Strike's First Day of (Public!) School

Yep! Strike (8th grade) is GOING to school! -- as opposed to staying home to school as she's done ever since Kindergarten. In all honesty it was a rather last minute & quick decision. By that I mean that up until the last minute (about a week ago!) I was still planning to homeschool her for one more year. --- It was more or less on a whim that we decided to finally check out the local charter school we drive by almost daily. It's just around the corner in a renovated old mill building & goes from grade 7 - 12. Class sizes average about 15 students. Wednesdays are half days. After talking with students who attend there & touring the campus, Strike just knew she really wanted to give this place a try. It's something new - & different. Something she feels really ready for (which is actually reassuring to me bc it means I must have done something right :). It's project oriented and I really like that the school emphasizes mastery ... meaning that students are given chances to revise work for more learning & a higher grade. Strike is such a social butterfly. Interaction energizes her & the freedom to be creative challenges her so this should be really good for her.

Today was her first day. She looked so grown up when I went to pick her up & saw her from a distance in the midst of the other kids pouring out at the end of the school day. I enjoyed hearing the stories from her day and about the new friend she made - and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that she thinks English is going to be her favorite class(!)... because when I was her teacher, that was her least favorite subject.