Category Archives: Field Trip

Bringing Smart Back, Field Trip, Friends, HomeSchool, homeschooling teens, Learning all the time

Catching Up!!!

March 7, 2016 Karen 6 Comments

It’s been awhile. I was doing so well at updating and then…..well life happened.

It’s like Talluah Bankhead said, (who was born in a city near us and was actually NOT anyone’s role model) “Good girls keep diaries; bad girls don’t have the time.”

Actually we haven’t, of course, been ‘bad girls’ just busy girls.

Quilts and skating and candy and Disney trips (not us!) and refuge trips and last minute plays and more.

We had a month long celebration of The Quilters of Gee’s Bend. This was one of the most wonderful things we have done lately. This a group of black women who live in south Alabama. They have been making quilts for generations. There is a wonderful documentary on PBS about them. Our museum had an exhibition, our library had a meet and greet and then they spoke (and SANG!) at a local senior citizen center. It was all magnificent. Their stories were so unbelievable. Afterwards Keilee got their signatures on an embroidery hoop she had stretched a piece of fabric across. She wants to use it as a square in a quilt. You can also read more about them here.

I think this would be a great unit study on patterns. Learn about these lovely ladies and then have your kids make ‘quilts’ from construction paper!

Meeting the ladies of Gee’s Bend.

We also went to a field trip to a candy making company. This company has been in operation for over 25 years. It was a great tour with them explaining all the processes that is involved in making an array of candies, shipping problems and the history of chocolate.

And the cookies and candy!!!! YUM

Keilee got a phone call from a local director to ask her if she would be an understudy for a middle school/high school play called “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize”. Keilee, of course said yes. This is produced and directed by our theater company for a middle school who doesn’t have a drama department. It was about the Civil Rights and presented for Black History Month. She found out Monday and went to practice. She then found out Tuesday that she was going to be IN THE PLAY. She had 4 practices total (and they had been practicing since January) and she had one of the main roles! They performed Thursday morning at the middle school (and dropping her off at 8:00 am and watching her walk into the school was surreal!). They later performed at the beautifully restored Princess Theatre downtown. This experience was unbelievable for her. She was so good on stage (and yes I’m her Mamma but no one could believe she had come aboard Monday). She met some kids she really liked and just soaked up every minute of the experience.

Keilee was contacted by Magic Moments Organization which grants ‘wishes’ for chronically ill children. She was able to go to a dedication (where the family was donating a handicapped piece of playground equipment) and present sweet Albany with a trip to Disney!!!! As wonderful as this was for Albany and her family it was more so for Keilee!

Keilee with her Bible opened working on a game for her girl’s group at church. Voting. 😉 We went to homeschool skate day this month. Keilee used to never miss a skate day but now she wants to go less often. She had a great time even though we had to leave early to do some things. Nomad in his ‘tiara’ Keilee made him. And our LEAP DAY picnic at our Wildlife Refuge. She had, of course, to leap.

And finally she was Cinderella at a birthday party Saturday. She rarely gets to be Cinderella because kids refuse to “Let It Go” and want Elsa always and she loves Cinderella. And of course I made her drop off the Redbox movie. And to let me take a picture.

Whew! I’m exhausted just typing that.

This week is supposed to be WARM! We are so ready for Spring. Isn’t everyone?

Homeschooling Rocks!
Karen

“Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Field Trip, HomeSchool, Learning all the time

Frank Lloyd Wright and Cypress Moon….

February 13, 2015 Karen 9 Comments

One of the things I love most about homeschooling is field trips. To my knowledge high school kids or even middle school kids don’t take field trips. I know we didn’t many moons ago.

Wednesday we had a wonderful day. We started out by touring the Rosenbaum House which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
The Rosenbaums, Stanley and Mildred and their 4 boys, are a very interesting family. Stanley’s father immigrated from Poland to Florence, Alabama. He owned and operated 12 movie houses which was the entertainment of the day. Stanley went to Harvard at 16 and received his Masters at the University of Denver. He met his wife Mildred in NYC where she studied music. She was also a Vogue model. Stanley returned to Florence to teach English at University of North Alabama. He also spoke 5 languages fluently. They received $7500 as a wedding gift to build their first home and through acquaintances contacted Frank Lloyd Wright to design their house.

The Usonian designed house was an idea of Wright for middle income families. He wanted it to fulfill the American dream of home ownership. The house originally contained 1,540 square feet, but when the household grew to include four sons, the family called upon Wright to design an addition. In 1948, 1,084 square feet were added. Wright was very excited by the addition because it was exactly what he built the Usonian houses for, so they could grow with the family as it grew. He also designed ALL the furniture in the house. Everything there is original except for 2 chairs that were reproductions.

I have heard of Frank Lloyd Wright my entire life but until about 4 years ago never knew there was a FLW home in Alabama.

He was also very picky. He had certain rules about his houses and gave the owners almost no room for changes. We were told a story about Mildred wanting a door in her boy’s room during the addition and he refused and said it would ruin the lines. She kept on until he added the door and she said it became one of her biggest regrets about the house. It opened up a huge circle area around the house and the 4 boys would drive her crazy running round and round the house.

The first thing we noticed from the outside is the roof lines. There are 5 different levels. FLW believed in using the surrounding environment and natural materials found in the area to build his houses. It isn’t built on a slab so it follows the line of the property which is higher at points. There are so many levels inside the 1 story house. These are mostly only a couple of steps down or up to each level.

The living room is one of my favorite rooms. It is floor to ceiling windows and built in bookcases that run the length of the room. The Rosenbaums requested screens and FLW refused but they insisted. (Obviously FLW hasn’t spent a summer in Alabama with mosquitoes!) But he made the screens on the INSIDE of the doors and windows. And they are bronze so it can reflect the light. It is beautiful from outside. He also built the house on a grid. In the living room he positioned the windows so that in the winter the sunlight comes all the way into the room for warmth but in the summer it doesn’t because of the heat. (This was before AC) Stanley would have ‘salons’ at his home for his students. They would come and he would read the final chapter of whatever novel he had assigned and they would all discuss it. That sounds like my DREAM evening. Especially if it was in this beautiful room!

The light is the main thing I noticed. It is beautiful. It gives everything a gold sheen almost.

There was a very small kitchen, a study, the living room, 3 bedrooms and a bath in the original structure. But the kitchen was TINY. When FLW designed the addition they added a larger kitchen in the new addition, a guest room, a bathroom and the boy’s room. The boys room is a GREAT space. There are 4 bunkbeds butted up against each other. Each has their own reading light. There is a fireplace (4 total I believe) and a huge window seat in front of more floor to ceiling windows. Each bedroom always opens up to the outside.

Keilee and I both loved it and both would love to live in a house like this. It is perfect for us. Since the house is smaller, he used space so well. There are tons of storage places that are as beautiful as the actual rooms.

Mildred was a weaver and used one of the bedrooms for her weaving supplies and loom. The picture in the top left and under are the new kitchen and the bottom left is the old kitchen.

A bedroom, the master bedroom that Keilee is in, the Japanese garden outside the window, the bench in the boys room, one of the beautiful closets and the window in the guest room. See how the glass is cut to form the corner?

The bunk beds.

After the tour we all went to eat lunch in the park. It was a great day with Moms talking and kids playing with swords under the trees!

Then we stopped by the new Welcome Center. I LOVE Welcome centers and we always stop at everyone we see. This one was new and very cool.

Muscle Shoals, which is right beside Florence, is a huge recording town. After the park we went to Cypress Moon Productions. It has an amazing history and we got a tour of the facilities from the owner. They record music and do film. Of course Keilee had to stay after the tour and talk to the owner about the possibility of her being an extra. She is sending Holly her resume. I am always proud of the way she will talk to people about things she wants to know.

There were WALLS and WALLS of people who had recorded here. If you click on the link above it has more detail. See the young Bob Dylan?

It was such a beautiful day with friends and learning so much. We have gotten into a bad habit of saying “no” a lot. We blame it on the cold or this or that. We used to do things almost every week. Now the only constant is running to the grocery or Dollar General 3 times a week! That is about to change.

We have plans this weekend even though its going to be BITTER cold. And there is a possibility of SNOW the first of the week but we aren’t getting excited quite yet. (well I’m a BIT excited)

Happy Valentine’s weekend all. By the way, Keilee hates Valentines Day. She said you should tell the people you love that you love them every day and there shouldn’t be a special day for it! 🙂

Homeschooling Rocks!
Karen

“No house should ever be on a hill or on anything. It should be of the hill. Belonging to it. Hill and house should live together each the happier for the other.” ~Frank Lloyd Wright

“Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.” ~Frank Lloyd Wright

Linking with Sylvia at Homeschooling Blog Linkup
Dawn at My Week In Review

Field Trip, HomeSchool, Learning, Learning all the time, Life, My beautiful child, nature, Nomad, Science

Epic Church, Fun Learning & Nature’s Beauty…

September 12, 2010 Karen 4 Comments

Wednesday night we had convergence at our church.† We don’t have enough room for all of us at our building so we go to The Princess Theater.† It was amazing as usual.† I love our church and it has made SUCH a difference in Kei and I’s life.† Truly.

Kei had gotten a new shirt/jacket that she had to wear.† I reminds me of a jacket I had in the 80’s!!† Wish I had kept things like that.

We started off having children’s dedications.† It was so sweet.† Kei and I participated in it a couple of years ago. Everyone in the entire place prayed for these amazing kids and their parents.† Then our band played.† Our band ROCKS!

We did some really cool things this week lesson wise.† We are working on fractions in Math.† Right now I am using Math Mammoth Fractions.† I also have Life of Fred which we love!

In Science we are doing Physics for 3 months.† We are learning about forces and energy.† I found a GREAT free download based on 2D Physics.† Kei plays with this for hours.† It is called PHUN. She told me the other day, “Mom I bet you $1 I can make a machine that writes a “K”.† She did and I happily paid her $1.

We are using Story of The World for history.† I started out using that, then last year we did US History up until reconstruction.† Kei wanted to go back to Ancient this year.† We love SOTW.† We have the audio version and she listens to the chapters.† We even listen to it in the car.† We also got the activity guide which is SO worth it.† We also use Evan Moor History Pockets. These are the coolest things we have almost ever done.† Fun, hands on projects.

For writing I make Kei do a report once a week.† She turns in a rough draft and I correct it and she redoes it.† It can be on any subject and she has to have 2 resources.† So far she has done cooking and dogs.† :)† I have never made her do a spelling program because she would make 100 and promptly forget how to spell it.† This† year we are using Sequential Spelling and we both really like it.† There is a spelling ‘test’ ever day but it takes us about 5 minutes.† It makes sense so she remembers it so much better.† I can tell such a difference in her spelling.

For Geography I put all the countries of the world in a big glass bowl.† She draws one out each Monday.† She does a COUNTRY REPORT 2010 that I made up and also looks up images during the week.† I want her to really see how the people live.† How the children live.† How they are like and not alike.† We have 2 of the most amazing books that we also use for Geography.† One is called What the World Eats. It is a fascinating look at what the average family in different countries spend on food and what they buy.† The other is our favorite.† It is Material World: A Global Family Portrait. I had it in my cart for months and finally just ordered both of them.† We love them. It really makes you appreciate what you have when you see how most of the world lives.

I also made a jar with about 200 random questions.† She draws out a question every day and has to find the answer online.† I think knowing how to search is really important.† It is one of her favorite parts of her day.

We are using Live Mocha for Spanish.† She has only done a few lessons but really likes it.† We do critical thinking about 3 times a week.† We are doing Monet in Art right now.†† We read a biography about him and read Linnea in Monet’s Garden and watched a video from Netflix.† I couldn’t homeschool without Netflix!† This upcoming week we are going to try our hand at water lilies.† I am doing the drawing along with Kei.† I have always sucked at drawing but I still am loving it.† I am actually learning some techniques that I never knew.† We also do some Photography.† I just give her an assignment and she shoots away.

Friday’s we don’t do ‘lessons’.† We have, what we call “Fun Fridays”.† This past Friday we went on a hike and a picnic.† We took Nomad.† It was a really awesome day.† The only ‘bad’ thing is that we hooked Nomad on a post while we went inside to the bathroom.† When we came out his empty leash was laying there!† We freaked out but finally got him.† Kei calls him Houdini Dog.

Over the log — If A Tree Falls in the Forest...

After Flint Creek we went over to the Wild Life Refuge for our picnic and more hiking.

We didn’t see any ducks but we saw some beautiful cranes. Some of the telescopes are on the second floor so Nomad climbed his first stairs.† No problemo.† Coming down was a different matter.† He laid down and went on strike.† Finally we got him to come down.† It was so cute.

Every time we go to the Refuge we take a “picture of Mommy and Kei on a rail post”.

I think it is supposed to cool off a little next week.† I hope so.† I am so ready for fall!† Fall was always my Mother’s favorite time of the year.

Be blessed,

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.† Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.† The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.† ~John Muir

Field Trip, Friends, Learning, Learning all the time

Pink Moths, Monastaries & Notebooks

August 7, 2010 Karen 1 Comment

Hot Hot Hot!

We live near the high school and we can hear the football team practicing.† How do they do it?† In pads?† and helmets?† When it is 100∞!† I would be surprised if they aren’t dropping like flies.† <insert lyrics to “Drop it Like Its Hot” here>

Kei has gotten her notebooks ready for school.† She needed 13!† We are both so ready for school to ‘start’ back.† We are starting Monday the 9th.

I found this beautiful moth in our yard.† I have never seen anything like it.† After some research we found out it is a Pink Spotted Hawk Moth.† Lovely…

We went swimming at Cathy’s.† It was great to see our friends.† I hate going more than a few days without getting together!

Livvy spent the night with Kei.† They have made the decision for her to go to PS.† It makes Kei very sad but I know she will shine there.† And the girls will still hang out.† We can’t go long without seeing Livvy.† They played and swam and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning.

The next morning they were telling me something that happened and Nomad came up and joined them in a line.† I told them they reminded me of the scene in “The Sound of Music” where all the kids lined up.

Kei and I went to Our Lady of the Angels Monastery. It was so beautiful.† Breathtakingly beautiful.† From the minute we stepped foot on the grounds there was a feeling of peace.† I would love to go back when it wasn’t 103∞ in the shade.

Francis Assissi — Kei reading about Francis of Assisi

We didn’t know we couldn’t wear shorts and sleeveless shirts.† They provide clothes for you to wear in the Church.† We tried to get a picture of us in the bathroom.

You couldn’t take pictures in the Church.† It was AMAZING.† BEAUTIFUL.† All the gold, and there was a lot of gold, is REAL!† Here is a picture I found online

There is also a picture of the Shroud of Turin.† Whether or not you believe it is the real deal, it was amazing to see.† I just sat and cried.

The grounds were beautiful also.† We saw the gardener and I told him that I didn’t see how he stood it in this heat.† His response, “I am just so thankful that I have a job”.† I love optimistic people!

There was this little chapel with the Manger scene.† Kei wanted to light a candle for my Mother.† I told her I didn’t think God would mind that we weren’t Catholic.† When she lit it I said, “Momma I hope you are dancing and running and singing and laughing”.† I still miss her everyday.

The gift shop was in this awesome castle.† It was huge and Kei saw a statue of Mary.† She could not believe it was $3100.

We brought a picnic lunch but there was nowhere to eat unless you were in the blazing sun.† We decided to try to find somewhere else to eat.

On the way out we saw a house consumed by kudzu!† It was so cool looking.† We hoped that a family wasn’t trapped inside!† If you aren’t from the South and don’t know about kudzu, legend is that if you leave a baby in the yard, the kudzu will grow around it.

We finally decided to go to Hurricane Creek to eat.† It was too hot to actually go hiking but they let us sit at a picnic table and eat.† Then Kei had to play on the rock climbing wall.

The guy showed us a hornet’s nest that he found.† It was HUGE.† I still shiver thinking about the hornets in that sucker!

After we got home we decided to take Nomad on a ride.† He he loves riding in the car now.† Thank goodness because his psycho barking was driving me crazy every time we took him to the vet!

We had a wonderful day.

Hope you did too!

ìSoutherners must close their windows at night to keep the kudzu outÖî

_{Quote from The Amazing Story of Kudzu}

Field Trip, Learning all the time, Life, My beautiful child

Grottos, Tennessee Letdown, Athens Squared…

July 30, 2010 Karen 2 Comments

Weekly Wrap Up

After being mentioned on Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers, my server was down for 3 days!† My 15 minutes of fame shot!

We had a great week even though the temperature is hovering around 100∞!!

The first of the week we went to Cullman to Ave Marie Grotto.† Actually we went to Cullman to buy Kei a Caterpillar Webkinz that she has been looking everywhere for.† Then we decided to go to the Grotto.

It is so fascinating there.† Kei hasn’t been there since she was 5 and she didn’t remember it except from the pictures. Their website says:

Known throughout the world as “Jerusalem in Miniature,” is a beautifully landscaped, four-acre park designed to provide a natural setting for the 125 miniature reproductions of some of the most famous historic buildings and shrines of the world. The masterpieces of stone and concrete are the lifetime work of Brother Joseph Zoettl, a Benedictine monk of St. Bernard Abbey. Begun as a hobby, with various materials he could find, and infinite patience and a remarkable sense of symmetry and proportion, Brother Joseph re-created some of the greatest edifices of all time.

It is mostly underneath trees so it wasn’t horribly hot. We talked to all the people working in the grotto and even talked to a man whose granddaughter goes to the Prep School.† It is grades 7-12.

I asked a lady if Kei could have her picture made with a monk.† She said, “Of course” and Kei whispered, “Mom this isn’t the Amish!”.† I didn’t know if it was some Monk rule about pictures!!

After the Grotto we walked around the Prep School.† They have a beautiful Catholic church that Kei had to check out.

When we were leaving we saw this doggie.† Of course Kei had to pet him.† When we got home I looked up the Prep School online and there was a picture of this same dog!!† It must be their mascot or something.† Wait…they are the “Saints”.† But it wasn’t a Saint Bernard….Hmmmm

We spent the next few days hanging around the house.† Kei swam and we cleaned up the HomeSchool room and cleaned out bookshelves.† I just can not bear to throw books away!!† Even when they are for K-3.† I mean, you just never know!!!

Kei had ballet lessons twice this week to make up for an earlier missed day.

I also got a shot of a wasp’s nest.† See the eggs?† I felt so bad knocking it down but it was in the building with my lawn mower and it was surrounded by wasps.† I apologized to the eggs while Kei laughed at me.

Today we decided to go on an adventure. Somewhere I had never been before.† I found this little town in Tennessee called Prospect.

The FANTASY: [From the webpage]

Prospect Historic Downtown

Entertainment museum (1890-1999), including a “silent movie” theater, a gristmill and an old-fashioned ice cream and pizza parlor. Free.

I mean come on!† Entertainment museum??!!!, gristmill!!!????, ice cream???!!!!, FREE???!!!.† We were so THERE!

We put Prospect, TN in our GPS and off we went.† After winding roads through very beautiful country, this is what we found.

The REALITY:

Ice Cream Prospect — Empty with a For Sale Sign

By this time we were laughing so hard I had to pull over.† It was one of those silly things that just kept getting funnier and funnier.† We saw a cemetery and Kei said to pull in because we may as well see something while we were there.† We thought this must have been used for hanging.† Doesn’t it just look like a ‘Hanging Tree”?

We did stop and buy lottery tickets so I guess if we win the $82 million the trip will not have been in vain. 🙂 We just went back to Athens and walked around their square.† It was really pretty and I had never taken Kei there.† She got a bottle cap necklace and some more silly bands.† And ice cream…there is always ice cream.

Ending up being a great day full of the best things: laughter, ice cream and jewelry. 🙂

Be blessed,

ìWandering† re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.î Anatole France

Field Trip, Friends, Learning all the time, Life, My beautiful child, nature

Wildflowers, Roses, Homemade Candy and 100th Post…

April 24, 2010 Karen 2 Comments

100 Posts.† I started this blog when my Mother died.† It helped me so much in the first few days/weeks/months.† I don’t keep† it like I should.† I write sporadically at best.† This is my 100th post and I wish I had something earth shattering to share, some wisdom to impart to the 2 people who read this.

But I don’t.

Life goes on, soon it will be 2 years that my sweet Mamma died.† 2 years, it seems impossible that it has been that long.† Things change, my Daddy has remarried to a wonderful woman who I love.† I still miss my Mother every day of my life.† Kei still tells me at times I call for her when I am falling asleep.† We are living in her house.† She would be tickled pink that we are here.† I wish she lived here with us, but that wasn’t God’s plan.

Kei bought a candy making kit on clearance after Easter.† It looked like something that would be a huge mess to me.† She was outside playing and decided she had to make candy NOW.†† I warned her that it probably wouldn’t look like the candy on the box.

She did it all by herself and I was amazed how it turned out!† It was beautiful!

The roses are blooming here.† It is so strange how I lived here when I was younger and visited here every day of my life almost, but I have never really noticed how beautiful the roses and flowers are.† I guess ownership <however loosely> makes you more aware.

There are about 15 rose bushes scattered everywhere.† Mother always loved roses.† They are amazing.

We celebrated Earth Day by going on a Wildflower walk.† I love this place but this year there wasn’t much water and the kids didn’t get to splash around much.† We then went to a nearby park and ate lunch at Taziki’s Greek Restaurant.† It was YUMMY!

There is the coolest house made of twigs and limbs.† We wondered who built it?

All in all a good week.† We were invited to go camping next week and are so hoping we will be able to go!

Happy week all,

Field Trip, Friends, HomeSchool, Learning all the time, Life

Mad Hatters, FLW & Things that go BUMP…

March 16, 2010 Karen Leave a comment

The weather is still CRAPPY!† Seriously I get tired of always talking about the weather but sheeshhhh.

Kei and I went to see Alice.† It was really good and totally cool with the 3D.† Although my boss, who worked on the film, said it wasn’t filmed in 3D.† Kei loved it.† If she can love Johnny looking like this, it must be true love.

We went to see Circo Comedia which was hilarious.† Kei loved it.† I can’t imagine just moving around, city by city, performing.† Under the right circumstances that could be so fun!

Kei loves to make things for me.† I woke up Tuesday and she had a clue in the bathroom that led me through the house to a ‘prize’.† I had to post her clues because they were cute and the last one can still make me laugh a week later.

1. “Where people say we should eat, is a clue to your treat.” <kitchen table>

2. “Now go to the desk where WOW is played to get a jump start on your day.” <my computer>

3. “Last but not least, look in the cookie jar for your treat.” <cookie jar>

4. “You found your treat, so Bonaparte.” <Ok I read this and said, “Huh? and she said ‘bon appetit , I spell checked it!’> I am still laughing about it.

Thursday we spent the day with some of our bestest friends <we missed you Gina and Heather!>† It was Suzette and Michelle’s birthday.† We ate at Olive Garden and then went to the Rosenbaum House which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.† It was unbelievable.† Kei and I loved it and wanted to move in.† Then we went to the park for cheesecake. Great day, great food, great friends, great learning.† Perfect day. Thanks Suz, Em and Zachery for letting us ride with you.

Kei had play practice Saturday and Sunday we had a great day at church.† Sunday was the 1st day of† DST so we were both tired all day.† Kei begged to watch a scary movie during the daytime! ;)† I finally let her and she was so funny.† She got a bunch of stuffed animals and watched it with them assuring them at various times it was “just a movie”.† Other times she screamed at the TV about how stupid the people were.

Scary Movie — It's ok, it's JUST a movie

All in all, a good week.† Now if the sun would come out and it get above 50∫ I may survive.

Happy week,

Field Trip, Friends, HomeSchool, Learning all the time, My beautiful child, Science

September days….

September 17, 2009 Webmaster Leave a comment

“Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh so mellow
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain so yellow
Try to remember the kind of September
When you were a young and a callow fellow
Try to remember and if you remember
Then follow–follow, oh-oh.”
-† Try to Remember, Lyrics by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt

I can’t believe it is already the middle of September.† Where does time go?

We are in full swing with homeschooling.† Loving it with very few meltdowns by either of us.

We missed the “Not Back to School” picnic and the 1st skate day because Kei was very sick.† We both hated missing it.

We did go bowling which was fun.† I got to see some people I hadn’t seen all summer.† Kei broke 100 which is a 1st for her.

She has been in a coloring mode lately.† Every night after dinner she colors and colors and colors.

We are learning about Kingdoms, etc.† Even though I think it is a little silly.† I mean how many times have you been asked for the Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Genus or Species of a mushroom???† Kei has memorized all of them which is more than I know.†† We did an experiment about “Opposable Thumbs” and it was a hoot.† She had to try to do all these things with her thumbs taped down.† Some she accomplished but it took forever and some she could not do at all.

I love homeschooling.† I love spending so much time with Kei.† I love learning right along with her.† I have learned relearned so much!† We are doing American History and I have never been so fascinated by Explorers and the first settlements.† In a perfect world we could go to visit Jamestown after studying about it.† But…with the internet that is almost possible.

Kei is now working on a play about Virginia Dare. She is convinced that the Indians got her and they all lived happily ever after.† She still believes in that…..

Live, laugh, learn,

Field Trip, Life

Mud and Fairies Houses and Tea Parties, Oh My..

July 14, 2009 Karen Leave a comment

Today was a kick back and enjoy the day day. Kei decided that she wanted to build fairy houses. She has 2 different processes for this. One, she makes them out of twigs and leaves and two, she makes them out of mud. Today was a “Mud” day.

Here she has proven the, often suspected but never documented, fact that 9 year olds do attract mud like a magnet. Also that she can finally do the Vulcan hand sign. [????]

But the Fairy House was lovely. She named it Dragonfly City and gave me a tour of the houses and stores. It came complete with a pool for the fairies.

Then she invited me to a Tea Party. We do this every now and then, not as much as she would like but as much as I can stand attend.† She makes a grand production, hand writing my invitation and anxiously awaiting the time. She uses her Tea Set that she hand painted a couple of years ago.

We always dress up in summery dresses complete with hats and talk in accents. Last time we were British grand ladies and today we were Southern aristocrats. No matter the nationality, our names remain the same. She is Mrs. Sassafras and I am Mrs. Chamomile. We discuss our gardens and recipes and our grandchildren and how ‘wild and reckless’ today’s society is. Kei adores this pretend time.

Memories…it is all about making memories.

One thing I want Kei to say when she is 20 is, “I had the most wonderful childhood.”

Homeschooling Rocks!
Karen

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Field Trip, My beautiful child

Cleaning to Thriller..

July 1, 2009 Karen Leave a comment

We had a deal.† She cleaned the outside of the fridge.† This involved taking tons of pictures, drawings, and our HUGE daily calendar off.† She rarely has chores of this type.† I helped her get ready and went outside to read.

I walked in and this is what I saw:

She is such a cool little freak!

TODAY IN HISTORY:† 1863 Battle of Gettysburg Began

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