Spring Break?

Well, this week I had planned on taking a spring break. Our plans are foiled as we have been passing around a really nasty cold the last 5 days. It started with A~man...and I thought Z and I had escaped it. Saturday morning Z woke up with it and it hit me hard last night.

This is A~man Wednesday, rosy cheeks and all. I cannot believe they can still fit in that tent. It's from when they were preschoolers and they drug it out to play. Oddly Buster kept going in there even when the kids weren't. (hiding?? heehee)

We obviously didn't get to go to church but we did get to dye some Easter eggs.

We did get out for a little hike as we desperately needed some fresh air.

We went to one of our favorite local places!

I was really hoping for an overnight trip somewhere this week but that may have to wait. I've already told the kids they were taking a break this week so I can't back out on that. I'm hoping to get them to watch some educational videos with me though and maybe do some printable worksheets as we do not normally do worksheets/workbooks. Anything to keep them busy while this gunk runs its course through the house. Dear hubby is next so I hope I can feel better before he gets it.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

The Art of Poetry: A Schoolhouse Crew Review

Dust of Snow~Robert Frost

The way a crow

shook down on me

the dust of snow

from a hemlock tree

Has given my heart

a change of mood

and saved a part 

of a day I rued.

Poetry has a way of taking ordinary words and making something extraordinary out of them. They create a visual image in the mind of the reader that goes way beyond the black and white of the words on paper. Classical Academic Press has created educational materials that have brought back the art of classical education. Not long ago we received the curriculum The Art of Poetry to review.

Here is a description from their website-

If you have ever felt mystified by, or unable to enjoy the significance of poetry, this book will lead you step by step to understanding and love of this branch of literature, guided by a gifted poet and teacher. The Art of Poetry is an excellent middle school or high school curriculum; it will teach the practice of reading a poem slowly and carefully, introduce students to the elements of poetry (such as imagery and metaphor) and the many forms that can make a poem, from sonnet to open verse. In the belief that practice is the best way to learn, this book is rich with explications, exercises, and activities. A biography of each poet is also included, and we are providing audio files of many of the poems.

 Classical education is based on a three-part way of training the mind called the trivium. The first part of the education is when the child absorbs facts, the next stage is when the child learns to think through arguments. The last part of classical education is when children learn to express themselves. When we first started homeschooling this is the type of plan I really wanted to use. As a homeschool mom though, I learned that you have to teach the way your own children learn best, and I discovered that classical education would not be on our path to learning. Yet, I do have a few friends that teach in this manner and I have to sit back with a bit of awe as I think it is a beautiful way to learn. So I must say I was very excited to get to try out some of this type of curriculum. 

My 11 year old daughter and I sat down and went through several of the poems. With each poem there are included discussion questions and various activities to do. I really like how it gets the student involved in the whole thought process behind the poems. I think that I enjoyed it more than my daughter though as I do not think she is quite ready for this type of curriculum. I can very well see her being ready for something like this in the next year or two though. What I really like about this curriculum is the fact that you can move through it at your own pace. Which means that I might take the slow approach in the fall and ease into this with my daughter as it can be done over multiple years. 

Another neat thing about this curriculum is that it has a DVD of Mrs. Perrin going through some lessons with her teenage students discussing the poetry and elements. I can see this could help an older student work through the material more independently.

Here are the prices from Classical Academic Press-

The Art of Poetry book-$24.95  
It is also available on Amazon in a kindle version for $22.95 or $22.99 for an Apple iBook.

The Art of Poetry Teacher's Edition- $29.95

The Art of Poetry Bundle-$99.95 

For the quality of this indepth curriculum I think that it is well worth the price. The Schoolhouse review crew also did some reviews on another Classical Academic Press- The Discovery of Deduction: An Introduction to Formal Logic. Click on the link below to see what others on the crew think about both products! 

 

 

horrible no good day

It was a horrible no good day for the A~man. Days like this are rare, but from the time he woke up things went downhill for him. Normally when things start out badly we are able to redirect and divert his attention onto better things. Not today. It's the first full day that hubby has had off in awhile which was much needed as he has hurt his back. (which might be a possible reason for A~man's day...he does not like to see someone in pain)

All day long he was doing something he shouldn't, saying something he shouldn't...which resulted in an afternoon of emotional tears at the pool by the end of the afternoon. It started out that he was mad at me as I took an old phone away from him today. Phones have always been an issue for him. This phase seems over but he has stolen a phone from a friend years ago and of course up until a year ago he would snatch the phone from his sometimes scatterbrained mama and call people. Lots of people.

 Today's issue was a phone that a sweet friend of his gave him. (the phone didn't work anymore) She's actually a friend of Z's and he has been pestering her about it and finally, with her mom's permission, she gave A~man the old phone. The problem? 1. His newest issue is talking to people when we are out of earshot and asking them to bring him something. (not normally food ironically) I do not like this. Well, I like how nice people are as they will bring him something. BUT I do not want my son begging for stuff as it is not good. 2. I knew that he had been pestering our friend "H" to bring it to him and I told him he could not have it, but when I wasn't around she gave it to him. (she didn't know I said no) So I took it today. Broke his heart. :( Not what I wanted to do but I could see this asking situation getting out of hand as a life guard actually brought him his old Nintendo last week. (ended up not working...a whole nuther drama in itself) I appreciate the generosity but it had to stop. 

The other big issue today was due to the fact that A~man is girl crazy. He was born girl crazy. He will get in his head that someone (normally a girl between 16-21) is his girl friend. He truly thinks this. His love interest now is the very sweet and pretty lifeguard at the pool we go to. Today in the pool I told him for the millionth time that 1. He cannot have a girlfriend when he is 13. 2. That a girl 16+ is not going to be his girl friend. I told him "K" the lifeguard is not his girlfriend. I hurt his feelings with this. :(  Evidently before I got in the pool, (I was in the gym working out) hubby and A~man were in the hot tub and this oaf of a man (not referring to my husband I should add...this was a stranger ;) was giving my son inappropriate dating advice concerning the lifeguard. In actuality the beyond middle aged man was using my son to flirt with the lifeguard. *why my hubby didn't stop that I do not know*

Puberty and growing up is hard enough for a typically developing child but add in developmental challenges and it adds to the confusion. He talks about when he "lives in his own house", when he gets married and has kids, about how he is going to join the Army. The list goes on and on. These things are very likely not going to happen. He does have a lot of strengths and a lot of possibilities in his future though and I pray to God to help us help him discover them so he can reach the full potential God has for him.

Then there is the Z~girl. She is entering that territory too this last year. I've seen so much growth from her but being this age is challenging. I see so much of me in her right now. (the good and not so good) What does her future hold? She has had it in her head for many years that she wants to be a veterinarian. She LOVES animals and is very good with them. She will start back at the goat farm in the next month and she is very excited. She is doing awesome with the chickens we have that are about to be able to be moved outside. (thank goodness as my basement smells like a barn) It's a time of transition for her. She and I need to completely redo and clean out her room this spring. This will involve getting rid of "little kid" stuff that needs to go. Admittedly, this will be as hard on me as her. (I had really hoped there would be one more child in our life) So we will decide a handful of things to keep for her future children. Books, hahah though are non negotiable but hopefully I can move some downstairs to a huge bookcase we have. 

I moved far away from family. Then they moved even further away. Haha, no it wasn't anything personal, it was just the way things turned out. I TRULY hope that we can always live within driving distance of Z when she grows up. I am encouraged by the increasing amount of homeschool-friendly colleges across the country though. I fully intend to continue and homeschool for highschool and pray for guidance from above in helping her too to achieve her own personal potential. 

I think that today I came to the realization that growing up, well, seeing your children growing up feels as hard on the mama (and daddy) as it does on the child. 

Do not lose your spark!

Today I went to my daughter's violin lessons. Normally I use this alone time and stay home (A~man goes too) to work and my husband takes both of them. It had been such a long time I really wanted to go so I did. Watching her play the violin is so wonderfully entertaining. *disclaimer...I'm about to brag* We have never had to tell her to practice her violin. She will lose track of time and we will sometimes have to tell her to finish up in fact. She exhibits such complete joy and extreme concentration while playing and today was no different. The girl was practically dancing during her lesson while playing!

Also while watching her I was reminded that over the last several years friends that knew me when I was her age would say how much she looks like I did. I would always think to myself "REALLY?" Because when I look at her I see such a beauty that comes from inside to the outside that I couldn't believe she could look like I did. That was not something I saw in myself at that age. But today I SAW myself. The same nose, chin,   eyes, and hands. What was I missing at that age that had made me not see it before? Her SPARK. She has an incredible spark. Her and I always tease that we have most people fooled into believing that we are quiet and serious individuals. If someone doesn't know us well they probably think we are very quiet and serious.

HOW did I lose that spark when I was little? Why did my spark go out? When I was just a bit younger than her...probably 8 or 9, I started to get bullied and made fun of. In an extreme way. I grew really tall in a short amount of time and I was very skinny. From age 8-30 I had people accusing me of having an eating disorder. (I never did)  This caused me to hide away completely into myself until I probably was about 14 or 15. I also played an instrument for most of my school years and was considered very good. But I didn't have the joy and pleasure for playing the flute that I see when she plays her violin or fiddle songs. Oh, and I rarely practiced unless being nagged to do it.

I guess that is one of the many reasons I decided homeschooling would be good for both kids. I did not want them to have to experience what I went through. Yes, I know there will be (and in A~man's case there has been a couple) times when they will be hurt by others. That is just life period. I just hope and pray that I can raise both children to keep the confidence and exuberance that both of them have in such a high quantity so that if...no not if...when someone treats them badly it will not cause their spark to go out like mine did. Also I pray that I can continue to show them to treat others the way they want to be treated. Bullying leaves scars that can last a lifetime.

Homeschool writing

When it comes to writing we have taken an "unschooling" approach the last few years as we have not used a homeschool writing course for quite some time. Does this mean they do not write? Not at all! Z~girl writes stories, letters to family, and she writes in a diary. Thankfully she lets me read them and is usually very open to me correcting grammar,punctuation, and spelling errors with her. For A~man he loves writing letters, he is learning to type more on the computer, and I also do some copywork with him.

One thing in particular that has really helped Z~girl is that several times a year she likes to come out with a newspaper. She does the weather, comics, things we have done recently and sometimes even sports. At times we are able to even get A~man to contribute some art. (but not this time LOL) We send this to some of our family to show them what we have been up to and Z also likes to give one to our sweet grandma-like neighbor across the road.

She does almost all of the paper on her own but I assist her by showing her misspellings, typos, and grammar mistakes. I've been trying to talk her into creating a separate blog for her and I, but the though of it seems to overwhelm her. That is exactly how I felt years ago when I first started blogging but taking an actual blog course really helped me become more confident in my writing. I'm going to give her a couple of months and approach her again as I think blogging would be a good way for her to work on some creative writing. I would love to hear about other diverse ways homeschoolers teach writing without or in addition to an actual curriculum!

Worn..

I just saw a friend post this on Facebook and LOVED IT!!! It's by Tenth Avenue North.

ARTistic Pursuits Review~Middle School

I must admit, my favorite thing in school (besides reading) was art. I will also admit that many math classes were spent doodling in the margins of my paper instead of listening to instructions. This isn't a pastime that I have taken the time to do a whole lot of since becoming a parent. BUT, my daughter who also loves art has definitely been an encouragement to start it back up. I love how art, like books, can be such an escape and for me it is very relaxing. I get in my "zone". hahah! So you can imagine my enthusiasm when I was able to do a review for ARTistic Pursuits. Z~girl is 11, so she is in the middle school range, and we were sent Middle School 6-8 Book 1 . This particular book is recommended for grades 6-8/ages 11 and up.

 

I like that the book tells you right away what supplies are needed while using the book. We bought the supplies at Michaels as we do not have a local art store and with some of the items I was not able to get the same brands, but I did eventually end up finding what we would need. (yes I said WE...I wasn't about to pass up this opportunity to use my creativity with my daughter) It has a getting started guide that tells you all you need to know before starting the instruction with your child. 

Not only do the lessons provide instruction but they also have art history and culture included in the information.  They have art illustrations in the book by famous artists such as Claude Monet, Katsushika Hokusai, and Leonado da Vinci. They used the creations of these masters to illustrate various drawing techniques. For the last few years we have been playing an art card Go Fish game so it helped that Z~girl was familiar with the various artists. 

There are 16 units in the book with each one broken down into 4 lessons. 

 Building a Visual Vocabulary

Art Appreciation and Art History

Techniques

Application

With this book your child will learn about:

• Space
• Line
• Texture 
• Shape
• Form 
• Visual Paths in the Line
• Balance, Symmetry
•  your child will learn the difference between a quick sketch and a finished drawing

In the first lesson "Portrait of the Elephant Dal, Badal, Chasing his Attendant", Z~girl soon discovered that while her mom can draw a very good elephant...her people look like smurfs. Z~girl did a much better sketch of the attendant being chased. In this exercise it taught about positioning and space.

The price of the book we were able to try out is 47.95. Initially that price could seem high as it is not a hard cover book but that type of book would be really difficult to use for an art instruction book. Instead, it has a ring binder that allows you to open the book up flat which which I really liked! Also, it is much more than an art instruction book because of the fact it includes history and culture in the process. I plan on buying book two for next year. 

This company makes art books for all ages too so check out what other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew have to say about the various books!

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product through the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

How to juggle it all?

Recently a new friend that just started homeschooling asked this question-

Ok homeschooling mom's (and other mom's whose advice I value) I need HELP!! How on earth do you homeschool AND keep up with all of the housework?? Throw in trying to help run a business and I'm sinkng fast. Advice, comments, ideas, number to the nearest insane asylum and/or favorite alcoholic drink recipe???

 This is such an excellent question and one I am not exactly sure how to answer which is why I have been sitting on it for quite awhile and thinking. We have been homeschooling for 7 years. Currently I get a lot of help from my hubby with things that need to get done but for a good part of that time I had almost no help! (due to his job) I can honestly say now we do things 50/50 although I do most of the formal homeschooling. Also, what works for one family doesn't necessarily work for another. Oh and do not forget to factor in the ages of the children. SO MANY VARIABLES TO CONSIDER!

I'm pretty sure my new friend has children that are at least middle school age like mine. One thing the last couple of years I have really been doing is involving them in helping around the house. For my 11 year old daughter, she is in charge of all of the animal care, and she also does the dishes. (we do not have a dishwasher) Those are things she does daily, but throughout the week she will also help out with cooking, dusting, and folding the laundry. My son who is 13 helps clean the kids bathroom, he does most of the vacuuming, puts his clean clothes away and does a very good job keeping his room neat. 

Because a homeschool family spends so much more time at home, (well....some weeks not so much! haha) it is bound to have constant clutter, stuff tracked in, and meal time messes. What I have done is prioritize what is important to me to be neat. After this many years I have come to the peace that my house WON'T be spotless, and if it was that would mean I wasn't spending enough time with the kids. That is only my opinion for our family though as I am challenged in the cleaning department. Of course when company is coming I do a complete house restoration. ;) One particular area I desperately need to work on is our yard. It has so much potential but with me just recovering from an injury and having other pain issues, I have to do it a little bit at a time. Fortunately my kids LOVE to work in the yard. Spring cannot come soon enough!

For me, I try to keep the entryway, livingroom, hallway, kids bathroom, and kitchen neat/clean enough that if someone showed up at my door I wouldn't take the kids and go hide in the closet. ;) Now sometimes I fall short but for the last couple of years it has worked for us. That doesn't mean I do nothing in the rest of the house BUT it isn't on the top of my priority list. I also work from home so that is also another ball to juggle and a high priority. Fortunately, I do my work a few days a week when hubby either takes the kids swimming or to help him at work. If I didn't have that help though I would have to either wake up early and do it, or do it late at night when I currently just relax and enjoy the quiet. *excuse me while I got hug and thank my hubby*

What also works well for our more formal schooling is that in the morning we do all of our work with various online homeschool sites such as an online homeschool writing course that my daughter is about to start. This takes minimal planning and it leaves the afternoon free for homeschool group activities and for the children to pursue the things that interest them. It works for us.

I've only described just a few of the things I juggle but with rest being one I think I will end this and go to bed. Could any other homeschoolers explain how they juggle it all and help this new homeschooler stay afloat?

Take the time...

I am sure I have mentioned many times in my blog, (and to a couple of you in person ;) how exhausting, stressful, and downright aging it is parenting a child like my son. There are times I admit, when I wake up in the morning and a sense of dread comes over me. That's when I pray for strength and courage for whatever the day entails. Yet, often I can overlook the joys that are right under my nose. Just this week on facebook I posted, It is a fortunate thing my son is so darn funny...  sometimes it's the honest truth. I will be asked the same thing for the millionth time...I will feel like I am about to pull every strand of hair out of my head...and he will say something UTTERLY hilarious. I'm talking comedian hilarious. He has saved himself my wrath (wrath=me yelling) on many occasion simply by making me (or his dad) laugh. There are so many things he does (positive things) that go unnoticed at the time by me and the hubby because we are simply trying to get to the next task of the day. Almost like checking the square. 

Grocery shopping is one such thing. I'm embarrassed to admit this. We go to the grocery store every single day. (I really should do better meal planning for the week!) Fortunately for us, despite A~man's Prader-Willi Syndrome, he has always done exceptional in the grocery store. For him it is a social time. With each department; produce, deli, meats, dairy, he knows at least one and often two of the workers. The thing is he wants to have lengthy chats with each person. I do not particularly like to shop (you would think I would do better meal planning then huh?) and I want to get what we need and get out. This isn't at just one grocery store I should add,hehe, this is at two where he knows so many employees. They LOVE him. One grocery store employs people with disabilities. He knows them all. One young man with Down Syndrome often will come up and either hug A~man or give him a high five. If one employee is not there he will inquire about where they are. He remembers the most particular details about each person. He makes all of them feel special and important. One manager has even promised him a job one day. (PWS and working at a grocery store is probably not a good mix though)

On to my story...today Z~girl and hubby went to the store together and A~man and I were at home doing some school work. Someone came up behind hubby and hugged him from behind. (I should mention this someone is close to 7 foot tall) He turned around and it was someone that used to work at the store. Probably about 5 months ago he had gotten a blood clot in his leg and he is no longer able to work. (he's just a bit older than I am) The man had tears in his eyes. He said to tell A~man how much he appreciated him asking and praying for him. He has a son and daughter who also work there and almost every day A~man would ask about "B". He would also write him notes and send him gum and M&M's for them to bring home to their dad. THIS MAN WAS IN TEARS! Have I ever brought someone to tears? Probably not in a good way. 

So many times when we are out and about I am rushing. I am shushhing him. I do not want to talk to everyone in the store I want to GO HOME. But my little buddy beside me is showing people the type of love and compassion that God wants us to show to one another. He is making people feel special and giving them the time of day when most people are probably like me and walk right on by people. Heck, I'm terrible about getting lost in the little world in my head and walking past people I know! I need to to slow down, see people, and show even a portion of the same love my son shows. With our lifestyle does it really matter whether it takes 10 minutes to shop or 20 minutes? No, most of the time when we shop it's the end of he day with no more appointments or activities.

Lastly, with A~man having his PWS and often autistic quirkiness, I wonder..... If he did not in fact have those challenges...would he still be awesome like that? I think that particular awesomeness he has, making people feel special, and caring, I honestly think it is a characteristic of his disability. A characteristic that I need to learn from. 

Lone Star Learning~Science Vocabulary Cards Review

Lone Star Learning has created such an amazing tool for teaching children to learn vocabulary words. We were given the opportunity to try out a science set and after seeing them I remember thinking "Why didn't I think of that?"

The Science Vocabulary Pictures set one included 40 cards that were 5.5" x 8.5", fully colored and coated to make them very sturdy. The sets do not go by grade level which I think is very cool, as our home school really doesn't go by grade level either. Just ask either of my children what grade they are in and they look to me to give the questioning person an explanation. Instead, there are 4 separate sets plus a set that combines the first three sets and targets children at an early elementary level. This early elementary list has primary words from sets 1, 2, and 3 plus additional words. (82 words are in that set)

This is a great resource for children (or moms) that are visual learners. Each vocabulary word has a picture made out of it that helps the learner to remember what each word means. I especially like the reptile card. I would highly recommend these sets for children who have autism or any type of learning challenge. They are truly eye catching which is very helpful when trying to memorize a word. My daughter is 11 years old without learning challenges and my son is 13, but at a 6/7 year old level, and both children were able to learn so many new words!

The price for set one, which is what we were sent, is 29.99. As much as I love these cards this price might dissuade me into not buying many of the sets as that seems pretty high for them. If they were a bit less I could see us buying all of the science card sets. 

Make sure and check out the other reviews by other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew. Some members received vocabulary sets for Greek and Latin, Math, and Language Arts. All of these sets come with a sheet that describes different ways to use the cards, such as Word of the Day, writing poetry, and categorizing. There is also a card in each set that lists the actual definition for each word in the set of cards.

Disclaimer- I received a free copy of this product though the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All Opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

Another photo from the PWS weekend

I love this photo of such amazingly beautiful individuals ...but despite the cold, the sun was right in their eyes. 

Review of Abraham’s Journey: A Celebration of the American Dream

Recently, through The Old Schoolhouse magazine I had the opportunity to read the book by Inspiring the American Dream which was called Abraham’s Journey: A Celebration of the American Dream, by Robert and Kathleen Basmadjian. I love to read, especially children’s books so I was pleased at the prospect.

I can honestly say I haven’t read a book quite like it, and I have read a lot of books. It was the epitome of “The American Dream”, but at a child’s level. It takes place now, during the recession and despite the fact my children know that we have not had a lot of extra money in the last few years and that quite honestly we almost lost our home, they haven’t heard the term the Great Recession.

My own parents were children during the Great Depression and I believe it is very important for children to learn about difficult times like these, as one day they will be the ones running our country and hopefully be making changes for the better. This fictional story line presents the issues we currently have and presents inspiration for making things better for our future as well as that of future generations.

The main character in the story, Abraham, is on the search to make his family’s Christmas a happy one despite the fact that they have no money for gifts. On his journey he meets up with important figures from the past such as Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King, and Amelia Earhart. Present day figures were also included in his journey with Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. All of them were people that had made a difference in the world, past and present, by following their dreams. Through the meetings he learned that with kindness, creativity, imagination, strength and courage he could overcome any obstacle that came his way. From what he learned, Abraham was able to make the money he needed to buy presents for his family for Christmas.

This would be a great book for children ages 8-12, it explains our current economic situation in very basic terms but the book brings about hope that all is not lost. The only thing that bothered me about the book was the fact that Abraham had a smart phone despite his parents not having a job. The phone did become the "window" though, into him becoming inspired. My 11 year old daughter read it to her 13 year old brother who has special needs. I believe it was very appropriate for their individual learning levels.

This book is sold at their website for 14.99.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product through the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

Our weekend trip

I'm not sure if I mentioned the story about this young man in my blog but it is so very close to my heart. You see L.J. who was 15 this last fall, also had Prader-willi syndrome. As I understand it he had eloped off and on for many years, but in October he was hit by a vehicle after getting ice cream from a convenience store in the middle of the night. In this families case he was in a group home that was supposed to keep him safe but the drive to find food was so strong and they (the group home) were not prepared for the level of safety that someone with PWS needs.

The last couple of months we have been dealing with the "system" in our own home to ensure we can keep our own son safe. We have had an alarm in our hallway since last year and now have an alarm on his window. We do not feel this is enough. My husband will be installing a type of lock that will deactivate when/if the smoke detectors ever go off. This isn't something we have decided lightly. We have been through our local mental health service provider and the local fire marshall. We have even been in contact with a local senator as we felt our concerns were not being taken seriously. We let many professionals know about L.J.'s story and finally we have some support to make sure we keep our son as safe as possible.

On Saturday we went to a 5K that L.J.'s family was doing as they are setting up a foundation to build a group home for individuals with PWS in the state of NC. Most group homes are not equipped to take care of people with PWS with monitoring for food control and the other measures needed to keep them safe. It was a very nice event for a wonderful cause. We were able to meet his sweet family and also two other families that have children with PWS. (I'll post a group shot with the three kiddos after I get permission from one of the other families) It's really amazing to get together with other PWS parents that totally "get it". You do not have to explain your choices for what you feed or don't feed your child and have to deal with "that look" that some give you, that you are over protective. They understand that you do what you have to do to meet the needs of your child. Here is one picture though I took that is the backs of A~man walking with a young man with PWS that is about 5 years older than my son. It made this silly mama teary.

We really enjoyed our little weekend trip and hopefully it will be the beginning of some roadschooling trips for this spring/summer. I am devising a plan to make some extra money for some fun educational trips. I REALLY want to go to SD this summer as the kids have only been there during the cold months. There are so many fun sights between here and there and I want to explore. So...I ordered a postal scale off of Amazon and I'm hoping to start selling on Ebay again. Years ago we were really big into selling there and I'm hoping to make some traveling money.

Here is the link to L.J.'s Foundation page if you would like to read more about it.