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.

Welcoming home Andrew Wilson

Hunter and I spent part of the day today with the crowds of people welcoming home Spec. Andrew Wilson. He lost both of his legs because of a roadside bomb while serving in the military. After undergoing over a dozen surgeries, we came home to Brentwood today for Christmas. What a great experience - the community really stepped up in spite of the cold and rain. You can see video here.

 

We're back after an exhausting move.

After a very stressful move, we are back in action. A small hiccup in that I could not locate Hunter's grammar books or about 5 books on squids he was using for his research project, but ALAS, they have been found. Hunter is a little bummed out; he thought he would be able to skip the rest of grammar if we didn't have the book. Silly kid!! We'll spend this week getting back on our school schedule.

Why can't my son enjoy sports that require some gym shorts and shoes. Instead he decides he wants to get certified in scuba diving - not cheap! Before we commit to this kind of expense, we are going to have him try it out a couple of times.

Hunter's amazing stool - Cub Scouts

Hunter made an absolutely amazing stool for Cub Scouts this week. Very handy with the tools - he must get it from my side of the family!

Hunter also had his first round robin at Ambassador Club - his first speech had to me a impromptu. He selected three topics and had to pick one to give a speech on - he choose America. We will get his evaluation from the judges next week. He also did his first run thru of his Humorous Interpretation - he is doing Zax in the Trax by Dr. Seuess.

The Masterpiece!