I thought I was behind!

Well, I am behind on my blogging, but what I was referring to was our science curriculum. This year we are using Sonlight Core 5 for science. Here we are the first week of May and we have only finished through week 20 (out of 36!) That's only a little more than 1/2 way, and we started in August. Oops!

I was feeling very guilty about letting my kids science go by the wayside, but then today I decided to look and see what they've been missing. Come to find out, they don't really need to "finish the book" at all. The rest of the lessons cover a little more on hormones and the growth process (covered in our "birds and bees" talks from last year), food and nutrition (a major part of our everyday lives is spent discussing this, so a few tweaks to our conversations over the next few days will fill in the gaps), and survival skills (which they learned in their Red Cross classes last fall.)

So being the relaxed homeschooler that I am, I've decided to just let that book go unfinished. What a relief!

Skiing

So, we've been skiing 3 times this year (thanks to the great homeschool deals offered by local ski resorts!) As you have probably heard, the Carolinas have had a blizzard like year which has made for great skiing. We were fortunate enough to be able to go after some monster snow totals...

Planning for Next Year

I guess you could say I'm a planner, but that would be an understatement. I'm already working on a curriculum plan for next year. Some people have asked me how I can even think about next year when this year is only half over. I can because I worked on this year at this time last year. Now, I'm just implementing the plan, and that doesn't take alot of effort on my part.

One of the benefits to having a few years of homeschool under my belt is that I have finally figured out how my children learn. Another advantage is that as they get older, subject matter choices begin to become more clear based on college entrance requirements.

Now I'm not saying that we don't run into "bumps" with what I've decided to do every now and then, but when that happens we all just adjust. I can also be flexible. For example, we have loved Sonlight the past two years ~ history is their favorite subject and they both love to read, but as we have worked through this year I have found the schedule that is laid out in the instructors guide to be more than confining. In November, I found a few other booklists online with some great read alouds that fit into Core 5, so I picked them up and we have really enjoyed them.

In getting ready for next year I made a big "spreadsheet" of book titles that were suggested to go along with World History (basically Core 6.) Instead of sticking with the Sonlight list, I added Beautiful Feet, Notgrass, Winter Promise, and Mystery of History. I also scoured Books Children Love and All Through The Ages for things I thought would fit well. Unfortunately, my world history book list was MUCH too long to do in a year's time.

So, I decided next year we would focus on Ancient History. We'll do one more heavy study of this time period, then probably leave it for good. Waaaa! :-( That means my kids are getting old! I have narrowed my list to about 30 really good books (fiction and non-fiction) that cover the beginning of time through about 200 AD. Now I'm on a mission to add them all to our collection.

I'm not sure why I go to all this trouble of planning and research when there are good programs out there that would be fine to purchase and teach "straight out of the box." If they missed a book here or there, they'd still probably be better off than most kids. I guess it's that part of a mom that just wants the best for her kids and if it takes a little extra work to make it the best, I'm going to do it.

Time Flies...

Time flies when you are having fun.

We had a wonderful holiday and I am struggling to get "started" with school again. The girls are good about doing a math lesson each day and we've completed some read alouds and watched a few "school" (if you stretch it) movies.

Here's some of what we've been doing:

We got a big snow the week before Christmas (I'm still waiting for it to melt!)

Sarah got a video camera for Christmas! Maybe she'll take some video I can post here...

Rebecca got a bike!

Rebecca made us a lovely maroon throw.

Sarah made us matching Gator blankets.

My dad flew up Christmas night. Then, the Petersons (my cousin Dan's family) stopped by for the afternoon on their way to Maggie Valley. I haven't seen him in probably 9 years. It was his kids first time to see snow.

Some of the Harts (Fred's brother Billy) came up from Florida to see snow (again a first time for the kids), and they got it!

Flat Stanley came to visit from our friends the Thompsons, who live in Tampa. We showed him all around! Pisgah National Forest, Biltmore, Flat Rock Bakery, Carl Sandburg House, Flat Rock Theatre are just a few of the places we went. He got too cold and wanted to go back to Florida!

Skiing at Sugar Mountain is good fun after a big snowfall!

Veterans Day

I'm glad I have the opportunity to teach my children about the sacrifices made by our service men and women around the world. It all started a few years ago when an older cousin they knew enlisted in the Army and ended up in Iraq. We made him a care package and in return he sent some pictures of their camp. When Sarah and Rebecca saw the pictures, they couldn't believe what they saw. Everyone looked hot, sweaty and dirty. Everything was "army" green. They didn't have real beds, they slept on cots. Sarah especially made it a point to write to this cousin as much as she could.

The same year, another cousin (from a different side of the family) delivered homemade cookies that she had her children had made to Fred's dad on Veterans Day in honor of his service in Vietnam. He was extremely touched. What a great mom you are Katrine! I figured if she could do it, so could I. We don't have any local family, so we decided to find out which of our neighbors were vets and deliver to them the next year. Needless to say, our efforts were graciously recieved.

In years past, we have gone up to the VA Hospital in Asheville with some other homeschoolers and the children have lead the pledge to the American Flag before the start of that ceremony. After that gathering they would roam the crowd asking men and women if they were veterans and presenting a card of thanks if the answer was "yes."

This year, our 4-H group wanted to do something locally, so we visited 4 different nursing/assited living facilities and delivered cards and flowers.





One my favorite parts of Veterans Day this year was when we delivered cookies to a gentleman in our neighborhood that we had never actually met. Shamefully, this man lives directly across the street from us. We both have very long driveways and I have actually only seen him a half dozen times in 5 years. Each time he has been driving to the mailbox, turns around and drives home - never smiling waving or cracking the window for a quick hello. We found out this year he was in the Army for 30 years before retiring, so naturally, we wanted him to get some cookies.

We arrived at his house and rang the doorbell. He peeked out of the window, but was reluctant to open the door. "Hi! We're your neighbors," I called out. At that he cracked the door and then the girls took over..."We heard you were an Army veteran, so we just wanted to wish you a Happy Veterans Day and give you these cookies we baked to say thanks for your service." What an instant change. A smile took over his face and he came out to chat with us about his time in the service and his job as a college professor after leaving the Army. Then he invited us over to go swimming in the summer when he and his wife got the pool ready. (I didn't even know they HAD a pool!)

The girls couldn't believe the complete turn in personality once he discovered we had done something nice for him. The girls remarked about it later that he had done something nice for them (by serving) before they were even born. I think they get it, and that makes me a happy mom!

Best In Show!

Rebecca is definately at home in the kitchen and has been working on bread making all year.

She had pretty much perfected an Artisian bread recipe. It's super crunchy on the outside and super moist on the inside, the kind that's awesome with olive oil and spices. Saturday, she entered it in the County 4H Bake Off.




Much to her surprise, she not only won the junior division, but also won Best of Show! In fact, when they were announcing the winners for the junior division, her face showed her disappointment when she wasn't announced as the 3rd or 2nd place winner. She said she was just hoping to get a ribbon, she didn't think there was a chance of her winning. Then to top it off, her bread was chosen over ALL the yummy cookies, cakes and breads that were entered.



Bread making definately takes practice. The first time she did it, it left much to be desired, but she was persistent and each time she made it, it got better. Now, after at least two dozen loaves, it is scrumptious every time, and the judges agreed. Yay for Becca!

Free Videos

Free videos for your middle/high schooler available from John Stossel.

Here's the link: http://stosselintheclassroom.org/selectdvd.php