Assessment 2018-19: Nature Angel

This is likely to be a gushy post because Nature Angel is just the sweetest person I've ever known, and she works so hard that she learns and grows no matter what goes on around her.

I'll try to control myself. :)

Nature Angel independently completed coursework in:
Math
Science
Language Arts
History
Greek
Art
Personal Scripture Study

She also participated in:
Morning Meeting
Academy
Dance
Homeschool Co-op
The Young Women (church youth group)

Math
Saxon Math 7/6--She did a great job completing her assignments, correcting her own work, and just plain learning how to problem solve.  She's ready for Saxon Math 8/7 next year.

Science/Language Arts/History
Oak Meadow Grade 6--I found a used copy of the 2006 edition of these study guides, and I snapped them up for Nature Angel.  They all demanded significant reading, research, writing, and creative projects.  She worked hard, she learned, and she produced beautiful art.

Greek
This was never on our radar as something we particularly wanted to do, but during the year I wrote curriculum reviews, we got a couple of Greek reviews assigned to us, and Nature Angel liked the one she used.  This year she moved into Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek level 3.   She completed a page a day of the worktext, and she's reading and writing simple Biblical Greek phrases.  She took the quizzes and tests and passed with flying colors (other than remembering some of the accents).

She wishes she were learning modern spoken Greek instead of Koine Greek, so that research project is currently underway.

Art
Nature Angel is an artist to her core.  She is always creating something--sketching, painting, sculpting, knitting, crocheting, building, designing, sewing, crafting.  There's no way to include enough pictures here to prove just how prolific she is.

She did some formal training with ARTistic Pursuits Middle School Book One:  The Elements of Art and Composition.

She took two 8-week homeschool co-op classes with a professional artist:  Oil Painting and Sketching and Composition:  Human Figures.  We missed the end of co-op showcase, so we don't have any of the art she produced in those classes. :(

She attended a one week art camp at the local art institute, taking two classes:  Observational Painting and The Canvas and Beyond.

Nature Angel watches YouTube videos, studies DIY tutorials, and reads library books about various creative endeavors.

Personal Scripture Study
She's finishing up reading and journaling her responses to The Book of Mormon for her Personal Progress Virtue project right now.

Prior to that, Nature Angel set for herself the goal of reading the Old Testament from start to finish.  She got to Proverbs before changing to The Book of Mormon.

Family/Group Studies
Nature Angel is an asset to our Morning Meetings because she is sincere and attentive.  She shares insights that bless the rest of us.  She's an "old soul" with depth to her faith that transcends the brevity of her chronology.

This was her last year of Academy as we've known it.  Really, she was too old for it this year (which is why she did her own history and science studies in addition to Academy), but she wasn't ready for Symposium, and I wanted her good example present for the young ones.  She graciously drew pictures, listened to stories, answered questions, and was a joyful student.

She's an awesome member of our Dance group.  She learns quickly and dances well.  She is patient, works hard, and has a great team attitude.

In addition to the art classes mentioned above, Nature Angel also took 8 weeks of Ballet and a Microscopic Biology class through our Homeschool co-op.

She's a member of the class presidency in The Young Women.  She's sincere in her efforts to complete the assignments given to her, and she's developing the ability to speak in front of people, conduct meetings, and prepare to contribute to lessons.  She loves the weekly activities, and they've challenged her to try new things (something she's quite nervous about).  As of this writing, she's preparing to leave in less than 24 hours for her first Girls' Camp, and she is so excited!

At home, Nature Angel takes care of her rabbit, collects eggs, cleans the upstairs bathroom, sweeps the kitchen floor, and clears the kitchen counters and island at the end of each day.  She is faithful in her service, never needs reminders, and does excellent work.  In addition to this, she distracts and redirects small angry people, plays games, read stories, helps with bath time and/or bed time when we have a crisis, helps me organize kids in getting to and from outings, and is fast replacing Pixie as my right arm.

Nature Angel managed her time and her daily assignments on her own this year.  I gave her a planner and a tutorial about how to use it, and she took to it naturally, even getting to the point where she divided up the weekly Oak Meadow assignments into manageable daily work and did it.   She has always been able to learn what she wants, but this year she really tipped the scales from mostly independent to really independent.

This summer I'm trying to give Nature Angel an informal kitchen skills course with her working at my side during meals, and she's both willing and competent, but she's so good at helping with kids or being busy with her own creating that Little Princess usurps her position at my side!

But I've not given up yet!

Neither has she.