H.U. 1st Semester

This is the third and final year for Aubree in our middle school co-op. Next year we start over in the 3-year class rotation, but this year's classes have been pretty fantastic. In Mid-January we had our annual end-of-semester potluck, and each teacher and the students had a chance to talk about and present on some of the things they've been doing and learning.

Even though I'm heavily involved and aware of what goes on at co-op, it was still enlightening and exciting to hear all the presentations.

It was one of those moments when it's clear that all the hard work was 100% worth it. These are really remarkable kids, and it is such a pleasure to get to interact with them, teach them, learn from them, and help provide them an excellent middle school experience.

Like every year, there have been growing pains. Kids make mistakes. Adults make mistakes. But as the year's progressed, the kids have really pulled together. 

In my applied communications class I'm always impressed by their willingness to contribute, ask questions, and self-reflect. One highlight so far is when we learned about giving and receiving compliments and the kids took turns writing compliments for each other on the board. It was powerful!

In their cooking class, in addition to basic culinary skills, they've also been practicing cutting and chopping.

Aubree was especially pleased with her carrot garnishes and swan apples.

Outdoor class has been a smash hit! Rain, shine, or snow, these kids and their teachers have been out in the forest. They learned how to build shelters.

They've learned how to build fires and each put together a "fire bag" complete with everything they need to build a campfire. It always makes me laugh when we get texts from Tallie (their teacher) saying, "Do NOT forget to bring your fire starting materials and your pocket knife to class today!" Not exactly what you hear in public school, right?!

Aubree regularly came home from outdoor class smelling like smoke.

They also learned knife safety and carving skills, wood chopping, and dutch oven cooking.

And when it snowed, they turned it into an outdoor class competition.