Dad's Bracket

Last year Dad got the idea of having a family trophy for the one who had the best score on their NCAAChampionship bracket.  Guess who won last year!?  Mom and H!

So Dad is happy that he's in the lead this year.

 That's Dad...98%.  Out of over 5,000,000 brackets, his is 116089.

Oh, at one point he was at 98.9%.  That's 66,850 out of over 5,000,000 brackets.

But Duke blew it for him.  And now a few others have blown his bracket.  But he has proof that he was at the top...if only for a little while.  And he's still at the top for our family so his name still just might make it on the trophy with Mom and H.  And that's what really matters.

Right, DAD!? :)



TeenPact 2011

Dad took H and B to TeenPact this year.  They go to the Capital for a day of learning about the legislative process and being involved in politics.

Each student writes a bill before the class.  During TeenPact each bill is presented, debated, goes to comittee, etc. like a "real bill" would do "for real".

B's bill was that every restaurant in NC would serve soft serve ice cream for free with all meals.  His bill passed with one amendment.  Slushees had to be offered as well for those who were lactose intolerant.

H's bill was that every family in NC would serve one hour of community service each month.  Her bill passed with one amendment.  Those who are physically unable to serve are exempt.

Note:  These are not "real bills".  Jason's*Deli is the place to go for soft serve ice cream!  Unfortunately, too few families do community service together each month.

 Mom's handsome guys and pretty girl headed to the Capital.  (Mama's pretty girl is wearing Mama's sandals.  Where has the time gone!?)

"Look out Capital!  Ready or not, here he comes!"

Where in the world is....?

Lighthouse sponsored a Geography Bee today.  Although we had signed up a couple of months ago, we only spent about a week preparing for it.  H took the responsibility of learning most of her information on her own.  We were very proud of how she did her research, made her study cards, and then learned everything.

There were 5 rounds for each category.  The first three rounds a student had to have 5 out of 10 correct to remain.  The 4th round a student had to have 7 out of 10 correct.  The 5th round was single elimination.

The questions consisted of states, capitals, mountains, rivers, etc. plus flags, landmarks and people of the area.  They were also asked questions about how to read a map, how to use a compass and other skills like these.

The K-2nd grade category focused on the US, NC and Biblical times.  B, C and E were in this competition.  C made it to the 3rd round.  E made it to the 4th round.  B made it to the 5th round with four other students.  He and one other student missed the same question.  (Which of the Great Lakes is the 2nd largest in volume?  Yeh, answer that without the help of goo*gle!)

 Most of the questions were multiple choice.  The students held up A, B or C for their answers.

 Three of our geography geniuses. :)

 H was in the 3rd-5th grade category.  No one was eliminated until the 3rd or 4th round.  (I can't remember.)  These kids knew their geography!  Their material covered the US, NC, Biblical times AND South America.

H made it to the final round.  The tie breaker for her and two other students was "Name all 5 of the Great Lakes."

We didn't cover the Great Lakes.  H knew one.  The other two students knew all 5.  So H got 3rd place.

We're very proud of how well all four prepared and participated.  The Geography Bee lasted longer than anticipated so the awards were not handed out in a ceremony.  Hence, no photos of them receiving their certificates.

And we know all 5 of the Great Lakes now.  Just in case you don't...think HOMES.

Lake Huron

Lake Ontario

Lake Michigan*

Lake Erie

Lake Superior

*2nd largest in volume

Another National Monument

Dad preached near Smith Mountain Lake today.  On our way home, guess what we saw!?

A big brown sign pointing to a National Park and Monument.

Our van turned into the park and look what we found...

 The Booker T. Washington National Monument.

He lived on this farm until he was nine years old.

We didn't have time to tour the park.  We'll have to find our way back sometime for the kids to earn their Jr. Ranger patches.  We did, however, have time for a few pictures - one being quite silly indeed.



Space Shuttles and Dreams

We are in the last half of the 20th century in our Tapestry studies.  It is hard to believe that in less than two months, we will finish the entire four year curriculum.  Nonetheless, we have been studying space travel lately.  One very fun week one of the amazing co-op teachers helped the kids make these very fun space shuttles.  It was just about the time the Discovery made her last voyage into space so we watched the launch.

 B's space shuttle

 Another view of B's space shuttle.

 E's space shuttle

 Another view of E's space shuttle

(C had a fever that day so she didn't make one.  She got to visit the doctor instead.)

 To wrap up Unit 3, each student made an "I Have A Dream...." project.  This is E's project.

"I have a dream that the sick people will get well."

And Miss C's project.

"I have a dream that all people will have enough food to eat."

{insert photo of B's project - take one first}

"I have a dream that the economy will provide more jobs."

Bella Italia Pizza

We went on a field trip today to Bella Italia Pizza.  First things first...the pizza is yummy!!

Now about the field trip.  Mike, the owner, and his very able assistant/manager, Maria, took us "behind the scenes" of his restaurant.  There were about 25 kids and they were so patient to make sure everyone could see and have a turn.  It was very interesting.

 First, you have a mixer.  A very large mixer.

 The mixer mixes all the ingredients (yeast, flour, salt and water) for about 8 minutes.

 Then you roll the pizza dough.  B and E are learning some dough rolling techniques.

 C working on her dough rolling skills.  Maria is nearby to lend a timely tip.

 H receiving dough rolling tips from Mike.  (He's a professional dough roller!)

See, I told you he was a professional dough roller.  I just didn't snap a photo at the right moment to get the dough flying through the air.  But it was so fun (and cool!) to watch.

If you're anywhere near Bella Italia, you should give them a try.  Tuesday is their "special deal" night.

They make up to 400 pizzas on a Tuesday night.  That is alot of pizza dough!



Upward Awards and Such

This year's Upward season came to a close with the Awards Program.  There was some entertainment then all the players received an Upward backpack.

 B with some of his team, the Rattlers or Cobras.  I can't remember.  He was one last year and the other this year.

 C and E with some of their team, the Lil' Polar Bears.  Dad was their coach but he was on a plane to Tenn that morning so he missed being in the photo.

 H and the Lady Buffaloes.

 H sent her drawing of a deer with Dad (on the plane) to Uncle Stephen.

An afternoon over to play turned into spending the night, going to Upward, going out to lunch then playing some more for these two basketball stars.  It was 24 hours of good times and good memories for H and Aubrey. 



Square Dance

Our home school support group hosted a Square Dance this afternoon at a local school gym.  There were about 150 parents and children who attended.  I was pleasantly surprised at how many danced.  The caller was the same man we used last spring for our co-op unit celebration so we knew what to expect during the sets.  He called for 2 1/2 hours.  After the square dancing, we all enjoyed dinner together.

B left home not fully convinced that he was going to enjoy himself.  But once he got there and found his buddy, Ian, they were dancing machines.  Seriously, B danced every set except the last.  "I was just too tired to dance any more!" - B



H and Alexa planned ahead to wear their Laura*Ingalls dresses.  They were dance partners too.  One set they convinced their brothers to trade partners so H danced with Ian and B danced with Alexa.  Their older brother and sister, Owen and Emily, were in their square too so they were with kids they knew.

B is swingin' his partner.

"Circle left..."

We finally got E and C on the floor for the very last set.  Our square was mostly younger children so it was a mix of dancing and laughing.

"Left hand star..."

Mom and Dad doin' a little "dosie doe".



A bird's eye view of all the squares during the last set.  (Thanks, Mark Herbert!  I hadn't thought of taking a photo this high up on the bleachers.)

Upward Praise

The KidzTown Praise Team sang during the devotion time today for the last Upward games of the season.  H had a solo a few times during the afternoon.

Special thanks to Emily Rudolph for all she does to encourage the kidz to use their talents for Jesus!

International Fair - China

Our home school support group hosted an International Fair this evening.  We participated last year and enjoyed it so we decided to participate again this year.  We chose China for several reasons, the main two being cousins J and O.  The kids also have some cool outfits that Aunt Debbie brought them on their last trip to bring O home.

H is watching her friend, Rebecca, demonstrate her outstanding "chopstick" skills.

C had a fever the day of the Fair so she could not attend.  (Big disappointment for her!)  So Dad opted to stay home with her while I took the other three.  (I'm suppose to be wearing the blue jacket on the table.  I forgot before we began our presentation.  Oops!)

All three children shared about China then the other children could walk up to see our table and displays.

"Stamping" passports for China.

Special thanks to Uncle Brian and Aunt Debbie for providing many of the props we used.  Those gifts are treasures and were shared with joy.  And there's a big photo of J and O on the display.  I just didn't get a good photo of that side of the disply.



Sunday Bike Ride

The weather was absolutely amazing today.  So we loaded up the truck with all the bikes and went for a ride around the seminary and down Main Street.

Here are all my ducks in a row...Daddy Duck too!



Jumping

Our children are such good neighbors.  They wanted to make sure their friends' trampoline didn't lose it's "jump-a-bility" while they were out of town.  So our four went over and jumped on it each day our neighbors were gone.  I happened to catch two of them on my camera.  (The other two had wandered back home to help Dad transplant some rose bushes.  There's something exciting about digging a big hole and not getting in trouble for it.)

 C doing a flip.

 H catching some air while doing her flip.

Jumping is such fun!

Basketball Fun

I changed some settings on my camera this week.  Some photos turned out better, some didn't.  But here are a few more of our Upward games this season...

 B scoring.

 B scoring again (#21).

 H taking the ball down the court.

 H finally got to shoot a free throw.  And this one went in!

 H scores!

 E scores!  (She's #13 just in front of Coach Dad.)

 E plays a good game of defense.

C scored too but I was so busy yelling that I forgot to snap the photo.  She's got her defense game going on here.