A look into this incredible journey God has given us. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/orallacademy/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Sat, 7 Feb 2009 15:45:00 -0600 Sat, 7 Feb 2009 15:45:00 -0600 People crack me up. Some times all you can do is smile at some of the things they say. The other day at church, this older lady and I were talking. Out of the blue she says " Your kids seem okay. Socially, I mean." Gee, thanks.    Today we were at Burger King. An older man in front of us was telling Doodles how pretty she is. He then asked her where she went to school. She told him that she is homeschooled. "Homeschool, huh? Well, there's nothing wrong with that." Phew, that's good. I always wondered. I don't like being wrong.    Keep on smiling, there's many more comments to come!       http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/orallacademy/655678/ Sat, 7 Feb 2009 15:45:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/orallacademy/655678/ Finally uploaded my Christmas pictures, so I thought I'd share We had a very magical Christmas this year. We planned it that way. We were given two very generous gifts before Christmas that allowed us to take a vacation. We don't usually take road trips at this time of year but we wanted some nice family time away because we have had a tough year. We started off everything in secrecy. We packed up everything the night before and headed out right after church. As we were going we gave them clues. First stop: our dear friends in Columbus. We spent the night with them just hanging out and playing. Then we headed out for the next part of our journey . As we were driving south we decided it was inconcievable for us to pass by Cincy and not participate in ..........Skyline Chili!!! We were totally tourists and loved every minute of it!   and of course we had someone take our picture     Next stop: Petersburg, KY !!!! Creation Museum The Creation Museum was amazing. There is soooo much to it. You definitely need a whole day to see everything.  First stop: Men in White  and Buddy Bell concert He was wonderful! Everyone enjoyed his show! It was nice to see Bear kick back and enjoy it.   We also got to see Ken Hamm briefly   I know the pictures are dark but I wasn't sure of the flash policy and didn't really want to disrupt others. The museum was very well layed out. It was just amazing the time and thought they put into it. They compared the Bible to science( Lucy)   Walked through the Bible~ Names of God  Sin entered the world  Doodles looking at King David    Looking at a model of the ark and real life scale There was a fascinating dinosaur section. I realized as I was showing the pictures to my mom that I had a lot of dinosaur pics. I'll spare you and just show you a few...   We also got to walk to Bethlehem. First we received coins to pay our taxes.   ( I think putting coins on your eyes is a sign of genius, isn' it? ) We had to pay them to the Roman soldiers- this one of the "nicer" looking ones:  We met a shepherd, Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus   We also walked through the marketplace     After a great but long day, we headed back to our hotel and feasted on another delicacy :  Donato's Pizza! The next day we traveled through downtown Cincy and of course I needed a momento:  Not too shabby from a  van traveling 55+mph. You'd think the pictures would look more like this   I've got some great pics of guard rails and bridge posts if anybody wants to see them We're now headed to our final destination and have somehow convinced the kids we're going to the zoo. In freezing weather! Yeah right. But first- another stop at a favorite that we don't have at home:   Now back on the road- Final destination: Great Wolf Lodge, Mason, Ohio!!!!! Bear and Doodles were beside themselves- it was beautiful. The lodge itself was very magical, very whimsical. The ceiling was covered with snowflakes and at different times it would "snow!"        Our room with a special room for the kids   Notice who automatically took control of the remote   Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of the water park well.. because I was in it with them. Let me tell you it was a blast! It's good to be 8 or 9 again every once in a while. I did, however, get some good pics from the lobby     It was a wonderful trip and we made it home Christmas Eve. We are blessed every day but these days were just a little sweeter and just what the Orall Academy needed.   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/orallacademy/649667/ Fri, 23 Jan 2009 21:42:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/orallacademy/649667/ I saw this on Kim Wolfe's Buckeye Blog and thought it looked fun. I've underlined everthing I've done. Ifa you want to do this, please leave a comment so I can"ee" what you've done too! 1.  Started your own blog 2.  Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band 4. Visited Hawaii 5. Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you could afford to charity 7. Been to Disneyworld/land 8. Climbed a mountain ( really just part- I do live in WV after all) 9. Held a praying manits 10. Sang/played a solo 11. Bungee jumped 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child- tried to but it fell through :( 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty- it was closed when we were there 18. Grown your own vegetables 19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France 20. Slept on an overnight train 21. Had a pillow fight 22. Hitch-hiked 23. Taken a sick day when you were not ill 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb  (my uncle was a sheep farmer) 26. Gone skinny dipping   28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 29.  Seen a total eclipse 30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 31. Hit a homerun 32. Been on a cruise 33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 35. Seen an Amish community ( honeymoon!) 36. Taught yourself a new language 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied 38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person 39. Gone rock climbing (does a rock wall count?) 40. Seen Michelangelo’s David 41. Sung karaoke 42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant 44. Visited Africa 45. Walked on a beach by moonlight 46. Been transported in an ambulance 47. Had your portrait painted  48. Gone deep sea fishing 49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris 51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling 52. Kissed in the rain 53. Played in the mud 54. Gone to a drive-in theater  55. Been in a movie 56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business 58. Taken a martial arts class 59. Visited Russia 60. Served at a soup kitchen 61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies 62. Gone whale watching 63. Gotten flowers for no reason 64. Donated blood, platettes or plasma 65. Gone sky diving 66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 67. Bounced a check 68. Flown in a helecoptor 69. Saved a favorite childhood toy 70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial 71. Eaten Caviar 72. Pieced a quilt 73. Stood in Times Square 74. Toured the Everglades 75. Been fired from a job 76. Seen the changing of the guards in London 77.  Broken a bone 78. Been on a speeding motorcyle 79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person 80. Published a book 81. Visited the Vatican 82. Bought a brand new car 83. Walked in Jerusalem 84. Had your picture in the newspaper 85. Read the entire Bible 86. Visited the White House 87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating 88. Had chickenpox 89. Saved someone’s life 90. Sat on a jury 91. Met someone famous ( How about Dick Clark!) 92. Joined a book club 93. Lost a loved-one 94. Made a baby 95. Seen the Alamo in person 96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake 97. Been involved in a law suit 98. Owned a cell phone 99. Been stung by a bee         What have you done?   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/orallacademy/637892/ Mon, 29 Dec 2008 23:19:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/orallacademy/637892/ Merry Christmas!!!   Send your own ElfYourself eCards http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/orallacademy/636616/ Thu, 25 Dec 2008 17:33:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/orallacademy/636616/ Today was the last day of school until next year! Yahoo!!!!!!!       http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/orallacademy/634557/ Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:18:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/orallacademy/634557/ Last week Bear and Doodles were in their first parade. They rode a float for our church and Doodles was also representing the Daisy Scouts. They had a blast and mom and dad got a lot of exercise!   My friend "Pooh" was inside bringing the snowman to life!           Doodles and Bear looking rather festive! They both had a great time waving at the crowds- especially when they saw their friends. However, Bear especially liked seeing these "visitors from a distant galaxy..."  At the end of the day, Bear thought it might be more fun to be a snowman...     He looked cute- but it didn't last long! It was a wonderful first experience and it was especially wonderful that the kids ended up passing out candy instead of collecting it!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/orallacademy/634540/ Fri, 19 Dec 2008 20:13:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/orallacademy/634540/ ¡ǝɯ ƃuıɹoɯnɥ ɹoɟ sʞuɐɥʇ 'ɹɐɟ sıɥʇ pɐǝɹ ǝʌ,noʎ ɟı ˙ƃuızıuɐƃɹo puɐ ƃuıןnpǝɥɔs ʎןןɐıɔǝdsǝ 'sǝƃuɐɥɔ ǝɥʇ oʇ pǝsn ƃuıʇʇǝƃ ןןıʇs ɯ,ı ʇnq ʇı ʎoɾuǝ ʎןןɐǝɹ ı ˙ɟǝɥɔ pǝɹǝdɯɐd ƃuıןןǝs -ssǝuısnq uʍo ʎɯ pǝʇɹɐʇs ǝʌɐ ı ˙pǝssǝןq ןןıʇs ʇnq ʎsnq ʎɹǝʌ uǝǝq sɐɥ sɹno ˙ʞǝǝʍ pǝssǝןq ɐ ƃuıʌɐɥ ǝɹɐ ןןɐ noʎ ǝdoɥ ı   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/orallacademy/630805/ Thu, 11 Dec 2008 08:40:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/orallacademy/630805/ What incredible dreams our founding fathers had for our country. I have been amazed, and saddened at times, at how much I have learned during this unit. I believe, as a nation, we have forgotten so much. We often think we have "new" ideas and they really aren't different from what they were struggling with over 200 years ago. We wrapped up our American Revolution / Continental Congress / Electoral Process unit last night. This was a very long but valuable unit. We were really able to step back in time and see how the colonists lived and how they thought. I've already shared about how we learned about King George's taxes. Doodles kept confusing Boston with England, so she made her own map to help her. I love the drawings of the two Georges!   I've also shared about the Boston Tea party, making lanterns and the seige of Boston. Bear made a map Paul Revere's ride to Lexington. We especially enjoyed learning about him sneaking by the Somerset.  We also had fun acting out the Boston Massacre with paper snowballs. It was interesting learning the facts  and how over two hundred years ago the political agenda was sensationalized. Not quite what happened, Mr. Revere! We all found the Declaration of Independence fascinating. We found a wonderful book The Declaration of Independence: The Words That Made America by Sam Fink. Mr. Fink illustrated every phrase. It made it so easy to understand. Bear and Doodles both memorized part of the preamble. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." We studied many key people : Nathan Hale, Henry Knox, Marquis de Lafayette, Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold, but Daniel Morgan was one of Bear's favorites. He loved the ideas of using turkey calls to communicate. We even made up a little song to the tune of "Joshua fought the Battle of Jericho." "Daniel Morgan fought the battle at Freeman's Farm, Freeman's Farm, Freeman's Farm.Daniel Morgan fought the battle at Freeman's Farm when he used his turkey calls." We made powder horns and ammo pouches that were similar to Daniel Morgan's.   They both have used their pouches. Bear fills his pouch with his knife and survival supplies for when he's outside. We also read about the first flag that was prescribed. We tried our hands at five point stars.  We then moved on to Valley Forge. This was a very eye opening time for all of us. We couldn't believe how the colonists treated the Continental Army. It was hard to read about the merchants not accepting the colonial money but working freely with the British Army. We watched The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Story of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, PA, 1777 . It's an age appropriate portrayal of Valley Forge.  We also studied about Baron von Steuben. Bear really liked him too. We learned how to roll cartidges just like Von Steuben taught the Continental Army.   We kept up with the battles but the one that stood out with Bear was the Battle at Cowpens. Once again Daniel Morgan showed his strategical genius when he set up his troops for battle. The British didn't stand a chance and Bear loved it! We finally moved on to Yorktown. What an amazing victory! Throughout this part of the unit we kept up with our timeline  and our photo gallery   As we saw the country gain independence, we also watched the government unfold. We learned about The Articles of Confederation The Virginia Plan The New Jersey Plan The Great Compromise We learned about the Constitution and how it establishes the three branches of government , how representation of the people was such a "tug of war" until the Great Compromise, and the roles that James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Ben Franklin played in the forming of the Constitution. We were amazed at the precautions that the delegates took to have this document worded properly, and to not have it "leaked" to anyone. Bear found it especially amusing that the delegates often "babysat" Ben Franklin to ensure that he didn't spill the beans. We also learned about the states ratifying the constitution the rewording of the preamble the bill of rights Bear and Doodles also memorized the preamble to the Constitution. We got a little help from SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK !  That DVD was a staple in our house these last few months.  We then moved on to our current electoral process. It was actually tied in with quite a bit of the Constitutional Convention. We made lapbooks of the info we learned.   We learned about the role of the president and what we expect from a president. We also discussed what the bible says about a godly leader. We then went on to have our own election with another homeschool family. They were vying for the presidency of the Home's Cool Nation. The students were divided into two parties and a candidate was selected from each party. Bear represented the Declaration Party. The other party was the Eraser Party.  Bear's mascot was the cheetah. The Declaration Party built their platform and decided on their cabinet,  prepared campaign speeches, and then began campaigning.  The next day we made our voting poll booths. The candidates read their speeches one last time, registered to vote and then headed to the polls. This was a great experience. It was a tie with popular vote due to a write in vote. However, Bear won with the electoral process. Each vote was assigned a value based on their age. Youngest groups vote counted as one, oldest group counted as five. Acceptance and concession speeches were given and then we partied!!!   I highly recommend this unit. They've all been good but this ranks up their as one of the best. We are done with history for awhile- next stop: bubbleology!     http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/orallacademy/624380/ Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:37:02 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/orallacademy/624380/ In Him, http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/orallacademy/624103/ Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:34:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/orallacademy/624103/ Kellie at Hilltop Academy hosts Flashback Fridays. Sometimes I'll think for quite a while for something to share. Sometimes I'm inspired, sometimes not. I wasn't feeling very inspired tonight until I saw this video from youtube. As always, check your sources wih what you see/hear. A lot of people were in arms that a public school teacher could be so biased politically in her classroom. I wasn't. SHe says the video was edited to make her look bad. I'm sure there is some truth in that, although what was shown was incriminating enough. Maybe the edits helped her. All this being said, I'm not writing about the election results. What's done is done. I didn't vote for Obama . I have a variety of reasons. To some I'm narrow minded. To my more liberal christian friends, I just haven't been enlightened to what being like Jesus is all about. To some I'm sure I'm a racist, although I think my non caucasian friends would disagree. What I am writing about is young lady who was "about  to cry"  ( her words ) because her teacher told her that her dad could be in Iraq for hundred years. Nobody likes this war. Let me say this again for my liberal readers. Nobody. likes. this. war. Not that little girl, not her family, not any military family. Not anybody who did not vote for Obama. War is hell. Not just for the soldier but for the family as well. Knowing someone who has "been there"or reading a blog about it is not the same as living it. Our nation is forgetting that there are real people inside those uniforms... They have real families... that have to learn how to live this new life without their loved one. For us, it was life without Dad. Birthdays and holidays at Grandma's so they would hopefully be distracted from their sadness that Dad wasn't there...    That was about as big as Bear's smile got that year. They need to know and understand that these children worry a lot about their loved one. They hear everything that is said. They will also do what they can to identify with the loved one. They are often scared to death they will forget what they look like.                   These are real children, just like the little girl whose Dad was in the Army in N.Carolina. These are my children. We have lived that life. Sometimes still live it and prepare the next time time we have to live it.  Earlier today Bear asked me why we had to spend so much time studying history. I explained to him how history repeats itself and that we should learn from it. Both good and bad. This is so true. I was just a baby at the end of the Vietnam war but I have seen the effects of the way they were treated. I also see the potential for that to happen again. Of course they'll be more PC about it, but it will be there. Americans have become too accustomed to soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen being gone. Another relationship taken for granted. When will we learn? The next time you want to complain about the soldiers, call them names, call them unChrist -like, remember they are the ones who are standing guard so you can sleep at night.   And Ms. Diatha Harris, you should be ashamed of yourself.   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/orallacademy/619099/ Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:09:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/orallacademy/619099/