The untypical days of a homeschool family http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/dutchmomto3/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Sun, 14 Jan 2007 18:02:00 -0600 Sun, 14 Jan 2007 18:02:00 -0600 My eldest son is married now. It feels a little strange. In some ways I feel like I should be twenty something instead of forty something.  He even got married in the same church as I did(although the old one was torn down and new sanctuary built years ago).  My husband was his best man,my youngest son a groomsman and my daughter a bridesmaid. God blessed the entire  wedding experience. Everyone stayed healthy despite flu bug going around in the nursing home my mom resides. All who came from out of town made it in safely. The weather was absolutely beautiful for a January day-Sunny,not a cloud in the sky and 70's!!!!!!  We could not have asked for a better day.  God is so good!!!!!!  The newlyweds were blessed with a week at a resort in Williamsburg-Powhatan Plantation too.  They have now returned to Dracut, MA to start their new lives together.  To God be the glory Great things he has done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/dutchmomto3/269080/ Sun, 14 Jan 2007 18:02:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/dutchmomto3/269080/ Friday was our 22nd wedding anniversary. We decided to take a overnight trip to Williamsburg. We were blessed with 2 wonderful days. Friday we arrived around 3 pm at our hotel: The Williamsburg Hospitality House. It was a little more expensive than most;however it was within walking distance to Colonial Williamsburg and all the neat shops.The weather was beautiful,just the right temp and no rain.  For dinner we ate at a Seafood place. The food was delicious. My only complaint with them was I asked for a Chai Latte and they gave me coffee latte instead. We didn't have to wait very long for a table. People who came in after us were told they'd have a 3 hour wait.  The  Hospitality House was very nice. I highly recommend it. The College of William and Mary is right across from it also.  Saturday (today) we spent the day shopping at the Williamsburg Pottery and Outlet shops. We found lots of good deals. It was another beautiful day.  The crowds weren't too bad either. I bet the day after Thanksgiving is hectic though.  We made it home about 6 pm in time for my husband to go to work.  So if you've never been to Williamsburg I highly recommend it for shoppping and sightseeing. There are lots of websites to aid in finding quality hotels and good places to shop.  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/dutchmomto3/224215/ Sat, 21 Oct 2006 19:42:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/dutchmomto3/224215/ This week in spelling,my daughter has had some interesting words. Most of the time I just call them out,without using them in sentence for the sake of time. But sometimes you must in order to spell the word correctly. Here are 4 words she has had recently. Do you know their meanings?immanentimminentemananteminent http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/dutchmomto3/221272/ Mon, 16 Oct 2006 18:53:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/dutchmomto3/221272/ Popcorn, cotton candy,snow cones and other free food was the highlight of many at the community fair at church today.  There were many areas  for me to volunteer,but I chose greeting for half the day. I"m not very good at the job,but I wanted to step out of my comfort zone. I was at first told to mingle with others,but I"m not good at going up to someone I dont' know starting conversation. So I traded with another person and sat at the registration desk and that came much easier for me,because to me I had more to talk about in that situation. After lunch I was sent to the Cotton Candy maker with my daughter. I learned that it isn't easy to construct a nicely shaped cotton candy.  The center cup needs to have the mix. One must twirl the stick in a counterclockwise way as the stick is moved around the the perimeter of the bowl. All the while the cotton candy is being spewed out of the center and collecting on the sides.  The next time I'm at the State Fair or County Fair or any festival for that matter I"m going to watch the professional cotton candy makers do their stuff. Towards the end we ran out of sticks and resorted to using plastic spoons. The kids just looked at us like we were crazy,but those spoons did the job. After awhile it didn't matter that we were using an alternate type of stick.  The fun part came after it was all over trying to clean the machine. The cover and bowl itself wasn't too bad,but the machine part wasn't as easy. There was gooey sticky cotton candy all over and it wasn't coming off. I"ve been reading about cotton candy on the Internet and it has been very interesting.I've learned there is a real art to making a perfect cotton candy on a stick.  My friend and I were covered in Cotton candy by the end of the day to prove it!  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/dutchmomto3/203534/ Sat, 16 Sep 2006 18:02:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/dutchmomto3/203534/ We officially started school this week. So far things have gone well. I took the textbook route this year.I was just ready for to do something different. I wanted the kids to have more independence.  It has freed me up a bit to do other things around the house. I'm still needed  and I find I"m running up and down the stairs to answer questions or give guidance on a subject. My youngest(12) today said he wished I'd read it all to him. Last year I did. My biggest challange this year and it has been for the past 8 years is checking work that has been done.  I"ve never enjoyed paperwork,a big reason I didn't go into the secretarial field like my mom wanted some 25 years ago.So I"m trying to do some every evening to keep up. I'll do some while they are doing school.  A new curriculum I"m trying for writing this year is "Jump Into Writing" put out by Apologia. I like what I see so far.  I ordered the set from a company but the teachers manual didn't come with the same order,so I hope it comes tomorrow. I can't wait to see if I"ve been doing it write. I"ve just had my son start from beginning and do a skill a day. Neither of my kids like to write. I told them this was the year they had to improve their writing skills.  I"d had been too easy on them. My daughter is  using a book put out by I EW called "The Elegant Essay" In a couple of weeks my daughter will start Biology labs with some friends from church.  They will meet at our house twice a month.    http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/dutchmomto3/193311/ Wed, 30 Aug 2006 18:58:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/dutchmomto3/193311/ We are currently in Lowell MA on vacation It was actually part of moving our son up here. If you are ever in the Boston area,travel about 25 miles north to this town. This town was a big industrial town. For a few years the town was a mess,but there has been a revitalization. Be sure and stay at the DoubleTree Inn. Everything is within walking distance. There are lots of museums and little shops. One ticket for the museums is good for 7 days.  Every year at the end of July the town has a Folk Festival. It supposed to be largest in the country. We are having a great time here seeing the sites and getting to know our son's fiancee's family better.One day we took the train into Boston and had a fun time walking around and seeing the sites. I finally got to see Boston Harbor that I have read so much about  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/dutchmomto3/179850/ Mon, 7 Aug 2006 16:24:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/dutchmomto3/179850/ On July 4th on the Discovery Channel there was a "Dirty Job" Marathon. I was hooked. It is a most interesting show. I didn't realize just how many jobs out there are "dirty".  The host Mike Rowe is very entertaining. He has done some pretty disgusting jobs. Mike doesn't give commentary on the work,he performs the job. In one episode,a septic system had backed up and basically covered a womans apartment. I could almost smell the stench.His job was to clean the toilet and the area around it. Last night's episode he was at a Geoduck farm. I had never heard of such a critter. It was most interesting. He was also at a sewage treament plant to help replace a pump. Because of the powerful vapors that could harm you,each person had meters to sound off if the fumes were too much. Several times they had to evacuate the premises. It's not just the host one has to feel for but his camera crew. If he's in the thick of muck they are too.  So when you get a chance check out "Dirty Jobs" on Tuesday nights at 9:00. On the discovery channel website there is a webpage just for the show. The host does answer some questions. I believe this is the third season for the show and you can get previous seasons on DVD. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/dutchmomto3/169289/ Wed, 19 Jul 2006 08:35:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/dutchmomto3/169289/ It's been a hot week here in Richmond. Too hot to be at the pool if you spend most of your time reading by the pool.  Today I may go for a little while.  I"ve spent the past few days decluttering in the A.C. I still have a long way to go,but I"ve made progress. I"m also working on school lesson plans. I usually do more of journal type -day by day of writing down what they do,but that failed this past year. With one in 9th grade and the other in 7th,my documentation needs to be better. Speaking of documentation.....In VA now one may homeschool if he/she has a high school diploma and can give evidence of the fact. In the past 8 years I have just written a note to say why I'm able to homeschool and then make a copies of all table of contents. This year I decided to do the highschool diploma option to avoid all the paper work. I thought I knew where my high school diploma was hidden. I was wrong. I searched all my boxes here at home and my parents home. In the process I found my husbands diploma for HS,nursing school and my XRay Tech school. I even found both my brothers HS diplomas. I also found my awanrds for honor roll and attendance,but no diploma. At this point I thought I'll just do what I've done the past 8 years. It's no big deal. But my husband said he didn't like making all those copies. So since I was visiting home last week anyway,I just stopped by my old highschool and picked up my transcripts.  Years from now when I"m cleaning out my parents home,I bet it'll show up! How many of you know where your highschool diploma is now?We are getting ready to send my oldest child off to MA to live in a few weeks. We took his truck in get the horn fixed and it's going to come out with a new readiator too!! The guys said it had so much Stop Leak in it that water couldn't circulate! Now that it won't overheat so much we possibly could just drive it to MA instead of hauling it on a vehicle transporter behind a SUV. But I"d rather not take the chance. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/dutchmomto3/169281/ Wed, 19 Jul 2006 08:17:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/dutchmomto3/169281/ Well another homeschool convention has come and gone. I was able to attend all three days. It was truly a blessing. I bought all my needed curriculum and a few  extras. I only charged one thing on my new Capital One Credit card-a good microscope recommended by Apologia.  Now I supposed I could have charged everything and then I could have accrued lots of miles for a plane ticket to MA. where my son will be living come this August.  But if I have cash I like to avoid the credit card. I have been saving all year to be able to do that.Each day of the convention was filled with blessings. Thursday: I rode in with a good friend of mine. We arrived early. She was volunteering at Used Curriulcum sale and I had someone to meet,that I was giving curriculum advice.I've been attending the convention with this friend for several years now and the big joke with us is how often we get lost trying to get to and from  the Richmond Convention center even with printed out directions! This year was no different!  On the way there we missed Marshall street, that would take us directly to the convention center.There is lots of construction in the area and no sign for the road. So we went down the street a little farther, turned around and there WAS a sign on that side of the road. Well ,we got on Marshall,found the Convention center and parking garage. We found a good parking space on 4th level.One year after convention we got mixed up and lost the car temporarily. We went to the wrong parking garage! So anyway we get to RCC and go our separate ways. My curriculum consult doesn't take as long as I had projected,so I had more time to shop. I purchased the majority of my material on Thursday evening. I saw many friends along the way.Now my friend and I must find our way back home and it's dark now so that makes it a little more complicated. My friend has another friend that is following her home too. We figure between the two cars and our cell phones we can get out of the city! What were we thinking!  Our friend's mapquest directions said to turn Southwest on to street,so that was our first issue. We took a stab at which way to turn.  Then we had to find a sign for I95. We found one for 95 but it was for 95 North. We didn't want to go North;we needed to go South.  During the course of contemplating things my friend decided to call the couple that was taking care of her kids. We told them we were having trouble getting out of Richmond.So that we didn't keep going around in circles at such a late time Mr. W. talked us through the maze. We did have to get on 95 North. Once on 95 north there was another exit that got us on the Powhite parkway which merged into 95 south. Then to top things off,after all that I had to go to the bathroom. I usually can go all day and not visit the restroom. I dont' know what was different about this one. Maybe it was the soda I had before we left. So my ride home wasn't very comfortable. We even stopped at my friends  house before getting to my house,that's how bad I need to use the restroom.Friday: We made it to the Convention center,no problems! I visited the used curriculum hall,but only bought a couple of things. I accomplished some more shopping in the vendors hall. I attended  a workshop called "Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends"That was a popular one. I bought the book also.  Following that workshop I attended the Keynote Session featuring 2Moms. Everyone was in tears by the end of that one. Sen George Allen also made an appearance. After the Keynote we needed to leave because my friend had to go pick up her daughter from the LandMark theater where she was have rehearsal for dance recital. But we had a detour.  Before we left the convention,my friend got a call from man-wrong number she thought.It turns out though that this gentleman had found a call on sidewalk beside LandMark Theater that happened to belong the the person who brought my friends daughter to the dance rehearsal.  The woman didn't have any numbers in her phonebook,so the guy was trying for preset numbers, as he was randomly punching numbers.Twice he reached my  friend.  So the gentleman gave us  his address at work-Sticky Rice Cafe.( He was on his way to work when he found the phone.) Now we are on a new path,unfamiliar one. On the way to the cafe we happen upon the LandMark Theater and saw the lady that lost her phone. We pulled over to tell her the whole story and that we were on our way to get her phone. While we chatted a police person( we couldn't tell for sure if this person was male or female) stopped to tell us we were parked illegally.  We shared why we were there and then asked to make sure we were headed correctly for the Sticky Rice. We also asked directions for the return trip to LandMark. Thankfully it was still daylight.  We found the Sticky Rice and retreaved the cell phone and managed to find our way back the to the LandMark Theater. I got to see parts of Richmond I'd never seen The friend got her phone,we picked up the child and it was off to home. Thankfully we made our way out of the city without getting lost.  Saturday: My friend wasn't going until later this day,so I had the whole family go with me.  I forgot to mention my friend's son spent the night with us. He and my youngest are best friends. I was determined we weren't going to get lost this time. I wanted to get there for early Key note session 8:30.  We all piled in the car, stopped at Donut Connection and made our way to RCC.  Everything went well until we got to our Turn on to Marshall. I wasn't 100% sure we were on course. There was no sign! We drove a little farther and I realized the mistake.So we turned around and there was my Marshall St. sign. We take the turn,find the RCC and parking garage. Parking no problem. Once we get in the building,I hurry to get the kids registered,so my husband and I can make it the session. The rest hang out in the vendors hall. After the key note I do some a little more,go to booths I missed. I attend 2 more workshops. Both are given by Andrew Pudewa. The one I most enjoyed was entitled: Teaching Boys and Other Children Who Would rather make forts all day.He share some enlightening facts about how boys and girls learn differently and how we apply that to our homeschools.  That workshop packed.  By this time my family was getting very tired and grumpy. So, once I made sure my son's friend was with his mom, we left. We made it home safely without getting lost.  Some of things that I bought this year:  The Elegant Essay from IEW. It looks very good. I like,just hope my kids do. Writing Powerful paragraphs,another from IEW. I almost bought the student Writing intensive,but changed my mind.I have the teaching tapes and lessons guide I bought last year.  Kay Arthur Bible study for my son.  Apologia Biology 2nd edition.  Microscope., Book of many colors with art supplies for my daughter. A set of the christian biographies from YWAM.  I didn't see too much new stuff at convention this year. There were a few new vendors. One sold material relating to purity.It was very color coordinated with pink and purple,even the flooring.  Some of what God had for me: "I will Never leave you nor forsake you"  The Lord has sent us to finish the race.  Jesus was not focused on meeting the expectations of other people.  The five P's to pray for your children: Passion for God,Purpose in life,Pals and Peers,Partner for life,Purity.   If God's real to you,your kids will see that.Here is the website for the 2Mom's Now I must put away this last years stuff and get grades together to mail to my umbrella school. After that I will begin planning for this year. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/dutchmomto3/149280/ Sun, 11 Jun 2006 12:32:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/dutchmomto3/149280/ My eldest son graduated  from community college May 13th with a degree in Graphic Design. His plan is to move to Dracut MA to be close to his fiance this August. If he gets a job soon they'll marry the end of August,otherwise it'll be the end of December. Is there anyone out there with contacts in the graphic design business?He also plans a visit in July for job hunting and interviews.  My son was a great student. He graduated with High Honors.  Print design is his speciality.    http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/dutchmomto3/145632/ Sun, 4 Jun 2006 20:55:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/dutchmomto3/145632/