The Last of October

It was so good to be together as a family of 5 for awhile.  David came home for Fall Break, and it was the 1st time that his sisters and I had seen him since he left for college in August.  He is doing really well in his Junior year.  He has changed his major to Christian Social Ministries.  He will minor in Political Science.  David was able to get a job on campus this year.  He also has a job as a Youth Director for a small, but growing Baptist Church in Delray Beach.   I am looking forward to seeing more of God’s plans unfold for my son! While David was home, we took a quick trip up to St. Augustine. 

This is where we ate lunch - the food was wonderful, I wish I could remember the name of the restaurant, but it is really close to the fort - on the same side of the road.

A unique way to provide the kids with entertainment while you wait for your food would be to...  Feed the fish in the harbor by dropping stale bread out wood box slots below the windows.  If all goes well, the bread falls to the fish.  Alexis has her hand in one of the doors and a crafty bird waiting to catch the bread before it hit the water succeeded, and snatched up the fish food first.  We were all surprised to watch this happen.  Quite entertaining!

This is inside the "Oldest House" in Florida.  The house itself dates to the early 1700's.  The property itself was inhabited by Europeans since the 1600's.

David, Alexis, and Amanda in the garden at "The Oldest House."

We watched a reenactment of the Spanish soldiers preparing their practice cannon firing.  This was a daily occurrence at Castillo de San Marcos.  Building began for this fort in 1672

David by a cannon

A view from the fort displays a Cross at Mission of Nombre de Dios.

4 of the 5 of us in one of the fort's watchtower.  Obviously David took this pic.

Fountain of Youth?  (That's what my sister-in-law jokingly asked when she saw this shot on my Facebook page.)  I told her it's more like the Fountain of Ripley.  (As in Ripley's Believe it or Not.)  We did not go inside, but found a way to have some fun with their outside attractions for a few minutes.

David & David are inside a house made out of a hollowed out tree at Ripley's.

Before we left St. Augustine, we stopped off at the Lighthouse.

More of October Fun

Science Center Field Trip! 

Friends starting off their day at the Orlando Science Museum

Getting ready to see a chemistry show...

Ready?  What color does copper chloride turn when it burns?  (Blue)

Burning Table Salt-  Don't try this at home!

Ready to see an I-Max Movie

Forensic Science - Look Close...

Do these two mug shots look like the same person?  I think not - but they should be...  It just goes to show you that no two witnesses see the same criminal!

More forensics

Budding detectives-

Down time at the Science Center

A wind tunnel - near hurricane forces

October - Busy, Busy, Busy!

We finished up our 1st co-op session of the school year this month.

I am looking forward to the break.  Since having the flu in August, Alexis seems to continue to catch every cold that comes her way.  She has been sick several times again already.  We stayed caught up on reading, but are a little behind on the EHE.  Hopefully we will be back on pace by the 1st of the new year.  I struggle with the idea of needing to remove a book or 2 from our schedule, this is a fabulous Core, but we may have to decide on scaling back a bit.  I truly want Alexis to be able to move to a new Core next August.  We shall see... . 

Here is a recap of Sonlight Weeks 6-9 that Alexis and I worked on:

New Zealand, Antarctica, Japan, and Korea

We read:

Born in the Year of Courage - One of our favorites so far this year.  Great tie in with Commodore Perry in Land of Shogun.  this book is based on the life of Manjiro Nakahama.  As we read it, the author gave us the sense that the Lord placed him in strategic places at just the right time.

Silkworms - A simple yet thorough book on the life cycle of silk worms, as well as the process of preparing the silk for it's now intended use.  Making Silk

The Master Puppeteer - This started out a little dry in our opinion, but became much more interesting somewhere around Chapters 4 & 5.  Through the recommendation of some of the Sonlight ladies, this and other You Tube clips are great go alongs with the book. 

The Big Wave - Short, poignant book written by Pearl S. Buck.  Excellent read!

Commodore Perry in the Land of Shogun- I love how the author portrays Commodore Perry with a colorful twist!  Eye catching art exhibits that truly interested Alexis were displayed throughout the book.  We very much enjoyed it.  Much better than many historical write ups about Matthew C. Perry.

The Cat Who Went to Heaven - Strangely odd, but a good re-intro to Buddhism.  We read about and discussed this earlier, but this book helps to see the application of the belief.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes - I cried.  Again.  Alexis and I read this book for her book club 2 years ago.  When we realized that she didn't remember much of it, we decided a re-read was in order.  It is a very well written short book, packed with the humanity side of the ugliness of war.

Tales of a Korean Grandmother - Looong!  Alexis loved the stories, but agreed with me that this would have been much better if the book had been cut in 1/2.  However, it is an excellent way to present Korean and Buddhist traditions.

The Kite Fighters - Great book, quick easy read.  Without ever having pre-read it, I chose to pick this book as our book for hosting Alexis' girls book club.  We read it in October, and hope to have photos of the fun go-along activity planned for the November book club!

Here are the movies we watched this month:

New Zealand South and North Island - If I planned to "sell" someone on a trip to New Zealand, this would be the dvd to show them.  A taste of New Zealand's present culture.  Nice, but it did not give us the sense that we had experienced the history of New Zealand.

The Other Side of Heaven - We enjoyed it, and there were a few slight intense moments, but even those were subdued compared to what mission work was probably like in the Tonga during the 1950's.  I believe that this is also a LDS perspective, as the main character was on his 2 year (right of passage type) mission trip.

Whale Rider - Good Movie.  After watching it, I decided to take a look at the library book, just to see if there were any obvious differences between the book and movie.  Imagine my surprise when I read that the author, who is Maori, wrote the book from the comfort of his NY city apartment overlooking the Hudson River.  That was unexpected.  The book is based on a legend about Paikea, an ancient ancestor to the Maori tribe, on the north island of New Zealand at Whangara.  Witi Ihimaera chose to sub-divert the original legend with a spin to make it sound like a more modern legend.  He placed his emphasis on the importance of women's equality, and the struggles that traditional valued men might face.  How do I explain how I feel about that?  As my mom would say, this was an agenda filled movie.  Yes the movie was good, but I was taken off guard by the push for woman's lib.

Antarctica - I-Max - One of the better I Max movies that we've seen.  I'm sure an I-Max theater would do it more justice.  The documentary had some fabulous underwater scenes.

The Endurance - Excellent movie.  A not to be missed film on the history of Sir Ernest Shackelton's faithfulness to his crew, and their respect and admiration for him.

Eight Below - Another great Disney movie.  After watching the intense and riveting Endurance, I was looking forward to a more "fun" movie.  This was intense as well, but still quite enjoyable..

Alexis made Pavalova - as an EHE Adventure for New Zealand.  Yummy!

Alexis is studying the Human Body this year.  This photo is a group of items she molded with Play-dough.  Each item is a representation of a part of the body works.  It includes, the immune system, the digestive system, the taste buds/tongue, and brain.  The entire project was done as an artistic and oral presentation based on The Magic School bus Inside the Human Body.  I think Alexis did an amazing job!

This represents a heart pumping blood.

Tongue - Sweet and Salty Taste Buds

White Blood Cell

White Blood Cell prepared to attack the Germ that is getting ready to invade the Red Blood Cells.

Digestive Juices and Food

Food after juices did their job.

Brain - Hard to see the sections - Frontal Lobe, Temporal Lobe, Parietal Lobe, and Occipital Lobe

This lovely piece of yarn represents Stretched Out Intestines.  About 25' Long...

Intestines wrapped up, another shot of the brain, immune system, tongue, taste buds

Alexis had fun with a go-along art project too.

Japanese marbling - Drop Ink on the water surface

Swirl the Ink - She did this with the back of a paint brush

Gently rest paper on top of the water, and carefully pull up.

Final Results!  (Sorry for the busy fall leaves tablecloth as a background.)

Zealous Attempt to Catch Up and a Zip Line

Sonlight!  We are all over the place, working off of weeks 5 and 6 schedules this week - Antarctica and Japan for the most part.

Alexis had been sick again this past week with a bad cold, and we also had a field trip that took the entire day Friday.  My goal for next week is to try and get her back to the normal SL schedule – whichever week that turns out to be… 

Math is getting a little harder, so she is slowing down a bit with it.  I am still happy we are only using SL Language Arts.  I have not yet felt the need to use our additional LA resources (Rod and Staff) that I had purchased at a used curriculum sale, "just in case."  Science is going well too.  I’m glad we are using Dinah Zikes Great Science Adventures to go with Sonlight’s Core 5 science books.  It is a good fit for us.

Last week I mentioned that I had started watching "Ring of Fire: An Indonesian Odyssey" from Netflix.  Alexis thankfully was not interested in watching it, so I viewed it on my own.  It took forever for me to carve the time out of my life to finish seeing this, as it is 290 minutes in length, (that is just Part 1,) but I was able to take some time yesterday evening to view the rest of the documentary.

Alexis not wanting to see this dvd truly ended up being a God thing.  There were some – let’s just say, bare scenes.  That was not something I wanted her to view, but believe it or not, the nudity is not what disturbed me the most.  What was hard/painful for me to process was to see how unreached many of these islanders were, and I am certain, still are.  The brothers who produced this film spent a decade island hopping through the Indonesia's chain of volcanic islands, and embracing the religious cultures they filmed along the way.  I was stunned to witness the evil forces present in these areas.  I don’t think I’ve ever felt such raw emotion about a cultural presentation before.  It has given me a new found respect and perspective for missionaries who spend their lives working to communicate the Truth of Jesus to people who seem so lost.  I am in awe of what they are willing to do for His kingdom, as it is clear to see that they may face unadulterated evil in the most grievous sense.  There is one particular religion represented in the film that presents itself to today’s Americans as a religion that pursues peace and focus.  After watching this film, (again, from the perspective of men who embracing the culture,) I can truly say that this particular doctrine (calling it a religion now bothers me) is anything but peaceful to the soul, and although they may become focused, that focus is in no way harmless.  I was shocked to witnessed the demonic forces behind this belief.  I am glad I watched it, and probably will see the 2nd dvd – later.  I need time to digest this hard content more before I do.  I will not allow Alexis to view it.  At least not for another 5 years or so…

In addition to school, we had our 3rd week of co-op.  Alexis is having fun with that, and will miss it when we take a break.  It is nice to visit with many of the moms there.  Some I only get to see while co-op’s are in session.

Keeper’s is going well too.  Another mom has taken over setting up the badge schedule for moms and girls.  I am slowly backing out of my leadership responsibility there, as my Home Educators group leadership responsibility has increased somewhat.  The girls are working on their scrap-booking badge.  Alexis has done this before, but it was a little different.  The first time around, the girls focused on their photo and decoration presentation.  This time the emphasis is on journaling.   

We had a great field trip experience last week.  Alexis said it was her favorite field trip ever!  It was fun, and unexpectedly, I participated too!  (One of the families who had signed up did not go, so there was an extra mom ticket.)

Originally I planned to sign up to go too, but the mom in charge of the field trip sent this You Tube Video of what the field trip experience would be like before I registered, so I chickened out and did not add my name to the list.  After we got there, I regained my confidence in tree climbing and went for it.  We had a blast!!!  The video is only Course #1.  Our trip included the 2nd course, which was higher in the trees, and a more challenging course with an extra zip line. 

Happy friends looking forward to a fun day!

Alexis during "Instruction" time.

And she's up!!!

Me - before starting out...

1st part of the course...

Alexis walking the tight rope.  A UPS truck drove under her feet just as she was at the 1/2 way point.  That was a quite startling!

Zip Line Fun!

Alexis moving her cables from one section to another

Course #2

Course #2 for me too!

Continuing on...  Almost finished!

Last Zip Line!  Yeah!!!  Off to Cracker Barrell with Alexis and a friend!

Happenings at our House

We are on week 5 of Sonlight Core 5.  We should have been on 7, but got behind, (see previous posts and you can easily figure out why.)

The Eastern Hemisphere Explorer is going well, and so far, Alexis likes it.  The spectrum of facts and interesting trivia is wide - holding her interest well.  I think one of the keys to keeping her content with it is that I try not to let things get to the point of frustration for her as she attempts to answer the questions.  The World Book that comes with the Core is great, but it doesn't give all the answers - and at times, the answers are hard to find anyway.  If Alexis can't find an answer, she skips it, then goes back once more to look for it, then we (yes, we) google it or go to the answer key.  I think it is important that I help her, as this is a year long process, and if I start out expecting her just to know how to find all her answers, it would be delusional of me, and almost impossible for her.)  I feel that if we keep things rolling, she'll "get" the process and pick up on how to seek the information independently.

Last week for a writing assignment, Alexis used the World Book to find information on the kangaroo mouse.  (Unrelated to EHE.)  It took me off guard when Alexis had a light bulb moment realizing that World Book had information on it that did not involve the EHE.  I guess I should have first taken her to the library to show her a set of encyclopedias so she could grasp the massive variety of subjects one holds.  Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the details, that I forget that of course a child would not automatically know that a little DVD could be so versatile. 

The reading and history assignments are enjoyable and managable at the moment.  So far, I'm thrilled to say, Alexis is still looking forward to our reading and discussions on Core 5.  Very glad that she does.  

Writing is one of our main goals to focus on for improvement this year.  SL's Core 5 LA program is certainly centered on writing assignments.  As I laid out her school schedule on paper in late July, I became concerned with the quantity of writing assignments this LA program has.  I forced myself to calm down as i looked further and saw that these are quick assignments - not long drag outs.  I also reminded myself that I am in control of her schedule, and can adapt if need be.  Much to my happy surprise, however, she has exceeded my expectations, and is doing an absolutely wonderful job!  I am loving Core 5!

We've seen lots of Netflix movies over the last several weeks:

At the moment I have Ring of Fire "checked out.  It was released in 2003, and seems a bit dated, but still interesting.  For some reason Alexis hasn't taken to it.  Some of the island cultures have oddities that I am not quite ready to explain to her - so I have not pushed her to watch it with me.

For fun we watched Kangaroo Jack - I'm sure to many it would be considered twaddle.  There is one scene that i wish we had fast forwarded through.  I saw it coming, but just couldn't fathom that what I was afraid would happen would.  Sigh.  Yes, it was twaddle, over the top corny, but in a strange way, it was sort of a fun movie to see.  Just wish they had cut that scene - maybe a few others as well.

The Silver Stallion was another movie we viewed.  It was okay, though it was not one of our favorites.  There was a lot of "mother earth" talk (for lack of better words.)  I am curious to know if the early beliefs of the Aboriginees spilled over into what would be considered the western culture of Australia?  Pr, has this belief always been a part of all of this region?  The film was released in 1993 - before much of our western culture regarded the earth as the source of all animate and inanimate objects.

We also watched Discovery Atlas Australia Revealed - Russel Crowe narrates it.  This was a good one, although, like the move mentioned above, the cultural views saddens me.

Australia the Beautiful - was good.  It has breathtaking scenery, and unique information about this great country's unique wildlife.

Other happenings - 

Alexis went on a fun field trip.  The students took an art class and learned about printing using a special linoleum tile, paper, and ink.

The 2 photos taken are not that great -  I forgot my camera and had to take them with my phone. 

Ink Stamps made of linoleum

Silly smile - so pretty!

Aside from all of Alexis' happenings, David, (son,) is getting settled with school.  We miss him sooo much, but are proud of all of his accomplishments.  He is working at the college this year in a work study program.  In addition to this, David just got a "real" job at a lovely church - working with the youth!  Sometime before he finished his sophomore year, David decided that he would like to take some classes to explore the possibility of pursuing a minor in Student Ministry.  (His majors are Political Science, and Communications.)  Since he graduated from VBS in 5th grade - David has been involved in student ministries.  Much of it was helping me with my Sunday School classes, or the church with VBS, or various other venues including some great programs he worked with during school least year - but it all has been an amazing and blessed opportunity to watch him grow spiritually and deepen his commitment to the Lord.  I am excitedly anticipating what else He has in store for my boy!

Amanda is doing great!  She is working hard, and still has 2 jobs.  One of them as lots of baked goods that are served fresh daily, so on the nights that she closes, if no charitable organizations come to pick it up, she is able to bring goodies home, as they would otherwise go in the trash can.  Alexis is enjoying her sister's goodies, and Amanda has been so sweet to take some of it to her grandmother.  She's even been able to bring extras home for me to share with some of the homeschool moms at a meeting.  I hope everyone enjoyed!

School is going well for Amanda, and she expects to be able to stay on schedule for the rest of the year.  She soon needs to firm things up for the college she will attend next year.  Time is flying fast!

One of the other leadership moms in our homeschool group and I conducted a workshop last Monday evening.  She spoke about portfolios, and I spoke about Sue Patrick's Workbox System.  It has been an invaluable organizational tool for me and Alexis - both, as we began it sometime before last school year ended.  I almost didn't start back up with Workboxes right away, but Alexis herself actually encouraged me to fill the boxes.  As I began working with it again, it became clear to me how much the system was helping us.  So much so that I thought it could benefit other moms in our HS support group.  I happily volunteered to do this workshop, then as it got closer to presentation time, I began to feel a bit inferior.  Since I am a homeschool mom of 1 - teaching a group of homeschool moms of many, how do I make suggestions for making this system work for them?  Thankfully, a sweet friend, Leslie, took time out of her busy life to give me some great tips about how to use the Workbox System with multiple students.   She shared about some of the many fun things she adds to her children's boxes.  She also gave me great ideas of how to intertwine student's activites throughout the day.  Above all, she gave me encouragement - a huge blessing. My presentation went well, and I am thankful for the opportunity to help my groups moms.

In addition to Leslie's help, Sue Patrick, when i e-mailed her asking questions about the system, generously offered to send me handouts and an outline to cover important points about the system.  More encouragement!  God is so good!