It's Christmas!

Christmas time again. Our first with my mother/kids Grammy. It was hard to get excited for it but the animals certainly helped. They have such joy, they don't let things stick with them or bother them too much. A lesson can be learned from their joy and innocence I'm sure.  Just a selection of photos some kids woke later than others, some didn't want pictures etc....A subdued holiday but not a bad one.

Let's put on a show!

This semester I've been teaching a grades 3-5 drama class. The play we have been working on is called Ebenezer's Christmas Carol. Today was the big day fr our show! I won't post pictures of the children in the class since they're not my own children. I did have a good time (and an occasional frustrating time) working with the 24 students as we rehearsed and perfected the play. Some parents built backdrops and I collected many prop and costume items in the couple months before the play. I had some students who knew their lines right away, some who took until show day to learn them and everything in between. Scripts were sometimes forgotten, absences happened at inconvenient times, I had to shout louder, louder so many times I felt I should make a recording of it. In the end the show was magical and I was glad to have been teacher to the 24 young thespians and director of the show. It was a wonderful experience despite the harder aspects. Tristan was normally in a class during the time I taught drama but he took off show day so he could help me out and I was glad he did. I was so busy dealing with so many last minute details that having a right hand man ready and willing to help me get it all done was perfect and needed!  Here are a few pictures that don't contain any students who are not my own kids.

Not the best picture but some of our many costumes and props stored backstage between dress rehearsal and showtime.

Props and set pieces waiting to be used..

The stage is set!

Tristan helping me ready my script and light.

Right before showtime.

In the end the students did me proud and the show was wonderful. Now to think about next semester, another class and another show!

CSI Forensic mysteries!

In addition to teaching elementary drama at co-op this year I'm also teaching a CSI mysteries, forensic science class for teens. The class has been a lot of fun but soooo much prep work for the weekly labs! Tristan is one of my students and sometimes we check a lab ahead of time at home but usually I leave it to be a surprise for him in class. We will do a few of that labs that don't fit well for co-op at home, as well as some reading and watching some videos to round out the class for him.

Getting ready for CSI class was often a lot of work, the kittens liked to help which usually made prep work take even longer!

Kittens help me prep for CSI class.

Again kittens and cats are far too interested as I prep for a chromatography lab

Mysterious white powders lab materials for 5 groups, 18 students took a lot of work to prep!

Kittens help Tristan with his homework!

Back To Homeschool Time 2017-2018

Another homeschool year and just Tristan, my youngest remains as a homeschooler. This year he will be going to co-op for some of his classes, mostly electives, as always. He will have a good line up of at home classes too.

Here are his courses for 2017-2018

Math-Personal Finance by Dave Ramsey

Science- Forensic science  lab class at co-op, Teaching Company videos as well as some reading at home.

English- One Year Adventure Novel Module 2- Other Worlds science fiction based writing

Literature- British Literature

Art- Art History at home, various handicrafts as well as Crotchet class at co-op.

History- British History- well, it is his second culture with me being American and his dad being British!

Elective/Arts- Drama Class at co-op.

Geography- revamping a class that I have previously taught at co-op for home use. Mostly video based with Trail Guide to World History guide and workbook.

Just a few first week back photos.

Back to co-op for another year.

Science work at home with furry helpers!

Trying out some skills learned in crochet class, yet again he has furry helpers!

VBS, Playdates, Kittens and Chicks oh my!

Tristan and Hayley volunteered at VBS, vacation bible school again this summer.  This year they were both helping in the craft department, along with one of their friends, Jon. I think they had a great time and did a lot of good helping younger children. I didn't get many photos at all since i was helping with the 5th and 6th grade class as a volunteer myself but here are a couple picture I got.

As the busy VBS week was starting we had silkie chicks hatching and if that wasn't crazy enough we also found out that the kittens we would be adopting were going to need to come home to us at the end of the week, at only 5 1/2 weeks old! I just remember my head spinning trying to keep up with it all that week!

The baby chicks arrived between July 31 and August 2. The first few days of  the busy VBS week!

The the kittens arrived on the 4th!

As if the week wasn't busy enough we had friends over after VBS one day for a lake day. Yes I called it a playdate. The kids had fun swimming, kayaking and playing in the sand with their good friends the P family. The friends buried Tristan in the sand! My young adult children should humor me this as they read. Maybe they will be reading this 5 years from now all grown up and in their own lives. When you were teens and young adults and not quite out of the nest you were still my babies, thus it was a playdate :-). 

It was a crazy but good week!