2021-22 End of Year Assessment--Mister Man

 As with all of the other kids, we started the year with big plans and had to simplify.  When things got rough, we put Latin, typing, language arts, journaling, and Book of Mormon on the shelf.  All Mister Man had to do each day was a math lesson and a handwriting lesson.

When he finished his cursive practice book, we added language arts back in. 

When he finished his math book, I asked him to do double language arts, but he asked if he could do Book of Mormon, and I said yes.

At the end of the school year, he'd completed HWT cursive practice and Saxon Math 5/4.  He was most of the way through Lightning Literature grade 4, and he made good progress in his Book of Mormon journal.  

Mister Man is a prolific reader.  Thank goodness he's willing to re-read books or I couldn't keep him satisfied.  He read hundreds of books--both quality and fluff--and he's well on his way to completing the Mensa grades 4-6 reading list.

The trauma of the early part of the year left its mark on Mister Man, and he exhibited signs of anxiety, depression, and ADHD-like behaviors.  I was sucked into ads for Brillia--a homeopathic med claiming to relieve ADHD symptoms--and I put Mister Man on a hefty dosing schedule.  It has relieved a lot of his symptoms enough that I've reduced his dosing to one tablet per day.  He seems much less anxious, and he displays the restless need to move and poke and tease that healthy 10-year-old boys display all of the time.  He still struggles with self-loathing, and I'm helping him practice healthier ways to think about his mistakes.

He loves being part of our read-alouds and discussions each day.  He's probably my most active listener, making connections, predicting what will happen, asking questions, and squawking with excitement as plots develop.

He's an adequate speller, and he writes constantly.  Sometimes he copies Pokemon trading cards.  Sometimes he writes stories about superheroes.  Sometimes he writes adventure stories about his siblings.  His handwriting is rather untidy, but the quality of his writing is top-notch.

Mister Man is a fabulous older brother.  He does provoke the younger ones, but he also cares about them, and he is growing increasingly competent at household skills.  He can sometimes act as a mediator for the younger ones (as long as he doesn't have a personal investment in the outcome), and he's very good at caring for our daycare babies.

He's enthusiastic about learning, and I'm confident in his progress academically, socially, and emotionally.