First Day of School

Much too quickly Mara has reached school age. I'm still breathless when I think of how fast the last 3.5 years have gone since that bright and lively toddler joined our family in December of 2004. Maybe since we missed the first 18 months of her life, it seems like the pre-school years have gone by even faster than they did with the first three girls. But time will march on no matter how we might try to hold it back and so it is time for Mara to start Kindergarten.

For many reasons we decided we'd like to give home school a try with Mara and Ailah. After some research and talking with other home schooling parents, we came to the conclusion that we were not good candidates for "traditional home school." We were excited to discover the Colorado Virtual Academy (COVA) which is a charter school through Adams District 12, and, therefore, a public school. It is known as a "distance learning" situation because all the work is done here at home, just like a home school family might do. We are provided with the curriculum (K-12, a core-knowledge program,) and a computer "free of charge." (Paid for with tax dollars because it is a public school.) We have access to a teacher should we run into problems I can't get Mara through, but otherwise Mara's education is in my hands. Much to our astonishment, this program seems to be frowned upon by many in the traditional home school community. So we find ourselves at the "bottom of the educational food chain" as Jeff puts it, because we aren't "doing it right" according to either the home school or the "brick and mortar" group. Oh well, life wouldn't be normal for us if we weren't going the wrong way down a one-way street, especially where our kids education is concerned. We always seem to find ourselves following a different path than the rest of society. (At least we're not starting a charter school this time. We did learn that lesson the first time out.)

However, having said that, we are quickly finding a warm, welcoming community among other COVA families. We feel quite fortunate to have found 3 other Greeley girls beginning kindergarten with COVA this fall. We, the other moms and I, decided it would be fun to give the girls a more formal "first day of school" than just sitting down to the computer one day. So on Thursday we all met at The Egg and I, girls all in their first-day dresses, for a celebratory breakfast. We had a great time, if a little noisy. The restaurant had wisely set us up in a back room all by ourselves once they saw the group of 4 moms and 7 kids aged 5 and under. The girls held out through breakfast in a very lady-like fashion, but lost it while we moms were chatting afterward and became a little noisy and rambunctious.

Mara and I actually started a few lessons on Wednesday, just to get our feet wet. Then after breakfast on Thursday we did a few more. Yesterday was the COVA fall kick-off at the zoo (more on that later,) so we didn't do any lessons. We're behind, but it looks like we will easily catch up since many of the first lessons focus on things Mara has already learned. Today I will spend some time creating a schedule for Mara, Ailah and I so we can be more organized this upcoming week. I think that will make a huge difference in how much we get accomplished.

Mara had a great time with her work, and is just thrilled to have a brand new desk and a computer that is "all my own." I had fun working with her and seeing her face light up when she caught on to a new concept for the first time. We're both looking forward to an awesome year!