We haven't been blogging our homeschooling in quite a while.  Well, here is an update on us.

 I have a son (22) that has been in college for three years.  He has his digital engineering certificate and is getting his Associates in Music Theory and Composition.

There are two left at home.  A daughter (16) and a son (13).  We do take a couple classes through a homeschooling community in Algebra, Science and Literature.  My daughter plays the piano and my son plays the guitar.  We are going to purchase the Drive Thru History homeschooling package to discover through the winter months.

I don't know how much homeschooling families spend on their homeschooling/unschooling ventures, but when I added mine up for the 2007-2008 year, we have come in around $1200.  This includes the classes and music lessons listed above, museum memberships and field trips.  I would be interested in knowing how much other families spend for homeschooling/unschooling ventures. 

I would like to also add some more traveling to our learning style.  We used to travel a lot more in the past, but I am working on paying off some debt, so traveling has been put on the back burner.  You can see some of the places we have visited in past bloggings at Camp Creevey.  We would like to go to Washington D.C. and surrounding communities, Whale watching in Maine, the Civil War Battlefields in mid-East and watch the fireworks for Independence Day over Mount Rushmore, just to name a few.

If anyone has any suggestions on how to do these kinds of trips inexpensively, please leave me a comment.

Happy New Year 2008.

We just watched a movie suggested from a Yahoo Group.  Wow it was great, I Loved it.

Here is what "Accepted" is about:

A high school graduate didn't get accepted to any colleges...his parents insist that he HAS to go to college because that is what everyone is supposed to do after high school and they have to be like everyone else...so he starts his own make believe Technical Institute complete with web page...parents fall for it and give him $$...he
invests in an abandoned mental institution and with help from friends turns it into a "college"...tons of other "misfits" get accepted as well and turn the make believe college into a real "school"...including a curriculum that they make up entitled "What do we WANT to learn". They preach about how all of their lives they've been told what to learn and how to learn and now is their chance to learn what they want to
learn...an example of one girl from a real college who really wanted to take photography but her advisor said she couldn't because she wasn't in the right major.

In some of my past posts, I have written about our school plans, which have changed dramatically.  While I do have a child in college and one who is now taking a couple classes at the local public school and half homeschooled (hybrid), my youngest is an unschooling child and I want this blog to represent more of the unschooling and traveling that we do.

You see, we have now become Treasure Hunters, so I am going to reflect my blog to our unschooling, treasure hunting and traveling adventures.

I will soon be adding pictures to this blog also.  Hope everyone enjoys it.

Our oven went out and we had a sweet tooth so we got creative.  We made a chocolate cake from scratch and poured it into the bread machine, put it on bake for one hour and baked the cutest loaf-style cake.  We made homemade chocolate frosting, frosted the cake and ate it.  Yummy.

Just a quick update.  I am changing around my blog to just include our traveling and unschooling life.

Update on the kids.  My oldest ds (21) is in college studying music and his band is playing at local venues.  My middle child dd (14) is taking a couple classes at the local public high school (her choice) along with a couple classes at home from the Brigham Young University, on an Odyssey of the Mind team with our local homeschooling group and just finished with Segment 1 of Driver's Training..  She is in her fourth year of piano.  We call her a hybrid.  My youngest ds (11) is the unschooled child with ever-changing, interest led education, somehow mostly centered around sports.  He loves sports.  So all of this keeps us extremely busy.

My dd will be going on a mission trip to New York during the Christmas season to extend her hands helping at the New York School of Urban Ministry.  What an opportunity and a life changing event for her.  www.nysum.org

I will be working on selling our property up north, buying a motorhome and scheduling some great family travel time.  I am going to blog about those travels and  I am hoping to buy a decent digital camera and learn how to work itm so that I can add pictures of places visited.

So my dd will be starting her 9th Grade year.  I have been putting together a curriculum for her, because that is what she wants.  Here is what we have so far.

Saxon Algebra 1/2 - through the summer to catch up

Saxon Algebra 1 - 9th grade year

Odyssey of the Mind - September through May

Driver's Training, Segment 1 - Fall 2006

Classes in Art and Literature - through a local homeschooling group

Hand's on Geography and History, tied in with our travels

Drama - Michigan Youth Theatre and Class Act Drama (4-H Club)

and any other interests she comes up with.

Have a great day.

We have taken a hugh break from blogging, yahoo groups and such.  We are now back and in full force.  We have a great summer planned and looking forward to my children's middle and high school, homeschooled years in the fall.  Great to be back.  Note.  My 11 year old son has been playing with his legos for 2 1/2 hours.  He is totally intrigued.

Have a great day.

What a great day it was here in Michigan yesterday.  It was in the Mid 70's, no humidity and not a cloud in the sky.  We decided to go out for a while and see what kind of fun we could have on the frugal.  We went to an orchard nearby and bought some honey and Michigan Apple Cinnamon Bread with icing and spent $8.01, then we found an upscale resale shop, in the same town, where my daughter found a pair of black dress pants, originally marked $16.00, marked half off to $8.00 and marked off again to $6.00, totally $6.36 with tax.  I also had coupons for Blockbuster, so we ventured there next.  We rented a PS2 game with a Free coupon, bought a previously viewed DVD with a Free coupon and bought a $14.99 previously viewed DVD with a $7.99 coupon, and using a $5.00 gift card my son won at a birthday party earlier in the week, the total cost for Blockbuster was $3.49, totally our whole day to $17.86.  Wow, what fun we all had saving ourselves money.

Hope everyone is having a fun, safe and frugal summer.

Cheryl

Well, I have kind of put our homeschool curriculum together for the coming year.  We are going to start a geography unit, the one blogged about in an earlier writing.  I have tweeked it a bit.  We are going to keep a three-ring binder on each geographical area we learn about.  I am hoping to make this unit study available for purchase when we are done.  So our schedule is as follows:

Mondays:

Gym from 11:00 to 1:00

Art - afternoon

Guitar - afternoon

Piano at 4:30

Basketball practice at 5:00

Tuesdays:

Math - am

English - am

Odyssey of the Mind 1:00 to 3:00

Wednesdays:

Geography Unit Study

History

work on Art projects

Basketball game - 6:00 pm

Thursdays:

Math

English

Geography

Skateboard Club - 3:45 to 5:45 (every other Thursday)

Fridays

Shakespear (A Midsummer's Nights Dream) 12:30 - 3:00 (first half of year)

We will fit in field trips when they come up.  We also have swim punch cards that we fit in on Tuesday and Friday evenings.

We usually take from Thanksgiving until January 3 off, due to the Holidays and two birthdays in December.  I also hold a Holiday Open House for my Mary Kay business on Thanksgiving weekend, with a lot of great sales.  There are just a few scheduled activities we do during that time, piano and guitar practice and Odyssey of the Mind.  That way we don't get too burned out and I change around what we are learning to make it fresh for the new year.

Happy School Year to all!

Cheryl

I haven't added to my blog lately.  Seems summer has been extremely busy.  The weather here in Michigan has been very warm and humid, so this was the year I added central air to my home.

So far this summer, my cottage is back under construction, with me ripping out the ceiling in my living room to make cathedral ceilings and accessing the attic.  If at all possible, I would like to turn the attic into another bedroom.  I am also having my entryway opened up and turned into an actual foyer.  Stuff is sitting everywhere around my house to accommodate the livingroom.  It is so exciting to see the transformation my cottage is taking.  I love living here.

I am also working real hard towards my DIQ (director status) with Mary Kay Cosmetics, which is my business I run from my home.  What can I say about Mary Kay.  It has afforded me to stay home with my children, buy newer vehicles, restore my cottage, put braces on two of my children, send one child to college, pay my bills, take vacations.  Oh, the possibilities have been endless with Mary Kay.  I am having so much fun meeting other women and making a difference in their lives.

Plus, my two youngest children are homeschooled and we have been very busy filling our 2005-2006 school year calendar with piano lessons, drama class, swimming, gym, skateboard club, basketball, Odyssey of the Mind and rehersing for the performance at the Michigan Renaissance Festival in September.

Well, I hope that everyone else is having a fun-filled summer.  Now I need to plan a vacation.  Talk to you soon

Cheryl

Okay, so I bought a 1930's cottage six years ago and it has been non-stop restoration ever since.  I bought it for a great price knowing I would have to put money in to it over the years.  It had two large bedrooms, a spacious kitchen, one bathroom, a living room, laundry room and a foyer with about 1156 square feet of living space.  I am not a "go into debt" kind of gal, so I have to save first and then fix up something.   First, I had to put in a new well which cost four grand.  Then, I filed for a building permit and added a master bedroom, master bathroom and walk-in closet which added about another 350 square feet.  It took almost three years to complete that project because I wanted to pay cash and because I can't just put the plain ole home depot stuff in it.  I like to restore items, so I waited until I found the right antique buffet to put a sink in for my bathroom vanity and I stripped 100 year old tung and groove wood that came off of an old boathouse to use for one of my walls.  I was also given left-over logs from a log home project to use in certain areas of my cottage for that log-cottage charm.  The bedroom has cathedral ceilings with a hanging ceiling fan for that breezy feel.  The kitchen has free standing antique cupboards from an old farmhouse or two except for the traingle work area which consists of new (old) looking cabinets of the same stain as the antique cabinets.  I put whimsical fork, knife and spoons on the doors for the hardware.  Right now I am in the process of tearing out the living room in which I found tung and groove knotty pine walls hidden behind drywall and am planning on cathedral ceilings for that room also possibly with a sky light.  This year my biggest investment was central air and updating the furnace.  Every year though, I plant my tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, sunflowers and pumpkins.  I love the whole organic, self-sufficient and green lifestyle, but that is another day.  Well, more to come later on my cottage restoration project.

Cheryl

Q: What is your favorite night-time snack?   I am really not a night-time snacker, but my kids eat a lot of popcorn in the evenings.

Q: If you could choose 3 comfort items to take with you for a year on a desert island, what would they be?   Dental Floss, Toothbrush and Tweezers.  But, if it is a desert island, I would need water.  If it is a deserted island, I would have plenty of water.

Q: Why did you choose each item?   Well, I think they are self-explanatory.

Q: What is your first memory?  Probably going to see "Mary Poppins" with my two older brothers at the Theatre.  Wow, what a great memory.

BTW What beautiful artwork in the past post!
That took some time and patience, gorgeous!!!!   Thank you for the compliment.  My dh is the artist.  I will let him know that it is appreciated.

Have a great day.

Cheryl

I made up our own unit study for World Geography called "Where in the World are the Creevey's".  We purchased a large wall map, non-laminated, so we can write on it, at Office Max for $4.99.  We glued it to one of those display boards,  where the sides fold out.  The kind you would use for presentations like at 4-H.  We keep up on current events happening around the world (for example: the terrorists bombings in London, the Live 8 concerts or the Iditarod) and locate them on the map.  We pick a country and then learn about the different regions or states inside that country.  We include some research on the internet, take books out of the library, learn about their currency, language, diseases/sicknesses and culture.  We try to send letters to the area in hopes of a response in a letter from that area.  Sometimes, we buy something small from that area.  This way we can see how they're addressed and stamped.  We got some Yugioh Cards from China not too long ago, it was cool.  We rent movies and documentaries about the area we are in from Blockbuster or the library.  We also make the food they would eat in that region throughout the week.  This definately helps with the "what's for dinner tonight" question I always get, unless it is something not acceptable to eat here.  You get my drift. We also try to do something to help for the poverty stricken areas of the country.  This is a hugh learning experience for my kids.  Well, I hope this gives you ideas on how to tackle world geography without making it boring.

Have a great day

Cheryl

Well, we are back from our vacation to Mackinaw City and the surrounding areas.  We ventured out to see some sites and came upon a few great places to re-visit.  To the west of Mackinaw City is a little town called Cross Village with a great restaurant/bar called Legs Inn.  www.legsinn.com.   It was full of great things made out of petrified wood and a beautiful view of Lake Michigan.  The drive to get there was just as beautiful following the coast line of Lake Michigan.  We also ventured into the Upper Pennisula.  We went to Whitefish Point to see the Shipwreck Museum www.ShipwreckMuseum.com and shops and played in the waters of Lake Superior.  We gathered some great rocks that we brought home with us.  I don't think there isn't a place we don't go that we don't bring home rocks.  Then we ventured up to Grand Marais, taking the back way through the woods.  Grand Marais was celebrating Independence Day and had a lot going on.  They have a really cool brewery that we ate at called the Lake Superior Brewing Company.  www.michiganbrewersguild.org  I think the coolest thing we saw was the pickle house.  It was the cutest little house made out of boards shaped like the old pickle jars.  www.grandmaraismichigan.com   Just click the History link on the home page and you'll find it.  We left a day early to come home because it was pouring the rain, but overall, we had a lot of fun.

Cheryl

It is Thursday morning, our 4th or 5th hot and humid day here in Michigan.  The weatherman promises us a break after a cold front comes through this evening.  I hope it rains good to thoroughly water all my gardens before we leave on vacation.  As I have mentioned in the beginning, we love to travel.  We will be heading up north Michigan to Mackinaw City for Saturday, Sunday and Monday evenings and then on to Presque Isle Michigan where we own property.  Hoping while we are in Mackinaw City to go into the UP to Sault St. Marie for the Soo Locks 150 year celebration and watch the tug-boat races.  My husband loves tug boats.  He would like to buy one.  I am not sure it is practical for our kind of  boating.  Then on another day, go the opposite way into the UP and see the pictured rocks and Whitefish Point, the Edmund Fitzgerald museum and the lighthouse.  It is absolutely beautiful north of Paradise, Michigan at Whitefish Point.  Lake Superior is all around you with beautiful soft sand and a warm blowing breeze.  Then we will watch the fireworks on the 4th, Monday evening, in Mackinaw City.  I have goodie bags packed for Alexis and Jameson filled with sparklers, cookies, a drink, camera, and other 4th of July related items.  As for Jonathan, he gets the house all to himself for the time we are gone.  Someone needs to stay home and take care of the cats.  Well, off to packing.  I will fill everyone in on our vacation when we get back.  Have a Happy 4th of July and be safe, whereever you are.

Cheryl

Just thought I would fill you all in our our past couple days.  We have been kind of busy.

Friday, we went shopping to try to find Alexis a pheasant skirt.  The new rave out in clothes.  Couldn't locate anything that was in her size, anywhere, but Jameson ended up with a new basketball and a basketball shirt.  Then Friday evening, we went to the Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center to see the movie "The Lorax" by Dr. Suess.  They have family night there once a month and show a movie and have popcorn, watermelon and drinks.  We will probably do a short unit study on "The Lorax".  I found some great websites:  http://www.auburn.wednet.edu/homepages/ilalko/Seuss.htm and http://www.nashville-schools.davidson.k12.tn.us/CyberGuides/Lorax/teachertemplate.html that I believe will give me some great information.

We have been working on being more self-sufficient, growing our own food, canning and preserving, eating healthier and with organic products, recycling and being a little kinder to the Earth.  This movie fit right in with how progress and greed can get in the way of what really matters.  When I put together what we will do for this unit study, I will post it.

On Saturday, Jameson had his All-Star baseball game.  Boy was it hot and humid out.  But his team won.  I believe the score was something like 17 to 0.  After the game, we had a picnic, ate hotdogs, snow cones and mingled with many friends.  After that, the kids went to a movie while Keith and I went out to dinner.  it is always fun to have alone time with my husband and, of course, ran into many more friends.  There is something to say about living in a small town.

Talk to you all soon.

Cheryl, proud owner of Camp Creevey

Welcome to Camp Creevey.  As you journey with our family on our electic homeschooling/unschooling life, I hope that you find great infomation for learning, playing, and living life to its fullest.  Today is our first day for our blog.  We are a family of five, Me (Cheryl), dh - Keith, Jonathan (20), Alexis (13) and Jameson (10).  We live in a little town in Michigan with lakes all around us.

My oldest child, Jonathan, graduated in 2003 from a public school.  He has his own band, Small Town Revolver, and plays quite a few venues in Michigan and some in Ohio.  His love is music, family and friends.  He has won two voice scholarships and the band has taken first place twice in a Battle of the Bands.  He has a great girlfriend for the past three years, Christina, and we hope to make her part of our family in the future.  He does have a website, which is, again, under construction.  When it is up and running, I will post it.

My second child, Alexis, is homeschooled and in 8th grade.  She was diagnosed with cancer when she was three, failed chemo three times and was considered terminal.  She defied those odds and came off the terminal status last May (2004).  She loves animals, books, family and friends.  She is involved in Odyssey of the Mind, 4-H clubs, drama and plays the piano.

My youngest child, Jameson, is homeschooled and in 5th grade.  He is all boy and very much different from his older brother.  He is my sporty child and will play any sport available.  He is involved in Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, 4-H clubs, drama and plays the guitar.

My husband, Keith, is a artist and carpenter.  He makes most of his money by doing home and commercial building and repairs.  He is working on his art, which consist of pencil drawings, colored and black and white, pastels and water colors.  We are hoping to set up at some great craft fairs on our travels.

I have done some schooling and am a Certified Legal Assistant, Interior Decorator and past the exam for a Real Estate License.  I use none of these.  My main goal is to stay home and raise my children while making money, which led me to study the book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad".  I now invest in assets and try not to inquire any liabilities.  This is the biggest concept I would like to get across to my children.  Not to "Work for Money", but to "Make Money work for You".

We all love to travel together and hope to purchase a nice travel trailer to do some extensive traveling throughout the United States and Canada while my dh sells his wonderful art and I add to our asset column.  Join us as I fill you in on our travels, art, unit studies, unschooling, electic homeschooling, sports updates and anything else that becomes an interest in our lives and hopefully will interest you.

Have a great day.

Cheryl, proud owner of Camp Creevey