Zoe has her own blog!

zoom, pow, bang!

This looks really cool.

Concordia Language Village

Go to the Adult and Family Programs, and click on either Homeschool Programs or Family Fun Weekends.

Here is an email that I wrote to my Mama Sue and Papa Frank this morning:

It's been surprisingly mild here in Minnesota, so far. I have been busy with Zoe and her school, and we REALLY like it! Zoe's favorite subjects are math and history. I love her history, too. She can look at a world map and name all the continents! We have "traveled" to Australia, Europe, and currently we are in Asia. Yesterday we made a long chuan (dragon boat) our of construction paper, and traveled down the Yangtze River in China! Zoe is also enjoying gymnastics class, and I am planning on signing her up for more sessions throughout our cold season. She is currently in a Beginner I class, and her teacher recommended that she is ready to move up to Beginner II! She only had to master one skill to progress up in classes, but I am still so proud! Ben and I are at the beginning of the process of buying our first home, and hopefully plan on having a house (!!) by this next February. It is very exciting, yet a little terrifying. I am constantly looking up houses online and getting excited every time I see a big kitchen or a nice fenced in yard! I hope you guys had a happy thanksgiving! I only had to cook for Ben, Zoe and I this year, so I made everything simple and small. I cooked a turkey breast, and Ben said he wanted 2 meats, and I tried to tell him that it wasn't going to happen, but he said, "Couldn't you at least do a baked SPAM?" So I cooked (warmed) a glazed SPAM! Honestly, I think Zoe and I liked the spam better than the turkey. :)

I have changed the settings on this blog so that you don't have to be registered with blogger to post a comment. So, hopefully this means that more of you guys will start leaving comments!

I have been meaning to post this up for a few weeks!
Here is an email that I wrote to my cousin, Kristin, about what we think about teaching Zoe from a virtual academy:

I love the freedom that the virtual academy gives, in that I choose the pace that we want to go. Zoe took a couple placement tests before we started, and k12 put her in Kindergarten Math, Second Semester. So, we were able to skip 1st semester that was all about counting and such, and get to where she needed to be. Even then, though, it started out a bit too easy. So, I was able to go through the lessons I thought were too easy for Zoe, see what objectives it wanted her to learn, and just have her take the little lesson assessments to make sure she mastered it. We went through 10 lessons in 2 days to get her to where she needed to be. She is now learning about money and the values and how to count it. Lots of playing "store". She can show you that if something costs 13cents, she can pay with either 13 pennies, 1 dime and 3 pennies, or 2 nickels and 3 pennies.
We love History. In the time since we started school, Zoe can name the seven continents and point to them on a map or globe. We have "traveled" to Australia, and now we are in Europe, and have visited Spain, England and France, so far. We only do History twice a week, so Zoe is bummed on the days we don't do it.
When we first signed up for the virtual academy, I thought we were getting a a full curriculum - Math, Language Arts, Science, History, Art and Music. We found out that in MN, Kindergarten only gets half of the funding as the other days, hence "half-day kindergarten." So we got Math, Language Arts & Phonics, and History. I was disappointed at first, but really it has turned out to be PLENTY of stuff.
The daily lessons have so much variety and are not repetitive. For each lesson, there are multiple parts, to cater to different learning styles, so I can judge and decide which parts of the lesson will benefit Zoe the most, or if we are having a lot of fun with it, we take the time to do it all. They actually encourage parents to not do all of the lessons.
I have a conference call with Zoe's teacher bi-weekly and enjoy that. Zoe talked with him for the first time, yesterday, and I could tell she was a little nervous, but she did really well. I think he asked her what her favorite subject was and she responded "Numbers, but letters make me grumpy." If I have any questions or problems, I can call or email anytime during normal school hours, but so far I haven't had to do that.
I think they try to encourage parents to really make the curriculum their own, and I feel that I am doing that, and becoming more and more comfortable with it each day. I think that parents who struggle with this curriculum probably feel that they have to follow it to a "T" and then they end up being overwhelmed and spending way too much time with it.
I REALLY like this school.

Zoe's Kindergarten Picture!!!

Zoe's teacher called us a few days ago and asked if we would be willing to help do an online presentation for the Star Tribune (MN's largest newpaper), and we said we would be honored. He said he would set up a virtual classroom for us and while we were at home, Zoe's teacher, in Houston, MN, went through a lesson with Zoe, while the reporter watched. Here is a link to the article:

Star Tribune on MNVA

I wrote an email recently to my cousin, Kristin, telling her about our experience with the virtual academy thus far, and I plan on modifying it slightly and posting it up here soon!

Happy Halloween!!

At the Apple Orchard

A couple of weeks ago, I found some instructions on the internet for making a Leopold Bench. It looked easy enough, so Ben and I made one! The incredibly bright color was my idea, and Ben says it looks like some kind of alien wood. We love it!

I officially signed Zoe up for the MN Virtual Academy! It is a distance learning school in MN that uses the K12 curriculum. So, basically it is classified as a public school, but we do all our work at home, like homeschool. They will send Zoe out a computer, and a full curriculum...FOR FREE. It is self-paced, so if we get through with a subject quickly, they just send out the next level. Since it is classified as a public school, there are attendance policies, standardized testing, and they team us up with a teacher that we meet with quarterly and I have phone conferences with throughout the year. The teacher also sets up monthly outings that we can choose to participate in. If you go onto the K12 website, you can go through some sample lessons to see what it will be like for Zoe. Here are some links that I thought were interesting that explains a little more of what we are doing:
The Difference Between Homeschool and Public School at Home

Review of the K12 Curriculum through a Virtual Academy

I'm SO Excited!!! Call or email me if you want to talk to me about it!

Zoe on the ferry

Zoe in the front row at my cousin, Kristin's, wedding.

Sorry it has taken me a while to post! Here are some pictures of our trip in Washington.

Look what Zoe learned

Ben and I were getting into bed, and found Zoe like this:

Rocker Zoe showing off her dance moves.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Zoe and Tarin 3 years in a row:

20042005

2006

We had a big rain a couple of days ago, and Zoe and Tarin went frog hunting.

Zoe having fun in the field across the street.

Slip N' Slide Fun!

Here is one of my favorite, artistic pictures that I have taken of Zoe. I took it a long time ago, but I have to post something to get my toes off the top of the page. (this is for you, Dad)

Finally hot enough for a mini swim

Since the weather has been so nice, Zoe has spent most of her time outside, digging in the dirt for worms and furry caterpillars.


Here is Zoe planting an apple seed from an apple that her best friend, Tarin ate.

Zoe and her friends found some caterpillars outside and have kind of been playing with them. She asked if she could go outside and take a picture of them. She took this picture! It's such a gorgeous picture, but...BLECH! Gross tent caterpillars!

DisneyWorld
Day One: Downtown Disney
Getting excited for the next day

DisneyWorld
Day Two: Magic Kingdom
The Real Deal

Cinderella's Castle

Meeting Cinderella

Outside the Mickey's PhilHarmonic ride

DisneyWorld
Day Three: Animal Kingdom

The Tree of Life

Getting around the "no touching the ropes" rule

Outside the Bug's Life ride

Collecting Shells...
On an island all to ourselves.

The Effectiveness of Commercials

Driving home from the beach...

Zoe: "Maybe sometime we could get a Kia Sedona, because a Kia Sedona has lots of safety stuff.
What if the whole world was like Kia Sedona?"

A Day at the Beach