Curiosity Grove Academy

09/29/2026

Today at Curiosity Grove, our scientists became erosion detectives. 🌊⛰️

First up: shaking sugar cubes in a container, 40 shakes at a time, to find out what wind and water do to rock over thousands of years. Before they started, every kid predicted what their cube would look like after 200 shakes and drew it. Then they collected data, counted edges, and checked their guesses against the evidence. (Plenty of them were surprised, which is the best part of science.)

Then a group of mapmakers pieced together landforms on a treasure map, working out for themselves how rivers, mountains, and lakes fit together.
No one was handed the answers. They predicted, tested, argued, and figured it out together.

This is what a Monday through Thursday looks like at CGA: small groups, real hands-on work, and kids who own their learning.

09/21/2026

Our homeschool Chess Club has grown a lot faster than we expected, and we've officially run out of boards. We've got kids of all skill levels showing up eager to play, but not enough sets to go around, so some are stuck waiting on the sidelines.

If you have an old chess set gathering dust in a closet or garage, we would love to give it a second life. Missing a piece or two is totally fine, we can work around that. We're happy to pick up locally, or you're welcome to drop one off.

Thank you in advance to anyone who can help. It means a lot to these kids to get more time at the board.

09/09/2026

Taking a little break from posting here for the next couple months — pouring that energy straight into the classroom instead. Still here, still teaching, still loving this work. We'll pop back up this fall with updates. Thank you for following along! 💛

09/06/2026

09/04/2026

🤔 This week’s focus: getting kids to question everything.

Yesterday’s passion projects were a perfect example. One student started with dinosaurs and just kept pulling the thread: What’s the smallest dinosaur? What’s the fastest? What did they evolve into? Do we see their relatives today? No worksheet could have generated that chain of questions — it came from genuine curiosity, one answer leading straight into the next question.

We’re carrying that same energy into math and reading now: why is it that way? What if it were different? The goal isn’t for me to hand over answers — it’s for kids to sit with a question, reason it out, and trust themselves to get there.

Stay curious. Keep growing.

09/02/2026

🏛️ Learning in action: Pompeii trioramas.

Each triorama folds three scenes into one piece: Mount Vesuvius erupting, the streets and ruins of the city, and the everyday objects of Roman life — pottery, columns, bread. This is where our whole rock and volcano study landed. Every kid built theirs completely from scratch, and every single one looks different — some bold and colorful, some careful and detailed, but they all worked out the same three scenes their own way.

This is why we build instead of worksheet. Give kids paper, markers, and a real question to answer, and they’ll show you exactly what stuck.

Stay curious. Keep growing.

09/01/2026

We started with a table full of books — Rocks, Boom!, Danger! Volcanoes, Landforms by the Sea — kids pulling facts and comparing real eruption photos. Then hands-on: sorting through agates and rock samples, matching them against a Colorado rock collection card.

And then, obviously, we had to make one erupt. Baking soda, vinegar, and a lot of gleeful screaming later, we had lava all over the table.

This is what hands-on learning looks like. Nobody remembers a worksheet about igneous rock formation. Everybody remembers the day their volcano exploded.

Stay curious. Keep growing.

08/27/2026

Chalk pastels + analogous colors = the good kind of mess. 🎨

The kids took the line work they did last week and brought it to life with pastel, working within analogous colors — the ones that sit next to each other on the wheel and just naturally vibe together. Blending pastel without turning it into mud takes more hand control than it looks like, and choosing colors that work together instead of just “ooh I like this one” is a real decision for little brains to make.

Give a kid chalk and permission to get their hands dirty and watch what happens. This is what it looked like at Curiosity Grove this week.

Stay curious. Keep growing.

08/24/2026

♟️ Introducing CGA Clubs: Free Chess Club for Homeschoolers!

Curiosity Grove Academy is launching CGA Clubs, starting with a free chess club for homeschool families in the Grand Junction area!

🗓️ When: Every other Monday, starting September 14
⏰ Time: 2:00–3:00 PM
♟️ Skill Level: All welcome — beginners through experienced players
🎒 Grades: K–8
💵 Cost: Free

Kids will build strategy skills, sharpen their thinking, and connect with other homeschoolers over a great game. No experience necessary!

join our group to stay up to date and sign up there!

https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1F1wRz4EGk/?mibextid=wwXIfr

08/22/2026

We're two weeks in and it's going beautifully — but we still have a few spots open at Curiosity Grove Academy this fall!

Whether your child needs structured mornings, hands-on enrichment afternoons, or a full day of both — we have a place for them.

🌅 Core Mornings (M–Th) — mastery-based literacy & math, small group, multi-age K–6 | $250/mo
🔬 Enrichment Afternoons (M–Th, 1–3pm) — Science, Art, History Mysteries & STEAM Challenges | $250/mo
🌳 Full Day — both morning & afternoon | $450/mo

Your child gets the structure and community of school. You keep the flexibility of homeschool.

DM us or email [email protected] to schedule a tour.