Wow, it’s been a while since I have posted. I have been really busy working on a new website and haven’t had a lot of leisure time. We’ve got a bunch of activities this week and next, so I hope to have something to write about and some photos to post.
Don’t give up on me yet!
Our homeschool Girl Scout troop held an investiture ceremony, and it turned out very nicely. I’d never heard of an investiture before, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Alyssa had done bridging twice, so I wasn’t expecting to do it for a few years. I’m glad our leader decided to hold the investiture, as it was a nice ceremony. The Cadettes began by lighting a candle and saying the Girl Scout promise, then the Juniors took turns lighting smaller candles and reciting their parts of the Girl Scout Law. Then they received their patches and membership pins, and at the end, they all sang ‘On My Honor’.
Christian had his Pinewood Derby recently…
Here is his car — in the lead:
Here he is getting his division first place trophy:
Here’s an action shot of the all-around finals:
AND… here’s Christian getting the Grand Champion trophy!!
I am so proud of him!!
I recently bought a $5 unit study covering the Vancouver Olympics. It’s a 13-day study, so we will begin closer to when the Olympics actually begin — in about 27 days. It’s very hands-on, so I am sure I will have a lot of photos to post!
A friend sent me the link to the Global Rich List. Often we look at how much more others have than we do, when we should equally look at how much more we have than so many others.
| I’m loaded. It’s official. I’m the 23,307,088 richest person on earth! |
After a very lengthy break (five days) we are back to school again. Hopefully there will soon be more photos up of our many homeschooling adventures!
I hope everyone has a very happy and prosperous new year!
We had our 4th annual CHA Christmas Party at a local park. The park had a pond, which was ringed by many pretty, colored trees, and with the mist in the air, I thought it would make a nice photo.
As we were taking photos, I saw these huge, rat-like creatures come out of the water and beg for food! They are called Nutria, and apparently there are people who eat these creatures! I’ll stick with veggies, thanks!
And look who showed up in high style! Look at the passenger on the golf cart …
We got a few of our tween girls to pose with Santa, but none of them wanted to sit on his lap. Could it be that they are on the naughty list this year?
And when we saw Miss A sitting on Santa’s lap, we couldn’t help but break into song: “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth…”
And what’s a park pond without a couple of ducks?
My son spent the whole time running around with the other boys, so I didn’t get to catch him in a photo. I did ask if he wanted to sit on Santa’s lap and let me take a photo. He said, “no,” like it was a ridiculous thing to ask and that he was far too old for such things, but as I was walking back from the pond, I caught the little bugger sitting on Santa’s lap! He was off playing again by the time I reached the pavilion, but I saw him!
We had such a great time with our wonderful homeschool friends!
So, US News has again published its picks for the top 100 high schools in the US. It looks like the majority of them are either specialized schools or magnet/charter schools. I noticed none of the “exemplary schools” from my area are included in the list. Even the public schools in the richie-rich areas are not included on the list. Did anyone catch that? I wonder why it is.
Could it be that the one true indicator of success is students want to be at school? Those specialized schools don’t just take whomever falls into the door. You must apply and often win a lottery to be able to attend. Once there, you must maintain a minimum grade average. No skating by as is the case in many public schools. The specialized schools and charter schools weed out those who want an education from those who are simply doing their time.
Where I grew up, charter schools were not an option. Where I live now, the people think the sun rises and sets on the local (overcrowded) school district, and I think they are too vain to allow educational alternatives such as this. So, be thankful if you live in an area with easy access to specialized schools and charter schools!
This Saturday my family is going to go do something special. I am really excited about it, and I can’t wait to post photos so you can see what we did.
I will give a hint … it’s WAY more important than high school football playoff games!
Please come back on Saturday night or Sunday sometime and see!
UPDATE: Due to rain and nasty conditions, I wasn’t able to bring my camera. But here’s what we did!
