I hate this time of year, time for me to write D’s homeschool report and put together a learning plan for next year.
We are in Queensland Australia where state regulations do not involve home visits and moderators. Everything is submitted by post for approval.
This year I’m feeling feisty, last year’s report was approved successfully so I think I can do this thing OK. I’m going to submit as little as possible and see how it goes. The worst that can happen is they will ask for more information.
So here is part 1, D’s report for English for this year ( school year 3 – 4). I’ve not written a learning plan yet, this is just the actual report. As the year progresses we switched almost exclusively to unschooling with a little bit of Study Ladder thrown in, he quite likes the comprehensions, so long as they are on interesting subjects. He does not write, hardly ever. Do you think it will be approved? Please vote in the comments box below.
Homeschool Report for English Year 3 and 4
Year 3-4
IN 2012 D completed Oxford English Skills for Primary Students book 3. We did this at the end of what would have been year 3 for him to recap what he has learnt and try to find any weaknesses. He had no difficulty with any of the concepts covered in this book. Including parts of speech, phrases, clauses and punctuation.
He has completed Collins Easy Learning Handwriting Practice age 5-7 and taken to using cursive well, he finds it easier than printing. He then progressed to Collins Easy Learning Handwriting Workbook 2 Age 7-9.
He completed Collins Practice in the Basic Skills English Books 1, 2 and 3, ages 7, 8 and 9, covering grammar, punctuation and spelling.
He has been reading a variety of classic and contemporary fiction for enjoyment including some extremely complex novels.
Eg. Christopher Paolini’s Brisinger, Eragon and Eldest
Tolkien’s The Hobbit,
Many Harry Potter books, reading them over and over again.
Michael Morpurgo’s Kensuke’s Kingdom
Asterix and Tin Tin graphic novels.
He has completed many of the Study Ladder black level reading and comprehension exercises with no difficulty whatsoever.
He has encountered multimedia Aboriginal story telling and traditional Indian story telling.
He has read non fiction books such as the Horrible Histories series
He has listening to some classic children’s literature in audiobook format and as read alouds., eg Huckelberry Fin, The Wind in the Willows, The Phoenix and the Carpet.
He has read and performed poetry ( extremely well) and watched video of poets performing their work.
We have watched films derived from quality literature and discussed the authors eg Dickens, Roald Dahl, Jules Verne.
He has read novels that tie in with areas that we have been studying. Eg. Tom Sawyer, Huck Fin, grasping the dialect of the region and the age.
We have not had opportunity to view live stage performances this year, being in an isolated community, last year’s London shows compensated for this.
We have started to learn about Shakespeare, his life, his place in history and some of his plays, using BBC Shakespeare animations.
He continues to read aloud to me intermittently, factual scientific texts in particular, have extended and strengthened his reading vocabulary. His reading is excellent and his vocabulary outstanding.
He started to write his own fantasy novel, he dictated and I transcribed the first chapters. His use of language was brilliant.
He composes his own short poems, raps and songs regularly.
I am very happy with his grasp of, and use of, the English language, I have no concerns whatsoever. He still dislikes the physical act of writing and I see no need to force him, his knowledge and his ability to express himself is obviously extremely good. He gets great pleasure from books and poetry.
UPDATE: This Homeschool Report for English was approved with no conditions.
Kym says
Well done to you.
I wish I could keep mine short and sweet. I can’t help but fill out way more than is expected. Also, it means they have to read through just as much as they send to me and expect me to read through. I figure if we keep them busy reading, the delay keeps them off our back. Really, considering all they ask for is two samples from 3 key learning areas, we’d all be better off just keeping it that simple. I think there is always that lurking feeling that they’ll scrutinise us further if we don’t go above and beyond what they’ve asked for. Who knows, I’ve never taken the plunge but probably because I don’t follow their rules or layout or format anyway, so I justify by writing a novel.
I look forward to hearing your outcome. However, I don’t mind writing my letter-style novel as I get to keep it for my child’s memory journal.
You write yours so precisely to the point and it still sounds very formal and academic. I can’t see it being a problem. And you have the added bonus of just leaving the country – Lucky gal! Thanks for sharing so much.
Anonymous says
Hi Kym! Thanks for being here. Well, we don’t know if it’s going to be accepted, do we? The argument is, school reports are only a few lines, so why should our reports be any longer? At the end of the day, we, the parents, have to be satisfied with what our children are learning, not the HEA, yet we still have to jump through these hoops. Yes, as you say, we will be leaving at some point and I will be switching to the British system, no reports or applications are needed back home. For now I just do my best to be a good homeschooling Mummy, as you do.