Finally! Some Video...

The video for our production is finally getting published. Here is the olio "Jingle Bells" written and directed by Tina Kendall, one of our moms.

Directing is Hard Work!

For the last month I have been immersed in youth theater. I created a group of thespians, The Liberty Players, from our home educated co op and we have been working on our latest production, Last Stop Till Christmas. In one month, rehearsing once a week, these kids have made me so proud! They had their first performance last night and were simply amazing!

Our group consists of grades K-12. We opened with an Olio, a short 5-10 min performance, before our feature. The youngest among us, popped in and out of our family Christmas scene with Christmas jokes and merriment. The older kids sang Jingle Bells in the background. It was Laugh-in inspired. Funny, heart warming and awesome!

Then came the feature. A comedy about narcisism and self sacrifice. Giving of oneself inspires you to give to others. Their timing was on and the show was a hit! I can't tell you how much these kids truly inspire me. They drive me crazy too. They stuck with me, through venue changes, scene changes, horrible blocking and re-blocking..and re-blocking..and some more re-blocking and they pulled it all off on show night!

Video is in the works and will be uploaded here within the next few days! I can't wait to share it with you. Here's a pic of the cast:

One Room Schoolhouse

It's all the rage in the US! Thousands of children all across the country will return to their one room school houses this year. It's almost like little house on the prairie, except mom is the teacher and there are no tin buckets with which to hold your lunch.

It's the only way to get one on one teacher/student interaction. The opportunity to learn from one another skyrockets. Where else can a junior in high school impart his knowledge of American history to a 4th grader? Where else can a freshman teach a 7th grader how to complete the quadratic formula? Only in these highly specialized, unique one room school houses can this occur on a daily basis.

Anyhow..here are some pics of our one room school house (oh and those are blueberry waffles I made..just had to throw that in there at the end..yum)

Some of the books we read.

Our one room schoolhouse. Boys on the left, girls on the right. You can't see two of the desks..they are in the corners. That's my desk in the middle.

This is the chalkboard hubby made. He painted one of the doors from the cabinet with chalkboard paint..there's just something comforting about writing on a chalkboard.
This is the other door from the cabinet..made into an art shelf.

Oh yeah..those blueberry waffles. Mmm. Mmm. Good.

It's the First Day of School!!!

It's the First Day of School
Oh! What joy! O how cool!

I have new pencils! Mechanical ones.
A sparkly new ruler and crayons? Tons!

My desk is so neat, no trash or debris!
I'll keep it this way all year! Watch & See!

I can't wait to get started! To learn and to grow!
The First Day of School is so great dontcha' know!

Well It's A Hot One..

and it sure will feel like we are 7 inches from the midday sun. Another day in the high 90's. I love it. There may be some scattered t-storms this evening..good for the plants.

I went ahead and made the switch to Geometry, for both boys, next year. The original schedule had one doing Advanced Math I and the other, Algebra II. We have had a hard time with the last few sections of Algebra II. My options were to continue on as planned, take the Geometry course, or re-do Algebra II. I didn't want him to repeat Alg II just for those last few sections, he did well for 3/4 of the course. I haven't been able to find a tutor I can afford for Advanced Math, and both Hubby and I did well in Geometry so we will be able to guide the learning.

With both boys working on the same subject the teaching comes much easier. The tail end of this year was crazy for me. I'm no mathematician. I had 4 levels of math going at the same time..switching back and forth from basic multiplication/division, to pre Algebra, Algebra I and Algebra II. I look at my kids and am amazed at how they are learning these concepts. How much they are retaining. If I had known then, what I know now..I would have started introducing these concepts when they were babies.

Putting them on the same course at the same time will free up time for all of us and they will be able to use each other as resources. Although, they've already started the competition thing. When I told them what we would be doing, the middle one already made the challenge to my oldest "I bet I'll get a higher grade on the first test"! Here we go! Ahhhhhh..Brotherly Love.

My oldest is inches away from Eagle Scout. He's finished his last merit badge and just has to submit his paperwork and have his Eagle Scout Board of Review. He's very excited. I am very proud.

Out of 100 Scouts: Four of the one hundred will reach Eagle rank, and at least one will later say that he valued his Eagle above his college degree. Many will find their future vocation through merit badge work and Scouting contacts. Seventeen of the one hundred boys will become adult leaders and will give leadership to thousands of additional boys.

My middle son is following close behind. Next year he begins his final push for Eagle.

My daughter is headed to a Call To Holiness retreat the beginning of July. She'll get to spend some time with other girls to learn about vocations. All vocations. She'll meet the sisters from The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia. I've had the opportunity to meet some of these sisters and they are the most joy-filled women I have ever met. I think my daughter is going to have a fabulous time at this retreat. Please keep her in prayer, it's the first time she has been away from home for any length of time.

Check out this beautiful video from The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia

Show Choir

Our homeschool drama troupe performed Disney's Spectacular last night! They were phenomenal! I was so proud of all of them. They sang songs from Song of The South, Cinderella, Snow White, Mary Poppins, Jungle Book and Pinocchio. Due to copyright I can't post any video. :( There are some real stars in this group and it is just thrilling to see them come out of their shell and just shine!

As much as they drive me crazy, I love each and everyone of them dern kids!

Mr. Pinch Gets Hers!

Last week Mr. Pinch sat around all mopey dopey because she failed to name all 44 Presidents of these United States and therefore received no ice cream. Well a certain parental figure (me) felt sorry for her as she struggled to learn them this last week and gave her a pass on the first names...and um...the "written" test. We did an oral test and last names only. I am so weak!

Here's the final cut..she's got shifty eyes, this one!

The Cast

More pics from homeschool co-op..

The entire cast of Big Bad (front l-r: Twoah, Oh-Nay, Sister Wolf, Goldilocks, Little Red Riding Hood, Junior Bear. Middle l-r: Big Bad Wolf, Little Miss Muffit, Papa Bear, Court reporter, Granny. Back l-r: Fairy Godmother, Bill Woodcutter, Pig Three, Evil Stepmother, Boy Who Cried Wolf, Mama Wolf, Sydney Grimm, Mama Bear, Bailiff, Judge Wiseoldman, Shepherdess)


The "legal" crew (Mr. Middleman is Judge Wiseoldman)


Grimm (Mr. Big Boy is Sydney Grimm, reporter for EFN (Enchanted Fairytale News)


The Big Bad Wolf family (Pannini is Momma Wolf)

Our Week Ahead - Homeschool Production of Big Bad

A courtroom has never been more lively and fun than in The Big Bad Musical! This smart and wickedly funny musical is great for actors and audiences of any age. The jury—your audience—must decide the outcome of the biggest trial ever in the fairy-tale world! The notorious Big Bad Wolf is being slapped with a class-action lawsuit by storybooks of quirky characters who want to get even: Little Red Riding Hood, her Grandmother, the Three Little Pigs and the Shepherd in charge of the Boy Who Cried Wolf. With Sydney Grimm as the commentator on live Court TV, the two greatest legal minds in the Enchanted Forest—the Evil Stepmother and the Fairy Godmother—clash in a trial that will be remembered forever after. As our wronged fairy tale characters testify, the wolf seems deserving of all that’s coming. Yet, even though the infamous Evil Stepmother resents doing pro-bono work on such an obviously futile defense, Mr. Wolf makes a good case for himself. Was he born a criminal, or made one?

This is what we will be doing all week. The show is on Thursday. Mr. Big Boy is Sydney Grimm, Mr. Middleman plays The Judge and Pannini is Mother Wolf. Mr. Pinch will be doing a pre-lude with the other Elementary students of folk culture. They will do some dances from different countries, that they have learned over the fall session.

It's going to be a long week of prep and rehearsal. The kids are looking forward to it and so am I. It's a very funny play and the students are doing a great job. Now I just have to decide if the wolf is guilty or not!

A Homeschool Family Funny

H/T Aussie Coffee Shop

No Swimmy Swimmy Here.

The pool man (I am beginning to not like saying that) did not make it yesterday. Don't know why..the manager is trying to find that out. The ground needs to be dug out and the guy that does that has given them the slip. hehe

So we are rescheduled for Saturday. I guess that's okay as it gives hubby more time to become an electrician. hehe

School started yesterday and the oldest was right back to his old ways of Math diversion tactics. I can't take another year of that. I hated to do it (hehe) but he pushed me to it. He got the lecture on responsibility and changing his ways. hehe.

I have to laugh at the end of each one of these are I'll just go crawl back into bed and ask for a do over.

Happy First Day of School!

That's what I will be saying in about 20 mins as I walk through the house. Right now, all is quiet. The kids are still asleep and unassuming. Little do they know..hahahahahaha (evil homeschooling mom laugh).

Lesson plans have been reviewed. Pencils are sharpened. Erasers are already broken off, crayons have been opened and lost and notebooks have been doodled in. And we haven't even started yet! I have so many plans!

Not only is it the first day of school, our pool is being installed today. We found out yesterday that the electrician was going to charge us around $1000 to install a dedicated outlet for the pool. I say "was". We said "no thanks". Originally, the pool guy (I love saying that), had told us it would be closer to $300. Big difference. The Electrician just laughed when we told him that. So..my darling hubby, handyman extraordinaire, will be learning how to run electricity to pools. :) I know there has to be a You Tube video out there just for him. ;)

We finally found a supplier of 55 gallon drums for our rain barrels and we purchased 4 of them yesterday. We had to drive an hour and a half to get them, but it will be well worth it when the rain is collecting in them and flowing out into my gardens. FREEly. Now we just have to get the gutter installed and set up the operation. Another You Tube video has already been bookmarked. Let me tell ya, I never thought I'd spend so much time on You Tube, but it's proved to be quite helpful for outdoor projects. There are some creative folks out there.

Next project is the deck surround for the pool and spa. Next weekend will be the deck building party. Some friends from hubby's work said they would help for pizza and beer. I offered pizza and soda. I want my deck to be plum. Ya know! Beer after the deck is built.

I will try to take pictures of the pool installation today. The kids can't wait to have their first pool party. Honestly, neither can I.

Other projects on tap here:
- Screening in the back porch
- Building a brick BBQ pit
- Sewing curtains for all the rooms

I'll keep ya up to date.
Off to get ready for school!

The School Bus is Coming!

Well, not really, but it's fun to think about :).

I finally ordered all my curriculum for this year. We are scheduled to start on September 8th. The day after Labor Day. I have gone through all the old books and put them in bins and am currently going through all the papers. Ugh.
Tons of papers.

We received final report cards and the kids were so excited. They were so proud to show Dad that they all earned A's and B's. My high schooler pulled a 3.2 average and is discovering that life is waiting on him, just around the corner. I think (and I stress "think") he's beginning to take things seriously.

I am so proud of all of them. They worked very hard and none harder than the big boy. Term papers, book reports, essays and Algebra tests, he was plain tired of it all. But he pulled through. He got all B's and 1 A...in Religion. I cannot argue with that. Thanks Be To God.

So, books are on their way and shelves are being reorganized. Schools supplies are purchased.

New pencils, so precisely
sharpened,
crisp, white paper beckons
Colorful and true
colored pencils seek out
a shape
crayons neatly stacked in a row
books, so fresh and vibrant
stories, knowledge, life
opportunity knocks at each door
what lies ahead
determination, perseverance
Patience
Foundations built
rock solid
Christ leads
we follow (kb)

The Reality of School

(a peak into the last few days of school...)(harp music and dreamy clouds appear and fade into the scene)

Math has decided to linger a bit into the summer, always an uninvited guest. However, we'll treat him well (and hope he leaves quickly). Art, music, and PE have all packed up and headed to the beach. Lucky!

English and Grammar, they always travel together, are having a spot of trouble getting those dangling participles into their suitcase and Reading can't seem to shut hers.

Religion never leaves. He just hangs out in the background all year. We like Him..He's a quiet guest.

Unlike Ms. Science, who just keeps making a mess wherever she goes. Hang on..oh...there she goes..she's got her safety glasses on ..oh! No! Not the baking soda and vinegar!...

Whew..okay..got Science under control. Phonics skedaddled earlier in the year. Sort of a loner. He comes in, gets his work done and heads out. Sometimes I forget he's here.

Health made a short appearance, what a sweet baby she was.

History, well what can you say about History? He just takes up the whole room! Everyone loves him. He's the life of the party. Dinner table discussions would be non-existent without History. Man! Does he have some stories to tell. It's always sad to see him go. What a life of the party.

So, another school year comes to an end. We are all anxious to find out what next year will bring us. But I think we'll take a load off for a while. Let the dust settle. I better go help English. Her subjective complement is showing.

A Unit Study

My kids have recently fallen in love with The Cosby Show. So much so that we bought the first 3 seasons on DVD for Christmas. I have to admit I love the show as well and it brings back some fond memories of my younger days. My brothers and sister gathered around the t.v. with Mom and Dad, laughing our hiney's off and learning at the same time.

I like this series because, although it can be a bit unrealistic (as all t.v. shows are) the Huxtable family really did try to keep it "real". They dealt with real family situations and did so in a loving but responsible way.

I have been trying to come up with a Unit study on this series. I've never done anything like this before. Maybe you can help?

I want to be able to look at each episode and break down the vice/virtue issues. How the kids deal with certain issues, how Mom and Dad respond or do not respond.

Any suggestions? Does anyone else out there in blogger world love The Cosby Show? Has watching it influenced your parenting or children's attitude? What types of conversations have been sparked in your family because of a particular episode? Do you prefer the early seasons or the later ones? Ahhhh...so many questions.

OH and one more..is there a show on today that you regularly watch with your family and have been able to use for teaching moments?

I thank you in advance for your responses and look forward to reading and learning.

One of those days...

Today has been one of those days! I feel like I have run a marathon today. I got up this morning at 5 am to sit for the neighbor who got recalled early. Just an hour..but it was earl-i! If you know what I mean.

Then to the doc with my hubby to check on all things vasovasostomy. Healing is progressing well and he has about 4 more weeks before he will be back to 'normal'.

Next, off to the tax center to do my taxes. I would've done it on my own, however I had to file two state taxes and they are always so confusing when one member is in the military and not a resident. Well, the Lt. that filed for me was so great. Hubby didn't go with me so I had to go track him down to get his signature.

While I was getting his signatures the kids called because the Direct T.V guy was at the door..totally forgot he was coming..he couldn't come in without someone over 18 at home so he went to Burger King until I got back. Whew.

Then back out again to head to work and do my mandatory training. 2 hours later and of to the commissary to get the ingredients for my babycakes that I am going to be cooking at the homeschool group tomorrow.

Now I'm home and God Bless my kids. They were great today. They got their work done and didn't fight and the house wasn't destroyed when I got home.

Dinner is on and I am ready to hit the sack. It's only 6:30 pm. What a day!

How was yours?

Back On The Bright Side

Whew! I made it through the sick fog of last week and have emerged on the other side of darkness! The sun is shining, a comfy 75 degrees out side and except for a slight cough, I can function again! Just having the sun shining in the window makes me feel better.

I had to get plugged back into the family unit. I am going to be having a series of teacher in-service days. I sat down with the Jaystar (my 9th grader) and we covered all of quarter two yesterday. We made a plan to finish up and I set some deadlines that I will be enforcing.

Tomorrow I will sit down with Alower (my 7th grader..I don't know where he picked up that name..I told him if he doesn't watch his attitude he won't be "allowed" to do anything!)

Friday I will sit down with Pannini (my 5th grader)and on Monday I'll finish up with Mr. Pinch (she's my 2nd grader..like I said...I don't get their nicknames..but apparently they think they are hilarious).

My hubby is still in the recovery process, but bless his heart, while I was sick he took care of schooling for me. Couldn't ask for a better man.

I have to hit the library today and the grocery store. I really wanted to spend some time working on that post about socialism/collectivism. I have two books to read and review, I have to do the taxes and the laundry. Oh and I really want to tackle reading Pelosi's Porkulus bill. Oh and don't let me forget I have to prepare rice krispie treats for the co-op Valentines Day party tomorrow, plus get the ingredients for my cooking class.

Holy Cow! I've got some work to do!

A Little Food, A Little Music..

Okay..class one done! I set up the "Something is wrong here" kitchen. Hazards and a general mess everywhere. I gave the kids 1 minute to look around and write down all the hazards they could see. We discussed proper kitchen safety and food handling. I have ended up with mostly ages 8-10. Not what I thought I would have but we'll make it work.

Next week we begin cooking. We are going to make breakfast. Eggs and pancakes, maybe some french toast. I am going to work on the menu and ingredient/supply list today.

On another note, I am so excited. My oldest son is having his first guitar lesson as we speak. This wonderful man from church has agreed to take time out and come and teach him a thing or two. It's good for two reasons. One, he's learning guitar, but more importantly, he's learning to interact with another adult on a personal level. This is not easy for him. He's having to think about what he wants out of playing the guitar and ask himself questions like "why do I want to learn this?" It sounds like a no brainer...but he's not used to doing that. He has always just sort of done what we told him to do. Am I making sense? I guess it's hard to explain. I am just thrilled that he has this opportunity.

Plus, Mr. C brought me a Guamanian cookbook to peruse and make some copies of. I can't wait to get to it.

Have a great day and thanks so much for your words of encouragement with this class of mine!

Blessings all around to you!

Of Nerves and E. Coli

Today is the big day! I am going before 11 kids who want to learn how to cook. Whew.. I have prepared a presentation on Kitchen Safety/Hygiene and Safe Food Preparation. I even printed out some cute E. Coli and Salmonella to demonstrate with.

Why is it that I can get up before strange adults and give a presentation but when I think about standing up in front of kids I go all nervous nelly!?!?!?! I do this everyday! No easy task, this is. Ooooh! Maybe I'll go all Yoda on them.

No?

Probably not a good idea, seeing as I don't know enough Jedi speak to get through an hour.

Wish me luck, I hope these kiddos are ready for me! Man! I bet they haven't seen anything like me before! Wow! I'm gonna knock their aprons off! Whoooo boy! Watch out kids! Here I come!




help!!!

Of Pronouns and Surface Area

Whew! I thought at one point I was at a ballon fest..all the hot air that was being blown through pursed lips today. That was just during Math! Oh..vacations..they can wreak havoc on an overachiever who realized he forgot the formula for surface area. English presented it's own defense and almost won! I believe they have finally learned the meaning of the word "review."

The best part of my day..my oldest says to me "I need to study." That's it. But those are the sweetest words I have ever heard come out of that boy. I felt like Sally Field..."He get's it! He really get's it!"

All is well..we are on the way to scouts for an Epiphany party. One of the scouts arranged for a blessing on the scout house. Let me tell you, they really need an exterminator (do not look behind the shower curtain!) but perhaps Father will be able to banish those critters with his blessing. :)

I just got asked to teach a cooking class for middle/high school at the homeschool group we are part of. I'm game. Just have to have an agenda by Wednesday. Yes. This Wednesday. So I will be a busy girl tonight and tomorrow. Any suggestions? Help!

So, one down and only 115 more days to go! Then we can heave a big sigh and go jump in the pool every single day!

UPDATE: Thanks for the ideas Mau! I was thinking the same thing. The class will be 5th graders and up so I will be able to talk on a more adult level. Thanks for your help!