Hunter's fabulous weekend

Terry came home Thursday with a surprise for Hunter. He picked up a little 1 person tent for Hunter to use for camping. Of course it immediately went up and Hunter has slept in it every night since he got it. One night he even spent the night outside in the tent; however, we only let him do this on the weekend. Otherwise, he just sets the tent up in his bedroom.

Hunter camping outside

This Friday, Hunter did not have tutorial due to Fall Break. Instead, he got to hang out with his Dad and work. Any time he gets with his Dad is fun! We also had a special surprise this weekend - some of our friends from California were in town. Hunter went to school with Andreas and Sophia for K and 1st grade. He was so happy to be reunited with them - it was like they just saw each other yesterday. Friday night we met them out for dinner and Saturday we went to the Hickory Gap Natural Farm to pick out pumpkins.

Andreas, Sophia and Hunter on the bike at the farm

Hunter, Sophia and Andreas on the tire swing.

Hunter hanging with the chicks

After we finished at the farm, we went to a local restaurant for some lunch before the Vlahos family hit the road. Hunter rode in the car with the Vlahos family which brought back fond memories of the days he used to car pool with them. It is amazing how much they have grown.

It was especially sweet to see Andreas' and Sophia's brother and sister, Matthew and Julia, give Hunter a hug goodbye. Hunter last saw them when they were around 2 years old.

Hugs goodbye!

We so look forward to seeing the Vlahos family again soon. Great friends!!

This week Hunter has a lot to look forward to. (you shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition). Anyway, tomorrow we get together with some local homeschool kids to start filling boxes for Operation Christmas Child. Tuesday he has his rock climbing class. Wednesday our good friend Mike Ashley is in town, so we get to have dinner with him. Thursday is Boy Scouts. Friday is tutorial which he loves and then Saturday we all go camping at the Daniel Boone BSA campground. So looking forward to the freezing temperatures!! Hunter's sleeping bag is good to 15 degrees, Terry's is good to probably below zero and mine is good to 40 degrees. I'm crawling in Terry's sleeping bag!

Hunter bouldering at class

Chimpanzees of the Mighty Jungle

Hunter worked throughout last week preparing for this presentation on chimpanzees for his science class at this tutorial. He gave his presentation last Friday with the below poster board or info, a packet of chimpanzee handouts with activities for the students and fruit snacks (it was the only thing we could find that resembled chimpanzee food). He did a great job with his presentation. Below is a photo of him practicing his speech. He had a lot of fun putting everything together.

Last weekend we spent Friday night in the city. After going out for some Japanese food, we met up with one of Terry's friends who played his guitar at an open mic night at a local coffee shop. Hunter just had to stop for the below picture. On Sunday after church we rafted the French Broad. Hunter was able to guide our raft for small intervals of time. Amazing to see him controlling a raft holding four adults.

Hunter taking on Kayak lessons

Last night Hunter was able practice learning to do a roll
and also his wet exit
He did a great job! You can click on the links to watch video of him doing each.

The move is now behind us!!!

 We made the move to Asheville and are getting settled in. Hunter just finished his third week of tutorial classes and is really enjoying his Science, Reading, Art and World Culture classes. He is doing and amazing job! We were so excited to find a bee display at the WNC Fair in Asheville today. Hunter really enjoyed watching the queen bee. It was especially exciting for him because he just finished studying about bees and other bugs in Science. In fact Monday is his chapter test.

 Hunter also had a chance to do a woodworking project at the Fair. He made a bottle topper. It was so much fun for him.

Hunter with his ancient African food

 This year for history we are doing World History. We recently studied ancient Africa. Our history curriculum gave us several ancient African recipes. So we made Papaya stir fried rice and fired plantains. The fried plantains were a hit, but he did not enjoy the rice as much. I thought is was pretty good.

We were so happy to have Ben, Jack and Sarah come and visit with us over Labor Day weekend. We had a great time and they were very gracious about the house not being quite "normal". It was only our second day at the house when they came. It was an absolute blessing to have them here. The guys went rafting. Sarah and I went and had a pedicure. We also enjoyed a great Indian meal downtown Asheville and enjoyed a street festival they were having down there before they had to head back to Nashville. It was nice to be able to build memories with friends so soon after moving in. I know Hunter especially liked it.!!

Hunter's first day of tutorial

Of course he had a BLAST and made a TON of new friends....but did he LEARN anything? LOL We gave him some grace for his first day of tutorial - plenty of learning to be done this year. There are a lot of boys in his class so he stays very busy visiting and discussing Minecraft. Terry and I are so happy he enjoys his time here. His favorite class today was art, but he also enjoyed science, reading and world cultures.

After a 1 1/2 weeks of fighting mono, Hunter seems to be on the mend right now. We lost a couple 1/2 days of school - but I think we are on track for full days from now on. His tutorial starts this Friday in Asheville, NC - he is very excited. Our move date is scheduled for Aug. 28th. We should be in our new place by the 30th or 31st.

First Day of School - 5th Grade!!!

We officially started 5th grade today!!!  Hunter is very excited as we are working with several new curriculum this year. Hunter's subjects include: math, world history, spelling, logic, grammar, writing, Mandarin, bible and computer programming. He will be taking science, reading, world cultures and art at a co-op in Asheville once we get moved down.

Should children under 12 be allowed to set their own bedtime? Response from Hunter Atwood;

I think kids under twelve should TOTALLY get to choose their bedtime because I think kids have the freedom to set their bedtime to whenever they would like. I think this helps because, first of all, they get to have some time without Mom and Dad. This helps kids get a visual on what it's like to be an adult. As kids mature, they get their own independence and can set their own bedtime. Now, will you be smart and let your child set his/her bedtime or be overprotective and choose their bedtime for them?
*****************************************************

 You know summer is just around the corner when you can start meeting friends at the swimming pool!! We would swim all day, but for the fact that we need to finish school before we head off for an amazing summer vacation in two weeks.

 We were able to spend time with our friends, the Fowlers, for the Kentucky Derby. We all picked horses for the race - Hunter's horse I"ll Have Another won - he got $10.00. It was a great night!!

We had a chance to tour The Hermitage, home of Andrew Jackson. I will say personally that I enjoyed Mount Vernon a little better, but you can't go wrong with either. It was a beautiful estate and the kids learned a lot from the audio tour.

Hunter's first restaurant review - Slow Joe's - NOC - Wesser

If you ask me, NOC's new restaurant Slow Joe's is super top notch. I ordered a hotdog with chips and I loved it! Here is how the food tasted. The hotdog had a very fresh bun with great smoked meat inside. The bun was not hard or crunchy either. It also wasn't like Wonder Bread where it is too soft. It was just perfect. Thinking of not going because the chips are cheap? Think again! They had nice crispy chips that were as classic as you could get. I've been to places like Disney World where they serve cheap chips like Lay's and Fritos. I have noticed that over the years Frito Lay has gotten really cheap; but not here. I would strongly recommend Slow Joe's to anyone in town.

Hunter Atwood

 Hunter and I spent a long weekend in Asheville with Terry. We spent a couple of days at Wesser watching a Freestyle Kayaking competition. It was a blast!! Hunter played the entire time either in the water or the surrounding woods. Hunter was under the impression we were going to let him take off in a Kayak down the rapids - not so fast! First he needs to get through Kayaking camp this summer.

We took our fist hike on the Appalachian Trail. We only got about a two mile hike in. Hunter spent the entire time hunting for Sasquatch. This entailed hitting a stick or rocks against tree trunks and yelping nonstop - the Sasquatch call. Keep in mind, there is no record of the call ever successfully working .

Our favorite treat was seeing three bears foraging for berries in the woods close to the Grove Park Inn. It was amazing! They were three very healthy bears.

Jackson, Laney and Hunter at Andrew Jackson's grave

 Today we had the pleasure of going to the Hermitage with some other homeschool friends. The Hermitage is the home of former Pres. Andrew Jackson.

Outside Andrew Jackson's home

We learned a ton of info about Jackson's life. Probably the most interesting part of his life involved his duel with Charles Dickinson. Charles died as a result of the duel, Andrew Jackson survived; however, he was left with a bullet imbedded in his chest. This caused him problems all of his life.

We also learned about his role in the Trail of Tears....very sad; especially since we are very close to the Cherokee reservation in Asheville.

Hunter received his Webelos II patch

On Monday, Hunter received his Webelos II patch. As part of the ceremony, he received blue paint on his face. Terry and I are so proud of him. It has been a lot of work. We will continue working towards the Arrow of Light over the next 6 months, and then he moves up to Boy Scouts!!!

My Spring Break - by Hunter Atwood

I had an awesome time on my spring break this year. First we drove to Seagrove, Florida to stay with some friends at the beach. I loved the hot weather and all the cool trees and stores. My favorite thing was riding the waves on my bogey board because it felt so good when the water splashed on me. Then I flew up to Colorado. I got to hang out with Ryan and Jack. My favorite thing there was looking for my Easter basket. I really enjoyed my spring break this year and would love to go to these wonderful places again some time.

Playing in the ocean with Jack Fowler

Hunter with Jack F. and Sarah F.

Ryan, Hunter and Jack

At Garden of the Gods - Colorado Springs, CO

YeeHaw!!! One more year of homeschooling!

Recently, Hunter decided to head back to a traditional classroom for school. We have spent the last several months getting him ready to get back to the classroom. However, he has recently decided to take one more year to homeschool so he can spend some time enjoying the outdoors. I think the below photos will help you to understand why.

 Terry took Hunter, his friend Jackson and I to visit the burial place of Meriwether Lewis. It was a wonderful drive on the Natchez Trace to his burial site. We discussed out theories on Lewis' mysterious death. Hunter is convinced the innkeeper was drunk and shot Lewis, thinking he was an intruder. As the day went on, the theories grew more and more bizarre.

We hiked down to one of the waterfalls on Little Swan Creek. Hunter had a blast walking behind the waterfall and exploring. It took all his might to stand under the waterfall. The water was COLD.

World War I Soldier - letter home

Hunter's assignment today was to pretend he was an Allied soldier in WWI in the trenches and was writing a note home to his family. Here it is..........

Dear Mom and Dad,

I am not doing well in the trenches. There is disease, there are bugs and all I get to eat are two loaves of bread. I feel really brave in the trenches and out fighting. Many of my friends have been injured or killed. I have no been injured or killed. I really miss home. It is freezing cold here. We have to use blankets to keep ourselves warm. The trenches are very crowded; especially at night. I sometimes get to play cards with my friends. I have to sneak out at night to bury the corpses and fix the barbed wire. You don't have to worry about me. My gun is working fine. I am completely okay.

Love,
Hunter

xoxoxoxoxoxox

Back in the swing of school for 2012!

We did not take off much time off of school over Christmas and New Year's because of our move. However, we did take some long weekends to enjoy visiting with friends and family. Many homeschool moms will tell you that the worst part of taking a break from school is getting back into it. I would rather still just do 1-2 subjects a day than to not do any school at all. It just keeps everyone in the swing of things and makes the transition back to a full workload so much easier.

Today we are back on schedule with basketball, Ambassador Club and Cub Scouts. On top of that, we leave on Wednesday morning for Atlanta to see the aquarium there. Hunter and I are really looking forward to it. Since we are traveling with Terry, we get to stay at the Ritz Carlton there. To quote Hunter, "We so deserve the Ritz Carlton."

I realized today we only have three more units left in science for the year. WOW!! As always, I anticipate history taking us into the summer. We are now studying World War I and will move on to World War II in the next couple of weeks. Hunter really enjoys the history reading. I also have enjoyed going back over the history of the World Wars. We just covered the Turkish empires jihad on the christian Armenians during the first year of the war and the 800,000 christian Armenians who were killed as a result. Hunter's text books certainly don't try to sugar-coat any of the effects of war. We've had a lot of great discussions.