School's Out Camping Trip

Just a few pics from camping.

It's funny... my back yard has always been "the kool-aid" yard, since I was a child and it still continues today, even when we are not in our own back yard. My kids always seem to draw a crowd of kids and this weekend was no exception. I had my 4 and the baby along with 2 little ones that I was doing respite for. On Saturday, my daughter ask if she and her new friend could have a Popsicle and I ended up handing out 12 Popsicles! LOL! Good thing the $ Store sells 'em 300 at a time per box.

In motion....

The fire builder and his apprentice hopefuls.

WE MADE IT!!!!!

We finished!!! We are done with the school year. There was cheering and headstands and high fives all around.

We will take about 4 weeks off for summer break before we start summer session. As always, summer session will be a short day (very short, maybe about 1 -2 hours per day) and the focus will be on areas of struggle; reading, math or writing.

We are off for our first camping trip of the season.

Peace!

Great Meats and Amazing Feats

We have had a great day. My 10th grader has always loved cooking and in the last week we have taught him to use the grill and let me just say... that boy is a grill master! He grilled chicken, fish, steak and country style ribs and every thing was so tasty. He was so serious too with all of his tongs, BBQ forks and vinegar and water shaker bottle. My mom added her slama-jamma potato salad, spinach, cabbage, mixed beans and cornbread and finished it off with a blackberry cobbler. Yum-yum!

The kids had a swinging contest to see who could go the highest. I determined that it was a 3-way tie and all were winners.

Last summer, preschool could not even pump his legs to swing himself. Now he is competing with the big kids.

Just hanging around.

Little Rottie Update

Our little foster baby is still with us and he is a sweety. I am praying that a pre-adopt home is found for him in the event that he is unable to go back to his birth parents and so that he can begin bonding to whomever might end up being his parent(s).

Our Garden

Cayenne peppers


green bell peppers


onions


iceberg lettuce


cucumbers


summer squash


3 kinds of tomatoes


bush beans

Free Resources... My Favorites!

We usually have a little ceremony at the end of the year where the children receive certificates of completion, and other awards for citizenship, spelling, etc. I typically make them using some artsy program or micr*s*ft office, but while surfing around I found a neat little site that I think I will use this year. Teacher Planet has a section of free certificates and awards. The only thing is that they are in Adobe and some of them have dates (the year) that cannot (or I just don't know how) be changed. Last year, I only had 2 kids being home schooled. This year with four, we may actually have to hold applause until all names have been called. LOL!