Teen in the House?

      I officially have a teenager in my home now. My daughter turned 13 on Oct. 19th. I just can't hardly believe it. It seems like only yesterday when I recieved her in to this world. She was a beautiful bundle of joy that lit up my life. Time is traveling too fast for me. She is growing up entirely too quick.

      Anyway, let me get on with the rest of this post before I get all teary eyed thinking about my baby growing up. We feel like a child's 13th birthday is a special time in life so we wanted to make her's special for her. We had her a huge party. She chose all of the decorations, ordered them off line, sent out her own invitations, decorated the way she wanted, and decided to make her own cake. There were lots of guests & plenty of food for them all. She went with a horse theme. Here are some pics of preparation & the party.

Sarah's using her cake decorating kit that someone gave her. This was her first cake to decorate and she would not let us help her. We didn't know if she could handle this task by herself, but she had a lot of determination.

Getting closer to finishing her work of art as she runs a bead of icing around the bottom of the cake.

Everything finished but the "HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH" theme which she decided to let her aunt (a cake decorator) put the theme on the river for her.

My daugther is growing taller than me. We are at the end of the big "13th birthday" party blowout and I'm tired!

Weekly Wrap UP

     In Our Life This Week: We/the children have had a blast. We had cousins over from Friday until Tuesday evening. The cousins were out of Public school Mon. & Tues. & thought it was time to come spend some time with us. A lot of basketball was played, along with jumping on the the trampoline, to just getting out in nature. All of them enjoyed each other's company.

     We also still have the puppy. My nephew is suppose to pick him up tomorrow. I think we might miss the little fellow.

Here are a few pics of the children having a great time:

     I managed to get to my lesson plans on Wednesday. That means two days will be pushed forward because we only schooled three days this week. Well, I say that two days will get pushed forward, actually, my children have done some of the work off of those two days, just not all of it.

     Our Schooling for the Week: Saxon 8/7, three lessons this week, yea. We also pretended like we went shopping at the store (even though it was just in our pantry/freezer) to reinforce what we were learning in our math book, Unit Price, Rate, & Sales Tax. Here's a couple of pics of our pretend shopping trip.

 

     I gave each child a certain amount of money to purchase their items with. My daughter was surprised when she reached the register and was $ 3.67 short of what she needed to pay for her items.
It was rather funny. She just went to the pantry and began to grab, not figuring. I told her that is why you always figure your bill BEFORE you go to the register. She immediately decided the dogs would not eat this week, or at least not dog food, so she returned the dog food back to the shelf so she would have enough of money. Lesson learned, learning to figure Unit Prices, Rates, & Sales Taxes in our math is something I will need in life.

     Apologia: Exploring Creation With Physical Science: We began Module 7, Factors That Affect Earth's Weather. We began the weather experiment & will be doing our observation of the weather for the next four weeks. Also, we watched some weather videos. I'll put a link to the web site in case any of you need a site that has lots of videos to use for school. It has videos for all subjects.

     History: still reading The Summer of 1787, wondering if we may toss it. Had good reviews given to us on this book, but we just can't seem to get into this book. We are about to be on chapter 6 & still just haven't took a liking to it. Usually, by the time we are this far in a book we are captivated or at least interested enough to talk about it & discuss it. But not much talk has been going on about it. We are finishing up If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution by Elizabeth Levy today.
English/Literature: Yea! we did English this week. The children wrote their book reports on Little Men. We have decided that our next Literature selection will be Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes. This is a book that we wanted to read so we decided that we would read it while we are studying the Constitution so we would be along the same time frame.

     Helpful Home School Tip/Resource: the link where we have been watching videos from, http://www.watchknowlearn.org/ There are a few videos that we have clicked on that would request payment, but many, many, many that we have enjoyed are free. Videos for all subjects. Check it out if you like integrating videos in with your schooling. I'm talking a few thousand videos.

What I'm Reading: rereading Things We Wish We'd Known by Diana Waring.

     My Most Favorite Thing This Week: watching my children battle out a debate in our Science over when the northern hemisphere is at its Aphelion point or Perihelion point. This was my favorite thing because remember my daughter has not been a Science fan until this year. After the debate, I would say she's on the Science wagon now. Even though one of them was wrong, I am proud of both of them because of the way they both were trying to prove their points.

     I think this about wraps up our week. I'm linking up with the HMJ & the Weekly Wrap UP..
If you'd like to read about some more great weeks, drop over to one of them & visit some more great blogs.

Our Week Wrapped UP

In My Life This Week:
    I have had a great time getting ready for the holidays. Thanksgiving is gone now & I have just a few more things to get ready for Christmas. By Tuesday evening I am hoping to have my tree up, the lights on the house, & all of the presents wrapped. We'll see how much is accomplished Tuesday night.

In Our Home School This Week:
    We did not have any planned lessons this week We always take off the week of Thanksgiving. We like to do lots of cooking, free reading, relaxing before the holidays kick in & keep us on the go. So other than a lot of hands on in the kitchen reading recipes, using measurements, or picking up a great book or playing a game we haven't done a lot of formal schooling.

What I cooked This Week:
    We started off the week baking amish bread. It was delicious! My son baked Apple Cinnamon Raisin nut bread while my daughter chose to bake Banana nut with chocolate chips in it. For the last batch they put butterscotch morsels, along with some chocolate chips, & white chocolate morsels. It was good, but very rich.

    For Thanksgiving I cooked a corn casserole, a chicken casserole, 2 pecan pies, 2 peanut butter pies, & a German chocolate cheese cake. The cheese cake was a new recipe, but turned out great. We are adding the recipe to our family recipe files.

Places We Are Going, People We Are Seeing:
    We went to Nanny & Pa Pa's house & got to see lots of aunts, uncles, & cousins. It was such a joy to see some of them beings that most years we only get to see some of them once a year at Christmas. For some reason (which I'm thankful for) lots of the family decided to get together for Thanksgiving.
Went shopping for Black Friday & had a blast! My mother, my 2 sisters, one of my aunts, my hubby, & I went to the Tanger Outlet (a huge shopping place similar to a mall) & hit as many sales as we could, tiresome, but fun.
    My hubby & I started quite a bit earlier than the others as we wanted to get something for our children that was a door buster. So, we started in the middle of the night (not exactly middle, about 8:00p.m. to wait in line, what we won't do for our children, he he he) & met the others at Tanger Outlet around 6:30 a.m. the next morning. We did not get home until about 4:30 in the evening.

I'm Thankful For:
    All the fabulous deals I found on my shopping trip. We really got some great deals on clothing, which my children desperately need (they are growing tooooo fast).
    I'm also thankful I have a husband that gives so much to our family, especially his time. He is so devoted to us & things that we desire, not things we need, but things we desire, you know the things that we don't have to have, but he still goes that extra mile to see that we get them. I'm so thankful for the man that God blessed me with.
    I think this about sums up our week. Hope everyone else had a marvelous week as we did.
To read about some more great weeks drop over & visit Weird Unsocialized for the Weekly Wrap UP & visit The Home School Chick for the Home School Mother's Journal. I'm sure you will be blessed & encouraged from the post you will read.

On Another Note:
    For my Christmas book give away I only have one commenter. It's not going to be very hard to pull a name out of the pot with only one. If you are interested in this drawing please click on this link & leave a comment. I will be selecting the winner ON Monday, November 28, 2011.

Give Away: Social Studies Made Simple

     I have quite a bit of work books that I was blessed with that I am not using so I am going to do some give-aways over the next few months trying to clear my home of them.
    The first give-away consists of 3 work books that would go with American history. These books are not informational enough to stand as a full curriculum, but could be used as a Scope & Sequence that you could check out library books to go along with the worksheet/activities to have a fun schooling.
Here's a few pics of the books.

    The three books range from 2nd to 4th grade level (what front of book recommends). I personally don't pay any mind to what the book says if it is something I think I can use.
    The book jacket on back reads like this: Social Studies Made Simple will spark the interest and imagination of children as they explore the worlds of civics, the creative arts, economics, geography, history, and language arts.
    The Social Studies Made Simple series is packed with interesting activities and projects that are designed to reinforce the knowledge, skills, and values children need to become informed and involved citizens.
    I will choose a winner on November the 1st so I can mail the books out that week after I contact the winner.
    I have several types of work books to give away from math, history, a few science books, reading comprehension, geography, etc. that I will be giving away over the next few months. Hopefully they can be a blessing for someone.
    I don't have a lot of blog traffic on my blog, so if you think any of my give aways will be something one of your blogging friends would like, feel free to invite them over to post a comment on the give away to enter the drawing that is going on.
    Some books I have several copies of so as I do the give away I'll contact the winner to see if they will need more than one copy for their family.
    Hope this give away can be a blessing to someone. Just leave a comment to be entered in to the drawing.

Weekly Wrap-Up: Camping & Hands-on Schooling

      We have had a blast this week! First, Mount Cheaha in Alabama & then F. D. R. State Park in Georgia. The week has been filled with fun. Tomorrow it all comes to an end, back to home we go.
Here are a few picts from our week.

 Sarah & Matthew Welcoming you to Mt. Cheaha State Park in Alabama.

 Here they are at the highest point in the state of Alabama 2,407 feet.

 This is the Doug Ghee Accessible Trail which is a boardwalk that ends at an overlook.

 The boardwalk is about 1/4 mile long & is very well built & maintained. This is a pleasant walk in the mist of nature.

 Breathtaking scenery from the overlook. We saw Redtail Hawks & other birds. Awesome spiritual meditation!

 There are several places you can get off the boardwalk & follow hiking trails or giant stones for picnic tables like the one we used.

 Matthew was in charge of preparing the meat for our Hobo Burgers.

 Sarah was over the red potatoes.

 Here is one of four Hobo Burgers going on the grill for chef Matthew to cook.

 On the highest point is the CCC Tower.

Clowning around in the tower windows.

 As we were leaving Cheaha we visited the Indian Museum by the gate. Our little indians were on the warpath. Now we are on our way to FDR State Park & Warm Springs, Georgia.

 Our children checking the warmth of the spring water that stays a constant 88 degrees. They only fill the three pools two times a year.

 This is a scale model of the Roosevelt Museum & Pools.

 We are standing in front of the Little White House in Warm Springs.

 This is the servants quarters.

 Sarah at the fountains.

 Matthew at the fountains.

 The museum held many Roosevelt treasures. Here pictured is 1 of 107 walking sticks or canes, all very unique.

 Lots of exercise on this trip. Many hiking trails at FDR State Park.

 The children enjoyed the Jr Ranger challenge for patches.

 A short rest stop & forward we go.

Mama's short meditation time on a log while hiking.



    We haven't done any paper work this week, but have learned so much from our adventures. Sarah & Matthew have been doing hands on geography by navigating our travels with a map. Plotting the roads and calculating mileage between towns. Oh, yeah, we did do a little paper work this week. They have been working on their Jr. Ranger badges, & they also did a scavenger hunt answering questions about different things at F. D. R's Little Whitehouse.
     I think I am the one that has enjoyed the week the most. I wanted to go to Warm Springs for my 10th aniversary, but was not able. So this week has been a treat to me.
     It has been a bit nippy in the mornings for us southern folks. We have survived it though.
I suppose this about summarizes our week. If you would like to read other's weekly wrap-ups just hop on over to Kris's blog for all of the others. Happy homeschooling!!!

Camping Again!

Ok, I told you guys I just didn't have it out of my system yet. We are back camping, yea! We went to a homecoming at a church about 5 hours from our house so we just decided to camp our way back home. How fun is that!
We did not bring any books other than writing materials for stories and nature journals for naturing. Oh, and our favorite, audio books. I'm the teacher so I suppose that will be ok, he he he.
Sorry I haven't gotten around to any of your blogs lately. I am planning on doing that while we are out this week. Hope all of you are having a wonderful year.

Camping for Schooling

      Hey, guys, we are having loads of fun, just not enough time for me to get everything on my blog. Two weeks of weekly wrap up are in the making, just haven't had time to post. But, we are having fun.
Here's a few picts of us while we are camping.

This area were I snapped the pictures was very high up over the wide beach. Up top was three pavillions, bathrooms, showers, laundry, snack machines, playground and many picnic tables. You can sit at the tables and easily watch your children play or swim in the water.

Theres a volley ball net on this end of the beach. The creek keeps winding its way back into the woods for several miles, great for canoeing! That's a hovercraft that was being tested while we were there.

Me blogging! My children are off swimming, riding bikes, rock hunting or hiking somewhere around here everyday.

Looks like Matthew and Sarah are panning for gold. They were looking for rocks on the bottom of the creek.



Me with my cellphone attached to my face! Notice behind me all the modern conviences of home.

Sarah's helping me cook bacon and pancakes for breakfast.


     Oh, I had forgotten how great Smores tasted! M--m--m, we made them around our camp fire the first night & they have been a hit each night since. Mama has looked forward to that each night. OOPS, did I say that? The children are suppose to be enjoying those aren't they.
     We met another homeschooling family here. How awesome that was! That's twice we have gone camping in September and made friends with other homeschoolers. We met the first family about 4 years ago & have kept in touch, sending little gifts back & forth to the children. They have been some great friends.
     Well, my computer time is up so more later. Happy homeschooling this week!

Test, Camping, Test, Test

Ok, my DC must be giving this camping trip we've got planned a trial run. They are in our back yard tonight with the tent up. I personally would rather have not drug it out and put it up tonight, but after I walked to our back door earlier and eased it open and heard the laughter and talking that was going on, I'm so thankful I did. They're building a relationship for life. I can just hear them now when they are older saying, "Remember when we used to pull the tent out and camp in the back yard, that was the good old days, wasn't it."
As for our schooling, things have been going great. We are pushing our selves this week in hopes of no books next week.
Our Saxon 8/7 math came in and we have thoroughly been enjoying it. Today, my children were telling me that math has been their subjecdt that they hated the most, but after a few lessons in Saxon, Math is our favorite subject. Those words bring melody to my ears. My DD went so far as to say she thinks she is going to really enjoy Algebra. Those are words I thought I would not ever hear.
I'm just now getting to my weekly wrap up from last week so I think I am just going to wait until Friday & cover both weeks in one wrap up.
Well, it looks like time has gone by again so I had better go for now. Happy homeschooling to all of you.

Weekly Wrap-Up

     From a wedding to a copper-hydroxycarbonate experiment to paper airplane flight test and finally to a new game of U-Build Monopoly, this has been a trying yet exciting week. Get you a cup of tea of whatever you like and let me tell you all about it.
     First, the wedding was beautiful, but hot outside under a pavilion at a golf course country club. The problems started when they sent everyone inside for dinner. There was no place to sit down and no food until they finished all the photographing of the wedding party. Now I have a little patience, but many of us had small children that we did not feed before the wedding. Need I say more? The little ones complained more and more the longer they had to wait. Our backs and feet were killing us, but we tried not to make a fuss. Thankfully they brought out some fruit platters that kept the young ones satisfied until the food came. Then finally after about a hour or so of standing chairs were brought in and the main dining room was opened up.
     Yeah, now we get to sit down and eat! No, not yet. We did get to drink a cold glass of tea that I never could get sweet enough. I would briskly stir, but it was so cold that the sugar would settle back down on the bottom of the glass. I don't know what it looked like, being I'm blind, but it probally looked like a strange glass of tea with white sugar standing in the bottom.
     The food is ready! Great food, worth all the waiting. Parmesian cheese chicken, scaloped potatoes with a creamy sauce, mashed sweet potatoes, green beans and my favorite, fried green tomatoes. Here's some pictures of what the rest of the week was like.

Sarah patiently for her food at wedding reception.

Me, trying to sweeten my iced tea while waiting for our food.

Matthew sipping on his sweet tea.

Matthew reading out loud about atoms and molecules for our experiment.

Sarah's writing down results from our copper hydroxycarbonate experiment.

The materials list; glass filled 3/4 full of water, 9 volt battery, 2 insulated copper wires at least 12 inches long, electrical tape, 1 tsp of baking soda. mix baking soda with water, trim back insulation on both ends of wires about 1/4" to 1/2", lay one end of one wire on one of the post or terminal of battery and use electrical tape to hold to battery tightly for good connection. Then hang the other end of wires over into glass of solution, making sure wires are submerged and not touching each other. 

If you look closely at the wires in the glass, one or both should be making bubbles. Observe this for 10 minutes.

Is the end of one wire changing colors? What color? Is the water changing colors after 10 minutes? If so, then what color?

Here's a picture of our results. Look at the end of the blue wire and see that it's turning a blue-green color.

Here's another look at the wires in the water. The red wire is still copper and the blue wire has turned blue-green.

The picture is a little blurry, but I believe you can see the colors of the wires laying side by side out of the water. Also, look at the water and see that it may have a light blueish tint to it.

Right after that, Matthew and Elton (dad), made airplanes out of cardstock and tied a piece of thread to it and a hook on the other end to the box fan. Matthew was thrilled to see it fly!

Matthew's windtunnel (box fan) kept him fasinated for over an hour, testing different airplanes. Now Elton's inspired to build a working windtunnel to test their airplane designs. Boys will be boys, no matter how young or old they are.

     For our history, we finished up Tiger, Tiger. It turned out to be a great book. Our entire family enjoyed it. It was a wonderful book portraying Julius Caesar and how he gave command as an emperor, the duties between royalty and slaves, and a brief bit on the life of a gladiator, a very cute story. My children really liked it.

     Now we are reading a very short book about Julius Caesar's life titled The Life of Julius Caesar by Dr. Nicholas Saunders. It doesn't have a lot of reading in it, but goes in to detail enough. It has lots of pictures.

Now we wrap the week up with a good game of U-Build Monopoly.

If you like for your children to use high-numbers math, then this is the game for you. For us it was hard to think in terms of big money. $10,000 was the smallest bill! Our banker, Sarah, kept getting a little jumbled by the big bills. It took us two evenings to finish the game. By the time the game was over, Sarah had gotten pretty good at handling the money. I thing she was starting to like it. I told her not to get use to it for it's only a game! Haha! Mom, yes me, I was the big winner this week. I won the game.
     At least one game a week is my goal for the summer. If any of my readers have any suggestions of great games your family may play, we would love to hear about them.

That's this week's Weekly Wrap-Up! Now be sure to visit Kris at Weird UnSocialized HomeSchool for her Weekly Wrap-Up and all the others on her list. I'm sure you'll learn something new and make new friends!

     See you next time, Traci!