Monday, July 27, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Summer smiles
Today we took our friends to Glenn Eyrie. This place is the coolest. William Palmer Jackson founded the city of Colorado Springs and Glen Eyrie's Castle was his home. This place is smack next to Garden of the Gods. OH by the way I think this place would be perfect for a letterbox. You can hike on the grounds, take a tour of the castle or have proper English tea in the castle. They have retreats and conventions and speakers that I would love to see and hear.It is run by the Navigators. Navigator's is similar to Awana if you are more familiar with Awana's as we are. They run summer camps for kids as well and you can actually stay there too. I think its' not much more then a hotel would cost. All of the grounds are exquisite. There is a rose garden I have yet to see, perhaps one day. A couple of years ago my sister and I took my mom there for mother's day tea, it was fun and fancy and we had a fabulous time. The boys and I have hiked the back forest several times over.
So with my boys, my friend, her son and one additional friend we headed off this morning to go hike at Glenn Eyrie. We got there about 11 ish and my friend was astounded at the grandness of the grounds. I bet they have over 50 acres back there and all of it is just breathtaking. OH and I think it would be such a great place to put our very first letterbox, I have been looking for a spot to put it. We drive all the way to the last parking lot as it is the closest to the hike.
We cross bridges, streams and riverbeds. Along the way a group of visitor's spotted some mountain goats and we managed a picture. About an hour or so we finally get to the end where there is a wonderful waterfall. At this point we decide to stop and enjoy that we got there and eat some lunch. I knew there were some punch bowls at the top of the mountain. Technically we were at the bottom of the waterfall but not the top of the mountain. The last time we were there I didn't feel comfortable hiking up to the punch bowls but this time my boys were more then capable so we did. The trail is rocky and slippery and you are at about a 80* angle to the top. About a quarter to half a mile through some incredibly rocky and slippery terrain we finally made it although not without a few extra scratches and bumps along the way.
What is a punch bowl? I didn't really know to be truthful. Appearntly it is a part of a stream where the water has created a sort of bowl that you can take a dip in. All the kids at first chickened out and I knew how cold that water would be (really we were in the mountains of course it will be freezing). Well the dominoes fell-one took the plunge and they all followed suit. After that it was next to impossible to keep them out of the punch bowls. They were like little monkeys crawling around and getting out and egging each other on. It was a wonderful time. It took me about 15 minutes to get them to finally stay out of the water and start going back. I actually had to start going on the trail to really let them know it was time. There was so much fun chatter among the boys all the way back to the trail about the punch bowls.
I am including a little slide show of our trip. I hope you enjoy.
So with my boys, my friend, her son and one additional friend we headed off this morning to go hike at Glenn Eyrie. We got there about 11 ish and my friend was astounded at the grandness of the grounds. I bet they have over 50 acres back there and all of it is just breathtaking. OH and I think it would be such a great place to put our very first letterbox, I have been looking for a spot to put it. We drive all the way to the last parking lot as it is the closest to the hike.
We cross bridges, streams and riverbeds. Along the way a group of visitor's spotted some mountain goats and we managed a picture. About an hour or so we finally get to the end where there is a wonderful waterfall. At this point we decide to stop and enjoy that we got there and eat some lunch. I knew there were some punch bowls at the top of the mountain. Technically we were at the bottom of the waterfall but not the top of the mountain. The last time we were there I didn't feel comfortable hiking up to the punch bowls but this time my boys were more then capable so we did. The trail is rocky and slippery and you are at about a 80* angle to the top. About a quarter to half a mile through some incredibly rocky and slippery terrain we finally made it although not without a few extra scratches and bumps along the way.
What is a punch bowl? I didn't really know to be truthful. Appearntly it is a part of a stream where the water has created a sort of bowl that you can take a dip in. All the kids at first chickened out and I knew how cold that water would be (really we were in the mountains of course it will be freezing). Well the dominoes fell-one took the plunge and they all followed suit. After that it was next to impossible to keep them out of the punch bowls. They were like little monkeys crawling around and getting out and egging each other on. It was a wonderful time. It took me about 15 minutes to get them to finally stay out of the water and start going back. I actually had to start going on the trail to really let them know it was time. There was so much fun chatter among the boys all the way back to the trail about the punch bowls.
I am including a little slide show of our trip. I hope you enjoy.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Letterboxing 101
Have you ever letterboxed?? If not you are missing out. I discovered letterboxing some years ago. I was reading one of those smaller newsletter type papers that some cities have. You know the free ones. Anyway this article caught my eye. Being the mom of three boys the idea of treasure hunting in nature definitely seemed like our cup of tea, or whatever the boy equivalent is. So what is letterboxing you say? Well let me inform you. Letterboxing is AWESOME. LOL. Seriously though, letterboxing involves
1. going to the letterboxing website
2. Finding letterboxes in your area
3. Getting the clues
4. Follow the clues to find a hidden box
What is inside this box??At the very least you will find
~a stamp
~a logbook
and possibly
~a pen
~an ink pad
So what do you do? Well you have your own log book. Ours is about 5 by 7 ,spiral bound, hard cover notebook. You will also want a stamp. You can go to your local hobby store and grab one that is meaningful to your family. I had one professionally made with my dh's family crest for one of his father's day presents. It is special to us and has meaning. Next you stamp their stamp in your logbook and your stamp in their logbook. You can write a small note and the date you found it. You may also go back to the letterboxing website to tell the owner that their box is still there and in good shape, this helps them immensely in the keep up of the letterbox. And that is it lady's and gent's. These boxes are hidden everywhere.
One such box led us to our favorite family hike. The trail is called "Seven Bridges" and it is gorgeous. It is about four miles of kick butt hiking. At the right time of year there are wild raspberries that my boys LOVE. Trust me I cannot emphasize that enough. We hadn't been there for almost 2 years, due to dh getting sick. A friend of mine wanted to go letterboxing since she hadn't been and I raved so much about it. So we all gathered up and headed out on thursday. It was the perfect day for a hike. We had 7 kids ranging in ages from 4-13. It took us about an hour and a half to get to the box. My friends and I had a great time and they are officially hooked on letterboxing now.
We love the fact that our kids had a great time in nature. No T.V., video games, computer, mall, park. Just plain outdoors. Beautiful, wonderful, magnificent Nature. The kids had a terrific time and even the 13 yr olds admitted they were tuckered out. Half the kids fell asleep on the way back. We ended our day with me taking them to the German Deli I love. Both my friends are military and had been in Germany not too long ago. Here are some pic's of our hike.
Austin, Conner and Josh go in the river. The ice cold river. Can you see Conner's open mouth? That is him gasping at the coldness. Their feet turned pink and numb in a matter of 2 min. tops. It was quite funny and of course a great lesson in hipothermia.
Lindsey, her son, Colin, Lindsey's daughter and Brenda. This is our last bridge, Bridge # 7. We hung out, ate lunch and caught our breath. The boys spotted some small fish trying to swim upstream and attempted to catch them. Unfortunatly you had to get in the water to do it. So they got wet and a bit cold. The weather was hot so it just cooled them off.
Conner finds a spot to hang out in.
Austin Climbs up this hill. It is quite tall and he is far up there. That is why he is so small.
Colin loves nature and he does very well in it.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Family Talk
To South Carolina we go. WE had been planning this trip earlier and the plans fell through as the doctor's did not think it was a good idea. Now we missed the Family Reunion that not even Chris has been to. The objective of the trip is to see if dh gets better if we live here. Obviously three weeks is not the same as living here but last time we were here for two weeks and an ulcer dh had on a finger went away. Granted it was not as far along as dh's toe.
Doc still didn't think it was a good idea but dh had other plans. He figured if they are going to amputate half his leg anyway why not come down here and see if he gets better. Well the jury is back...sort of. He is feeling much better. The burning sensation he has has been MIA and he has taken walks with us. Also the ulcer on the toe next to the one they amputated went away, cleared up, left the building, healed what ever you want to call it. The toe looks great, nice and pink no black anymore. Also where they amputated healed considerably more in the amount of time we spent there then in the amount of time since the amputation. So the final part of the experiment will be to see if he gets worse again. If this happens our plans for moving down here just went to the express lane. This comes with very mixed feelings for me. Obviously if hubs is better there I am willing to go. All of my family lives here. Well not all of it since there is alot of family that my dad has around the U.S.A. But my parents, grandparents, brother and sister all live here. Dh's parents do as well. I like having my family around and being able to get together if I want. All those holidays and the simple things too. But if dh improves the decision is a no- brainer.
Anyhow the trip was fun and very relaxing. We had no agenda just a list of people we want to spend time with. A majority of the two weeks there we spent on the beach. A cousin of dh owns a condo on the beach. It was very nice. We got burned to a crisp our first day out. I could swear I put on sunscreen. We went to some u-pick farms and got the freshest fruit, yummmm. The boys loved picking the strawberries the most. I think Conner only contributed to his tummy but he is still 10 so I let it slide. We saw an island that was a bird sanctuary and a loggerhead turtle nest. We saw millions of sea snails and slugs ( so gross they look like poop, snicker) horseshoe crabs, ghost crabs, jelly fish, birds, dolphins, hummingbirds, the smallest frogs ever, lightning bugs- such a huge hit, love bugs- so funny the reaction of the boys to these ones, lizards, butterflies, turtles and I'm positive I missed some. We spent a couple of days out on a hunting ground that some cousin's of dh use for weekend getaway. They all brought 4 wheelers and the kids would ride the trails. They did this every weekend and about 20 people would come. It was a good time and the boys loved 4-wheeling. One of their kids feet couldn't even reach the floor of the 4-wheeler and he was 5. I thought wow not sure I would let my kid at that age but that is none of my business. I finally found the gulah gulah island baskets. I remember in my research reading about a small island that was cut off of the mainland till only about 20 years ago or so. Anyway there was a completely different community and they all did things in very old ways. It was neat learning about them. They are supposed to make some wonderful baskets and I do want one. Colin caught animal after animal. As a matter of fact I'm not sure I would have seen so many different animals had it not been for him.
Distant cousin's invited us out for BBQ's and family dinners. Apparently pretty much every Sunday they go to a house and does pot luck. Its very neat to see a family do this. We would live about a mile down the st from their homes so I am sure we will become part of the tradition. A friend of the family, dh's cousin's family, is a pastor and prayed over dh. It was very nice and the next day the skin came off like a scar would. Kid you not. Oh I already told you about it. Sorry, I still can't quite grasp it. We did look at some modular homes. This would be a very frugal option and eventually we could build our dream home on the property. I can not believe how nice these homes are. It is definitely not what I pictured. There are wood burning fireplaces, garden tubs, huge kitchens with island, stone work throughout. With any luck we can be debt free in a few years.
I used this "vacation" to give the boys a break from school although they did learn alot during this trip. I will be having them do reading lists ,3 math lessons a week and we will do science projects . What are some of your plans this summer?
Doc still didn't think it was a good idea but dh had other plans. He figured if they are going to amputate half his leg anyway why not come down here and see if he gets better. Well the jury is back...sort of. He is feeling much better. The burning sensation he has has been MIA and he has taken walks with us. Also the ulcer on the toe next to the one they amputated went away, cleared up, left the building, healed what ever you want to call it. The toe looks great, nice and pink no black anymore. Also where they amputated healed considerably more in the amount of time we spent there then in the amount of time since the amputation. So the final part of the experiment will be to see if he gets worse again. If this happens our plans for moving down here just went to the express lane. This comes with very mixed feelings for me. Obviously if hubs is better there I am willing to go. All of my family lives here. Well not all of it since there is alot of family that my dad has around the U.S.A. But my parents, grandparents, brother and sister all live here. Dh's parents do as well. I like having my family around and being able to get together if I want. All those holidays and the simple things too. But if dh improves the decision is a no- brainer.
Anyhow the trip was fun and very relaxing. We had no agenda just a list of people we want to spend time with. A majority of the two weeks there we spent on the beach. A cousin of dh owns a condo on the beach. It was very nice. We got burned to a crisp our first day out. I could swear I put on sunscreen. We went to some u-pick farms and got the freshest fruit, yummmm. The boys loved picking the strawberries the most. I think Conner only contributed to his tummy but he is still 10 so I let it slide. We saw an island that was a bird sanctuary and a loggerhead turtle nest. We saw millions of sea snails and slugs ( so gross they look like poop, snicker) horseshoe crabs, ghost crabs, jelly fish, birds, dolphins, hummingbirds, the smallest frogs ever, lightning bugs- such a huge hit, love bugs- so funny the reaction of the boys to these ones, lizards, butterflies, turtles and I'm positive I missed some. We spent a couple of days out on a hunting ground that some cousin's of dh use for weekend getaway. They all brought 4 wheelers and the kids would ride the trails. They did this every weekend and about 20 people would come. It was a good time and the boys loved 4-wheeling. One of their kids feet couldn't even reach the floor of the 4-wheeler and he was 5. I thought wow not sure I would let my kid at that age but that is none of my business. I finally found the gulah gulah island baskets. I remember in my research reading about a small island that was cut off of the mainland till only about 20 years ago or so. Anyway there was a completely different community and they all did things in very old ways. It was neat learning about them. They are supposed to make some wonderful baskets and I do want one. Colin caught animal after animal. As a matter of fact I'm not sure I would have seen so many different animals had it not been for him.
Distant cousin's invited us out for BBQ's and family dinners. Apparently pretty much every Sunday they go to a house and does pot luck. Its very neat to see a family do this. We would live about a mile down the st from their homes so I am sure we will become part of the tradition. A friend of the family, dh's cousin's family, is a pastor and prayed over dh. It was very nice and the next day the skin came off like a scar would. Kid you not. Oh I already told you about it. Sorry, I still can't quite grasp it. We did look at some modular homes. This would be a very frugal option and eventually we could build our dream home on the property. I can not believe how nice these homes are. It is definitely not what I pictured. There are wood burning fireplaces, garden tubs, huge kitchens with island, stone work throughout. With any luck we can be debt free in a few years.
I used this "vacation" to give the boys a break from school although they did learn alot during this trip. I will be having them do reading lists ,3 math lessons a week and we will do science projects . What are some of your plans this summer?
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
what didn't work
This year has been, well not my best in the homeschool department. I don't mean your usual "I'm not doing enough" type stuff, although I do tend to have that . I'm talking about I have really let alot slide by. Let's see yesterday the boys got done with "school" by lunch, well a while before. I looked at the clock and we went through what they had done. Math, check, Literature, check, writting, check, grammer, check. We alternate days for history and science and that day was science. They hadn't done that so they wanted to watch the Magic school bus. Well that's all fine and dandy but in order for me to feel like we did science I would love a little hard proof. So I found the lessons for that particular episode and printed out 13 pages for them each. We still got done with time to spare for lunch. Then I wallowed in the whole I should be doing more. What can I do? I finally hit on that I do need a good plan.
As with history that had been floundering for a good portion of the year once I had a plan in mind, I had a direction. But science has been a bit more whatever the kids feel like doing for science works for me. Now that has lead to some wonderful projects and neat studies such as the time they made rock candy. Unfortunatly none of it tied in with anything else. I really like when our subjects touch on each other. A good example is when we were reading "Daniel Boone" and studying Native Americans. They were great companions. I need a good plan otherwise I know this will happen again. I would love to get books that we can read that relate to our history or science projects that do.
Do I then get a Science text ? or what? I really feel like I wouldn't have floundered so much had I had a text to fall back on in the event I hadn't been prepared due to our life getting in the way. Then I feel that perhaps I am using that as a crutch to fall on when saying I haven't done enought this year. Kwim? Half the year the boys went to co-op every other friday that would involve 3 science classes that were about an hour long. I really didn't worry about science then because we still did what we normally do plus that. I almost felt like I had no need to concern myself with science. Then the other half the year we just do random things that interest the kids.
Over the past year I have been mulling over getting Apologia Science. I have heard good things about it. Now to figure out which one I want. I know they generally go in an order of some sort. I would like to use them with all three kids. They will be in 6th, 7th and 8th next year. So which one will fit? They love creatures so it would have to be one of those. I am leaning towards the land mammals one. I think they would enjoy it. Should I get three of the same book? That seems a bit nuts too, and expensive. But I definetly can see that there could be fighting over it at some point if there is only one. If I buy three why not buy different ones. That way I have three years of Science, I'll just switch them around. I would like them to work a bit more independently and if I do three I have an inkling that won't happen. But if I have one they can help each other out which will be great for critical thinking. There are pro's and con's to having one or three. Overall I think mabey one for the two younger kids and one for the eldest may work best.
I truly have enjoyed the reading portion of our school time. It is the only time no one is fussing. Honestly I wonder if other homeschoolers have all these squabbles. Oh that is a whole nother post. Anywho I know the kids really enjoy this time as well and they are listening to books that otherwise I know they would probably not read. We will continue checking off our list till it's done. Then I will need a new list. Since the reading of "Daniel Boone" worked out so well at the time I think I will try to get some books that relate to other areas of our hs'ing. This way I can tie things in together. Of course this will require me to get my ducks in a row and get a plan.
What are some things that worked for your homeschool this year? What did you find did just not fit within your school year? I would love to see your responses.
As with history that had been floundering for a good portion of the year once I had a plan in mind, I had a direction. But science has been a bit more whatever the kids feel like doing for science works for me. Now that has lead to some wonderful projects and neat studies such as the time they made rock candy. Unfortunatly none of it tied in with anything else. I really like when our subjects touch on each other. A good example is when we were reading "Daniel Boone" and studying Native Americans. They were great companions. I need a good plan otherwise I know this will happen again. I would love to get books that we can read that relate to our history or science projects that do.
Do I then get a Science text ? or what? I really feel like I wouldn't have floundered so much had I had a text to fall back on in the event I hadn't been prepared due to our life getting in the way. Then I feel that perhaps I am using that as a crutch to fall on when saying I haven't done enought this year. Kwim? Half the year the boys went to co-op every other friday that would involve 3 science classes that were about an hour long. I really didn't worry about science then because we still did what we normally do plus that. I almost felt like I had no need to concern myself with science. Then the other half the year we just do random things that interest the kids.
Over the past year I have been mulling over getting Apologia Science. I have heard good things about it. Now to figure out which one I want. I know they generally go in an order of some sort. I would like to use them with all three kids. They will be in 6th, 7th and 8th next year. So which one will fit? They love creatures so it would have to be one of those. I am leaning towards the land mammals one. I think they would enjoy it. Should I get three of the same book? That seems a bit nuts too, and expensive. But I definetly can see that there could be fighting over it at some point if there is only one. If I buy three why not buy different ones. That way I have three years of Science, I'll just switch them around. I would like them to work a bit more independently and if I do three I have an inkling that won't happen. But if I have one they can help each other out which will be great for critical thinking. There are pro's and con's to having one or three. Overall I think mabey one for the two younger kids and one for the eldest may work best.
I truly have enjoyed the reading portion of our school time. It is the only time no one is fussing. Honestly I wonder if other homeschoolers have all these squabbles. Oh that is a whole nother post. Anywho I know the kids really enjoy this time as well and they are listening to books that otherwise I know they would probably not read. We will continue checking off our list till it's done. Then I will need a new list. Since the reading of "Daniel Boone" worked out so well at the time I think I will try to get some books that relate to other areas of our hs'ing. This way I can tie things in together. Of course this will require me to get my ducks in a row and get a plan.
What are some things that worked for your homeschool this year? What did you find did just not fit within your school year? I would love to see your responses.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Absent
Boy I can't believe I haven't written anything since the beginning of the month. Two weeks ago hubs had a toe amputated so that is my reason for being absent. Things are better now and again we have adjusted.
We finally finished our Native American unit. Yeah. We just started New World Explorers with the program "History through the ages" by Time Travelers. Let me just say it's is looking to be a very nice study. We are currently going through what it means to be a sailor. The boys will be learning some knots sailor's used. I think they will enjoy this. I hope they do.
On the science front one of our tadpoles died and we got another one. It was a bit sad but what could we do.We watch them and are waiting for their little legs to sprout but nothing has happened so far. Colin found a great site that went through the process of metamorphosis. That day we learned alot about what frogs eat, where they live, and other neat facts about frogs. I haven't managed to get started on the lapbook on frogs but I am sure glad that I already have it. When I am ready it will be there.
Both Colin and Conner finished their Math books for the year. I ended up getting them new because I was only going to save roughly $20 at most by getting used versions .I am glad I did. I have always just gotten the used versions so I have never given them the tests because I didn't have them. I can see how the tests will be very useful. There alot that just cover basic facts so the kids know them well and wont get bogged down with doing simple math and can focus on the problem they are learning. I let Conner try Teaching Textbooks and put him in 5th grade book. Now I know he should have gotten the 6th grade one since that is what he will be in next school year. I felt that all the work done this year to eliminate some of his math anxiety has really worked and he seems much more relaxed in this particular area now. I don't want to go back to the way it was. We will continue working through the summer so he will be done with the book before the year ends. It has only been about a week since he started his new book and just the other day he got done with math and he said "Mom, I'm good at math now see how fast I got done?". We graded it and he so far is doing a fantastic job only missing one or two out of about 25. I love the new attitude and it reassures me in knowing I picked the right book. We have never used this curriculum so I will give you a better review of it in about a month or so time. That way I too know if it is still working and what I like and dislike.
We just finished the second book in "The Chronicles of Narnia". The Lion , Witch and Wardrobe. We managed to get a cd version from Focus on the family and it was so fun to just sit around and listen to the story. Even though the boys watched the movie it was great to show how different a movie can be from the book. I had told the boys this with other books turned to movies and they didn't get it. They sure got it with this one. Probably because they liked the movie and payed attention. As has been the case of late, Austin whom voices his dislike of hs somehow manages to be in the room when I am reading to the boys. I read the last chapter as opposed to listen to the cd, it just seemed nice. This time was a bit different as he wasn't floating around the room pretending to be busy and just listening for the time being. He actually sat down with us and looked at the pictures when they came up. He even joined in the discussion of the book vs the movie and such. It is moments like this that make me firmly believe he doesn't mind hs as much as he tells everyone but just wants to go to ps so he can goof off with friends. It is with this in mind that he will stay another year and then we will re-evaluate. The boys are also moving along great in their grammar. We do need to write some papers as we haven't done all that much writing but Colin is getting good practice with his hs'ed pen pal. I am still on the hunt for pen pals with the other two kids.
We are finishing up with CBS and Awana in short time and have already signed up for the following year in which CBS will be covering Revelations. So we are going from the beginning -Genesis to the end. The boys have made many friends and have enjoyed the studies. I am considering vacation bible school for during the summer. Its still up in the air as it is a commitment and we want to go camping a bit during the summer. What to do what to do?
The boys are also doing a unit study of sorts. We are planning a trip to South Carolina (yes we just went there this past summer) for the family reunion. We have never gone and dh also has never gone. Since he is home (healing from surgery) I thought why not. We are working out all the details in that department. The boys will plan our route , our stops, figure out how much gas we will need and how much it will cost. I am also going to find some fun activities for the states we will be going through. I have unit studies for all the states but I don't think it will be much fun to do them all in the car. I will pick and choose for sure. I know the boys are very excited to go to the beach and see some family. I hope to update as we go so when I get home I can scrapbook it all.
Well got to run the house work beckons.
Have a great weekend.
We finally finished our Native American unit. Yeah. We just started New World Explorers with the program "History through the ages" by Time Travelers. Let me just say it's is looking to be a very nice study. We are currently going through what it means to be a sailor. The boys will be learning some knots sailor's used. I think they will enjoy this. I hope they do.
On the science front one of our tadpoles died and we got another one. It was a bit sad but what could we do.We watch them and are waiting for their little legs to sprout but nothing has happened so far. Colin found a great site that went through the process of metamorphosis. That day we learned alot about what frogs eat, where they live, and other neat facts about frogs. I haven't managed to get started on the lapbook on frogs but I am sure glad that I already have it. When I am ready it will be there.
Both Colin and Conner finished their Math books for the year. I ended up getting them new because I was only going to save roughly $20 at most by getting used versions .I am glad I did. I have always just gotten the used versions so I have never given them the tests because I didn't have them. I can see how the tests will be very useful. There alot that just cover basic facts so the kids know them well and wont get bogged down with doing simple math and can focus on the problem they are learning. I let Conner try Teaching Textbooks and put him in 5th grade book. Now I know he should have gotten the 6th grade one since that is what he will be in next school year. I felt that all the work done this year to eliminate some of his math anxiety has really worked and he seems much more relaxed in this particular area now. I don't want to go back to the way it was. We will continue working through the summer so he will be done with the book before the year ends. It has only been about a week since he started his new book and just the other day he got done with math and he said "Mom, I'm good at math now see how fast I got done?". We graded it and he so far is doing a fantastic job only missing one or two out of about 25. I love the new attitude and it reassures me in knowing I picked the right book. We have never used this curriculum so I will give you a better review of it in about a month or so time. That way I too know if it is still working and what I like and dislike.
We just finished the second book in "The Chronicles of Narnia". The Lion , Witch and Wardrobe. We managed to get a cd version from Focus on the family and it was so fun to just sit around and listen to the story. Even though the boys watched the movie it was great to show how different a movie can be from the book. I had told the boys this with other books turned to movies and they didn't get it. They sure got it with this one. Probably because they liked the movie and payed attention. As has been the case of late, Austin whom voices his dislike of hs somehow manages to be in the room when I am reading to the boys. I read the last chapter as opposed to listen to the cd, it just seemed nice. This time was a bit different as he wasn't floating around the room pretending to be busy and just listening for the time being. He actually sat down with us and looked at the pictures when they came up. He even joined in the discussion of the book vs the movie and such. It is moments like this that make me firmly believe he doesn't mind hs as much as he tells everyone but just wants to go to ps so he can goof off with friends. It is with this in mind that he will stay another year and then we will re-evaluate. The boys are also moving along great in their grammar. We do need to write some papers as we haven't done all that much writing but Colin is getting good practice with his hs'ed pen pal. I am still on the hunt for pen pals with the other two kids.
We are finishing up with CBS and Awana in short time and have already signed up for the following year in which CBS will be covering Revelations. So we are going from the beginning -Genesis to the end. The boys have made many friends and have enjoyed the studies. I am considering vacation bible school for during the summer. Its still up in the air as it is a commitment and we want to go camping a bit during the summer. What to do what to do?
The boys are also doing a unit study of sorts. We are planning a trip to South Carolina (yes we just went there this past summer) for the family reunion. We have never gone and dh also has never gone. Since he is home (healing from surgery) I thought why not. We are working out all the details in that department. The boys will plan our route , our stops, figure out how much gas we will need and how much it will cost. I am also going to find some fun activities for the states we will be going through. I have unit studies for all the states but I don't think it will be much fun to do them all in the car. I will pick and choose for sure. I know the boys are very excited to go to the beach and see some family. I hope to update as we go so when I get home I can scrapbook it all.
Well got to run the house work beckons.
Have a great weekend.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Just because
I fell in love with this and if you haven't seen or hear this then how big is that rock you are hiding under anyway??? enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE6EkAvV4-Yhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE6EkAvV4-Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE6EkAvV4-Yhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE6EkAvV4-Y
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