Took today off

Gave the boys their first independent study assignments of the summer and took today to refresh from our FULL day yesterday. Yesterday was AWESOME! We met TUSKEGEE AIRMAN LT. CALVIN J. SPANN and saw a Buffalo soldiers display complete with cannon fire! Our friend, the poet Justin Tate read the Emancipation Proclamation. I learned SO MUCH! Really enjoyed the day, but needed today to recover. My kids say I am part vampire because the sun really does me in.

Living History

Who we met today! TUSKEGEE-AIRMAN-LT-CALVIN-J-SPANN!


We had a really good time today. Check out our pics and such

It's raining, it's pouring!

Devon worked inside today. Power tools and all. It's raining cats and dogs and even hailed some earlier. He's perfecting his skills as a wood worker, this time, another bamboo cane. Learned some about Roosevelt while working.

Looking forward to finishing the Spring session as we are currently doing summer and spring at the same time. ACT and SAT practice tests next week.

Tentative schedule for next week:
Monday: SAT practice test
Tuesday: ACT practice test
Wednesday: free study while I assess his strengths and weaknesses from the test answers.
Thursday: review based on need
Friday: Farm work day

The week after should be mostly review of material for the tests and some free study. Should finish up the school year by Thursday.

Rushing

Trying to give Dev space and let him learn. At the same time, I want to hurry and finish this year so we can try the session study over the summer. I'm really excited about all they will learn through this lesson set. I will be learning, too. Besides recycling, I have not learned much about green living. I like not having to create the session. I am changing parts that are slanted towards extreme Populism and ranting about the Plutocracy of the US government, but that is easier than starting from scratch.

Today, Dev worked on making a bamboo cane while listening to Mama's cousin, Kurt tell a bit of family history. He used one tool at a time, switching tools to find the best one for the job. The cane is shaping up nicely and Dev learned a lot about the oil rigs.

This Session

We are learning about our world this session. Several of our lessons cover where our food comes from and how to get it from safer and more humane sources. It has been a lot of work, but we are learning tons. We planted okra and joined our local farming co-op. For the summer, we are only working on making our household more earth friendly. Lots of projects planned to this end!

Our Homeschool Adventure

I did not set out as a parent thinking "I'm going to home school my children." Not by any means. I have seen it work for dedicated parents, but it was not for me. Although I had a degree in secondary education, I didn't feel I had the patience or time to home school. I am my family's primary bread winner. My family has gone through 2 sessions of home school, separated by years. The first was when my sons were small and dealing with bullies on a daily basis. A shooting in the park next door to their school was the last straw. We home schooled until we moved out of that district.

We moved to an awesome school district with top marks from the state. I was happy with my boys growing up in the schools. Then, my oldest son cracked a lower lumbar. He says he woke up that way, but he left home fine, then the school calls me to pick him up. I take him to emergency and learn he has a crack in his spine. On the way to emergency, he can not even set in the car. Fishy to me, but my son stands by his story. No doctors in our case would clear him for school or tell the school he couldn't return. I am sure, as the person who was taking care of him that he was not ready to return. He could not even set up. He tried returning to school when 1 doctor released him, but within an hour, called me and needed to come home.

At that point, I pulled him out of school and began home instruction. It has been an adventure. He is 15 and was a year behind in school. I have caught him up and we began exploring things that were not required in school, such as photography, leather working, interior design, anatomy and physiology, among others, as his interests wander. He is learning a lot, but he says the most important lesson he learned was the 4 week class I taught on how to study, research and learn. It has been a rewarding semester, but we are still undecided about homeschooling next year.