Getting our grove back

I'm proud to say that we are getting our homeschool groove back.  It's been a challenge at times, but we are starting to find our place.   Part of the struggle was trying to figure out where they were academically.  We couldn't just pick up where we left off.  I'm not sure why I thought it would be that simple.  

I'm proud to say that Lacie has officially caught up, academically, to where she was before our public school experience. She was well into her first grade books last summer but attended kindergarten last fall. Though her reading level only dropped a little, she forgot most of the phonetic blends (fr, br, spr, etc.) and rules. She also needed a major math review.   At first, everything was "I don't know." or, "I can't do that". Now she has regained her confidence.  

Gracie and I maintained our math program and even did that for her  "homework" math minutes, so she was right on track math wise.  Her reading comprehension even improved slightly, or  maybe she just matured a bit.  Who knows!   Her public school experience really shed light on some of her learning strengths and struggles.  

My biggest shock was that both of my girls came back so much more dependent on me. For the first few weeks we were only able to complete about half a day of school work each day.    ??? They needed me for EVERYTHING. I'm guessing it's just because we had been out of our routine for too long. But now, we are up and running.

Overall, I believe that we had a positive public school experience. I'm so thankful that both of my girls had teachers that truly cared about them. I was also glad to see that they adjusted and succeeded in a traditional classroom which is quite different than the mixed Charlotte Mason and classical education they receive at home.  (Yes, I'm aware these are not the same, but our curriculum is a combination of both. methods.)