Photos from our trip to New York

We made it back late last night. Today we started getting back into our routine of school. Hunter had a math test and we covered poetry, grammar, science, history, phonics and reading. He also had his science lab this afternoon.

We finally got a new camera before our trip. I knew mine was old when Terry's cell phone had a camera with a high megapixel than my digital camera. Part of my job as Director of Electronic Functionality is to get the software installed on my computer so we can get the pics off to upload to the blog. Thus the delay in getting these posted.

By the end of our stay Hunter had no trouble hailing a taxi! He loved the taxi rides. We had great weather! It was sad to come back to Texas where is was 86 degrees at 9:00pm. The museums were great.

The Metro. Museum of Art was so nice to walk thru, but a lot of their exhibits were not behind glass. At age 39 I had a hard time not touching (oooh...pretty rock!) - you can only imagine what Hunter went through. LOL. He did great. We got to see the world's oldest extant piano (see photo below). When we told Terry about it later, he asked what year it was from. Unfortunately, Hunter and I are both global learners - we don't dwell on details. So neither of us read the plaque to find out. Can't you just be happy knowing it is the world's oldest? Don't ask me what extant is either. But the piano was beautiful (and not behind any glass).

At the Museum of Natural History we got to see a lot of artifacts from the Aztecs and Mayans. We have studied these cultures in history already this year. Here is Hunter sitting in front of an Aztec sundial. We also got our picture taken where it looks like we were running from a dinosaur - we all looked very scared and the museum made $25.

 We went ice skating at Rockefeller Center. I lit up the rink with my impressive skating ability. I only knocked five people over trying to stay up. Hunter kept complaining that the ice wasn't very good so it was hard to skate on. That and the fact that he has only been skating three times! By the end of the outing, he was doing a great job skating. I accidentally got someone with my skate blades when I was changing into my shoes - he's okay though - only needed about 5 stitches. I'm sure he is already off his crutches. (just kidding)

The Statue of Libery was amazing. Just amazing.

Update on our trip to New York

We got here yesterday and were happy to learn our hotel room had a view of the Statue of Liberty. After settling in, we stopped to have a knish at a street vendor and then made our way to Ground Zero which about a block from the hotel. Really amazing to stop and think about what the people here went through on 9/11.
Next we headed to Union Square and then walked to Bryant Park to have smores. We then took a bicycle rickshaw to Central Park and then stopped to eat at Terry's favorite afghan restaurant. We ended the night with a trip to Times Square. I asked Hunter if he would move to New York - he said he wasn't ready to leave Texas. His first choice would be to have a farm in Texas and an apartment in New York.

This morning we had brunch in the Bowery and then stopped to let Hunter play in the park for a while. Not sure we will make it to the Statue of Liberty today - may wait for tomorrow when there is less of a crowd. The line for the ferry is VERY long right now. Think we will head to St. Patrick's Cathedral and then see what happens.

It has been so nice having Terry here to take us around since he knows the city so well. He's awesome!

Will post pics when we get back.

Start spreading the news. We're coming to town......

We want to be a part of it New York, New York!

We are getting ready for our trip to New York. Terry was VERY concerned about the number of school books I was going to bring with me. For our trip to Dallas I really loaded up - mostly because we drove and I didn't have any limits. This is our first trip flying during homeschooling. I am happy to say that the below picture is all the school work we need to take for our trip! Here is a breakdown of how I was able to do this:
1. Math - we are going to practice skip counting and mulitplication 1-7. I have a multiplication game on Terry's iPad. When we get back we have a math assessment - so we can also review.
2. Writing - I have our next writing assignment on two sheets of paper.
3. History - we are starting to learn about the colonies - I have the book we are reading packed if we have time to do some history.
4. Grammar - we are practicing our 9 grammar jingles and working on memorizing the subject pronouns, possessive pronouns and object pronouns - only need flashcards for this.
5. Music Theory - just a workbook.
6. Science - Hunter has a small science book for each unti instead of one big book. This is great for travel and easy to pack!
7. Misc books for us to read.

We've decided we are visiting the American Museum of Natural History  and the MET while we are in New York. Hunter is VERY excited!

We had Hunter's school pictures taken. He requested some in his suit and some in his Johnny Cash tshirt. Here is one of his pictures - he was being silly! I should have all his school pictures with me when we come up in November.

Tennis and Piano Lessons

On Tuesdays and Thursdays Hunter takes piano with Mrs. Vastine. He LOVES practicing his songs, but does not really like piano theory. Terry and I sure do enjoy listening to him play piano at home - we are really proud of him! Mrs. Vastine is such a great teacher - she makes learning piano so fun!

Hunter and Mrs. Vastine practicing piano.

On Tuesday afternoons Hunter has tennis lessons with Coach Justin at the country club here at Weston Lakes. Right now it is a little HOT on the courts, but we know it will cool off soon enough.

Go Hunter!!!

What's for sale today?

Each day for Math, we open up a store for Hunter. It is either Hunter's Walmart or Hunter's Target. Today at Hunter's Target we sold NyQuil, kleenex, juice, Emergen C, soup and vapor patches. I asked Hunter if he knew the theme of the items we were selling today and he said, "Dad is sick and needs stuff." That is correct!!!  Terry, who usually is never sick, has been hit with a cold like you would not believe. He actually should not even be at work today - but he went anyway.

After we determine the items for Hunter's store, I come in and puchase a combination of items. He needs to determine the total and give me change - great way to learn how to count change. He LOVES having a store!

School is going a little longer today as we had to take a break to learn how to do laundry. Sunday after church I asked Hunter to hang his shirt from church in his closet. He has a tendency to wear something for 5 minutes and throw it in the dirty clothes. Well today I found his church shirt in the dirty clothes. I decided he could do his own laundry. We started by separating colors from whites - he said, "So - doing this task is fun anyway." Yes Fun - until he found out he was also responsible for turning all of his clothes right-side-out. Then not so fun!!  A nice break for me though!

We had a fabulous time at the Ft. Worth Zoo.

Hunter and I really enjoyed the Ft. Worth Zoo on Tuesday. We weren't sure we were going to make is as Hunter was really sick on Monday. We spent most of the day in the hotel room. But Tuesday he woke up refreshed and ready to go.


Hunter with two birds. He liked to pet them.

  Hunter really enjoyed the birds. There were so many, they were flying around you from every direction. When they landed, you could pet them and they didn't mind a bit.

Of course Hunter also loved watching the apes, gorillas and monkeys. We spent a lot of time watching them play. The zoo had a six month old baby named Layla.

Hunter with Kimono Dragon

Hunter on the climbing wall.

We also spent a lot of time with the Penguins. Very cute. One of them just kept walking back and forth on the otherside of the glass - Hunter loved it.

The zoo also had elephants, giraffes, reptiles, flamingos, zebras, eagles, rhinos, hioppos and any other animal you could imagine. Hunter spent a lot of time petting the sting ray - he loved the "squishy" feel of it.

We ended up staying at the zoo until about an hour before it closed.

Fun with Ricky Skaggs

Hunter and I spent Friday morning at Pump it Up for some fund on inflatable bounce houses and slides. Friday night Terry and I took Hunter to see Ricky Skaggs - what a great concert!!! We all really enjoyed it. On Saturday Hunter went into work with Terry and then we took some of Hunter's friends to Dewberry Farms. Hunter's friends spent the night and Hunter and I both woke up with colds on Sunday.

Today we are off to Dallas with Terry for a business trip - hope to be able to get to the Fort Worth Zoo if we are feeling up to it.

We finished our "Doors to Discovery" book on Friday and are now moving on to "Pilgrim's Progress". Hunter also started his Excellence in Writing class - he loves it because you HAVE TO use a pen - no pencils! We'll be doing school on the road for the next couple days.

Fun with friends.

Yesterday Hunter and I got to spend some time with our friends Mrs. Kelley and Katherine. They also homeschool. Hunter really enjoyed running around outside and climbing trees. It was so nice to catch up with friends.

We use the trampoline a lot at our house for homeschooling. Hunter jumps on the trampoline while we practice flashcards or listen to our grammar jingles. It sure beats sitting at a desk all day!

This week we are reviewing our first seven chapters of History. We are also starting a new unit in science on plants. Hunter has memorized his second poem "My Shadow". He can't wait to recite it to his Grandma and Papa.

Fall has arrived!

I apologize for no updates this past week; however, fall has finally arrived so we have been very busy catching up on outdoor activities. Last week Hunter and I did school at the Brazos Bend State Park. While we were hiking, we saw a 10ft alligator eating a smaller alligator. Of course I left my camera in the car - GRRRR!

Hunter had a math assessment, a grammar test and a science test last week. He did a great job on all of them. Grammar is the most challenging right now - advebs, adjectives, prepositions and object of the preposition.....brings back fond memories!



Hunter at Brazos Bend State Park



Hunter showing his Science Test.



This Friday we were able to pick up Hunter's friends after school for a night out. First they all went to the park. Then they played lazer tag, bowling and arcade games. We also had pizza. From left to right: Matthew, Kolton, Judd and Hunter.

After a tough week of school, it is nice to get out with friends and have some fun!!!