First Day ~ Kindergarten & 1st Grade

I was asked to report on our day so the parents may know what we covered in class and what they may like to follow up with at home, so here is a general play-by-play of our day.......

We read, we sang, we cut, pasted, and colored and hopefully absorbed and learned while doing all these fun things.  In Religion we talked about God's House, the Church - some of the things we do in church and some of the things found inside and practiced the Sign of the Cross.  One little boy - I absolutely remember who it was but don't know if it's appropriate to mention specific students on the site - shared with me several times during the Religion lesson "my dad told me that". Thumbs up for catechesis at home! In English we did a Picture Study and read a short dialogue from the Nature Readers on squirrels and the children seemed to enjoy that exercise quite a bit.  We also worked on memorizing "Rain" for this week's Classically Catholic Memory (CCM)'s Great Words I for Week One.

During History, we read the story of Creation while working on a coloring page and then made a creation collage - another hit among the children.  At this point they needed some time out of their chairs, so we headed out for a "nature walk" and called out everything we saw that God created and then named some things made instead by man.  Back in the classroom we discussed living vs. nonliving things for Science and read a book/sang a song titled "Are You Living?" to the tune of "Are You Sleeping, Brother John?" Good effort was made by most to sing along and even do the motions, but the kids were pretty spent at this point.  We did not get to the map work for Geography (CCM Week One is naming the continents), but hope and plan to do so in future weeks.

As regards general classroom etiquette, they learned to raise their hand and wait to be called before speaking and to form a line -   Beware those who say home schoolers don't know how !

All in all, a great start to the year. Three hours is a long time to stay attentive and tranquil for this age group, but they did beautifully. I imagine you have some sound sleepers at this hour :)  I enjoyed getting to know your children and look forward to our next time together.

Kathryn Stocco

September 10th: WEEK ONE at Schola Rosa

St. Nicholas of Tolentino, Patron of Holy Souls

Thank you to everyone for a wonderful job! Teachers and Volunteers (that means all mothers) were phenomenal and beyond our expectations. We have a few logistical glitches to work out, but over all we think it was a successful day.

You can read about today's Saint here: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11065a.htm

Please check your emails for updates this week as we prepare for a new week! Also, look forward to your teacher's blog notes about the first day.

As promised, you will find lyrics to Adoro Te Devote in your email accounts. Below is the music for you to listen to!

Important Information for the First Co-op Day

Greetings in Christ! With great excitement we are all preparing for Monday! We hope you have received all your books and you are wrapping your head around the history program! Please see your email accounts for the following documents:

1. The Updated Directory
2. The Updated Student List
3. The Updated Teacher/Volunteer List

How to prepare?

1. K-6th Students need the map for Week 1 (Classically Catholic Memory); children can share.
2. 4th-6th graders also need Puella Romana and Intermediate Language Lessons.
3. If you have not turned in supplies, please bring those. 
4. Here are some other preparation tips for a successful first day: http://www.scholarosa.blogspot.com/2012/09/tips-for-successful-first-day.html

When to arrive?

1. Hall Monitors should arrive at least 30 minutes early (11:30am) to be briefed on the duties to be completed and on the exits/entrances to watch.
2. Teachers should plan to be at least 1 hour early (11:00 am) to set up classrooms and/or supplies before the co-op begins. 
3. Music Teachers should arrive at least 30 minutes early to set up any props for music lessons and to become acquainted with the classrooms. 
4. All other families are invited to arrive as early as 11:00 am on Monday (weather permitting) to picnic outside. We ask that as few children as possible be in the building during prep time. Arrive at least 10 minutes before noon!

Some Rules to remember:

1. Keep your children with you at all times unless they are in class. During Morning Assembly and during Dismissal, children should be with their parents and not wandering around nor chatting with other children.
2. It is our responsibility to watch our own children and to guarantee their safety. If we are concerned or worried about anything at any time, it is our responsibility to bring it up. Christina Durgin will be on hand in the hall way to field concerns. 
3. Do not touch anything without asking first. VA Hills is not our property, and it is important that we respect their property by not touching things without permission. (This is a good rule to go over with your children before they arrive.)
4. Remind your children of the old adage: If you do not have something nice to say, then do not say anything at all. This is especially true in art class, where many students are sensitive about showing their art skills in a group. 
5. Also, talk to your children about good listening: We listen with our eyes by looking at the person talking; with our mouth by keeping it closed; with our body by not wiggling, and with our ears by hearing. :) You can apply the appropriate motions to the reminders, if you like. :)

When to leave?

1. If you are not responsible for clean-up, we kindly ask that you leave ASAP after the Dismissal. This allows clean-up to go more quickly and smoothly. Feel free to let the kids play a bit outside before you leave, but have them use the bathroom before doing so in order to avoid returning into the building. This allows all of us to get home more quickly. Remember that all children must be under adult supervision at all times, so have your children with you or with a friend at all times. Please be sure your friend KNOWS she is watching your children before leaving them. 

**Special Note for Teachers**

You will receive your annual copies budget on Monday in a sealed envelope. If you have questions after receiving it, please contact us via email or phone.

Please email with any questions between now and Monday!.

May Mary Mother of God, pray for us on this feast day of her nativity!

Blessings,

Alecia Rolling

Tips for a Successful First Day

The first week of a homeschool co-op can be overwhelming and stressful for many mothers, but there are some things you can do to prepare and to avoid the worst. Here are some of our tried and true suggestions:

1. Gather your supplies this weekend and put them in a safe place to grab Monday morning and to load directly into the vehicle. I like to put my supplies in our trunk on Friday, so I have time to remember all the things I have forgotten between Friday and Monday.
2. Pick out clothes for EVERYONE the night before the co-op day, put them in a safe place, and inspect all children the following morning well before departure time. (Leave no room for the unexpected missing shoe as everyone is walking out the door!)
3. Review the Co-op Rules with your children over the weekend. The #1 rule and virtue we will be covering the first week is: DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING BEFORE ASKING FOR PERMISSION. The facility is not our property. We demonstrate patience and charity when we follow this simple rule.
4. Pack plenty of snacks for the car trip to and from the co-op. If the natives are restless, all is lost!
5. ARRIVE EARLY! See this post for tips on arriving on time.
6. Make sure you have a quick dinner already planned or already in the crock-pot. There is nothing worse than getting home later than expected and still having to cook!
7. Plan to relax with the kids when you get home. Some time to reconnect, chat, and rest is great for the entire family after such an eventful afternoon. Time for some snuggles and stories.

Photo credit: phaewilk from morguefile.com

Preschool Craft- Week Six

Week Six- The Most Holy Rosary (October 7th)

Story Time: "Holy Rosary" by Fr. Lawrence G. Lovasik

Craft Time: Paper Bag Rosary Books

This idea came from the very talented Lacy of Catholic Icing.
Since her tutorial is way better than anything I could ever do, I'll send you her way to see the Rosary books.

The children who are making these books are rather young. So I prepared as much as I could. All they will need to do is glue the various prayers and pictures onto their books. We all know young kids love to glue things! I couldn't find the stickers that Lacy used, so I printed out small images. These should be great motivators for getting the kids excited about praying the Rosary. :)

Preschool Craft- Week Five

Week Five- Feast of St. Francis of Assisi (October 4th)

Story Time: "Francis: The Poor Man of Assisi" by Tomie dePaola

Craft time: Paint Birdhouses

St. Francis is probably most known for his love of animals (even though this is such a very small accountability of what he was about and accomplished!). In honor of the saint who even preached to the birds, the children will be painting little birdhouses.

Preschool Craft- Week Four

Week Four- Feast of the Guardian Angels (October 2nd)

Story time: "Angel in the Waters" by Regina Doman

 

Craft time: Crayon Resist Watercolor Painting

What You Need:
-Watercolor Paper with printed image (Instructions on how to do this found in Week One)
-White and skin-colored crayons
-Watercolor paints

This project is a lot like the watercolor painting from Week One. The difference is that this time the children will be using their crayons to color in the wings and the skin of the angel and child. (They may use the white crayon to color anything else they want to keep white, too). Then when they paint, they will see that wherever a crayon was used, the paper will resist the watercolor.