Third Grade and First Grade, Retrospectively

Spring of 2021 was filled with so many unexpected things that the end of our school year trickled to a stop without a grand finale of any real sort.  I didn't even get around to taking pictures of the girls with their books (a bit of a tradition around here) until it was almost time to start our new school year!  So, utterly late to the party, here we are with a wrap-up of third grade for Nell, and first grade for Ree.  

Highlights of the year as a family included reading Pagoo by Holling C. Holling, portions of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Wonder Book of Greek myths, and Children of the New Forest by Marryat. They were particularly struck by a term's study of Richard Wagner, love Little Pilgrim's Progress, and loved singing and dancing around the house to folksongs all year, with a particular affinity for The Golden Vanity.  We studied reptiles, rivers and oceans, and wildflowers, and got to observe so many wonderful things up close.  Both girls enjoy math, history, science/nature study, art, music, and so much more.  It's truly a delight to watch them making all sorts of connections across fields of study and terms or years of their education.  They recall so much and connect it to new things they learn with great enthusiasm, and their enjoyment of school keeps me going.  

Ree is learning to read, and loves her little old-fashioned primer that teaches reading in both print and cursive.  She loves math and sometimes surprises me with her ability and quickness in that subject.  (It doesn't go over well when she answers her older sister's math questions ... oh dear!)  

It really does help me get going with a new school year (now two weeks underway!) to look back on the previous year.  We didn't accomplish everything on the lists I had made, to be sure, but we did accomplish quite a lot of things, and best of all, we are all eager and happy for the new school year, which I consider to be a very good sign indeed.

Here's to another good year of learning together!