4H Competitions

Yesterday, I sent my oldest son to Raleigh with a group of 4Hers for the poultry judging competition. These are all good kids who enjoy many things relating to the farm & country living. These kids are some of our leaders for the future.

Their hard work & effort paid off. Both the Jr & the Sr teams placed 5th among all the teams. One of our Jr members came in 5th place and Austin finished 3rd out of all the Jrs.

When I was starting to write this post, I realized that I had forgotten to write about the last competition.....

Last month, we attended Congress at NC State University. This is several days of presentations, competitions, & fun. Austin attended Congress last year, but this was his very first time giving a presentation.

Austin chose dirt bike safety. Its something that he knows and loves so that made it a little easier. Public speaking is something that most adults struggle with. Just about every profession involves it to some degree. This is a great opportunity for him to become comfortable talking in front of a room full of people.

After winning gold in the 9-10 year old safety division for our district, he had a guaranteed spot to compete at the state level. When we arrived for the state competition, we found out that he had been moved up to the 11-13 division because he had a birthday. We had nervous expectations to say the least. Amazingly, he brought home a bronze medal.

I am proud of him. He continues to impress me. He has so many opportunities & interests that I never had as a child.

If you have a young child, I strongly encourage you to look into joining a local 4H group. It has been nothing but a positive experience for my children.

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ Blood, Water, & Milk otherwise known as A Decade of Change

WOW, What a week! Can't you tell?!?! ^^^^ LOL

Early on in the week, that ^^^^ was NOT the title that was rolling around in my head, but today, yeah, it works.

On a personal note, my sweet Makenzie got baptized Sunday! (see, water)

Wednesday, she fell in a whole at church & cut her pinky toe on a broken pipe. I will leave out all of the grizzly details, but, who knew a toe could bleed so much? It took 4 stitches. I just hope it heals ok because of the location. (see, blood)

Then, Thursday, while our Keepers & Contenders made wire crosses, my graceful child fell on a board & jabbed a nail in her leg. (yep, more blood)

Our Explorers club got to visit a dairy farm Thursday. Even though we live right beside a dairy farm & this is nothing new to my kids, they had so much fun seeing all the cows, the calves, & learning about the milking process. (um, milk)

Now, for the rest of the week that fought desperately to be named......

History has C O N S U M E D our week! You know how I LOVE history, so this week has been so much fun. We finished the 50's and started studying the 60's. This era had so many HUGE things going on. One day, we switched it up & started with history (we usually wait until after lunch). That's all we talked about all day. Its always a good sign when the kids say, "No, I want to hear more!"

We listened to the music before Elvis & talked about what an incredible impact he still has on the musical industry. Then we listened to sooo many different clips from the 60's. Just like everyone else, some they loved, some they couldn't wait for me to change. Austin was awestruck at Jimi Hendrix's rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. All of them enjoyed Elvis & felt the need to dance like him. Lynyrd Skynyrd, Chubby Checker, Johnny Cash, George Jones, & Jerry Lee Lewis were also among the favorites. On the other hand, Pink Floyd, The Beach Boys, Janis Joplin, Patsy Cline, & Bob Dylan were not appreciated for their legendary contributions. I could have spent all week long just studying the musical genius that evolved out of the shadows of war.

We talked about Civil Rights and the similarities between Kennedy & Lincoln. We watched JFK's assassination & JFK Jr's farewell salute. As we were watching a Woodstock video, Austin remembered something that I had said last week & remarked "Weren't you there?". (BWAHAHAHA, um no, I wasn't born yet, but thanks for thinking I'm really old!) As we were graduating high school, a friend & I desperately, but to no avail, wanted to go to the 25th anniversary of Woodstock.

We made a lava lamp with oil, water, & Alka Seltzer.

Another highlight this week, we are reading The Outsiders! They keep begging me to read more. I love revisiting many of the classics I read as a child. Justin is always saying "Stay gold Ponyboy" so I just knew he would be excited too. When I showed him the book, he just looked at me. Long story short - he has never even heard of it, let alone read it. He picked the quote up from a friend. REALLY?! Oh my stars! I couldn't believe it! I guess I need to be educating my husband as well.

We have also been watching Fly Me to the Moon on youtube. Its a little cheesy, but cute.

In science, we have been watching Chris Hadfield from the Canadian Space Agency show us what it is like living on the International Space Station. He turns tedious, everyday activities into fun experiments.

We watched Journey to the Stars by Nasa. Even though I had to reiterate (my kids knew this, but I felt the need to remind them) that the world is not billions of years old & that everything didn't "poof" into existence, it was a fascinating video with lots of fun graphics.

We still need to make our hurricane in a bottle to simulate the crazy weather on Jupiter.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot - we have a new baby! A baby calf, that is! (haha - more milk)

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.

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?

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ Civil Duty, CPR, & Dr. Seuss

What a full & interesting week....

If you read last week's Tales of a Homeschool Nothing, then you already know that I started the week with Jury Duty. Were you anxiously dreading awaiting it as much as I was?

We packed up all of our school books and a few toys & headed to the courthouse just after lunch on Monday. Austin & Makenzie were amazingly well behaved. They camped out in the floor & worked on school. Logan was as well behaved as anyone could expect a 20 month old to be while cooped up in a very quiet, non child friendly room.

We were sworn in, watched our orientation video & handled paperwork, then we were all ushered into a courtroom. The bailiff allowed the kids to stay in a room right beside us so they wouldn't be a distraction. I could still hear Logan hollering "Mommy!" & received several sympathetic looks.

I started to worry as the judge was explaining our duties and obligations when he stressed how important jury service is. He even went so far as to say that "we all go through our everyday lives, running here & there, worrying about our kids & grandkids, that we forget what is really important - like jury duty."

JURY DUTY?? REALLY??!!

Two hours later, the judge finally asked for hardship reasons why we could not fulfill our obligation to our government. Trust me, I was first in line!

When I explained to the judge that I was the only one available to watch my children due to everyone else around us working full time, he informed me that "we all make time for what is important to us." Yes sir, I realize this. That's WHY I homeschool. Thankfully he agreed to defer my summons.

My kids are still laughing & reciting this scene from How The Grinch Stole Christmas!

Austin took a Safe Sitter class on Wednesday & Thursday this week. He learned pretty much everything that an adult learns to get certified in CPR. He really enjoyed the class & I feel a lot better knowing that he now has the knowledge to help save someone's life should the need ever arise. (Here's praying that it doesn't!)

He said that now he knew how a motorcycle felt in a parking lot full of minivans - LOL!! He was the ONLY boy in the class!

While Austin was in class, I took Logan & Makenzie back to our church instead of driving back home. We made the most of it. Makenzie enjoyed propping her feet on her daddy's desk while she worked.

They also had 4H presentation practice this week. Austin chose to talk about dirt bike safety & Makenzie chose raising chickens. I'm proud of both of them for making an effort towards more involvement.

Friday, we celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday. That is worthy of its own post so check it out here.

Its been an usual week, but I'm thankful that we homeschool & we can make the best of every situation.

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ Hard Work, Candy, & Dirt Bikes

Hmmm....well now, THAT ^^^ is an interesting title for our week.

First, I am VERY thankful to say that Logan is feeling better! He was still a little fussy at the start of the week, but he is back to his usual mischievous self now.

I "allowed" my kids to be pimped out for child labor on Tuesday. We were down to the last of our wood pile & winter is not over yet, so they gladly volunteered to be woodchucks for the day.

We had Keepers & Contenders on Thursday. The girls had a tasty time making candy while the boys discussed exchanging letters with pen pals. The girls dipped teddy grahams in chocolate & worked on peanut butter balls. Of course the best part is always eating the finished product. YUM YUM!

During 4H, the older kids worked on their presentations. This was a first for Austin so he chose something he can do with his eyes closed (not really). Austin taught everyone about proper dirt bike safety & modeled all of his gear.

I came across a website this week that you REALLY need to check out. Kids of Integrity offers FREE lesson plans to help develop better character in families. We really need to improve our obedience & respect in this house.

We had our quarterly support group meeting Friday night. I enjoy these meetings because we get a chance to "just be". There's not any pressure, no time lines, no demands. We get to fellowship with like minded people who understand & only want to encourage each other.

Oh & my personal favorite, I got to go to Gullions Friday! YEAH!

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~Emergency, Hot, & Cold

This week has been F R I G I D. Not only has the temperature been cold, but the wind has been brutal, & the end of the week brought snow, sleet, & freezing rain.

When its so cold, why not talk about something hot? 

Did you know that Venus is over 800 degrees all the time? Well, now you do.

Venus is covered in volcanoes, rock, and swirling sulfuric acid clouds. We experimented with how lava runs and hardens. We also took a look at how radar works.

In history, World War I has erupted and ended. We discovered when permanent waves and hair dye was made available to the general public. We started a book of modern inventions.
*side note* I really need a good time line (not on the wall). Does anyone have any suggestions?

Austin has consistently scored over an 80 & even a 100 on math {happy dance}. Makenzie is learning ones, tens, time, & adding double digits.

Music class was an impromptu round of hilarity.

PE ranged from soccer, slalom skiing, obstacle courses, & hula hooping - all courtesy of the Wii.

We finally resumed some of our extra curricular activities. Our Keepers & Contenders learned the basics of CPR. My hubby was kind enough to teach our explorers club about first aid.

We are reading The Railway Children & Ruthie's Gift. Makenzie is already feeling the pain that Ruthie felt ;)

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ Distractions, Dreariness, & Doctors

Can you tell from the title of this post just how much we got accomplished this week?! Yeah, not much & I don't foresee any reason to change just for tomorrow.

Just like any other time, I started out with good intentions, but then life happens. Monday was Labor Day, so my plan was to do school but just not a full day. Well, after a few subjects, my hubby came home & we called it a day. Tuesday just as soon as we started school, a friend stopped by to talk. Of course the kids were far more interested in what we were doing than what they were supposed to be doing. Then my brother in law called needing me to watch my nephew since public school was still out. Yeah, sure. Wrap it up. The day is done.

Wednesday welcomed in a very sick baby. Logan kept a high fever all day long. He just laid around, slept, & whined. So off to the doctor we went. After checking his ears, a negative Flu test, a negative RSV test, & no other easy answer, blood was drawn & urine was taken. Let me just tell you that neither was easy! I hated having to put him through all that torture, but he was so miserable that we needed to find the root of the problem. And then he got a shot of antibiotics. UGH

I checked on him every 3 hours during the night, and thankfully, he stayed fever free. He seemed on the mend.

Today was the first meeting for Keepers of the Faith & for 4H so, I did a huge parenting "no-no" and we risked it. Logan did ok most of the day. He was still whiney, but no fever. The kids had fun. We started learning Away in a Manger in sign language for Keepers and played carnival games in 4H.

The past few days just haven't been hunky dory for me. Everything seems to keep going wrong & it just escalated today. Tear after tear has been shed today over circumstances, misunderstandings, wrong decisions, cross words, too many irons, & burdens shared.

I arrived on time (with 2 minutes to spare) for Keepers only to quickly realize that we were meeting somewhere else (A L L the way across town) so now I was 20 minutes late. We had planned to eat lunch with my dad, but that fell through due to time constraints & location, so I was scrambling at 1pm to figure out a new plan. Oh yeah, those free personal pan pizzas would be great until the employee almost dropped them. Whew, that was close, but I wasn't fast enough to stop the boxes from sliding across my seat & spilling into the floor. Ok, so at least my floor wasn't THAT dirty. So after not nearly enough time (according to the kids), we had to scramble out the door for Logan's doctor appointment.

10 minutes down the road, my "check gauges" light comes on & the thermostat is too high. Really? I don't have the time or the energy to deal with this today I pull over, call Justin & leave a message, call my father in law, & call the doctor's office to tell them I will never make it on time. After guessing that I can probably make it home, I start down the road again. I only get about another 5 minutes before I have to pull over again. This time, I wait for reinforcements. 20 minutes later, my father in law pulls up, followed shortly by my husband who was very surprised to see us considering he was also heading home from Wilkesboro and didn't know I had tried to call him.

After a few gallons of water, my Suburban was good as new.....nope, just kidding. But I did make it home & then back & forth to Logan's doctor. If you are new on the scene, you have missed to 3 months (A L L summer) that my Suburban was in the shop getting a brand new engine & costing us over $2300. Then after being home for 3 days, it needing a new water pump.....yeah, well, it obviously needs another new water pump. At least it was still under warranty.

Man does my head hurt!

In the midst of all this junk & my woe is me party, I saw a bunch of geese in the pond on my road & God reminded me how He takes care of the sparrows & that He knows my every need before I even ask for it.

^{Matthew 2:26 "}Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?"

Cloud 9

Yep, the Bauguess kids have reached cloud 9 & are swiftly approaching clouds 10, 11, & 12!

After months & months of wondering when & if it would happen, Makenzie finally lost her first tooth yesterday. She pulled it all by herself during church. Um, I guess if I asked her what the sermon was, she probably wouldn't remember. I'm pretty sure that God understands!

Last night, while we were saying her prayers, Makenzie prayed for the tooth fairy to have a safe trip. Then after she had only been in her room for 10-15 minutes, she came out to let me know that the tooth fairy had not come yet. I tried to explain to her that she had to go to sleep first. She tried to tell me that she had been asleep! Yeah, ok...

Then this morning, she woke me up at 6am to show me her dollar! Of course she also bounded into Austin's room a short time later to show him. He attempted to show excitement through half closed eyes. Austin asked her if she knew what she needed to do next .... her response - Yeah, I need to pull more teeth! BWAHAHAHA

She is still talking about the tooth fairy!

Today we drove down to Raleigh for the 4H Congress. Austin was competing in Poultry Judging. Anyone that knows Austin, knows that he loves his chickens! This has been such a good opportunity for him. He is learning every aspect to chickens from birth to death & beyond.

So after months & months of studying, meeting, & preparing, I am proud to say that Wilkes County came in 1st place in the Junior Division! Those boys were so excited! Ok, the parents & supporters were a little excited as well ;)

After the competition, we left Austin to spend the night in Raleigh. This is the first time he has ever been this far away from us! I'm sure he will be fine, but will I? They are growing up so fast!

Austin has already decided that he wants to go to college at NC State. Oh, I'm not sure if I can handle pulling for the Wolfpack or not. I bleed BLUE!

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ Week 8 ~ Music, Meltdowns, & More

WHERE is that big yellow bus & WHY is it not stopping at my house?!?!

Yes, last week (at least the beginning) was THAT bad!!!

One day, I believe it was Wednesday, I had finally reached my breaking point. I slammed my pencil on the table, said "I quit", & locked myself in the bedroom. I held Logan for an hour & cried my eyes out!

I felt a little better when I returned from my black hole. I was REALLY starting to doubt my curriculum choice for this year. It just seems that I have been fighting an uphill battle with baby oil on my shoes. But, I started rethinking & I started praying & saw some areas that needed to be adjusted, so hopefully next week will be better!

THANKFULLY, Friday was my saving grace & it went very well! I had already sent out the alarm for reinforcements & had some prayer warriors on the fighting line with me! Prayer really does make a difference!

So anyway, we finished up our unit on paying attention with music, instruments, & composers. They are still getting composers & conductors confused, oh well.

The highlight of the week was going to the fair on Tuesday night - in the rain - to see how Austin & Makenzie had placed with their crafts. Austin won 3 1st place ribbons (well, technically, the bird feeder was both of theirs!), 1 2nd place, & 1 3rd place. Makenzie won 2 1st place & 1 2nd place ribbons. They were soooo excited!

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ Week 7 ~ Encouragement, Paying Attention, & the Performing Arts

Ya know what? I didn't think we got much accomplished this week, but really, we did - it just wasn't "sit down, book work". Yes, I still always feel guilty when "school" doesn't quite look like school. I know my kids are learning, but after being in public school, its hard to break free from the mentality that they need to be sitting at a table with a pencil in their hand in order for learning to take place. If you have always homeschooled your child, then I'm sure this is a hard concept to understand, but if you made the decision to bring your child home, you know what I'm talking about.

A good friend of mine had the BRILLIANT idea to host a mother's encouragement tea Monday afternoon. I am so thankful that she did this. Yes, this took time away from "teaching", but my kids helped me bake the goodies to take over there & then they got to play with their friends while us moms got to enjoy stimulating adult conversation! Some lessons truly are learned & taught when we least expect it! I am so thankful that I am not the only mother struggling with my obedience to God, time management, motivation, & keeping house. Its nice to confess that its hard being super mom all of the time & I feel that I can truly be myself without having to worry about judgement & shortcomings with these ladies! Thank You again from the bottom of my heart!!!

We met on Tuesday for Keepers & Contenders. Our young men learned about leather working & some of the tools & techniques used with this skill. Our lovely ladies finished up their baskets. They turned out beautiful. 

Our 4H meeting taught us how to NOT GET LOST!!! (hopefully) Some of the kids paid very close attention during the presentation & could probably navigate pretty well if they needed to, some of them (including Austin) looked a little bored. Yeah, well - its not all fun & games. He was a lot more excited once they got to explore an area at W Kerr Scott Lake with a compass.

We are still reading about Helen Keller & Annie Sullivan (shhhh - I've been a little busy) with our sound unit. This week, we focused on music. So, that being said we took a trip to .... da da da dum ... the NC Symphony! YEAH! Austin's exact words, "Its pretty cool music, but I couldn't listen to it all the time". Me neither, buddy. We listened to several pieces on YouTube (thank God for the internet). Makenzie didn't care about the music, she just wanted to see the pictures on the video. I had to close the laptop so she would stay focused.

And as an extra treat for Makenzie, we went to see The Little Red Hen. It was hilarious! All of my kids enjoyed it, even Logan, who kicked & gurgled at the performers - that is, until he lost interest & went to sleep.