The Mackie/Locher Academy for Exceptional Girls (and a boy)

Welcome to the first day of preschool for Anna, Catalina, and Robbie! Anna and Cat are 1 year away from starting Kindergarten and since neither of us wanted to put the girls in public preschool, we decided to home school the girls this year... and Robbie will be coming along for the ride. No, I don't have ANY clue what I am doing, but Penny (thank goodness) has her teaching degree and taught elementary school, so she is our resident expert! This idea actually started when I read that my friend, Noel Culbertson, took her daughter on weekly "dates" or field trips, once a week for the last year before she started Kindergarten. We took Noel's idea and ran with it.

Penny and I have been having WAY TOO MUCH FUN planning and discussing our little "Academy." Here is a little bit about our school. We start every class with the Pledge of Allegiance (yes, UNDER GOD is in OUR Pledge) and a prayer. YES, there will be prayer in our school, crosses on the wall and we will be having CHRISTMAS and EASTER parties (not the generic and PC "Winter Holiday" and "Spring Brunch" parties). [NOTE TO PENNY - We need to get a copy of the "Ten Commandments" for the wall so our kids know what they mean before they get to public school]. The kids will be wearing uniforms (we bought them yesterday... our school colors are now red, white and blue (accent color, black) and our mascot is an eagle... mainly because it was the brand of the clothes we bought and it was already embroidered on the clothes...) I have been "hired" to be the school photographer and to create the yearbook (I get paid in kisses and smiles!) The kids will be dressing for Halloween AND they will exchange Valentines with the other kids in the class. We will have a Christmas play (for the grandparents), we will be going on field trips 1-2 times per month and our kids will be able to eat peanut butter sandwiches during lunch. We will not be starting Sex Ed in preschool (it is bad enough it starts in Kindergarten), but we will be learning about parts of the body (like our first song, "Where is Thumbkin" and next week's song, "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes... knees and toes..."). We will be able to dispense medicine to our students and there is NO WAY that our kids will go through medical procedures without our permission! The kids will have recess and PE, circle time, and have already learned to raise their hands and take turns asking questions. I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. We are very excited (I'm very nervous) about using this last year to prepare the girls for school... on our terms... with love and laughter. Here's to a great year for the girls... to get them ready to be part of the high school graduating class of 2021!!!

Oh, and yes... the name of our school was inspired by that old TV show... "2 Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place..." Hope you enjoy these pics of our first day... our "Old Mother Hubbard" cut, lace and color shoe project, feet during circle time, and our exceptional students!