Assessment 2020-21: Beowulf

 

This is Beowulf.  He turned 8 during this school year, and if push comes to shove, and I must categorize him in a grade, it was second grade for him.

 

This was a year of unending pharmaceutical trauma for Beowulf.  On meds, off meds, changing meds, trying meds, breaks from meds, tests for meds, withdrawal from meds.  If it weren't for the fact that he desperately needs to find the right meds in order to function, I would turn and walk away from them all.

But I've seen what happens to him when they work.  

And I'm not willing to leave him bereft of a tool that has the potential to unlock the world for him.

Here was his plan last August:

Academy

Eclectic Foundations Level B

Arithmetic 2, Rod and Staff

The Beginner's Bible

 

As of the end of June, he has read The Beginner's Bible from beginning to end, and his reading fluency is quite good.

He's working on book 5 of 5 in Arithmetic 2 by Rod and Staff.  He understands the concepts perfectly.  He could have been done with the book long ago had it not been for days lost to no meds or meds that stopped working.  I could let him stop here and be quite satisfied that he's learned what he needs to for 2nd grade arithmetic, but for many of my crew, a powerful sense of accomplishment comes from finishing the books.  This is why we celebrate finishing so much, and why we slog through hard days for so many days.

In spite of all of my research, Eclectic Foundations Level B turned out to not be a very good match for Beowulf.  It started well and good, but over time, the exercises became more and more odd/vague.  We did complete over 100 of the handwriting lessons, most of the poetry readings and exercises, and at least 1/3 of the grammar.  We also did about 1/3 of the spelling--the reason I was most excited about this program for Beowulf--before the med traumas took over our world, and we had to focus on his strengths (math, handwriting) instead of his weaknesses (spelling, writing).  

He really likes writing in cursive!  I had to write most of the lessons in colored pencil for him to trace, but he has begun to get the hang of it, and he writes in cursive when he can.

Beowulf likes our group studies--Morning Meeting, Academy, Evening Reading.  He has been unable to complete many of the memorization exercises, so we are settling for exposure/familiarity.  He loves to narrate what he's heard, and he volunteers answers to questions enthusiastically.  He has to miss these group meetings on really bad days because he's not always safe to have in the room with us all, but as I try to do some of the math, it comes out to missing between 10-20% of the content.  

That means he's present 80-90% of the time, and I'm grateful for that!

Overall, it's hard for me to say that Beowulf has had a successful second grade year.  He's survived this year.  We've survived this year.  We've persevered through astonishing challenges to help him keep reading and doing arithmetic and learning cursive (a far easier form of writing for him than printing). 

All three of these skills are communication skills.  

He has grown at least a little in these three areas as well as learning profound life lessons through Academy.

 

He counts on me to keep him from flying out of his skin, coming to me with the request, "Squeeze me, Mom!"   We're trying to learn how to use this pressure and touch to keep him from losing control instead of waiting until it's lost and hoping it will be restored.  

It may be hard to say, but I can say that Beowulf has experienced many successes in this second grade year, and he will be ready to move on to many third grade expectations, as well as needing to review some first and second grade skills that were lost in the fight with ADHD/ODD/DMDD and meds.

 

I love this wild boy!