Lil and I grew as unschoolers this winter and spring. We released ourselves from many routines and activities to allow more time for self-motivated studies. Along the way, we discovered unexpected benefits and challenges to homeschooling.

Even without the structure, Lil continues to develop skills. Following in the format I developed for the Fall 2011 Report Card, here's the Winter/Spring 2012 report:

Dates: January 2012 - April 2012

Activities: Reading 16-30 page books fluently Writing sentences with punctuation and capitalization Addition and subtraction fluency to 12s Counting, adding, and subtracting coins Understanding value of basic fractions Making and cooking pancakes from scratch Designing and mapping a garden plan Identifying Ohio wildflowers, Caribbean fish, and eastern US birds Mastery of snorkeling Pet care Insect life cycle observed in a terrarium Caring for garden plants including weeding, mulching and harvesting Coconut opening and palm weaving Map reading and making Digital photography, email, and typing Literature - Easter egg books, Valentine's Day books, Garfield comics, fairy tale comparisons (snow white, cinderella, three bears), Judy Moody and Stink chapter books

Weekly Classes: Homeschool Gym Gram & Tompa School Movement

Field Trips: Cleveland Natural History Museum Great Lakes Science Center Cincinnati Science Museum Cincinnati Art Museum Inniswood Metro Park Highbanks Metro Park Indianapolis Art Institute Stratford Ecological Center Columbus Zoo Columbus Children's Theater Aladdin Franklin Park Conservatory COSI (including Race exhibit) Broadway Series Mary Poppins Broadway Series Shrek Ohio History Center San Salavador Island, Bahamas

One of my favorite tasks when I taught at the Jewish day school was grading and writing report cards. It has to do with my judgmental nature, I think. Of course I delighted in making this report of our first official quarter homeschooling. Dates: August 2011 - December 2011

Achievements: Reading fluency Writing complete sentences Spelling creatively but understandably Basic addition fluency Counting coins Butterfly life cycle Plant bulb life cycle Basic anatomy and dissection principles Acids and bases exploration Weight, distance, and volume measurement Basic American revolutionary war history Natural and Ohio history Finger knitting Hand sewing Digital photography Water color painting Making lardo and many other meals Literature - Thanksgiving picture books, Winter holiday picture books, Bone series, Saving the Griffin

Classes: Weekly Creative Movement class Weekly African studies Culture of Japan class (6 weeks) Homeschool gym (6 weeks)

Field Trips: Ohio Historical Society Franklin Park Conservatory Columbus Museum of Art Columbus Zoo The Wilds Urbana, Ohio - Johnny Appleseed Museum, Freshwater Fish Farm, Cedar Bog Serpent Mound and Murphin Ridge Inn in Southern Ohio Laura Ingalls Wilder Play Cuyahoga Valley National Park Nutcracker School Program Lawrence Orchards Branstool Peach Orchard Apple Hill Orchard