Today we were back in the full swing of academics. It felt good to be home in our familiar surroundings while studying new topics. We ended our classroom time around 3:00 only to turn on CNN to witness the unfolding Boston tragedy. I let my kids watch just a couple of minutes of the story but soon turned it off as I learned more about what happened. Most of them are still too young to hear that the world can be that ugly.
Got my workout in as I continued to listen to the police chief explain what they knew. Hubby was around this evening to help with sports and other activities.
The rest of the evening was interesting. I attended an informational meeting on the topic of college admissions given by a private educational consultant at one of the local high schools. It was not presented for a homeschool audience, but that didn’t seem to matter. The speaker gave a nice overview including some of the latest trends. Her discussion was geared towards students in grades 7-10 and their parents. My kids are not that old yet, but I went anyway to see what might help me in our current stage. Here’s what I pulled out specifically for our season:
Lots of reading and writing is crucial towards doing well academically and the earlier the better.
Having good study skills is another important factor.
They must be able to argue for themselves.

I was reminded that I need to do a better job in these areas. Feel like I’m especially falling short in teaching good study skills, so I’m starting to read a new book called Study is Hard Work by William Armstrong. I’ve had this book for a few months now, but hopefully, I’ll gain a new perspective after I read it.

1:00, time for bed.