Our First Day of Co-op

We joined a different homeschool group this year. We moved on from Classical Conversations for two main reasons. One was financial and the other was the need to focus more on elementary school type learning. The Memory Work was great, but I found that I was skipping a lot because my kids were so young. The science projects were over their heads most of the time, even though they often had a "wow factor". I wanted to find a group that would take something off my plate and enhance learning at their level.

After talking to a friend, we joined a co-op that was a little farther away, but fit our needs perfectly! Our new co-op began in September and the first day was a hit!

The girls were ready and eager to go in the morning, even though it was a bit early for us to get out the door. (all four of us must be in the car by 8:30 AM)



The girls attend morning chapel from 9:00-9:15. They do general things like say the Pledge of Alligence and more involved activities, such as learning the Lord's Prayer in sign language.

Then the move on to PE. The kindergarten through second grade has gym class together, so my daughters are there at the same time. They played a get to know you game with movement. Each person introduced themselves and did an action with their name. The game continued to build as each person added on an action.



Then they each head to their own grade level classrooms. I put K (age 7) in the second grade classroom, even though she missed the cutoff according to the state. We felt like it was the right placement for her at this time. T (age 5) heads off to kindergarten.

They both have music class. The second grade is studying the orchestra and classical music. K did a lot of this last year, but not in nearly as much detail. T's kindergarten class joins the pre-K and first grade classes for music. They basically sing songs together and have fun.

Both girls have art class during the day. The art activities usually coordinate with their science lesson or language art story.



Each grade level also has a language arts class. K is studying, "The Children's Book of Virtues" for the first 11 weeks. T's class usually does kindergarten phonics games and other reading activities.

Finally, they both have science class. The science classes are amazingly in depth, including homework assignments. T is spending the first half of the year studying God's creation. K's class began by studying the rainforest.

At the end of the day, the girls come to the nursery to join their brothers and I. They were tired, but had a blast on their first day!