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Aslan Christian School
May. 5, 2008
Camping For Dummies
Let me preface this by saying that I am not a Nature-y kinda girl. I like a scenic view and beautiful sunsets, but could do without creepy crawlies and the constant threat of no convenient bathroom facilities. I apparently went camping once at age 5, but don't really remember it at all, and I have never tried sleeping in the Great Outdoors ever again.
And then I had boys. Boys who like being outside, playing in mud and dirt, climbing trees, skipping rocks.
Which led directly to camping. I decided to try camping for two reasons -- 1. I thought the boys would like it; and 2. I figured that if I learned to camp, we could do a little more traveling on short 2- or 3- day trips.
So we bought a tent and air mattresses and a little camp stove and about lots of bug spray, and headed out to the Great Outdoors last weekend, as part of our church's annual family camping trip.
To my great surprise, I kinda liked it.
Camping wouldn't replace a weekend at a nice hotel with air conditioning, but it was better than I thought it would be. Still a lot of creepy crawlies, but none in my tent -- always a plus. We ate S'mores around a campfire, took the boys geocaching in the woods, fished in the river (caught nothing), fished Calvin out of the river after he fell in, and burned our breakfast on the camp stove.
I have no pictures of our momentous camping trip since we lost track of the camera 10 minutes into the trip and didn't find it again until we left. I'm amazed at how much equipment and supplies we needed for 24 hours. I'm also amazed at the huge amount of laundry we accumulated. |
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Apr. 23, 2008
My Least Favorite Part...
of the school year has got to be the dreaded Standardized Testing. Virginia offers several different ways to show that our homeschooling is progressing, including portfolios and testing. And since right now, I'm having a hard time remembering where I put my purse, trying to keep track of a full school year's worth of material to put into a portfolio seems highly unlikely.
So, testing it is.
We started yesterday, and both kids finished several sections, and then we finished up today.
Calvin thought the whole thing was sorta fun -- I guess it was better than listening to Mommy read about Immigration in American History. And Hobbes was just annoyed that his 4th grade level test was longer than his brother's 1st grade test.
Testing just makes me tense. I know that no matter how hard we've worked this year, there will always be some silly little thing that we didn't cover, or something easy that one of the boys simply forgets. I know that they're learning and progressing just fine -- and the most important part -- they still like learning new things.
Anyway, big sigh of relief that I don't have to do this for another year. |
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Apr. 21, 2008
Sorry, You Still Have To Take The Test
The kids and I have been doing some review work in preparation for the yearly standardized testing -- it's one of the options to fulfill the homeschooling requirements for Virginia.
I don't want to scare the boys about testing, so we've just explained that it's a way for the state to verify that I'm actually teaching them something. Last year, I didn't even mention to Calvin that he was taking a test -- he just thought it was a neat new workbook until about halfway through the test.
So, Hobbes has a question for me:
If this test is just a way for the state to make sure you're teaching me, why don't you just take the test?
Nice try. I took the test 25 years ago. I'm pretty sure I can multiply properly, and I usually remember to capitalize proper nouns. |
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Apr. 15, 2008
Beaker Out On The Town
More of our adventures with Beaker...
Following our trip to Williamsburg, Beaker enjoys several pounds of peanuts from The Peanut Shop.
Beaker enjoys a chicken sandwich at Chick-Fil-A.
Beaker at our Easter brunch. I think he's eating dessert -- a puff pastry stuffed with whipped cream and berries. And sparkling apple cider to wash it down. (And yes, the other patrons in the restaurant seemed rather surprised to see us taking pictures of a small stuffed doll.)
And finally, Beaker goes fishing with Hobbes on Saturday.
Looking back at our Beaker pictures, a large number of them center around eating. I'm starting to notice a trend...
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Apr. 14, 2008
Books Galore
Is there anything better than library day at our house? Especially when we come home with a huge cart load of books...
I try to hit the local library every two weeks -- we're fortunate that our system does not charge overdue fines, and we can renew books for a year, as long as they haven't been requested by someone else. It's always fun to just wander around looking for something new to read. And today we hit the jackpot of good books, including a Personal Audio Player book for Hobbes -- it's basically a small MP3 player with a book pre-loaded onto it.
So both boys are curled up on the couches in the living room, Hobbes with his MP3 book, and Calvin with a new Garfield collection. It's so quiet here...
Almost too quiet...
Seriously, this is the only time it's ever quiet in our house. I'm enjoying the silence. |
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Apr. 14, 2008
Look Out For That Hook!
The boys have been asking about fishing a lot lately, so over the weekend, we bought them both a fishing rod, bought Matt a fishing license (only required for people older than 16 -- did you know you can buy them at Wal-Mart?), and headed out to try our hand at catching fish.
Silly me, I thought the boys would get tired of it after about 15 minutes. We stayed at the lake for about 1.5 hours instead and ended up muddy, but happy. I did not fish, but spent the entire time standing far away from Calvin & Hobbes as they waved their rods around, yelling helpful comments like "Watch out for the fish hook" and "Stop waving your rod around before you catch your brother."
Also I helped re-bait the hooks (with bread) and untangled fishing line. Matt was busy trying to teach the kids how to cast and retying hooks and bobbles and all the other fishing accessories -- he's the one with all the fishing knowledge in the family.
We actually caught two small fish, throwing them back when we left. The boys were really pleased -- and now they can't wait to go back.
Here's Hobbes holding up his fish. I have no idea what kind it was -- slimey, sorta big?
Both boys fishing. Note the intense concentration...
Calvin casting off.
A close-up of the fish Calvin caught. Again, no idea what kind -- small, still slimey? |
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Apr. 8, 2008
Watch Out...
for the crazy sick woman armed with Kleenex and Zicam and Tylenol cold capsules. I have managed to pick up a spring cold -- one of those fun little illnesses where you spend your day sneezing and blowing your nose and just generally acting miserable. But, not quite sick enough to justify wearing your PJs all day while huddled in bed.
Fortunately, the boys have lots of workbook-y type school things to occupy them today. Hobbes is currently working on his keyword outline for his latest writing assignment. Calvin went to occupational therapy this morning and is now practicing his all-important air guitar skills. I sneezed my way through our history and science reading assignments.
And I just discovered a box of Kleenex in the laundry hamper. I have no idea how it got there. I'm starting to suspect that the Kleenex is becoming sentient and is wandering around my house...
Maybe I need to lie down for a bit...  |
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Apr. 1, 2008
Racing Towards The End Of The Year
We only have about 6 1/2 weeks left of this school year, and then the boys will officially become 2nd and 5th graders. And that's a little scary for me to contemplate at the moment.
So here's what we're doing:
History: just finished reading about Lewis and Clark, and we're on to the War of 1812. Next week, we're going on a field trip to tour a Civil War battlefield.
Read-aloud: finished Justin Morgan Had A Horse; now slowly working our way through Calico Bush
Science: reading through a chapter on lobsters, shrimp and crabs. The boys (and Daddy) get to try growing sea monkeys next week.
For Calvin:
Continuing occupational therapy for sensory processing disorder -- we've seen a huge improvement over the last few months. He's reading The Courage of Sarah Noble, working on adding columns of numbers, and learning about abbreviations and capitalization in language arts.
For Hobbes:
He's reading Naya Nuki, working on assignments for his writing class, learning about decimals in math, and finishing up geography workbooks on states and capitals.
I've started doing some basic review in preparation for taking the California Achievement Test at the end of April -- just math practice and language arts worksheets. Standardized tests are not my favorite thing, but Hobbes actually liked the math part last year. And Calvin didn't even notice he was taking a test (and I wasn't going to mention it) until he finished it.
We've got field trips, art classes, art shows, drama productions, etc. etc. to add into the next few weeks too. Yeah, my kids definitely have problems with that social thing (she said sarcastically). |
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Mar. 27, 2008
Thanks For The Compliment!
As I was tucking Calvin into bed last night, he looked up at me with the sweetest smile and said,
"Mommy, you really are getting a lot of gray hair on the sides of your head."
And then, to finish off that wonderful compliment...
"Hey, you look just like Cruella Deville from 101 Dalmations!"
He must have noticed the look of horror on my face because he immediately yelled
"Forget I said that!"
Sigh.
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Mar. 21, 2008
Why Spell Checker Doesn't Know Everything
As a sneaky way to get him to write more, we let Hobbes create his own private blog, just for the grandparents and relatives to read. He can write short journal entries about his day, or his homework, or any other activities, and he's learning how to post his own pictures too.
He's also learned to appreciate the wonders of Spell Check. I wondered how his spelling had improved so dramatically. (Mom -- look! The computer tells me when I mis-spell something. And then, when I highlight the word, it tells me how to spell it!) Gee, I had missed that handy little feature...
So he was updating his blog, (and quietly correcting his spelling errors), when I heard a yell.
"Well, that's just insulting!" Hobbes yells at Spell Check (inadvertently continuing a family tradition of yelling at the computer as if it was a person).
What was the problem? Spell Check did not recognize "homeschool" as a legitimate word.
Hobbes is a little ticked about this. It has undermined his confidence in the all-wise Spell Check. (So, maybe he'll work a bit harder on that spelling thing?) |
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Mar. 19, 2008
Forever and Ever
So as I was saying Good Night to the boys last night, the cutest little blond 7-year old boy looked up at me and said,
"Mommy, when I'm grown up and married to a woman, you're still going to be my Mom."
And smiled that heart-stopping sweet smile that makes all the spilled milk and messy bathrooms fade away. |
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Mar. 18, 2008
Spring Break, Sorta
This is the first year that both my kids have realized that there is such a thing as Spring Break, and that a lot of the public schools are enjoying one this week. There have been lots of questions about when their Spring Break would be occurring...
Since I don't really want to take an entire week off, we're going to have our own short-term break instead. We took a vacation day yesterday, and we're going to go easy on the school assignments for the rest of the week. Some of our regular classes have been canceled (art, writing), but Calvin's therapy and their PE class are still on.
Tomorrow, I think we'll head to the library to work on our school assignments. I've discovered that the boys are much better at finishing their work in a timely manner when they know they can go wander through the books when they're done.
And we're going to work in some of the fun stuff that gets lost sometimes in the stress and busy-ness of homeschooling. We went to the grocery store just to get some ice cream for the Hot Fudge Cake we're making for dinner. I realized yesterday that it's been a long time since we had the chance to make a fun dessert just because we wanted to. |
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Mar. 9, 2008
Beaker Goes To Williamsburg
So last week, we took our mascot Beaker on a tour of Colonial Williamsburg as part of their special Home Educators Days.
But first, a stop at the Virginia War Museum where Beaker got a close-up view of a tank.
(It's hard to see, but he's sitting on the side of the tank.)
We spent 2 days touring Williamsburg -- there were very few people there, so we got to spend lots of time at each location, asking questions and looking around. The boys especially liked seeing the foundry where they cast and mold pewter; the saddlery and blacksmith shop were also interesting.
Beaker gets to spend some quality time in the stocks.
And then later ended up in the jail. Apparently, in colonial times, the jailer and his family actually all lived in the same building with the criminals in the cells.
We can't tour properly without snacks! Here's Beaker enjoying a piece of gingerbread cake at the Raleigh Tavern Bakery.
That gingerbread was really, really good.
Beaker poses over lunch with our special Colonial Williamsburg Home Educators Tickets.
And finally, Beaker relaxes on the bus after a long day of hiking up and down Duke of Gloucester street |
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Feb. 28, 2008
Running Around Town With Beaker
As part of our ongoing "Adventures in Homeschooling" series featuring our stuffed Beaker...
Beaker goes bowling with us on Matt's birthday but has some trouble picking up the ball:
Next, Beaker goes to Starbucks with Hobbes and me while we wait for Calvin's occupational therapy appointment to end. Yum -- chocolate glazed donuts!
Hobbes finishes his homework, while Beaker looks for more snacks in the Starbucks bag:
Grandpa's birthday dinner at Benihana. Beaker has trouble with the chopsticks.
And finally, Beaker climbs trees with Calvin & Hobbes.
Coming soon -- Beaker tours Colonial Williamsburg with us on Home Educators' Days. |
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Feb. 19, 2008
Three-Day Weekend
My favorite kind of weekend, especially when your amazingly wonderful husband says things like --
Why don't you go hang out at the bookstore for a few hours? and
You should go out to dinner with your friends. and
I hope you can sleep in this morning. I'll keep the kids busy.
I even decided NOT to be Commando Homeschool Mom and try to hold school on a federal holiday. We took the day off instead. Matt was off from work and we spent the morning attempting to strip the wallpaper in Calvin's room. The boys really like ripping the paper off, but are not interested in the "steaming" and "stripping" part of the work.
I bought a few new books at the bookstore, enjoyed dinner out with some other homeschool moms (and ate a dessert that was as big as my head -- nothing better than piles of whipped cream and puffed pastries!), and completed 6 levels of Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. I only have 60 levels to go. |
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