Tag Archives: Unschooling Teens

Drama, Squirrel Pets, Creative Writing and more Drama…

It always amazes me how the days fly by.  Has it always been like this?  When I was younger time passed so slowly.  Now it a month begins and ends in a BOOM!  Keilee thinks it goes by fast too so I don’t know if it is an age thing or not.

We had a great day at Co-op.  My Drama kids performed a white glove routine to “Who Am I”?  It was beautiful.  Several Moms were crying including me, even though I had seen them practice a hundred times.  Several of the kids had never performed before and they were just BEAMING!! 

It was beautiful here Monday and Tuesday so Tuesday I took my writing group to the park.  They did Mapping the World Through Art and worked on their stop animation film here and then we headed off.  It was so awesome seeing kids writing on blankets in the warm sun. 

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Afterwards they played hide and seek.  I LOVE that this group of teenagers did not sit around with their smart phones not interacting with each other at all.  I do so think this is another example of the difference in homeschool kids!

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In other big news Keilee got a squirrel to raise!  A friend of mine called and asked if Keilee would like it and my first response was NO!  Does anyone remember Pippy the Bird?  I didn’t want something else that would end like that.  But she made her points, very successfully I suppose since as I type  this the squirrel is in his box in our house.

She named him Augustus after her favorite book character.  She researched and made feeding charts.  He is the sweetest thing.  One of his eyes actually opened this morning.  Keilee knew they were about to.  She estimates that he is 5 weeks old.  It is so funny because Nomad HATES squirrels.  He barks at them in our yard ALL.DAY.LONG.  He either has no clue Augustus is here or he just excepts him as part of our family.  Keilee does close the door to the extra bedroom where he is at night so Nomad won’t eat him!!  Her plan is to reintroduce him to the wild when he is old enough.  Jenn at Little Homeschool on the Prairie said that she has friends that have a SQUIRREL DOOR in their house!!  That is just unbelievable to me.  We have hundreds of squirrels around here.  Of course Keilee thought that would be a great idea. 🙂

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Keilee had an assignment in her Photography class to take pictures of green and yellow things.  Here are a few of her pictures. 

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1. Drama kids performing “Who Am I”  2.  Making cupcakes for the neighbor ladies.  3. & 5.  They are doing a Theater workshop where she reprises her role as Amy in “Little Women”.  I cannot believe she was 12 when she did this and now she is 14.  Although she was ALMOST 13.  4.  Spring is COMING!!!

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In between the busy there has been a lot of Algebra.  In fact one day Keilee got it and I didn’t.  That has NEVER happened!!  I was so freaked but she was very happy. 😉  I actually did finally get it.  She has a HUGE notebook filled with Algebra problems.  I asked her if it didn’t make her proud of herself and she said yes but she didn’t think she would remember how to do every problem.  I told her that is what review is for.  🙂  We are also doing Chemistry 1 from CK-12.  It is a free textbook and teacher’s textbook.  She is also doing Hank Green’s Crash Course Chemistry along with it.  And John Green’s Psychology too.  Can you tell we are HUGE Green brother’s fans???  We are working our way through “Grammar Girls Presents The Ultimate Writing Guide for Students” and loving it.  We are both huge fans of geek girls. 

Speaking of geek girls, we also continue to play World of Warcraft.   I have always loved online games but playing with Keilee is definitely a new experience.  She is much more fearless than I am.  We play on a PVP server which means “Player versus Player”.  That means any person [meaning a real life player like we are] from the opposing side can attack and ‘kill’ you at any time.  I’ve always played PVP because that is what my online friends have always played but I have never been that good at it.  But Keilee and I are a 2 girl wrecking machine. 🙂  We never have attacked anyone first but if they attack us, well we show no mercy.  No really we scream and run around like chickens with their heads cut off. We die a lot but we also laugh so much at times we can hardly play.  I am using my brother’s extra accounts so it is a FREE way for us to have some fun.  The game is very little killing players and mostly going on quests.  So there is a lot of reading and figuring things out.  

So there you have it, our second week of March.  The next 3 weeks are going to be crazy busy.  Keilee has “Shrek the Musical” practice 4 times a week.  Our Drama group at Co-op is performing a play.  We start practice Monday.  Keilee is MUCH better at directing than I am.  We found a short script and she rewrote it so everyone would have lines.  She also did all the blocking and wrote it down for me.  She is helping me create the program too.  Lots of hands on learning going on there. 

Thank you all for the lovely prayers. The situation hasn’t changed yet but my attitude has greatly.

I hope everyone is having a great March so far and that it is warming up where you are.  I am ready for sunshine beaming down on my face, walks , sitting on the patio and just not freezing all  the time!

Happy weekend,
Homeschool Rocks!
Karen

“No matter how long the winter is, spring is sure to follow.”  Proverb

Linking with
Mary at Collage Friday
Sylvia at Friendship Friday
Kris at “Weekly Wrap Up”

Sewing, Writing, Gaming, 80’s, Kinda Week…

The class that Keilee is doing via FaceTime (she is actually getting ready to join them as I type this) with Jessica’s group is honestly going wonderfully.  She is so excited every Thursday night about it and she is writing like crazy.  It is such a great experience for her.  Her and Grace and the rest of the girls laugh and talk and show off each other’s dogs and pets.  It is so much fun for her.  And she is LOVING the writing games they play.

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She is working on a great story.  She told me I could share the first Chapter here:

Septembers Children

 Chapter one

 The sky was gray and smog thickened the air making it hard to breath. “I liked it better when the sky was blue” whispered Alex as he walked towards me. “Alex” I turned fast on my heels “you not suppose to be here”. The air was hot and I could see his eyes move from the filthy sky to me. “Neither are you “ he smirked. He is the only one I feel comfortable around, without him living here would be unbearable. We sat by the edge, peered down at the busy city below. We weren’t suppose to be here, the roof was off limits to all children in September Academy. “Hey Addie?’ Alex turned to me. “Yeah?” I looked at him.

 Maybe the reason we were so alike, why we were best friends is because we are the only ones different. After the Great War nothing was left and we had to rebuild. Very few of us left, very few of us with pale skin, pale eyes and in some cases pale hair. Alex and I both had blue eye, he is the only other person I know who does.

 “You know” Alex began he turned his head as not to look at me. “we could get out.”  I looked at him shocked, I wanted to get out as much, maybe more so, than him but there was no way. “Alex, we…..” Alex turned to me his blue eyes so stern it stopped me in my tracks. “Addie, we could jump.” He said it so nonchalantly it make me wonder, if he really meant it.  “never mind” he said as he turned and looked back at the sky “forget it.”  We sat there in silence not daring to speak or look at each other. I’ve known Alex my whole life, but in this moment he felt like a stranger.

She has written 8 chapters so far!  She is a really good writer but we have never done any sort of writing curriculum.  Keilee told me the other day that there is always either a song or a story running around in her head.  I am just so not like that.

Keilee got a last minute call to help out at The Princess Theater This past weekend. They were having their annual Mental Health Talent Show and needed a stage hand.  She thought she would be mostly back stage and doing moving in the dark but she was on stage the entire time!!  Even bantered with the Master of Ceremonies.  She seriously had 30 mintues to get ready.  We had been a a game day all afternoon and were both pretty pooped!

She also sewed a Quiver for a badge on DIY.org.  She is really doing a great job sewing.  Unfortunately I am not much help.

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They had 80’s day at Co-op.  Finding Keilee something to wear wasn’t very hard.  She wears things like this anyway.  I would love to have all my 80’s clothes.  I had tons of cool things.  I was a very big MTV kinda girl. 

Keilee on the left, me on the right. 🙂  I have no clue why a 25 year old picture is better quality than a week old one!!!

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Keilee has great friends at Co-op.  This is in Art Journaling and the last one is what we are learning for Drama.  It is a ‘white glove’ routine and very cool.

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We played tons of games this week, watched the premiere of Sherlock, (I am a HUGE fan) and took selfies.  While playing Scrabble, I put the word ‘home’ and Keilee made it “HomeSchool”.  🙂  She has been sitting in on a Yale class called “Game Theory” that she loves.  She has talked non stop about it.  We also started playing World Of Warcraft together.  My brother has 2 accounts and let us borrow them when he isn’t playing.  And Keilee finished a large order she got on Facebook for 4 headbands.  This is the first time in 2 months she doesn’t have an order to work on and can just knit and crochet for fun.

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We have  slam packed weekend and it is supposed to be bitter cold.  I am so thankful that Daddy put in central heat this winter.  We have frozen the last few winters but stayed warm as toast this year.  As long as we don’t have to get out in it!  I want Spring but I would love some snow first.  I see all sorts of snow pictures on Instagram and I want some too!

 Happy weekend!
Homeschool Rocks!
Karen

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” ~Maya Angelou
“I know of nothing more inspiring than that of making discoveries for one’s self.”  ~George Washington Carver

Linking with Mary at “Collage Friday
Sylvia at “Friendship Friday”