Our oldest attends an innovative school for home schoolers two full days a week. The program runs much like a college where you can take a single class or go full time, offering all the core instruction for each grade level as well as a wide variety of enrichment courses. There are about 250 students K-12 in the school and class sizes are always 10 attendees or less, commonly six and under. The teachers, in most cases, work at the school part-time while actively practicing in their respective fields of expertise in other settings. Due to the small size of the school and classes, everyone knows everyone and the teachers get a real sense of who the students are as learners and as individuals. Evaluations are not by letter grade or any numbers, but thoughtful, detailed notes prepared by each teacher for each student in their classes.
Yesterday, we received Ella's evaluations for the first semester of 20/21 and I hope you will indulge me in sharing some highlights here. Her reports were full of praise and indicated that she is excelling in every class academically and personally. We're very proud of her hard work and all of the progress she is making.
Mindfulness: From the beginning to the end of class, Ella is
focused and works hard to complete her projects. Ella is a jewel. I love having her in my
class.
Film Narrative: Ella is quite active and excels in our
classroom activities and assignments. I can always count on her to inspire
class participation, and to take assignments and discussions to sophisticated
levels. Ella has a real talent for
writing and should continue to hone and develop her talent.
Yoga: Ella shares and encourages others to both share and
engage in positive group dialogue. She offers her peers positive feedback and
seems honestly curious about others.
Sign Language: Ella brings her keen intelligence and
sarcastic nature to class every week. She
learns signs very quickly - and remembers them! - even knowing signs from last
year.
Grammar: Ella is developing competence in utilizing grammar
concepts in her writing allowing her ideas to be more fluent and concise. Ella is attentive and hard-working in class
and always willing to accept the challenges presented.
Music: Ella has been wonderful this year! I have noticed a big change from last year in regard to her interjections. Last year she seemed to interrupt quite frequently and with attention in mind. This year it is much more of an inquisitive nature and I love it! She is very bright and immerses herself in the creative exercises.
Art: Ella has been an enthusiastic and engaged learner in this class. She brings a positive energy to our classroom each week. Her artwork is thoughtful, creative, and beautifully ties in elements of the country or art-making style we are learning about. Ella is a social butterfly in class in the best possible way. She is friendly and kind to other students. She encourages other students to keep trying when they get discouraged and is very complimentary of other’s work. I have been particularly impressed with Ella’s creative thinking when she starts a new project. She often takes the prompt in an unexpected direction – a wonderful quality in a developing artist!
Storytelling:
