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The first semester of our pilot year has gone, and the second semester is knocking at our door. With the completion of this semester, we are incredibly grateful to have learned so much about ourselves, our students, and our community. Read more to discover how we learned to live and love differently this semester!
Our semester came to a rocky start with multiple location changes before we finally settled on meeting in our founder's home at the very last minute. God bless the families who were so very flexible in this season of planning!
Without proper time to plan an open house, we decided to kick off our inaugural school year with a unique approach: Family Day. This special event invited parents to join their children for a morning of learning and fun, fostering a strong sense of community from the very beginning. While this wasn't our initial plan, it proved to be an incredible success and will undoubtedly become a cherished tradition at Arbor Academy. In fact, I'm left wondering why more schools don't prioritize parent involvement on the very first day of school.
Once classes were under way, we quickly learned many fun details about the personalities of each of our students. We emphasized building community and caring for one another as we learned. Sadly, one of our families found the distance and the length of the day a bit too much for them and withdrew, leaving us with 7 students and 1 teacher.
Transitioning to not having a teacher's helper has meant intentionally building routines and training the students to work independently. We strengthened our problem-solving skills and our capacity to wait our turn, or at least we talked a lot about those things! 😜
Our humanities core read several chapter and picture books throughout the semester. If you're searching for a great book, take a look at the links I've provided. As a fun bonus, the Amazon links are affiliate, so if you make a purchase, you'll be contributing to our Arbor scholarship fund!
Our class was split on which chapter book was the best this semester. Some said The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis because the writing was captivating, inspiring, and the connection to the gospel story was clear. Some enjoyed Turkey's We Have Loved and Eaten (and other Thankful Stuff), part of the Juie. B Jones series by Barbara Park because it was comical. All the students laughed their way through this book! Although we thoroughly enjoyed it, our least favorite was a light read titled Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith. I'll recommend this book as a read aloud for any picky eaters you might know!
Surprisingly, one of the most popular centers during our Math & Science Core days was the Reading Center. This is most likely because we offered a diverse selection of stuffed animals for students to choose as their "reading buddy" and a variety of comfy seating choices.
In addition to reading, we learned all about weather and completed several science experiments. We cooked pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, and pumpkin pie. We made Mexican flowers and stars. We completed a library scavenger hunt and played on a local church playground. Our kids played every form of relay game I could think of and tons of soccer!
My personal favorite moments were the service projects we engaged in.
- Thank you signs to Veterans
- Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes
- Spreading Christmas Cheer to local business owners with homemade ornaments
There are many, many more details to share with you about our first semester - that's why we'll be sending out more frequent updates ongoing. Be sure to subscribe to our blog so you don't miss any of our post!
Do you know a student that would benefit from our program? Share this post with their family - we are looking to grow!