Wow! We had a wonderful time at our homeschool picnic yesterday!!! We belong to Green Country H.E.R.O. and we had our big picnic yesterday. Thanks to Kay, Dawn, and Cynthia for such a wonderful, memorable time. There was an awesome turnout. I also noticed that we had a very good mix of ages in the group this year.
It was so fun to have my long-time friend Tamn and her kids with us. (I think 11 years is considered a "long-time friend". Don't you?) Of course, I've known some of the ladies in the group for almost as long as well; so I am truly blessed!
It was neat to see my boys mixed up with all the teens and having a ball. It was great to see my daughter playing with girls her age and not feeling left out. It was an awesome time of adult fellowship too.
Kay had a pool and even though it was a bit chilly, some of the children still got in the water. I had to tell Tiffany to get out after about 2 hours. Sean did swim too but Brian never made it in the pool. He got there and started talking with others right away. Then they started throwing around a football AND kicking around the soccer ball at the same time.
There was a net set up for taller people to play badminton or volleyball with and one set up for the younger (shorter) ones to play at. There was a child-safe horseshoes game too. Then they started the hula hoop and jump rope contests and bobbing for apples.
They even had prizes, lots of prizes, set up for the little ones. Then they did a scavenger hunt and had bigger prizes for the bigger ones. It was so neat!!! They really went all out!
Dinner was good, as usual. HERO provided fried chicken and drinks and each family brought a side dish and dessert. After all these years, it is hard to believe that this is actually the FIRST time we've made it to the Back-to-School Picnic, when usually it is much closer to our home. Well, what it boils down to is that I decided that the children needed to have at least one homeschool group fellowship time a month, so I made it a priority to go and we went.
It really was fun!
Michele ºÜº
We did have a considerable drive, but Tamn and her kids rode with us making it seem much shorter than it was.
I wish we'd have taken the camera with us. I can't believe we forgot it!!! Oh well, we had a great time!
Friday we went to the Tulsa Maize. It is a corn maze and was really fun. We had a lot of rain here in OK this year and the corn really showed it. It was taller than us and pretty dense too.
Not only do they have the maze but they have 2 large groupings of big hay bales for the kids to climb all over. One grouping they climb up on and the other it is higher on the outside and lower in the middle. They also have a 'duck race' game with water pumps, troughs, and 'rubber' ducks. They have a hay ride with corny (heehee) commentary throughout. They also have fire pits and picnic tables set up, some with tarps overhead and some out in the open. They have a little 'ride' for the youngest ones and small bicycles for the in-between ones to ride around a circle in the corn. Then they have something set up for paintball. They also have a Corn Box, which is like a sand box but with corn kernels in it. Oh, I almost forgot, they also have a few goats in a pen.
We had about 8 families show up! It was a great turnout. We had fun 'getting to know' one another again, as we hadn't gotten together with these wonderful people in quite some time. We arrived and chatted for a bit while we awaited the arrival of the last of our group. Then we started through the maze, with whomever we chose to group up with. It was small enough that I felt safe for my 10yodd to go through alone with a new friend.
When we finished the maze, some of us went on the hayride. Then fires were started in the fire pits and we eventually roasted marshmallows and hot dogs over them. We stayed for about 2½ hours and then headed back home. We all had a good time of activities and fellowship, even my teenage boys.
As a matter of fact, I am very encouraged because they are looking forward to the next event, Forced Family Fun. So watch out Hero dads and lads, my guys are already planning their cake design.
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I just found out that a friend and her family that moved away a couple of years ago, is moving back after this school year! Whoo Hoo!!! My dd and I are very glad to hear this. I look forward to their return and hope I can get them to join our wonderful homeschool group.
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Oh, I just remembered (actually I posted and then remembered and came back to add) what else I wanted to mention. About a month ago, I thought it would be neat if the kids and I read through some plays or skits. I asked a couple of groups I'm on and didn't follow through very good. Well, yesterday I was looking through my pdf's and I found "Children's Classics in Dramatic Form Vol. 1". I then looked online to see if I could find a volume 2. I did!!!
We did the first 3 skits today. The children absolutely loved it! I'm glad I found these and followed through on it. I'm also glad that I found a second volume. By the time we get through all of this, we should be ready for some longer ones. If you try them, let me know what you think about them.
Well, now, I think that is it for tonight. Blessings to you all,
Michele ºÜº
My sister is pregnant with her second child! We are very excited about this. Thus, I have put a ticker on the sidebar for when her baby is due. I currently have it blue because they are hoping for a boy this time.
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I love homeschooling! It is sooo versatile. My sister had made an appointment some time ago, to get her hair done today, not realizing that my mom, who usually watches her dd, would still be on vacation. So she asked me if we would watch her. Of course, I told her yes. However, that meant that we needed to readjust our school time a bit. Then I had a phone call and was on the phone for about 1½ hours, because I am such a talker, and I was excited that my dear friend is now online. WooHoo! But that put me off a bit more on our schedule—No Problem! We will just adjust again! I love homeschooling!
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We will be going to a corn maze on Friday with our homeschool group. The children and I are excited about this. It seems that we will have a great turn-out too! It is really good to have fellowship with other homeschoolers. Last year we did not do very much—ok, truth be told, I don't think we did anything with our homeschool group. I have decided to change that this year. Not only will I go to my meetings, even if the subject isn't something that 'delights' me—I need the fellowship—but we will also be joining in on group activities more. I really am a homebody and it is difficult for me to want to get out. Once I get out, however, I have a great time and am glad I did it. AND more times than not, I end up staying out later than I really should.
I'll post this for now and if I think of anything else I wanted to write about, I'll come back and add on. But for now, have a great night!
Michele ºÜº
(Me and my dd, Tiffany on an easy to climb tree limb on vacation in VA in 2007.) These are my ramblings on homeschooling and whatever else comes to mind.
Counting Down
We are starting school, so it's time to look forward to the holidays!
Oh, I almost forgot, they also have a few goats in a pen.
