If I Can Do This, You Can

Today Ephraim was evaluated by certified Kindergarten & 1st Grade teacher Mrs. Baranowski.  The evaluation took about 20 minutes.  She came out and said that Ephraim did just fine in her opinion.  She said that the State requires 1st Graders to read at a level of 60 words per minute.  She said that Ephraim reads at the level of 105 words per minute and that she can tell that he loves to read.  She also evaluated him on some basic math skills for his age level and she said he answered all the questions correctly.

It’s a big relief to know that Ephraim hasn’t fallen behind compared to other students his age.  I was afraid because this has been a tough year for our family with having twins and all.  I guess I will continue on this homeschool journey.

The staff at the Osceola Center for the Arts have kindly awared Ephraim a full scholarship ($200) to attend their Summer Orchestra String Camp.  Yes, my sister Rechel is the instructor for the the String Camp, but their decision was made independently of that (seeing how they don’t know she’s my sister).

We are so grateful that Ephraim will be able to attend this camp and hope that his skills with playing the violin will grow.

***UPDATE JULY 20, 2012***

We just got back from attending the String Orchestra Camp Concert at the Osceola Center for the Arts.  Ephraim did such a great job on his performance!  We are so proud of him.  He seems like he grew a lot and made new friends.  A BIG THANK YOU to my sister Rechel for keeping Ephraim for 2 weeks so he could attend the camp.

Ephraim was evaluated today by Mrs. Morrison, a certified Kindergarten teacher, to see if he is ready to move to the 1st grade. She said Ephraim passed with flying colors and that if he were in her class, she would move him forward without hesitation.  Ephraim was so proud of himself today and he should be.  He worked hard all year and took his studies very seriously.

I feel relieved that I didn’t “mess him up” because I really have his best interest in mind.

What made it worthwhile, or I should say I saw the fruit of my labors when I found Ephraim reading a book to his little brother Jeremiah.  My heart just melted and beamed with pride :-D.  Ephraim was putting everything he learned to good use.