Today Mister B attended his first swim meet for the high school. As the first homeschooler on the high school team I thought it was important that he shine. And shine he did. He wasn't a superstar. He only swam in 2 relays but he did the team proud by keeping his lane in the race.
The high school team has been a great social outlet for him. As much as he loves swimming on the club team he is also on those kids are from all over and it makes getting together socially next to impossible. Plus, his two closest friends on the team decided not to continue this year. Unlike the club team the high school team does team building stuff. They have to take the bus together to and from practice and the meets. After the first two weeks of practice they have a pasta night at the high school together. The night before a meet they get together at a local pizza place for dinner. I have to say that Mister B (social butterfly that he is) is loving every minute of it.
Even though my 9th grader did not lead the charge to victory the team did win the meet. And they won against a private school known for its athletic prowess. All in all it was a great afternoon.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Monday, November 26, 2012
Thanksgiving
We had a lot to be thankful for this year. The only damage to our home after Sandy was to the chimney. We had no power for over a week but we had good friends and neighbors to take care of us. We had family that also lost power from the storm but no other ill effects. We are rich in the things that matter. Good friends and family.
Now that Thanksgiving is over, today was our first day back to school. Instead of easing back in we went full throttle. Diving in to all our subjects and catching up on work that we let slide before Thanksgiving.
Little Miss M and I had a lovely discussion about Hinduism and its history. She continues to work on note taking skills. Vocabulary seems to be a bit of struggle this year for her. She understands the meaning of the word but is struggling to use it correctly in a sentence. I think she just does not like taking the time to think up a thorough sentence.
Mister B continues plugging ahead in all of his subjects. He finished up his unit on ph values in the stomach and the intestines and learned the valuable lesson to read all the instructions first. A lesson that he seems to need to relearn every few months.
Today Mister B has his first swim meet for the town high school team. It is an internal meet so the coach can see what you've got and make the line up for the first competition meet this coming Friday. He has been enjoying the team practices and they have definitely given him some tips that have been helping on the club team the kids swim for. He has been finding the practices challenging and enjoyable. The high school team does a lot of team building. You have to take the bus too and from practices, swimming in a meet or not you have to attend to support your team mates, and after today's meet they are having a pizza party. All of this definitely assists with the social needs that are always such a challenge with homeschooling in my area.
Now that Thanksgiving is over, today was our first day back to school. Instead of easing back in we went full throttle. Diving in to all our subjects and catching up on work that we let slide before Thanksgiving.
Little Miss M and I had a lovely discussion about Hinduism and its history. She continues to work on note taking skills. Vocabulary seems to be a bit of struggle this year for her. She understands the meaning of the word but is struggling to use it correctly in a sentence. I think she just does not like taking the time to think up a thorough sentence.
Mister B continues plugging ahead in all of his subjects. He finished up his unit on ph values in the stomach and the intestines and learned the valuable lesson to read all the instructions first. A lesson that he seems to need to relearn every few months.
Today Mister B has his first swim meet for the town high school team. It is an internal meet so the coach can see what you've got and make the line up for the first competition meet this coming Friday. He has been enjoying the team practices and they have definitely given him some tips that have been helping on the club team the kids swim for. He has been finding the practices challenging and enjoyable. The high school team does a lot of team building. You have to take the bus too and from practices, swimming in a meet or not you have to attend to support your team mates, and after today's meet they are having a pizza party. All of this definitely assists with the social needs that are always such a challenge with homeschooling in my area.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Hurricane Sandy
It has been a crazy couple of weeks here. Hurricane Sandy came and knocked out our power. No lights and no heat (except for our much loved fireplace). Fortunately we have friends who let us hang out with them all day. They fed us and let us charge our electronics. We also discovered we have generous neighbors. An hour after we lost power they were knocking on our door offering us an extension cord from their house for our fridge.
The biggest discover we made-None of us wants to be a Mennonite. Our evenings in our chilly house was a nice break from our daily routine-but leave the living room and you really noticed the chill. I told the kids this was just like camping only better because we had hot water (thankfully) and a private bath that was not in the woods. I am not sure they were buying what I was selling but we had fun.
After our break from school (did I mention those days with friends while the schools in town were closed) we are now trying to get back into the swing of things. It has not been easy. There is resistance and tempers flaring. Mostly my temper but I am trying to control that. There seems to be a desire to fall back into bad work habits. Lets face it, it is easier to be lazy in the short term. I know we will get back into the groove but the road there is not pleasant.
The biggest discover we made-None of us wants to be a Mennonite. Our evenings in our chilly house was a nice break from our daily routine-but leave the living room and you really noticed the chill. I told the kids this was just like camping only better because we had hot water (thankfully) and a private bath that was not in the woods. I am not sure they were buying what I was selling but we had fun.
After our break from school (did I mention those days with friends while the schools in town were closed) we are now trying to get back into the swing of things. It has not been easy. There is resistance and tempers flaring. Mostly my temper but I am trying to control that. There seems to be a desire to fall back into bad work habits. Lets face it, it is easier to be lazy in the short term. I know we will get back into the groove but the road there is not pleasant.
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