I know my ticker says 7 days, but it's actually 6 because we are actually leaving on Wednesday! I've gone through the itinerary and tried to decide what we'll be doing. William and I watched a show on the travel channel about DC and the places to visit and he's chose 2 of the Smithsonian museums to visit. I wish we could also visit the 20th century museum where they have Archie Bunker's chair and Fonzi's jacket, but that may have to wait for next time.

We'll be leaving on Wednesday morning, May 4, probably around 5am. I have 2 books on CD ordered - Kidnapped and Tales of Shakespeare, so the kids will be having some learning on the road. We'll also carry the George Washington bio and Robinson Crusoe with us.

On the morning of May 5 we'll be doing our own thing as a family group. There will be me and William, my mom, my neice, 2 aunts, 2 uncles, 1 cousin and my grandparents.

We'll probably visit the White House visitor center that morning and maybe 1 of the museums. William wants to visit the Natural History museum and the Air and Space museum. If we can do just one of the them in the morning that would be great. Then we'll have lunch and we have a tour scheduled at the Capitol building at 2pm. We have to be at the hotel to greet the reunion participants at 5pm. After that I'm free, though, and may be meeting my brother-in-law and his wife this evening. We're still working that out.

On Friday, May 6, we'll be travelling by bus to Mt. Vernon, home of George Washington. The reunion participants will be saying a prayer for those lost in all wars and remembering their shipmates from WWII. A wreath will be laid in the water of the Potomac river. After the ceremony we'll take a river cruise then have lunch and explore Mt. Vernon. The afternoon will be free to do whatever. If we didn't meet with my BIL on Thursday we'll probably meet sometime this afternoon. If we did meet with them then William and I - maybe my mom and neice as well - will head off on the Metro back to DC to visit one or both of the museums. On Friday evening as well my mom, my aunt, my cousin and I will go on a ghost tour of Alexandria and see all the buildings that are claimed to be haunted.

On Saturday, May 7, well have a bus ride to the new WWII memorial in DC. We'll only have about an hour in the area so we won't be able to head over to any of the museums again during this time. We'll then board the bus and head back to Alexandria for lunch. But the afternoon is free again until time to get ready for the reunion banquet, so we may head back off on the Metro again and back to the mall area. We'll be back at the hotel by 5 to get ready for the 7pm banquet.

Sunday, May 8, is check out day. We'll head south towards Jamestown first and spend a few hours there. Around 3 or 4pm we'll continue to head south and stop in North Carolina to spend the night.

On Monday, May 9, we'll be back home in Georgia!

So there is our trip in a nutshell. I will have my laptop and the hotel is supposed to have internet access, so we'll see if I'm able to post. If not, I'll have pictures aplenty on Tuesday!

There is a used book sale coming up through a local homeschool group on May 12, so I started looking through Ambleside's Year 5 to see what I needed to get. I checked my local library online to see if they had the titles mentioned, and they do, somewhat, but in some cases I may have to make substitutions. I'm going to be drastic this year and only have a $100 budget to begin! I'm planning to work in terms, and I already know the science curriculum I want will be expensive, unless I can find it cheaper on ebay, so that will be most of my budget right there. I have some of my old homeschool resources listed on ebay now, so check out my auctions if you're looking for books. I'll then have a new budget of $100 for each term, but I don't think I'll need even that much.

Year 5 continues with American history. We'll continue reading This Country of Ours and I hope to add in An Island Story so we can get British history in there too. Grade 5 will also be a major biography year. I will be looking for the following:

Biographies on : Abraham Lincoln, Lewis and Clark, Lillias Trotter, Teddy Roosevelt, Isaac Newton, Alexander Graham Bell, and George Washington Carver.

Other books include a book about the 20th century and a book on World Geography.

For novels we'll be reading about King Arthur, Oliver Twist, Kim, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, Rifles for Wati, Across Five Aprils, Rilla of Ingleside, Falcons of France, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, and The Story of My Life (Helen Keller).

I'll also be adding some health / sex ed with the books "What's the Big Deal?" and "Face the Facts" from Christian Book Distributors.

I also noticed that CBD also had a lot of classical music tapes on sale. I want to add them to our home to better help us appreciate classical music. I would also like to find some type of general art book to give some understanding of famous artists.

The science curriculum I'm looking at is called Real Science 4 Kids by Gravitas Publishing. Currently we've been using textbooks my dh has found at Salvation Army, so I'm hoping this curriculum will tie everything together.

In 1972 a young man with a wife and a child at home was drafted into the US Army. He left his small family and went to basic training then onto additional training in another state. His wife and baby stayed with her parents while he was gone. There was a real fear that this young soldier would be sent to Vietnam.

Fortunately this young man was able to be stationed in the U.S. and and soon his wife and baby were able to join him at his first duty station. Soon after the Vietnam war ended and he was given the option to leave the military but chose to stay in the service in order to provide for his family.

Within 18 months of starting their family the couple had another child and they moved again with the military, this time to Ft. Hood Texas, where they rented a small farm house for $25 month. The young man was working in the motor pool and learning how to become a mechanic. He'd already been working as a mechanic off and on since he was 10 years old and his father had passed away. The military helped him by providing him with more knowledge and skills than the small garage where he'd been working when he was drafted.

A few years later he recieved orders for Germany and the small family packed up and left Texas. He received a bonus for going to Germany and the family carefully placed it into savings. They lived very simply while in Germany and saved most of their money. The soldier's wife took the bus to German markets and visited the sites with their two children while he was at work. When her children started kindergarten she took a job in the base clothing and sales shop.

When their oldest child was seven they received orders to return to the U.S. where they would be stationed in Kansas. Again they packed and moved. They lived across the street from the base school. While in Kansas another child was born. At the end of this tour the couple decided it was time to leave the military and return home.

They moved back to their home state where the young man purchased the garage he'd worked in when he was only 18. He grew the business over the years by purchasing the larger building next to the original garage. He purchased a tow truck and spend evenings on the couch with a locksmith correspondence course. He learned how to unlock cars and added that to his garage services. He added a key making machine as well and another wrecker to his fleet. He signed up as a AAA contractor and began getting more business.

While he was doing this his wife attended nursing school and became and LPN. She worked at various nursing homes and hospitals for many years. Eventually his business made enough money for her to quit working as a nurse and work with him as a bookkeeper and secretary.

When more people started wanting the latest technology he researched the beeper business. He began selling beepers and charging for the airtime. This added a new aspect to his business.

During this time frame a 4th child was born. He was born with a birth defect that affected his bladder and had to be in the hospital for multiple surgeries until he was almost five. This added stress to the family due to hospital bills and other pressures, but they were able to hold out and the business was able to get them through.

By the time his oldest children were in high school this family decided to purchase another home. There was a house in the 'nice' part of town that had partially burned. He made an offer and was able to purchase only the lot. With a lot of work the family moved into the house within the year. It had been gutted out and totally redone. They also added a new 1/2 story with a sundeck attached and a pool in the back yard.

In 1990 their daughter got married in the back yard of this house. His business was able to pay for the majority of the wedding.

Within the year he discovered a new technology that was becoming more affordable. The products were "cellular phones" and many people wanted them. He researched this business idea and soon became a resale agent for a cellular provider in his area. He and his wife began selling large bag phones for $200 each and signing customers up left and right. The business boomed and soon he was able to have 4 wreckers in his service. He also bought another building on the busier side of town. It had four garage bays and an office area. He remodeled the building and put the cellphone business in the office area, along with an electronics store, and had the garage business in the work bays.

He also researched another business idea. Many people didn't have room for their household belongings and were renting storage space in many of the larger cities. He began building a storage site on some land nearby to his office and purchased an ongoing storage business from a friend.

This young couple now had four grown children and a successful business. They found some property and built a large home and a ranch. The home was paid for within six years and the ranch now holds at times over 30 animals. They began attending mule shows and sold mules and horses all over the southeast. They also began taking some time off and enjoying their love of bluegrass music. He learned how to play the banjo and the bass fiddle. His wife began singing with various music groups and even made a cassette tape with one group.

Today this man's business is worth over one million dollars. He was a high school drop out who eloped and married his girlfriend at age 18. He spent six years in the army and learned a trade. He built many businesses and a home. He raised 4 children, all of which graduated high school and 2 of which attended some type of college, to adulthood and now has 2 grandchildren. He still works every day. Is this man a success? Or is he not a success because he was a high school drop out who never attended college? Who never became a doctor or lawyer or accountant or had another type of white collar job?

This couple are my parents. I am the oldest child. I graduated high school and have attended college off and on. I have one child, whom I homeschool. I work at home to make an income. I consider myself a fairly good writer and I know a bit about computers.

One of my brothers works with my father and knows pretty much everything that he knows about cars. He's also very good with math and computers. He has one child. He also graduated high school. He's a talented muscician and artist as well.

Another brother works with my mother in the electronics part of the business. He also is a mechanic but also knows how to install car radios, satellite dishes, and other electronic equipment in homes or vehicles. He also graduated high school and is a very good cook.

My youngest brother is attending Art Institute of Atlanta, majoring in video production, he's also very talented muscician and artist, and will graduate this June.

Yes, we've had our ups and downs as a family, but I consider our family as a success, even though we don't have any doctors or lawyers or accountants (yet) in the family. What defines success? Isn't it subjective? We've all been able to find jobs, provide and raise families, and mostly to follow our dreams. Isn't that success?

The dictionary defines success as

The achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted: attributed their success in business to hard work.
The gaining of fame or prosperity: an artist spoiled by success.
The extent of such gain.
One that is successful: The plan was a success.
Obsolete. A result or an outcome.

I think when we think of success we're thinking of the first definition - the achievement of something desired. If our children desire to be an artist and they are able to do this by working nights at a video store and painting during the day, then they have acheived their success. If a girl decides to stay at home and raise her family then she has acheived her success. If a boy decides to become the President of the United States and one day walks into the Oval Office after completing that goal, then he have achieved his success. Let your children define success for themselves, not your dreams of Ivy League colleges and doctor's lab coats. Let them be who they are meant to be.

Only 12 days, I can't wait! I discussed it with my mom and we're going to stay an extra day and visit Jamestown. William is reading about the Jamestown colony in his history now and since we'll be so close it's just too good to pass up. So we'll leave Alexandria on Sunday morning, head to Jamestown and spend the afternoon, then head back south and spend the night in North Carolina before getting home on Monday.

Since many people against homeschooling like to talk about how well trained teachers are, I thought I would share some of my experiences with public school teachers. I don't mean any disrepect to any teachers who do work hard and try to help children have a good education, but I also know that it's difficult working with many students with limited curriculum and limited resources. And no profession is perfect, there is good and bad in everything.

I think I'll start with some good teachers. My kindergarten teacher was in Germany. My father was in the military and we lived there for 3 years. She was a sweet lady named Mrs. Doll. She was pregnant during the time I was in her class and all of the girls loved to feel the baby kicking in her stomach. We played and sang and had a wonderful time. It was a lovely kindergarten experience.

My next most memorable teacher was Ms. Gilbert, soon to be Mrs. Atkins. She was my 4th grade science teacher. I'd heard in 3rd grade that she was very mean, so I was scared to death to find out that I had her for science. I sat in the back row that first day and when she took roll call I barely whispered my name.

I soon found that I loved her science class, and she wasn't mean at all! The kids who thought she was mean said that because she didn't put up with their cr*p. You were expected to pay attention and do your homework. She once poured water on a student who had fallen asleep in class. She was a lot of fun and found ways to make science interesting. We made butter in a jar and ate it with crackers. She killed a wasp one spring day and we looked at the compound eyes under a microscope. During a lice check (yeah, PS has those, remember?) she put some of the bugs under a microscope for all the kids to look at as we went into the principal's office for our check.

I won an award at the end of the 2nd 6 week period in her class for having the highest grade point average. I've never had an A in science since 4th grade. When she married that year I bought her a wedding gift, just a simple doily that cost less than $5, but when she did up her thank you cards she sent one to me. It made me feel very grown up and special. By the end of the year I was sitting in the front of the classroom and I no longer whispered.

I had many wonderful high school teachers as well. My typing teacher was Mrs. Tomlin. She's the reason I type almost 70wpm today, and do it correctly, because she made us learn the correct keystrokes and type without looking at the keys. I was also under her for the FBLA club. She was my accounting teacher as well and I competed twice in FBLA for accounting, placing 4th one year and 3rd the next. She was a great mentor and was concerned about what we would learn. She was also my career guidance counselor and it's partly due to her accounting classes that I'm working towards a degree in finance. It may be 15 years after high school, but hey, it's never too late, right?

Another great teacher in high school was my history / government teacher, Mrs. Dunn. She taught American History and Government my junior and senior years, and she admitted that she was tired of teaching the same subjects over and over. But she did make them fun. We watched videos and had deep discussions about Uncle Tom's Cabin, religious differences, and slavery. She was the teacher that I went to when I found out that a friend of mine had marijuana in her cigarette pack (you could smoke in high school back then). I still see her around town today, and even though I'm an adult now I still call her Mrs. Dunn :)

My English teacher, Mr. Wright, was probably my favorite. I had Mr. Wright for all but one year in high school. He had us write many essays on various topics and we read a lot of wonderful literature. We memorized Shakespeare and recited it back every morning in addition to the Pledge of Allegiance. We watched the BBC videos of Romeo and Juliet and MacBeth. I remember one assignment that a student turned in late. This student just happened to be in front of me as we were assigned seats alphabetically. Mr. Wright said that turning in work late was an immediate letter drop in grade, but for some reason he allowed this student to turn his paper in about 2 days late. It probably had something to do with the fact that the boy was the star basketball player on the team. I saw the paper when the student put it away and he'd made an A.

Well, this ticked me off, so the next time we had a free writing assignment my topic was on favoritism in the school system. I didn't specify Mr. Wright or the student by name. I talked about the cheerleaders and other girls with their own cheering sections during homecoming and prom weeks or during times like Miss Sunshine or Miss Meriwether. I talked about certain sports "stars" being allowed to come to class late and turn in work late with no punishment. I talked about the kids who really tried to study and work and how they weren't being treated fairly by the teachers or other students.

I had no idea he was going to pass this paper around, but it made it through every English class within a week. I had cheerleaders telling me that none of it was true, they weren't more popular, they weren't favored, etc. I had the geek kids tell me it was genius and totally true. When I got it back I saw my grade was an A+, and where I discussed the students coming in late and being allowed to turn in work late, Mr. Wright had written in the margin, "You're talking about me, aren't you?"

My son has had the opportunity to meet many of these wonderful teachers of mine since we do live in a small town, but unfortunately Mr. Wright passed away from cancer a few years ago.

My bad teachers started in first grade. Apparently I was considered "gifted" and was placed in a combination class room with first and second graders. My teacher was Mrs. Driscoll. She was the meanest woman on earth...seriously. She had a fake skeleton in a wall locker and she told us that it was a high school student she'd taught that didn't turn in his homework, so she locked him in the cabinet. I was so lost in her classes. Even though this mysterious 'they' had decided I was a gifted student - in first grade! - I was lost with her teaching methods. The only subject I did well in was English and reading comprehension. I was so scared to mention that I'd sat in the wrong desk one day and didn't have my math book. I got sick once and told her I needed to go to the rest room instead of going to the nurse. I went to the nurse who verified I had a fever. She got very angry with me for going to the nurse when she found out. She had a very bad temper and I was literally terrified of this woman.

My fourth grade teachers were all very short tempered as well. Miss Miller played a record of the Star Bangled Banner one day, and when we didn't stand she yelled "YOU STAND UP WHEN THE NATIONAL ANTHEM PLAYS!" Well, heck, why not teach us this instead of yelling it? She also go onto the class for talking and assigned us all sentences to write. It didn't matter that I wasn't talking. Yes, I was the good kid who never passed notes or talked in class. I was a total goody goody.

In high school I had a good / bad teacher in Mrs. Chapman. She was an entomologist but she could not teach 9th grade physical science. She sat behind her desk, read the textbook word for word, recopied it onto a transparency machine with a marker, had us copy what she wrote, then to review for tests read it back to us. She used no experiments, no films, nothing. That was one of the most boring classes ever. I had her the next year for biology and since she was an entomologist she seemed totally in her element that year. I say she was good / bad because she definitely wasn't interested in physical science but enjoyed more of the hands-on work in the biology lab. We disected frogs, earthworms, grasshoppers, a squirrel a student had shot and even a chicken some dogs had killed at a classmate's dairy farm.

Another teacher was Mrs. Wilson. She'd taught for years - she'd even taught my mother! - but she had a style that was also boring and repetitive. She taught World History. I'm doing World History now with my son and find it fascinating. If you're going to teach something, find a way to make it fun and interesting!

I can't remember any teachers actually teaching me something incorrect, except one teacher in 4th grade who pronounced "deciduous" as "de-sig-e-us" and I got it wrong on a spelling test. My brothers had teachers that also misprounouced words and was teaching them 'facts' like there are 52 states, including Washington DC and Puerto Rico. Friends of mine had the assistant principal teaching courses he wasn't trained to teach. When he was going over Egypt he told them to write an essay on King Pharoah. My friend said "Pharoah's were kings. Which Pharoah did you mean?" and he replied with "You know, King Pharoah."

Since I started college I've had wonderful teachers there. College is NOTHING like high school, and even though it's been 15 years since I went to high school I wonder how the kids graduating today are able to get through college. All the classes I've taken have been very demanding and I just didn't get demanding work while in high school. In some cases the professors have to re-teach many things just to get the freshman to understand what to expect. In my communication class the majority of the students were adults. We had 3 weeks to do the assignments, do our power point and make our speeches. We all had them done on time. The professor said that when she taught the full length class with younger students they were STILL thinking of what to do their speech on the last week of class.

So, there's my 5 cents on teachers, good and bad.

Head on over to Spunky Homeschool and read some of the great articles posted. Thanks to Spunky for putting this together and all her work in getting the links posted.

It's 5:30am on Monday and John is getting ready to work at his office downtown. He's up early enough to get ready for his carpool group. They usually show up around 6:45 am for the drive to work. If he could drive straight there, it would only take 20 minutes, but the carpool picks up lots of his co-workers and they live from one side of town to the other, so by the time the carpool finishes picking up everyone it's just about time to get into the office building at 8am.

John walks up to his desk and greets his fellow co-workers. He works in a room with about 25 other people, all of them his age. The room could be a bit bigger, but the company says they don't have the money for larger office space or more desks, even though John himself raised a lot money for desks the prior holiday season.

He sits at his desk, which was assigned to him by his supervisor, and looks over the day's schedule on the large white board at the front of the office. The supervisor is the only person in the room older than John and his co-workers, and he gets to make all the rules. The schedule takes up half the white board, and it reads :

8:30 - staff meeting
9:00 - answer phone calls
9:30 - client meetings
10:30 - break
10:45 - write letters / answer emails
11:15 - workplace safety conference
11:45 - lunch
12:45 - client meetings
1:45 - answer phone calls
2:15 - filing and miscellaneous work
2:45 - break
3:00 - client meetings
4:00 - answer phone calls
4:30 - write letters / answer emails

John looked over the work on his desk and went over his information for the morning's staff meeting. At precisely 8:30 am John and his co-workers rose from their desks with their presentations and headed in a line to the conference room for the staff meeting.

John worked through his day following the schedule. At one point one of his co-workers was on the way to the copy room and stopped by John's desk to say hi. The supervisor walked towards them and told them to stop talking and get back to work. The co-worker headed off to the copy room and John returned to his work.

At the morning break John stopped by the restroom before going to the break room for a cup of coffee. A worker from an upper level was there. John had had problems with this worker in the past. "What'cha lookin at?" the upper level worker said to John. "Nothing," John replied, washing his hands and preparing to leave the restroom. "I don't like the way you look," the upper level worker said, and pushed John up against the wall next to the sink. "What'cha got to make me leave you alone?" he said to John. John took all the money from his pocket. It was his lunch money for the week. "That'll do," the upper level worker said, and left the restroom. John turned back towards the sink, shaking, and washed his face again and calmed down before heading back to his desk.

At lunchtime John and all his co-workers again rose from their desks in unison and headed in a quiet line down to the first floor cafeteria. John didn't have any money since the upper level worker had taken it all, so he borrowed lunch money from a co-worker. They went through the line and recieved their food on their plates - it was pizza day! They sat together at their usual table. John looked around the cafeteria. The secretaries were in their usual spot near the window. The accountants were on the far side of the cafeteria. The tech guys had a computer set up and were on the other side of the cafeteria. The temps were in the center, looking a bit lost.

After lunch, John and his co-workers rose again and followed their supervisor back up to their floor, where they again started on their work according to the posted schedule. Another co-worker stopped by John's desk and started to talk when the supervisor came over to them again. "John, you've already been told once today, get back to work!" The supervisor wrote John's name on the blank side of the white board. If he got a check mark by his name for another infraction, he would lose his afternoon break time. The co-worker quickly hurried back to his desk and John sighed as he bent over his work.

Finally it was 5:00 pm and time to go home. John straightened his desk and rose to leave. He met the rest of his co-workers in his carpool and they started the ride home. Due to all the stopping and starting it was almost 7:00 pm by the time he got home.

John's wife had dinner ready and he said hello to the kids before eating. After eating he said goodnight and headed to his study to work on the next day's staff meeting presentation. He was working up to midnight, when he finally went to bed. He kissed his wife goodnight and rolled over to sleep. "Oh, I wish I could work from home!" he thought, and drifted off to sleep.

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Inspired by a post on Spunky Homeschool , where radio host Scott Thomas stated that "homeschooling...doesn't teach them (kids) a thing about how to get along in the REAL world." Emphasis is mine.

Your Linguistic Profile:

50% General American English

35% Dixie

5% Midwestern

5% Upper Midwestern

5% Yankee

Remember Spunky Homeschool's online homeschool convention starts tomorrow! I'm looking forward to reading everyone's work and finding new sites to add to my blog list.

Thanks to Kim at AHA Weblogs Blog I read my review here.

I'll definitely be spending more time at the AHA site as I'm always looking for new blogs to add to my reading list.

I'm thrilled with Kim's kind words. She captured exactly what I wanted this blog to end up being - a place for stories and information, a place where novice homeschoolers (like me, only 2 years in) can relax and see what it's really like when you first begin this journey. I wanted readers to feel like they are talking to a friend when they read my words and I think I've accomplished that goal.

Well, I got a letter from the White House. We're not going to be able to tour the White House this time around. I'm bummed because I really wanted to do this. William did as well, but he's still happy he'll get to see the Lincoln Memorial. For those who may not know, since 9-11 the White House no longer offers daily public tours. If you wish to have a tour you have to contact your area's Congressional Representative. They ask you questions, possibly conduct a background check, then arrange the tour with the White House staff. It takes a while so you have to plan ahead. I started this by contacting my representative in January and just now heard back from them, and the trip is in 15 days.

We do have the Capitol building tour scheduled so that will be something, and there is a vistor center for the White House. It's part of the national park service so William will be able to get another junior ranger badge there.

We're shopping for his dress clothes for the banquet. I couldn't find anything at our local discount stores so we hit a local resale shop. I found a men's size small white dress shirt and blazer. He tried on many blazers before choosing this one. Total for the blazer and shirt - $9! We're heading to Walmart to purchase the slacks today. I found some great slacks at one of our local stores but they didn't have his size. They really would have looked great on him, too.

We already have shoes and I bought him some white T-shirts to wear under the white shirt. He also needs dress socks.

He's kind of looking forward to the banquet but isn't thrilled about dressing up. I hope we can make this something fun for him to enjoy. I don't like dressing up either, but you can't live in jeans and T-shirts all the time.

We're Tivo'ing Colonial House on PBS and William shared information with me that I missed as he watched the show yesterday.

William: You know the strange, mysterious voice that tells what they are doing?
Me: You mean the narrator?
William: Yeah, the narrator, but I call it the strange, mysterious voice. She said that the water was so bad for the real colonists that everyone, even kids, had to drink beer!

I wonder what else he's hearing on the show from the strange, mysterious voice?

We have two weeks before leaving for Washington DC. I've been researching WWII and Washington and trying to get the money situation under control. Everything is paid for pretty much but I need to take money with me, so I'm working some extra hours to get that taken care of.

Due to the need for me to work during our usual school time I'm writing William's assignments on the white board for him to do while working. It's usually something simple, like listen to the multiplication CD, read a chapter in the George Washington biography and read so many pages in science. I also told him to pick out an activity to do on Monday related to science. He said he wanted to paint a jar. I have no idea where that came from or what it has to do with science, but I guess on Monday I'll get out my glass craft paints and find a jar to paint. We may also make a pizza box solar cooker. We have enough pizza boxes laying around and he's studying the sun's energy right now.

He's not enjoying the George Washington biography for some reason. I want him to read it because we will be visiting Mt. Vernon and I want him to have some knowledge of our first president.

We're doing read alouds as bedtime stories right now. We're mostly reading Robinson Crusoe. We're at a very exciting part right now. Robinson has discovered that cannibals have been visiting one side of his island on a regular basis, so we're wanting to see what happens with that now. I'm still trying to find a video to watch, but I'm not having any luck. The only ones I come up with are based on Robinson Crusoe, not a movie about the book.

Right now we are not doing as much schooling as I would like, definitely not like what I had planned, but it seems like life has taken on this 'after I get back from Washington' phase, so our last month of school should be pretty much on track - I hope. But that's the beauty of homeschooling - if we don't finish something this year we'll start where we left off in August, and we can keep doing the read alouds through the summer. But we will be taking at least two weeks to read the new Harry Potter book that's being released on my birthday :)

After seeing Andrea's Spring in the Maritimes post, I thought I'd post what I am seeing outside of my window at this time of the year.

This is on one side of my house:



And this is just outside my office window:



Andrea, and whoever else hasn't seen a sign of spring yet, I hope it comes to you soon.

Should I mention what the temperature was here today?

Spunky Homeschool is hosting an online convention for those of us who would like to participate. Read her article here about how to make a submission. The deadline is April 20. I read so many wonderful homeschool blogs and I'd like to urge all of you make a submission.

I wanted to remind everyone about the movie Warm Springs about President Roosevelt. It was partially filmed in my hometown of Warm Springs, GA. It will be airing on HBO at the end of April. If you have HBO check it out when it comes on, or check your video stores in a few months to see if it's been released on video. The movie covers the years before Roosevelt became president and was first inflicted with polio. He came to Warm Springs to soak in the waters and found a home among the local people here. There is a foundation here today called the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation that carries on therapy work for people with all types of disabilities. He really had a wonderful effect on our small town.

We were at Barnes and Noble today just browsing around and I found a CD series called "Portable Professor". These CDs are lectures on 8 CDs and are done by noted authors and experts in their fields. There were lectures about Benjamin Franklin, classical music, The Treaty of Versailles and the happenings that lead to WWII, relationships, investing, early American History and much more. I looked at the Ben Franklin one and the one on Versailles and was very impressed. These lectures would be great for a mini-course for a high school senior or just an adult wanting to learn more about a topic. Check out the link for the online store or see if you can find them at your local Barnes and Noble. The lectures were $39.99 for the 8 CDs. I haven't checked on ebay yet but they may be available there as well.