Homeschool Happenings

Abandon...

2009-03-21T23:02:00.002-04:00

Well...I think I am going to abandon this blog for awhile (actually, I think that has already happened, but this is a formal announcement) LOL...I am having too much fun on Facebook and Twitter to update the ol' blog.

For now... :o)

Daybook Entry

2009-01-31T13:21:00.002-05:00

Outside my window...snow, lots and lots of snow!

I am thinking...this could be fun, but I really think it is sort of self-centered to think anyone would really want to read this...

I am thankful for...so much...how do I even begin!

From the learning room...we are keeping on track and really accomplishing a lot this year. I think I have found a good balance for Carter and Cooper and myself. I am loving combining the classical approach with some of Charlotte Mason's ideas. It seems to be comfortable for us all. Wow! Have we read a lot of great books!

From the kitchen...Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden copy) - family favorite!

I am wearing...Blue workout pants and a white shirt. Just finished a 2 mile walk with Leslie Sansone.

I am creating...a mess - laundry day and I have piles all over that need their owners to put them away!

I am reading...The Tale of Despereaux with the boys and re-reading The Well Trained Mind. Carter is reading The Year of the Dog to me!

I am hoping...it is 75 degrees and sunny tomorrow...ok, maybe that is dreaming!

I am hearing...the boys and dad playing a game.

I am praying...for my Aunt and cousin to get their heat back on...

Around the house...this place is a mess! Somebody really needs to get it cleaned up!

One of my favorite things...hot tea. I think I need to fire some up!

A few plans for the rest of the week...well, this is the last day of the week, so I guess I will get this laundry done and maybe do some cleaning...or play some games!

Here is a picture shot I am sharing...gonna have to do that later, no pictures loaded on my tiny computer!

What We Have Been Up To!!

2008-12-04T21:16:00.009-05:00

So...what have we been up to? Just the usual...

Homeschooling, visiting with friends, book club, co-op and today we had our Homeschool Christmas party. We had a great turnout - 37 kiddos and their moms. We made four different crafts and enjoyed some yummy food, fellowship and fun! My favorite part was watching the kids play with their old friends and welcome in new friends. It was like they had all known each other for years! I would show you pictures, but I did not take any. I actually had my camera with me, but I was too busy helping with my craft to get any pictures...oh, well!

I do have pictures from our last book club...we discussed "The Rough-Face Girl" - it is a Native American version of the Cinderella story. After the book discussion, we made a Native American craft...For next month, each child picked a different book - based on giving and each child is going to do a book report. I am really looking forward to hearing all of their reports!

I also have pictures from our last co-op. I taught the class this month; the topic was Japan. Thought it might be a good time to put that degree to work! We had it at my house this time because the library was booked. We learned all kinds of facts about Japan, learned to speak some Japanese, learned to write our names in Japanese, read a story about Japan, did some origami and ate some sushi. It was a fun day!

So...now you know...that is what we have been up to!

Florida...'nuff said!

2008-10-31T11:53:00.012-04:00

We recently went on a trip to Florida to visit family. While there, we stayed on the beach, played on the beach, fished on the beach and visited Kennedy Space Center. While at Kennedy Space Center, we got a rare, up-close look at the space shuttle. The bus driver said this is only the third time they have moved the space shuttle this close and left the observation tower open. He said he had worked there 15 years and had never seen the space shuttle this close. It was really amazing. Here are some pictures from our vacation...

Bio Poem

2008-10-06T15:18:00.002-04:00

Last week, at our home school book club, we learned about bio poems. We created one for the main character in the book we read. The librarian challenged the kids to go home and make one up about themselves. Here is Carter's bio poem (you can find many different formulas for bio poems by googling "bio poem formula")...

Carter,

Sill, obedient, kind and handsome,

Brother of Cooper,

Lover of acting, playing with friends and being outside,

Who feels happy when with others and loved by mom, dad and Cooper,

Who fears spiders and scary movies,

Who would like to see Lego Land, Disney World, the White House and Kennedy Space Center,

Woodland.

The Renaissance Festival

2008-10-05T21:52:00.003-04:00

Last week, we went to the student day at our local Renaissance Festival. Dad took the day off and we were really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, it was not what we expected. I expected us to learn a lot about what it was like to live during the Renaissance period. I did not run into a lot of learning experiences. I did run into a lot of over priced merchandise...

In prior years, they have had two student days, but this year they condensed it to one day. That was a mistake. It was incredibly crowded - so much so that we could not make it from one show to the next and then when we did make it there was no room left for us to watch - at least where the kiddos could see or hear.

It was, however, a beautiful day and we did see a hilarious sword fight and an exciting full armor joust...we just didn't learn a whole lot! Here are some pictures...

Sorry for the Delay...

2008-10-01T15:53:00.016-04:00

I know, I know...It has been a while since I have updated...

After a brief Elvis sighting...

and hurricane force winds followed by the "Great Blackout of 2008"...

...things are finally getting back to normal! (10 days without power sets you back a bit)

Last week, we had our co-op. We learned about mummies and mummification. After watching a video and listening to some books about mummification, we ended our class with mummifying a doll (a G.I. Joe and a Ken doll in our case). First we cleaned the dolls with white wine vinegar (the Egyptians cleaned the bodies with wine), then we drew a heart on our dolls (the Egyptians removed the organs, but left the heart because they thought it was the center of all thinking and emotions), next we covered the dolls in salt (the Egyptians would cover the bodies in natron - a salt like substance - and place the bodies on a slanted board with a grove cut out - the bodies would remain their for 40 days - this was their mourning period), next we painted our dolls with an oil and spice mixture (the Egyptians did the same), finally we wrapped our mummies with muslin that had been dipped into a flour and water mixture.

Here is G.I. Joe (Carter's mummy)

And Ken (Cooper's mummy - he had a little help from mom with the wrapping, but he did all the other stuff)

Later in the week, we went on a field trip to Woodland Cemetery. Woodland Cemetery is a very old, beautiful cemetery in Dayton. It is a National Historical site. The Wright Brothers, Paul Lawrence Dunbar and Erma Bombeck are all buried there.

Here is a picture of the old chapel (they now use it for the business offices). The windows on the sides are all Tiffany and there is a huge arched window in the back that is also Tiffany worth over $1 million!

Here is a picture of Erma Bombeck's grave site. There is no grave marker at this time and her husband has not decided whether he will put one or not. The large stone that does mark her grave is from her neighbor's yard in Arizona. Erma used to sit on this rock and write.

Here are some pictures from the Wright Brother's grave site. They are buried in a family plot with their mother and father, sister and infant siblings that died very young. Neither brother ever married.

Tomorrow we are going to the Renaissance Festival...I should have those pictures up in about a week or two...LOL...that is if I remember my camera!

Me...at a glance...

2008-09-10T13:54:00.003-04:00

My creation
Originally uploaded by ccatwoodland

This is a twist on the old 20 questions about me post...I got this from Mary Beth's blog...

Here's what you do.

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker. Choose 3 columns with 4 rows.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name? Angela
2. What is your favorite food? Soup
3. What high school did you go to? (or, What year did you graduate high school?) Kentucky Country Day School
4. What is your favorite color? green
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Patrick Dempsey
6. Favorite drink? water
7. Dream vacation? Europe
8. Favorite dessert? chocolate cake
9. What you want to be when you grow up? cellist
10. What do you love most in life? God
11. One Word to describe you: quiet
12. Your flickr name. (kid version: favorite animal?) Nothing came up for my flickr name, so I chose favorite animal - elephant

Dress Up!

2008-09-05T15:33:00.005-04:00

Well, it has been a while since I have posted...I'd like to say I have been super busy, but actually, I have just been addicted to Facebook. Check it out. You have been warned.

School has started back up and things are going well. We are one week into it and we are still on schedule! Yea!!

The other day, while I was making lunch, I looked out the back window to see this...

Upon inquiry, I learned that they were "astronauts exploring the moon"!

(They brought back a moon dog...I think we'll name her LUNA...sorry, I couldn't resist!)

Today, they were up to it again...here they are as Wall-E and Eve...

God's Love

2008-08-24T13:28:00.002-04:00

This just proves no matter who you are or where you live...everyone likes to be silly! I guarantee you will SMiLe!

Meteors

2008-08-19T10:09:00.002-04:00

This past weekend we went to a Perseid Meteor Overnight Camp with our local parks district. We really had a lot of fun. Carter's favorite naturalist from his summer camps ran the program, so that made it all the better. We arrived at the park around 7:00pm and set up our tent. Around 8:00pm we went with the other families (just 6 in all) up to the pavilion for some getting to know you fun! We went around and introduced our families and then we played a space themed game of charades. Our family was chosen to perform the first people in space. Carter and Cooper had fun blasting off and pretending to be in space...Dad and I were "Houston". After that we had some free time for the kids to run around with their light sticks and flashlights. Around 10:00pm a volunteer from NASA came and gave a general presentation about space and then got more specific about meteors. We all had a snack while we watched the presentation. Then we were on our own...The meteors are best seen around 3:00am. Cooper pooped out and Dad fell asleep getting Cooper to sleep. Carter and I braved the cold (about 50 degrees - unusual for this time of year) and made it until about 2:00 in the morning. We went to bed more because we were cold than we were tired. In that time, I saw one meteor and Carter "thought" he saw two. The highlight of the evening for me came around 4:00 in the morning. Three packs of coyotes were running through the park. The naturalist had woke up around 3:30 to see the meteors (he said he saw 5 or 6) and saw the coyotes. He said there were 3 packs in all and they were right up next to our camp. One pack had pups. They were so loud and their howling was very spooky. Once they left, I thought about getting up and checking out the meteors again, but my warm and toasty sleeping bag made a convincing argument. The next morning we had cereal, fruit, pancakes and sausage - packed up and went home. It was a lot of fun...I think we will do it again next year! Maybe we will see more meteors on our second try!

Assessments

2008-08-09T08:32:00.003-04:00

I have to admit...when I first started thinking about homeschooling, the teacher assessment is what scared me the most! However, they have turned out to be one of the most valuable things I have done. I just completed my assessment with Kathy this week and it proved to be no exception. I switched assessors this year because I felt Kathy and I were on more of the same wavelength when it came to our approach to teaching. Kathy is a certified teacher and current homeschooler. She has graduated one and has three more to go. She is a Charlotte Mason/Classical gal and actually heads up the Classical Conversations group in my area. I was scheduled to spend about an hour with her, but ended up spending over 2 1/2 hours with her. It was great! I went away with so much information. I have to admit that I was a little intimidated by Kathy after hearing her speak a few times, but she was so laid back and helpful. She had me fill out a questionnaire before I met with her so she could find out more about me and what questions she could help me answer. It was fantastic! She answered all my questions and so much more. She had boxes of examples of how she has done things with her children. She had wonderful suggestions and we just had a great time talking. I can't wait until next year! Turns out the assessments are now one of my favorite parts of homeschooling...Thank you Kathy!

ZUMBA!!

2008-07-21T22:01:00.002-04:00

I took a Zumba class this past weekend...I LOVED it!!! I had been thinking about trying it for sometime. Every time I saw the infomercial, I thought it looked like a lot of fun. Well, it WAS a lot of fun...it was like dancing (which I have always loved to do). While you are dancing away, you kinda forget about the fact that your legs are burning and your arms are about to fall off and you can't breathe (I did say kinda). And thankfully, no one in my class even slightly resembled the ladies that promote the Zumba videos.

I think I have recuperated enough to give it another go tomorrow...I can't wait!

Stargazing

2008-07-18T23:38:00.004-04:00

We went stargazing tonight at our local community center with an astronomy club. It was absolutely amazing...and completely free (even better)! The club brought along about 10 different telescopes of varying strengths. We saw Jupiter, including the different colored stripes and the 4 Galilean moons. We saw the ring nebula and a double star. We saw another cluster of stars (I think it was called M13 - for those in the know) that consisted of 100,000 stars. It was 25,000 light years away. Through one telescope it looked light a faint, fuzzy cluster, but through another you could actually see individual stars (not all 100,000 but it was much clearer). We also saw the International Space Station go by. Then the moon came up...a full moon. It was really cool through the telescopes. You could see the craters and the mountain ranges in crisp detail. It was amazing!

I highly recommend you search for a stargazing night in your area. The club members were very helpful and answered all our questions...no matter how silly. The only downside...now I want one of those really cool, and equally expensive, telescopes!

I can't wait until September for the next stargazing night!

Time in a Bottle

2008-07-13T11:14:00.010-04:00

WARNING!! I wrote this late at night when I was feeling pretty sentimental. Read at your own risk of becoming all gushy!

After dropping off my parents at the airport this past week, my husband said, "It never seems like we have enough time together..." He is so right!

I am having a hard time with....time...the passage of time that is. It seems to have taken off at break-neck speed and no matter what I do, no matter how much I protest, no matter how much I stomp my feet and demand it to slow down, it just doesn't. In fact, it seems to get joy out of going that much faster. Maybe this is all due to the fact that I just turned 40 or that I just potty trained my baby or that my father-in-law is in the hospital or that Carter just turned 8. Whatever the reason, it is really ticking me off (no pun intended)! What bugs me the most is that it seems the more I focus on time the more time I seem to waste! The more I try to soak it all in, the more I seem to miss! Tonight, I just sat in Carter's room and then Cooper's room and just watched them sleep. I remembered those times when they would wake me up in the middle of the night because they couldn't sleep and I remember being less than happy. I now wish that I could go back and soak it all in and appreciate that quiet time together. I actually tried to wake them up tonight, but neither one would oblige! They were completely out! I guess that is a good thing. They must feel safe and happy and comfortable...they were definitely not sitting up worrying about the passage of time!

Jim Croce has been stuck in my mind...

If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that Id like to do
Is to save every day
Till eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
Id save every day like a treasure and then,
Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
Ive looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go
Through time with

Now that reminds me of being really little!

Here are some pictures of time passing...

Cooper then...

Cooper now!

Carter then...

Carter now!

2008-07-07T12:23:00.002-04:00

I saw this list on my friend Amy's blog...

The Big Read says that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they have printed. Look through the list and bold the books you have read and post on your own blog so we can find out if they are right!

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. The Harry Potter Series - JK Rowling*
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen3
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (kind of duplicates #33)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres*
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown*
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan*
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58??? It wasn't on the list I copied
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens*
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker*
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons7
8 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens*
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple, Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro*
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince – Antoine de St. Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas*
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl*
100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

33...not bad!

Homeschooling Defense...

2008-07-01T12:16:00.003-04:00

Now, I have never made my own dress, much less wore a dress more than a handful of times in the last 10 years, but I love this article...I couldn't have said it better myself! Hope you will take the time to read it!

r.a.d.KIDS

2008-06-27T15:00:00.004-04:00

Carter just completed the r.a.d.KIDS program. Here is a video of him at his "graduation" fighting off the "bad guy". To find out more about this national program, click here.

Great job, Carter!

Red Bellied Woodpecker

2008-06-19T16:21:00.002-04:00

Today, on our walk, we first heard and then saw a red bellied woodpecker. He flew over our heads and then perched on a tree right next to us. His head was brilliant red and his wings were black with white spots. He stayed there for a few minutes pecking at the tree while we watched. Then he started making his bird call and we tried to join in...apparantly that scared him because he high tailed it out of there. Now any of you who have been reading this blog for longer than a week should know what I am going to say next. All together now..."I forgot to bring my camera". As a result, I asked my son to illustrate the beautiful bird we saw. Actually, when we got home, he made a picture of it in his nature journal.

Does anyone else think it looks like a B-2 Bomber?

Full Circle...with a Twist!

2008-06-13T14:36:00.003-04:00

Well, I think we have come full circle with our homeschooling philosophy...with a bit of a twist. We started out embarking on a "classical" path. Lots of structure and sit down work. We accomplished a lot, but something was missing. Then I went to convention and was wooed by a more relaxed, unit study approach. A more "fun" way to do school. We started out this year going down that path. We completely abandoned the classical ideas of learning history chronologically and repeating it through the grammar, logic and rhetorical stages. We dismissed the idea of coinciding our study of art and music and science to the period of history in which we were currently studying. Instead, we centered our studies around character trait unit studies that incorporated some history, art, science and music. Again we had accomplishments, but there was still something missing. Both Carter and I felt like we were not accomplishing anything. It seemed unorganized and incomplete. There were no boxes to check off that we had completed an area of study. Apparently, I need boxes! It made me feel uncomfortable. I guess I need more organization and more of a plan in my homeschool day and year. I feel like my boys are going to have to be the leaders of their home someday and I can't afford to look back and say, "Well, we didn't learn all we needed to learn, but at least we had fun! Good luck out there!" Now, I am not saying you cannot learn all you need to know by doing unit studies. And I am definitely not saying that you can't have fun. I just think I swung the pendulum a little to far for my comfort level. I trust in the classical method. I like the plan as it is laid out and I like the structure...there I said it "structure". To some that is a dirty word, but for me it is comforting. And most importantly, Carter seems to thrive with a little structure as well.

I feel like if I am going to choose to do this homeschooling thing, then I owe my boys the very best education. For us, I believe we can accomplish that through using the classical method. So we have gone back to studying history chronologically and we have added back corresponding art and music and science.

Now for the twist...my unit study days were not lived in vain. We learned a lot about how we can do school differently and how we can have a lot of fun doing it. For that, I am very grateful. And I don't want to give the impression that I am anti-unit study...we PLAN (and believe me there will be a plan) to do one on elections this fall.

Curriculum we use...
Story of the World
First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind
Handwriting w/out Tears
Exploring Creation with Astronomy
Math U See

Burn, Baby, Burn!

2008-05-28T15:42:00.010-04:00

Disco Inferno...

You know you were singing it (Amy)!

Today we went to a local ancient Indian village. It was really cool and very informative! I wish I had pictures to show you, but true to form, I forgot my camera! So on to other news...

Well, the honeymoon is now over with our new science curriculum and we absolutely LOVE it! We have started Apologia's Exploring Creation with Astronomy book and we have been learning so much and having so much fun. This week, we have been studying the sun and how massive and hot and absolutely awesome it is! Today, we got to do an experiment. We melted...uhhh, burned chocolate with a magnifying glass.

Since we performed this experiment at home and since my camera is apparently a "home body", I was able to get pictures.

We broke our chocolate into three pieces. With the first piece, we positioned the magnifying glass so that just a tiny dot of sunlight was on the chocolate.

Within 30 seconds we had a black hole of burnt chocolate the size of our sun dot. With the second piece we made a larger circle of sunlight. We ended up with some burnt chocolate, but it did not burn as quickly or as badly. With the last piece, we made a large dot that covered the whole piece of chocolate.

This resulted in the chocolate melting evenly and not burning.

So we learned that you can concentrate the sun's energy by using a magnifying glass to burn...errr heat things up...like leaves!

Ok...maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all!

The Honeymoon is Over!

2008-05-20T19:58:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago, my friend Amy blogged about new curriculum and the "honeymoon stage". Well, we have been using our new math curriculum - Math U See - for about a month now, so I think we can safely say we are out of the "honeymoon stage" and Carter and I are both still loving it! Today, Carter said that he really liked math now and that he was really learning a lot. He actually gets excited about doing math! That is what I was looking for when I switched curriculum. It wasn't that he wasn't learning math with the old curriculum we used, he just wasn't excited about it and he was beginning to not like math. That is what I did not want! He said he likes how the teacher on the DVD explains why and how math works - he doesn't just tell you to do it. I can't believe how much I have learned in this past month...not so much new information, but a different way of looking at math that makes a lot of sense and makes it much easier to understand...and fun!

We have also started a new science curriculum - Apologia's Exploring Creation through Astronomy. Now I will say we are still in the "honeymoon stage" on this one, but again Carter and I are really enjoying this book! The author, Jeannie Fulbright, does an excellent job of explaining astronomy and abstract ideas so that kids can understand them and enjoy learning about them. Science has become another favorite part of our day.

I only wish I would have incorporated these two curricula into our day sooner...I guess better late than never!

A Castle, an Epic Battle and Something Really Cool!

2008-05-12T07:48:00.014-04:00

THE CASTLE
So this past weekend, my husband took me to a castle to celebrate our wedding anniversary! It was spectacular! We had a corner room in one of the towers looking out over the green hills and miles of lush forest. There was a shining suit of armor in our room. All our food was provided. There was even a reenactment of an epic battle between fierce vikings and noble knights...

OK...so we were at the Cub Scout Knight Kamporee and there were about 60 or so 6-10 year old boys, their siblings and families there with us...but I did still get to spend my anniversary/mother's day weekend in a castle!

We had a blast and the boys had a weekend I think they will never forget.

Here are some pictures from our fun weekend...

The Castle - home of the noble knights! (Our room, bottom left hand corner)

The Fort - home of the fierce vikings!

Carter and Cooper ready for battle standing on top of the castle...

THE EPIC BATTLE
After they made their shields, swords and helmets, and after they finished their battle training, the fierce vikings and the noble knights took part in an epic battle. It seems the vikings had run a pair of underwear up the knight's flag pole, then they came to attack the castle and attempt to steal the treasure of ring pops! Here is a short video from the battle. Notice the "rocks" being dropped by the knights onto the vikings from the castle and the "fireball" catapulted at the castle...it really was a lot of fun!

Carter fought valiantly right to the end...

In the end, the King spared the Viking Warlord and the knights and the vikings all shared the treasure of ring pops!

THE REALLY COOL NEWS
Although staying in a castle and taking part in an epic battle was incredible, the best part of the weekend was heading down to Louisville on Saturday night to be a witness to my "niece's" baptism.

We're Back!

2008-05-06T19:33:00.021-04:00

You may have noticed we have been gone for awhile. We took our "spring break" last week and went to Florida to visit grandma and grandpa. We had a wonderful, relaxing time. My brother in Arizona was able to come down for a few days and visit as well. It was great to see him and Carter and Cooper had a blast hanging out with their uncle.

While we were in Florida, we went fishing, visited MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry), visited the aquarium and of course spent some days on the beach. It really was wonderful to just relax and have some fun!

True to form, half the places we visited, I forgot to bring my camera...I did, however, manage to remember my camera on a couple of occasions and get a few pictures before heading home...

Here are some pictures from the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. This is an awesome aquarium. We saw many different fish, alligators, sharks, turtles of all sizes, sea horses, sea dragons, the largest grouper I have ever seen, and took in a penguin show!

Grandma and Grandpa bowling on the Wii!

At the beach...

Now we're off to spend the weekend in a castle!!

New Math...

2008-04-23T14:57:00.003-04:00

With much thought and research...we have decided to change our math program. We have decided on Math-U-See. I say "we" because I involved Carter in this decision since he is the one who has to actually "do" the math and is not satisfied with our current math curriculum. We checked out many different programs and I think this one is the best for us!

I ordered the demo DVD and sat down to watch it. As someone who is math challenged (my brain just does not work that way), I could not believe how much I learned watching that DVD. The DVD had examples of basic arithmetic to multiplication/division to fractions to advanced algebra. I have had a lot of math in my day, and I am embarrassed to say, this was the first time I have actually understood some of it. It helped me to look at math in a whole new way. Later that night, I watched it with Tim and he was blown away as well.

Something else happened while I was previewing the DVD; someone crept in to join me. I was going to watch some of the DVD with Carter later, but he crept in and started watching it. He was glued too! He said he really liked the way the teacher on the DVD explained the math and he liked that it helped him figure out problems more quickly.

Another bonus to this company is that it is a Christian company. They offer a CD of songs that teach skip counting and addition facts. The skip counting songs have biblical themes. I just thought that was a pretty cool bonus...

Well today we received our package in the mail from the Math-U-See people. I was going to wait about a week to start this with Carter to give him a break. But, while I was sorting all of the manipulatives he actually asked me if he could do some math...did you read that...he ASKED to do math. Well, that was new! Hopefully this excitement will continue!

MS Walk!

2008-04-19T12:21:00.006-04:00

Carter and I completed the MS Walk this morning. Thanks to all of our generous donors who helped us raise $180 for MS in less than one week! Here are some pictures from the walk...

Before...he really was happier than he looks!

Carter getting ready...

Carter walking backwards for MS...

We had a lot of fun! Carter wants to do it again next year but this time start earlier, maybe form a team and raise even more money for a great cause! Thanks again to all those that helped!

Let's Go Outside!

2008-04-17T17:56:00.007-04:00

Nice weather equals school outside at our house! Everyone is happier and we seem to get so much more done.

Did your teachers ever take you outside for class? Mine did and I used to LOVE it! I don't care what subject it was, it was always easier to swallow outside! Breathing in the fresh air, feeling the sunshine always made me feel alive again. After spending the whole winter inside the dark, stale building, it was so nice to get out among the living (plants, trees, birds)! The time would fly by as well...I think having class outside is one of my best memories from school.

Here are some pictures from our outside school day. Cooper (and Carter...he still loves to play this game) "letter jumping". In this game I call out a letter and Cooper (or Carter) goes and jumps on it!

Here is Cooper jumping on a "F"!

Here is Luna enjoying being outside...I think she's still looking for the "F"!

Carter also started his nature journal today. It seems more and more we are going down the Charlotte Mason path (with a touch of classical mixed in). We decided, to go along with our almost daily walks, that once a week Carter would contribute a page to his nature journal. I bought one of those books at convention from the wonderful people at Miller paper that has the blank area at the top and lines at the bottom. So at the top he draws a picture of something he picks from nature and at the bottom he writes a sentence or two about it.

...Today he chose...a blade of grass.

I was going to take a picture of his first endeavor, but I think you can probably imagine what it looks like. I bet you can even guess the caption...hint - it is two sentences!

I guess he does not want to start out too crazy with something like a leaf or a rock.

Frankly, I am just glad he is excited about it! I think it will be cool to someday look back at his drawings and his captions. Hopefully, along the way, he will discover something he would not otherwise have noticed!

Signs of Spring!

2008-04-16T15:45:00.007-04:00

Here are some signs of spring that we found this morning on our walk! Photography by Carter!

I don't know about you, but just looking at these pictures makes me sneeze!

Gesundheit!

...The One on Manners

2008-04-05T23:29:00.004-04:00

Today, we went to the local museum center. We really had a wonderful time, but one thing kept bothering me over and over again. Manners! The lack there of that is! I am shocked by the absence of manners in most children that are old enough that they should know better. It really is ugly and disgusting! Now my kids by no means have perfect or even close to perfect manners, but at least I care and at least I try to correct them. What I saw today was a bunch of pushy, impatient, rude children spurred on by either their pushy, impatient, rude parents or their apathetic parents. I guess you really can't blame the children when their parents are either setting the example or not setting an example at all! I was especially surprised by how these children treated my 3 year old! Seven, eight year old children were cutting in front of him and treating him like he was not even there. Jumping in front of him as he was getting ready to do one of the activities, actually pushing him to get into a glass tube to take a look inside a pond (that kid got a piece of my mind). But again, not a parent in sight! In my opinion, there is something fundamentally wrong with you when you have no sympathy for someone or something who is smaller or weaker than you. These kids were old enough to know better and did not give a lick that I was standing right there! I felt like I was in a world of Varuca Salts and everyone wanted a golden egg NOW!!!

The pushing, the cutting in line, the running to be first...and the parents doing nothing! Maybe the problem is the parents are assuming the schools are teaching manners to the children and the schools are assuming the parents are teaching the manners to the children - as a result, the children are not learning manners at all...well, you know what they say about assuming!

I couldn't help but wonder...what will it be like when these kids grow up and we are old? Do they have any respect for any other living thing besides themselves?

YUCK!!

...stepping off soap box!

The Art Museum

2008-04-02T16:42:00.002-04:00

Today, we were fortunate to attend a field trip with our little group to the local art museum. It was really cool, because it was as if the tour was designed just for us. You see, we have been reading our Story of the World and learning about the early civilizations and dynasties of Rome, Great Britain, Byzantium, India, China, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand. The museum tour guide led us on a scavanger hunt through the different ancient collections. As a result, we saw many cool artifacts from different countries from the time period we have been studying. We saw a very old Kimono from Japan, many ancient Buddahs dating from around the time of the Gupta dynasty in India, clay horses and pottery from the Tang Dynasty in China along with many other pieces of art from Africa and Mayan civilizations.

Probably the neatest thing we saw was from the chapter in history that we read today before we left for the museum. We read about the Maori people that first came to the islands of New Zealand. It is believed that these people originally came from the Polynesian islands traveling thousands of miles in large canoes. Well, the museum had a replica of one of these canoes! Carter and I read the description and both looked at each other in amazement! "We just read about these!" said Carter. "I know!" I said with excitement.

Pretty cool and lots of fun!

Play and Learn!

2008-04-01T14:18:00.002-04:00

Carter loves to make movies with our old movie camera with his friends and cousin. Usually he has not put a whole lot of planning into these "movies". That is until his latest creation.

One day, when the snow was high and the thermometer was low, Carter decided to make a "Play and Learn" movie for Cooper. He teaches him the letters and numbers and shapes and colors. He even came up with a theme song that he sings. It is so cute! And Cooper really watches and actually answers his questions like what letter is this, what number comes next, etc. He has now made 3 movies in the "Play and Learn" series!

There is only one problem...we rarely see Carter's head in any of the movies! He sets the camera on his desk, so unless he is back by the far wall, you cannot see his head! I guess we need to get him a tripod!

Nature Walks Resumed!

2008-03-31T10:58:00.003-04:00

After a long, cold, snowy winter...our nature walks have officially resumed. We tried to walk some during the winter, but there were few days that wind chills or inches of snow would permit!

It felt great to get outside again, breathe in the fresh air and walk, talk and observe. Carter wants to go on another again tonight! Luna is already sacked out on the floor...resting and content. Getting out there and getting our blood pumping really does invigorate us all for the rest of the learning day ahead. I highly recommend it to everyone!

Enjoy the approaching spring!

DS Math and Little Trekkies

2008-03-11T19:52:00.007-04:00

Well...Grandma started it. When she was visiting last week, she did Carter's math with him on his Nintendo DS. See, she has a DS too, so they would send the problems and answers back and forth to one another. Now that she has gone back home, we are still doing Carter's math on his DS...at least most of it. Now there is only one DS in the house so we have to pass it back and forth, but we are still having a lot of fun. Carter says he is going to buy me one so that we can do math like he did with Grandma. Hey, I'm not going to tell him how to spend his money...Either way, math time has been going by quickly and painlessly!

As for the "Little Trekkies" part of this post...this past week we had a blizzard in our area, so we did not get out much. Prior to the storm, we had made a visit to Sam's. Like most of our visits to Sam's, we bought a few things that were not on our list. One of those impulse buys was purchased by my husband...the complete first season of the original Star Trek series. Since we had a lot of time on our hands over the last weekend, we were able to watch many of the episodes. As a result, Carter...and Cooper to some extent...have become Trekkies! They love it! Since the weekend we have watched an episode every evening. I see phasers and tricorders in my future!

Live long and prosper...and try doing your math on a DS!

Ben Stein's New Movie

2008-03-11T10:43:00.004-04:00

For some reason, my link on my sidebar is not working. Check out this new movie by Ben Stein here...I highly recommend the "Super Trailer".

Here is a summary of the movie from the website...

"Coming to a theater near you on April 18, 2008.

Ben travels the world on his quest, and learns an awe-inspiring truth...that bewilders him, then angers him...and then spurs him to action!

Ben realizes that he has been "Expelled," and that educators and scientist are being ridiculed, denied tenure and even fired - for the "crime" of merely believing that there might be evidence of "design" in nature, and that perhaps life is not just the result of accidental, random chance."

In the Motherhood...

2008-03-08T11:36:00.003-05:00

If you have not checked these stories out yet, click here...they are hilarious! (You may want to sensor from the kiddies...some language and such is not appropriate)

The stories are written by real moms and performed by Lisa Remini and Jenny McCarthy.

Check it out when you get the chance...

...And Baby Turns 3!

2008-03-04T08:00:00.006-05:00

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY

COOPER!

Today is Cooper's birthday! We celebrated this past weekend...here are a few highlights!

Anyone that knows Cooper knows he LOVES phones. So, for his birthday cake, I attempted to make a phone cake. I know it is not pretty, but HE loved it...and that is all that matters, right?

Opening presents....

Carter and Lillian were the official "card readers"....

They also performed a song they made up for Cooper...it was very cute, but I missed recording it!

And finally, Cooper blowing out his candle...

Happy Birthday, Super Duper Cooper! We love you!!!

School Updates

2008-02-26T14:58:00.002-05:00

Well, we have been chugging away...working with my updated schedule I created a few weeks ago. The schedule has been working well...especially for me. It has helped me stay ahead of the game with library books and supplies. I hope to keep it up. It is funny how much easier and smoother things go if you have everything you need to do a lesson!

In history we have been learning about India and Buddhism and about what is now Saudi Arabia and the rise of Islam. It has been very interesting. I was a little worried it might make Carter question what he believes. Not that questioning is bad...in fact I believe you should question and investigate in order to truly believe. But he looks at it the same as when we studied Rome and the Roman gods. He just doesn't believe it is true.

In our book club this month we read books about Rosa Parks. What a strong, proud woman. She was truly inspirational, very brave and very smart! Again, I was a little apprehensive about approaching the subject with Carter because he is completely color blind and I want him to stay that way, but I can't ignore what happened. He was shocked to hear that African American people were not allowed eat at the same counter, ride in the front of the bus, drink at the same water fountain...He could not understand why and frankly it was hard for me to explain. In the end, I am glad our librarian exposed us to Rosa Parks and helped me help Carter understand a little bit of this nations past.

This morning, despite the rain, Carter attended another Homeschool Science day at our area parks district. They have these classes monthly and they are great! This month the kids got to learn how to tap maple trees and make maple syrup. He visited the "sugar shack" and tasted sap and syrup. He got to see the sap boiling and reducing to make the syrup. He learned how much sap it takes to make one gallon of syrup. And he learned about maple sugar. He really had fun and learned a lot!

Well, the rain has now changed to snow and Cooper is napping...I think I may too!

I'm Groovy!

2008-02-23T13:03:00.001-05:00

I don't think anyone has ever called me "groovy"...Groovy!!

What type of Mother Hen Are You?
by Montessorimom.com: Educational Resource

Valentine's Rewind...

2008-02-15T12:33:00.006-05:00

We had a fun Valentine's Day. Carter and Cooper had a Valentine's party with their co-op friends. I think fun was had by all. First the kids decorated a box for their Valentines, then they ate a snack and finally they exchanged their Valentines. Here are some pictures of the festivities!

I also had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Carter made his dad and I a beautiful card and gave me a rose. And Tim gave me a fantastic Valentine's/Anniversary/Birthday gift. I got a new laptop...a teeny, tiny, cute little laptop. I love it! It is made for browsing and email, (which is all I really do...well, that and Webkinz) but it really is pretty powerful. It does not have a hard drive it has a flash drive, like an IPod. It runs Linux but you can load Windows XP on it. It is completely compatible with Windows. It boots up instantly and is wireless and it is so small, I can put it in my purse and take it wherever I want to go! Here are some pictures!

Here it is sitting on a standard file folder...isn't it cute?

Thank you Timmy! I love it!

Book Tag

2008-02-14T08:46:00.005-05:00

This looked like fun...I saw it on a friend's blog. Here are the rules...

Rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the 5th sentence.
4. Post the next 3 sentences.
5. Tag your friends!

I have been reading "Parenting is Heart Work" by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller. OK, here it goes...

"Time after time, parents describe behavior problems of disrespect, lack of cooperation, or a demanding spirit, and we start by encouraging them to connect emotionally with their children. Other tools are often necessary to teach and train, but the emotional connectedness has the greatest impact on their relationships. It's only a piece of a larger puzzle, but its importance is amazing in the overall parenting process."

Well, that is good to know!

Amy and Kim...consider yourselves tagged!

WARNING...Political Post!

2008-02-13T12:28:00.003-05:00

The following was written by Mike Huckabee on his blog found on his website http://www.mikehuckabee.com/

The first question I am often asked these days is: "Why are you still running for President?"

It is because I believe that I am the best candidate to represent you in the fall against the Democrats. Why? Because I have core conservative beliefs that I have never wavered from:

I believe in the Human Life Amendment and I will fight for it from Day 1 of my Presidency.

I believe in the Marriage Amendment.

I believe in massive tax reform and am an advocate of the FairTax.

I believe that President Bush's tax cuts should be made permanent.

I believe in the Surge, our troops and General Petraeus.

I believe the 2nd amendment is one of the best ways to protect us from tyranny and I will work tirelessly to protect it from activist judges.

I believe in real border security and have proposed a detailed 9 point plan to secure our borders.

I believe the best judge is a conservative judge that won't legislate from the bench.

These are some of the reasons why I am running for President and let me also say that YOU are another reason. I am running to give you a voice in the process. To lift up your voice with mine and to tell our Party and our government that we need to do better. We need to think big and fight for our ideas.

There’s lots of voting left to be done before our Republican Party’s nominee is decided.

Share this blog post with your friends and family and spread the word. We are still in this race and we are running hard.

There are some major differences between Mike Huckabee and John McCain. Check them out for yourself at www.ontheissues.org

My DNA...

2008-02-03T16:32:00.001-05:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Staying the course...

2008-01-25T10:22:00.000-05:00

Well, I don't really have anything new to report...we are just doing our best to keep to our schedule and get done what we need to get done. I have to say...we are doing a pretty good job, so far! My homeschool mom's group is reading Homeschooling at the Speed of Life. So far, it looks to be a good book with a lot of great suggestions for getting organized. It comes with a CD with a ton of forms to help get you started. I look forward to reading more and developing a workable schedule for us all so things around here (school, housework, meals, etc.) will run smoothly.

Yesterday, when it was around 16 degrees, Carter and I went swimming. He thinks it is so much fun to swim when it is snowing (which it was when we got there). The pool we go to has one wall that is all windows so you can see what is happening outside.

As for Cooper news...he has been learning his letters, shapes, colors and numbers and is basically having fun all day. His new thing...He has been going "wee wee" in the potty! Wow, I did not expect this! I wasn't going to even think about this until after his birthday, but if he wants to go for it, I'll be there to clean up the messes!

Well, I'm headed off tonight to a fun, crafty mom's night with some of the gals from our group. Have a great weekend!

What We Have Been Up To...

2008-01-18T13:49:00.000-05:00

This week has been a fun week. I started the week with my homeschool groups monthly meeting. At the meeting, Sara, one of the moms, inspired me to incorporate more "life skills" teaching into our day. So this week, we set out to do just that! Carter made pancakes for us from "scratch", well...Bisquick scratch! I supervised, but he did the whole thing! He read the directions, measured, turned on the stove, mixed, poured and flipped. I was very proud and he did a great job. He was very proud of himself as well and it has inspired him to want to cook some more! Later in the week, we made banana bread and he did that as well! He also vacuumed his room and helped fold the clothes and put his own clothes away. I'm glad I went to the meeting Sunday night and heard Sara speak about all the incredible things she has taught her sons to do. I think you get in a rut of how you do things and you forget that your children are growing and can do more. So I have been inspired to teach Carter more and to let him actually do it!

We also had a fun week "academically" speaking. We did the usual math, handwriting, vocabulary, reading comprehension, etc. But our Story of the World history was once again a highlight! This week we learned about the Celts and the Dark Ages (I actually learned why it was called the Dark Ages....must have been sleeping during that class in school). We got to read Beowulf as well. Yes, you read that right...I was excited about reading Beowulf. You see I can remember "reading" Beowulf in school...I did not understand a word of the old English and had no idea what the story was about. It definitely stands out as memorable moment in school...not a good memory mind you! The Story of the World includes a "modern" retelling of the story. What a great story! We had a blast reading it! I'm glad when Carter hears the word "Beowulf" he will be able to retell the story with some excitement...not cringe!

Today, we made a double headed axe like the Celts would have used to fight! Here is a picture of Carter looking fierce (?) with his axe...

We were going to paint his skin blue and spike up his hair like the Celts, but we have to go somewhere this afternoon and Carter did not want to take a shower before we went! Use your imagination!

Fun in School!

2008-01-11T15:36:00.000-05:00

Well, I have to say, we have really been having a lot of fun with school lately. A big reason for that is the Story of the World. We started Volume 2 of this history curriculum at the first of the year and Carter and I are both really liking it! It is so well written...very engaging and interesting. Carter doesn't want to stop reading it. The suggested activities have been a lot of fun and so far have been more than just busy work. They have actually added to the lesson.

Right now we are studying the ancient Roman empire - its height and its fall. Today, we did some more of the suggested activities. First, for lunch, we ate like a Roman soldier. We made hamburger patties and placed them on a sheet of aluminum foil. Then we added chunks of carrots, onion and potato, along with a little salt and pepper. We wrapped it all up in the foil and baked them in the oven (the soldiers would have thrown them on the fire, but it was a little rainy outside for the fire pit). When they were done and after they cooled, we ate them with our fingers like the Roman soldiers would have done. We all got in the act! We talked about what kind of meat they might have eaten, why they would have eaten root veggies like carrots and potatoes and why they would have eaten with their hands.

Here is a picture of Carter helping by peeling the potatoes...

Here is a picture of Carter and Cooper adding veggies to their dish! (Please ignore the sink-full of dishes in the background :)

Earlier in the week, we had colored a map and outlined the borders of the Roman Empire when it was at its height. Today, we took a magic carpet ride over the empire once again using a large wall map of the world. Here is a picture of Carter on his "magic carpet"!

After his magic carpet ride, Carter decided to dress up in a toga...and his mother forgot to take a picture. Just imagine him wrapped up in a sheet...you get the picture.

It has really been fun and I think we have both learned a lot about ancient Rome! Looking forward to the next chapter...

Tim Hawkins on Parenting

2008-01-08T09:38:00.001-05:00

I know...More Tim Hawkins...

Kids' Rock by Tim Hawkins

2008-01-08T09:27:00.001-05:00

This is so funny. Tim Hawkins is the dad in the Addams Family/Homeschool video I posted awhile back. Check out his website at TimHawkins.net. He is very funny...and clean!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2008-01-01T11:46:00.001-05:00

Elvis Spotting

2007-12-21T23:32:00.001-05:00

Yep! I still married him!

You've Got to Check This Out!

2007-12-15T12:43:00.000-05:00

Hilarious...click here!

Long Post...Long Over Due!

2007-12-12T11:30:00.000-05:00

Well, things have been going at 1,000 miles per hour around here. Thankfully they have slowed down a bit...at least enough for me to be able to update this blog! So here it goes - here is what we have been up to this past month!

BAKERY FIELD TRIP
One of the moms in our homeschool group arranged a field trip for our group to her mom's bakery. We had a lot of fun baking and decorating cookies and frosting cupcakes. Here are some pictures from our trip!

CO-OP: THE FIRST THANKSGIVING
Next, we went to our monthly co-op class. This time, I was the teacher. Since it was November, we learned about the pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving. Here is a picture of the kiddos planting corn with real fish like Squanto had taught them to do.We also made a Native American toy that they probably played with on the first Thanksgiving. Here is a picture of the kiddos playing with the toys they made.

TRIP TO SEE A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Next, we went to visit my cousin and take in a production of the Christmas Carol. We had a great time visiting with family and seeing the play. The kids really enjoyed it...and us big kids did also! After the play we went back to my cousins for some yummy chili and then the little ones made their own gingerbread houses. Here they are with their houses!

FIRST SNOW OF THE SEASON!

A week or so ago we woke up to the first snow of the season. We ate breakfast, got our snow clothes on and went out to play. Here are some pictures of us having fun in the snow!

ORCHESTRA FIELD TRIP:

Last week, we went to hear the local symphony orchestra. It was part of their children's series. We learned all about the brass instruments. It was a lot of fun and we have enjoyed listening to the CD they gave of the music they performed at our concert. We are looking forward to returning in February to hear all about percussion instruments. Dad may have to take a day off work and take Carter to that one!

CHRISTMAS PARTY:
Last Friday, our homeschool group had a Christmas Party for the kids. They played games, decorated popcorn balls and painted ornaments. Everyone had a blast! Here is a picture of the kids at the end of the party...I'm surprised it is not a big blur...they were all on a major sugar high!

Hopefully I will have time to post again soon!

Mondays With Mike...Just Under the Wire!

2007-12-03T23:54:00.001-05:00

Check this out! Thanks to my friend for the link...you know who you are :)

Sorry Mike...But This Is A Cool Video!

2007-12-03T09:02:00.000-05:00

My cousin-in-law Jenny sent this to me...check it out!

I Know It Is Not Monday, But...

2007-11-28T19:13:00.000-05:00

Mike Huckabee is leading in Iowa according to Rasmussen! Check out the results of their poll here...it is very interesting!

Go Mike!

Back From Arizona!

2007-11-27T10:54:00.000-05:00

As in years past, we headed out to Scottsdale, Arizona to spend Thanksgiving at my brother's house. My parents came out from Florida and my sister-in-law's sister and husband came out from California. We had a wonderful week, soaking up the sun, swimming and just enjoying the sunny, 80 degree weather! Here is a picture of Cooper soaking up the sun!

Of course we ate our fare share of turkey and dressing (and a few oysters flown in from Florida...I didn't eat them, but Dad and Carter did!). We also managed to get out and do a few other things.

First, we visited the Southwest Wildlife Rescue. Here we saw animals that are not able to be rehabilitated. Many of them had been kept as pets and were not able to be returned to the wild. The majority of the animals that come there are rehabilitated and returned to the wild. It is a wonderful place to visit because you can get an up close look at many animals. The guides there are very informative as well. We saw coyotes, wolves, mountain lions (scary how quiet they are), bobcats, havalinas, and bears! I have some pictures of our visit, but I can't find them at the moment. I will post when I find them!

Next, we visited the Heard Museum in Phoenix. It is a Native American museum focusing mainly on the Southwest Indians. They had some beautiful exhibits of clothing, blankets, dolls and pottery. It was an interesting perspective on early American history.

The day after Thanksgiving we skipped the shopping (I do all of mine online anyways) and headed to the zoo. Phoenix has a wonderful zoo...if you are ever in the area you should go! Here is a picture of Carter at the zoo.

It was great being able to spend time with my family. We had a blast just sitting around talking and playing cards. What a bonus to be able to meet up in Arizona!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Mondays with Mike

2007-11-12T18:37:00.000-05:00

Check out Mike here in this short video...

What We Are Up To This Month...

2007-11-06T12:30:00.001-05:00

Well, we wrapped up our leaf study with a class at the local park district about leaves and why they change colors.

This month we are back to using our KONOS and back to the Attentiveness unit. This month we will be studying pioneers (Lewis and Clark, Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett) and the woodland and southwest Native Americans. We will also be doing sort of a mini study on the pilgrims, Wampanog indians and the first thanksgiving. This should work in well with celebrating the holiday and visiting Arizona where we will be going to the Heard Museum.

I'll keep you updated on our progress...now I need to get back to tending my Webkinz garden... ;o)

Mondays with Mike...

2007-11-05T09:10:00.000-05:00

This is a great article from the Washington Post titled "How Huckabee Could Rock the 2008 Vote". Click here to read it!

Graceland

2007-11-04T14:33:00.000-05:00

This past week, we went to Graceland...Elvis' Graceland that is! We really had a great time. My husband has been an Elvis fan since he was a little boy...not one of those weird-dresses-up-and-thinks-he's-Elvis-kind-of-fan (well, there was a Halloween...), but a real fan of his music and his contribution to music history. My husband had tickets to see him as a little boy, but Elvis died before the concert date! He had never visited his home, so for his birthday this year, we decided to go. I have to say...it was pretty cool! His house is not nearly as gaudy as I thought from seeing pictures. It is actually very modest and quite beautiful...in a bold, '70's kind of way! It is amazing to see how many gold and platinum records he had and the stories of his generosity to people were overwhelming. It really is a great place to visit!

While we were in Memphis we also went to Sun Studios, where Elvis and Johnny Cash and many others got their start. We had some marvelous BBQ and also visited the Children's Museum of Memphis. After leaving Memphis, we stopped in Nashville and stopped by the home of the Grand Ol' Opry - The Ryman Auditorium. Here are some pictures from our trip...

Dad in front of the gate...

Heading up to the front door...Dad in the living room...Carter with some of Elvis' gold records...Dad by the "Lisa Marie"...Carter and Cooper walking around Memphis...The gang at Sun Studios...

Carter and Cooper putting on an impromptu play at the Children's Museum of Memphis...I think Cooper is trying to close the curtain on Carter!

And, lastly, here is the gang at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

Thank ya for reading the post and checking out the pictures.... thank ya...thankyaverymuch!

(Oh, come on, you knew that was coming!)

Mondays with Mike - Better Late than Never!

2007-10-29T22:35:00.001-04:00

Are You a Rebel or a Yankee?

2007-10-28T22:41:00.000-04:00

Click HERE to take a fun little test to find out...by the way, I am 79% Dixie...YEEEEHAW!!!

Body Systems

2007-10-26T14:46:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, in our little group, Kim P. taught us all about our different body systems. We learned a little about the digestive, nervous, skeletal/muscular, and circulatory systems. She read some books to us and then we did some activities. First, we traced our bodies onto butcher paper and pasted and drew in our organs.

Here is Carter...

And here is Cooper!

We also played a game to help us learn about the circulatory system and how blood flows through our bodies. The kids really had fun playing the game and Carter came home in the evening and told Dad all he had learned.

Fascinating Fact we both learned...if you took all your arteries, veins and capillaries and placed them end to end they would circle the earth two times!

Thanks Kim for teaching us all!

Karate - Red & White Belt

2007-10-25T21:43:00.000-04:00

Carter passed his first "kata" (kata ichi) this evening to achieve his Red & White belt! Congratulations Carter! We are so proud of him! He is really doing a great job!

Here he is in action...don't sit to close to your screen...you may get hit by his fists of fury!

Mondays With Mike - Glenn Beck with Mike Huckabee (10/19/07)

2007-10-22T09:47:00.001-04:00

This will take a few minutes, but please listen if you have the time...

End of the Week Thoughts...

2007-10-19T14:33:00.000-04:00

First of all, we did complete our experiment from yesterday...there just wasn't much to take pictures of. We separated the colors in three different kinds of leaves. It was really easy and a lot of fun! If you would like to do this experiment, you can find it here (scroll down to the bottom to Project 1).

Today, on our walk, we took our tree book and tried to identify what kind of leaves we found. Our walk took a little longer than usual, but we had lots of fun. We found, oaks, maples, dogwoods, walnuts, lindens, blue spruces, sweet gums and locust trees. We also found a bunch we could not identify...we need a better tree book! When we were almost home, Carter said, "Mom you're a great teacher...I learned a lot about trees today." WOW! That made the getting up early and forcing myself to take a walk all worth it...

Although we have had a busy week, with a lot of outside activities, we managed to get everything done we had planned to do! I like it when we get all our plans done...I guess I feel like I am on track.

Have a great weekend!

More Signs of Fall

2007-10-18T13:45:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, we looked for more signs of fall when we went on our daily walk. Here is what we found...Photography by Carter.

Today, we picked up some leaves for an experiment. We'll have those results later!

There is change in the wind...

2007-10-17T13:35:00.000-04:00

I have been trying to post some pictures all morning that we took on our walk today, but it is not working. Blogger says they are working on the problem, so we will try that later - as a result, you just get to read my words.

We are making a change from our KONOS this month. Carter is bored with this months subject matter, so being "flexible" homeschoolers, we are going to study something he is interested in. We will still review the character trait from our KONOS unit - Trust - but we are going to skip all the stuff about sheep, fiber arts, weaving. Truth be told, he has already studied this at least once in the past. He spent a whole co-op term on this last spring. Seeing sheep sheared, learning about sheep and shepherds, cleaning and carding wool, actually spinning wool with a spinning wheel and using a drop spindle that he made. Not to mention, we just spent a weekend watching it all done again! He really is not interested in reviewing it one more time, so we are moving on to something else.

He wants to REALLY learn why the leaves change color in the fall. He understands it is mainly from the decrease in light, but he wants to know the science behind it. The hows and whys, so we are going to jump into that for the next two weeks. I have found some great websites on the subject and some books from the library. I also found a lapbooking kit on the subject. So that is how we are going to finish up October...studying leaves. I think we are both looking forward to it!

I'll be back with pictures once blogger gets working again!

Mondays with Mike...Check it out!

2007-10-15T23:50:00.001-04:00

This is a video of Mike Huckabee responding to a question about evolution. It is short...worth a listen!

Spider Hunting

2007-10-14T15:50:00.001-04:00

Today, we went spider hunting with a naturalist from the County Park District. It was one of the programs they offer...however, it was just us, Carter's friend Camon, an older gentleman and the naturalist. She had been one of the camp counselors from the boys summer camp so they were all "old friends". First, she showed us some spiders in jars, a daddy long legs and a spider skin. She told us the myth that is going around that daddy long legs are actually the most poisonous spiders - their mouth is just too small to bite us - is absolutely not true. First, daddy long legs are not spiders. They have a one segment body (spiders have two), they have two eyes (most spiders have eight), they do not have fangs or venom, they do not spin web (all spiders can spin web, just not all use it to catch pray). Daddy long legs are in a classification of their own...I can't remember the scientific name. We learned that spiders, unlike insects, never stop growing. We also learned that spiders shead their skins like snakes. Here's a picture of the boys checking out some of the spiders she brought with her.

After she told us about the different spiders she had, we went on a hike searching for spiders. Carter found a large "grass" spider that just so happened to be living in something dead. We were not able (or willing) to catch that one. We learned about different kinds of webs. We learned about a spider that lives here that actually eats small minnows. There are more than 600 different spiders that live in our state. All in all, we ended up catching about 5 spiders, a daddy long legs, and a walking stick bug. We had a lot of fun walking in the woods, learning about spiders.

100 Feet Down...

2007-10-11T20:37:00.000-04:00

That is where we spent this afternoon...more than 100 feet below the ground in a cavern. We saw stalagmites and stalactites, bats and colorful mineral deposits. At one point, our guide turned the lights out. We were supposed to be very quiet, however, as soon as he turned the lights out, Cooper repeated over and over "turn the lights on, turn the lights on". It kind of ruined the effect, but you can't get much darker than that! Here are a few pictures...

Ooops...I forgot yesterday was Monday!

2007-10-09T13:43:00.000-04:00

Well, we had a long weekend around our house and all day yesterday I thought it was Sunday. As a result, I forgot to post my "Monday's with Mike"...so, without further delay...

It seems Ted Nugent is a fan of Gov. Huckabee. Here is an excerpt from an interview with Mr. Nugent.

GLENN: ...Ted, one more thing. Let me ask you, have you made a decision on if you had a gun to your head today -- and I just want to make it very clear, you don't have one. But if you had a gun to your head today, who would you vote for?

NUGENT: Do I really have to answer that question?

GLENN: Yeah.

NUGENT: It's tough. My favorite man or individual running for the presidency of the United States of America right now today, since you're holding that gun to my head.

GLENN: Yeah.

NUGENT: Is a man who covers all the bases for we the people, the U.S. constitution, the Bill of Rights, decency and that's Mike Huckabee.

GLENN: Mike Huckabee, I would have thought you were a Ron Paul guy.

NUGENT: Ron's a good man, Fred Thompson's a good man, I like Mitt Romney and Mr. Giuliani on many levels. But no one in my estimation today -- and I'm not voting today.

GLENN: No, no, if you had a gun to my head. We're the same way. I would never draw a gun on you because I'd lose.

NUGENT: But Mike Huckabee, I'm telling you I've spent time with the man, I've watched how he conducts his personal life, his family life as governor of the State of Arkansas.

GLENN: Oh, Ted, personal life doesn't -- personal life, personal life doesn't matter. You know that. You learned that.

NUGENT: Well, a person's moral compass, I believe.

GLENN: What did you say?

NUGENT: It's an indicator of a person's moral compass, I believe.

GLENN: No! No! Bill Clinton told me. Bill Clinton told me personal life doesn't -- just go in and do the right thing. You know, from 9:00 to 5:00. You can do whatever you want outside at 9:00 to 5:00.

NUGENT: I don't think so.

GLENN: All right. Ted, always good to talk to you, sir.

NUGENT: Glenn, God speed.

GLENN: You bet, bye-bye.
END TRANSCRIPT

Cub Scout Family Bash

2007-10-08T17:04:00.001-04:00

This past weekend, we went to the Cub Scout Family Bash. We had a great time. The weather felt much more like summer (in the 90s) than it did October. We camped with Carter's Pack and he was able to participate in a number of activities.

When we first got there, they did a scavenger hunt which took us all over the camp grounds. After that, they made a craft. Then it was lunch time. After lunch time they got to go on an obstacle course. Carter went about 5 times - he loved it! Here is a picture near the entrance of the course.

Next, he got to try his hand at a sling shot. After a safety speech...he got his chance. He was able to hit the target (tin pie plate) twice.

After the sling shots, it was off to the archery range. After another short safety speech he was able to shoot a bow and arrow. This was his favorite of the day (next to sleeping in the tent).

Last stop...BB Guns! Something he has done numerous times with Dad, but shooting a BB gun is always fun (or so I've been told). After yet another short safety speech, he was shooting at a target. He got two bulls eyes!

Then it was time to head back to camp for a little rest and play time!

The kids played, the parents rested...it was fun. Here's a picture of Dad and Cooper enjoying our summer like weather!

Later, we ate dinner with Carter's den. Then, when it got dark, we got to look through a huge telescope one of the parents brought. We saw Jupiter, Saturn, Venus and the Moon. Saturn was the coolest...you could see the rings and everything...amazing! Then we went on a fun "cat eye" night hike. We went in small groups and looked for "cat eye's" in the woods with our flashlights. You would shine your flashlight and look for cat eye's...when you found them you walked to them and then looked for the next set to know which way to go. We did that twice! Then it was time for the campfire. The kids sang and told jokes and performed skits!

The only trouble we had was with Cooper sleeping. Apparently, he does not like to sleep in the tent. He made it about and hour and a half and then he started screaming...to the top of his lungs. I could hear the adjacent tents waking up, so I had to get him out of there. Cooper and I ended up sleeping in the van all night...and I'm pretty sure I saw the "ghost light" at one point.

All in all we had a great time!

Huffman Prairie and the Wright Flyer III

2007-10-05T17:23:00.000-04:00

Today we went to Huffman Prairie to watch a replica of the Wright Flyer III fly on it's 102nd Anniversary. Here is a little about Huffman Prairie and the Flyer...

The Huffman Prairie Flying Field is the birthplace of aviation. Here, in 1904 and 1905, the Wright brothers, in their own words, "really learned to fly" and perfected their invention. With their Flyer II in 1904, they made the first turn and completed the first circle in powered flight. The next year their Flyer III taught them "the secrets of powered flight" which enabled them to apply for a patent. The brothers returned to Huffman Prairie in 1910 and operated a flying school for six years.

We had a lot of fun watching the flyer "fly"...actually, it sort of crashed landed. The pilot was fine, but the flyer was broken, so the second scheduled flight had to be cancelled.

The flyer ready to fly in the catapult...

In flight...

Crash landing...

It's kind of hard to see, but it is over there behind the trees...

The announcer came on the microphone and announced that the pilot was fine, but the propellers were shattered, so no more flying. He added that it was actually pretty appropriate since the Wright Brothers themselves probably crashed more at Huffman Prairie than they actually flew!

Mondays with Mike

2007-10-01T08:02:00.001-04:00

Today, I am starting something new. On Mondays, I am going to start posting something from or about Mike Huckabee. So here it goes...this is a video about Mike Huckabee's views concerning Home Schooling (something near and dear to my heart)...

Our First Lapbook!

2007-09-28T16:47:00.000-04:00

To complete our first KONOS unit on Attentiveness, we completed our first Lapbook. I say "we", because Carter needed a little help...not so much with the content, but the layout and such. He had never seen a lapbook, so he really had no idea what we were trying to accomplish. We plan on doing one for each unit.

Here are some pictures...

C is for Conifer

2007-09-27T23:23:00.000-04:00

"Most with cones for seeds,

most with needles for leaves,

C is for Conifer,

my kind of tree."

Lately, we have been listening to an album we have had a couple of years. Carter doesn't remember it, so I guess it is new to him. It is They Might Be Giant's - Here Come the ABC's. It has been playing non-stop in my van for over a week now (which, if you have seen me lately, should explain the crazed look in my eye). One of my favorite songs on the album (I have so many :0P) is C is for Conifer. I've learned a lot about conifer trees and so has Carter...did you know there are more the 500 kinds?

Today, on our walk, we decided to count how many conifers we saw. We counted 77! And that doesn't even count all the little shrubs that are also probably conifers. Carter's favorite to spot was the Blue Spruce. We spotted a handful of those. He searched and searched for the Great Sequoia Redwood...for some reason, we didn't find any of those :)!

Head outside and see how many conifers you can spot!

This Gets My Blood Boiling...

2007-09-27T09:40:00.000-04:00

In all their wisdom, the NEA put out the following statement...

"The National Education Association believes that home schooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience. When home schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all state curricular requirements, including the taking and passing of assessments to ensure adequate academic progress. Home schooling should be limited to the children of the immediate family, with all expenses being borne by the parents/guardians. Instruction should be by persons who are licensed by the appropriate state education licensure agency, and a curriculum approved by the state department of education should be used. The Association also believes that home-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools. The Association further believes that local public school systems should have the authority to determine grade placement and/or credits earned toward graduation for students entering or re-entering the public school setting from a home school setting. (1988, 2006)"

Click here to read a great response from a home school mom to this statement from the NEA!

"What...No School Today?"

2007-09-26T18:30:00.000-04:00

I've never really had to deal with this in the past. Last year, Carter was small enough that he could have passed for a kindergartner and so people really never said anything to us. This year however, he is bigger and taller and looks like the 2nd grader that he is. If I had a dollar for every time we have been asked why Carter was not in school just this past month, I could at least get a value meal or two at McDonald's.

Carter is usually quick to answer. Which is good because it always throws me off when people ask. I don't think anything about it. When people stare at us in stores...which has happened on at least one occasion, I can't figure out why they are looking at us. I think...do I have toilet paper stuck to my shoe or something...then it dawns on me.

We do most of our "school" in the morning, so in the afternoon we run to the post office or the grocery, etc. It is usually the check out person who asks. Carter usually responds with, "I AM in school." Then they look at him confused and he says, "I am home schooled". The other day we got the same questioned phrased in a different way. "School out already?" Carter responded, "School's never out!"

I guess I should prepare and practice some responses. About a month ago, my friend Amy, posted the Top 10 Answers You Should Not Give to the question..."What, no school today?" My favorite response was..."No, we home school. We're just out to pick up a bag of pork rinds and some Mountain Dew, then we gotta hurry home to catch our soaps."

Maybe I should come up with something a little less sarcastic!

First Day of Co-op

2007-09-25T17:55:00.000-04:00

Today was the first day of our new co-op. We are just a small group of families that get together once a month and learn a little and do some sort of fun activity. Today, "Miss Kim" taught our class and we learned all about Michelangelo (I had to look up how to spell that :o) ). Miss Kim read some books and then all the kiddos channeled their inner Michelangelo and created their own fresco paintings. Fresco is painting on plaster that is not completely dry. The paint soaks into the plaster and creates pretty cool pictures. This is how Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel.

Here are some pictures from today...

Carter painting his fresco...

Cooper painting his fresco...and his hands...and his tongue (YUCK!)

And the finished masterpieces...(Carter's on the left - Cooper's on the right)

After we painted and read another book. We had sort of a show and tell time. Owen and Olivia brought in their pet turtle, Joshua. Hopefully, Joshua has recovered from all the excitment!

After all of that, we went to the park and played for the rest of the afternoon. We had a great time! Thanks Kim for planning all the fun!

Mike Huckabee -- Check Him Out!

2007-09-24T13:15:00.000-04:00

September 24, 2007 - 11:34 AM
Our Faith Makes Us
by Mike Huckabee

Recently, out on the campaign trail, a voter asked if my personal faith informed my decisions. My answer was simple, just as it always has been: my faith is my life - it defines me. My faith doesn't influence my decisions, it drives them. Real faith makes us humble and mindful, not of the faults of others, but of our own. Because of our faith, we become less judgmental in that we see others having the same frailties as ourselves. Faith gives us strength in the face of injustice and motivates us to do our best for "the least of us." Our forefathers birthed this great nation in a spirit of faith - not a mandate telling us what to believe, but an acknowledgement that divine providence pervades our world. I firmly believe the greatness of our nation then, does not come from our government or politicians, but lies in the hopeful, optimistic spirit of everyday Americans. Americans who acknowledge that providence has set us apart. At the beginning of our nation we were ill-equipped for revolution, yet we persevered and gained our independence. Our country was once divided by a costly Civil War, but we survived to heal and build a stronger union. Through the 20th century and into current times we have seen great conflicts and economic upheavals. However, the same spirit that guided the inception of our country continues to lead us out of times of trouble better than we went in. In spite of our trials we remain a people of hope, a people of faith, and we are stronger because of it.
In July, I addressed this same topic in a sermon in Little Rock. The video from my sermon is below. If you are a blogger, I encourage you to blog about this. Then leave a link to your blog post and we will add it below the video as an update to this post. If you aren't a blogger, I encourage you to leave a comment to this blog post.

Signs of Fall

2007-09-24T11:28:00.000-04:00

Since it is officially fall, we decided to look for signs of fall on our walk today. Here are some pictures of what we found...

Aaa-Choo! Fall is in the air!

I Think I'm Turning Japanese...I Really Think So!

2007-09-21T13:08:00.000-04:00

Well, Carter is loving Karate! His "sensei" said he is doing fantastic...she was impressed with his focus! In the next couple of weeks, I will post a little video of his progress. A big part of Karate is learning to speak some Japanese. We have been learning Spanish...

As a result of Carter's interests we have decided to leave Spanish for now and teach Carter some Japanese. I knew that degree would come in handy one day!

Now...where are those dusty Japanese books?

Attentiveness

2007-09-19T16:45:00.001-04:00

We have been studying "attentiveness" this month in our KONOS curriculum. The past two weeks we have been studying our ears and how they help us to be attentive. We have learned the parts of our ears and how we hear...we have learned about sound...we have learned about Helen Keller and Alexander Graham Bell. This week we have been studying our eyes. We have learned our eye parts and how we see. Today, we were supposed to blindfold Carter and ask him to complete a task. I decided to ask Carter to clean his room...a formidable task with two good eyes! Here is a picture of him in the process...

He did a pretty good job and had fun to boot!

....I wonder how long before the novelty of being blindfolded wears off?

Butterflys!

2007-09-19T16:14:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, we went with our homeschool group to the local butterfly house! We had been there before, so I thought I knew it all, but we got to see and do more on this trip then we had in the past. I learned a lot and I think Carter did too. Cooper just loved looking at all the different caterpillars and butterflies! Here are some pictures from our trip...

Checking out the caterpillars...

A monarch...inside the butterfly house!

Our guide took us outside the butterfly house to explore. Carter's eagle eyes spotted this caterpillar making the "J" shape which indicates it is getting ready to form its cocoon! Way to be "attentive" Carter!After we explored the gardens around the butterfly house, our guide took us out into the prairie (I had no idea this was even here) and we went looking for milkweed and caterpillars and butterflies. It was hot, but fun!

Oh...here is a cool flower that was part of the butterfly garden. Looks like something you would find in Hawaii!

And that was our trip to the Butterfly House!

Colors and Shapes

2007-09-18T12:29:00.000-04:00

Cooper has learned his basic colors and shapes! YEA COOPER!

Fun Weekend!

2007-09-17T08:13:00.000-04:00

We have been very busy having fun over the past few days.

On Friday, we went with our homeschool group on a field trip to Maggie Moo's - an ice cream store. Funny, we had a large turnout for this field trip! Dan the Ice Cream Man took us behind the scenes and taught us how to make ice cream and how cold it is when it comes out of the machine. He taught us how cold it needs to be kept and how long it can be kept. After we made the ice cream, the kids got to go behind the counter and make their own ice cream concoction! Here is a picture of the little ones after they ate their ice cream.

On Saturday, we decided to set up our new tent and go camping in our backyard (my kind of camping - bathroom, shower, refrigerator, microwave, etc. just steps away). It was freezing, but we had a blast. We cooked hot dogs over the fire and made smores. Cooper did not last the whole night - he woke up and freaked out - I don't think he knew where he was, so he and I went inside. Dad and Carter survived the whole night! It was a lot of fun and I'm sure we will be doing it again soon...we need to get Cooper used to sleeping outdoors! Here are a few pictures from our camp out!

On Sunday...we were all a little tired! We did finally get up and going and went to A Wool Gathering at a town nearby. The had sheep and llamas and alpacas. They had wool of every color in the rainbow. There were people spinning and knitting. Two of the highlights were the herding dog and the sheep shearer. The herding dog was a border collie and they had him herding ducks. He would push them all over this yard and get them to go through this obstacle course and then up a ramp and into a little baby pool. It was really cool to watch the control of this dog.

The sheep shearer was really neat as well. We have seen this done before, but it is just amazing to watch. The shearer in this case has been shearing sheep for over 50 years. He is 72 years old and had no trouble controlling and shearing these very large, somewhat ornery sheep!

We are still a bit tired, but we had a blast this weekend!

Nature Journal

2007-09-07T14:20:00.000-04:00

We are starting our first nature journal. We are going to include pictures of things we find on our walks and information about those things. Nothing very formal...if we happen to find something interesting, we will bring it back, take a picture and see if we can figure out what it is we found.

Today we found a few different things. When you look outside it doesn't look like fall yet (and it definitely does not feel like fall - about 90 degrees today). The trees do not look like they are changing yet, but apparently, some of them have started. Here is our picture from today!

Nice Matters

2007-09-07T11:28:00.001-04:00

My friend, Amy, nominated me for the "Nice Matters" Award. WOW! Right back at ya girl!

Hmmm...did you interview my children and hubby before this nomination? As I type, my 2 year old is in his room and is currently crying because he threw a HUGE FIT concerning his snack...he may not agree with this award right now! LOL!

In all seriousness, thank you Amy for your kind words. I feel blessed to have a "real" friend like you. You are a great friend, mom and homeschooler. I have learned a lot from you and admire how you "stick" (no pun intended) to your convictions. You are strong and sweet all at the same time. I love reading your blogs...they are always entertaining! Thank you Amy!

Now...who can I nominate?

"This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world."

I would definitely have to nominate Kim C. She has a huge heart for homeschool moms and moms in general. I have also learned a lot from her. She is quiet and sweet and always willing to help and encourage. I am very thankful she reached out and invited me to a homeschool meeting. Being part of this group has made a huge difference in my life and in my children's lives. Thank you Kim!

I would also like to nominate Amy P. Now she doesn't update her blog that often...but we will forgive her for that! Amy is a new friend that I met in my new homeschool group. She is always smiling and always has a great story to tell. I look forward to getting to know you better, Amy P.

Happy blogging everyone!

Walking...

2007-09-05T13:17:00.000-04:00

One of the new things we are trying in our "schedule" this year is a morning walk. I figured it would give us a chance to get some fresh air, it would take care of some of the wiggles and Luna would love it! We actually started this part of our schedule a couple of weeks ago and so far so good.

On our walks we noticed a lot of trash, so today Carter put on his rubber gloves and collected garbage on our walk. He collected a whole grocery sack full of bottles, cans, paper wrappers, etc. I think we will keep this up. Apparantly, it is needed! We have been having a lot of fun and it has been good for all of us!

Today, when we got home a caterpillar was on our front porch visiting. Cooper LOVES caterpillars...I have no idea why! This is the first real live caterpillar he has ever seen. Here are a few pictures of our visit with Mr. Caterpillar...

So That Is Why He Was Always My Favorite!

2007-09-04T23:07:00.000-04:00

You Are Cookie Monster

Misunderstood as a primal monster, you're a true hedonist with a huge sweet tooth.
You are usually feeling: Hungry. Cookies are preferred, but you'll eat anything if cookies aren't around.
You are famous for: Your slightly crazy eyes and usual way of speaking
How you life your life: In the moment. "Me want COOKIE!"

http://www.blogthings.com/thesesamestreetpersonalityquiz/">The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

We are just alike!

1st Day of School Pictures

2007-09-04T10:33:00.000-04:00

Well, it's 10:38 am and we are still on schedule! Here are our school pictures!

And finally...our class picture!

Today's the Day!

2007-09-04T08:37:00.000-04:00

Today is our first day of school! Let's see...It's 8:37 am and so far we are on schedule! Yesterday I cleaned out our front closet (a project long overdue) and replaced the boxes of Christmas ornaments with our school supplies and books. I think it is going to be more convenient than when they were all in the basement. Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment...

I'll let you know later how the rest of the day goes!

Getting in the Swing...

2007-08-21T12:25:00.000-04:00

This week we have started to get back into the swing of school. We have started to follow our plan for the day...just without the school part. Does that make sense? Probably not, but that is what we have tried to do. I guess we have just tried to follow a plan for the day from chores to taking walks to setting aside quiet time. During the summer our schedule has been all over the place. I thought it might ease us back into school. We have had fun so far. We will officially start September 4th.

Today we went to our first Homeschool book club meeting at the library. It was a lot of fun. The book we read this month was Probuditi (I think that is how you spell it) by Chris VanAllsburg - the same guy that wrote The Polar Express and Jumanji. It is a fun book about a boy who goes to see a magician with his friend and comes home and tries to hypnotize his sister. In our meeting today, the kids answered questions about the book and received little prizes. Then we did "magic" science experiments. After that, the librarian chose two different books to vote on for our next meeting. She picked two biographies...The Journey That Saved Curious George - It is about the wartime escape of the authors and illustrators of Curious George - H.A. and Margret Rey. The other book was Make Your Mark, Franklin Roosevelt - It is about what Franklin Roosevelt was like as a child and what led him to become President. We all voted and Franklin Roosevelt won! Thankfully, she had both books there so were able to check them both out and bring them home. We are looking forward to reading the books and next months meeting.

HI YA!

2007-08-16T21:23:00.000-04:00

Carter started Karate lessons tonight and he LOVED it! I was really proud of him. He listened very well and really tried hard. His hard work paid off too - he did a great job!

Here are some pictures of him after we got home...

Everybody was kung fu fighting...

That cat is fast as lightening...

Putting Things Down on Paper

2007-08-11T15:06:00.000-04:00

Well, I finally had to break down and get a planner. I have not had one since my working-pre-children days. I found that I once again need one to keep track of everything we have to do. I don't know if it is just that we are busier or I am more forgetful...whatever the case, I now am the owner of a handy little planner.

I am excited about this upcoming year. We have a lot of fun things planned and we are starting some new things as well. We will be starting KONOS curriculum, which is a whole new way of teaching for me. Cooper will be doing a little Before Five in a Row. We will be using the same math and grammar curriculums from last year, but we will be adding Wordly Wise and some reading comprehension from Spectrum. I also decided to buy a keyboarding program for Carter. He loves to use the computer, but gets frustrated when he has to type something long because it takes him so long to hunt and peck. I thought he might enjoy learning how to actually type. The program I ordered is for his age and sounds more like a game. We have also signed up for a homeschool book club at the library (this month will be our first month) and a chess club that also meets at the library. On top of all of that, Carter will be starting Karate next week.

Now do you see why I need a planner...that doesn't even count all the things the rest of the family does...

I can't wait to get started! (for those of you who know me - I am not being sarcastic...I am REALLY excited to get started!)

This Says it All!

2007-08-07T12:25:00.000-04:00

Another Tooth Bites the Dust!

2007-08-06T23:00:00.001-04:00

Carter lost another tooth! That is a grand total of 3 gone. This one has a story behind it...while he was tubing in Tennessee (see post below) it fell out! We saw him looking down and all around and could not figure out what the problem was. We stopped the boat and he told us his tooth fell out! He was very upset, because he thought he would not get any money from the tooth fairy. We told him this had probably happened before. Sure enough, the tooth fairy came through! Thank goodness! Here is a picture of Carter right after he lost it sitting in the drivers seat!

Byrdstown, Tennessee

2007-08-06T22:48:00.001-04:00

Dad played a concert in Tennessee this past weekend and we got to go along. His former boss and his wife were our hosts and we all had a blast. Byrdstown is near Dale Hollow lake and his bosses house is less than a mile from the lake. After the concert business was over we were able to take the maiden voyage on his new boat. The water was crystal clear and the perfect temperature. We went swimming and tubing and rode the wave runner. Fun was had by all!

Here are some pictures of our fun on the lake...
Carter and Steve on the wave runner...

Carter tubing...

I rode the wave runner as well, but we don't have any pictures of that (what a shame)! Cooper swam with Dad and then took a nap. We had a wonderful time!

Backyard Fun!

2007-08-06T22:35:00.000-04:00

We have been out of town for awhile, so I have a few things to update...

Before we left, Mom had to work on laundry, so we could not go to the pool. However, it was about 100 degrees so we set up the "splash rocket". The boys had a blast playing in the water. Cooper was the launch man and Carter prepared the rocket. Watch this...

Trying to Get my Plan in Place!

2007-07-29T19:52:00.000-04:00

I have been thinking about (probably too much) and planning (probably not enough) about what we are going to do next year in homeschooling. We will be using the KONOS curriculum for much of our studies which has a big emphasis on reading and discovery learning. I am really looking forward to getting started. However, I have really been interested in the Charlotte Mason way of learning and have been diving in head first researching all about this method. You can use much of Charlotte Mason's principles in whatever method you choose to teach, whether it be the classical model or unit studies or whatever. I believe what she says about the way children learn and I really like the methods she suggests for teaching children and developing their minds. She is big on reading quality liturature to learn - she is anti-textbook - she encourages children to spend as much time outside (no matter the weather) - she values narration and copywork as learning tools. Although this may sound very uptight and boring in some ways, it really isn't if approached in the right manner. She felt books should not only be informative, but entertaining. She encourages teachers to allow the children, through discovery to make connections rather than the teacher making the connections for them. She believed in short lesson periods...although short, she expects children to do their best work during that short period of time.

It seems everywhere I turn lately I am learning more and more about Charlotte Mason. Friends mentioning her name, references in books and just this weekend I attended a seminar where much of the conversation centered around Charlotte Mason. I wonder what she would think about all this attention nearly a century after her death?

To learn more...
http://amblesideonline.org/WhatIsCM.shtml

http://amblesideonline.org/CM/20Principles.html