Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ Eggs, Ka BOOM, & Gold

^^^^^ Hahahaha - I don't know about you, but I crack myself up with these crazy titles. Some weeks are easy to label & some weeks I am really grasping at straws.

We are taking advantage of a 30 day free trial to Reading Eggs. Makenzie is STILL not reading like I think she should be. I know, I know. It will happen in its own time. She will eventually take off. Everyone is different. BLAH BLAH BLAH 

I KNOW all of this, but I CANNOT relax & just let it happen. So, I'm willing to try just about anything right now.

Back to Reading Eggs, I have let it replace most of her "school work". She is advanced in math so I'm not worried about taking some time off there. Let me just say that this youngin is LOVING this web site! She asks to play on it ALL the time. This, I like.

We haven't been using it long enough to see if it works, but I will keep you informed.

Mars has been our object of study in science. Hey, I even learned a few things. I didn't know that the soil has iron in it thus creating the red in the "Red Planet". I also didn't know (or maybe just didn't remember) that Olympus Mons is the largest volcano in the solar system.

We planned an artificial ecosystem & Austin even built one. We also recreated an Olympus Mons eruption!

We spent even more time perfecting (yeah right) the 4H presentations to share on District Day. We had to travel all the way to Greensboro & take up the biggest part of a Saturday for District Day.

I am SO proud of Makenzie! She did her presentation on "Raising Egg Laying Chickens". When she practiced at the 4H office, she forgot EVERYTHING. Not this time! This time she did AWESOME!

But wait, there's more. I'm just as proud of Austin! He talked about "Dirt Bike Safety" and he won GOLD! WHOOP WHOOP! That means he is going to State this summer!

The kids worked on their 20th Century inventions this week, adding things like The Academy Awards, Popeye &; Mickey Mouse comic strips, color TV, movies with film, & every woman's best friend - the automatic dishwasher.

Austin is reading The Train Jumper. Yeah, I know. We are just a little bit behind time with that one, but its still relevant. I wish I had time to read it as well, but no such luck. Maybe this summer.

We are only a few chapters into reading The Cay. This is another one that I have never read so I'll let you know how that one turns out.

We watched The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas over the weekend. This is a pretty heavy story, but this time in history was heavy. There was just so much hatred all around. It's so hard to even comprehend.

I chose not to read The Diary of Anne Frank, but we did find out who she was & the struggles her family went through.

We also read The Little Ships - The Heroic Rescue at Dunkirk in World War II. The further I read, the more I cried with this one. My kids always look at me funny when I cry while reading. But I just couldn't get past the amazing effort of the "little people" and the sacrifices they make on a daily basis without needing or wanting recognition or compensation.

While we are on that particular topic, I have to address the actions of my oldest son. Two different times this week, Austin has made a few dollars. Right after receiving this money, opportunities have risen where donations were being taken up. Once for a little girl who was sick, the other at church. He has emptied his pockets both times without thinking twice.

I couldn't help but think of the little widow woman in Mark 12 " And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.  And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living."

How many times do we stop & think before we give to a worthy cause? How many times do we justify a buck because we only have $21? We certainly couldn't put the whole 20 dollar bill in. How many times do we argue or give God excuses because we only have another $100 to last until payday? But how many more times should we give more?