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?
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 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.