Kindergarten Begins...

The start of our new normal has begun today as Luk was introduced to his first few pretest so that I could determine exactly where he was, and so that our evaluator could see our starting point. Today, I put in some basic critical thinking tests in math and reading/phonics. It was a care-free testing so that he could just do his thing. They were built so that he could self-administer, really. It turned out pretty pain free. As he did each one, I let him know that when I give him the tests that it would done like this and this.

The first test: Pre-primer Dolch Sight Word List Assessment

Luk scored 35%; he 18/40 words, which was pretty good this we've been focusing more on phonemes and blends. The sight words that he did know were ones that have been seen in his Explode the Code books and readings that we have done on our own. I wanted to make sure that I didn't push him before this year. I have to remind myself everyday that he is only five years old. This can be quite a challenge when he talks like teenager many times!

The next test I put in front of him was one on a critical thinking basis with the alphabet. Each section was covered once he finished the top sections. 

My husband and I really want to make sure that he knows his stuff, not just something that is routine. In that sheet there are above are blanks in random areas, but the third section is completely empty. Sure, Luk can sing his ABCs, but to write them with no help in the correct order proved that sometimes the Y goes before the X... interesting. Luk scored 34/38 so 89%.

The third sheet is a number sheet with blanks. I only made him do half of it, and he will complete the other half for tomorrow. He also did number recognition from a 1-100 chart (random picks).

He did perfect on it.

We also incorporated Mama Jenn's "Read It, Spell It, Write It" page. He really liked it. So, we will keep on keeping on.

After we did these things, there was 30 minutes of quiet/reading time. So, we had a little Star Wars action going because well, we like Star Wars. Luk was in a battle field mode as we began our day reading the book of Judges. He drew a photo on how the Canaanites had chariots and the Israelites struggled with this:

I think he wanted to pretend some fighting scenes. Logan tagged along (waiting to get him his Education Cubes also from Mama Jenn)

As our day came to climax (dinner making time = stress time) Luk pulled out his US President Flashcards (shocked me). I pulled out our $1 Wal-Mart place mat of the Presidents, and we had a nice matching game going on.

Luk's favorite President: Abraham Lincoln. Why? He was such a good one. (nice)
Luk's bad President: Richard Nixon. Why? He did a bad thing. (Watergate, just in case)
Luk's actor President: Ronald Reagan. Why? He was an actor. (DUH!)

However, we learned a bit about Theodore Roosevelt about the "Teddy" Bear story. As Luk would say, "he didn't kill the bear when he went hunting... I don't know why though." In this we also learned about Pres. William McKinley who was President and Teddy was Vice President. What Luk and I really liked about him was the fact that when he was shot before he died he asked the people around him not to hurt the man that shot him. We were really impressed with that response. I am going to look further into his spiritual life especially after reading this I am curious to see where he stood.

How do we end our school day? We end it with a bit of unschooling in the science area with daddy.

I, also, wanted to share one of the many many many reasons why we love our public library. Our wonderful Mrs. Dee who does story time did a theme on cupcakes... did she know this is Logan's favorite little treat... hmmm...

YUM!!!