This morning found the B.L.I.S.S. Academy Beelers full of anticipation, some jitters, and a whole lot of excitement! Today was our first day at a brand new homeschool co-op. We were in the bus by 7:45 a.m., loaded and ready to head out for our 50ish minute drive to a nearby town (what the younger children call "Aunt Annette's town" because she lives there - lucky coincidence!).
The execution of all great mornings starts the night before - the key to us getting out the door on time - that, and the mother rising at 6 to get herself ready so that she can give her attention to the kids at 7 when they get up.
My teacher box and the kids' backpacks. There is always much rejoicing when homeschool children have a purpose for their backpacks!
An 8x batch of peanut butter, chocolate, oat "healthy" muffins. Enough for Tuesday, too....and maybe a day's worth for the freezer! I made 59 muffins Sunday.
Lunches made by Daddy. Snacks packed by Mom.
The kids did not have their normal huge breakfast appetite - just a little bit of first day jitters!
We had time for pictures...with the backpacks....because #homeschoolers.
This guy - excited for PE, ready to make new friends! Can't wait for his mini Snickers at lunchtime.
The middle schooler...excited for PE, nervous for Chemistry, ready to make new friends, can't wait to see what they do in Art!
Upper elementary - I purposefully pulled Xavier and Natalee into separate grade groups for co-op this year and I'm very excited for them to each spread their individuality. He was psyched for all of his classes and couldn't wait to make friends.
The nursery club gal. She did not throw a fit or cry for mama today and did not get us kicked out of co-op. Mama's so proud of you, Evie. She was most excited to take her Spirit bag that was too heavy for her back because of her mini cooler packed with 2 milk bottles on ice, and also insisted on taking this shape puzzle along and holding it for photos. She asked me to do her hair and that melts me. #being2isfine
Sweetie fashionista. She took the longest to choose her outfit last night and was nervous for book club. Her nerves were unfounded because they made pig cupcakes and she had a blast. She couldn't wait to experience all her classes. Her nerves were pretty high this morning, as reflected in her smile.
We had a lovely day. Everyone was very welcoming to the "new faces" and we won't feel new very long. We have gotten together with some of the families a couple of times to play, so we knew some names and faces already and that helped.
Mia and Zayden (K-2) had art, PE, and poetry/lit class.
Xavier (3-5) had anatomy, cultures/geography, and PE.
Natalee (6-8) had writing, art, and chemistry.
I was the art teacher for the youngest group and then worked 3rd shift in the nursery. Everyone showed up ready to do their jobs, which was so lovely to see.
My class was a bit late getting started (first day stuff, you know?) so I did the cutting for my students today (cut out their umbrella color wheels), but they did the rest of their projects. We learned the primary colors song, read Color Dance, and then charged forward with our project.
When I blog about co-op I'm going to *try* to not share pics of other people's kiddos....try. So hard. Pics the other teachers posted. Natalee in chemistry - she also got to make a lava lamp and declared lava to be "messy!"
Xavier got to make a cell in anatomy.
After morning classes and lunch, the oldest 3 children got to go back for their book clubs (books clubs are the 4th Monday only). This month Natalee's group read My Side of the Mountain. Xavier and Ameliya are in the same group and their book was Charlotte's Web. Zayden, Evalynn, and I went to visit Aunt Annette. The little ones got to play, wind down, and we had a good chat. Evie was able to tell Annette that her new friend's (nursery classmate) name is "Sammy." Pretty good for a 2 year old.
Zayden and Evalynn fell asleep on the way home - the perfect amount of rest for Zayden and not quite enough for Evalynn. Snuggles when we got home. Ev plays with her ear when she's sleepy - but she'll also play with the ear of whoever is holding her.
Reviving. She did go to bed early, though.
I titled this video, "Ev and I spent some time apart today and it shows." She literally just leaned her body on me wherever I was in the kitchen while I was getting supper on. She separated from me easily to go to nursery while I taught, thanks to great nursery teachers, and was very excited to see me when I arrived.
This was a great day and we are already excited for our next co-op session. We meet twice a month, which is perfect to help us not get overwhelmed and keep our anticipation fresh. The oldest two children have a bit of homework and textbook reading that they need to be personally responsible for in the next two weeks, and the older 3 have a new book to read by the end of October.
Thank you to our new friends for a great first day of co-op!
No comments:
Post a Comment