The week between Christmas and New Years, when everyone else is shopping, goofing off and having family vacations, is our period of review. It is now that I get out my workbooks, to see what they children remember, and take note of what they do not remember.
Review is a very important part of the learning process. If you have ever watched a good movie for the second, third, or fourth time, you have surely realized that you noticed things you did not pick up in previous viewings. Learning works in very much the same way. Classical homeschooling puts great emphasis on review. Because history from the beginning to the end is repeated three times in a 12-year period, at different levels, classical homeschoolers believe that a classically trained child will know history, understand the motivations behind history, and be able to debate history and its effects on the present and future.
You cannot move forward until you evaluate past progress. Just because you have taught a subject, does not mean that it has been absorbed. Evaluation does not have to come in the form of formal tests, and rigid recitation. Evaluation can be as simple as a conversation, or a game that tests a skill. As I have mentioned before I use holidays and vacation time to evaluate progress. By using worksheets and workbooks for just an hour or two a day (during down time), either along with the child, or correcting them later, I can easily spot what has stuck and what has not.
Once you have reviewed past material and evaluated progress, you may need to adjust plans. You may want to hire a tutor to cover a particular subject. Remove a class that the child is not yet ready for, or skip something that they have already absorbed on their own. This week, between Christmas and New Years is an ideal time for parents to take a good look at their kids in a relaxed setting, discuss their needs and interests and make changes that will guarantee a successful year.