Field Trip to Duke Lemur Center

We went on our field trip to Duke Lemur Center on Wednesday.  What a terrific and interesting place!  We learned that lemurs are only found naturally on the island of Madagascar.  I think several of the kids knew that due to the Penguins of Madagascar show.  We got to see several varieties of lemurs including the nocturnal ones.  I had no idea that there were diurnal and nocturnal lemurs.  They had a special building set up for the nocturnal lemurs that stays dark during the day and then light at night. 

Here's my favorite lemur picture:

That lemur in the background was so "cool & collected" almost like he was striking a pose! 

Here's another one of some lemurs in a chair.  The staff had tied some chairs to the fence up high so the lemurs could have a place to perch.

And last but not least, here is our group of kiddos with our wonderful tour guide,
Samantha. 

This was a really neat experience.  I would like to go back in the spring or summer and see the lemurs out in the wooded area that they have set up for them.  If you are interested about the Duke Lemur Center, you can find more information here:   Duke Lemur Center

How's homeschooling going?

I get this a lot since this is our first year, and I'm thankful that people care enough to ask.  Overall, it is going great!  I miss some things from Eastern Wayne, but other things I don't miss, like homework struggles and getting up so early.  I do LOVE the flexiblitly of homeschool and having that time with Jenna each day.  We get to go at our own pace and if she doesn't understand a topic, then we can go over it until she does.  She is a terrific student and has even gotten Cacher interested in learning too!

Last night was Halloween, and unfortunately, it was raining.  We had plans to go to the church Fall Festival so we went ahead and dressed up and headed there.

They had a hot dog supper as well as a lot of indoor games.  Jenna won a lot of candy and overall, I think she had a better time than if we had gone trick or treating. 

She's such a sweet girl that she even shared with Mom & Dad :D

Tomorrow, we are going on a field trip to the Duke Lemur Center.  It sounds like a very interesting place.  Today, we are doing some basic research on lemurs so we will know a little bit about them before visiting.  I think it will be a fantastic field trip!

"I can sign your name in ASL!"

It's hard to believe that we've been homeschooling for 10 weeks now!  It is going amazingly well, although some days have been a test of my patience!  We've accomplished a lot over the first ten weeks.  Here are some of the things we've done:

• Studied all of the Northeast States, as well as learning the capitals and interesting facts.
• Worked through half of the Teaching Textbooks Math Level 5 book (this has been great review for Jenna!)  I can't wait to finish this up and start on Level 6!
• Participated in the homeschool bowling league, where Jenna's team took 2nd place in the bumpers division
• Read through 2 of Judy Blume's chapter books (Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing & Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great)  Big accomplishment for Jenna since she doesn't seem to finish her chapter books.
• Joined 4-H and learned how to make a kaleidoscope with a pringles can.
• Made lots of new homeschool friends!

But best of all, we get to spend more time together!  Not having to worry about the early morning rush before the bell has made a world of difference for us as well.  Overall, I am so happy we made the decision to homeschool. 

We have joined in with the Goldsboro Homeschool Co-op for this semester as well.  Jenna is taking 2 classes:  Choir and Sign Language.  So far, she loves them both.  I am a teacher's helper with a preschool science class.  She came to me after class the first day & was super excited that she could sign my name.  I know this will be a fun and exciting time for her.   Here she is saying "Hi"!

As for me, I am staying super busy between homeschooling Jenna, working full time (thank goodness it is work at home!, and taking a class at ECU.  I am taking Discrete Math at ECU.  It is a logic class.  Who knew logic was so confusing?  If I can just get through this semester, I will return to being an online student.  I will work on my Business Admistration minor online until it becomes more feasible for me to be an on-campus student once again.  I feel sad that getting my Bachelor's Degree has been pushed back (again), but at least I still am making forward process.  I can always go back and get my Bachelors, but I can't always homeschool Jenna.  I wouldn't dream of giving up homeschooling so that I could go to school...not as long as our situation remains the same.  

Have a great night!  Off to snuggle up with a James Patterson book!  I'm on the last of the Women's Murder Club series, and boy, it is good!!

 

From Massachusetts to Texas!!

I am so thrilled how well our homeschooling is going.  Jenna and I are both learning a lot along the way...educational wise and character wise.  Today, we finished up our study of Massachusetts.  I must admit that I've learned just as much as Jenna.

I remember learning the states and capitals in school, but I don't remember learning ABOUT each state.  There were so many interesting facts in You Wouldn't Want to be at the Boston Tea Party, Wharf Water Tea, You'd Rather Not Drink.  We read it over the period of 2 days and it really makes me want to pick up more books from that series.  Next we are reading If You Lived in Colonial Times and You Wouldn't Want to be an American Colonist. We placed our Massachusetts stamp on our Road Trip USA travel log.  Our next state is NEW HAMPSHIRE!

After our studies were over, we headed out to the Home School Bowling League for our weekly session.  Jenna got 1 strike and several spares!  She has upped her all time high score to 91...way to go Jenna!!

And my big news is that I am going to Houston, Texas next week!  I'm really excited about the trip.  I've never been as an adult, so I'm looking forward to seeing if things really are bigger in Texas.

Until then...

Rockin' with School House Rock

After our overnight camping trip to the KOA in New Bern, we are finding it a little hard to get back into the "school mode".   If you overlook the sweltering heat and the whining (from mostly me) that went along with it, we had a pretty good time.  I would definitely go back to the KOA in New Bern (when the temps go down!).  We are actually planning on going to the KOA in Asheville coming up soon.  Here are some pics from our first camping trip:

All that camping fun made it hard for us to get into the groove today with our schooling.  We are learning more about nouns and pronouns.  Of course, I had to find some videos from School House Rock to supplement our lesson!

And let's not forget a very important lesson on pronoun agreement from Daffy Duck!

Here's a better version of Daffy & Bugs...Pronoun Problem

Until next time!

I'm just a bill!

Hello from Maine!!

Jenna and I have just finished up our studies on the state of Maine.  It really sounds like an amazing state.  Did you know that the residents of West Quoddy Head, Maine see the sun rise before anyone else in the U.S.?  That is because it is the farthest east of any other place on the East Coast of the United States!  How cool is that?

We also read about Portland Head Lighthouse...just gorgeous.  I would love to visit there someday!

Jenna and I read about how the position of President, as well as how a bill becomes a law.  It's amazing how interesting this is to both of us.  After our reading, I couldn't help but look up the old School House Rock video about "Bill" becoming a law.  Brings back memories!

Land of Liberty

Why is it that I am finding U.S. Geography and History more interesting as an adult than I ever did as a young student?  We have covered Connecticut and Delaware on our Road Trip USA and will be heading out to Maine on Monday.  As we discover more about each state, we are also reading from If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution.  It's geared toward grades 2 through 5, but I must admit that I have truly enjoyed reading it.  It's wrote in a question and answer type of format, that keeps Jenna's interest as well.  It is even making me want to take a trip to the Northeast to see some of these historical areas that we are reading. 

Speaking of the Constitution, remember this oldie, but goodie from the School House Rock series?

New Hope Academy - Week 2

We made it through our first week and have ventured on to week two!  I am so glad that everything is going well.  **knock on wood**

We are "traveling" throughout the Northeast Region, learning about states.  Today, we are visiting Delaware (remember the capital is Dover). We learned about the Delaware Memorial Bridge.  It is one of the longest suspension bridges in the US.  Here are a couple pics:

Our project for this state is to build our own suspension bridge from Popsicle sticks.  Let's just say that it is a lot harder than it looks!!  But it was fun to do, and we had to use our brain skills to get it to work so that is another plus!

New Hope Academy - Day 2

We have decided to give homeschool a try this year for Jenna.  Our school name is "New Hope Academy".  We are on Day 2.  Jenna and I still like each other and so far are happy...for this I am thankful.  There are so many resources available to homeschool moms out there, but I still have to wonder if we are doing it "right" or even "half way right". 

Today, we read a little bit about a girl named Gemma who moved to the United States from Australia.  We watched a cool video of Great Barrier Reef .  Then we did a neat craft with sponges, cutting them in strips making sponge balls.  That made Jenna happy!

Later we took the sponge pieces left over and did some sponge paintings too.  It was fun to experiment with the sponges.  All these great ideas came from Erica over at Confessions of a Homeschooler.  Thank you Erica!  Tomorrow, we continue our homeschool studies, focusing on US Geography and learning about the state of Connecticut.