Wow! I can't believe it's been over 6 months since I've posted on this blog! I really need to get back at it, especially now that Kennedy is officially homeschooling. Yep, we pulled her out in November on a trial basis during track-out, and it was obvious that learning outside of the traditional classroom was the fix for most of our school issues.

So, we leapt off the cliff of learning at home, with a bright kid with a bad attitude about school. It took several months before Kennedy was asking to learn specific things and/or open to learning opportunities that I suggested. We joined a homeschool co-op with our friends Miss Jill, Marissa, and Noah, and quickly began to look forward to their weekly meetings. I questioned our decision many times, but our co-op friends kept me sane and Kennedy slowly "deschooled." I can honestly say that despite all my misgivings and the huge disparity between our enthusiasm levels at the beginning, I have learned a great deal about my daughter over the last 6+ months, and we're now in a place where I can tailor what we do to her learning style and enthusiasm levels instead of mine -- i.e., (and this is a big one for me) not go too "over the top" on activities that she's not really into. That flexibility is worth its weight in gold, and knowing that her learning style is different than mine makes it so much easier to get through the things that I know she needs while making sure that she explores the things she is "into" right now as well!

So, I've posted a photo of her and her friend, Kaya (on the left), at a recent luau event in our neighborhood. Kennedy is happy, enjoying life and learning, and aside from a little boredom now and then (a product of being the only child at home right now), she is doing great! We've already picked out a critical thinking program for her to work on over the summer and we've selected our curriculum for next year. We'll be using a computer-based middle school curriculum for math and science, and a California standards-based unit study program for English, social studies, and science. Kennedy has tested out of 6th grade math, so we have found a math club in the area that is run by a PhD that offers projects on upper-level math concepts such as modeling and basic computer programming. Our co-op is taking a step up next year, as well, and planning the material we want to cover for a whole semester at a time. It will include a writing component, science and social studies topics, and (I'm hoping) a critical thinking program where the kids can begin to analyze and think about the things they're learning.

Extracurricular, you ask? She's staying involved in theater classes (playing a Simon Cowell-type character in a play next week, actually), trying out again for challenge soccer, and joining a children's chorus here in Holly Springs. This summer she's taking a comedy improv camp and maybe even cooking and cake decorating classes for kids. AND, I almost forgot -- she starts her electric guitar lessons again after her play is over next week. :)

Gotta go... but now that we're through the rough part of figuring out where we're going, it will be easier to find the time to write about our journey. :)