Two Years Later - March 2013

I was just reflecting on the power of blogs and wikis to influence and to share students' learning, and decided to look up our old blog that we used to share J's learning with family and friends as we began the journey of home schooling.

Two years later, we are in a very different situation than we were in 2011. J continued with the Texas Virtual Academy until we moved to California in December of 2011. At that time, she switched seamlessly over to the California Virtual Academy - same curriculum, format, etc. Social Studies and Science were a little different because we moved to a different state, and each state has its own set of required learning for each grade level. But, for the most part, the transition was excellent.

We continued with the California Virtual Academy until June 2012. That is because we found a very small school in the area that we moved to in California that meets her needs very well. She is currently attending Orion Academy in Moraga, CA. http://www.orionacademy.org/ They are helping to address some of her social and emotional needs in a very small and highly efficient school environment. She is absolutely enjoying having a variety of teachers, the variation in learning opportunities, and being around other students (for the most part). There are only 5 students total in her 8th grade class, and about 62 students total in the 8th-12th grade school. Academically, she continues to excel. Socially, she enjoys being around other students and has made friends in all grade levels. The social and emotional issues still have their challenges, but the school is set up with staff psychologists who are ready, willing and able to help her process and learn to react to her moments of frustration or anxiety. The school is "paperless," (except for math) so the transition from the Virtual Academy to this school where she carries a MacBook with her to all of her classes has been seamless for this techie student.

One amazing side note is that I could check on the statistics for this blog site. J's article on Ligers based on the style of National Geographic for Kids has received over 3,600 views! That is incredible for a blog that was utilized for approximately one month's worth of project-based home schooling. Right there is an example of the power of the internet and Web 2.0 tools. Sharing one's learning is priceless. Plus, she is creating a positive digital "footprint," which could be very helpful for her future.