Electrical Inventions by Taylor

Each school day, I arrange a specific list of assignments to be accomplished by the kids.  Tuesdays and Thursdays Taylor has Science, which he absolutely loves.  He was to complete lesson 6, which consisted of arranging multiple batteries, a light bulb and foil strips in order to figure out which connections worked and which do not.  In addition, he was to collect various items to determine whether they are conductive or not.

Apparently...  Instead of completing his assignment, he chose to be an inventor.  I should be upset, but how could I be?!  He came up with an invention that REALLY exists!!!


This is what he came up with:

(Notice how the clothespin is in its closed position.)

(And now it's being squeezed into its open position.)

It works...  IT REALLY WORKS!!!  And he came up with it all on his own.  Apparently this is called a "dead-man's switch".  Here is some information that I found on Wikipedia:

A dead man's switch is a switch that is automatically operated in case the human operator becomes incapacitated, such as through death or loss of consciousness.

The switch usually stops a machine, and is a form of fail-safe. They are commonly used in locomotives, aircraft refueling, freight elevators, lawn mowers, tractors, personal watercraft, outboard motors, chainsaws, snowblowers, tread machines, snowmobiles, and many medical imaging devices. The Special Weapons Emergency Separation System is an application of a dead man's switch in the field of nuclear weapons.

A dead man's switch may also be used to activate a harmful device, such as a bomb or IED. The user holds down a switch of some sort in their hand which arms the device. When the switch is released, the device will activate, so that if the user is killed while holding the switch, the switch will be released and the bomb will detonate (ie Fail-deadly).

There are a myriad of uses still in place today; look here to read all about this amazing invention.

I am super proud of my son for his creativity and curiosity!!!  Not bad for an almost 10 year old, if I do say so myself!  By the way...  The original assignment was completed after the celebration of his discovery.  Just a little detour to the original destination.  A detour that I think will be the first of many during this incredible homeschooling adventure!

Scissor Mishaps by Lexi

Ryan and I are very different.  

I am overly optimistic, where he tends to lean toward the more pessimistic side of the spectrum.  At least, when the kids are concerned.  I like to believe that they will make good decisions, and if they don't, a learning experience is what will come out of it.  

He believes that if it's possible, it will happen;   therefore we must prevent the incident from ever occurring by removing the cause of the imaginary, foreseen problem. 

One of the things we have had discussions about in the past is scissors.  I feel that having "safe" scissors with-in the children's reach is important for them to practice cutting and improve this important skill, as well as to use when they need to open a package that their little fingers can't manipulate.  

He has ALWAYS disagreed.  

Well....  Maybe....  Just maybe....  He was right.  

Yes, I said it...  He was right!!! 

We had an incident.  Lexi was "occupying" herself in the school room, and just happened to be using scissors.  

She was cutting paper. 

At least in the beginning.  

Until she did this:

Two HUGE chunks of hair!  GONE!!!  Here are the remains.. 

May they rest in peace.

I had no idea what we were going to do with this mess she created on her head!!!  Would we cut it all off? 

Would we just trim it in hopes it would soon blend together??  

Would we do nothing???  

At this point it appears we are choosing to do nothing. 

Cover it up, and pretend it never happened!  

Luckily, I had a portion of her hair pulled up in a band when she decided to play beautician on herself.  This section, when out of the band, nearly covers all the damage!!!  

Here is the new style I have chosen to mask the disaster:

 I think I should by stock in hair clips.  It looks like we'll be using them for QUITE AWHILE!!!  

Someday, when all the hair has grown back, we can share a good laugh.  LOL....  I can't help it.....  I really do think it's a little funny.  

(Don't tell Ryan!!!)

Homeschooling Has Begun!

For a few years now, we have considered homeschooling Taylor.  I always said, "I'd LOVE to homeschool him, but I could NEVER handle
teaching both kids!".  Ryan would say,
"If we are homeschooling one, we are homeschooling both".

In terror, I'd shrink away from the idea in fear of losing my sanity.

Well.... In June, we decided that it's time to go for it!

Yes...  for BOTH Taylor AND Lexi!!!  May God have mercy on us all.

Taylor wanted to begin schooling immediately; however, we had many summer vacations planned,
so the fun was going to have to wait until August.  

When our curriculum arrived, Taylor began ecstatically exclaiming

"Our school is here!!!  Our school is here!!!!!!!" as the delivery lady wheeled 4 boxes of materials to our door.

We anxiously began opening boxes, which quickly turned into this:

 Shortly after we opened the boxes, the school room began to look like this:

And This...

And this...

And....

   Did you notice those GIGANTIC blue binders?!  

These are the lesson plans... 

One for each child...  THEY ARE 4 INCHES THICK!!!  Oh my!  And what about that orb that I captured on film????  I don't see it in any other pictures!  I sure hope that it's a happy, "I'm here to guide you" kind of spirit; not an angry "I'm here to destroy you" kind of spirit!  Sooooo  weird!!!  I am going to choose to believe that this is a good spirit sent through prayer and petition with the boxes to bring us peace, and to guide us in this new venture.  

"Thank you" to the one who sent it!

Moving on to simpler phenomena,

like Lexi's favorite thing to do.....  

The Pledge of Allegiance!

Calendar time is so much fun!!!
We count the days that have passed in the month, memorize the "Days in a Month Rhyme", and sing the "Months of the Year" song as well as the "Days of the Week" song.  Lexi is beginning to be able to say which day was "yesterday" and which day "tomorrow" will be.  We are working on which month was "last month" and which will be "next".
She really loves this time of day!

The curriculum that we chose is called Sonlight.  It is a Christian, literature-based curriculum.  So far, I am enjoying using it and am so appreciative for the completed lesson plans! I am still incorporating activities that I think are important to the printed lessons plans, but they provide such a solid foundation for me to go off of.  I am so grateful!!!

The first couple of weeks of this adventure were hard...
REALLY, REALLY HARD!!!
It oddly felt like I had a newborn in the house.  Undoubtedly a blessing, yet so challenging and time-consuming.  Just like with a new baby, the days become easier as we become more familiar with this new addition to our home, and as the new routine meshes into each of our individual lives. 
As for now, I am so grateful for the time I am able to spend with my children.
I never realized how much I was missing out on!!!  This time is precious, and I fully accept the responsibility of devoting every hour of my day to their education and development of being well-rounded children.  Lord help me!!!

My Tuscan Birthday

This post is only a month and 4 days late!!!

 Knowing how much I adore the Los Pinos Winery in Pittsburg, my perfect husband booked a Tuscan Cottage for us to stay in on my birthday!  

I was so surprised!!!

This is what I saw when we walked in....

The sound of piano jazz filled the air, carrying me to a different world as I explored this heavenly birthday abode.

Everything was PERFECT!

Even this guy!

The only thing that could make this night sweeter

was to have a couple friends join us....  

Connor Redfearn and his beautiful wife Katherine arrived at about 6:30pm.

I felt like a celebrity arriving in an upscale, posh restaurant....

There was standing room only, except for....

OUR RESERVED TABLE!!!!!!!!!

Where I ate THIS!

And in the morning, I gazed out the window and saw...

Gorgeous grapes for miles! 

Thanks to our friends, we got a picture TOGETHER!  (A rare occurrence.)

And one of the Birthday Girl...

The night before my birthday, the kids bought me flowers!  One of my favorite things to do is to arrange them myself.

The result...

AND

In my new vase from my In-laws and younger brother and sister.  I love it!!!

The evidence of my fun...

In addition to all this fun, I had many wine-related gifts from family.

(I guess there was a "theme" this year.)  

My in-laws sent me 12 bottles!!!  

This was by far THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!! 

Berry-Picking & Jam-Making Adventures

One of the things on our "Summer To-Do List" was to go berry picking.
I had no plan on what kind of berries we'd be picking, nor what we would do with them.  Turns out, that strawberries are out of season.

So then, what is in season???.....

BLACKBERRIES!!!

Workers for this 90 degree morning:  Taylor, his friend Caleb, Lexi, and myself.

Trying to cool off after picking berries by eating ice cream made by Effurd Farms themselves!

Random Pictures Taken by Lexi

Once we got the berries home, I dreamt of making all sorts of wonderful things with them.  First on the list:  Blackberry Smoothies!

They would have been tasty, had there been no seeds.  It was so, so, so crunchy!  Knowing how nutrient-dense this treat was, I managed to consume mine.
The kids, however, took only one sip.  Sigh....

I figured the only option for these little black morsels was to make jam out of them...  So on to the next project!!!

Making Jam for the Very First Time!

After reviewing a few recipes, I decided on making Blackberry-Apple Jam, as it contained only a fraction of the sugar of the other recipes.
This time, my extra little helper was Lexi's friend, Hailey.

Our fresh ingredients:  8 cups of fresh blackberries, 3 apples, and a few fresh lemons to juice.

My brand new canning supplies!

The kids were super excited to help, which honestly...  I was a bit nervous about.
They worked incredibly well together, and did such an amazing job!!!

The first step in cooking, was to place the lemon juice with the chopped apples in a pan to cook for 5 minutes, until soft.  Then add the mashed berries and boil for a few more minutes, add the pectin and sugar mixture and viola...
 Blackberry-Apple Jam!

I was surprised how simple this recipe was...

There was not even a need to boil the jars!

Simply spoon into jars while hot, put the lids on, and wait to cool.  

They seal themselves!!!

Kindergarten Graduation and Play

Taylor and one of his best friends Brooke kept each other occupied looking at the program for the big event.......

The play and graduation ceremony for the Kindergarten class of 2011!

Lexi was one of the 8 children chosen to play a part in the play.

(I am so proud of her!) 

The rest of the Kindergarten children sang beautifully!!! 

The organization and narration of the performance by the teachers was very impressive!

Are these not the SCARIEST chicken chicken feet you've ever seen??? 

 

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but they turned out really, really scary!  They went in the trash immediately after the show.  Next time I have to make a costume, I'm DEFINITELY not going to waste my time on such a crazy project!!!  

After the children's performance, the commencement of the graduation began....

When I was in Kindergarten, there was no such thing as "Kindergarten Graduation".  I thought the idea was really, really silly; however, I have to say.....

It was PRECIOUS!!! 

 Lexi loves Ms. Moore!

 This is Lexi's best friend Hailey.

They will get to be in the same class for 1st grade too (Ms. Kittle's class).

I'm so excited for her!!!

(Although, we will really miss Ms. Moore!)

Fun Day 2011

To celebrate all the children's hard work throughout the school year,

Chapel Hill Elementary provided a Fun Day for them!!!  

The entire playground was filled with fun things from playing games and tug-a-war, to all sorts of water activities and slides.

The water activities were a MUST, as it is already in the 90's!!!  

I volunteered to help from 8am-3pm, which I really enjoyed!

The children's excitement is contagious, and I simultaneously acquired an awesome tan/burn. 

 

Here is Lexi going down the slide/jumpy house that I manned for the day.

This is her best friend Hailey sliding with her.  I'm so grateful to her Nanna for sharing these pictures with me!

Such pretty girls!  (Check out the boy on the far left.)  Lol....