Homeschool History and Geography Fair

I've been dying to post about the history and geography fair but didn't want to spoil the final product.  Tonight was the annual Homeschool History and Geography Fair.  The theme this year was The United States of America...which fit perfectly with our Cycle in Classical Conversations.  I let the kids have full reign with this.  One of the reasons that I love the fairs that the homeschool group put on is because there aren't many rules and it allows for MUCH creativity.  They acknowledge that the parent is the teacher and whatever I set as goals, rules, minimums, maximums, etc is fine.  I let the kids choose if they wanted to do a family project or an individual project.  They chose to do their own.  They also totally got to pick the topic.  I laid out some books one day and they went to looking.  John Daniel was immediately drawn to Washington State due to it's beautiful landscape, forests, lakes, fishing, AND volcanoes!  He stuck to it too...wasn't budging on what he wanted to do so we set off researching Washington State.  He also wanted to read and discuss volcanoes.  He has this great book on Volcanoes that really helped and we decided to help him make a model of Washington's Mount St. Helens.  John and him did it while I was at work one day.  They used ready set used to put ceramic tile down and grout mix to make the outside.  We painted it a little and used red food coloring gel and gold paint for the lava. He really did have a good time learning about Washington State!  He even wrote all the info that was on his board himself!  I love that the homeschool group allows ALL ages to participate!

Emily had a very creative idea for her project.  She wanted to "play" tour guide for a project of Washington DC. Since we have been there, we had tons of pictures, information, and reading material on DC.  Her project was entitled Emily the Tour Guide takes you through Washington DC.  She used our pictures to tell a story and she gave hints and highlights as if she was a tour guide.  She wrote a 9 page booklet that was suppose to be her tour guide book.  She made a table of contents and divided it into subjects like Memorials, Monuments, Transportation, The Zoo, History, Museums, Food, etc.  She made it very personal and talked about things we did and hints that made our trip better...like finding a hotel near the Metro and getting tickets at the Washington Monument at 6:30 in the morning, and trying exotic foods, and that the zoo is free.  I really thought it was very cute and imaginative!  It was her own spin on a history/geography subject and I loved it!  I truly believe that someone planning a trip to DC could probably really get some good ideas from Emily's DC travel guide! 

So much to say.....

I have so much to say about our past weekend...but first and foremost I want to thank God for literally laying it in our lap.  I would also like to say that we did not go save the world, did not even save Tuscaloosa, probably didn't make much difference to that town at all....there is so much devastation!  The postings on this trip will be drawn out and probably take me forever to write about because it made me examine so much and think about so much and plus I'm in the throws of a really busy two weeks!  But here goes the first edition...

John was told the night before we left by his Chief that "if he couldn't be at their staff meeting on Monday then so be it but he NEEDED to be there!"  So what do you do when your boss says that?  This burns me in so many different ways..it WAS John's day off!  They knew he was going to miss the staff meeting  months ago and then they decided at the last minute to make it mandatory!  He goes in ALL the time on his days off but their stance on that is that when he wants off other times, they don't make him take annual time....so instead of being the witchy wife that I have been in the past when something like this comes our way, I took a deep breath, counted to 10 like 10 times and then said, "what do we have to do?"  John threw out three solutions and so we decided to drive our own car, use our own gas, and then leave after the last dinner on Sunday and drive through the night to get home so he could attend the staff meeting on Monday.  The only thing we would miss is sleeping and driving with the group on Monday....I was calm which is so unlike me and I think I proved to my hard working hubby that I respected him and his job.  And when a woman does what a woman is suppose to do....immediately I was shown the blessing in it...

First, John and I got to ride together alone and talk which is something we rarely get to do uninterrupted...much less for 7 hours.  I read a book to him and we discussed it AND we didn't have to ride in the van with the 8 teenagers singing Justin Bieber...we also got to have some fun on the way home (on our anniversary I might add) singing country music REALLY loud together to keep ourselves awake.  We listened to Crazy Girl by the Eli Young band like 10 times (which is now one of my favorite songs and reminds me of my sweet hubby...This song is so me and John!) ....so all I have to say now is Thanks Chief!  First lesson of my weekend of self examination...

One of the coolest things about this trip was that it was made up of families from our church.  There were 23 of us and the kids that were there all had parents on the trip...this is unusual in the modern day church.  A lot of mission trip are sorted by age, youth group status, men's trips, etc.  But this really cool lady decided that she wanted her family to go on a mission type trip together and so it happen and you could TOTALLY tell a difference in the way that they kids acted, behaved, and worked.  The families worked together...in family groups, we helped one another, encouraged one another and this compared to the youth pastor that had 15 kids to balance that stayed with us was astounding. ....It just makes a difference when your daddy is there to tell you to get your butt in order! 

Mom and her two kids

Mom and kids working together!

The whole gang!

The fine lady that put this all together told us a cool story...she said once she came up with the idea, she kept hitting roadblocks...she was trying to take a group to Tennessee to work there but nothing seemed to work out.  She finally asked our Associate Pastor if he had any other ideas and he said to call the Alabama Baptist Relief Group.  So she did.  And things fell right into place...a place for us to stay, work for us to do, etc.  But she had some naysayers...first people at our own church said it wouldn't work because it was a football weekend for FSU and no one would go, secondly, it was a football weekend for Alabama and Tennessee in Tuscaloosa and people said that surely it would be a terrible idea to go this weekend due to traffic and people and such.  Well we had a great group and we never even noticed the Alabama traffic....she prayed about it and it all worked out. Enough said!

Lesson # 3 (I've lost count...already)...We did not know anyone that was going all that well.  None of the families were people that we normally "hang out" with at church.  When I saw the list, to be perfectly honest I stuck my nose up and thought about how I didn't care too much for a particular person....why ?  I have no idea..I've never even talked to him except a hi in the hallway at church and I'm just being totally honest here....I had totally judged this particular person and his family by the way they worship, what they wear, and how they act from a distance...never even have tried in my 5 years of attending our church to get to know them and then ended up traveling 7 hours to spend a whole weekend with him.  And guess what, I now have a ton of respect for him.....he is a wise person, fought in Vietnam, missions is his heart, and I found him funny and enlightening...I feel terrible and stupid and had to ask forgiveness of God for such silly and ungodly thoughts.  I'm glad I got to know this man and if it took God putting us on a mission trip together to teach me this lesson then Praise God.  How many many times do we judge people by there outward appearance without truly knowing what is inside.  So that is just the beginning.....and I haven't even started talking about our projects.

To end this post, I am posting a picture of the cot I slept on at the church where we stayed.  They were so hospitable..totally opening up their church to us to stay, eat, and shower.  They had portable shower trailers, a gym, and a fully equipped kitchen.  We were very comfortable there.  I heard that they have hosted over 45,000 volunteers since April.  WOW!

Our shower trailer

Nesting

I'm nesting and it's not because I'm pregnant...it's because we are leaving to go out of town!  This happens to me every time we start getting ready to go on vacation...I feel like the entire house has to be spotless.  I have cleaned ceiling fans, windows, blinds, washed every stitch of clothing in the house, even asked John to take off his pants today so I could wash them!.  I've vacuumed, cleaned bathrooms, picked up the backyard, packed, etc.  It looks and smells so nice right now!  We are leaving tomorrow for Tuscaloosa, Alabama on a mission trip with 22 other folks from our church.  I'm so excited about going on my first mission trip!  It is our anniversary weekend and we had worked out childcare months ago so that we could have a weekend together.  We had not made plans yet.  About three weeks ago a man walked in our SS class at church and gave out a flyer for this mission trip.  It was for the exact weekend that we had childcare, we were not working, we had no plans, and it was $50 a person!  We both looked at each other and thought why not!  We have wanted to do something like this for awhile and this just fell into our laps!  Apparently we will be working for the Alabama Baptist Relief Center.  The tornadoes there happen about 8 months ago and most of the debris has been cleared in this one section but the workers, laborers, churches, etc are tired and have been working for months and need a little help.  They are still trying to help displaced families with food, clothing, and housing...ones in this particular neighborhood were very poor already and lost everything. It sounds like we will be doing some painting, moving a family into a new/fixed home, sorting clothes and food at a distribution facility, and doing some carpentry work.  We are sleeping on cots at a local church and will have hot showers.  We will cook our own food at the church.  I wondered why after all these months in America are there still needs like this that aren't cared for and taken care of by the people in Alabama...maybe that seems like a strange question but it crossed my mind...apparently FEMA pulled out a while back and the only people that have been working still are the volunteers...churches, baptist relief groups, etc and as John said, if something of that magnitude hit Tallahassee and volunteers around our area had been working tirelessly for 8 + months, then the community would need/call on neighboring states to help out...and he said maybe those people just need a little break...you know everyone rushes in right after a disaster takes place but not many people hang around to help over half a year later when people that lost their entire house are still living in a hotel and have very little clothing...at least that was John's take.  Anyways, I'm looking forward to celebrating our 12th anniversary doing something that John and I have always wanted to do together....and we are excited to bless some other people!  From what our team leader said she was overwhelmed by our church's generosity in giving gift cards to Lowes, Walmart, etc. for us to give to families we meet.  She said she had not even counted all the gift cards she received and could not believe the stacks that she collected for our church office!  We get to take the gift cards to the work sites with us and give them to people as we feel led....so I'm already praying for that person! 

Braille Class

This month's book club book was Out of Darkness The Louis Braille Story.  It was a biography of Louis Braille.  It was a great great story.  John read most of it with the kids which is fitting since he was the one that took them to book club today.  I wasn't there so I don't have those kind of details that I would only get but the guest that spoke today has been blind since 9 years of age.  She had early glaucoma.  She told the kids and adults her testimony and about her life.  She has a braille machine that makes the little dots that Louis Braille invented!  She did cards with the kids that had the alphabet in braille and a sentence.  She also showed them a project that her and her friend had made which I suspect was a way to teach braille.  The kids had a great time and told me it was very cool.  They learned first hand what a blind person has to do to live and I just think that is FABULOUS after reading a biography about Louis Braille who was so diligent and persevered through so much.  What a great hands on learning experience.  They each had questions to ask the guest and Emily's was this..."Which of the other 4 senses to do you rely on the most?"  The guest replied, "my God-sense!" 

Final draft this week

Emily just finished the final draft on her paper for this week's writing assignment....I proof it, help her when she gets stuck, and try to lead her to the proper tools when she can't think of anything to write.  I did not understand this method at all when we got started and it is not EVER the way I would have taught her to write so I am thankful that we are both learning.  The basis is this....The book gives a long 2 paragraph story to read, the student is to make key word outline using the three most important words in each sentence.  Then the student is the write their own paragraphs in their own words using the key words.  They have to then "dress it up" using things like strong verbs, quality adjectives, a very short sentence, "ly" openers, who/which clauses, vocabulary words, alliteration, prepostional opener, and "ly" words.  They have to have a clincher sentence at the end and no banned words.  It is hard (banned word).  Emily was not doing this last year but she is gaining so much.  She may not be able to do the entire thing on her own, but she is getting there and I'm amazed at what she has learned and what she notices now when reading and writing!

I'm so proud that I am posting her writing from this week!  I think it is pretty darn good!

The Hardships of Colonial Medicine


Back in the early days in America, it was difficult to take care of the sick. Minor illnesses could turn perilous quickly. Some of the medicines used to treat illnesses tasted vile and some tasted flavorful. Mothers successfully figured out how to make homemade remedies. In the font of each house, they kept herb gardens. Thankfully, the medicines cured almost everything. The herbs were to make cuts heal, bones heal, and fevers disappear. St. John's Wart, which appeared to drive evil spirits away, was one of the most common among herbs used. According to early records, colonial people crushed fried toads into powder to make tea. This remedy was not unusual. Today, we cannot fathom using the same remedies as they did in Colonial times.


In Colonial times very few doctors had training. Medical schools did not exist. Doctors were greatly esteemed by members of the community. New young doctors learned from their elders. Doctors, who attended most every birth and funeral, did not profit well. It was imperative that doctors hold other jobs to earn money to live. Before the revolutionary war, not all towns had doctors. Sadly, dishonest people would falsely proclaim to be doctors and sell fake medicines. Unlike today's doctors, Colonial doctors were not as skilled and had very little scientific training to care for the sick.

Nerds!

My kids have all turned into nerds...

Emily was teaching Molly a song about creation and they were singing along fine when Molly forgot the words...she ad libbed..."the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria!" at the end of the song about Genesis and Creation...we all burst into laughter.  The big kids learned about Columbus in Co-op and sing a song in the car all the time about the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria...guess Molly knows it too!

Two days ago, while we were out with friends somewhere (I can't remember where now)...Someone in the group said something about the state of Arkansas.  John Daniel went on to tell the person that the Capital was Little Rock, where it was located in the United States, and then today he learned when Arkansas was admitted into the Union...the only reason he wanted to know this was because we were working on his Geography fair project and he learned that the State of Washington, which is his topic, was the 42nd state admitted into the Union...so then he wanted to know the order of the states as they were admitted into the union...so we googled it and printed out a list!  They thought it was fascinating :)

Emily is taking a very hard (poor usage of words and this will be funny once you read what I type here) writing class this year called Institute for Excellence in Writing.  I say this with all seriousness...as I sit in class with her, I'm learning all kinds of new stuff!!!!  So now when we are talking around the house, Emily loves to pick out poor usage of words, she likes to point out stong verbs, quality adjectives, who/which clauses....it's pretty funny really!  Oh funny is a banned word...and so is pretty!  YIKES

Emily's Toddler Bible Class

Emily is constantly coming up with new ideas, things to do, projects, furniture rearranging ideas, make believe games...and sometimes (to be honest) I find myself getting frustrated because it is always a "to do"...you know..more work or something I know I am going to have to clean up.  I say no a lot, maybe too much but last week she came up with another new idea.  She created a "Bible Curriculum" for toddlers. She used stuff we had, created the curriculum, used scripture, made up songs, did the crafts with Molly, and entertained Molly with this for a whole hour one day.  Then she came to me and asked if I would call Molly's friend Reagan's mom and see if Reagan could come to Toddler Bible School at our house.  Before I said no, I thought about it....and thought about it and asked John about it....

If my 9 year old daughter wants to use her free time to create a Bible Curriculum for her little sister and her sister's friend, spend time taking care of them, entertaining them, and teaching them....why not?  I told her it was a privelege.  I wouldn't normally invite someone else's child over in the middle of our school day to have my daughter teach them...especially since she is only 2!  Emily's school had to be done and we had to have good attitudes this week.  I told her she had to clean it up and be "in charge"....meaning she had to watch them.  Ms. Courtney agreed and today was the 1st day of Toddler Bible Class at our house.  Reagan was here for about 1 1/2 hours.  Emily did prayer time, songs, used their notebooks, crafts, snack, and a nature walk on a rope.  They got to feed the chickens some corn.  She made them each an entire notebook with Bible stories in it and sent home homework assignments...(precious) She watched them the whole time.  I told her how proud I was of her idea, the follow-up, and completion of her task and job.  I will be honest, it takes me longer to "see" Emily's gifts...they aren't as notieceable I guess as J.D.'s.  But her imagination,creativity, and gift of teching is special...I'm glad I said "Yes" on this one.  It was super cute and very sweet...and it truly entertained them the whole time.  This is why I home school....to foster ideas, creativity, sibling play, maturity, goal setting like this!