Homeschool Summer School

My good friend over at A Few of my Favorite Things just blogged about kids, learning, and how kids seem to need to learn all the time.  When they aren't learning, they dissolve into grumpy chaos.

We've had a long enough summer break over here.  How about you?

I've decided in the last week that I need to take a break from the parent partnership program that we have been a part of for 2 1/2 years.  It is nice having money for curriculum support, but the laws are changing to require more and more busy work for us with less and less funding.  The kids and I are spending way too much time jumping through bureaucratic hoops than we are actually learning.  So that means the system no longer works.  Especially at a time where I need to be able to focus on helping Grandad with his needs.  Packing up a ton of busy work workbooks to take to the hospital is not my idea of good learnin'.  But tossing a nice paperback classic and a few lined notebooks and reading out loud as a group in a waiting room is much better.  Plus, we look cool.

We are going to use Sonlight, which is a curriculum not supported by the PPP programs because of its non-secular views.  Which is a little exasperating because although the Instructor's Guides have a Christian viewpoint, the books they use are the very same books being used in the public school (classics, Newbery award winners, etc).  I understand state money not being used for the guides, but to toss out the books as well?  Weird.  We aren't allowed to purchase "library type books" anymore.

I thought about enrolling part time, so science, math, PE, and language arts curriculum would be supported and use my own money for history.  And one would think if you were enrolled 80% full time, you would get 80% of your funds.  Which would be "enrolling" for four classes instead of five.  But nope!  You get less than half if you enroll at 80%.  For four classes instead of five.  Isn't that a dirty trick? They will give me $1250 (half for kindergarten) per child if I enroll at 100% and spend a huge amount of time writing up reviews for 15 classes per month, but if I want to only write up 12 reviews, I only get $450.

Anyway, back to summer and kids and learning.  This morning, S asked me what the hardest math was.  I told him he will do Calculus before he is done with high school and that is the hardest for basic education.  They started boasting how they already know algebra and it was so easy.  "Yeah, four plus something is five.  That is so easy!"  I said, "What if you get something plus something equals four?  Then what do you do?"

 I'll tell you what I'd do... I'd pull out my white board and make them do math before breakfast!

This morning they learned about number lines, sticking two number lines together and naming them x and y and that mathematicians call those number lines axis (axes for more than one).  They figured out different values for x and y when the equaled four, including negative numbers.  And they learned how to plot those points on the graph.  And that is what they get for thinking they are so smart.  They get to find out there will always be someone smarter than they are...all the way to infinity!

A Good Trade

S: Mom, could you finish my pie for me?  I don't like it.
Me: Sure!  I'll finish your pie if you...

...put a diaper on the baby!

Milk!

I took the kids to meet the cow that gives us milk today!  How fun!  We've been buying our milk from this local source for awhile now, and this milk is better than any milk we have ever had.

Lola is the cow that gives our milk

IJ feeds Jada

S was fascinated with the bulls

D pets "our" cow

Lola thinks F is a tasty treat 

E has turned into a cow!

 And the best part is... M is seriously considering letting us get our own beef to raise!!!

M's Vacation

Now that M has spent one of his two weeks of vacation time at Scout camp, a few days running his dad back and forth from treatment, and getting his new computer set up, he is ready to really take a break and...

...build an addition to the shed so the bikes and mowers have someplace else to park besides the carport.  Part of this project involved looking for all the tools...

...and to do that, M had to make a dump run.  This meant he had to clear the van of my survival-with-kids things and the seats.  By the way, if you ever happen to have chickens free ranging, you shouldn't leave the doors to your vehicles open:

Rockets

Tonight we launched rockets with our beloved Cub Scout pack.  And it was a very windy night.  Wind + Rockets + small field surrounded by tall trees = Many Lost Rockets.  So my boys had planned on not launching their rockets, just bringing them to the meeting.  But on the way there, the people with unmatched chromosomes decided they would take the risk and launch them anyway.  Whatever.

I mean, I don't really care that we spent $50 on rockets and engines and we were just going to blast them into the wind and get them stuck in trees.  The money is spent and isn't coming back no matter what they do with those darn things.  I had my fun building them.  They can destroy/lose them how they choose.

The boys had a blast.  Get it? Blast?  I crack myself up.  S's Hornet had a great flight and came down in a small tree that was easily reached.  By two boys.  One pulled the nose cone and the other pulled the body and the elastic cord that held them together broke.  And that was the one and only flight for the Hornet.

IJ's Alpha went so very high, but the nose cone did not come out.  So the rocket plummeted toward earth and slammed nose first into the parking lot.  Thank goodness no one was hit!  The rocket was bent and the nose cone pushed so far in the body we couldn't get it out.  And that was the one and only flight for the Alpha.

Hooray for Cub Scouts and Estes rockets!

Guineas

My Facebook friends already know about our latest fowl addition to the barnyard.  Guinea.

Why?  I need more birds.  Just kidding.  Because my friend bought 30 and that is too many.  So now I have 73 birds.  And that is too many: 42 full size chickens, 17 growing chicks, 6 turkeys, and now 11 guineas.  The guineas are cute now, but they are going to grow to be ugly loud things that will taste delicious!

Camp Thunderbird, Take 2

M and IJ just got back from IJ's turn at Camp Thunderbird.  The big difference?  RAIN!  It rained the WHOLE time.  Their towels are so wet that it looks like they just dipped them in the lake before they came home.  IJ's feet were so wet he looked like he just crawled out of a three-hour bath.

IJ's Bat

Swimming Relay

Ringing the Bell

Like Father Like Son: Polar Bear Swim

Camp Leaky

Archery

BB Guns

Bull's Eye!

Rain Evacuation!

A little (okay, a lot) of rain didn't stop IJ from enjoying himself.  In fact, swimming in the rain was great!

Ultra Concentrated Joy!

The other morning, I was enjoying some quiet time with my coffee and the latest Keepers of the Faith catalog.  I came across a description for a book called The Joy of Womanhood.  I have often read about and pondered the subject of finding joy in the every day monotony of housework.  I was slightly interested in this book and slightly interested in the 52-week Bible study aspect.  Later, as I was going about my day, I saw...

Ultra Concentrated Joy!  With Powerful Cleaning!  Amazing!  And in the top corner, the bottle promises that A Little Goes A Long Way!  Imagine that....a little ultra concentrated joy goes a long way...and it was sitting on my windowsill this whole time.  All I have to do is pour a little on my dishes and that Joy gets all the work done.  And guess what?  It works!  Remember the Sunday school song, "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart..."

Camp Thunderbird

Well, M and S survived Cub Scout camp!  Here are my favorite pictures and I hope M will add some comments to go along.  They did so many great activities!

Swimming at Leech Beach...yes, really, there are leeches!  Ask S!

Rowing

Home Sweet Home

S climbed to the top two times!

More boating

Archery ("He can't hit the broad side of a barn.")

Flag Ceremony

A skit:

"Hey, what are you guys doing?"  "Sitting on an invisible bench!"

"I moved the invisible bench over there!"

Everyone falls...Hahaha!

 More activities:

BB Guns

Earning the Whittling Chip

S and M are incredibly tired, but they had such a great time!

A New Milestone

D is 15 months old this week.  And I've reached another, "I don't know how I'm going to handle this" milestone. Apologies for the blurry pics... but when you have to take immediate pictures, you don't have time to fiddle with settings.

Climbing.  It started with the low things, like stairs.  Now he has moved on to bigger things, like the couch and the school room chairs.  He has fallen too...and scared the you-know-what out of us when he landed in the woodpile.

I'm mostly worried that he is going to fall off the chair with a pencil in his hand (I just can't seem to keep every. single. writing utensil out of reach) and land on the hard floor on his head and stab himself in the eye.

Or maybe I should just worry that he is going to trample everything in his path for the next two years!

New Computer Blues

M got a new computer delivered yesterday.  We are both very excited.  He is excited because he gets to work on a fast, new, spacious, quiet computer.  I'm excited because I get his old one, plus this one.  So now I'm going to have my very own computer lab and an awesome IT guy that fixes all my problems.  After he gets his new computer set up.  My first problem is that I don't know where my digital pictures are.  Which means no pictures of D in the box the computer came in.  My second problem isn't related to computers, but it is completely about D reaching new milestones...and that will be the post after I find my digital pictures.

Happy 4th!

We did what we normally do: visit with whatever family shows up, play at the pond, eat BBQ, play in the pool, eat more stuff, make the kids watch a movie, and then have an awesome bonfire with marshmallows and fireworks!  My favorite part was starting the evening ceremonies with a special 9 year old's version of The Star Spangled Banner and quizzing everyone on their knowledge of history.  Because I now have a third grade history education, including, but not limited to, American History from Columbus to the Gold Rush!

(And that is probably only funny to myself and any other friend that writes SLPs every year)

Turkey Stewart

"If you want my body..."

"...and you think I'm tasty..."

"...come on baby let me know."

A Wonderful Week: VBS

We had such a great week!  We went to Vacation Bible School all week.  And Monday we had the Annual Homeschool Field Day.  I don't have a single picture of VBS, but I have some from Field Day.

E and the Long Jump

I think VBS was the best part about the week.  Every single one of us had the best time.  I made several new friends working in the kitchen, the kids reconnected with the homeschoolers and Cub Scouts they know, and D got to hang out in the nursery without me!

S and His Best Friend

And I'm pretty sure we will be going back to this church on Sunday!  I first checked this church out last Friday, when a new homeschooling friend invited me to their women's worship night.  The music was the same from the churches back in the old town and I was immediately transported back in time...

F crosses the finish line, "I did it, Mom!"

...back to when my friend K used to encourage me to attend her church.  She always sang and clapped and smiled and had a great time during worship...and I miss her so much...and I felt the Band Aid on my heart being ripped off!  Oh, it was so painful!  I still miss my friends back at The Old Place so much!  Well, some of them.  The good ones ;)  And I decided right then and there that I was ready to surround myself with these women and start forging new friendships.

Water Balloon Toss turns to Water Balloon Fight!

Which is slightly funny because a few weeks ago I decided that I was never going to have women friends ever again because they are so fickle and go psycho at the slightest misunderstanding.  And I don't really want to waste any more of my life dealing with psycho-women.  I'd rather sew or knit.  But I don't want to waste my life missing out on great women friendships, like I have with K and C (and I know you two are reading this), either!  So there you go.  I'm still on that path, and quite a bit further, that started when I first joined that club for moms, all those long years ago.  And the journey continues...