Super Moon (the day after)

Sunday night we decided to observe the moon again and found it even more beautiful! I cannot take a photo of the moon for some reason without it looking like a communion wafer, but my husband captured a really nice photo that night!

a full moon

Z~girl is at camp for the weekend (and I miss her MISERABLY...there, I admit it :( but it has given us the opportunity to give the A~man a lot of positive attention. He has a tummy bug, but ironically with him, he is really well behaved and more attentive when he is sick. He and I went outside around 8 pm looking for the moon...I wanted to take a photo. (did not WORK...that's the one thing I fail at taking photos of)

Keep in mind that in a lot of ways even though he is 12, he is at more of a 7 year old level. He knew I was getting frustrated that my photos were NOT working and saw the bright unidentifiable globe in my digital camera's preview. He said "Mom, get the face" I was like huh??? I'm trying to get a photo of the moon. A~man "you know, there is a face on the moon, see it?", it melted me to a puddle of goo...one of those moments you had to be there. It did make me think with his autism tendencies if he really thought there was an actual FACE on the moon...you know like Luna from Blues Clues.

Later we went out on our deck and he asked if it was the moon that was out front or if it was a different moon. I told him it's always the same moon. He also asked where it went when we couldn't see it. Now these are not normal questions for a 12 year old,  but none the less I got so much enjoyment in explaining, (what I though he already knew) how the moon does not go "into the earth", like he thought, but around. I had him hold up his fist as "Earth", and showed him with my fist how it keeps going around. I LOVED and ADORED the light bulb I saw in his eyes. A definite "AHA!!!" moment. I love those moments. He had learned about it before...but developmentally, now he was ready to understand the information.

Teaching Writing Skills

I had mentioned awhile back that we were going to use Time4Writing this spring, at least for my daughter. I'm not sure about other homeschoolers but this spring has flown by!

 This past school year has definitely been more "unschooling" for both kids in the subject of writing. Both kids have been writing letters to pen pals and relatives,  Z has been writing stories on her own and also for her Girl Scout Journey book, but that has been about it. Next year we will try and concentrate on writing more formally, but instead this spring, I have been concentrating on getting her more up to grade level in math.

 I think she came by her lack of enthusiasm in math honestly, as both her dad and I also struggled a bit in math in school. In 5th, or maybe it was 6th grade, I was almost held back a year, but the fact that I had A's and high B's in all of my other classes saved me. I remember having to bring the math book home that summer from that year, and reworking it with my mom. Fortunately I did retain what I learned though, so I'm trying my best to be patient as we venture through the next two months before testing.

Speaking of testing, when I was looking at the Time4Writing site I noticed that they also have tutoring for older students that may need  SAT writing essay help. I have always enjoyed writing but that extra help sure would have helped me when I was taking my SAT's many years ago. Fortunately, that is several years down the road for Z~girl but it does seem like the previous 6 school years have flown by! 

Free book~Animal Rescue

For Girl Scouts this past year, my daughter and her friends chose to volunteer at a local no kill animal shelter in the city next to our own. Every week or so we would go and walk the dogs, bathe them, and generally socialize them. All of the girls LOVED it...ok so did I and eventually even my husband got excited about it. One of the dads and my husband decided to write an ebook about the adventure, and to hopefully raise some money to help the organization. For every book sold we are going to give a dollar to the animal shelter. For the next 24 hours the book will be free. Please check it out and feel free to review it if you would like!

Brother Wolf Animal Rescue

North Carolina barns

Is the number of people homeschooling increasing?

It seems like wherever we go I hear more and more about the increasing number of people that homeschool. When we are out in the community during "normal" school hours, occasionally we will get asked, "Oh, is there no school today?" This starts the conversation about the fact that we homeschool and more often than not the person will mention that someone close to them (relative,neighbor,friend) either was homeschooling or they knew an adult that had been taught at home.

 I am happy to report that the negative comments we have gotten are rare. The only negative situation that I have encountered this year was when it felt like a cashier and bagger ganged up on my kids,drilling them with a math story problem. A tricky one that they could not answer, much to the employees amusement. Most of the time the comments I get are more along the lines of how wonderful they think it is to be able to teach your own children and how well behaved and polite mine are (typically hahah, NO child is perfectly behaved) in public.

If homeschool statistics are any indication home education is indeed on the rise. Now,do I think that everyone should homeschool? No. Do I think less of people that choose to send their children to public or private school? No. Do I like the fact that it is becoming more acceptable to educate at home? YES! I know  that a person should not base their choices on people's opinion but I admit, it is encouraging for people to see that educating at home is a viable alternative to educate a child.

The possible reasons for homeschooling are infinite- 

• Wanting to give a Christian centered education
• Choosing to have a secular education
• One on one education for a child with special needs
• A child being bullied in regular school
• One of my personal favorite reasons is integrating learning into life.

This list could go on and on obviously, but all of the reasons boil down to the fact that homeschooling is increasing and a majority of the children that are being homeschooled are being given the opportunity to achieve their own personal bests!

I found this fact sheet this week that illustrates how well statistics show that homeschooling does in fact do what it sets out to accomplish!

Created by: CollegeAtHome.com

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me...

This is a verse that my father instilled in me as a timid, shy, insecure child. The truth today just as much as it was       30 years ago.

Philippians 4:13

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹³ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.