One Proud Homeschooling Momma!

I took Jordan and Jake to Chicago. We left Tuesday morning and got back last night. Ed stayed here with Jadyn and they had a great time together - he took her to the mall twice (for Chic-Fil-A and the game store), to mom's group (what a great sport!), and even to Chuck E. Cheese!

The other 2 J's and I had a blast with Sarah - as always. We didn't get to stay long, but seeing her and Mike is always the highlight of our trips to Chicago! We took the kids to get ice cream Tuesday night and then we had 'brunch' between our NACD evaluations yesterday. Sarah took a ton of pictures ... and I didn't. These are it. So, hopefully she'll email me hers and I'll post some of them. Our drive home yesterday was in snow, which seemed a tad weird since its April! (yet another sure sign that we're not in Texas anymore!)

As for NACD, I could not have asked for better evaluations! They did standardized testing on both kids to measure grade level academics - and for Jordan so we can submit those as part of our state requirements for homeschooling this fall. So, here it is: Jordan (who is in Kindergarten) tested at 1st grade, 6th month reading and 2nd grade, 3rd month math!!! I was beaming when I heard those results! I am SO proud of her! This is not the kid geneticists told me to expect, but I'm so thankful I continue to hear God's voice louder! She is so proud of herself. She knows she's been working hard and its paying off! We're going to hit oral motor REALLY hard between now and when we go back at the end of June, so I'm praying for some big gains in that area, which continues to be her biggest hurdle at this point. But, academically, she's doing GREAT!!!

As for Jakey (who turned 5 a week ago)...probably anyone that knows him won't be surprised at this, but it was fun confirmation for me. He tested at 1st grade, 9th month reading and maxed out the math test they gave him at 3rd grade, 9th month...so he actually tests somewhere in the 4th grade! Is that CRAZY or what?

NACD uses a neurodevelopmental approach. To make a long explanation short, they monitor processing levels (how many pieces of information you can take in and use at one time - typically aligns with age (so a 3 year old should be able to 'process' 3 pieces of information); up to 6-7. Most adults average 6-7; although this is not ideal) and dominance (which refers to which side of the brain is dominant...and having a dominant eye, ear, hand and foot that align as well in order for the brain to be efficient). Ok, so having cleared that up (ha!), Jake's visual processing is a 6, but his auditory processing is a 5. Those should line up, so we'll be working to increase his auditory processing. Also, his dominance is all mixed up! Which is fine for his processing level, but once his processing is at a 6, that should be really well defined. The hope is that as his auditory processing increases, his dominance will fully align, so we don't have to do anything to change it. Basically, all this has to do with having a truly efficient brain.

Anyway, he was 'officially' labeled gifted - or a term NACD prefers, "Highly Capable." Schools usually wait until 2nd grade or later to test for giftedness, but NACD likes to know ASAP, so there's no time wasted in giving kids what they need...and so you don't 'lose' kids in the process by not giving them the challenges they need to keep their brain working. A bored gifted kid will quickly become an average kid.

So, needless to say, I couldn't be prouder of my kids! And, what a blessing to have yet another confirmation that we're doing the right thing. I could not have imagined the blessings God would pour out when we decided to homeschool! Thank you, Lord!