Miss Drama is in 8th grade this year and she is taking classes through our co-op. She goes to the school building for 2 academic days and one enrichment day. She works at home the other two days and it is going really well. This year is a busy one involving Confirmation preparations and thoughts of high school. We have been visiting high schools and trying to discern what we should do for school next year. She is sitting for an entrance exam on Friday for an all girls private Catholic high school. It has a good reputation and we have gotten a strong recommendation from one of our fellow parishioners. They have a great music and drama program and the academics are top notch. This is Miss Drama's top pick. We also are considering a school that was started as a homeschool co-op and has grown. They just opened their high school program a couple years ago and are adding grades as they go. It is a Classical approach and I love it! It seems to be a strong faith filled community, which is paramount to me. I am leaning towards this one as being my top choice. I see many rosaries and prayers for discernment in my future. I am still trying to come to grips with the fact that I will have a child that is old enough for high school next year!
Miss Musical is in 1st grade this year and is going wonderfully! I think that I am enjoying it as much as she is. We changed this year from Seton to Catholic Heritage Curriculum and we are loving it! Not that we didn't like Seton - I just really really like CHC. We have incorporated some elements from Mother of Divine Grace and Charlotte Mason as well, but we are mostly doing CHC. Our daily core subjects are: Religion, Reading/Phonics, Math, Handwriting. We do Science twice a week and Social Studies twice a week. We use our Art Curriculum weekly but do lots of projects during the week. She attends her piano lessons weekly and practices daily. She goes to the same enrichment program that Miss Drama does. (We all do - I work in the baby room with the littles.) She has a music class, gym class, and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. She LOVES enrichment day and has made lots of friends. Next week we are adding Spelling and Latin to our studies.
Miss Comedian is our preschooler. She is probably my most eager student and just loves to learn. She wants to do whatever Miss Musical is doing. I incorporate her into our religious studies and all of our art projects. She has her own curricula for handwriting, numbers, colors, shapes etc... We have been using the Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons book and it is going really well. She read her first real words the other day. She also loves enrichment day. She attends the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd with other 4 year olds and then she has a preschool class. She has always been our shy child and it is wonderful to see her coming out of her shell and making some friends.
Miss Busy keeps us on our toes! School is never boring with her around and she makes sure that we get breaks when we need them. I also incorporate her in any art projects that we do and we try and work on our colors, letters, and numbers. She learns so much just from playing with her sisters. She has a great time at enrichment day and has also made quite a few friends. I spent the first couple Wednesdays trying to chase her around and keep her out of everyone's lunches, but now she is starting to play and interact with the other children.
The Baby is my teacher's assistant. She usually plays in her pen, jumps in her jumperoo, or sits on my lap while we learn. She is working hard on new skills like standing, cruising, and trying to follow her sisters. She is crawling like a pro, sitting up, climbing. She seems to be following closely in the steps of Miss Busy.
This is what school looks like around here:
Elementary and preschool. We all sit around our cool, kid sized table and learn about things. We like to use the chalk board for math.
Another view of the elementary school area. The girls each have a colored fabric "cubby" to keep their books and supplies. My books and teacher guides are on the top shelf. I have a cup of pencils, pens, and rulers. There is another cup with math manipulatives and coins. A bin of dominos, a basket of flash cards, construction paper, pencil sharpener, crayons, markers, paper clips, puzzles, math and sight word games, etc...
The computer area. We have some cabinets that need to go up as soon as they are stained. We also need to tidy up the cords a bit underneath. We have another chair for the other "station." I found that table on craigslist and it fits the space perfectly. We got the big decal whiteboard calendar at Pottery barn and the cork boards at Staples.
Miss Drama usually does her book work and reading in her room aka Middle School. She has a desk and supplies in there and it is quieter for her to be away from siblings and distractions. I am afraid to post a picture of that area at the moment! :)
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