which he did.

Not so easy with Robert, who's a junior. That's where I'm keeping my old reputation. After we'd lived in Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky for a few years, we went back to Los Angeles for a visit. A homeschooling friend asked me how school was going, and I told her I was behind on the grading. She said, "Margaret Mary, you're always behind on the grading!" Oh. Everyone knew but me. I always thought it was this month, this year, not "always". Planning, you know, is just so much more fun. But, hey, maybe next year I will keep up on the grading. And maybe next year things will go smoothly with no major interruptions/disasters in our lives, too. Hmm, let's not think too much about next year at the moment, huh?

One thing struck me today as I was looking over Robert's first three years of high school. This is our first year in a state where we register with an umbrella school to keep us legal. And it dawned on me this morning that they do just that. What are required subjects for graduation, and what are required items for record-keeping, are not necessarily the same as what's most helpful for getting into college...at least based on my past experience in another state. So, in addition to filling out these forms, I'm going to make up my own "expanded transcript", highlighting what the courses contain...in case we ever need this type of documentation again. Besides, it's kind of fun...if I ever get through with the grading.