Term 1 exams

Fina is really loving this Bernat Velvet yarn. I have to admit, it is quite nice. It would make a good scarf, actually. It's sort of like a very fuzze fleece. Here are her first two completed projects. For your reference, these tiny ponies are two inches high.

Fina's Spanish is beyond impressive to me!

We did our term 1 exams last week and they went really well. Fina had the most trouble with the books I was expecting, The Story of Canada and Our Island Story. Her narrations of those two aren't terrible during the term, but I knew she hadn't really connected well with either of them. I know she is getting a connection to the history we are studying through biographies and historical fiction, however. She could tell me a lot about Tecumseh through these alternate readings. It is fascinating to observe the exam process.

I love this quote from Charlotte Mason's third volume, pp. 170-171:

Children make large demands upon us. We owe it to them to initiate an immense number of interests. Thou hast set my feet in a large room; should be the glad cry of every intelligent soul. Life should be all living, and not merely a tedious passing of time; not all doing or all feeling or all thinking––the strain would be too great––but, all living; that is to say, we should be in touch wherever we go, whatever we hear, whatever we see, with some manner of vital interest. We cannot give the children these interests; we prefer that they should never say they have learned botany or conchology, geology or astronomy. The question is not,––how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education––but how much does he care? and about how many orders of things does he care? In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set? and, therefore, how full is the life he has before him?

"How much does she care? and about how many orders of things does she care?" Well, she cares about Tecumseh. And that is saying something!

Her recitations were stellar, as always. She had some trouble with Shakespeare. She was unable to tell me anything about Much Ado About Nothing. Well, hardly nothing. She knew that there was some sort of love commotion, but that's about it.

I've told you before, it's always interesting.

And we started term 2 yesterday. I've got a few things I want to change this term, so we will see how that goes.