State Tournament 2011

Last weekend, the girls and I took a road trip to the Texas Homeschool State Tournament. It was an exhausting, ...er... I mean exciting time! I would have blogged about it sooner if I had been able to think through the fog that has lingered in my brain for the last week.

I had the privilege of coaching both the 14U and 16U girls' teams during the tournament, and I'm pretty sure it shaved about 10 years off of my life because, OH THE PRESSURE!

Both JP and Abbee played on the 14U team, and that group of girls had a phenomenal season, finishing 8th in the state with a record of 15-4. We lost the game that would have put us in the running for 5th place by only 2 points! (I made the girls promise me that next year, they would just blow everyone away so that chances of my dying of a stroke right there on the sidelines would diminish significantly! And, no, I do not have a problem with competitiveness, why do you ask?)

One of the highlights for me was meeting up with my college roommate, Sharon, whose son's team won the tournament at the 18U level! We had not seen each other in 15 years! If not for the aforementioned brain fog, I'm sure I would have thought to snap a picture!

One of the main concerns I had when deciding to homeschool was if and where my girls would be able to play sports. The Eagles' organization has given the girls a fantastic place to compete, meet new friends, and play the game they love!
While Abbee is trying to convince us to let her play on a select team through the summer, I am refusing to even think about basketball for at least the next six weeks. With any luck, by then the fog will have lifted and my blood pressure will have returned to normal!

I Think It May be Time to End My Teaching Career

Setting: Ancient History Class

Question: Who wrote the book of Ecclesiates?

Answer #1: ECCLESE!!!

Answer #2: Ezra?

Answer #3: Ew...I know! OPRAH!

You can take your guesses as to which kiddo said which answer! Clearly I'm teacher of the year.

A New Semester Begins

One of the many things I've enjoyed about homeschooling is the ability to pace ourselves. Pacing ourselves can mean anything from doubling our lessons after having the flu to returning from Christmas break a few subjects at a time. Last week, we eased our way back into school by doing just three subjects, starting our day at 10:00 am and finishing up after lunch.

Today, we inched our way closer to a normal schedule by heading to our first day of TAFA (Travis Academy of Fine Arts). Last semester, only JP was able to take classes there, but this semester, both Abbee and Emma signed up as well. (JW passed on the only class that was still available for his age...Elementary Singers!)

This morning for the first time IN A REALLY LONG TIME, we had to get up and out of the house relatively early with all of our clothes on! The morning did not go down without its hiccups. There may or may not have been rushing around frantically printing off papers, looking for supplies, and a few tears of uncertainty. And that was just from me! :)

Actually, the morning went rather smoothly considering we aren't really accustomed to waking in time to catch the worm. As far as I know, we all arrived completely dressed and fully prepared!

This semester, Jordan is in two different TAFA choirs, Abbee is learning to play the guitar, and our little drama queen is right at home in her drama class! They each survived their first day jitters and are excited about the prospects of learning new things.

As for me, I somehow survived being all cooped up in my blue jeans with my hair washed and my make-up on, and have happily returned to my cozy chair in front of my warm fire wearing my favorite pajamas!

I'm pacing myself, people!

Lady Eagles

Our 14U Lady Eagles are now officially 2-0. Yes, it's early in the season so I'm not making any predictions, but I love watching this group of girls play ball! They work so great together as a team!

Here are JP and Abbee with their teammates/friends Kelsi and Maleri! Kelsi and Maleri have two more sisters (Kailey and Emily) and our family has become quick friends with these girls and their family! They are C-R-A-Z-Y. And, we love 'em!
Guess who was our lead scorer against Harvest Christian Academy. THIS GIRL!!! (who happened to turn 12 on Saturday, but I haven't uploaded her birthday pictures yet!)



Two loyal fans: Emily (a sister to Kelsi and Maleri!) and Emma
And, just in case all of these beautiful girls made you think that homeschool kids might not be freaks after all, here is pictorial proof to the contrary!

Halloween Sneak Peek

We had early dismissal today because, last night, a friend of mine convinced me that I should be stressed out because I had a few costumes to make before Halloween and Halloween was a mere 4 days away! So, the kids got the afternoon off, and Jenny came over to help me whip up a couple of Gingy costumes! (Thanks to Brody being sick. Sorry, Bro, to profit from your suffering but I appreciate it so much!!)

Someone is also being a skeleton! (I actually made two of these costumes too, but I made them last weekend because I don't always procrastinate everything!)


Now, I only have a couple of more Halloweenish things to cross off my to-do list!

Being able to schedule unexpected early release... reason number 5,352 why I love homeschooling!

Adventures in Anatomy

When I was in college, the library and I were really not on good terms. With the research papers and the library being several stories and the having to find a parking spot which was typically at least five miles from the library and the hours of research and physically finding the periodical I needed only to find the article I needed had been ripped out. My relationship with the library was as rocky as the grammar in that last sentence.

However, since deciding to home school, the library and I have sort of made up. I have found it to be my right hand "man" in the daunting task of teaching all subjects to four kids at four different grade levels! It has been a wealth of resources and information with the added bonus of allowing the kids and I to read more books in the last 14 months than I would have ever imagined possible!

So, when I came across this book while searching the library's on-line catalog, I knew I had to reserve it for the A&P class I'm teaching at our co-op.

It is full of beautiful color photos and illustrations on everything you could possible want to know about the human body.

Which is why it should NOT have surprised me yesterday when Emma came into my room during reading time and asked, "Mom, did you know THIS was in this book?"

I'll let you use your imagination to complete the two-page spread of Emma's new anatomically correct friend!

"Er....Um...No, actually. I did not."

I don't know that our study of the human body was going to be that thorough!

Darn library.

My Little Class

I volunteered to teach Anatomy and Physiology at our Co-Op this semester, and these little punks are my class!Let me introduce them to you...
Class Dunce: She's not as dumb as she looks in pictures.
Would NOT Cooperate: I like this uncooperative little punk!
My Favorite Student: This guy told his mom that I was the BEST TEACHER EVER.
My Favorite Student's Brother: This guy did NOT tell his mom that I was the best teacher ever!
My Loudest Student: Girlfriend is LOUD!

We were making edible cells that flopped! However, when I tried it at home, the "cell" came out of my bowl perfectly. What. Ever.

I am really enjoying teaching these guys as I am not only quite passionate about the subject matter, but am also quite in love with my little class.

Laying Down the Law

Today, in History, we were discussing how archeologists have discovered that even the earliest civilizations had laws that were supposed to help keep the people safe. So, I asked the kids what rules we have in our home that help us to think about the needs of others and keep us safe.

JW's answer?

"Do NOT chew gum by Mom!"

I'm pretty sure my kids are going to need therapy!

A Lesson in Creativity

The assignment? To create an animal that does not exist and write a paragraph describing the animal, its habitat, its diet, and the uses of its unique features. Emma gave her creature...THE PUPAL... really BIG EYES because it is nocturnal! Good thinking, Em!
JP definitely won the award for the most unique looking creature...THE WOODLE! Her paper was quite humorous as well. I'm not sure you get bonus points for humor in public school, but you certainly do here!!
Abbee's creature...the PLATIGATOR.... looked an awful lot like a crocodile, but she assured me I was overlooking its platypus beak, and beaver tail! Sounds more like a hybrid than an original! She too received bonus points for a really funny paper!
It took him awhile to work out an original idea, but eventually, he came up with a pretty cool creature!
It's amazing how play dough can STILL capture and hold the attention of even the most "mature" students. I will be working it into the assignments more often!

Back to Life...Back to Reality!

Mid-August, we went back to school here at the Powell Academy! We worked hard for two weeks and then took a week's vacation!!

This year, we have added a couple of extra obligations to our proverbial plate, so I'm getting to remember what life was like before we slammed on the brakes and slowed down the busy train! It's amazing how quickly you become spoiled to an open calendar!

One thing we've added is JP's Vocal Techniques class at an area home school fine arts program. She LOVES it. She already knows several of the kids that take classes there from church, our co-op, and her basketball team and was delighted that several of her teammates were actually in her class.

Both JP and Abbee are now on a homeschool basketball team that requires a couple of evenings a week commitment.

Did I mention they totally rooked me into coaching?

Yes, well, I offered to help out at practice (thinking that I'm going to be there anyway, I might as well help!), however I showed up for the parents' meeting only to be introduced as one of the girls' coaches.

HUH?

WHAT?

AH DANG.

How did I manage to volunteer myself into much more responsibility than I bargained for? Could someone explain that to me?

Did I mention I'm a little overly competitive?

Because, I am.

Anyway, I also volunteered to teach Anatomy and Physiology at Tuesday School (the co-op we joined in the spring of last year) which kicked off this past week too. Each of the kids is taking three classes there. It's a great way to get out of the house and learn with other kids. Plus, it allows the kids to experience teachers (who are not their mom) teaching subjects in their areas of expertise. It's a win-win-win!

So, all of that to say, we are back to school full throttle and loving every minute of it. Well, almost every minute of it!

Here's to making this year the best school year yet! And, if you come across any articles about a home school basketball coach dying of an aneurism, you can pretty much bet it was me!