Look Out Anna Pavlova!

Our ballerina...I tried to upload the dance Norah's "Mommy & Me" class has learned, but the file is too large. So, we'll have to settle for these shorter clips of her bunny hop, gallop, and "freeze dance." As you can see in the photo below, when it was time for the students to line up on their "dots" and begin practicing the dance, Norah ran straight to her designated color and stood ready with her hands on her hips. Meanwhile, the other, less serious, dancers slowly sauntered over to their dots and sprawled on the floor until they were prodded to stand and be ready. Amateurs!!

This is only Norah's 3rd dance lesson ever (if you don't include the dance classes that her sisters instruct for her)! The 4th and final class is this Thursday. Norah will be sad that it is over, but she will be able to be in a ballet class by herself beginning in September.

Recap of our Homeschool Year

It's been another successful year of homeschooling for the Fox girls. While we know some folks don't approve of our approach, it is working well for us. The girls enjoy their school day, and I get to watch them learn! It is fun to see and very rewarding, which outweighs the few times when I wonder what the heck I'm doing! But, then again, receiving a thank you note and #1 Teacher "ribbon" from Amelya and a "thank you for homeschooling me" card from Molly...biggest reward EVER!

Amelya still loves learning and rarely gives me a hard time about "doing school." She earned all A's this year (and yes, this was based on points, not my bias!). She has chosen to continue homeschooling and will start 2nd Grade in the fall. We may try a little bit of a different approach next year, with fewer workbooks and more hands-on activities. This should be easier with Norah being a bit older! We're going to start on some Early World History and a bit of Shakespeare for kids. Amelya's favorite subject this year was learning about Native Americans using "History Pockets," so we'll do one for Ancient Civilizations next year. She is also writing very well for her age, and she loves to pleasure read; she likes Harry Potter, Nancy Drew, the Little House series, and a newer series called The Mysterious Benedict Society. She's signed up for the Summer Reading Program at the library again this year.

Molly has decided to stay home for Kindergarten; we gave her the choice, and she wants to be at home for now. She is beginning to write very well (copy work), and she can tell time for all of the hours and half-hours. She is starting to read a bit more, albeit reluctantly! She promises to learn in Kindergarten! :) We have also signed her up for the library reading program since it counts if we read to her because of her age. She is also anxious to play soccer in the fall.

Norah has decided to attend college next year! Hahaha! Norah is a peach and VERY busy. She loves to mimic her sisters at school and dance. She is trying to learn to write her name (with coaching from Big Sister Amelya), and this week, she began drawing faces with eyes, nose, mouth, hair, and a hat!

Also next year, we hope to participate with one of the local homeschool groups a bit more. They held a Geography Fair this week that apparently was quite successful, but we were unable to participate. Next year, they will be studying ancient civilizations, which happens to correspond with our plan!

Some of the following (many, many) pictures may be a bit redundant, but I'm trying to capture our year at a glance. It would have helped it I'd remembered to take more pictures at the beginning of the year! We did a lot of fun biology experiments before Christmas, and before the new camera.

But now...it's time for SUMMER: tennis, Mommy & Me ballet, art classes, and swim lessons! Busy, busy!!!

...and now that I've read this, it sounds like one of those Christmas letters! Oh well - my blog, I'll brag if I want to!!! :) XOXOXO

Norah's 1st, and Much Anticipated, Ballet Class

Our little Norah is obsessed with dancing. She watches her sisters with a keen eye and mimics their movements. She's been asking me to take "dance class" for a year. She dresses in her leotard and tights on a regular basis. She needs me to "put (her) music on so (she) can have dance class" daily. Get the picture?? Well, this summer, I signed her up for a Mommy and Me ballet class, and she was ecstatic! She told everyone she could about the class and was very excited when we purchased her first, very own leotard on Monday. Her first lesson was today...I'll let her tell you about it!



Once Norah turns 3 in September, I'll put her in a class by without me. Amelya was our cameraman, so here's a quick video of Norah doing bunny hops. They learned plie today, as well as the first few steps of a little dance.

Amelya's 1st Tennis Lesson

After seeing the kids at the high school play tennis as we drive by weekly and then seeing some of the older homeschool kids play during one of our park days, Amelya expressed an interest in learning to play tennis. For Amelya to say she wants to participate in a new, organized physical activity is kind of rare, so I jumped at the chance to put her in lessons! So far, she says she enjoys it, and said she likes it better than last summer's T-Ball lessons. Yeah!

And...that's a Map!

To finish up our geography study this year, we made an edible map of the United States. Amelya learned various geological formations and memorized a song which taught her all 50 States and their capital cities. So, this was a fun, tasty way to "map" up our year.