http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/A2ZAcademy/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Tue, 1 Sep 2009 08:44:00 -0500 Tue, 1 Sep 2009 08:44:00 -0500 Well, we finally started school today.  Ok, well not technically yet since we're still working through our morning routine, but we'll be getting started shortly.  I got the kids a few little things from the Target $1 bins just because.  You know, they don't get all the normal back to school stuff so I just thought it would be fun to do something for them! Abigayle got some blank note cards, stamps, gel pens, and small sticky note pads.  Zachary got some pencils, gel pens, alphabet stamp letters and a clear stamp block for them, and a silver stamp pad.  They were pretty surprised to see it this morning.  I also wrote them each a little note welcoming them to their respective grades. I watched some kids yesterday to help a friend out while she was moving and we took a couple of pictures.  I thought these were funny.  The youngest loved my dog's crate... I like this one too, although, I wonder if they look just a little too happy to see their little brother in a cage! We went to Shedd Aquarium for the first time a little over a week ago.  It was kind of our NOT back to school day since it was the first day of school for kids here.  It was so crowded there though.  Josh said that schools down there didn't start yet so that's probably why.  We're going to try to go down again in Oct.  Maybe next time I go I'll remember my camera! Anyway, I guess that's all for now.  God Bless! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/A2ZAcademy/722815/ Tue, 1 Sep 2009 08:44:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/A2ZAcademy/722815/ We went up to MI a couple of weeks ago and I thought I'd share a little about that.  We went to a thing in Muskegon called Bike Time.  It's a thing for all the bikers.  They had monster truck rides though and my ds and hubby went for a ride. We went on a tour of a Lighthouse Here's a picture looking out from the top: And we took Bear to the dog beach!  She didn't really care for it.  I had to carry her out and put her in the water.  The bad thing is that she is so tall that even going out up to my waist she could walk about half way back to shore!  It's a little hard to see, hubby didn't zoom.  We didn't have to keep her on a leash, but I don't think she would have stuck around if we hadn't! Here's my mom's dog: Passed out from a day of fun at the beach: That is Bear's boredom hole in my dad's yard - oops!  At least it's not too big though. Oh, gotta love this one: I guess that's about all for now.  We've all been hit with a stomach bug and still recuperating so I can't really think of anything else right now.  I'm sure I'm missing something though! Oh well, until next time http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/A2ZAcademy/715057/ Thu, 6 Aug 2009 19:51:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/A2ZAcademy/715057/ We are excited about today!  We have a bunch of people coming over to help us celebrate.  The kids have been waiting for this all week.  Hopefully, the rain stops before this afternoon though.  I'm not sure I have room in my house for all these people!  I have some new pictures of the puppy too that I thought I'd share real quick.  I finally have her signed up for training classes at PetSmart.  She starts next weekend.  We'll miss a week when we go to MI but we can make it up later, so I'm not worried about it.  We got her a new bed last night to use when she's not in her crate.  Josh wasn't sure about getting it, but it was only a couple $$ more than just the boring crate liner so he caved for me! This is what happened this morning while she was bored!  So cute! This is what she does in the morning, waiting for her "kids" to get up.  She just loves them!  I will sometimes take her in their rooms to wake them up.  She just loves that!  Zach will cover his head with his blanket and she just goes crazy trying to dig him out!  He says it hurts a little, but I don't think he minds.  I think he likes that she does that with him.  Zachary has lost two front teeth - the ones on either side of his very front top teeth.  Well, he was eating grapes the other day and was being silly. We are on our summer break finally!  We stopped a week early.  We were all just done and ready for a break.  I haven't counted up our days, but we already had almost 30 extra days scheduled so I'm sure we're fine.  We'll start back up on Sept. 1st.  We have 4 books to finish for the Prairie Primer but we may just do 3.  The last book, Farmer Boy, is about Almanzo growing on up the farm in NY so we may just skip that one.  We'll probably still read it for fun though.  Well, I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th!  God Bless http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/A2ZAcademy/704987/ Sat, 4 Jul 2009 07:28:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/A2ZAcademy/704987/ She getting so big already and smart too!  The books say that these dogs get bored easily with doing mundane tasks or activities and will find a new way to do them.  We have already noticed this with Bear.  I definitely want to get her into some training classes soon and would like to start going to dog parks so she can play on the agility equipment they have (then I don't have to buy my own!).  She's still small enough to fit behind the couch and she loves running through it when she's all riled up! Ok, so she's not suppose to be in the kitchen/dining room area, but she still found a way to be near me when I'm in there...(it's a broken drawer whole - we call it her cubby!) She loves to look out this window.  It's so cute! A boy and his dog...Awwww! Abigayle trying to play with her outside, it doesn't look like it's going to well... There they go... http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/A2ZAcademy/702076/ Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:33:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/A2ZAcademy/702076/ We dissected a cow's eye a couple of weeks ago!  It goes along with our Prairie Primer.  We had read the part in the books when Mary goes blind, which is true.  She went blind from having Scarlet Fever as a baby and it didn't affect her until years later.  So we learned the different parts of the eye and how it works.  It was very interesting.  The kids were so grossed out for most of it they probably don't remember a whole lot of what they were suppose to be learning!  Notice how they don't look real thrilled about touching it... The first cuts... The meaty stuff around the eye is tougher than it looks.  I had to help Zach... Ok, I really did try to not take the whole thing over  Here's the front and the back of the eye.  Zach is holding the front (the Anterior - the part that we can see when you're looking at someone) and Abigayle is holding the inside/back part of the eye (the Posterior - the part we can't see) The Cornea was kind of tricky.  It's a lot thicker than you might think and it took a couple of tries to cut deep enough to get it off. Notice the little white marble looking thing on the plate.  That is the cornea that we just cut off.  Zach's getting ready to pop the lens out! And here's the lens.  If it wasn't cloudy, we would be able to see the words through it and they would be slightly magnified.  Look how perty... Here's the end result.  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/A2ZAcademy/702067/ Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:42:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/A2ZAcademy/702067/ We have a new puppy!!!!!! We had talked about getting another dog a few months before we had to put Shadow down, but we never had a peace about it so we decided to wait.  I'm glad we waited, I believe it has all worked out for the best.  Many of you might think "Wow! You didn't wait very long!"  But I take comfort in the fact that Shadow had a good, long life and he will always have a special place in all of our hearts.  Say hello to Pretty Bear.  She is an Australian Shepherd with a little Border Collie mixed in.  She will be nine weeks old on Sunday.  We got her yesterday afternoon.  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/A2ZAcademy/691396/ Thu, 21 May 2009 18:45:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/A2ZAcademy/691396/ Well, we went to OH last weekend to surprise my SIL for her belated 30th birthday!  We pulled it off w/o her finding out.  We got in to OH Friday evening and stayed in a hotel and surprised her with silly string and lots of noise Saturday morning!  It was a lot of fun.  The kids enjoyed being part of a big surprise like that!  I left my camera in my purse so I don't have any actual pictures of it, but it was still fun! We took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese on Monday and had lots of fun.  Here they are going on a virtual roller coaster ride: Giddy'up horsey... Enjoying their spoils: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/A2ZAcademy/691369/ Thu, 21 May 2009 18:32:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/A2ZAcademy/691369/ Our Shadow was put down last Friday (5/8).  It was a difficult day for him and by the time we got to the vet it was pretty obvious that it was just time to let him go, even though it took me a little while to accept it.  It was heartbreaking to see him trying to beg for treats and attention all the while knowing that he was in his last moments.  He left us with wonderful memories and big shoes to fill for our next dog.  The vet had two molds made of his paw prints for us.  They are ready today and I will be going to pick them up shortly.  I also made a bookmark obituary for him that I am going to have laminated and will surprise the kids with these later today.  Here's some pictures to remember him: His camping trip with us to Apple River just last summer: His last hair cut: Zachary loved taking pictures of him just because: Here's the obituary on his bookmark.  I can't get all the pictures to show up and can't upload them here because they are not all on this computer.    Wiseman’s Toy Shadow 8/15/95 – 5/8/09   Shadow was a good boy and lived a long, happy life.   He was our first “baby”, our first responsibility as adults.  He saw us go through life changes - the Marine Corps, babies, and multiple moves.   He will be remembered for his playful spirit, begging for food, and always trying to be a puppy!   Shadow wasn’t just our pet; he was a member of our family.   He will be missed! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/A2ZAcademy/687877/ Mon, 11 May 2009 11:40:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/A2ZAcademy/687877/ A local historical village had a Civil War Hands On History thing going on last week that we went to.  They had different stations set up that you visited and were told about different people or situations during that time period.  We saw a 30 min. presentation from an actress about Harriet Tubman: We met with a Southern Lady Spy by the name of Rose Greenhow: We learned how to load a Civil War cannon: That's our little penguinlover (the smallest one of the group)! We learned about camp life for the soldiers.  Here's one getting ready to fire a blank shot for us: All in all, it was a good day.  A long one, but good.  We will go back next year, but we will go a little more prepared.  We haven't talked in depth about any wars yet so next year we will study it in advance of the field trip.  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/A2ZAcademy/687870/ Mon, 11 May 2009 11:15:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/A2ZAcademy/687870/ She was so excited to turn 12!  We took her and a couple of her friends bowling and then went to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch.  The all had a good time.  Her dad took the day off from work so he could join us. Well, at least she can say she got ride a horse for her birthday!  She also got to learn how to mow the yard!  She wanted to do it last year, but we just never got around to having her do it.  This year she didn't want to have anything to do with it!  She did a pretty good job though and she was pleased with doing the whole yard herself! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/A2ZAcademy/687860/ Mon, 11 May 2009 11:07:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/A2ZAcademy/687860/