29 posts tagged “homeschooling”

Lots of work outside this afternoon. The roses on our garage are blooming. I do nothing to them, except hack away at them once they grow out of control near the end of summer. Gorgeous!

We finally got our seeds in the ground. Between the bit of cool weather, and me having a cold, and all of us being busy, it waited until today. First, we got seeds going in the peat pots... a mix of red/white/purple peppers, green beans, and vidalia yellow onions. Then two small strips in the top of the yard. The white area hold lettuce, spinach, collard greens, and marigolds. The more square area holds an "Irish flag" (girls' idea) of carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli. Get it? Orange, white, and green.
We have a bunch of container plants. The tomatoes and peas will stay there. The pumpkins, spaghetti squash, and cantaloupe will be moved once they're up and growing.
Once we were done planting, Chris hung a tarp for Becky and Katie to play under. Cheap entertainment, for only $11. Just then, it began to rain - just for a few minutes - and a pretty rainbow appeared! Maybe this is God telling us that everything won't die, despite my horrid lack of green thumbs.
It only rained a few minutes, so Chris watered the plants. Becky decided she needed to be watered, too!
I took a moment to get some close-ups of Becky. I love the joy she shows when she throws her head back and laughs! She's a happy girl.
A good day. Now off to shower, and then maybe spin and knit a bit.   

We won!!! Four tickets to Six Flags America, just outside Washington DC, on a special Homeschool Day. We had an enjoyable, relaxing day. Throughout the time there, we ran into a few friends from home, and it was neat knowing that mostly everyone there was somehow connected to homeschooling, family, etc.

The weather was mostly cooperative... cool jacket weather, with spurts of sun, and one tiny itty bitty hint of sprinkles, which cleared in 10 minutes. The water rides were closed, as well as several other attractions, and no shows. But we had a blast anyway, with the girls riding the big coasters (even Becky rode one!), conquering their fears, even to the point of showing off!

We had a bit of an anti-climactic ending to the day, since we thought the park closed at 6:00. Nope... 5:00, so the last rides we were planning on hitting for a second time had to be skipped. Not too much disappointment, though, as we have real tickets for later in the summer. We brought back maps, so the girls can plan which things they want to do again, which things weren't open this time that they don't want to miss, etc.
Today, Rachel attended a Tea class at Tranquilitea, in Waynesboro, PA. They made scones and sandwiches, and the moms returned after a couple of hours to enjoy a lovely brunch tea. So tasty!
Then tonight, Emilee played a gig with her band, Kill The Trends. First time they've played in public, just three songs. She played bass instead of guitar. She was nervous, but I thought she did a fabulous job. I'm amazed at how much she's learned in the few years she's been playing, obviously with a musical gift that eludes me. And of course, she and Kesley were nutballs, goofing around and having fun.

ETA: This turned into Em's first paid gig. She's a PROFESSIONAL musician. They gave her $15 for playing tonight. Woo Hoo!

I enjoy my girls so much... who they are, who they're becoming. I'm often clueless, sometimes worry-full, but usually quite full of joy just to be around them. Neat kids.

Busy days... I finished a pair of socks, Rachel and I made a wonderful asparagus quiche, and Chris has been working on his latest Williamsburg painting.

Yesterday we attended a Geo-Lunch about Egypt. Each month, a different county is selected, and we eat food from there, talk about customs and history, share crafts and stuff the kids have learned. Lots of fun!

The kids share a bit, and then we eat! So much good food... lots of lentils, honey, sweet dried fruits, rice... delicious! Then the kids headed out for a Mummy relay race. It was windy and a bit chilly, but they didn't care!
It was a fun afternoon. Next month - India!

It was a busy weekend for Katie. She took photos to illustrate a story that a friend wrote for a picture book competition at our local library. They won their age division! The "prize" was to have your book printed and bound, and placed in the library's collection. Each author received a copy of the book as well. We attended a reception honoring the four winning entries, where each author read their story.

Katie was a busy artist this week. Her American Girl club was focusing on Kaya this month, so Katie and I made an outfit for her Nellie doll. It's all Katie's design; I helped with the sewing. Katie did the beaded waistband, as well as the shoes. It turned out very nicely!
We also saw the Prince Caspian movie on Friday AM, and then had a bevy of girls here on Saturday to celebrate Katie's 11th birthday. She loved being the center of attention. She and Rachel baked her cake... Rachel assembled and iced it, I decorated it, directly under Katie's watchful supervision. They had a great time!

It was a busy weekend for Katie. She took photos to illustrate a story that a friend wrote for a picture book competition at our local library. They won their age division! The "prize" was to have your book printed and bound, and placed in the library's collection. Each author received a copy of the book as well. We attended a reception honoring the four winning entries, where each author read their story.

Katie was a busy artist this week. Her American Girl club was focusing on Kaya this month, so Katie and I made an outfit for her Nellie doll. It's all Katie's design; I helped with the sewing. Katie did the beaded waistband, as well as the shoes. It turned out very nicely!
We also saw the Prince Caspian movie on Friday AM, and then had a bevy of girls here on Saturday to celebrate Katie's 11th birthday. She loved being the center of attention. She and Rachel baked her cake... Rachel assembled and iced it, I decorated it, directly under Katie's watchful supervision. They had a great time!

Today, the three younger girls and I visited the Maryland Zoo at Baltimore with a crew of homeschoolers. We had a great time. The weather was perfectly beautiful, which was a very welcome change from all the rain we've had lately!

There was quite a bit to see and do. We filled up the day, from 10:00 AM until close to closing time at 4:00 PM. Becky loved pretending to ride Aslan! We took movies of Rachel being head-butted from behind by the two very cute goats. Don't know if they were jealous, or having itchy horns, or what! The zoo has several hands-on activities for the kids, one of the favorites being these huge turtle shells for the kids to practice their turtleing. Katie like it a lot!
We saw many animals - mostly African-themed, and then North American-themed. I got quite a few really good pictures, but this one was by far my favorite, especially with the Prince Caspian movie opening this weekend. It's currently my desktop wallpaper.

This will show you the wide range of stuff the girls did this week. Emilee and Kelsey went "roaming the wild" and called me on the phone (I was running errands) to say they had picked some wild onions, and they wanted to cut up a couple of potatoes and make soup. Sure, I said.

WOW! I walked in an hour later, with the house FUMING of onions!!! They had maybe 100 onions - ALL over the kitchen! That quickly became our dinner source for the night. They raided the kitchen for veggies that could go in soup... celery, potato, raw spinach, etc. Ran through a gamut of spices, calling out their names. I'd let them know if it was a spice that was ever used in soup, and if so, they'd smell it and decide whether or not to use it.

That soup was delicious!!! Of course, it will never be repeated.

Katie, on the other hand, has been working on more delicate crafts. She's reading the Kaya American Girl series again, and has been working on an outfit for her Nellie doll. She's got leather to cut a dress next week, and she's working on a loom to create a strip of patterned beading. She also took an extra pair of white shoes and handsewed beads all over them. SO pretty!! It's all her own work - she was very protective of her crafting, and wouldn't let anyone see until it was done.

Becky's been reading a bit, and talking a lot. She draws a good bit, and has been spending hours outside. Rachel's been listening and reading Harry Potter 6, and finished it today. She's gone to an overnight, and is wondering how she'll make it 36 hours without diving into Book 7!

I love my girls - they're so much fun! And for me... it's off to Maryland Sheep and Wool in just a few hours. I can hardly wait!

Met a wonderful homeschooling mom who has several of the "Grow-a-Frog" adults. Her frogs laid eggs!!! Doesn't happen very often, from what I understand. She met me at Barnes and Noble (where I had some wonderful knitting time - pictures to come!) and passed on a dozen from one mom, and a single egg from an "albino" mom. I brought them home and got them settled into some frog water, and we'll watch them!

They should be changing every few days - the first week is full of growth, from tiny egg, to a grain of rice appearance, to teeny tiny tadpoles. Unfortunately, the container she had them in was soapy by the time I got home. Maybe it didn't get rinsed well before they were put in. I think the soap was just in the rim of the lid, so I tried to scoop the eggs out very carefully and not mix it. Hopefully they're okay - they look a little more like rice this morning, so I hope they're changing and growing!