I really like Tenn's country study ideas over at School At Home. I am a part of a geography co-op but we've never gotten as deep into the country as she and her group have, but I plan to change that come next school year. I'll definitely be using some of her ideas.

I got an email this morning from William:

I donte liky skool.

I think we need to work on spelling :)

We finally finished Poor Richard, a story about Ben Franklin. The book ended in a weird place, like it was missing a page, but I've had it too long to return it now. I guess I need to check that before accepting any new books.

We're pressing on with multiplication, now up to the 6s. We also touched on Roman numerals for the first time yesterday. He'd seen some examples in his history reading but I'd never really explained them in detail.

He started a children's biography of George Washington yesterday as well, and we'll be starting a biography about Abigail Adams probably next week.

He finished another chapter in his science text and we'll be moving on to another chapter next week as well. The past chapter was about matter.

His English text has now started on the writing process. I've been touching on this little by little as William has done his reports for Adventure Club, a homeschool group activity, but we're really going to get into the process now. He doesn't enjoy writing but he is very imaginative, and I'm hoping that by helping him discover the process that he will grow to enjoy writing as much as I do. Of course, I don't want the process to take away his creativity, which is what I saw all the time while I was in school. My poems weren't "correct" and my stories weren't "right". Why can't they just be how they were written?

We are heading out of town this weekend to visit Nana in Florida and we have a lot to do today, so we're taking a vacation day and then tomorrow will be a travelling day.

I'm also gathering information on writing the unit study on WWII and Washington DC in preparation for our trip in 1 month. I can't believe that it's now only a month away! We will be touring the Capitol building on Thursday, May 5 and we're still waiting on word about a White House tour. William wants to see the Lincoln and Washington memorials as well.

William has been asking a lot of questions about being grown up, dating, college, things like that. I don't really know where all of this is coming from. He asked me a lot last night about dating. One question was "If you're on a date at a fancy restaurant, should you get something that's messy that you eat with your fingers or should you eat with your knife and fork?" He also asked me about college and working during college, and when a girlfriend could come to your apartment. I told him that I didn't think a girlfriend should come to a boy's apartment unless there is a group there. I didn't go into any more detail than that, but I think it's time for 'the talk'. I'm dreading it, too, but that's probably because my parents never gave me "the talk" properly. Anyone else heard "the talk" from friends or Harlequin romances?

Since I want to approach this talk as calmly as possible, I found a book at christian book distributors called What's the Big Deal?, and I think I'm going to get that one and the next book in the series, "Face the Facts". These are christian based and that's how I want to approach this discussion. When William is a teenager I'll get him some of the christian dating books on the market today - and I'm sure there will be more. I'll get him the pro-dating and the wait-dating (I guess that's better than anti-dating) and have him make a decision after prayerful discussion with his dad and I. Yes, we'll be involved in that decision, and I don't think it's invading his privacy or anything. I want him to hear our opinion on the subject since we are adults, we did date, and we have both had broken hearts at times during the process.

William also asked me if there was "training" for how to eat in a fancy restaurant. He asked if they taught that in high school or college. I told him they didn't, but since we homeschool we can teach it in our homeschool :) As a matter of fact, during our trip to Washington DC in May we'll be attending a banquet as part of my grandfather's reunion. While it probably won't be as fancy as a "fancy restaurant", the guests do have to dress up and I need to be sure to go over with him how to sit, how to eat and how to behave during the meal.

I'd appreciate hearing how others approached the 'talk' and any other books that may be helpful.

The past few weeks I've ridden past our local feed & seed and saw the sign "We have rabbits, chicks and ducks for Easter". The thought never crossed my mind to get my son a live rabbit, chick or duck as an Easter gift. For one thing, we have too many pets already that we are committed to. Plus, to me this is like getting a puppy or kitten for Christmas. What do you do when they grow up and aren't "cute" anymore?

A baby chick or duck and a fuzzy bunny may seem to be a wonderful Easter gift, but these are live animals. The sad fact is the majority of them are just novelties, and once the novelty wears off you have more animals being abandoned or destroyed. It's bad enough that this country has hundreds of unwanted puppies and kittens each day. Why add other animals to mix?

Grandparents are probably guilty of this as well as parents. Someone should never give a child a pet without the parents' explicit agreement. If a grandparent does give a child a pet as a gift then they need to help shoulder some of the financial and physical responsibility of the animal, not the child or the parents. Not every grown child is going to let their parents know they don't have financial resources to properly care for a pet, or the room to keep a pet. If you don't know and haven't asked, then don't buy the animal.

You can find out about rabbits as pets at this site : http://www.rabbit.org/easter/
This newspaper articles talks about buying pets for easter : http://www.bgdailynews.com/articles/stories/public/200503/05/04XT_top-feature.html

You can find many more articles by googling "pets for easter".

Rabbits are not "put 'em in a hutch, feed and water 'em every now and again and they'll be okay." If you are going to get an animal you need to know how to care for it properly.

Baby chicks and ducks are also very cute, but they do grow up, and a grown up chicken isn't a cute chicken anymore. Before you get any type of a pet be sure you are committed to that animal. And please have your pets spayed and neutered and provide them with a good home. I hear too many people say around our small, rural area, "Yeah, there should have been a sign at my house, 'Put Out Dogs and Cats Here'". You should never just abandon an animal. If you cannot care for an animal anymore find it another home or take it to a humane society or no-kill shelter in your area so they can help find it a home.

Yes, more field trips pictures are on our home site. We went with our homeschool group to the Pine Mountain Animal Safari today. And to get you ready for the pictures, check out this guy:




This guy licked Scott's (dh's) shirt while politely asking for some food :)

We took a short break last week in order to work on our storage / junk room and outside shed. We got a dumpster from the trash company. Our outdoor storage shed is now able to be walked through and we have more room. Our storage room has been cleaned out as well and is in the process of being painted a sky blue color. It will be out library / homeschool area in the house. We hope to have it finished in the next few days. I'm also in the process of switching rooms with William. His bedroom will now be in the current computer room and my office will be in his current room. There is just too much noise with the dogs barking and such for me to stay in the current room.

We did do some school last week and we're back into the flow this week. Thursday is another field trip day with our homeschool group.

Pictures are done on our family website. The pictures are here on the Field Trip Page.

I redid some of the site and took down a few things because I was running out of room on my free Alltel site. If you look around a bit let me know what you think of the site. If something isn't working right let me know about that as well.

We took a field trip today to Andersonville, GA, the site of a POW camp during the Civil War.

I've been there before but it's been a long time, and I don't believe I've ever been to the historical town of Andersonville. That was our first stop. It was me, William, and my neice. We visited the snack shop then went to the welcome center and museum when they re-opened after lunch. Then we toured the town and looked at the old building and the old cemetery. I was disappointed that the churches weren't open to look into and William was upset because the antique store was closed.

Around 2 we headed to the park site. I'll have pictures posted soon. We asked for Junior Ranger books but they were out when we got there. We started in the POW museum. I need to go back there after talking to the kids first. I don't think they really understood what the museum was all about. It was very well laid out, with signs saying "don't break ranks" and "leave your weapons here". There were videos of people who had been POWs during the Persian Gulf War and I would have liked to have listed to them more closely. Andersonville is not just about the Civil War anymore. It's actually a museum and memorial for all POWs from all wars. There is a lovely fountain sculpture behind the museum to honor the POWs from Andersonville.

We weren't able to get a Junior Ranger book until late in the afternoon. We took the driving tour using a cassette tape from the front desk. We stopped at 4 to see a Raider Attack during the re-enactments. The raiders were prisoners that attacked their fellow prisoners and stole from them, sometimes even killed them. We watched the re-enactment as two boys tried to steal an item, were caught and beaten, then one was taken to the stocks as punishment.

The kids tried to hurry through the Ranger books as we didn't have much time to finish. Right at 5pm as the museum closed we took the books in, only 6 of the 8 required activities completed for the badge, but they were issued the badge anyway. I'm going to make sure William finishes his activities by using the internet to find the answers or going over the material from the site.

I do regret that we weren't able to go through the national cemetery due to lack of time.

We headed home just after 5 pm and stopped at FDR State Park near our home for an observation night with people from Mead Observatory in Columbus, GA. Mead Observatory is part of the Coca-Cola Space Science Center, which is in turn part of Columbus State University, the college I hope to graduate from one day :)

There were about 5 telescopes set up at the main building in the park. We were able to see Saturn and some of the rings, the Crab Nebula, the Orion Nebula, and the moon. The moon was especially fascinating to me as it was just a sliver crescent moon tonight and in the telescope you could see the brightness of the moon with the craters against the darkness of the rest of the moon. My neice asked one lady if the Saturn in the telescope was real :) It did look like a Star Trek model hanging there in space.

We were also able to find the Big Dipper, Orion, and Taurus the Bull. We also saw at least 3 satellites travelling across the heavens.

It was a good but tiring day. When we stopped at the park all I heard was "I'm tired!' but after we were able to see some of the stars the kids seemed to get their second wind. Taking my neice places allows us to share our homeschooling with her when we're able, but it also reminds me why I have only one child :) I don't know if I would ever have been able to handle more than one. With all the good during the day I also heard a lot of "I'm tired", "I'm hot", "I want this or that", "I'm hungry", "It's my turn to sit up front", "He/She pushed me...stepped on my foot...touched me". This was from William as well as my neice. When it's just me and William we usually are able to look at many exhibits and really pay attention to things. It's more difficult with my neice as she's 1) not mine and 2) she's very different than my son and me. She's very talkative and is always moving. I'm not really used to that and it's hard to deal with at times. I'm the oldest of 4 children, so lack of privacy and many other things that I dealt with growing up may have something to do with this as well :)

All in all it was a good day and I hope to be able to do it again. We'll probably go back next year on our own since William will be studying the Civil War in more detail next year.

I said that I would let you know if I liked the Full Year Notebook System. I have used it to plan out the next 14 weeks of school and I love it. I started using it last night to plan out grade 5 and I know it will be a big help. So, if you are looking for some type of planner or organizational tool that will work with any homeschooling style I do recommend this system.

We haven't done as much as I would've liked over the past few weeks. I guess you to say we've been unschooling . The main goal for the rest of this week is to get the PowerPoint presentation done for adventure club. I'm preparing a unit study on World War II and Washington DC to prepare for our trip in May. I have a new computer and we're enjoying learning how to use it as well. Scott is back on night shift and that changes our schedule a little. We're all enjoying being home together during the day and sometimes school gets left out or just a little bit done.

I'm happy with William's progress in multiplication . I bought a CD with songs to help with multiplication and we've listened to it once. We've done some problems on the whiteboard and he seems to have gotten it faster than I thought he would have. I'm hoping that we can move on to division within the next month.

That's our weekly update for now. Don't forget to watch Wil Wheaton on CSI tonight.

I'd like to ask everyone who is willing to be sure to watch CSI on Thursday night. Wil Wheaton - aka Ensign Wesley Crusher and Gordie LaChance, currently known as writer extraordinaire - is appearing on CSI this Thursday. Be sure to watch the show, read his blog, and let him know we're cheering him on :)

For some reason his name isn't in the blurb for the show :( They decided to push Stephen Baldwin instead. But we're still proud of you, Wil!

Last night at karate class the Sensei was taking the group through their kata, the routines they learn that put all the moves together. William was one of two colored belts and the other child was an advanced white belt. William went through the 4 katas that he knows and did very well on kata 4. At the end of the kata when Sensei was telling the advanced white belt that he did well for a kata he didn't know well William spoke up and said, "That's an easy one". I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

William struggles with things sometimes and karate is just one of them. He wanted to attend and he's been going know for about 3 years and is now an advanced blue belt. Kata 4 was one of the ones he struggled with the most. There is a turn in the kata that he just couldn't get the hang of. After class he would cry as he said he would never get it and couldn't do it, and there were just harder katas to come.

I reminded him of when he first began karate and felt he would never get kata 1 when all the other kids knew it already. I told him as well that he could take a break or stop karate any time he wanted. I've never been one to force him to do anything. The karate isn't very expensive and we're not tied into a long term contract or anything. Now, if he was taking music lessons or something and I'd had to pay for an instrument and sign up for so many classes, I would at least have him finish that round of classes first.

He thought about it for a while and decided to keep going and practicing the katas. Now, kata 4 is "the easy one" and he's making good effort on the next one he needs for his test.

At the end of class yesterday William and the other boy wanted to do some sparring, so they gathered up their gear and started with the other Sensei as referee. William got a good roundhouse kick in and won the match.

Meanwhile, Sensei is trying to coach the advanced white belt on sparring. The little boy looked like he didn't know what was going on, and when Sensei tapped him in the stomach he looked scared to death. If it had been William I would have stopped right there and said "Okay, do you want to go home now or do you want to watch the other boys?" Usually I try to let Sensei handle problems - it is his class - but there have been times when William has gotten hurt or felt that he wasn't getting something that we've left early. The boy's mother actually left the room at one point and he started crying. I don't know if he was scared of being hurt or was just confused, but I would have stopped it long before then.

Karate is a contact sport, but no one in the class is ever going to purposely hurt anyone, especially the Sensei. And he wasn't calling the boy names or anything either. That's not allowed, and neither is laughing at other students, so nothing like that was going on. Sensei even stopped the personal sparring and tried to get him to work on the punching bag, which he had been doing earlier in class, but now he wouldn't even move.

I hope he does come back to karate and builds up his confidence. Not everyone agrees with karate classes, but I know that this class has helped William tremendously with his confidence and perseverence. He's going to practice with his wooden sword and may compete in a few months in a tournament.

Found on Andrea's Atypical Life

1. What did the music of that era mean to you then?

Oh, Wow. There was so much that the music could say that I could never say about falling in love, independence, parents, it's hard to explain. You have to listen to the 80s channel and hear someone (like me :)) sing along to the songs and tell their stories to understand.

2. What song takes you right back, whenever you hear it?

"Right Here Waiting" by Richard Marx. My boyfriend, now my dh, joined the military in 1989. This was the song that brought me to tears every time I heard it. "Livin' On A Prayer" by Bon Jovi was another big one. I didn't buy many albums, but I got Slippery When Wet.

3. Shuffle your playlist (I know you have one). What’s the first song listed from the 80’s? (not a cover!)

Like Andrea, I don't have a playlist to shuffle either. I'm thinking of getting the $99 Ipod, though, maybe for my birthday, and it will be full of 80s songs. I think I have Rick Astley somewhere in my hard drive. I loved his voice.

4. Your 80’s music icon was…?

Madonna, who else? Gonna rule the world, she said in 1984. Cyndi Lauper was cute and weird too, but I never dressed like either of them.

5. Hair bands! Discuss!

How come we never thought it was funny for guys to have that long hair, and some even wore makeup! I loved Poison, especially Brett. Bon Jovi, yet again. I saw a skit on SNL recently where 2 guys dressed up as Bon Jovi from the 80s with the big hair. Jon and Ritchie were sitting at a desk nearby and looked like they were about to die with laughter. I wonder if they thought they looked silly?

6. How much did your musical taste change from 1980 to 1989?

I grew up on country music and that's what I listen to now, when I can't find an 80s station or 80s weekend playing somewhere. From 1985 - 1989 I listened to the rock station on the radio because that's what everyone else enjoyed and I started to enjoy it too.

7. Which big 80’s music star should just give up already?

Don't know, who's still out there? I'd go to see many of them in concert even today. Is MC Hammer or Vanilla Ice still trying to sing?

8. Which big 80’s musical talent are you glad to see has still got it?

Madonna :)

bonus question: When you first heard Bowling for Soup’s 1985, what did you do?

I had to watch it on the computer the first time, but I saw it playing on Walmart TV and had to stop and stare. I love the video and I laughed so hard. I had to watch it again because William kept asking me about the 80s video references in the video. "Mom, why are they dressed like girls all in black with red lipstick?"

In the search to always try to be more organized I found this :

The Full-Year Notebook System

It is similar to what I've been doing but on a bigger scale, and I'm not dating anything yet until it's finished. It should work out better than what I've been doing and I won't have to do much planning each week because it will already be done. And I'm free to make changes when necessary.

The notebook system is on sale right now and there is a 30 day money back guarantee. After I use it for a few weeks I'll post on how much I like or dislike it.

Belle on Her Toes is interviewing readers of her blog and I asked to be included and to carry on the process. So, if you would like to be interviewed as well, then do the following:

1) Leave a comment saying "interview me".
2) I'll respond by asking you five questions of my choice.
3) Update your blog with the answers and also answer the questions as a comment on my blog.
4) Include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the post.
5) When there is a response, ask the five questions.

Simple, right :)

Here are the questions she asked me and my answers. Such heavy questions, too!

1) What is the secret to your happiness?
I don't know that I have a secret to happiness. I'm not always happy, I don't think anyone is. There is always something that I feel I can improve upon. I think mostly learning to accept myself the way I am has helped greatly, even though I know there are things about myself that need changing. But I'm able to focus on those things in a calmer manner now than I used to. I used to think I had to change everything "bad" about me now, now, now! I'm trying to take things slower as well. It also helps to have a family that loves you :)

2) What are your favorite hobbies?
This is an easy one. I love almost anything crafty. I can crochet, only a double or triple stitch, nothing fancy. I also cross stitch and I design my own patterns using a computer program. I taught myself to knit many years ago using a book and a video tape. I knitted a sweater once but it didn't fit. My son found it and he's worn it before and said he loves it. I love the idea of creating something out of nothing. I'd love to be able to paint. I would also like to learn a bit about photography. My next project is going to be to learn basic woodworking. I'd like to learn to build bookcases and a bench for our kitchen. I like to watch Trading Spaces and see what Amy Wynn will come up with next. If she can do it, I know I can do it as well.

3) What is your earliest childhood memory?
My absolute earliest has to be when I was 4 and my father was in the Army. We were in an airplane on the way to Germany. I had the window seat and I told my mother, as the plane was taking off, that the people looked like little ants.

4) What is your favorite life memory?
There are so many! How can I choose just one! One would be when my dh first asked me out. There were these butterflies in my stomach and I could barely speak. My wedding definitely tops the list. I don't think time ever flew as fast as on that day. The photographer got a great picture right at the end of Scott and I just holding each other and looking into each others eyes after we finished the ceremony. It was really a fabulous day. And another fabulous day was the day William was born. I still remember him being so tiny. When did he get to be almost as tall as me?

5) What are you looking forward to most?
I don't really know. I think sometimes I'd like life to stay right where it is at this moment. We're all healthy and happy, we have money in the bank, William is 11 years old now and I'm already dreading the teenage years. I've seen some glimpses of rebellion in him at times and while I know he needs some independence I don't want to give too much too soon. Then I look ahead to him driving and I cringe in fear! My baby, driving, on a highway! Or an interstate!

I am looking forward to, hopefully, returning to college in 2006 and trying to really push on finishing the degree I began in 2000. I'm looking forward to more "firsts" in my child's life. He still has so many firsts to come and I'm happy to be there with him, even though part of me is sad because it means he's growing up. I'm looking forward to more time with my husband in the future as William does grow up and pursues other interests.

In the near future, though, I'm really looking forward to our trip to Washington, D.C. that is coming up in May. We're trying to schedule a tour of the White House and the Capitol building and William wants to see the Lincoln Memorial first thing. I've never been to Washington and I'm hoping to learn a lot while there.

bold the states you've been to, underline the states you've lived in and italicize the state you're in now...

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C /

Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.

Via Tulip Girl