End-of-year evaluations...by my kids!

On Thursday I had my kids do written evaluations of our school year. We've done discussions like this orally in years past, so they know I take their comments seriously. I asked them to write what they liked, what went well, what they didn't like or was hard, and what they would like to change for next year.

Their responses just tickled me pink! Especially because they put time and thought in them. Anna took 45 minutes! (Note, I did not have them edit for spelling, they might have caught some of these if I had, but oh well, they're cute!).

Anna wrote:

I think that handriting is my favorit subjet.

wy?
1- Becas it is sumtimes short.
2- it is Bible versis
3- it is cersiv

My 2end favorit is math.

wy?
1-it is sumtimes esy
2-it is fun
3-I can do it werever I want. (later she expounded orally, "in the livingroom, in my room, downstairs, in the screen porch, on the swings..." LOL, I guess she really has done math in a lot of places!)

My 3rd favorit is spellin (LOL, we're working on it!)

wy?
1-we get to do it as a famly
2-the magnit letters
3-the magnit wite bord.

And everything is the same (I asked what this meant--everything else she likes the same.)

I [great big huge heart] scool!

As we were talking, she said school is fun and I said "I think so too, you make it fun for me too." (she does, most of the time!) Then she said she'd been thinking about how hard I work to make it fun & that she wants to make a "teacher gift" to thank me. What a sweetie! She also had nothing to change.

***

Zac wrote:

Things that went well
Bible
History
Reeding
Speling
Langwige Arts
Guitar

Things that didn't go so well

Sience-I forget lessons sometimes

Handwriteing-Hard to understand.

Math-confousing lessons sometimes

[insert a detailed drawing of one of the Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles here]

Math-Maybe reed instrucshens together and talk about what it meens. (Now that's funny--at the beginning of the year I offered to do that & he wanted to read them on his own! But good for him, he's thinking about how he learns!).

Handwriteing-help me understand reeding cursive

Sience-Make it easier to memorize lessons

As we talked later, he filled in some details--for science he wishes we had a 3-d model of the brain that he could take apart & put back together & memorize all of the parts (we're studying the body right now). But then we discussed what we'll be studying next year & how in 7th grade I'll split he & Anna for science & he'd be doing his own reading & writing for that--he was very excited about that. He actually said, "I figured this was just preparation for us and you would be splitting us up soon." Sometimes kids' thought processes just amaze me!

We also talked about getting more "gadgets" for him to take apart & make--things with motors or rubber-band powered (he said he could play with something rubber-band powered all day, LOL!). I asked about language arts and he said that now he likes writing! (just yesterday he used the words, "I don't mind writing," now he actually said likes! warmed this momma's heart). We're getting somewhere! That was one of our main goals this year--just to make writing easier.

Then I asked which spelling he liked (He's done Apples since January & All About Spelling the last 2 weeks). He said he liked both but thinks the "board" method (AAS uses a big magnet white board) will be more effective. I can't believe he thought that through, I'm impressed.

Well, try some evaluations with your kids and see what they say! Don't worry if it's not all positive--I'll post on that next.

Merry :-)