Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ I Like My Grass Blue

We're back! Last week we took a not so relaxing, VERY soggy camping trip. Even with all of the rain, we still had fun & it was certainly a much needed & intentional break.

>>>Insert funny story here>>> Logan decided he HAD to carry an egg back to the house after we fed the chickens one day. He started pretending to eat the egg. To begin with, he just put it close to his lips & pretended to bite, making an "omph" sound. He got closer & closer with the egg until he finally had it in his house. Of course I discourage this because the egg has NOT been washed - YUCK! He didn't seem to mind though. He continued "eating" the egg all the way back to the house until we heard a noise & realized that Logan had actually bitten the egg & now had a mouth full of yolk. BWAHAHAHA Needless to say, he was spitting it our pretty quickly.

Aside from the usual issues that we are still working on, school ran very smoothly.

We covered tattling, making excuses, & disobedience with our Child Training Bible. Austin read several of the verses for us.

Austin & I had a long heart to heart discussion about dealing with his anger better. He also confided in me about his fears of not having many friends. It broke my heart. I can empathize with him to certain extent. Even though I was never home schooled, I know (just like most people) what it was like to be friends with someone one minute & seemingly hate them the next. We all go through times where we doubt if our friends are really our friends.

Even through his tears, he said he still wanted to stay home next year. That decision should me just how much he is maturing. Something is obviously getting through to him even when I think its not.

I guess we really are taking this journey one day at a time.

Meteoroids are similar to "dirty snowballs". We learned the difference between a meteoroid (still in space), a meteor (burning up in our atmosphere), & a meteorite (fallen to Earth). The only difference between meteoroids & asteroids are the size. And there might have been another planet in between Mars & Jupiter. Did you know any of this? If I did, I sure didn't remember it.

We have been enjoying LIFE: Our Century in Pictures for Young People. Can I just say that I LOVE this book?! It covers SOOOO many things that we are studying & I love the fact that even Makenzie can look at a picture & remember what it is from!

I thought it would be fun to "indulge" in a little historical food from the Nifty Fifties. Yep, Richard &Maurice MacDonald opened a Drive In restaurant where hamburgers sold for $.15. Unfortunately, we didn't get our burgers that cheap, but they were still appreciated. (note the little hand reaching anxiously for the bag)

Suburbia, "I Like Ike", the birth of a King, & Civil Rights were all discussed this week. We watched PBS videos about MLK Jr's March on Washington, Rosa Parks, & even bits & pieces of Forrest Gump (I chose to fast forward or mute some of it).

Austin is working on mixed numbers and fractions through Teaching Textbooks, writing a report about snakes, and continuing Daily Grams & Wordly Wise. Makenzie is adding & subtracting 2 digit numbers, working on blends and sight words, & reading.

We finally finished our post cards and mailed them out this week. We are participating in a post card exchange with others all over the United States. We have received many cards from several states all ready & have been enjoying them.

Justin took off a couple of days this week, so we took advantage of the opportunity & went in search of curriculum deals one day. Check out the picture, I got all of that for under $100. The down side to this was that I didn't get anything I actually went after. The plus side - I got ALL of next year's Tapestry of Grace for $40!!! I buy the DE version one unit at a time for $45 (total $180) where I can print it myself  as needed. The print version is more expensive at $80 a unit ($295 for all year). I saved $140!! I AM SO EXCITED!!!

Its that time of year again. That's right - MerleFest! YEAH!! Sun, fresh air, cool breezes, friendly people, & blue grass music all weekend!

Running on Empty

Its no secret that I tend to run crazy wide open most of the time. Its also no secret that I don't take as much time for myself as I probably should. Like most mom's, I usually put everyone else's needs in front of my own.

That's been hard for me to do lately.

After 3 L O N G weeks, I have finally just started to feel better. Logan & I have both had ear infections & bronchitis. I had a sinus infection as well.

During this time, we both missed a lot of church. Its strange how much you take things for granted until you no longer have them.

But wait...back up a little bit. Before this extended absence, I felt myself getting comfortable, complacent even, with what very little time I was spending with the Lord. I kept finding other things that needed my time, attention, & ultimately my heart.

While all of this other stuff was enjoyable in itself, I found myself increasingly unhappy. No matter what was going on, I just wasn't truly happy. I was starting to get depressed & I didn't want to see anyone or go anywhere. My husband even asked me about the funk I was in. I couldn't explain it.

Then we got sick. I didn't have the option of going to church & I found myself even more depressed as I sat  in this quite house while Logan was asleep & everyone else was gone. I didn't know what to do with myself. Whatever I did to pass the time quickly bored me & left me hunting for something else to occupy my time.

Sadly, studying my bible or talking to God didn't cross my mind.

WOW! I was that far gone in that short amount of time!

I wasn't out living in sin. I wasn't doing anything I "shouldn't" do. But all of a sudden (or so it felt), I couldn't even feel God, let alone hear Him!

I was running on empty yet again.

This was playing yesterday morning & it was just what I needed ... yet again!

I am so thankful that God is standing there with open arms EVERY time I am ready to come home! Hopefully one day, I will finally realize that "HOME" is where I need to stay!

Death of an American Past Time

Spring rolled around in the Bauguess household a little bitter sweet this year.

Ever since I can remember, as soon as the flowers would bloom & the sky would stay bright a little longer,  I have been going to baseball games. My dad would gladly drive me over to the local ball field when I was a kid so I could watch my friends slide into home plate. We continued cheering on the home team through out high school. And even well on into college, this was an activity that we shared together.

Now, I'm not a huge sports fan, but there is just something about watching a game live that brings out the fan in me. The crack of the bat, the smell of peanuts in the air, the kids running around pretending to be superstars. That diamond field is magical. It holds hopes, dreams, memories, & traditions. It symbolizes freedom, family, & fun. No wonder its America's Favorite Past Time.

Austin has played baseball since he was old enough to hold a bat. He has never been a star player, but he poured his heart & soul into the love of the game.

He got better as every year went by. He grew from that little fella who would rather play in the dirt than watch the ball to one of the fastest runners on the team. The coach knew that if Austin could just get on base, more than likely he could steal his way home. More often than not, his was one of the few runs scored.

Something changed last year. Austin really questioned whether or not to even play baseball. After lots of thought & going back & forth, he decided to slide on those cleats for another season.

We realized early on that this year would not be like any previous year.

Still through discouragement, heartbreak, confusion, & anger, we persevered as a family. Justin & I have always let the kids choose their activities (to an extent), but they know that we finish what we start.

When the season was finally over, I knew it was R E A L L Y over. For better or for worse, I knew his outlook on the game of baseball would never be the same.

*Here's a sneak peak at what went on last year.*

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ From Hot to Cold & Sick

After taking off last week for testing and spending the week before reviewing, I would LOVE to say that this week was very productive. But I can't.

Slowly, day by day, starting over the weekend, my family has been dropping like flies. This coughing, congested mess started with Logan & quickly spread to everyone else (except Makenzie). To say that I didn't feel like teaching is an understatement, I didn't even feel like being awake.

But we persevered. Now, granted it wasn't an ordinary week, but we did do school.

Austin worked on English 5 from Easy Peasy. It seems ok, but its too early to tell.

He is still using Teaching Textbooks 6 for math.

Makenzie is still trying out Reading Eggs. She loves it, but I haven't seen any improvement in her reading yet.

After finishing up WWII, we plowed straight into the Cold War. After so much violence, hatred, & death, its hard to explain why the Cold War is called a "war".

We rented Red Dawn over the weekend. This was strictly by "accident". Since I never saw the original, I didn't plan for this to be school related. This had more language in it than I am normally comfortable allowing my kids to watch, but all in all it was a good movie. The new version features Korean troops invading the US so not only did it make sense with us studying Korea, but it also allowed us to talk about the new nuclear scare.

They worked on 20th Century inventions while watching Heidi & a few episodes of The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show.

We started reading So Far From the Bamboo Grove about a young girl's struggle to leave Korea while being invaded by the Japanese.

I have come across several neat websites this week in my frantic struggle to make school continue even when I haven't felt like it.

• Ducksters.com has a good overview of the Cold War without going into so much detail as to make it boring.
• Cold War for Kids also has lots of information on it.
• I was SUPER EXCITED to find this blog with all sorts of videos that go hand in hand with the Story of the World. It isn't completed yet but you better believe we will be visiting this one often!
• Here is another site that has extensive ideas & resources for helping school & technology go hand in hand.

I would LOVE any other suggestions that you have for FREE online school ideas!

*Sorry, the only pictures I took this week are from Makenzie's soccer game & Austin's birthday party.

Take My Breath Away

I LOVE LOVE LOVE a nice smelling man! Who doesn't? ;)

There was one particular cologne that someone used to where when I was a teenager that made me weak in the knees EVERYTIME I smelled it. I tried to get my husband to wear this cologne a few years back, but somehow, it just wasn't the same. It had nothing to do with the fact that my husband was now wearing it. Somehow, somewhere, this scent changed for me.

It happens. Our tastes change over time. We start to like things that we never thought we would and we begin disliking the things that we used to love.

I think my nose has gotten a lot more sensitive over the years. I don't do well with smells. (If you have ever tried to get me to smell something, you know this is the exact line I say)

That being said. Have you SMELLED a lot of this crap they are marketing to the younger generation these days? I am talking specifically about the Axe Body Sprays. Now, I have finally started liking the soap, but the body spray..... Oh My Stars..... Who came up with that mess?!

Do you know how much fun this makes for living with a preteen boy?

He is still stuck in the land of "the more, the merrier".

I am constantly reminding him not to wear so much & coughing like crazy when I walk by his bathroom.

Imagine my dismay & TOTAL SHOCK as I endured not 1, but 3, preteen boys getting ready for church last weekend. They stunk up MY WHOLE HOUSE! 

If he is this bad now, I can't imagine just how traumatizing it will be when he finally starts dating.

And I wonder if girls are this bad?!?

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ State Achievement Test & a New Plan

First off, let me apologize for my slackness in not posting an update last week. We reviewed for Austin's upcoming achievement test & honestly didn't do much of anything else that was news worthy.

Second, let me fill you in on a little insanity that I like to call Mother Nature. We went to the park on Monday because it was beautiful weather. But then it snowed yesterday! Yes, that's right. It SNOWED & sleeted in NC on April 4, 2013. Has it EVER snowed this late before? (Yes, I know it has - bear with me & my rant!)

But wait, there's more.....the weather for the next 7 days after the snow - 70's! Yep, it's time to find a new ground hog!

Ok, back to relevant issues.

Austin took his state achievement test this week. I believe that I was more nervous than he was, I couldn't sleep any the night before. Thankfully he takes it on the computer & we get the results almost immediately.

Up side - There was plenty of growth. He is still excelling in reading and doing much better in math than when he was in public school.

Down side - His language arts score was not as high as I would like so we really have to work on that.

Oh & get this ...... his listening skills were AMAZING! Um, hold up! I think they confused his score with someone else's. That kid hardly ever listens! At least now I know that he knows how! BUSTED!! LOL

So, that being said, I need to change up his LA. We have used Learning Language Arts through Literature and obviously it isn't working for us. I need ideas! I am going to have him work on Easy Peasy the rest of this year. We'll see how that goes.

We studied Ecology & Crochet with Keepers & Contenders yesterday. Austin taught archery to our 4H group. Then we went bowling! (in the snow & sleet)

I am hoping we can make it to a star party tonight for the 2013 NC Science Festival kickoff. I'll let you know.