Avery's New School-6th Grade

I am very passionate about education, and I feel a strong desire to make sure my children grow up learning how to "love learning". I am concerned with the huge class sizes, the way many girls seem to put knowledge on the back burner for boys in middle and high school, and the learning of information to just get past the next test, instead of the focus being on “loving to learn”. For these reasons, among many more, I decided I wanted to home school Avery and Mikaya. I know that traditional classrooms can also work well, and feel that that is a viable pathway for many. I was a second grade teacher after all, and loved making sure that my class, as a whole and individually, succeeded. This is the third year of being a home school teacher for my children. And although I rarely get a moment of time to myself (the reason I rarely blog or document anymore), it has been very rewarding. At times, especially last year with Cade being so small, it has been a major challenge. But, when Avery and Mikaya get their test results back, and I see they are academically a few years ahead, I can feel comfortable they are thriving. Here are some of the details. I am Avery's main teacher, with support from her school, which ranks as one of the top schools in California. I am responsible for teaching her history, language arts, literature, and math. I partner with her teachers at school to teach science and writing. She also takes Spanish and pottery at school. She goes to school two days a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She is involved in ASB, where she has lead announcements in front of the school, learned about the qualities of a true leader (humble and concerned for the success of those you lead), and has helped to organize upcoming events. I am also Mikaya's teacher, with support from a classroom teacher, who teaches her two days a week. I am fully responsible for teaching history. The classroom teacher is responsible for teaching science, and we partner to teach math, language arts, writing, and pe. She goes to a enrichment class on Wednesdays, which is not part of the main curriculum. These are classes like robotics, animals, Mandarin Chinese, art, music, ect. I love the balance of being able to teach my children at home, and to have them also experience a classroom environment. I am pleased that they have a chance to do standarized testing at school, because this will be a task that will be prevalent even as they make their way through college. Miles is learning his ABC's, how to read small words, and some basic math. He likes to play with play doe, build trains, draw, do learning games, and read with me (while the girls are working independently on work). I am so happy for the education I received and the experience I had as a classroom teacher. Both of which have really be conducive in making the teaching of Avery and Mikaya a rewarding experience, along with their excitement for learning.