I could fill books with things I am thankful for.† The last few months have been so hard in so many ways.† But so wonderful in others.† We are here and we are happy and we are good.† But this week has made me very thankful for 2 things.

I posted a few weeks ago about the fact that Keilee hadn’t built Fairy Houses this Summer.† And how sad it made me that if she never built another one, I didn’t remember her ‘last one’.

This week she DID!† She casually said, “I think I will build some Fairy Houses, will you come read to me?”† That is always how we do it.† I drag my chair beside her in the yard and read to her while she builds.† She has worked on them for 2 days and this Mama is just giddy.† I love that she still loves to do this.

The first day she clears the ground and makes her mud.† She decided to incorporate the tree roots and it was a great idea.

She builds bedrooms and tiny tables and chairs.† She uses mud and twigs and flowers and acorns.† She spends hours on this.† She gets SO dirty.† I love it.

I am thankful not only that Keilee is still building Fairy Houses but that I have the privilege to sit beside her and watch her face as she concentrates and builds.† She gets so excited when she thinks of a particularly cool room and calls me over to see it.

I am not sure how much longer she will do this.† Was this the last time?† If so, I DO remember.

My other ‘Thankful’ is my friend Carla.† Carla and I have been friends for over 20 years.† The stories we could tell you!† We have been through it all together; marriages, divorces, partying, tears, laughter, the death of my Mother, the death of her Father, talks into the wee hours of the night, single parenting, both of us moving to California, spending tons of holidays together over the years, ringing in New Year’s, dressing up for Halloween, dinner parties, playing video games, playing online games, laughing until our stomachs hurt, the list is endless. The longest relationship I have ever had has been with her, except for my family.† But she IS my family.† She is the sister I never had, the very best kind of sister, the kind you love because you WANT to, not because you have to.† Carla has a 19 year old daughter Caitlyn who Keilee met for the first time 2 years ago.

Jessica at Teachable Moments wrote a post a few weeks ago about her best friend.† Carla and I go months without speaking at times.† We are both busy and on opposite ends of the country.† I decided then and there to call her.† We talked for over an hour.† I told her how much I missed her and having her in my life.† We promised to do better.† After we talked she sent me an email. Here is a portion of it:
“I have wanted to find a friend like you and today I feel like I had an ah ha moment….I have Karen, why in the world am I looking, or feel like I need to look, for someone like you!† So silly.† I know we live a long distance apart but it shouldn’t feel like a void that is insurmountable!† So many times I just sit on the couch, watching some TV or messing with the internet, just not really doing anything but would love to have had someone to yack to.† Those are the times I am going to call you, I mean it!† How many times do I say to you only “I haven’t told anyone else this” and it’s true, I would never say to anyone else on the earth many of the things I tell you.† I just can’t tell anyone else, only you would understand. ”

Since then we have talked hours and hours.† Every day several times a day.† I have introduced her to Pinterest and she is cracking me up with it.† She hates social network sites and she said she has finally found one she loves.† She is a ‘pinning fool!† She has a board called “For Kei” with things she would love.

We are also making plans to go visit them in March.† My boss had already told me he would pay for the flight for Keilee and I and we would stay with Carla of course.† We are planning on staying 3 weeks and Keilee will LOVE it.† I can’t wait to show her San Francisco.

So this week I am thankful for a girl who builds fairy houses and a friend who knows all my secrets and loves me anyway.

Homeschooling Rocks!
Karen

“Everytime a child says ‘I don’t believe in fairies’ there is a a little fairy somewhere that falls down dead.“† ~James M. Barrie

“Yesterday brought the beginning, tomorrow brings the end, and somewhere in the middle we became the best of friends.”† ~Author Unknown

Happily linking with Theresa at Red Oak Road “Thankful Thursdays”

Cross another week off the Homeschool Girls calendar.† 4 Weeks done!† We have had a great first month. Now there have been bumps now and then.† I still think we are too ‘scheduled’ but Keilee doesn’t agree.† She loves Math but isn’t loving it every single second.† Saxon Math is very time consuming.† It sometimes takes her 2 hours to do it.† She gets frustrated but keeps going.† I am very proud of her.

We went to a little Festival in the downtown section of our town.† They had tons of antique cars.† They were beautiful!

We had a Play Day with our Roamies.† Everyone had a ball and we figured out our schedule for next year.† Every Mom is taking a month and planning something, it can be a field trip, a hike or a get together at your home.† Anything goes!
We love this park by the Tennessee River.† It is beautiful!† You should have seen Esther and I running to jump up on the bench after we set our ‘Timer’ on the camera.† I keep forgetting I have my camera on “Vivid” hence everyone’s wonderful sunburn! 🙂

After we finished up at the park, Brit came home with us for a couple of hours.† I dragged an old mattress out and they tumbled.

I am loving Instagram.† I have been on awhile and just enjoy seeing everyone’s pictures so much. Come on and join…all the cool kids are doing it.† If you don’t have an iPhone you can still play!† Here is an article with some options!

1. On the way to Fantasy Players rehearsal.† For homework this week they had to think of a character in a movie and ‘be’ that character at this rehearsal.† Guess who Keilee was…”Edward Scissorhands”† She wore her shirt as a hint.
2.† We read about the Native Americans and how horribly treated they were this week.
3.† At the Park with the Train bridge behind her.
4.† Her check for “Space Warriors”.† She is now a PAID Actress!
5.† Kei and Nomad chilling on the couch.

Keilee has been spending tons of time on “Polyvore“.† All you Mom’s of girls MUST check this out!† You put together complete outfits and post them.† Keilee has had a BLAST on this.† She loves fashion and loves putting together clothes.† As I am sure some of you have noticed by what she wears. :)† Check out her page and make your own!† It is my favorite resource this week.† Here is one of her outfits.

So there is our week. We have lots of fun stuff coming up that I can’t wait to blog about.† Like most of you I am sure we are ready for cooler weather.† Here in Alabama that can be anytime in October…hopefully.

My favorite picture this week…† Our neighbors had given Keilee a $10 gift certificate† to a local ice cream parlor.† I captured her ‘enjoyment’ of her cone.
Happy weekend!
Homeschooling Rocks!
Karen

“What makes a river so restful to people is that it doesn’t have any doubt – it is sure to get where it is going, and it doesn’t want to go anywhere else.î† ~ Hal Boyle

Happily linking up with:
Mary at “Collage Fridays”
Susan at “Favorite Resources”
Passport Academy “iPhone Dump”
Kris at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers “Weekly Wrap Up“

First of all to get the ‘bad’ news out of the way.† The job we had starting in September has been pushed to October 1.† Yes I was devastated but after a day of crying and feeling defeated I am back strong.† I know we will make it.† Not with as much money as I was hoping for, but make it we will.

Now on with the goodness that was this week.† Monday Keilee had her first rehearsal for “Fantasy Players”.† She really loved it and I am hoping for lots of opportunities and fun for her.† I got no pictures because the Moms were banished to the waiting room!† 🙂

And a little sad…† We came into possession of 3 little doggies Monday.† They started following a man who walks his dogs around our area.† We have spoken to him a few times when his dogs have gotten loose.† He knocked on our door with these 3 little dogs and asked us if we knew whose they were.† We didn’t.† Long story short, we agreed to keep them and try to find their owners.† Put an ad in the paper and heard nothing.† These doggies looked abandoned, dirty and starved for food and love.† By Tuesday night it was apparent no one was going to claim them.† I called Esther who knew someone who ran a no kill shelter in a town about 45 minutes from here.† It is called “The Fairy DogMother” and the woman who runs it is named Glinda!† I sent a picture and she said she would take them!† She asked us to take them to a vet to have them spayed and neutered in the town where her shelter was.† The “Mother’ doggy had a huge growth on her front leg that really disturbed me.† Keilee fell in love with these sweet dogs and played with them every chance she got.† She named them Luke, Logan and Lulu. [ We are Gilmore Girls fans here]. Nomad was NOT in love with them and let us know it every chance he got.† We got up Wednesday and loaded them up and took them to the Vet she uses.† It was a hard goodbye.† I got in the car and just cried.† They were the sweetest doggies.† We heard yesterday that the Mother dog’s growth was a tumor and much larger than we thought.† The Vet wanted to put her down but Glinda said ‘NO’ so they are removing it in 2 parts.† We hope and pray so badly that our doggies will find a lovely home together.

We did lots of learning this week too.† Keilee did Math outside and tons of Notebooking for both History and Science.† We have done more Notebooking this year so far than we ever have.† I found a Favorite Resource on Amazon.† It is CK-12 Foundations FREE Kindle books.† There are some really good ones here.† Also Esther sent me this link which has some great Science resources and activities.† It is called Design Squad.† Check them both out!
We also got together with our Roamies for a “Not Back To School” swim!† There was fun, food, laughter and water with† some of our best friends!

Thursday we were invited to see “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” that our Crawfords were in.† They did a great job and the costumes were AMAZING!† Jake was the White Rabbit but he was so ‘hoppy’ that all the pictures were so blurry!

During and after the play..
On the way home Keilee and I talked about how blessed we were in spite of the fact that things are very tight.† We counted our blessings which were MANY.† We looked back on our weeks and laughed and marveled at all the amazing things we did with hardly any money.† Life is such a gift and we are so lucky to have each other and terrific people in our lives.† THOSE are the true ‘riches’ in our lives.

Happy weekend all!
Homeschooling Rocks!
Karen

“Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons.”† ~ Ruth Ann Schabacker

Happily linking up with
Mary at “Collage Friday”
Susan at “Favorite Resources”
Passport Academy iPhone Photo Dump

When I decided to participate in iHomeschoolNetwork’s “Not Back to School Student Photo” week, I immediately enlisted Keilee’s help.† “I need a number “7”, I told her.† “Something to show up in pictures”.† Off she went.† She got some poster board and cut a “7” out and then painted it.† I love the way it turned out!

I am NOT a great photographer, aperture and F-Stop and ISO mean little to me.† I kinda just point and shoot.† I figure if I make enough pictures there will be good ones.† I love taking pictures of Keilee.† Of course, as her Mother, I think she is the perfect subject.† She loves any chance to dress up, so off we went.
First stop, the creek [ok it is actually a DITCH, but creek sounds so much better doncha think?].† After shooting a few pictures she spotted something shiny and was off!
She always wants to STAND in swings so she jumped right up in the swing in the Rose Garden.† That is what we always called it…the Rose Garden.† Not many roses anymore since I have no green thumb.
Then she had to change clothes…she is 12 remember?† This was my brother’s skate board years ago.† I never let her stand on it and ride.† So she was very excited that I let her do it for the picture.† The right one we tried about 5 times, her throwing it up and me capturing the exact right moment.† Cool huh?
These are my favorites.† They capture my silly, dramatic, quirky, girl just perfectly.

I asked Keilee what she was looking forward to this year and she typed up this list…

I hope everyone has a wonderful 2012-2013 year full of learning and laughter and memories.† I can not wait to see what this “7th” grade year brings us.

Homeschooling Rocks!
Karen

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”† ~ Albert Einstein

6 Weeks without a paycheckÖthatís a long time with no money.† Yet here we areÖbills paid, food in the freezer, gas in the car.

I put in a few applications and asked people if they knew anywhere they were hiringÖno luck.† It is hard to be without money.† Knowing that even spending $5 is a big deal.

But we have made it.† How did that happen?† Like the title says, ëThere are angels among us.í† We have been blessed with the most amazing people in our lives.† The 2 ladies next door have given us $200!† The first $100 was from Joan who said to ëbuy some fluffí.† I think she knew the ëfluffí would be food and gas.† Then Frances sent a card with another $100 bill for Keilee for ëher first movie roleí.†† My Daddy paid my electric bill which was the largest electric bill we have had since we lived here.† We had way over a week of 100+ temperatures.† Then we got an anonymous card in the mail with $50 in it.† Then a dear friend sent us a check for $50.† One of our best friends has been over 3 Saturdays in a row with groceries.† I keep telling her that we donít need that many groceries but she still comes.† Bags and bags of food each one opened like a package.† It is so strange to get groceries that I didnít buy and such an amazing blessing.† My friend Kathy took us out to eat and we spent the night with them and had girls night out.

I sold some books on eBay.† I worked on the film ìSpace Warriorsî and got paid.

And prayersÖprayers all over the United States going up from some amazing Homeschool friends.† I close my eyes and picture them going up to heaven, straight to God from all over.† Prayers going up from friends and family here.† Prayers, like balloons, going up, up, up.

And prayers from me, on my knees telling God I trust in Him to see us through.† I have been so emotional the last few weeks. Crying, always crying at how amazing people are, how amazing God is.

I think we have a job coming up September 9^th.† Even though that is 3 weeks away it will mean I will finally be back on track.

So for this Thankful Thursday I am thankful for the angels among us.† Never doubt that they are there…
I have seen them….

Thank you all,
Homeschooling Rocks!
Karen

“I believe there are angels among us.
Sent down to us from somewhere up above.
They come to you and me in our darkest hours.
To show us how to live, to teach us how to give.
To guide us with the light of love.” ~ Alabama

Happily linking with Theresa with “Thankful Thursdays”

It continues to amaze me how we keep making it with no income.† Well not much income.† I got my check from “Space Warriors”.† This is after taxes for 10 hours work!† A red or black Porsche 911 you think?
We stayed up and watched Curiosity land on Mars.† We had to cancel cable about a month ago but we still have our Roku and it has the NASA Channel. This was SO exciting.† We were cheering and jumping up and down when it finally landed.

We started school Monday also.† Keilee set her alarm and woke up very early.† She got dressed in a cute little outfit she had picked out and put a BOW in her hair! A BOW!† She never wears bows.† I was cracking up.† She even put a bow on Nomad.† God love her.
We are doing Notebooking for the first time.† I mean we have done it here and there but not with any regularly.† She wants to make her own NB pages.† Above is her first attempt. It is for Apologia General Science which we are LOVING!
A couple of pictures of the experiments we did.† One is showing the density of different liquids and the other is about Atomic Motion.† We are also using Apologia General Science Lapbook Journal which is on sale at Currclick for $6!† She is really liking that too.
And there has been reading and falling asleep while reading. 🙂
Tuesday night we made a fire and made S’mores!† It made me really wish for cooler weather.
We also got a late call for Space Warriors.† They called and ask us if we could be there within an hour.† Well we live 40 minutes away and we both looked like ragamuffins but we made it.† Top right shot is Thomas Horn, Sean McNamara and some strange Robot boy!
Keilee also auditioned for a theater group in Huntsville.† They are called “Fantasy Playhouse Traveling Players” and they do just that…they travel around to different festivals and events and schools and perform.† She really wanted to try out but I knew it would be a whole different league of kids.† They were really, really good but Keilee did really well and she got the call the next day that she made it!† She was jumping up and down.† What I love about it is they do huge amounts of Shakespearean plays.† When we saw them perform last spring they did Shakespeare.
Thursday we picked up Britney and took her to Pt. Mallard with us.† The girls had a blast swimming, riding the waves and riding the slides over and over.

My favorite resource this week is a GREAT one.† In fact I tried to talk Keilee into us using it this year instead of General Science.† And it is completely free!!† It is Middle School Chemistry.† It is an almost 700 page ebook and lessons plans and multimedia galore!† Another of my favorite resources is Hands of a Child!† Check them out for their Annual Back to School Sale.† They have amazing Lapbooks and Notebooks.† This is the VERY first homeschooling product we ever bought when Keilee was 7.† We have always loved their products.† With this sale you can save over 50%

So I deem our first week ‘back to school’ a complete success!† In fact Keilee said she could not wait for next week.

Happy weekend all!
Homeschooling Rocks,
Karen

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.” ~William Shakespeare

Happily linking with Mary at “Collage Friday”
and Susan at “Favorite Resources”

Monday August 6th we begin our 6th year homeschooling!† 6 Years.† We were eclectic right from the start.† I would pick and chose the things I thought Keilee would love best.† We have tried so many different things to get to this year’s plans.† And the thing is…I am sure we will make changes this year too.† That is the beauty of this life we have chosen.† If something isn’t working, we can throw it out and try something else.

Our foray into unschooling didn’t go so well.† I loved it, Keilee not so much.† She wants lesson plans and a daily schedule.† She likes to know exactly what she is supposed to do when she wakes up every morning.† She wants her subjects lined up to check each one off with a neat little ? . She has all of† a sudden decided she has to ‘crack down’.† Her words.† So we have spent the Summer figuring out what we are going to do this year.† For each subject I showed her some of the options and she picked the ones that interested her.† For a few subjects we are using resources we already had and have never used.

We have had a really great Summer.† Trips to Gatlinberg, tons of swimming, being on a Movie set, but the most exciting thing in my opinion is that my girl has become a READER.† She has read constantly book after book this summer.† It just makes this Mamma’s heart so happy.† 🙂

One thing we are both so excited about adding this year is lots and lots of Notebooking.† I have always been interested in this but never used it very often.† Jimmie at Jimmie’s Collage has gotten me really excited about it!† Check out the tons of resources on Notebooking.† Jimmie’s “Notebooking Fairy” is a great place to start.

This is what our 2012-2013 Curriculum looks like.

7^th Grade Curriculum
HISTORY ñ

We have done Story of the World for 2 years.† Instead of going to SOTW 3 next year we are doing American History.† There has been so many times when Keilee asked me about something that didn’t fit into my perfect little timeframe that I would say, “Wait until we get to it”† How crazy is that?† She wants US History, so US History it is!† We have studied up to The Civil War in great depth when Kei was in 4th/5th grade so we are starting with Reconstruction.† She wants to know more about the World Wars and the Vietnam War.† We both have had long talks about how each part of history is marked by wars.

THE HISTORY OF US
Reading the books, doing Notebooking and lesson plans found on PBS
Have Fun With History site
We also watch A LOT of historical movies to go along with our studies.† Teach With Movies
Video: Freedom A history of Us† and watch “A Story of Us“† We own this but it is on Netflix streaming also.

GEOGRAPHY ñ
Alabama State History Lapbook Journal

Decatur Walking Tours
36 Week Geography

SCIENCE ñ
General Science / Apologia† [A dear friend is letting us borrow this!]

I found a great resource for this here.
We will be using Notebooking extensively for this also.

MATH
Saxon Pre Algebra† [This is borrowed also.]
GRAMMAR
Learning Language Arts Through Literature

WRITING
Writing Skills book and Notebooking and Book Summaries
The Writer’s Express

The Magic Pencil

VOCAB
Vocabulary Cartoons
Vocabulary Builder [iBooks download]
SAT prep App on iPhone
English from the Roots Up
Harry Potter Vocabulary Builder

BOOKS
I had planned on giving Keilee a book a month to read but with the way she is reading this isn’t necessary!† And she is reading WAY more than 1 book a month.† Who says praying doesn’t get results!

CLASSES OUTSIDE THE HOME
CO OP Classes
*Spanish [This is a high school level class.† Keilee is getting special permission to take it. I† want her to wait until at least next year but she really wants to try it.† This makes me nervous because they have homework and grades.† She has never had either.]
*Robotics
*Cooking
Sci Quest ñ Dissection/Biology Classes/Monthly
Space and Rocket Center Classes ñ Aviation 201 6 week class/2 hours a class
Botanical Gardens †[1 Day Classes]
Cycles of Life – Biology in the Garden
Nature Inspired:Writing and literature in the Garden
Plotting A Bulb Garden: Math in the Garden
Theater – Of course there is ALWAYS Theater.

MOVIES Series [Kei has not seen all these series in their entirety]
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Star Wars
Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe
Lord of the Rings

ART JOURNALING
NATURE JOURNALING
POETRY NOTEBOOK [Weekly]
ARTISTS [Weekly]
Great American Artists

Various Unit Studies
††††††††††††††† Made up from ìThings Keilee Wants to Learnî

FIELD TRIPS
Lists for Alabama
List for Tennessee

None of these are affiliate links.

This is A LOT of work huh?† But the beauty of homeschooling is that we don’t have to do every single thing every single day.† We will pick and choose between most of these.

We are both looking so forward to a great year.† How about you?† Can’t wait to read others plans for this year.

Homeschooling Rocks!
Karen

ìWear the old coat and buy the new bookî ~ Austin Phelps

†ìI find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.î †~Groucho Marx

We have crammed about 2 weeks worth of fun into this past week!† We have just had a blast the last few days.

We celebrated Esther’s birthday at a place I have heard about forever.† It is called RattleSnake Saloon and it rocked!† Literally….it is a restaurant under a huge bluff.† When we arrived and parked they picked us up in a truck and rode us in the back down to the bluff.† That in itself was a little like a roller coaster ride!

It is just the coolest place.† At night they have a band and I think the place is more for adults but it is perfect for lunch.† The food was fine, nothing great but the atmosphere was remarkable!

After eating lunch and wandering around we were going to go swimming at this place Michelle knew about.† Unfortunately it started thundering and we weren’t able to go in.† Cause you know what they say, “If you can hear it, it can kill you!”† See the skink?? He was in the commode I was ABOUT TO USE!† Heather tried to flush it and scare him out, but she only succeeded in drowning him we think.

Keilee and I went to the Wheeler Refuge for a few hours too this week.† It was VERY hot but most of it is under shade trees so we survived.

Did anyone else think “Children of the Corn” when they saw that top picture of Kei?† We did see some cool fungus, lichen and puff ball flowers [which we have since found out is called buttonbush]. † See the picture of Kei taking a picture?† Right after that she dropped her green sunglasses into the river and we had to find a stick and fish them out.† We were successful.† That counts as P.E. right? 😉

Monday we spent the day on set of Space Warriors again.† It has just gotten to the point they should really just let us stay in the Marriott with them doncha think? :)† We have a blast doing this.† It is even fun for this ‘behind the scenes’ Mamma.

1.†† See Josh Lucas in the blue shirt facing the crowd at the front?† [Sweet Home Alabama, among other movies].† Right in front of him is BooBoo Stewart who plays Seth Clearwater in the Twilight movies.† He has a ponytail.† Keilee is on the front row on the right side, the 4th person on that side.† She was on the blue Space Camp team.
2.†† Some of the kid stars, BooBoo, Thomas Horn and Thomas Kasp.
3.† I love the way they put the camera on rollers.† This is called a trolley shot.
4.†† Another shot of BooBoo Stewart.† I try to get Keilee to let me take a picture of them together.† TONS of girls go ask him in between takes but she refuses.† She says, “When I am famous I will take a picture with him”.

There is a lot of down time in movies we have discovered.† Keilee has made stop animation movies and stood around A LOT!† One cool thing is that we are at the Space and Rocket Center so we are free to roam around in between shots.

We stayed at home one day this week and Keilee drug out the kiddie pool to beat the heat!† It has been so hot!

Wednesday she had to be on set at 4:00 PM.† This time she was on the yellow team for Space Camp.† I was an extra in this scene too and the top picture is where I ended up. My directions where to ‘stroll across the grass and then stop behind the shuttle’.† In my scenes I have done a lot of strolling.† A LOT!† This top picture is of the Titans [who are the bully kids in this film].† That is BooBoo with the ponytail.

There are 4 more weeks of filming so who knows what will happen.† They may call Keilee every day or not anymore.† Whatever happens it has been the coolest experience for us both.† We have met some really great people.† And unless we end up on the editing floor we get to be in a movie!† Hows that for “How I Spent my Summer Vacation?”

My favorite resource is from my boss! He is always sending us great resources.† This one is “Country Studies” and it has all the countries of the world and some fabulous information about them.† Thanks Stan!

We are starting school Monday.† All our ‘non homeschooling’ friends say, “Why are you starting so early if you don’t have to?”† We laugh and tell them we WANT to.† Keilee has been wanted to start for 3 weeks but I didn’t have everything together.† I am going to post our Curriculum next week.† Can’t wait to see what everyone else is doing.

Homeschooling Rocks!!
Karen

“The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder.”† ~Ralph W. Sockman

“It’s not all lipstick and sunglasses”† ~Stan Storc [NOTE: This is my boss and that is the tagline on our invoices] 😉

Happily linking up with Mary at “Collage Friday”
and Susan at “Favorite Resource”