LIFE HAPPENS

We are foster parents. We have had 2 permanent placements and 1 emergency placement in the past week. Our homeschooling life has taken a bit of a backseat while everybody gets acquainted and settled into our routine.

There will be more blogging to come mom. Don't worry. :o)

Until then, I leave you with Vinze's Banana Bread...yum, yummy...

and the knowledge that the kids are doing Math, Reading and Language during this transition time. It's the bare minimum, but they are doing it well. Love you mommy! :o)

WED - SUNDAY: WEEK OF CRAZINESS

As you can see, I didn't post any updates over the past 5 days. You won't catch me saying "I'm sorry" when that happens. All it means is that Life Has Happened and I didn't have time to sit at the computer long enough to update our little blog here.

I'll try to give the highlights...






We didn't do much in the way of "sit at the table/book work" last week. We took that time to clean out our shed, clean the yard, gather from our garden and pack for camping...again. :o)

We are really enjoying our little campground. We found out that we can keep our electric turned on at our camper so we won't have to pack as much now that we've found this tid-bit of information. Our blankets and pillows stay at the site too so now we have a home away from home to enjoy during our Spring, Summer, Fall weekends. Whoot!

We began enjoying the "fruits" of our garden last week. Tomatoes, Peppers and Zucchini are coming out of our ears. We have one pumpkin that is growing...finally.

As the boys navigated the yard, they found a bird's nest that had fallen off of its perch. Kole grabbed a large baggie and placed it inside for safe-keeping.

Random appearances at my office door by Daxx kept me in stitches also.

Fun was had by all. They learned a little about gardening, a lot about fresh air and experienced a slight, gentle emotion over a little bird's nest. Was the week an Educational Success? Yes, the best kind.

AUGUST 18TH: Another Day of Fort "Building"

Brise, Vinze, Daxx and Kole have been cleaning out "The Shed."

"The Shed" was used as a Fort/Bike Shop when Kazz was a pre-teen. It was highly prized by our neighborhood kids and used well, back in the day.

About 2 years ago The Shed had lost its appeal for Kazz. He began driver's training, Brise began video gaming and The Shed morphed back down to the storage bin/trash receptacle.





I was sad to see it go but knew that one day it may revisit it's former glory. Much to my excitement, Vinze recently caught the "bike shop" bug. I told him that if he and his brothers cleaned out The Shed, they could use it as a Fort just like Kazz used to when he was little.

They began working on it yesterday...All Four of our Fort Loving boys took aim and charged The Shed. It didn't take long for them to pull all that had been stored in the shed right out into the middle of the yard.

I could hardly believe my eyes when I went to the window to check on their progress. Much to my chagrin, not only had our yard miraculously turned into a dump, I was immediately aware that the trash that had "been taken to the curb every week" had only "partly" been taken to the curb. The bags they couldn't reach...or didn't want to reach...were nice and ripe from months of stewing.

As I walked outside to get a better view, flies and stench reached my nostrils. I immediately pulled rank, went into Foreman mode, grabbed the nearest box of over sized garbage bags and doled out job assignments.

You There! Grab 3 gross bags and place them in this larger bag...You over there! Place all wooden objects, broken containers and forgotten toys into groups...

Away we went...piling junk, bags of garbage and refuse into mounds and mounds of over sized bags. The result was...well...slightly overwhelming..

I will no longer ASSUME that my precious children are actually doing the job they have been assigned. I have learned that it is quite important to GO CHECK! once in a while. They had done well for the most part, but the bags that were "forgotten" really were quite disgusting. The items that had been "stored" in the shed were no longer usable. A bunk bed, kitchen table, Pool Equipment and Yard games were no longer recognizable, let alone "keepers."

They began cleaning yesterday. WE finished today.

Kazz, PJ (Kazz's friend) and I took a large load of wood and metal objects to the recycling center today while the boys finished spraying down the walls and floor of the shed.


Tomorrow, we disinfect, spray again and begin molding the thing back into its former glory...A Fort/Bike Shop now built for 4 quickly growing boys full of exciting ideas.

MONDAY: AUGUST 17TH

We slept in! After a nice snooze and recovery from our fun weekend, we got up, did some chores, made a menu for the week, decided to clean out the shed so it can be turned into a Play Fort and then we were done.

Pictures of the "Fort" will come as it becomes more "Fort-ish"

It was a Quick and "Dirty" day full of cleaning, planning and throwing out trash.

Menu

Monday:
Rotisserie Chicken, Corn, Mashed Potatoes

Tuesday:
Stir-Fry on Tortillas with Salad

Wednesday:
Ham / Scalloped Potatoes

Thursday:
Leftovers

Friday:
Hot Dogs/Burgers at campground

Lunches:
Sandwiches, Fries or Fruit

Breakfast:
Fruit, toast, oatmeal and/or Eggs

FRIDAY, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY

We had a camp-out with 2 fellow homeschooling families on Friday night. That was a blast. The boys slept in the tent, Brian and I slept in our camper and fun was had by all.

The next day, Saturday, we decided to find a campground to park our camper for the year. Brian found one online and we headed out for our 2 1/2 hour journey. On the way there we saw THE most gorgeous sunset.

We arrived at the campground by 9:30 pm. They were still open.
We signed in, sat up our camper, had a campfire and zonked out.

The next morning we got up early. The 4 younger boys played for a bit on Sunday before we headed back home.

The highlights of the campground are that it is smaller, has a stocked fishing pond, lots of trees, an indoor pool and wi-fi!

Gotta love that! Whoot!

We arrived home on Sunday afternoon with high hopes to get back to our camp site this weekend. This time, we're bringing fishing rods!

THURSDAY: Projects, Pictures and Toolboxes

Brise and Vinze began assembling their Early America Project Boards today. They have taken notes, finished quizzes and printed some interesting pictures so now they get to begin the actual project.

Brise will focus on Benjamin Franklin and "minor" in other people who influenced the "making of America" before the Declaration was signed. Vinze will focus on The Boston Tea Party and "minor" in people who influenced the founding of America.

Brise did some pre-algebra today. He did his typing practice, United States quiz, reviewed his finger spelling for sign language and fiddled with Microsoft Word to put together his project. He also helped Vinze with Microsoft Word to begin his project.

Vinze worked on huge addition problems today and also began a page of word problems. He practice "skip counting," finger spelling and looked up information about The Boston Tea Party.

Daxx finished a worksheet about the sound "CH" makes. He printed his name a few times, worked on the letters D and a and said the alphabet.


Kole finished a worksheet about the sound "P" makes. He printed his name a few times, worked on the letter K and read the book "Go, Go, Go" to me and by himself. He also read words on the "word wall," practiced some other sight words, said the alphabet and colored some pictures.

Kole practicing the letter Aa

Some people have been wondering what the boys have in their tool boxes. Here's a snapshot of the top of Daxx's lid. It has a portion that snaps open/closed. He keeps his crayons, paste, scissors and ink pen up there. Inside the box is a top shelf where he keeps his pencils, glue and ruler. Under the shelf he keeps his notebook, markers, colored crayons and general toys for safe-keeping. :o)

That's all for today!

A $500 PER YEAR EDUCATION CAN SEND YOUR KIDS TO THE HEAD OF THE CLASS!

Wednesday is Homeschool Park Day. We go to the park and do little, if any school work on Wednesdays. So, I'll supplement our daily post with this tid-bit about home education. I hope you enjoy! :o)

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LifeSiteNews.com – August 10, 2009
New Study Shows Homeschoolers Excel Academically
Homeschoolers, on average, scored 37% above public school students on standardized achievement tests

PURCELLVILLE, Virginia (LifeSiteNews.com) – Today, the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) released a new study: the Progress Report 2009: Homeschool Academic Achievement and Demographics, conducted by Dr. Brian Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute, which surveyed 11,739 homeschooled students for the 2007-08 academic school year. The results were consistent with previous studies on homeschool academic achievement and showed that homeschoolers, on average, scored 37 percentile points above public school students on standardized achievement tests. “These results validate the dedication of hundreds of thousands of homeschool parents who are giving their children the best education possible,” said Michael Smith, president of HSLDA.

The Progress Report drew homeschoolers from 15 independent testing services and is the most comprehensive study of homeschool academic achievement ever completed.

While the academic results are impressive, the study also showed that the achievement gaps common to public schools were not found in the homeschool community. Homeschooled boys (87th percentile) and girls (88th percentile) scored equally well; the income level of parents did not appreciably affect the results (household income under $35,000: 85th percentile – household income over $70,000: 89th percentile); and while parent education level did have some impact, even children whose parents did not have college degrees scored in the 83rd percentile, which is well above the national average for public school students. Homeschooled children whose parents both had college degrees scored in the 90th percentile. “Because of the one-on-one instruction homeschoolers receive, we are prepared academically to be productive and contributing members of today’s society,” said Smith.

The average public school spends nearly $10,000 per child per year whereas the Progress Report shows that the average homeschool parent spends about $500 per child per year.

“Homeschooling is a rapidly growing, thriving education movement that is challenging the conventional wisdom about the best way to raise and educate the next generation,” said Smith.

There are an estimated 2 million homeschooled children in the U.S. today, which is about 4% of the school-aged population, and homeschooling is growing at around 7% per year.

For more details on the Progress Report.

TUESDAY AUGUST 11TH: Meteor Watching

This is what our home looked like at lunch time/recess today.


Daxx and Kole were reviewing their Dolch Words on their Word Wall while Brise and Vinze looked up some more information about Early America to begin their Project Boards for History Class.





Vinze chose to do his report portion of the project about The Boston Tea Party. Brise chose to do his report portion about Benjamin Franklin.

Brise and Vinze are skip counting, learning finger spelling for sign language and beginning their lessons for Italian Class. They also began working in My Favorite Math Curriculum/Text. Stein's Refresher Mathematics (seventh edition) This text covers math from "How numbers came to exist thru Calculus!"




If anyone has the teacher's edition to this text I would LOVE to acquire it from you. So far we do the "odd" problems as the answers are in the back.

Brise began on page 51 with Loooong division. Vinze began on page 32 with Adding large numbers in long rows. (lots of large numbers)

We stayed up to the wee hours of Wednesday morning trying to see the Perseids Meteor Shower, but only saw some blips. There was just too much light in our neck of the woods.

Kole, Brise, Vinze and Daxx trying to see Meteors.

That's all folks!

OUR CITY: DETROIT

I didn't have a chance to take a picture of our homeschooling day today. We just got home last night after a mini-vacation to Kentucky. We enjoyed our visit with my family. We got to attend a small town fair and see my sister-in-law growing every so much with my soon-to-be-arriving nephew.

Since I don't have a picture from today, I thought I'd share a photo from the fair. Caleb, Kole, Daxx, Kazz and Vinze were riding the Pirate ship. Brook is on there too but you can't see her.

I'm also going to take this chance to talk about our City, Detroit. This is the place you will see most often on this blog. We hang out and about there quite a bit as a family.

If you have any doubts about what we think about where we live, you will have them cleared up by the end of this post. :o)

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Native born Michigan folk are Michiganders even though our governor calls us Michiganians. I have only recently heard the term Michiganites and think it to be quite...ridiculous. I was born in Michigan but raised in southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky. I found out many years ago that I don't care for the sound of crickets. Hanging out near the sound of cars, sirens and kids playing really does my heart good.

No matter what we call ourselves or what people call us however, the one term we Michigander's can all agree on is that we are absolutely...Loyal.

We love our state. We love our Red Wings. We love our Tigers and enjoy the many lakes, streams and ponds that Michigan has to offer.

Those of us lucky enough to live in Metro-Detroit have the added advantage of Loving our City. Detroit is the Artistic, Inspired, Magical, Beautiful, City where families take in the view, the food, and the many cultures to be discovered.

At the center of the city we hang out at the Hard Rock Cafe in the elegant Art Filled Compuware building. The Hard Rock Cafe is located in the footprint of several of Detroit's finest attractions including the fabulous Joe Louis Arena, Comerica Park and Ford Field.

Strolling into the finest of Downtown Detroit, families experience a HUGE and expressive art and Architecture lesson while touring the Compuware Building. Moving upward we reach the top with a fun ride around the city. (sky rail)



Quite often, Brian and I spend an evening at the Opera. We love The Fox Theater! It is a national GEM that takes our breath away every time we enter!

You see, Detroit is gorgeous! We refuse to buy into the myths about Detroit. We know the TRUTH, we experience the TRUTH and we plain and simply do not want to miss out on all that our city has to offer just because somebody else has fears hanging around from years gone by.

Our views are not distorted by blown out of proportion movies. We KNOW Detroit and are proud of our city. We are part of the thousands who are impressed, excited and honored to be able to call Detroit home.

Of course, I do not view our grand city with rose colored glasses. I am not naive.

There are indeed parts of our city that need repair. The cold weather and snow does a doozy on the roads. I do understand reservations about getting out of a car if one zigs when they should have zagged, HOWEVER I do believe that our Nations Capital is worse in regard to "bad parts" of town yet families visit there for vacations every year! Why do families not give a second thought to the high crime rate in Washington, yet fail to enjoy Detroit?

Maybe it's because the idea of Washington D.C. is one of majestic beauty, the White House and national monuments? It is not often that the back streets of D.C. are highlighted in the news or D.C's crime rate is mentioned in the news.

Detroit doesn't have that luxury. We do get a bad rap in the press AND in movies. That stigma carries over to the psyche of our nation's parents. It Is a real possibility that parent's feel afraid to drive near our city let alone bring their family to experience it.

That, is a sad, sad idea to have about our wonderful city. Detroit is just as safe as Washington D.C.!

I urge you not to let the movie "8 mile" scare you away from what could be a beautiful and pleasant family vacation. I can tell you from experience, living only one mile from "8 mile" that this city is amazing!

We have been enriched, entertained, enlightened and entranced by Detroit!

I hope to hear from families who came to enjoy our city and learned that their fears were NOT realized. I hope that there are many, many families out there who have experienced the view from the People Mover, were able to attend a Tiger Game or attend an Opera at The Majestic FOX Theater.

I hope to hear from those who have visited The Charles H. Wright Museum of African History, The Detroit Institute of Art, The Detroit Zoo and The New Detroit Science Center.

I expect...NO...I KNOW you were not disappointed!

Detroit cannot be sampled, Detroit is to be Experienced!
Come see for yourself. I think you'll be very happy to have made the trip.

DETROIT: WHERE WE LIVE, PLAY, LOVE, EXPLORE....A CITY FOR FAMILIES

Detroit has something that I call a Tram. It is like a Subway except that it is above ground and hoisted into the air. It's called The People Mover, which is a ridiculous name, but I just love riding the dog-gone thing. What genius came up with the name "People Mover?" That's beyond me, but there you have it.

At any rate, I love the shuttle, the tram, the Aboveway, the Circle, the Tiger Trail, The Detroit Line, ....SEE the potenial for a cool name? But NO they called it "the people mover" ugh...




But I digress...








We LOVE to ride the People Mover! I personally love it because it is the BEST place to take in a relaxing, panoramic view of our gorgeous city . It's a photographers paradise and a stressed out mom's peaceful sanctuary. The motion calms the nerves and the view inspires the soul.



























This particular weekend we had the joy of taking our Kentucky born and bread niece, Brooke, to see our city. The pictures in this post were ALL taken from the Detroit People Mover.

It's some ride.

DAY 4: AUGUST 6TH 2009

We're packing for a mini-vacation. I'll post more about our homeschool on Monday when "school" opens back up!






Lest you think we are slackers, here are some pictures from one of our summer learning adventures.

Our eldest son, Kazz, and I attended a speech given by President Obama at our college. Neither of us had ever seen a sitting president give a speech. It was a long, hot day but we're glad to have had this opportunity.

Full disclosure: We didn't vote for him.

DAY 3: AUGUST 5TH 2009

This is what we were supposed to see after hanging the Pine Cone Bird feeders made on Monday, however, the boys thought they made for great batting practice. The birds have been eating the seed from the ground instead. Ah well, such is life in a home with 5 boys.


Today we went to our weekly Homeschool Park Day. The boys had fun playing with all of their friends. The Teens have "park day" at our local beach while the younger kids head to a local park with their mothers.

The park has a nice playscape, squirrels and many trees with room to roam. The boys usually end up with toting large sticks and jousting while the girls pick teams to see who gets to save them from the monster of doom...or some such action.

The best part of park day, however is that we "homeschool moms" get to talk, visit, and laugh for hours while the children "socialize" with their buddies

Wednesdays are a good day. I look forward to them quite a bit. It's the best kind of mid-week scenario. The kids are happy and momma's happy...and when momma's happy...