Mid-terms have come and gone and we're happy to say that all the kids are doing GREAT in college, high school and middle school! Taryn and Mariah both brought home straight A's; Gib has an even split of A's and B's; and Indie is doing very well - not sure what the final gpa is yet. Well done everyone!
I love that Taryn is getting a 97 in her Honors Physics and a 92 in AP Calculus - that will help in her college application process to science & tech universities. She is very strong in English too with a 100 in Creative Writing and a 95 in English Honors, which should make her an attractive well-rounded applicant to any school. Waiting to hear back on the dreaded ACT from last weekend. It would be nice if it went up a bit, but at this point that's just a little more icing on the cake. She's in her #1 choice university and everything else just gives us some options and financial aid strategy.
Gib has high B's in Geometry (which I'm tempted to just say it's an A, but our county calls 90's B's), and English (89) - so both really close to A's. There's time to bring these up, and he should make a serious effort to do so since we've learned that even a Freshmen B can affect the gpa in the college application process. But, Mike and I both gave some grace since he is learning the high school ropes on his own and has all Honors classes. To us, what and how he is learning is more important than the letter grade. Also, he is getting a 100 in Spanish Honors and if you'll remember we had to jump through several hoops just to get him in the class they didn't think he was capable of! Oh, and let's not forget the 100 in Lifetime Wellness (P.E.)!!! His other A is in Biology. Good Job Gib!
Mariah has two 100's! In 6th Grade Reading and in General Music - her first semester elective, which isn't elective at all, but rather assigned. She's got a 97 in Language Arts, and that's before the super long scary essay gets turned in today, which I'm sure she'll get a high score on, even if she did kill off her mother in the first sentence. In math, she is working ahead of the class along with 2 other students at their own pace in an advanced math book. She's getting a 92 there, but since they are learning harder stuff, pretty much teaching themselves, I think this is a well earned A. Sure, she could have a 100 doing what everyone else is 3 chapters behind what she finished 3 weeks ago, but how boring is that?! Mariah is also teaching herself French since 6th graders can't take a Foreign Language, in preparation for 7th grade. She knows someone at school who has been teaching her some words and pronunciation. She has about 20 or so in her repertoire. Haha.
Mike and I are so proud of the kids. It's good to see Indie handling college so well. And Taryn has successfully added a part-time job to her highschool workload and early morning seminary. That is nothing to brush off lightly - it makes for a very long day!! There are so many choices competing for your attention, so many demands for your time. It takes serious organization and time management skills, not to mention maturity to succeed at the levels our kids today must succeed at.
Our parenting style is different from what I sense is the popular trend of the time; helicopter parenting where every aspect of a child's life is accompanied by an adult: Wake up, eat, homework, projects, studying, social life, go to bed, etc. We would rather they learn to be completely responsible at an early age, so we start backing off with the holding of the homework hand as early as 3rd grade unless our help is requested. By the time they hit middle school, they are flying mostly on their own. It takes some adjustment going from elementary to middle and then to high school - but there's satisfaction of knowing that grade is all yours and you know your stuff!!
We hope our wonderful, intelligent children are doing so well in part because we have been instilling personal responsibility at an early age. There is peace of mind knowing that your kids are as well prepared for as smooth a transition to college and independent living as possible, so they will enjoy the fun without the worry of losing scholarships and opportunities due to the fact that they weren't prepared to handle it by themselves.
5 comments:
Matt and I discuss these things FREQUENTLY and have both come to almost the same conclusions. Being a parent is nerve wracking but it helps to have other good parents to set an example for you. Thanks!
Nice Job Taryn! That is quite the accomplishment. I am very impressed.
Good job, Mike and Chrissie!!
I still remember back in third grade when I found 3 months worth of home work assignments in HD's backpack and just about died. The teacher never called me, never said a word, until I called him. Then he said well, I just thought maybe you didn't have time to help your son or didn't want too....WHAT???? I was so mad at HD, at the teacher, and I must confess at myself, because I believed him every time he told me he had no home work. Man did he feel the wrath of Mom.
There ya go...my little homework/school story about being a hands on mom!
LOL - Poor Kay! I pre-empted that because I always told the elementary teachers at the beginning of school about our "style" and if they saw stuff not getting done to let us know right away!
I'm glad our style and our kids go well together! - they've never pushed it much, but had they been the type to, of course we would step in too!
WAY TO GO, Coombs family! I certainly wish I could let my kids go, but the youngest needs CONSTANT attention inorder to succeed. :)
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