Tag Archives: Homeschooling

Faires, Punnett Squares, Beauty, Art Jounaling and Halloween…

November 2, 2012 Karen 21 Comments

Sometimes I feel like those old Timex watch ads….Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.† So no new news on the job front.† Still January from all I have heard.† My boss is trying to find a rental for us at least for a few weeks.† That being said….

This was a very.good.week.† Keilee looked at me last night and said “I almost hate turning 13 [in January] because 12 has been the best age and I have had the best year”.† My heart just about burst…I mean my girl said this has been the ‘best year’ and I have been laid off 6 months of it.† Anyone who thinks that kids only want ‘things‘….WRONG.

We went to the Renaissance Faire over the weekend. It was cold. Seriously cold.† But we braved it out for about an hour and a half.† We have been going to the Ren Faire for years and years.† The wizard in the purple? I have pictures of Keilee with him for about 4 years.

We are both loving our new schedule. I don’t think I will ever go back to full lesson plans.† This makes this ‘unschooling’ Mama and her ‘lesson plans’ daughter happy!† Keilee spent hours one day learning about Mendel and genetics and Punnett Squares. Here are a couple†of resources we used. SpongeBob Genetics† and†Pardon the Punnett† Seriously she worked on it 4 hours.† Then she insisted we go to the library and get books.† I so love days like that.

Co-op and practice was cancelled this week for different reasons.† We reveled in staying at home and having NOT ONE SINGLE PLACE we HAD to BE!

There is this gorgeous tree a few miles from us where I always take Keilee’s picture every year.† It isn’t quite all the way turned but it is still glorious.

See how big it is compared to Kei?

Keilee also did so much Art Journaling this week.† I have tried to get her to do it showing her Jessica’s great stuff but she hasn’t been very interested. This week she did 3 pages and she said, “I thought it was harder than this, I thought you had to be an artist, but I love this Mom”.† She is making “Month” calendars and putting her pages in the month she did them.

Halloween day Keilee and Nomad performed a routine they had been working on all week.† They do one every Halloween.† Keilee also did some graphing and a Halloween Logic Puzzle

Halloween night we went with some of our best friends Trick or Treating.† Keilee was a Punk Mad Hatter and I was something that we never quite figured out.† We went to a few Trunk or Treats, then Brit spent the night and I took the girls out for a little longer.† It was cold, cold, cold and there were people everywhere!
Thursday, which was NOVEMBER 1st, was spent learning about Day of the Dead.†† If I had money I would take Keilee to Mexico to see this holiday up close and personel.† We have both always been a fan of Dia de los Muertos.† She did another Art Journaling page and made some skulls with clay.

This is my favorite picture of the week.† Keilee in a cotton field.† She looks like a cotton fairy.

My favorite resources this week are CK-12.† Have I already listed this? If so forgive my crazy brain. :)† They do have great resources.
My other favorite resource is a book Keilee is reading.† It is “The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell” by Chris Golfer.† She is loving it.† She has made maps and NB pages and a world in Eden [app similar to Minecraft] about it.† It is suppose to be Book One is a series.† She said the coolest thing to me last night.† “There just isn’t enough hours in the day for all the amazing things I want to do Mom”.† [smiles]

This is a dialogue between Kei and I.† I adore this child and thank God for her every day.
Me:† Oh my Gosh, They are making “Mockingjay” into 2 parts!
Kei:† What!?†
Me:† Yes they do that sometimes to make more money.† Remember Harry Potter and Breaking Dawn?
Kei:† [outraged] Well they won’t get ONE DIME from us!
Me:† Well I don’t know about YOU but I will be there!
Kei:† Well…[huffy] FINE then!† We will pay with NOTHING BUT DIMES!† All dimes is what we will give them!!
Me:† Oh yeah baby,† that will show them!

Keilee and I are praying daily for the people affected by Hurricane Sandy.† So much destruction and so many lives touched.

So November starts with us very broke and very happy.† Our life is so blessed even though there are nothing but 0’s in my bank account.† Life is funny and wonderful and oh so beautiful.† Hope everyone enjoys this first weekend in November.

Homeschooling Rocks!
Karen

I LOVE this quote! It kinda sums up our week.
†Creativity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual.† ~Albert Einstein

Happily linking with
Mary @ Collage Friday
Susan @ Favorite Resource
Savannah @ It’s a Wrap
iHomeschool Network @ Homeschool Mother’s Journal
Kris @ Weekly Wrap Up

Learning all the time

Alpacas and Zebras and Bison Oh My!

May 22, 2012 Karen 16 Comments

When Keilee was 5 I took her to Harmony Park Safari.† It was the greatest time.† I don’t know WHY we waiting so long to go back.† It is about an hour from here and it is a drive thru ZOO.† This is seriously one of the coolest places we have ever been.† We made a vow that we are going at least twice a year.

It a a federally funded park with animals roaming free.† You can buy food, which I definitely suggest doing.† They tell you to leave the windows half way up and throw the food on the ground.† We don’t follow directions very well.† We had animals with their heads firmly planted in our windows and eating out of our hands.

I haven’t laughed so hard in forever.† You can stay as long as you like, it loops around and you can go out or go back around.† We were there about 2 hours.

We saw:

Shetland Ponies, Zebras, Buffaloes, Emus, Geese, Goats, Tortoises, Bison, Turtles, Bulls, Albino Turtle, Deer, Pythons, Alpacas, Frogs, Camels, Iguanas, Monkeys, Kangaroo, Alligators, Lemur, †and Peacocks. I am sure I am forgetting several.
Most of these were roaming free except for the camel, reptiles, lemurs and the kangaroo!

It truly felt like an African Safari.† All we needed were bush hats!

The Zebra was my favorite.† Zebras have been my favorite animal all my life.† Zebras and giraffes.† Unfortunately there were no† Giraffes on this safari.

There were so many great moments.† Keilee is a lover of all things animal but she isn’t too fond of emus.† She loves them, but our friend Esther got nipped by one a few years ago and she has been very leery of them since then.† Every time an emu came near it was UP with the windows.† I was laughing so much at her.

The giant TONGUE is a deer.† He licked my camera right when I was taking a picture.† We wondered about the goose.† I can’t find anything that looks like the one in the picture.† We wondered if maybe it was rescued from an oil spill.

I had just gotten LICKED by a deer.† We both got lots of slobber on us!

The Bull was one thing we DID roll up our windows for.† He came right up to the car.† Keilee’s favorites were the Alpacas.

Alpacas are gorgeous!† Look how this sheep is molting!† There were so many animals that my slightly OCD self wanted to take a brush to!

We got to get out to explore the Tortoise and Reptile house.† We loved feeding the Tortoises.† Those suckers were MUCH faster than we thought.† Turtle and the Hare Indeed!

We had such a great time.† Of course at the end of the day there was 2 cups of feed in my car and the windows were streaked with animal slobber.† Nothing a run through the car wash and a vacuum couldn’t fix!

So now we are off on another adventure!† More to come later.

Homeschooling Rocks!
Karen

ìThe greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.î† ~Mahatma Gandhi

ìSome people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That’s the problem.î† ~A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

ìThere the wild animals wandered and fed as though they were in a pasture that stretched much farther than a man could see, and there were no settlers.î† ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

Learning all the time

Caves Are Scary Places…[to me]

July 11, 2011 Karen 4 Comments

I have a small case of claustrophobia.† It isn’t so much the ‘size’ of a place but the fact that I can’t get out of it quickly enough.† My Mother had claustrophobia big time.† She was in nursing college and got stuck in an elevator for 6 hours in the middle of the night.† My entire life I knew this about her.† She would not ride elevators unless she absolutely had to.† She would make me prop the† bathroom door opened when we had to stop at a gas station on a trip.†

The first time I was ever made aware that I too have this is when I was about 25.† I was married at the time and we went to Ruby Falls in Chattanooga.† We paid the money and rode down the elevator.† The ceiling was about 6″ above my head.† All of a sudden I got very shaky.† I asked the guide how long the tour was and he said about 2 hours.† To my way of thinking that was 1 hour in and 1 hour out.† So I would be, at the most, an hour from air.† I couldn’t do it.† We had my niece with us and they went ahead and took the tour while I rode the elevator back up.† The lady told me it happened several times a day.† I remember laying in bed that night and getting so upset.† Would I never be able to fly?† Ride a subway?† Take a cruise?† I fly fine.† The first time I was a little scared but it wasn’t a big deal.† My first flight was a 6 hour flight!† I have ridden a subway, no big.† Never taken a cruise but I don’t think it would really bother me.

Fast forward to yesterday.† My sister in law and niece and nephew are at the beach.† My brother wanted to take Kei and I somewhere.† He wanted to take us to Cathedral Caverns.† He assured me it was a huge cave, although it isn’t really the size that freaks me out.† Kei was so excited so I said sure.† The closer we got the the place the more nervous I was.†† I used to be very ‘to myself’ about my claustrophobia, now I tell anyone who will listen.† I have found that when you share something, it helps tremendously.† I told the guide that I was a little claustrophobic.† I explained to her that I wanted her to understand if I started screaming and running. :)† We paid and started the tour.† I was fine, a little nervous, but fine.† The further we got from the entrance the more I was actually ok.† But it was there, it the back of my mind like these things seem to do.† Then, about 20 minutes in, the power went out.† Dark as..well dark as a cave!† The guide had a flashlight and one little boy was wearing a miner’s hat but neither provided much light.† I pulled out my iPhone and used my flashlight app but I kept accidentally shining it in people’s eyes!† Then a guy pulled up on a golf cart and said there was a horrible thunderstorm and the power was out!† I mean really!!! What were the odds?† She asked if anyone wanted to go back as she looked at me.† I decided I did want to go.† I just wasn’t happy about another 1 1/2 hours in the dark!† Eddie said he would take Kei, so I handed him my camera and jumped in.† The guy was really nice and said that caves freaked a lot of people out.† I was dissappointed for Kei.† Her first cave and I missed 80% of it.

I sat up on the porch and talked to a lovely lady from Florida.† She and her 3 kids were there to go to Space Camp and they decided to stop by the Caverns for awhile.† They canceled all tours until the lights came back on.† An 1 1/2 later Eddie and Kei were about to leave the tour the lights came back on.† So Eddie went back in with Kei to take more pictures.† He said that it was no where near as cool with no lights.

When they came out Kei was very excited but she said, “It would have† been more fun with you but I understand Mom”† Argh..† The thing is, if my claustrophobia is a direct result of my Mom, then am I doing the same thing to Kei?† Although that is the first time anything has ever happened that prevented me from doing anything.† I close and lock the bathroom door with no problems and we love riding elevators.† I just feel like I let her down somehow.

Me Kei CC — Kei and I at The Trading Post

Homeschooling Rocks!

Karen

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
~Frank Herbert, Dune – Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear

Life

Time Marches On…

November 17, 2009 Webmaster 1 Comment

I have been really bad about updating. I need to blog more and I don’t even have an excuse. I like to keep a record, not for the 4, 2 people that probably occasionally read this, but for me and Kei.

Life has been…life. Mostly good, sometimes bad, sometimes sad, more often happy, not enough money, but making it mostly.

We went to Esther’s for lunch and play. I love my friends so much and can’t imagine what I ever did without them. They are truly a blessing to me.

Kei has been learning about the Human Body. She knows most of the bones and has blown me away with it. She did the skeleton below from memory. I also found a really great site for learning the bones and muscles. We have played and played this. WARNING: This crazy song will be stuck in your head for days! I have relearned them also. That is a benefit of Homeschooling!

We are learning about the American Revolution and she has been doing cool ‘crafty’ things. Also we watched “The Patriot”.† It is bloody but ….it was a WAR! We love Evan Moor teacher’s file box. I use their “Pockets” for almost everything! It is the only monthly expense I have just for Homeschooling.

Kei also made a “Save the Earth” poster. She is so passionate about that and just did it on her own. I have almost NO plastic bags now because she has been refusing to use them for a year.

Kei and Vicki have spent hours playing on the balcony. And hours cleaning up the balcony.

The other day when Kei was eating lunch she yelled at me “Mommy come look”. She was eating a cracker and said, “Look, it is Italy”.

We went to our HS Skate Day and had a blast as always. Kei won a coloring award for her Squirrel picture.

We went to Cathy’s for our 1^st Annual HS Thanksgiving.† It was a WONDERFUL day of awesome food and conversation and lots of laughter. If you homeschool, I can’t tell you how important it is to find a group of moms for support. It is strange because I was homeroom Mom for Kei in K and 1^st grade and I didn’t get to know any of the moms.† Now I can’t imagine my life without “my moms”.

Livvy spent the night with Kei and they wanted to have the upstairs for “their house”. They spent hours up there playing.† After listening to the CD with us about 100 times, we finally introduced Liv to “Dr. Horrible”. Of course she loved it!

I am still playing WOW with my best friend.† I told Kei the other day that I am NOT letting her out of my life again! She sent us $25 Fandango bucks so we could go see “New Moon”. I protested and she said, “Oh please girl, I have to discuss it with you after wards like we always have”. Honestly, when it is all said and done, I truly believe that it is the people we surround ourselves with that matters.† And I have amazing people.

Kei wrote her letter to Santa.† She still mostly believes in Santa but for some reason she thinks he will only come until she is double digits. <she will be 10 in January>† It was so bittersweet to read her letter and watch her put it in the mailbox.

Letter to Santa:

Hello Santa,

I know this is probably your last time to come so I wanted to say Thank you so much for all the stuff you have gotten me over the years.† Just so you know, I will always believe in you.† So I can’t wait till my kids will give you milk and cookies.† Please stop by my house sometimes for milk and cookies and carrots even though you won’t be bringing me anything.

Oh tell Dancer I say ‘hello’ and tell Mr. Baggledrum <she got a letter from Santa last year about Mr. Baggledrum and how he kept the elves happy> thank you for keeping the elves happy.† Santa I only want 5 things for Christmas this year so here I go…..

She then ends with :

Santa you have been so nice to me so thank you.

I love you,

Keilee

My sweet girl…

So time is marching on.† I can’t believe it is almost Thanksgiving.† Daddy has made some progress cleaning out the house, but it is like a drop in a vast ocean.† Maybe after the first of the year.

Life is good,

Save

HomeSchool

If Girls Ruled the World…

March 4, 2009 Karen 1 Comment

We are learning about Ancient Greek and Rome.

K decided to put on a play.† She was up in her room for over an hour ‘getting ready’.† Finally she said she was ready and proceeded to bring down 25 Webkinz.† She divided them on the floor into 2 sides.† Each side had a Royal Family, soldiers and townspeople.

She said they were about to start fighting and I was thinking to myself, “This is the first time I have ever seen her pretend a fight”

There was discussions about battle strategy, there were meetings, the turtle, who was the messenger, [go figure] ran back and forth between kingdoms, finally the Kings from each side met in the middle and it was decided that “peace was a better option, that we can accomplish more if we work together”

Ahhh….what would this world be like if women ran it??

K/K

HomeSchool Girls