Surprise in the Closet

We just returned from a lovely trip to Mammoth Cave National Park. We had a wonderfully educational time and were thrilled to see part of the cave on our cave tour. Everyone that is except my youngest son who really didn't like the cave too much - he was scared for most of the tour. D was not the only one who had a bit of a fright on our vacation, though!

When we travel, whenever possible, I like to bring our own sheets for the bed in which my husband and I sleep. We enjoy flannel sheets all year round and it just makes us feel more comfortable to have our own sheets. So, I was changing the sheets to the flannel ones we had brought on our bed in the cabin. I folded the ones that were on the bed and opened the closet door to store them in there for our stay. When I opened the closet door, I screamed!

My whole family came running and then I burst into hysterical laughter when I recovered from my initial shock. The owner of the rental cabin must be an avid hunter because we had already discovered that we were not alone in the cabin.

We had the company of another boar...

a pheasant...

a ram...and, lastly, another surprise boar-like creature in the hallway closet. I'm not completely sure what preserved animal head was in the hallway closet, actually.We were certainly NOT alone in our cabin!

Hocking Hills Trip

For the past three years, my husband and I have gone away to an Ohio State Park for a long week-end ALONE. ALONE is the key word. While both of us love being with our children and spend tremendous amounts of time with them, we rarely get to spend some time alone - just the two of us. So, every year now we "escape" to a cabin for a few days and just relax, hike, play Scrabble, watch movies, and snuggle. I have been amazed at just how much I love to be with my husband and it makes me feel young again. Someday, our children will leave home and it will just be us again. I'm so glad that we make time to remember that we are still a couple - that he is still my hero and I am still his sweetheart.

Just last week-end we enjoyed an absolutely perfect week-end at Hocking Hills State Park. We stayed in a State Park cabin which was quite basic but clean and quite functional. We were disappointed that we did not have a private fire-pit because we were looking forward to hot dogs over the fire and S'Mores. Other than that, though, the cabin was lovely and we particularly enjoyed the screened-in back porch. The back porch was the setting for two highly competitive Scrabble games. Sadly, I was beaten in both games but I loved playing nonetheless. Long, leisurely Scrabble games rarely find their way into our hectic lives at home.

Hocking Hills is an absolutely beautiful area and has excellent hiking trails. On Friday evening, we hiked the Rock House Trail. In the past, the Rock House may have been home to many unsavory persons like robbers, horse thieves, murderers, and bootleggers. The area surrounding Rock House has been a popular tourist attraction for quite a long time - there used to be a hotel there in the early 1800s. The hike was a bit slippery in spots and I don't particularly like heights, but there were some lovely views.

On Saturday, we went hiking in the morning and covered two trails - the Gorge Trail at Conkle's Hollow and the Ash Cave trail. Conkle's Hollow is a nature preserve and the Gorge Trail is absolutely lovely. Visitors can also hike the rim trail at Conkle's Hollow but I was afraid of hiking at such a height.

One of the aspects of the Gorge Trail that really amazed me was that life was springing out of every possible crevice and crack. Plants were growing right out of the top of rocks. Little fish were living in a tiny creek. Trees were perched precariously on the side of cliffs.

Ash Cave was lovely but the trail was particularly crowded so I didn't enjoy the Ash Cave hike as much as the other trails. I love seeing the waterfall, though.

Another big highlight of our trip was an absolutely delightful meal at Millstone BBQ in Logan. Millstone BBQ is home to Southern Smoked Barbecue and the meal was completely delicious! My husband and I shared the Ribs and Your Choice meal. We had Pulled Pork, K.C. Baby Back Ribs, Pit Baked Beans, Steak Fries, and Homemade Sweet Little Cornmuffins. I love cornmuffins and I have to say that the cornmuffins I had at Millstone BBQ were the best that I have EVER eaten. I just wish I had taken pictures of our meal! The ribs were so good and they just fell off the bones. We will definitely be visiting Millstone BBQ again next year!

All in all, our week-end vacation was perfectly perfect! We just wish we could have stayed longer!

Changes in Length, Changes in Dreams

My 12 year old daughter is a serious competitive swimmer. She loves the sport, is a member of a USA swim team, and practices 5 days a week for 2 hours per day. She competes in swim meets at least two week-ends per month. She participates in both the Short Course and Long Course seasons so swimming is a year-round sport for her. She also has (had) REALLY long hair. In fact, A has not had a haircut, other than trimming off dead ends, since she was in kindergarten.

A has always loved her long hair but lately...she decided that competitive swimming and really long hair just don't mix. She decided that she wanted to cut off 10 inches of her hair and donate it to Locks of Love. Everybody was supportive of her decision from her friends to her grandparents to her father (who encouraged her to go even shorter), except for me.

The decision to cut her hair was so practical and it made so much sense given her swimming schedule. But, I couldn't get over the small ache in my heart that knew that cutting her hair meant cutting another part of the little girl in her away. Her dream of having really long hair has given way to a dream that is more important to her - the dream of an athlete.

After encouraging her to really, really, really think about her decision - I finally realized that she was completely confident in her desire to cut her hair. So, I made an appointment with my hairdresser for her. My daughter was SO excited to get her hair cut.

She looks absolutely adorable, and more grown-up than ever! She is thrilled with her decision and I am so happy for her. I think she looks absolutely beautiful with her new haircut. I am also happy that it will be easier for her to manage with her swim schedule. But, there is still a small, sad voice in my heart that didn't want to say goodbye to that part of the little girl in her. There is hardly any little girl left in her - she's even taller than me now! That part of me cries while I write this post.

Thankfully, though, the little girl is being replaced day by day with a wonderful, young lady that I am privileged to know and love.

New Uses for 4" by 6" Photo Brag Books

I have been putting together my children's academic portfolios for our upcoming portfolio review with a certified teacher. I had lots of pictures of art projects from the past school year and I needed a way to include them in the 3 ring binders I use for their academic portfolios. I stumbled across little 4" by 6" photo brag books in the $1.00 section at Target and thought they would work well for my purpose but the front cover artwork wasn't appropriate. When I got home, I realized that I could just slide out the cover artwork, put the two pieces of cardstock front to front and attach my own cover.

Once the new cover was in place, I filled an album for each child with pictures of their artwork from the school year. Then, I put the little albums in the inside pocket of their portfolio binders. I was so happy with the results that I started to think of other new uses for these $1.00 brag books for our homeschool. Here are the ideas I have had so far:

• We could make a Regions of the United States book with a small map of the state on one side of the double-page spread and a postcard from that state on the other side to review the regions of the United States that we have already covered.


• These little, inexpensive brag books make perfect places to publish student writing. Final drafts of stories/poetry/short reports could be written and illustrated on 4" by 6" cardstock and then simply slid into the pockets for publication.

Photo brag books for $1.00 Works for Me! To find out what works for other bloggers, check out Works for Me Wednesday at We Are That Family at the following link: http://www.wearethatfamily.com/2009/05/wfmw-my-organizing-secret.html

Academic Portfolios

I have been busy, busy the past two weeks putting together my children's academic portfolios for the 2008-2009 school year. While they did take the Iowa Tests this year, I prefer to turn in the same type of review to my local school board every year so I always do a portfolio review with a certified teacher. I love doing academic portfolios for several reasons:

• Putting together the portfolios gives me a chance to reflect on all of the learning and all of the projects that took place in our homeschool over the year. I never fail to be amazed at all we have accomplished!


• On the flip side, putting together the portfolios also allows me to see any academic areas in which we should be doing more work. For example, since the children didn't take outside art classes this year and I didn't use an art curriculum, we didn't do as many art projects as I would have liked. We did some art projects and the children all create art on their own but I would have liked to have had more structured art projects.


• The finished academic portfolios are a fabulous record and keepsake of the school year for each child. Having a deadline forces me to actually get the portfolios done! Don't even ask about unfinished scrapbooks!


• Putting together the portfolios gives me an opportunity to truly consider changes I would like to make in our homeschool for the next school year. Do I want them to be doing more writing? More art projects? More history?

Putting together the academic portfolios actually begins at the very start of the school year. There are several tasks that I do throughout the year that really help with keeping school papers organized for the portfolios.

• I keep a running list on our computer of books, field trips, and educational videos that we have read, attended, and watched during the school year.


• Each of my children also has a reading record on which we keep track of all of the books each of them has read.


• I also try to take pictures of all art projects completed for school projects. After loading them onto my computer, I load them to Shutterfly in a special album named "Art Projects, School Year 20-- to 20--)." Then when I'm ready to put together the portfolios, I can print the pictures I want and pick them up at Target all at once.

In addition to those records, I have a specific area where I put all of the "portfolio-worthy" papers during the course of the year. Here are some examples of items that I put in the "portfolio-worthy" pile:

• Math-U-See completed test booklets
• brochures, maps, and ticket stubs from educational field trips
• certificates of completion for swimming lessons
• copies of awards from swim team
• copies of completed essays
• completed handwriting booklets
• tables of contents from curriculum texts
• tests from English

About a month before my scheduled portfolio review, I start working on the portfolios so that I can compile them without feeling stressed and rushed. I work on each portfolio one section at a time. Each child's portfolio is compiled into a one inch three ring binder. I use the binders that allow you to slide a piece of paper in the clear front pocket to make a cover for the binder. I make the portfolio covers on PrintMaster with cute school-themed borders. On the front is written:

• Academic Portfolio
• Child's Name
• Child's Grade Level
• Academic Years for the Portfolio (2008-2009)

I divide the portfolio into sections. Here are the sections that I use for my children's portfolios:

• Mathematics
• Language Arts
• Science
• History and Geography
• Physical Education

In years past I have had a Fine Arts section but since most of our art projects were completed within the context of History studies, I included information about them in that section. I also made a little photo album of each child's art projects from the year and tucked that into the front inner pocket of the portfolio binder.

In the remainder of this post, I will describe what I included in each section of my 6th grade daughter's academic portfolio. I put the dividers for each section in sheet protectors. I make the dividers for each section on PrintMaster.


Mathematics

• one page describing the curriculum that she used for the school year
• table of contents from Teaching Textbooks 7
• printed gradebook from Teaching Textbooks 7
• timed multiplication facts tests

Language Arts

• description of the curriculum that she used for the school year, the assigned books that were read, and information about the amount of independent reading that she completed
• a complete list of read-aloud books that I read to the children over the course of the year that do not relate to a science or history unit study
• list of books read aloud to the children during the Cinderella Stories Around the World unit study and the curriculum used in that unit study
• description of the play we went to see as part of the Cinderella unit
• a copy of the fractured fairy tale that she wrote
• table of contents from Growing With Grammar 6
• chapter review tests from Growing With Grammar 6
• reading charts

Science

• description of all of the field trips we took that relate to science study
• a picture of the "Jitterbug" robot she made at the Great Lakes Science Center and a description
• list of science videos watched that do not relate to a specific unit study
• complete list of curriculum, books read, and videos watched during the Animal Classification study
• complete list of curriculum, books read, and videos watched during the Germs study
• complete list of curriculum, books read, and videos watched during the Light study
• complete list of curriculum, books read, and videos watched during the Lizards study
• description of the Tops Analysis unit that was completed

***I also included A's Lizard and Germ lapbooks for the certified teacher to see. The lapbooks do not stay with the portfolio, though. After the review, they go back to the schoolroom where each child has their own box for lapbooks.

History and Geography

• complete list of curriculum, books read, and videos watched during the Middle Ages Unit Study
• detailed information about our big field trip to the Renaissance Faire
• information about the curriculum we are using for our United States study
• States and capitals test

***I also included A's United States notebook for the certified teacher to see.

Physical Education

• practice schedule for A's participation in the summer recreational swim league
• practice schedule for A's participation on a USA swim team during the Short Course Season
• complete results including times and placements for all of the swim meets in which A participated in both the summer recreational league and the USA Swimming Short Course Season
• information about special awards A received during the Short Course Season (MVP for her age group, selection for Team Ohio, final results of Gold Championships)

Misc.

• Performance Profile for the Iowa Tests (A was tested this year so I put the results at the back of the portfolio)
• brochure about the 2009 student days program at the Ohio Renaissance Festival
• program from "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters"
• heat sheet from the 2009 Mid-States Quadrangular Championships
• completed handwriting booklet (I use Happy Scribe Copybooks for A)

Putting together the children's portfolios is a lot of work but the results are definitely more than worth the effort!

Differential Rudeness

We just returned from a really fun overnight trip to Kalahari Indoor Waterpark Resort in Sandusky, Ohio. Overall, we had a lovely time and the children really had a ton of delightful fun in the wave pool and on the water slides.

We did have one slightly unpleasant event happen during our time at Kalahari, though. While it was not a major incident by any means, the event really made me think. My two boys (10 and 7) wanted to play in the arcade so after the water park closed for the evening at 9pm, they changed into dry clothes and I took them back downstairs to the large arcade area. The boys had each brought money of their own that they were using in the arcade. They had a good time, and were quite excited about the tickets they won in the games that they played. They were VERY excited about trading their tickets in for some of the small prizes that were displayed at the main counter in the arcade.

Sadly, the Kalahari Resort employee who was working behind the main counter was LESS than excited about helping two excited boys pick out their prizes. I was sitting in a nearby chair reading when my boys came over to me and declared that the lady at the counter was mean. My oldest son said that the employee was rude and just ignored his questions and rolled her eyes at him several times. My youngest was visibly upset and was fighting back tears. He explained to me that he had asked for a blue wrapped candy and he was given a brown wrapped candy. When he told the employee that he had asked for a blue wrapped candy, she simply refused to trade it - she said that there were no trades after prizes had been given and she wouldn't even consider that she had made a mistake.

Well, needless to say when Mama Bear stalked over to the prize counter with her claws at the ready, the Kalahari employee was quite eager and quick to make the exchange. My youngest had his desired blue candy, the tears were gone and replaced with a huge smile, and I was the hero of the hour to my dear, sweet son. I love happy endings.

My 12 year old daughter also experienced rude behavior from an employee at Kalahari. While at the waterpark, I gave her the room key so that she could charge a slushee drink to our room. The employee asked her what her room number was and my daughter didn't know our room number immediately - she had to think about it. We had just checked in less than a half hour before. Anyway, the employee snapped at her and was rude about her not knowing the room number instantly. My daughter explained that we had just checked in. I wonder if the employee would have been rude to me if I could not instantly remember our room number. Perhaps she would have been.....perhaps not.

These small events really got me thinking, though. First, as much as it costs to spend the night at Kalahari Indoor Waterpark in Sandusky, Ohio, I feel ALL of the employees should be as nice as possible to EVERYBODY. The ONLY reason my husband and I went there was for OUR KIDS so they should be treated with particular care and sweetness from EVERY employee. But, that rant aside...the small event made me think about how easy it is for adults to treat children with disrespect and rudeness.

While rude behavior is certainly not uncommon directed towards adults and children in equal measure, differential rudeness seems to be a particular species of ugly. Differential rudeness occurs when an employee is not rude to an adult but thinks nothing of being rude to a child. The experience that my sons had at the prize counter is a good example of differential rudeness. Why are people differentially rude to children? I simply don't know the answer to that question.

The question does make me ponder my own behavior. Am I sometimes differentially rude to my children? Do I sometimes speak to them with disrespect - disrespect that I wouldn't show to my husband or to a friend? Do I sometimes not listen to them or disregard their concerns? Does differential rudeness occur in my own home? Yes, of course it does. Does it happen all of the time? No, it does not and I am quite proud of that fact. Is this an area in which I can continue to grow, improve, and try to do better? Yes, it is.

Books and Movies from April

I am continuing on with the 50 Book Challenge from my local library - I am now up to 26 books! I am really enjoying my renewed commitment to reading - both for information and pure delight! Here are the books that I read in April:

• Run For Your Life by James Patterson - ***
• Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes - **** (I read this because it will be an assigned book for my daughter during our American Revolution unit next school year. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. The historical references were well-done and interesting and the character development was excellent.)
• Night Play by Sherrilyn Kenyon - ***
• Seize the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon - ***

I managed to watch quite a few movies in April - many on the treadmill! Here are the movies I watched in April.

• The Core - ***
• The Notebook - ****
• Sweet Land - ****
• Stranger Than Fiction - ***
• Signs - ****
• Highlander 3: The Final Dimension - ***
• Earth - ****
• Elektra - *
• The Changeling - *** (This movie was excellent but it was incredibly disturbing.)
• The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice - ***