D is for Easy, Breezy... Dangerous

We once lost 14 trees to a wind storm.  That's just the trees in the yard.  It doesn't count any in the woods.  It was a terrifying day in which I hid in the basement with the bigger littles.  Since then, we've had plenty of crazy wind storms, but I worry a *lot* less than I used to about trees smashing our house.

The other night, we had another storm and we lost one "smallish" tree, much shorter than those 80footers that were blown over before.  And probably half the diameter.  It didn't hit anything, but was a bit too close for my comfort to the van!

So thankful the treehouse trees remained intact.  I'm pretty sure these geese were wishing they had flown south about 24 hours earlier.

A Visit to Jay Peak

We all took a little ride up to Jay Peak to do a little leaf peeping.  There were a lot of hikers in the pulloffs, but the traffic was very light.  I have to admit, I'm partial to the deep, dark red leaves.  There is more red in the lower elevations than the peaks right now.  I will definitely get a few pictures this week of those.  I do also like a tree that is flaming red on top, yellow in the middle, and still green on the lower branches.  Makes for a nice balance.  This year, peak is a bit late. 

There is also a tram at one of the hotels on Jay.  We got to watch a few loads of people make the trip.  We've been up it once before, but we may need to ride up again sometime.

I never do get tired of the leaves changing in the fall.  Every year it's beautiful.  Are you somewhere that you can enjoy the changing seasons?

Autumn Fun at the Apple Orchard ~ Field Trip Friday

We had a rainy Field Trip Friday to the apple orchard.  And I left my umbrellas in the car, even though it had already sprinkled on the way there.  sigh...

I also left Malachi in the car.  It was easier than dealing with his grumping about the sprinkles and he's old enough to read a book and vegetate in the dry, warm vehicle.  When I got back to the car and placed the apples in the back, he had turned the heat up and it was nice and toasty.   It's only September, so it will be a while before he will relent and start wearing warm clothes.

We all got together for a group photo.  We *may* have been running late because a sign told us the road ahead was closed, but when we took the detour, we realized the road *south* of where we needed to be and we would have been fine had we just kept going.  sigh...  Yes.  It was one of those sigh filled mornings.

Next we hopped on a wooden wagon and headed off to the orchard.  The pickers are men from Jamaica who have been coming to the orchard for 25 years now!  On the way to the lovely red beauties, we learned a bit of apple trivia.

I will post the answers to these questions at the end of this post.

1.  Why can't you bob for pears like we do for apples in the fall?

2.  Which countries produce the most apples?

3.  What is the only apple native to this country?

4.  How many apple varieties have been here in the USA?

Think it over and see how well you know the answers.

The punks *loved* the apple train where the pickers would unload their precious cargo.  The bags they carry have a fabric bottom that can be released, lowering the apples gently into the carts.  No dumping happens here.  We wouldn't want bruised apples in the store!  They also thought the shape of the ladder was interesting.  It's very narrow at the top.

My happy apple pickers.

We didn't let the sprinkles stop us from enjoying the orchard, but our seats were wet when we climbed back aboard the wagon.  A few clever souls remembered umbrellas and rain ponchos.  But we are hearty, hear us roar.  Also, I don't think Mrs. E and Mrs. C are properly using this *plastic* poncho.  Kids, don't try this at home!

At the store, we shopped for a few yummy items and Merrick and his friend got to pet the chicks.  Then we said goodbyes and headed home.  If it hadn't been raining, there were donkeys to pet and a picnic planned, but why stir the pot when it had been a very fine day? 

I hope you get out this fall and enjoy apple picking, pumpkin harvesting, or even a fun corn maze!



Now, like I promised, here are the answers to the trivia questions.
1.  Apples are as much as 25% air, which allows them to float.  There is almost no air in pears, so they would sink.  (I actually have not tested this, but I think it would be a fun experiment to do with your kids.)
2.  We were told the largest apple producers (in order) are China, USA, Turkey, Poland, and Italy.  A quick internet search suggests that India may have bumped Italy from fifth place.
3.  Crabapples are the only apples native to North America.  Other types were brought from Europe in the 1700s.
4.  At one time, there were over 16,000 (that's THOUSANDS) varieties of apple in the US.  There are now only 7,000 varieties here.

Animal Adventure Park ~ Field Trip Friday {AKA Z is for Zoo}

This week, Dad surprised us all with a little three day trip.  One of our stops was Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, NY.  Yep.  Home of the infamous giraffe, April, who gave birth live online this spring.  All Malachi wanted to do was get a drink, see April, and go.  He was a bit disappointed that we saved April for nearly the very last stop.  That was intentional on my part.  If we saw April first, I'd have to hear, "Can we go now?' the whole time.  As it was, once he was able to get a drink, I only intermittently was reminded we needed to hurry over to the giraffe barn.  Only slightly less annoying, but less annoying all the same.

So, we avoided the giraffe barn by heading right once we went through the gate.  There we checked out the many other exotic and not as exotic animals.  Most of them had signage on the fences telling all about each critter and it's conservation status.  Quite a few of these first animals were members of the bovine and a couple of the equine families, goats, sheep, deer, and some kind of short cattle I didn't see a sign for.  One of my favorite enclosures housed the tortoises.  If you watched many of the April videos this spring, you may have seen the tortoises overwintering in the loft in her barn.  Some were quite large and we loved watching them nosh on lettuce leaves.

We watched Alyssa (April's keeper) and a friend go fishin' for a gator.  There were two in the tub and the water was fairly clear, but the second the keepers entered the pen, under the water they went, stirring up the murk.  (I was afraid this young man might be trying to lose some fingers.)

Jordan records a Tuesday/Thursday educational video and we watched live as the American Alligator segment was filmed.  Standing in the tortoise enclosure is apparently dangerous, as Jordan was nearly tripped by a pair of the shelled critters fighting over some romaine.  Don't worry, Alyssa separated them off camera so the littler guy got to keep his treat.

We were able to see lots of little monkeys, lemurs, a honey badger, wolves, bears, hyenas, and a ton of other critters.  The boys asked lots of questions.  Xav decided if he was a bear, he would spend all day in their "pool."  It was pretty warm Thursday.  Pretty birds were everywhere, on the grounds and in enclosures. 

We did, indeed, eventually get around to the giraffe barn.  Oliver's door was closed and as we came around to the side of the barn, we saw that outer door was open and April and "little" Tajiri were also coming in.  We all popped in there and fed April and Oliver some of the carrot sticks we had purchased onsite for them.  Every time I saw Merrick, a different woman was handing him a carrot stick and lifting him up so he could feed one of the giraffes.  He and I even received one of April's famous "hay showers."

The following morning, we got the sad news that Maxx the Camel had died in his sleep that night.  I am so terribly sad for the AAP family.  I'm not even telling the boys.  They fed Maxx some nibbles while we were there and Xav and I had a photo with him. (While I sang Alice the Camel Had One Hump and Dad looked at me like it was an odd thing to do.)

I wish they had sold postcards and souvenir spoons (I'm up to 33 or so right now).  I think a giraffe spoon where the handle was a neck would have been perfect.  (Patent pending?  LOL)  Maybe they did, but the shop was pretty chaotic and I didn't see either item there.  I think they're experiencing some growing pains, but they're doing a great job and I was very happy to get to see our famous giraffe friend.

They have a couple of small buildings set up to accommodate nursing moms, diaper changes, and kiddos with sensory issues, which was very thoughtful.

Homeschool Discount - Only during the traditional school year or as a group of 20 or more.
Educational - Absotootly. - Zoology, geography, ecology.
Family Oriented - Yes.
Duration of Visit - About two hours.  (I could have stayed longer, but it was hot and Malachi was *done*.)

Hewitt Homeschooling ~ A Homeschool Crew Review

The Hewitt Research Foundation, begun in 1964, was started by Carl Hewitt and author Dr. Raymond Moore who wrote several books on education, including Better Late Than Early.  Hewitt Homeschooling currently provides homeschoolers with services, testing, and curriculum. Their focus is on character, work ethic, community service, and academic excellence.

My First Reports are an inexpensive, full 12 week unit study.  Students learn all about researching and reporting skills, writing, and practice handwriting.  They will know most of the answers to the Me unit, since it is all about them.  That is a great first unit.  When your child is ready to start searching for answers they don't know, you will teach them how to research the information in books you have, at the library, or online if you like.


My First Report is available in 24 individual titles.  A select set of 14 of those topics in a 3-ring binder is also available.  Topics cover an array of subjects to interest pretty much every student.  My State (#3353) covers all the information we could use to learn about our own state, which we are required by our statute to do.  I found Transportation (#1764) for all of the boys.  Hello! trains, cars, trucks, and airplanes.  What more could they want?  Merrick is very into Marine Life (#2224), so I chose that for him.  After they write all about Me (#1766), Focus on the World (#3210) is great for broadening a students perspective by looking at geography and world missions.  While working on Reptiles & Amphibians (#2225), we had to catch some salamanders, of course.  Wild Animals: Large Mammals (#1966) rounds out our collection of studies.

Focus on the World takes us all over earth, directing us to learn about Christians in each area.  A book Window on the World is recommended, but not necessary for this study.  I have ordered it from Amazon, even so, as a great addition to our reference materials.

The My First Reports are created specifically for grades 3-4.  First and second graders can use them with help from Mom or Dad.  Struggling, older students can also apply the writing prompts to help them create paragraphs. They came stapled and three hole punched, so I just pulled the staples from the corner and placed them in binders with a tab divider between each one.  For ease of use by the punks, I keep the studies in 1/2" binders, with just 2-3 My First Reports in each one.  You might even choose to insert each one into its own 3-hole punch pocket folder.

Approximately twelve pages of questions are in each study.  The questions are in some way related.  For instance, in Me, one page has eight questions on the "My First Report on What I Look Like" page.  At the bottom of the page is a box containing pertinent vocabulary (height, weight, auburn, green, etc.,).  A Transportation page lists six questions related to Public Transportation, with electricity, diesel, and trolley among the words listed in the vocabulary box.  Similarly, Focus on the World shows a map on the left hand page of a two page spread followed by several questions about a specific region.

You'll find an entire unit study resource at the end.  Many of the units have crossword puzzles and word searches in addition to pages of ideas to tie into your study.

• Bible/Character
• History/Geography/Social Studies
• Reading
• Language
• Math
• Science/Health
• Physical Education
• Music
• Art
• Field Trips

This is followed by a Resources section.  This lists fiction and non-fiction books, music to enjoy, and some units list websites to access.  Other important fact lists follow.  In Wild Animals: Large Mammals, students learn about animal classifications (King Phillip Came Out From Geneva Switzerland.).  My State lists the Presidents of the United States, their home state, and their vice president.  Bible verse copywork is included.  Then the unit ends with various sized, reproducible, blank lined pages (5/8", 1/2", and 3/8"), with and without boxes to illustrate what's been written by the student.

Here, I let the boys choose a page to work in.  Sometimes I picked the unit and they picked the specific topic.  We started with answering the questions on the sheet in full sentences.  Then, we would find the closest related questions on a page and write sentences that answered them.  I showed them that paragraphs are made up, not of random sentence answers, but of *related* information (You can see the progression in the photos below.).  I showed them the difference in a complete sentence that merely answered the question (It was blue.) vs a sentence that could be understood by someone who didn't know what the original question had been (My favorite ball was blue.).   They're writing is growing a lot with these units and their paragraphs are getting much better as we use the prompts as a guide to build related information into complete paragraphs.

I do wish that each My First Report had numbered pages all the way through (the unit study section *is* numbered) and a table of contents.  Before I had them in the binder, the punks had separated the Me report and messed them all up searching for the page they wanted to respond to first.  My First Reports are terrific little homeschool studies and we'll be using the prompts for a longtime to come. 

Several years ago, I reviewed Hewitt Homeschooling's Grade 1 Lightning Lit Set with Xavier.  I liked the curriculum so much, I have another student workbook so I can use the program with Merrick in the fall.  He will only be in kindergarten, but I plan to take about 18 months to go through the whole thing.  You can read my review of that, or click the banner below to see what the rest of the Crew thought about it and many other literature courses offered by Hewitt Homeschooling.

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Summer Has Officially Begun

It always seems like the busiest week we have every year is the first week after public school gets out.  Summer is starting and there are summer things to do.  This year was no exception.  It rained a lot this week.  Probably at least a bit every. single. day.  sigh...

Public school didn't officially end until noon time on Tuesday this week, I'm guessing because of snow days.  Because of this, Xav did not have PE on Tuesday like usual.  Instead, he was invited to participate in field day with the whole school.  He was even given a mascot T-shirt in school colors, just like everyone else.

Monday night is also the night our first VBS of the summer began.  Yep, the first VBS is in the evening.  There are lessons for ages 2-adult.  So, while I was sorely tempted to nap in the car every night (because exhaustion), I stayed for Bible study.  Some other Friday School families were present, too, so it was nice to visit in our off time.  I also met a few other very sweet ladies.  The theme was Over the Moat: Drawbridge to the King and the study was about King David. 

Since school was in session for two days, gymnastics camp was only three mornings.  The charge this year was higher, the time and number of days shorter, but I still felt it was reasonable.  Honestly, the first time it was $10/kid/session (NOT *day*) and I thought that was crazy cheap, so I'm not complaining.  I do wish it had been all week though.  Xav and Merrick absolutely love it!  Mal chose not to participate this year again.  He didn't change his mind mid-way through, like he did last year.  When it didn't rain, Xav, Mal, and I walked and went to the playground while Merrick was in his lesson.  When it was Xav's turn, I took Merrick and Mal home because his session was longer than Merrick's.

Wednesday or Thursday afternoon (because we're kind of kooky), we went to a resort where we have a Daycation pass.  We spent a few hours getting familiar with the layout and at one of the pool areas.  Caught a shuttle bus, which Merrick and Mal thought was amazing.  We'll be going up again this week and probably head to one of the other pool areas, since they are all different.  We don't just have access to the pools.  There is hiking, a game zone, and a ton of events we can participate in, oh, and lagoons.  Because we want to be sure to get our money's worth out of this pass, I want to get up there fairly often.  I've told the punks we are switching to school in the morning.  It won't be easy for any of us, as we're all creatures of habit, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

So, that wasn't nearly enough to do and we didn't need any rest on Saturday.  So, our week finished out with a VBS closing carnival (and banana splits) on Saturday and the rain stayed away the entire time.  I picked up Greek food from the lady at the Farmer's Market for lunch.  Then we headed to a new (2nd year) Renn Faire.  We didn't stay long.  Then it was off to our favorite cider mill for our first visit of the year.  No, they weren't pressing, since it's summer, but they have samples and we bought cider and cider donuts.  Outside we were surprised by the most adorable little bunny litter.  I saw seven babies around the picnic tables and gazebo.  The most intriguing part was their appearance.  They didn't look like wild rabbits.  There were two albinos and five in various shades of tan or brown.  I have *never* seen wild rabbits like that.  I have myself convinced they were from an escaped pet.

This young lady worked a while to get close enough to pet this cutie.  She said it was the highlight of her whole day.

M is for Mud Season

Some weeks blogging through the alphabet is planned out months in advance.  Some weeks, it takes some serious thinking.  In Vermont, the logical M word would be maple and I seriously thought about it.  After all, Maple Openhouses were held at Sugar Shacks all over the state just a couple of weeks ago.  But then, *this* just happened.  (PS.  I'll tell you all about maple another day.)

Vermont has six official seasons.

1. Spring
2. Summer
3. Fall/Autumn
4. Stick Season (That time between the end of September/mid October when all the leaves have fallen and when winter finally arrives.) 
5. Winter
6. and Mud Season

Mud season is a lovely time of year, often warming up into the 30s-50s, rainy, gray, and brown.  The only splash of color in mud season is a daffodil or crocus.  Which reminds me, we need to plant more spring bulbs this year.  We get a nice long rainy season each spring here in Vermont, but we also have the winter thaw.  There is a ton of liquid running off hills and seeping up out of the ground as the thaw line moves through layers of dirt and clay.

I'm sure you can imagine what that means to a dirt road.  Or maybe you can't, so I'm here to show you.

These are actual pictures from my road.  We were the third car *that day* to get pulled out of that exact spot!

This week, I heard the grader shortly after I got up.  I like the sound of the grader in the spring.  The driver spent about half an hour working on a particularly rough spot in front of the neighbor's house.  When he left, it was only superficially improved.  Sadly.  I think the town purchased a gravel pit *just* for this road.  I'm sure that's not true, but it sure seems like it.

Later, that same morning, I came home to a road closed sign.  I decided that the work being done was *probably* at the same area on the other side of my house, so I took the chance.  Thankfully, I was right.  And this is what we found.

Merrick spent some time "helping" by tossing one small rock at a time into the pile of stone being spread on the road.  Don't worry.  No equipment was running at the time.  We were waiting for one of several loads of very large stone to be delivered.  I was amazed at how much clay was under the road.  And equally surprised to see a fountain of water when the stones were being tamped down.

This is what the road looks like here now.   Smooth....

Too bad the rest of our road wasn't as nice.  :)

Join us every week at A Net in Time and Hopkins Homeschool for Blogging Through the Alphabet!

Fall Photo Shoot

Sometimes things just don't go as planned.  Like my whole life, it seems, on "those days."  (That's not *all* bad!)  But God has a plan.  His ways are not my ways.  It's difficult to remember that on those not-so-good feeling days.

One gorgeous fall day, I decided to take a nice picture of the boys out in the leaves and pine needles scattered around the yard.  It wasn't really sunny at all, but I found out the hard way that all the punks have sensitive eyes like their dad.  The gray sky just sort of diffused the sunlight so it was everywhere.  There was NO way to shield their peepers or sit in the shade of a tree.  It was just, well, bright.

This is quite literally, the best photo I got before giving up in frustration.  I found myself angry.  With them.  And with myself.  I think I was most upset that I actually had a good idea for homegrown photos of the boys, got them all in their new black autumn shirts, rounded them up, and actually - most importantly - went out to take them while the situation *seemed* ideal to me.

How often do we think the circumstances are perfect for our ideas and something goes "wrong" to our way of thinking?  God sees everything that happens to us from an entirely different perspective.  Something to think about.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. 
Isaiah 55:8

The Adventures of Earl and Hobbes

After the foot of snow we were gifted with last week, we've had some pretty decent weather.  The wind has been howling at night, but the days have been mild and in the high forties to mid-fifties.  Today, I went out to dig up another row of carrots from the garden.  The kittens have been dying to get outside and they sneak out every chance a slow moving child leaves the house.  I decided to take them out with me and they had a blast, checking out the empty chicken coop, the garden, crossing the crick, and climbing trees.

I had an awful time keeping Merrick from chasing them so they could just be curious kitties.  He called the outing The Adventures of Earl and Hobbes like it was an exciting TV show.  Earl is a much better climber than Hobbes, who can only get a couple feet off the ground before hopping down.  They both got their feet wet, which does not make them happy.  Within minutes of me heading back into the house, they were at the backdoor waiting to be let in where I gave them treats.

They spent the next four hours sound asleep.

Things We Do For PE in Our Homeschool - Hiking

First, there's hiking and then there's *hiking*.  I prefer the former, though the boys often do the latter.  Usually with Dad.  Natch.

Now that Xav is attending PE classes at the public school, we go for a walk together after we pick him up.  Sometimes, that is on a nice, open trail.  These pictures are from our journey a week ago.

Xav found some milkweed, which after getting the fluff all over us (not to be removed until we returned home and got a lint roller out), we decided to save the seeds and find a spot in our yard to grow milkweed.  We hope to see some monarchs.  Xav also picked a tasty corn dog.  Or cattail. 

It was a nice fall day, not too hot, not cold.  We explored the trail, dropped a stick in a stream and ran across the bridge to see it come out the other side.

Definitely a good day.  I'm hoping for a few more days like it before winter settles in for six whole months.

Autumn Fun at the Corn Maze ~ Field Trip Friday

Crunchy leaves, cool air, pumpkins, and corn mazes.  How about apples and cider donuts?  Fall is a favorite season.

We had a gorgeous day for a corn maze and some outdoor fun with our co-op friends. Some folks went pumpkin picking in the morning, but Grandma and Poppa of the Forest had already brought our pumpkins and mums to us on a visit.

We met everyone at the pavilion at the market and had lunch together.  The kids barely ate because the playground was so much fun.

Besides the usual slides and climbing things, they had a wooden mini tractor and wagon.  That novelty was a seriously big hit.  Mal climbed inside the tractor and pretended to be the engine.  Some of the little kids thought that was pretty cool.

The corn maze had stations that you had to find to punch your cards.  We were given two different kinds of cards.  They served different purposes, but both were great.  One had the actual maze on it, with the actual punch locations marked, which *may* have been cheating but was fun to try to follow.  The other card was a mystery to solve.  Boots the dog was taken from the farm by monsters.  You saw the clue at each punch and punched the monster and its hiding place on your card.  At the end, whatever was left was the monster who had taken Boots and where Boots was hidden.

"The Best Fortnight Ever."

After two weeks of VBS, gymnastics, Tae Kwon Do, a couple of beach trips, and very little "school" I heard this from the backseat.

This was the best fortnight ever!

~Xavier

A Hike and a Drive ~ Field Trip Friday

This was actually a Tuesday field trip.  I'll just post it on a Friday.  'Cause it's my blog, I can do that. 

Over "The Notch".



This is a gorgeous narrow, curvy road that goes over the mountain.  It's seasonal and also is actually closed frequently even in the summer because tractor trailer drivers regularly miss the very large signs telling them not to proceed.  Sigh.  This is actually a pretty small sign.  There are several on each side.  One is *huge*.

 

We have lovely hiking there, though I have only been about halfway. There are a lot of stone steps in the beginning that are tough on my knees. I figure it's OK, it is a “difficult” level hike, after all. Micah always claims it's a nice *family* hike...

Once I've gone far enough, I head back to the car to read and people watch while the boys move on with dad. The people watching part is also good fun.

Weeks in Review 8/10 and 8/17/14

    In my life this week…
Ordered our homeschool t shirts from Great Products annual T-shirt sale. $5.99 for regular Ts.  I bought the Lego shirts for each of the boys, the safari T in a size big for Merrick, and I splurged on a V-neck for myself.  I love this sale and I love these shirts, but this year my shirt was a different brand and was larger and a slightly different cut.  It also had one wonky sleeve.  Last year's shirt was much better.

    Xavier...
Xav decided it would be a good idea to pop a laundry soap pod. He got some in his face. After flushing for 10 minutes and consulting with my on-call MIL/nurse, we decided he probably would live. Then he asks this: What if I accidentally forget how much it hurt and do it again?
*Moms. Accidentally forgetting how much it hurt since the dawn of time.*

    Malachi... 
Mal greeted me after church with a huge smile and told me, "I rode the four wheeler, but I didn't have any fun." Then why are you grinning?   

    In the yard... 
Pickings from the garden; peppers, beets, carrots, and corn.

Micah tore out my poor, dead cherry tree.  This winter was just too much for a few of our plants.

    Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
Lee's party - A fun surprise birthday party for one of the Friday School dads.  We went on a nature hike/scavenger hunt, wrapped watermelons with rubberbands until they exploded, ate cake (of course), and the kids found forts in the woods.
Target - After that we stopped off at Target, since we were in NY anyway.  That's how this family parties.

    I’m cooking…
Banana "pancakes."
One banana and two eggs.  I did add some vanilla and pumpkin pie spice.  The whole time I was making them, all I could think was that I was basically feeding my kid a banana omelet.

    We surprised the kids this week by…
We surprised the boys with a trip to the COG Railway and a ride up to the peak of Mount Washington, the highest point in New England.  I'll be writing about that another day.

Completely oblivious about our destination.

We also saw a hot air balloon over the road on the way home.

    A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…
This fish theft.  

    This week's reviews... 
Wizzy Gizmo 
UberSmart Math Facts 
Happy Kids Songs