A New Year... A New Adventure

It's a brand new school year, and we are on a brand new adventure!  All EIGHT of my children are enrolled at Bentz Academy - we have K-11th grade this year.

It's also our first year back "on our own".  With our recent move, we are not part of our Co-op any longer (sniff...)  But, we are watching and praying for them from afar (thanks to FB).  I'm so thankful for all the learning experiences we shared with our dear friends in Conway.  But, this week marks the start of all the learning experiences we get to share in San Antonio.

Here's a little first day of school run down for you:

Bentz Academy 2014-15

 High School

Middle School

Elementary School

Yep, this is what I have to work with... turn your back for a moment, and the signs all get mixed up!

Our first day started with a trip to JC Penney to get a cheap "Official" picture of the first time all of them are in school together.  I had to bribe everyone with lunch at Chick-fil-A, but we got some amazing pictures!  If you don't get even cheap professional portraits done every now and then, you should - your children change and grow and you won't remember without the picture.  Plus, my phone doesn't take the nicest photos, I'm so glad I took the time to do this!!

Then, we were off for our first day of learning together at the Witte Museum.  What an amazing treasure we discovered!!  Of course, with family pass in hand, we'll go back many more times.  We explored Texas history and ecology, tested our bodies with rock climbing and many other hands-on activities, and to Joshua's delight - met some dinosaurs!

These are my high schoolers participating in an activity to measure their brain activity.  So cool - they had to relax while wearing the headband with sensors, when they did - it moved the ball on the table in front of them, and displayed their brain activity.  A friendly, brotherly, competition...

This was PE for the day - rock climbing wall!

And, biking across a suspended cable, high up in the air, backwards...

The Witte has something for everyone.  The Princess gown collection - with dress up too, was a huge hit for my Kindergarten Princess'  first day.

This absolutely wonderful first day was a gift from above.  It was a reminder of WHY we started homeschooling...  We wanted to enjoy the blessing of learning and exploring together.  I can't wait for the year to unfold!