tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47290658163009187012024-03-13T03:19:49.552-07:00Homeschooling While Living the Life of Easier. . . .One day while lounging on the beach, my beloved husband said, "This is what I want to do everyday. Is it wrong to want to live a life of leisure?" My daughter replied, "Dad, you do live the life of easier." And so we do! Here is a bit from our life of easier.MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.comBlogger262125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-42862616692854458992013-03-20T09:04:00.001-07:002013-03-20T09:04:29.387-07:00Goodbye<p> </p> <p>This post has been written and rewritten in my head many times. </p> <p>I’m closing shop here at Homeschooling While Living the Life of Easier—which I’m sure many of you figured out by the lack of posts. </p> <p>My homeschooling journey of 15+ years is coming to an end. My two youngest children will be entering high school next year. I-E is not sure she wants to go, but we have asked her to try it out for a semester to see if it will work for her. I would hate for her to miss out on something because of the fear of failure and of the unknown. So although I may return to homeschooling at a later point, I feel my life is headed in a new direction. What that direction is—I am still working out! </p> <p>I miss blogging. I miss writing. I miss connecting with other bloggers. So I do see another blog in my near future. Just not sure what that will look like. </p> <p>I am still mentoring homeschoolers in my “real” life and picture that continuing throughout my life. So if any homeschoolers out there in the cyber world have questions or could use a little encouragement feel free to email me (<a href="mailto:mrs.moe35@gmail.com">mrs.moe35@gmail.com</a>) and I would be happy to help you. </p> <p>I am disabling comments on the blog due to the large amount of spam that hits this blog every day but would love to hear from you via email. </p> <p>Last but certainly not least, thanks so much to all my readers. I’ve made friends through this blogging adventure and found my voice. My life has been enriched beyond belief through this experience. </p> MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-72990285150193535572012-10-22T22:30:00.001-07:002012-10-22T22:30:06.179-07:00Day 22—I’m still alive!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/31-days-of-real-homeschooling-day-one.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="clipboardimage2" border="0" height="320" src="http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb352/missmoe5/clipboardimage2-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
This post is part of a series
showing the realness of homeschooling---the ugly, frustrating, and
wonderfulness of it all. </div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
I missed three days of posting! I am fine—so sorry for the worry I caused by not posting the last three days. Thanks for the notes of concern. <br />
<br />
I have been fine. My oldest daughter got some glass in her foot. After many doctor’s visits and x-rays, we think all of the glass was removed. And that was the reason for my disappearance from the blog world. <br />
<br />
I’m working hard on finishing strong!</div>
</div>
MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-2311137201354207292012-10-18T18:15:00.001-07:002012-10-18T18:17:27.562-07:00Day 18--Mom has a headache<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/31-days-of-real-homeschooling-day-one.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="clipboardimage2" border="0" src="http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb352/missmoe5/clipboardimage2-2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
This post is part of a series
showing the realness of homeschooling---the ugly, frustrating, and
wonderfulness of it all. </div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
This mom has a headache. <br />
<br />
And spent most of the day laying on the couch wasting time on the computer to keep herself awake.<br />
<br />
And now her day is over.<br />
<br />
Goodnight.</div>
</div>
MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-64370401061390775722012-10-17T22:54:00.001-07:002012-10-17T22:57:36.664-07:00Day 17—A Day in the Life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/31-days-of-real-homeschooling-day-one.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="clipboardimage2" border="0" height="320" src="http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb352/missmoe5/clipboardimage2-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
This post is part of a series
showing the realness of homeschooling---the ugly, frustrating, and
wonderfulness of it all. </div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: medium;"><strong>7:15</strong></span>---I drove my husband to work while my two youngest dragged themselves out of bed. My husband drove my high schoolers to seminary at 6:00. He himself played basketball from 6:00-7:00.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: medium;"><strong>7: 40</strong></span>—home. Girls are finishing up breakfast. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: medium;"><strong>8:10</strong></span>—ready for the day, we start our school day with Megawords. Both girls have passed the spelling section of what they are doing and are working on reading with more fluency and speed.<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: medium;">8:30</span></strong>—the girls work on writing for a half hour. I-E is working on a longer paper about the Revolutionary War, while E-R spends some time free writing.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: medium;"><strong>9:00</strong></span>---Both girls work on picking out quotations that show suspense from “The Most Dangerous Game.” Next week they will be writing their first literary analysis paper. This week we are working on the building blocks of that paper. While the girls work, I get supper started in the crockpot---lentils cooked with potatoes and hambone.<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: medium;">9:30</span></strong>—we hope in the car to take a friend to the train station. Her train will be late, so we take the time to visit a bit. <br />
<br />
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: medium;">11:15</span></strong>—back home. The girls snack while alternating between reading for an hour and working on math for an hour. I clean up the kitchen and can some chutney I made yesterday.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: medium;"><strong>1:30</strong></span>—time for grammar. We read the lesson on loose, periodic, and balanced sentences, complete the oral exercises, and take study notes. Then move on to the next lesson which covers coherent paragraphs. After reading the lesson, the girls put some guidelines from the lesson into their writing notebooks for when they are editing and revising. <br />
<br />
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: medium;">2:40</span></strong>---time for me to pick up A-M and E. While I am gone E-R and I-E read their science lesson on ionic bonds and complete the exercises.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: medium;"><strong>3:20</strong></span>---I am home. We go over the lesson and exercises and look up ionic bonds in our science encyclopedia. E-R and I-E take notes on the info in the encyclopedia while E and A-M have a snack. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: medium;"><strong>3:45</strong></span>—time for E-R to go to rehearsal. I-E rides along so we can talk alone on the ride home. E and A-M get started on homework. E has to prepare for a debate. A-M is studying for a calc test.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: medium;"><strong>4:30</strong></span>---I’m back home. E and A-M are still working. I hop in the shower. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: medium;"><strong>5:15</strong></span>---I leave to pick up J from work. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: medium;"><strong>5:40</strong></span>---We are home. J and A-M work on calibrating a catapult for a physics project. E, I-E, and I eat supper and leave to pick up E-R from rehearsal and head to church.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: medium;"><strong>9:00</strong></span>—all home. J is working on school work and the rest of us head to bed--where I write this post.<br />
<br />
Good night!</div>
</div>
MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-18528835803953726682012-10-15T22:54:00.001-07:002012-10-17T08:55:49.141-07:00Day 16—Free Resources<div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> <table style="text-align: center; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" class="tr-caption-container" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center"><a style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/31-days-of-real-homeschooling-day-one.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="clipboardimage2" src="http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb352/missmoe5/clipboardimage2-2.jpg" width="320" height="320"></a></td></tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center" class="tr-caption"> <div class="MsoNormal">This post is part of a series showing the realness of homeschooling---the ugly, frustrating, and wonderfulness of it all. </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br>I’m that girl. The one that has <a href="http://pinterest.com/lifeofeasier/">101 Pinterest boards</a><br><br>I’m a visual person who loves <strike>ripping off</strike> borrowing others ideas! So it didn’t take me long to jump on the bandwagon and pin, pin, pin.<br> <br>I’ve found it an excellent tool to help me remember and organize all the free resources available.<br> <br>Remember when you had to buy a cookbook or magazine for recipes? Not anymore. I’ve even utilized Pinterest as a free menu planning tool. </div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><a href="http://pinterest.com/lifeofeasier/menu-idea/"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Pinterest Menu Board" border="0" alt="Pinterest Menu Board" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-lpzxtQkcqGA/UH7U6DNMAJI/AAAAAAAAEDY/lDukEy5g48w/Pinterest%252520Menu%252520Board%25255B4%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="234" height="246"></a></div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> I have posted tons of recipes that I weekly pin onto my </div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-dJNS1o3j4I4/UH7U68B5crI/AAAAAAAAEDg/4Se3K2_VNd0/s1600-h/Supper%252520This%252520Week%252520Pinterest%25255B3%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Supper This Week Pinterest" border="0" alt="Supper This Week Pinterest" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Ppo6hs_dzEA/UH7U7sTVYvI/AAAAAAAAEDo/Xd5wQfxgwl0/Supper%252520This%252520Week%252520Pinterest_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="227" height="246"></a></div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> or my </div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-l4VlrOrk10c/UH7U8IYQMUI/AAAAAAAAEDw/mdeoOG7Y1Fg/s1600-h/Lunch%252520this%252520Week%252520Pinterest%25255B3%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Lunch this Week Pinterest" border="0" alt="Lunch this Week Pinterest" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-PLf5vKeJwoU/UH7U8yyyv-I/AAAAAAAAED4/4NPWiFN_xO0/Lunch%252520this%252520Week%252520Pinterest_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="231" height="246"></a><br><br>I’ve also organized more free homeschooling resources than any sane person could use. In fact, I kind of think buying resources is simply a convenience thing these days as so many quality free resources are available. Pinterest has changed my homeschooling world. <br><br> A few of my favorite homeschooling boards:<br></div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><a href="http://http://pinterest.com/lifeofeasier/picasso-picture-study/"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Pinterest Picasso Picture Study" border="0" alt="Pinterest Picasso Picture Study" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-JRaZQC0j08Q/UH7U9kW8ouI/AAAAAAAAEEA/1fxWEyxuZXs/Pinterest%252520Picasso%252520Picture%252520Study%25255B4%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="224" height="246"></a></div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Pinterest Tudor" border="0" alt="Pinterest Tudor" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-XxOHLvnrLNg/UH7U-RcZTeI/AAAAAAAAEEI/5Obzgy7X14A/Pinterest%252520Tudor%25255B4%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="236" height="246"></div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Pi Day" border="0" alt="Pi Day" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-FFljBVSaABY/UH7U_DRmfpI/AAAAAAAAEEQ/BQ65yuTgpLg/Pi%252520Day%25255B4%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="236" height="246"></div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-8v-zElf89r0/UH7U_hqUxGI/AAAAAAAAEEY/1qgKshqTg3k/s1600-h/Pinterest%252520Nature%252520Study%25255B3%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Pinterest Nature Study" border="0" alt="Pinterest Nature Study" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-7LqudKVJ4B4/UH7VAbyxFHI/AAAAAAAAEEg/0k04tOSstJg/Pinterest%252520Nature%252520Study_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="228" height="246"></a></div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><a href="http://pinterest.com/lifeofeasier/school-organization/"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Pinterest School Organization" border="0" alt="Pinterest School Organization" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-scx_Y1GFuyU/UH7VA1muGpI/AAAAAAAAEEo/xMggCysSytQ/Pinterest%252520School%252520Organization%25255B4%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="230" height="246"></a></div> <div style="text-align: left" dir="ltr" align="center" trbidi="on"><br> Happy clicking around! </div> MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-16223872202498679712012-10-15T22:29:00.001-07:002012-10-15T22:31:13.056-07:00Day 15—Planning vs Doing!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/31-days-of-real-homeschooling-day-one.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="clipboardimage2" border="0" height="320" src="http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb352/missmoe5/clipboardimage2-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
This post is part of a series
showing the realness of homeschooling---the ugly, frustrating, and
wonderfulness of it all. </div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
I use to spend vast amounts of time planning. I love planning. In fact, I love planning more than I love doing. But I’m in a place in my life that I need to be doing so much, I don’t have so much time to be planning.<br />
<br />
And along the way during that time doing without so much planning, I’ve learned that simply doing consistently is more important than finding the perfect curriculum or creating the most awesomest lesson plans ever. <br />
<br />
If all I have is a dull encyclopedia that I teach from everyday, that is better than getting to the fifteen most exciting living books in random spurts. <br />
<br />
It only took me 10 years or so to get to this realization, but here is where I’m at!</div>
</div>
MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-42384741742447176522012-10-14T18:09:00.001-07:002012-10-14T18:16:31.978-07:00Day 14—Preparing for the Week<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/31-days-of-real-homeschooling-day-one.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="clipboardimage2" border="0" height="320" src="http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb352/missmoe5/clipboardimage2-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
This post is part of a series
showing the realness of homeschooling---the ugly, frustrating, and
wonderfulness of it all. </div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
Most Sunday evenings you can find me preparing for our upcoming homeschooling week. I spend much of my summer vacation choosing curriculum and lesson planning, but I’ve still found following a few steps on Sunday night help our week to run smoothly. <br />
<ol>
<li>Look over lesson plans</li>
<ul>
<li>I spend some time looking over lesson plans I’ve created and the lesson plans that come with some of the programs we use. Some plans may need adjusted according to the skills we are currently focusing on. </li>
</ul>
<li>Decide on our weekly goals</li>
<ul>
<li>While looking at our lesson plans I decide on our goals for this week. </li>
<li>It is unusual that we would be able to accomplish everything listed in our lesson plans. This time gives me an opportunity to look at the assignments, readings, and activities planned; and I think about the things that we absolutely must accomplish, the things that would be nice to cover but aren’t necessary, and the things that don’t meet our needs at all. </li>
</ul>
<li>Look at our schedule this week.</li>
<ul>
<li>It would be such a comfort if each week was an exact eight to three schedule every day of the week. Unfortunately our schedule never seems to follow that schedule. Field trips, monthly dentist appointments, lunch dates, and public school holidays are just a few things that affect our schedule. This week a friend needs a ride to the train station Wednesday morning, so our schedule that day will need to be adjusted. Friday afternoon we may have out of town guest causing our week to end early. </li>
</ul>
<li>Adjust lesson plans to fit into our schedule</li>
<ul>
<li>Looking at our goals and our schedule I fit in our must do assignments and as many of the it would be nice activities. I try to keep in mind I tend to over schedule—but that is still a work in process.</li>
</ul>
<li>Pull resources</li>
<ul>
<li>I try to be organized with most things we need on our bookshelves, but occasionally I need to dig through some boxes in the garage. And a few times a year, there is something I can’t find when I plan for it! It is good to know that before I need it; I am saved from spending time during our school day looking for it and can figure something else out. </li>
</ul>
<li>Start the week off right.</li>
<ul>
<li>I can now go to bed knowing we are ready for the week. No need to wake up Monday morning feeling that I need to scramble to get things done before my girls get up. </li>
</ul>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-71708354349689564702012-10-13T23:04:00.001-07:002012-10-13T23:07:24.806-07:00Day 13—Homeschool Support<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/31-days-of-real-homeschooling-day-one.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="clipboardimage2" border="0" height="320" src="http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb352/missmoe5/clipboardimage2-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
This post is part of a series
showing the realness of homeschooling---the ugly, frustrating, and
wonderfulness of it all. </div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
Homeschool moms’ lives are different than most moms’ lives. We spend all day with our children. We take on a full time job of educating our children without any pay or much recognition. Our minds are filled with curriculum choices, state standards, and scheduling conundrums. <br />
<br />
It’s sometimes hard to find others able and willing to talk curriculum, teaching frustrations, and school burn-out. And yet everyone needs encouragement and the wisdom of those that are treading the same path. <br />
<br />
I have had a few homeschooling real life friends throughout this journey, but most of my support comes from other homeschool moms and dads I’ve “met” online.<br />
<br />
I’ve been able to connect with homeschooling families that share my religion, curriculum choices, and homeschool methodology through several different <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/">yahoo email groups</a>. Clicking on the link will take you to yahoo groups pages where you can search for specific types of homeschooling groups or even create one yourself. This is an awesome way to be able to chat with everyone in a group via emails. <br />
<br />
Another excellent homeschool support has come from <a href="http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/index.php">The Well Trained Mind Forums.</a> This forum provided by Susan Wise Bauer, author of The Well Trained Mind, has thousands of homeschoolers of diverse backgrounds willing to share their experiences with others. I visit often to share curriculum experiences, commiserate bad days, and celebrate triumphs. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://pinterest.com/lifeofeasier/">Pinterest</a> provides a tremendous amount of support for my homeschooling journey. Other homeschoolers and teachers of all kinds freely share articles, organizational ideas,science activities, history resources, and curriculum choices. <br />
<br />
I also feel I have a network of homeschool moms through the many blogs I read and share with on a regular basis. <a href="http://cellista.wordpress.com/">Cellista at La Scuola d'Argento</a> shares both her triumphs and defeats. I love reading that she struggles with keeping her house clean, and yet she still manages to fit her passion of music into her busy life. <a href="http://winecupchristianacademy.blogspot.com/">Mary at Winecup Christian Academy</a> encourages me with optimism and her vast experience homeschooling. It is always nice to read where others with older children are on their homeschool journey. And I often feel like I have my own personal cheerleader when <a href="http://www.randomuttering.com/">My Name is Tiffany from Random Utterings</a> comments on my blog. <br />
<br />
Support is out there for this sometimes lonely and very hard thing we call home schooling.<br />
<br />
Where have you found a support network? </div>
</div>
MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-42810841401690653132012-10-12T21:18:00.001-07:002012-10-12T21:20:36.810-07:00Day 12—Setting Goals and Prioritizing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/31-days-of-real-homeschooling-day-one.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="clipboardimage2" border="0" height="320" src="http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb352/missmoe5/clipboardimage2-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
This post is part of a series
showing the realness of homeschooling---the ugly, frustrating, and
wonderfulness of it all. </div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
. <br />
This week we had days that we worked our tails off and days where we relaxed a bit. But even during the slow days, I made sure we focused on our goals for the week.<br />
<ul>
<li>Covering the Constitutional Convention</li>
<li>Practice communicating with math teacher</li>
<li>Spelling everyday</li>
<li>Expressing specific ideas in writing</li>
<li>Get excited about logic</li>
</ul>
We didn’t get to all the history reading I had hoped for because I added extra reading. At the last minute I decided we needed to cover Shays’s Rebellion in more depth than I had planned. So the end of the week came and we hadn’t covered everything planned. Pinterest came to the rescue with this video:<br />
<br />
<div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:7e3d1b9c-8648-498d-b319-581303f146d1" style="display: inline; float: none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<div id="b7a1881e-0e92-4831-a15a-62b591d35ea4" style="display: inline; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXA4Ob3s-V0" target="_new"><img alt="" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('b7a1881e-0e92-4831-a15a-62b591d35ea4'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"448\" height=\"252\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/xXA4Ob3s-V0?hl=en&hd=1\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/xXA4Ob3s-V0?hl=en&hd=1\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"448\" height=\"252\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-iwoUHFaqHmU/UHjrfh-jz-I/AAAAAAAAECc/3jjrcTAefJ8/videoa0ba7b950b57%25255B30%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none;" /></a><br />
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
It worked out wonderfully as the basics were covered and the girls got to practice taking notes. I see more of Hughes’ History in our future.<br />
<br />
E-R had been a bit shy about sending emails to her math teacher with homework and questions, so we worked on that this week. She’s now caught up with turning in homework and feels more comfortable asking questions. First test on Monday.<br />
<br />
We worked on spelling everyday this week. Spelling is a struggle for both girls, so we need to work on it on a regular basis to see improvement. <br />
<br />
E-R has a tendency to write in general terms. This week I kept pushing her to be more specific. We’ll continue working on this for the next few weeks, but I think she’s getting the idea---Be Specific!<br />
<br />
All I have to say about our logic goal is we’re working on it. <br />
<br />
We didn’t check off every box, but with our goals in mind I was able to prioritize our time, and we’re ready to move on next week. </div>
</div>
MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-64720003561616660732012-10-11T20:25:00.001-07:002012-10-11T20:28:17.231-07:00Day Eleven---The Giants Won!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/31-days-of-real-homeschooling-day-one.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="clipboardimage2" border="0" height="320" src="http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb352/missmoe5/clipboardimage2-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
This post is part of a series
showing the realness of homeschooling---the ugly, frustrating, and
wonderfulness of it all. </div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<br />
I took my older kids out to breakfast this morning, leaving E-R and I-E to get themselves going and started with school. I’m happy to say they were both working hard when I arrived home.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-vn8rNjHmsGU/UHeNlciG0zI/AAAAAAAAEA4/nIQjuU3-DYA/s1600-h/breakfast-chicken-feet-and-giants-00%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="breakfast, chicken feet, and giants 003" border="0" height="210" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-y3voLFxO5Vk/UHeNl2OEWmI/AAAAAAAAEBA/BfXua9VM8RM/breakfast-chicken-feet-and-giants-00.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="breakfast, chicken feet, and giants 003" width="279" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-VRDO18MfsmE/UHeNmpKvauI/AAAAAAAAEBI/jZ-5DX9_Uuo/s1600-h/2835.jpg"><img alt="283" border="0" height="304" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-fd3iWMXODb0/UHeNnIal_fI/AAAAAAAAEBQ/EVxXmj14OaE/283_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="283" width="229" /></a><br />
<br />
They both worked on math for an hour and read for an hour before we completed an English grammar lesson together. <br />
<br />
And then….<br />
<br />
Dad walked in the door after being gone for over a week. That was the end of our school day. We snuggled up together and watched the Giants win the playoffs.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-SkxhmdNDw7Q/UHeNpDi3leI/AAAAAAAAEBY/ywfVPwkL__U/s1600-h/breakfast-chicken-feet-and-giants-00%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="breakfast, chicken feet, and giants 004" border="0" height="184" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-0Bk5lfCg8DY/UHeNpvv4JdI/AAAAAAAAEBg/BghrKz8PxFg/breakfast-chicken-feet-and-giants-00%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="breakfast, chicken feet, and giants 004" width="244" /></a><br />
<div align="center">
It was a nail-biter, but they pulled it off!</div>
</div>
</div>
MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-90463198875658473342012-10-10T21:32:00.001-07:002012-10-10T21:34:34.167-07:00Day Ten---Story of Our Day<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/31-days-of-real-homeschooling-day-one.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="clipboardimage2" border="0" height="320" src="http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb352/missmoe5/clipboardimage2-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
This post is part of a series
showing the realness of homeschooling---the ugly, frustrating, and
wonderfulness of it all. </div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div align="center">
Our day as seen through <a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2010/09/homeschool-find-of-week.html">our white boards</a>---one of my favorite homeschooling supplies.<br />
<br /></div>
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-9bJQXFbYehE/UHZLrDZEYVI/AAAAAAAAD-U/iDnPkAqBWcg/s1600-h/white%252520boards%252520001%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img alt="white boards 001" border="0" height="246" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-zU5Q0vYta6o/UHZLrznrdTI/AAAAAAAAD-Y/e-_H2Pjs37k/white%252520boards%252520001_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="white boards 001" width="186" /></a><br />
<div align="center">
History notes<br />
<br /></div>
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-s01y8I1_AL4/UHZLshl5O-I/AAAAAAAAD-k/SG6X9KexdFw/s1600-h/white%252520boards%252520004%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="white boards 004" border="0" height="186" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-XsCldUXo9kQ/UHZLtH5zAPI/AAAAAAAAD-s/jO31Whbaw7A/white%252520boards%252520004_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="white boards 004" width="246" /></a><br />
<div align="center">
Science---our kitty baby spends the day learning with us.<br />
<br /></div>
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-PUJRb1X08ak/UHZLttIRFuI/AAAAAAAAD-0/_hGeNN5ib3U/s1600-h/white%252520boards%252520011%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="white boards 011" border="0" height="246" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-xleoiJppC4Q/UHZLuHqjs6I/AAAAAAAAD-8/iwGlh_2iIc4/white%252520boards%252520011_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="white boards 011" width="186" /></a><br />
<div align="center">
Spelling lessons<br />
<br /></div>
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-5mSXDuIG338/UHZLu3D8MWI/AAAAAAAAD_E/3OBEcG9o4ns/s1600-h/white%252520boards%252520012%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="white boards 012" border="0" height="246" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-xf92djxPOzo/UHZLvWCkJaI/AAAAAAAAD_M/iD9Drz96s2U/white%252520boards%252520012_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="white boards 012" width="186" /></a><br />
<div align="center">
Spelling test<br />
<br /></div>
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-0d7sPhfVPDQ/UHZLwIo226I/AAAAAAAAD_U/0daV15mvzXA/s1600-h/white%252520boards%252520015%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="white boards 015" border="0" height="186" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-qKztY97iI7Q/UHZLwvyWJrI/AAAAAAAAD_c/8ZBX2DNDaeM/white%252520boards%252520015_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="white boards 015" width="246" /></a><br />
<div align="center">
Working on rearranging sentence<br />
<br /></div>
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-bzWTLIRklWA/UHZLxbu0tQI/AAAAAAAAD_k/V_hvm310jzk/s1600-h/white%252520boards%252520016%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="white boards 016" border="0" height="246" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-hOVCHfmKKkc/UHZLx2pV3xI/AAAAAAAAD_s/vsnzrtwYz6I/white%252520boards%252520016_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="white boards 016" width="186" /></a><br />
<div align="center">
List of things that still need to get done.<br />
<br /></div>
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-JhLey-tfCeM/UHZLyisAYII/AAAAAAAAD_0/t1VCekGyoJM/s1600-h/white%252520boards%252520018%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="white boards 018" border="0" height="187" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ORIFl96gCts/UHZLzAAmLOI/AAAAAAAAD_8/RXQNy7tENLA/white%252520boards%252520018_thumb%25255B8%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="white boards 018" width="246" /></a><br />
<div align="center">
Notes for assigned paragraph.</div>
<br /></div>
</div>
MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-28948176611842518682012-10-09T21:17:00.001-07:002012-10-09T21:18:52.594-07:00Day Nine---When You Hear Snoring….<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-yJto4L2MbdA/UHT2wMULz_I/AAAAAAAAD9Q/H0B9cj_iq1c/s1600-h/Anna%252520Sleeping%25255B11%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Anna Sleeping" border="0" height="313" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Il_O01s19_o/UHT2wh-qMrI/AAAAAAAAD9Y/8BbDTUrqzmk/Anna%252520Sleeping_thumb%25255B11%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Anna Sleeping" width="265" /></a><br />
<div align="center">
You know not too much school is going on. Just saying!</div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/31-days-of-real-homeschooling-day-one.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="clipboardimage2" border="0" src="http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb352/missmoe5/clipboardimage2-2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
This post is part of a series
showing the realness of homeschooling---the ugly, frustrating, and
wonderfulness of it all. </div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-74023659997454976962012-10-08T17:58:00.001-07:002012-10-09T13:39:11.594-07:00It’s 5:30 and Our School Day Just Ended!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/31-days-of-real-homeschooling-day-one.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="clipboardimage2" border="0" height="320" src="http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb352/missmoe5/clipboardimage2-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
This post is part of a series
showing the realness of homeschooling---the ugly, frustrating, and
wonderfulness of it all. </div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div align="center">
<span style="color: red; font-size: medium;">It’s Monday, our short day!</span> </div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Surprised smile" class="wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-surprisedsmile" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-osxdd9AZ7vY/UHN2kHe1QRI/AAAAAAAAD74/QS6dM0Wwv6o/wlEmoticon-surprisedsmile%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none;" /></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span style="font-size: medium;">I was determined we would get into the swing of things and work through our new schedule. Things were going reasonably well until right after lunch. Our schedule dictated thirty minutes to go over last weeks writing and suggest improvements before revising and editing happened. Discovering that my girls had not worked on their writing project for the prescribed 1 1/2 hours on Friday, I had to try really hard not to blow a gasket! </span></div>
<div align="left">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I-E had taken 3 notes on a five page article. <img alt="Baring teeth smile" class="wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-baringteethsmile" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-0tvmG1TAzT4/UHN2krXKvzI/AAAAAAAAD8A/WeuvxgekPiQ/wlEmoticon-baringteethsmile%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none;" /> She explained she had been annoyed she had to do the assignment, so that when she read the article it hadn’t made any sense to her. I sent her to the table to work while I checked in with E-R. </span></div>
<div align="left">
<span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div>
<div align="left">
<span style="font-size: medium;">E-R claimed she didn’t realize the assignment was to write a one page overview of the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">battles fought in the Revolutionary War. Instead she had drawn a map, and thrown together a really bad paragraph about Billy Howe. </span></div>
<div align="left">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Remember the gasket I was trying not to blow! <img alt="Don't tell anyone smile" class="wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-donttellanyonesmile" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-y7XlLeU8rw0/UHN2lFXKPnI/AAAAAAAAD8E/PlaeMqqxBik/wlEmoticon-donttellanyonesmile%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none;" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span style="font-size: medium;">So we read over the paragraph, discussed what the topic sentence should have been, and took some notes so she could write a good paragraph about Billy Howe. </span></div>
<div align="left">
<span style="font-size: medium;">I-E checked in with her 7 total notes from that five page article. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Gasket blowing! Still holding it inside! <img alt="Steaming mad" class="wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-steamingmad" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-sYKuOvK-xJw/UHN2n2EIddI/AAAAAAAAD8Q/v37a0_j7zwY/wlEmoticon-steamingmad%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none;" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">So we read and took notes together from the first section of the article. We then determined how she wanted to introduce the article and what the topic sentence of the first paragraph should be. Then I helped her write the first paragraph sentence by sentence. The whole time I wanted to scream---YOU KNOW HOW TO DO THIS!!!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">And then she told me, " I can do the rest—I didn’t know this is what you wanted me to do!"<img alt="Disappointed smile" class="wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-disappointedsmile" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-eCyw3jIZHko/UHN2obXtrSI/AAAAAAAAD8Y/vpBREhYjnKc/wlEmoticon-disappointedsmile%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none;" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">When will I learn that teenage brains need clear, concise <em>written</em> instructions! </span></div>
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MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-69664779557027738892012-10-07T23:24:00.001-07:002012-10-09T13:36:52.101-07:00Curriculum Plans 2012/2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/31-days-of-real-homeschooling-day-one.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="clipboardimage2" border="0" height="320" src="http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb352/missmoe5/clipboardimage2-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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This post is part of a series
showing the realness of homeschooling---the ugly, frustrating, and
wonderfulness of it all. </div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="color: #9b00d3; font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #9b00d3; font-size: medium;">English:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/item/1-128--/?list=Building_Christian_English_Series" target="_blank">Rod and Staff 8</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/Vocabulary.com" target="_blank">Vocabulary.com</a></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/Vocabulary.com" target="_blank"><br /></a></span>
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.rainbowresource.com/searchspring.php?q=megawords" target="_blank">Megawords</a>:</span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Sentence-Composing-for-Middle-School/Don-Killgallon/e/9780867094190" target="_blank">Sentence Composing for Middle School</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: medium;">Math:</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/derekowens.com" target="_blank">Derek Owens Algebra</a></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/derekowens.com" target="_blank"><br /></a></span>
<span style="color: #c0504d; font-size: medium;">Science:</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.beginningspublishing.com/version2/rainbow.htm" target="_blank">Rainbow Science</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-size: medium;">Literature:</span><br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://http//www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/042562/246dc006d4681554995f338d" target="_blank">Windows to the World: Introduction to Literary Analysis Teacher and Student</a></span></h4>
<h4>
<a href="http://http//www.rfwp.com/series/self-evident-truths-series-statements-of-equality#book-free-at-last-the-language-of-dr-kings-dream" style="font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">Self-Evident Truths Series: Statements of Equality</a></h4>
<span style="color: #9c85c0; font-size: medium;">Logic:</span><br />
<a href="http://classicalacademicpress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=22">The Art of Argument</a><br />
<a href="http://www.criticalthinking.com/getProductDetails.do?id=07419&code=c">Critical Thinking in United States History: New Republic to Civil War</a><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: medium;">Art:</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Art will be outsourced this year. Both E-R and I-E are quite talented, and I’ve taken them as far as I can. They will be picking a specialty and working with an artist later on this year.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #9bbb59; font-size: medium;">Drama:</span> </span><br />
I-E and E-R tried out and got parts in The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever at a local playhouse. Rehearsals are filling up their afternoons. After this show, we will be taking a break from acting so they can concentrate on art, but I’m sure another show will be in their future later in the year. <br />
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<span style="color: #ff0080; font-size: medium;">History:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/teachers.html">Liberty! The Series</a><br />
<a href="http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/013764/246dc006d4681554995f338d">George Washington’s World</a><br />
<a href="http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/Abraham+Lincoln%92s+World/005161/246dc006d4681554995f338d?subject=14&category=3916">Abraham Lincoln’s World</a><br />
<a href="http://www.joyhakim.com/works.htm">A History of US</a><br />
<a href="http://www.studentnewsdaily.com/">Student News Daily</a><br />
<br />
Additional we are reading for one hour a day. I have a pile of books on the shelf that are available for the girls to choose from each week. <br />
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<span style="color: #9b00d3; font-size: small;"></span></div>
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MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-21253763791273089492012-10-06T21:31:00.001-07:002012-10-09T13:34:48.619-07:00I’ve committed to post for all thirty-one days of October. So what should I write about now?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/31-days-of-real-homeschooling-day-one.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="clipboardimage2" border="0" height="320" src="http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb352/missmoe5/clipboardimage2-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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This post is part of a series
showing the realness of homeschooling---the ugly, frustrating, and
wonderfulness of it all. </div>
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</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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E-R and I-E were excited to have two sessions of free writing this week. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had a free writing session, but here goes—and you the reader are under no obligation to continue reading. <br />
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I am helping a friend enter this strange realm of homeschooling. I was a bit embarrassed when they asked me about my organizational system. My disorganized bookshelves and desk organizer did not speak of organization. So today was get organized day. My bookshelves are neat and organized and while doing so, I realized I had everything I needed on that shelf for the next two periods of history that I’ve been stressing about.<br />
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Why do I make things so hard? Why am I always trying to make things perfect? When asked how something is I often answer—perfect. <em>Thank-you, that’s perfect</em> is another answer that often escapes my lips. Things aren’t always perfect and that needs to be okay. <br />
<br />
That needs to pertain to our homeschool as well. I’ve been working on this homeschooling thing for over thirteen years now—and I still don’t have it down. I look back and see things I would have changed, things I could have done better, and yet at some point I need to say it might not have been perfect, but it was enough. I did the best I could with who I was at the time. <br />
And that’s what I’m working on right now. It’s never too late to grow in this homeschooling journey! </div>
</div>
MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-42065211396190656942012-10-05T23:07:00.001-07:002012-10-09T13:33:31.119-07:00Week in Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/31-days-of-real-homeschooling-day-one.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="clipboardimage2" border="0" height="320" src="http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb352/missmoe5/clipboardimage2-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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This post is part of a series
showing the realness of homeschooling---the ugly, frustrating, and
wonderfulness of it all. </div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">this post is linked up to <span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; line-height: 24px;"><a href="http://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/2012/10/weekly-wrap-up-the-one-where-i-was-at-the-savvy-blogging-summit/" target="_blank">weird unsocialized homeschoolers weekly link-up</a></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Serif', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br />
<br />
This week I wanted to dive into school with our new schedule. Unfortunately, I-E wasn’t feeling up to snuff, so we took things much slower than planned. We still managed to complete quite a lot. <br />
<br />
We started logic using <a href="http://classicalacademicpress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=22" target="_blank">Art of the Argument</a>. We are still working on the introductory chapter, and I’m still trying to explain to the girls why we are studying logic. I’m more excited about it than my students. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Sx0IKEgRtTo/UG_KrOLIb6I/AAAAAAAAD64/FA3zP_H6dbI/s1600-h/the%252520art%252520of%252520argument%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="the art of argument" border="0" height="244" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-we2s9u7ohQg/UG_Krox-BtI/AAAAAAAAD7A/PTrP30dxNFE/the%252520art%252520of%252520argument_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="the art of argument" width="191" /></a>. So my goal for next week---inspire! Get the girls excited about logic.<br />
<br />
Second new thing this week—algebra. Thank goodness for Derek Owens and <a href="http://www.derekowens.com/" target="_blank">his online courses</a>! Math is not my thing. Left to their own devices both girls have worked most days for longer than the required one hour. Great start!<br />
<br />
Writing also introduced a new idea this week. Instead of working on specific projects, time is our new writing master. Without any specific assignments, both girls were excited to free write on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday history assignment brought a narrative covering the Revolutionary War’s battles. With writing time set aside each day, we had time to work on it while also moving on with our reading during history time. <br />
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Goal for next week—get onto our schedule so we can fit everything in. <br />
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/%E2%80%9Dhttp://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/search/label/Weekly%20Wrap-up%E2%80%9D"><img src="”http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/kbmomto3/weeklywrap-up2.jpg”" /></a></b></center>
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<a center="center" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4729065816300918701"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%E2%80%9Dhttp://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/search/label/Weekly%20Wrap-up%E2%80%9D"><img src="”http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/kbmomto3/weeklywrap-up2.jpg”" /></a></b></center>
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MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-62572293052135565322012-10-04T22:31:00.001-07:002012-10-09T13:31:53.012-07:00All Quiet on the Home Front<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/31-days-of-real-homeschooling-day-one.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="clipboardimage2" border="0" height="320" src="http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb352/missmoe5/clipboardimage2-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
This post is part of a series
showing the realness of homeschooling---the ugly, frustrating, and
wonderfulness of it all. </div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Today was a quiet day. I-E hasn’t been feeling well so I let her sleep in while E-R and I worked on Megawords. E-R passed her test and was able to move onto the next unit.<br />
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I-E was still snoozing at that point. E-R worked on to her online math class. I tackled making ten pounds of apples into three jars of applesauce. <br />
<br />
I’ve noticed that if left to their own devices E-R and I-E work on math for longer than the one hour each day I require. So why do I not leave them to their own devices more often?<br />
<br />
E-R made herself some lunch and read for an hour while I-E took a long bath. I cleaned the kitchen. <br />
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E-R and I-E both worked on history at this point. Yesterday we read and discussed the sequence of events that took place during the Revolutionary War. Today, they worked on a paper about those events and worked on finishing up their reading on that period of history. I canned a batch of jam.<br />
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That summed up our day. It was a quiet slow lazy kind of day. Why do they mostly happen when someone is sick? Why don’t we plan to have them just because? </div>
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MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-14252522369545500362012-10-04T08:02:00.001-07:002012-10-09T13:30:28.225-07:00The one where I forgot to post, and oh did I mention I live with a bunch of teenagers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
This post is part of a series
showing the realness of homeschooling---the ugly, frustrating, and
wonderfulness of it all. </div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I have five children that are teenagers right now. One is living on his own at college, and four are living right here at home. So many people tell me—I’m sorry—when they hear how many teenagers I have. Don’t be. I love this stage of life. Teenagers are fun to do things with and are enjoyable to talk with. Teenagers are exploring and testing out the whole big world of opportunities that are just waiting for them.<br />
<br />
I love spending time with my teenagers. Teenagers are generally excited about life. <br />
Except when they aren’t. Sometimes life is big and hard and scary. Sometimes decisions that can seem overwhelming have to be made. And teenagers are just figuring out how to deal with those choices and the responsibilities that come with making what seem like and sometimes are huge life changing decisions. One of my teenagers is at this point in their life. Decisions are being made. It’s been hard on all of us.<br />
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I’m just saying---that may have been why this post is late. <br />
Have a great day everyone! </div>
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MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-55250385660086735922012-10-02T19:28:00.001-07:002012-10-09T13:28:21.735-07:00What I have been missing?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-D6LBcNHSTuY/UGuiyDTvjKI/AAAAAAAAD54/7OlnD14Z4YU/s1600-h/girl_on_books_s39_34_part%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Portrait of a little girl sitting on a stack of books. Over white background." border="0" height="441" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-1LCCx75SESw/UGuiyqNfX4I/AAAAAAAAD6A/Lm8sYV3yjTo/girl_on_books_s39_34_part_thumb%25255B10%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Portrait of a little girl sitting on a stack of books. Over white background." width="256" /></a><br />
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This school year has been a bit funky, and in a way I feel we are just starting our school year. My girls have been working for six weeks now, but because of numerous things happening in my life much of that work has been done without me. Today I realized I’ve been feeling guilty for missing those times of working with my girls. I’ve somehow felt that school was not getting done.<br />
<br />
I’m a big proponent of working with kids and not sending them off to work independently day after day as some homeschool parents seem to do. In fact, I’ve <a href="http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=327559" target="_blank">written about it quite a bit</a>. As I allowed myself to dwell on life this school year, I realized I need to let go of the guilt! My girls are capable of independent work because I’ve spent the last 8 years working with them. Although not the ideal long term, they can work and learn without me.<br />
<br />
But as I thought about them working alone, I realized<em> </em><strong>I</strong> was missing discussing what we have learned, hearing their opinions on things they are learning, and seeing the connections form as they learn and grow. It is the relationship forming time I have missed this school year. Thank goodness, things are coming back to a normal routine and that time is back in my life. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
This post is part of a series
showing the realness of homeschooling---the ugly, frustrating, and
wonderfulness of it all. </div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-25577161510202048992012-10-01T19:52:00.001-07:002012-10-09T13:25:14.045-07:00Back to School<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This post is part of a series showing the realness of homeschooling---the ugly, frustrating, and wonderfulness of it all. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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My husband and I recently spent a fabulous two weeks in Italy. It was a wonderful trip. But it has been hard to get back into the swing of things since getting back. So today felt like the beginning of the school year again. I’m working on being more relaxed and learning to take life as it comes—not just school wise! I’ve found that setting aside a particular amount of time each day for each subject instead of a certain amount of work allows me to be a bit more relaxed about what we are able to get done. <br />
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Today we started our new schedule. We started late. We had a meeting with our ES. Accordingly, we didn’t get to everything, but I am happy with the work we did accomplish. <br />
Our school day started with current events where we read about the violence and “martial law” imposed in East Saint Louis. To really understand what is going on there, we needed to do some background research and let me just say---East Saint Louis has a really sad history. I-E was outraged about the mayor’s reaction to the violence and asked if she could write him a letter. I was able to say yes to this request since I had set aside thirty minutes for free writing. Sometimes things work out so well! (And I didn’t even plan it!) <br />
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We started our logic course. We didn’t get to everything I had planned for the day, but I’m working on rolling with the punches! We will pick up with where we ended tomorrow and keep on trucking. <br />
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The girls also worked on Algebra and free reading. Not the busy full day I had pictured for today, but a good one all the same. <br />
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There you go—a real day of homeschooling. </div>
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MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-82827636435708727572012-10-01T08:19:00.000-07:002012-10-18T18:30:17.894-07:0031 Days of Real Homeschooling Day One<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I’m joining <a href="http://http//www.thenester.com/2012/09/31-dayers-2012.html" target="_blank">Nesting Place’s 31 Days Meme</a>. I haven’t posted for several months because the pressure of living and recording blog worthy material got to me. So this month, I am jumping back into blogging with daily posts. And of course, I wanted to start off with a pretty 31 Days button, but that hasn’t happened yet! (Give me time!) (The time is now--9 days in!) The posts might not be pretty, picture worthy, or imitation worthy, but they will be real.<br />
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So, let’s get real. This morning:<br />
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15 minutes ago we should have started school.<br />
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We are expecting our ES (Education Specialist) to arrive at 9:00, so I spent the last 10 minutes of my life getting rid of the rotten tomato smell that has permeated our home. <br />
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Our home is a mess. <br />
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I have put in a load of laundry and watered the plants on my balcony. <br />
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I’m signing off to do a quick pick-up of our living room.<br />
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I will post again tonight to let all know how our real day of homeschooling went! <br />
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<a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/back-to-school.html" target="_blank">Day One</a><br />
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<a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/what-i-have-been-missing.html" target="_blank">Day Two What I Have Been Missing?</a><br />
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<a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-one-where-i-forgot-to-post-and-oh.html" target="_blank">Day Three--The one about having Five Teenagers</a><br />
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<a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/all-quiet-on-home-front.html" target="_blank">Day Four--All Quiet on the Home Front</a><br />
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<a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/week-in-review.html" target="_blank">Day Five--Week in Review</a><br />
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<a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/ive-committed-to-post-for-all-thirty.html" target="_blank">Day Six--Freewriting and Perfection</a><br />
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<a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/curriculum-plans-20122013.html" target="_blank">Day Seven--Curriculum Plans</a><br />
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<a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/its-530-and-our-school-day-just-ended.html" target="_blank">Day Eight--I Didn't Blow a Gasket</a><br />
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<a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/day-nine-when-you-hear-snoring.html" target="_blank">Day Nine--When You Hear Snoring</a><br />
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<a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/day-ten-story-of-our-day.html" target="_blank">Day Ten--Story of Our Day</a><br />
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<a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/day-eleven-giants-won.html" target="_blank">Day Eleven--The Giants Won!</a><br />
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<a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/day-12setting-goals-and-prioritizing.html" target="_blank">Day Twelve--Goals and Prioritizing</a><br />
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<a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/day-13homeschool-support.html" target="_blank">Day Thirteen--Homeschool Support</a><br />
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<a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/day-14preparing-for-week.html" target="_blank">Day Fourteen--Planning for the Week</a><br />
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<a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/day-15planning-vs-doing.html" target="_blank">Day Fifteen--Planning vs Doing</a><br />
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<a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/day-16free-resources.html" target="_blank">Day Sixteen--Free Resources aka Pinterest</a><br />
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<a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/day-17a-day-in-life.html" target="_blank">Day Seventeen--A Day in the Life</a><br />
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<a href="http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/10/day-18-mom-has-headache.html" target="_blank">Day Eighteen--Mom has a Headache</a></div>
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MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-67952033176838699222012-05-15T12:49:00.001-07:002012-05-15T12:49:59.247-07:00The How, What, and Why of Charter Schools<p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-cZgfpWczFyc/T7KzYjiOXJI/AAAAAAAAD40/W4U278HKep4/s1600-h/memory-monday-button6.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto; padding-top: 0px" title="memory monday button" border="0" alt="memory monday button" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Z15fzUKTZ2o/T7KzZV1Y_5I/AAAAAAAAD48/H78gfNpwjGM/memory-monday-button_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="234" height="279"></a></p> <p><font size="3"><font color="#9b00d3" size="4">First of all what is a charter school?</font> </font></p> <p><font size="3">A charter school is a public school that is exempt from most regulations that bind school districts except where those regulations are specified by law. Charter schools are usually created by teachers, parents, and community leaders and are sponsored by school boards or the state. Goals and expectations are agreed upon by the charter organizers and sponsoring group and written up in an agreement or charter. </font></p> <p><font size="3">A charter school is a public school. Just like all public schools, they may not charge tuition, teach religion, nor discriminate against any pupil based on his ethnicity, gender, or disability. Unlike other public schools, charter schools are schools of choice. Parents have a choice to enroll their children there, and teachers and administrators have a choice to provide education in a nontraditional manner. Which brings us to homeschooling….</font></p> <p><font size="3">Many, but not all, charter schools are set up to provide support to the homeschooling family. That support differs from school to school, but many home-based charter schools provide support by funding tuition purchases, providing extra-curricular activities, opportunities for social activities and field trips, and over-site by certified teachers. All charter schools provide transcripts and the standardized testing required by the state in which they are set up. </font></p> <p><font size="3">Many homeschoolers consider those that use charter schools to not be homeschoolers. And legally they are not homeschooling; those that are enrolled in a charter school are public school students. What constitutes a homeschooler differs state by state. For the purposes of this article, I am going to refer to those using a home-based charter school as homeschoolers simply for the reason that school is happening at home! </font></p> <p><font size="3">The question I’ve been asked to answer: How do you make a charter school work for you when you have so many hoops to jump through? </font></p> <p><font size="3">Some of the hoops (or requirements) that I’ve had to jump through to utilize charter schools in the state of California are education specialists visits, work samples, restricted curriculum choices, meeting state standards, and standardized testing. My specific experiences relate to the state of California, but most likely are similar to other states’ requirements. </font></p> <p><font size="3"><font style="background-color: #ffffff" color="#9b00d3" size="4">Education Specialists Visits</font> Once every 20 school days an education specialist (commonly referred to as an ES) is required to meet with you, the teacher, and the students to discuss work accomplished, plan further work, and collect work samples. She or he is a certified teacher and is part of the process in place to make sure students are making progress. </font></p> <p><font size="3">Once every 20 days usually works out to be once a month that our ES come to visit us. Our visits are about 20-30 minutes in length and in addition to going over the work we have planned, she answers any questions we have about school policies and helps us fill out all required paperwork. I prefer to meet at home as this interrupts our day less, but other families choose to meet their ES at the school office, a local library, or another public place. Know what your charters requirements are for what goes on at ES meetings and let your ES know if you feel they are over stepping those requirements. Also know that you may request another ES if your family does not mesh with the one assigned to you. Feel free to talk to the office staff about what you are looking for in an ES. I’ve found different ES have different educational philosophies just like homeschoolers. If you love to use a stack of textbooks at home, an ES with the viewpoint of school at home might fit your family better than an ES with a preference towards classical education. </font></p> <p><font size="3">I look at my ES visits as a time to make sure I’m organized and on track with plans for the year. </font></p> <p><font size="3"><font color="#9b00d3" size="4">Work Samples</font> Work samples required differ charter school to charter school. The charter school we are using now requires one work sample from each subject we are working on with each ES visit. Keep in mind that a work sample does not have to be a worksheet or test! Some of the things I’ve turned in for work samples include maps, posters, lab sheets, power-point presentations, mp3 files of speeches and music performances, journal entries, and pictures—lots of pictures. I’ve turned in pictures of sporting events, performances, gardening projects, science experiments, bulletin boards, art projects, timelines, history notebooks, field trips, math projects, and any other hands-on projects we’ve worked on. And I will admit that occasionally it’s time for our ES visit, and we have nothing to turn in to our ES, so we complete a worksheet just for our work sample. That doesn’t happen too often and doesn’t take up too much time when it does happen. </font></p> <p><font size="3"><font color="#9b00d3" size="4">Restricted Curriculum Choices</font> As a public school a charter school can not appropriate curriculum or materials that are religious in nature or even allow religious teaching as part of their program. I do use a few curriculum choices that are not secular which I purchase with my own money. These are subjects are that are adequately covered without these religious based materials, so I am able to supply work samples from other materials used. </font></p> <p><font size="3">I also include scripture, hymn, and other religious study in my home. I do not consider these studies to be part of our school time, but rather our family time. This family time happens with my children who attend a public school as well as my children who stay at home for school. </font></p> <p><font size="3"><font color="#9b00d3" size="4">Meeting State Standards</font> Just like other public schools, charter schools are required to teach to the state standards. Looking at </font><a href="http://www.educationworld.com/standards/state/index.shtml" target="_blank"><font size="3">this list</font></a><font size="3"> of state standards will leave most feeling confused and overwhelmed with the task of teaching these standards. Many charter schools will provide a parent friendly list of standards written in everyday language that is easy to understand. If your charter school does not provide this list, many are available on the internet. Here is </font><a href="http://www.goldenvcs.org/gvcs/ParentStudentResources/CaliforniaContentStandardsChecklistforParents.aspx" target="_blank"><font size="3">a complete list of California state</font></a><font size="3"> standards in easy-to-understand language. </font></p> <p><font size="3">Another way I’ve come to understand exactly what is expected of these standards is looking at the educational portion of museum websites. Looking at The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County’s </font><a href="http://www.nhm.org/site/sites/default/files/pdf/TM%20gem%20K.pdf" target="_blank"><font size="3">educational website</font></a><font size="3">, I can see that visiting the gold display and discussing what we see meets state standards in math, language arts, and science. </font></p> <p><font size="3">To be honest, I’ve found that most state standards are met by simply completing our normal educational activities and do not require much forethought. One area that is not always the case is the social studies standards. I do not teach social studies, but rather teach world history on a four year rotation. California state standards require American history almost every year. I’ve met these standards by teaching about American history through patriotic holidays. When Memorial Day comes around we read a book or two from the library about that holiday. Standard met! Remember most standards do not require depth of learning and are easily met with an introduction and discussion about the topic. </font></p> <p><font size="3"><font size="4"><font size="3">And that brings us to <font color="#9b00d3" size="4">Standardized Testing</font>. Public schools in California (and most other states) are required to prove their worth through testing. This is especially important for charter schools as they usually do not have other regular assessments to prove their students are progressing. That being said---I do not teach to the test. I do teach my children how to take tests, a skill I feel is important. Also keep in mind that you may ask to have testing spread out over several days and may also request private testing for your child. And last but not least----the scores your child earns are not a grade for you the teacher. Rather they measure your child’s success on a test one day of the year on material he or she may or may not have learned</font>.</font> </font></p> <p><font size="3">The key to utilizing charter schools is to research and learn all you can about their requirements. Know the rules and expectations. As the case with any public school, you, the parent, must be the one that advocates for your children. Learn what services are available. Learn what is required and what is not required. Be willing to speak up when needed. </font></p> <p><font size="3">What have been your experiences with charter schools? Does anyone have a simplified list of state standards for other states than California? Any other questions I just didn’t answer? </font></p> <p align="center"><font size="3"> </font></p> <p><font size="3"></font> </p> <p><font size="3"></font> </p> <p><font size="3"></font> </p> <p><font size="3"></font> </p> <p><font size="3"> </font></p> <p><font size="3"> </font></p> MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-16374272427611889882012-05-01T12:59:00.000-07:002012-05-01T12:59:03.181-07:00Wordless Wednesday 5.2.2012<p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-5NFZckj83FQ/T59u-Zo_cwI/AAAAAAAAD3w/595sBFgyDu8/s1600-h/Anna%252520Pageant%252520begins%252520005%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Anna Pageant begins 005" border="0" alt="Anna Pageant begins 005" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-dFF-0yMG-Yk/T59u-4MuwFI/AAAAAAAAD34/-o8GbL75z8E/Anna%252520Pageant%252520begins%252520005_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="305" height="362"></a></p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-o1m8cpVrO_A/T59u_ezXT1I/AAAAAAAAD4A/MEuGepiC_s8/s1600-h/pageant%252520005%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="pageant 005" border="0" alt="pageant 005" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-NLZoLnvNj44/T59u_uabGOI/AAAAAAAAD4I/Pj7hLfzkQl8/pageant%252520005_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="320" height="420"></a></p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-b4450PN3LvA/T59vAPbub9I/AAAAAAAAD4Q/EafxGlXWvMo/s1600-h/pageant%252520002%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="pageant 002" border="0" alt="pageant 002" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-g-gEEjT_990/T59vAgA1zxI/AAAAAAAAD4Y/TKWUbLUPAT8/pageant%252520002_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="305" height="362"></a></p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-U6Xe56SJzMw/T59vA3aI-EI/AAAAAAAAD4g/0srFE3ele58/s1600-h/pageant%252520day%252520two%252520102%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="pageant day two 102" border="0" alt="pageant day two 102" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-SHfE1dQf0oQ/T59vBRpUBPI/AAAAAAAAD4o/zV7bH_bp5tQ/pageant%252520day%252520two%252520102_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="320" height="420"></a></p> MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-35896296128639167462012-04-27T09:17:00.001-07:002012-04-28T19:51:45.784-07:00I’m a Pageant Mom<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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As a child growing up, I loved to watch Miss America. The idea of walking across the stage in a beautiful gown to be crowned and presented a title and a large bouquet of flowers seemed to be a fantasy come true. I knew that fantasy wouldn’t come true in my future, but as one who didn’t wish to be in the spotlight living vicariously was fine for me. <br />
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Last weekend I was again able to live vicariously through my daughter as she represented the little town we live in at the Miss Teenage California Scholarship Pageant. I know, I know, good parents don’t vicariously live their lives through their children---but I must tell you it’s hard not to get caught up in all the pageantry and competiveness.<br />
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I’m the type of gal who gets her hair cut every so often, rolls out of bed in the morning worried only about which clothes are clean, and has never plucked or waxed any hair on my head. I am a wash and wear gal with both my hair and my clothes. I’ve tried to pass on some girlyness to my daughters---I take them to a make-up lesson when they turn twelve, but for the most part they choose to follow my example and go bare-face. They all have long beautiful thick hair, but unless it’s a special occasion they don’t usually style it. We do own a hairdryer and curling iron. The hairdryer was purchased at a thrift shop 15 years ago, and I’m not even sure where the curling iron came from---turns out both are out of date! Who knew that could happen?!<br />
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So how did my daughter end up in a pageant? It looked good on paper—$10,000 scholarship prize to the winner and another $7000 to be shared among other positions. Who could pass up that opportunity? So we got the ball rolling and asked for and received a nomination which allowed A-M to enter the first level of competition through an application process. She was accepted and received a local title which sent her to the state pageant as contestant number 87.<br />
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Next step was figuring out what she was going to wear for the various parts of the pageant. A-M has attended many formal dances and has quite a bit of formal wear in her closet. So she was set, right? Well, I must admit this is when the Pageant Mom in me started peeking out! All the dresses she already owned had been bought at thrift shops—something that doesn’t bother me or her—usually. I wanted her to have something special that she would feel confident in. So after asking around, I found <em><strong>the </strong></em>shop to go to in our little town. <br />
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Turns out pageant gowns can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars! Who knew? We found a beautiful dress for much less than the thousands of dollars but still in the hundreds of dollars category! It flowed and sparkled! And had to be ordered and altered! And was beautiful and did I mention it sparkled?! <br />
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Next came the search for the After Five knee length pastel dress that was required. Not knowing what an After Five dress was, my relationship with the internet and all things pageant began. Turns out an After Five dress is a more age appropriate way to say cocktail dress! We looked and looked some more. Needless to say after satisfying the Pageant Mom in me with the first pageant gown, my wallet dictated I not let out the pageant mom in me out when looking for this second dress. We found it at a shop that is perpetually going out of business. For $15 we found a cute little pink dress. It had two stains on it! But we figured it was worth trying to remove those stains. $15 later---the drycleaner returned a sparkling clean looking like new dress. Thankfully my inner pageant mom had been suppressed—for the time being. <br />
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Now came the really hard part-- raising money for sponsorships. Did you know it cost money to enter pageants? And I’m not talking about a $35 entry fee. No, pageants cost thousands of dollars to enter. It is suggested one find local business that would like the advertising that is offered in the program. And of course family is also helpful in this endeavor! Thanks Aunt T, Polly, and Grammy! The sponsorship part of the pageant was the most stressful as well as time consuming part of the pageant prep. <br />
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Dresses ordered and altered. Sponsorships gathered. Shoes bought. Time to sit back and wait for the pageant. Turns out not! A friend who is quite girly and who has competed in national dance completions let me know about some last minute details I shouldn’t forget---accessories, eye-brow waxing, and a make-up and hair run through! Now my Pageant Mom part of me wants to hide because she has no experience with any of these things! Turns out my friend has already figured that out and is there to lend a helping hand. Out comes her boxes of jewelry and we find just the right necklace and earrings. Next she leads us to her bathroom and her tower of hot rollers. I get a short tutorial on the mohawk theory of curling hair. And last but not least, she emails me the name of the lady who waxes her eyebrows. <br />
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In the car after her first ( and most likely last) eyebrow waxing, A-M tells me all this prep is just way too complicated. To compete in a swim meet she throws a swimsuit, towel, and goggles in a bag and is good to go. Why can’t a pageant be like that? Yes, indeed—why can’t a pageant be like that? <br />
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After thinking about that I had an AHA moment. A-M does prepare for her swim meets by practicing over and over again for hours a week. Pageant prep isn’t that much different. It requires practice, practice, and more practice. I’m sure there are lots of girls for whom shopping and accessorying is second nature—I’m sure showing up for a pageant is throwing stuff in a bag and heading out the door---because all the prep is just a natural part of their lives. <br />
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Pageant weekend. I go down with A-M on Friday night—the rest of the family will join us Saturday and Sunday. Friday night is orientation—immediately after orientation A-M texts me a list of stuff she needs that she’s left in my room or in the car. Right then and there I figured out part of being a Pageant Mom was to be at the beck and call of your daughter during pageant weekend. I grumbled a bit in my head at that point because I had already changed into my sweats for a nice quiet evening alone in my hotel room. I almost grumbled out loud when I got two texts before 7:00 AM the next morning about a pair of heels she needed that were in my room. That is when I first questioned my Pageant Mom status. Of course I had it easy as A-M’s roommates’ parents drove 4 hours to retrieve a bag left behind that contained much needed eyeliner!<br />
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Late Saturday morning came the real test of my abilities as a Pageant Mom---time to do hair for the first time. Before I share how things went---you must know that my hair experience is mostly about washing my hair. I do flip my head upside down about twice a year in order to blow dry it.(Remember the afore mentioned hairdryer---this is when it is called into service) To be fully honest here, I must tell you I usually get bored before my hair is fully dry so I flip my hair and myself back into an upright position with damp hair which then just dries as it usual would. But to get ready for the pageant, I did pin lots of hairstyles! And I watched several YouTube videos---and even attempted a few of them on A-M which caused her to privately tell my husband that I didn’t know what I was doing. Which caused me to make an appointment for my daughter to get her hair blown out and straighten Friday before we left for our pageant weekend. See what a good Pageant Mom I am—I admit defeat and call in the experts! <br />
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So Saturday we again consulted YouTube to figure out a style that would work with the straight hair and not mess it up for the next day. A-M pooh-poohed my YouTube dependence, but you know it was all I had! And I think I did a pretty good job!<br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-fMcOJnDIzb0/T5rGlwGdKOI/AAAAAAAAD2o/yaVavZ9N8pY/s1600-h/pageant-0055.jpg"><img alt="pageant 005" border="0" height="312" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-LEv9HG5sbV0/T5rGmJ85u_I/AAAAAAAAD2w/M4T9B0oFzwA/pageant-005_thumb7.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="pageant 005" width="304" /></a> <br />
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Not super imaginative, but it doesn’t look awful—and </div>
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trust me that is an improvement for me!</div>
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She did her own make-up </div>
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-7PPMrYC-Ayk/T5rGnC9nV3I/AAAAAAAAD24/G8a208JuRCw/s1600-h/Anna-Pageant-begins-0053.jpg"><img alt="Anna Pageant begins 005" border="0" height="184" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-wMRA9E2yCX8/T5rGnmiD9eI/AAAAAAAAD3A/8CNCdixM5Ko/Anna-Pageant-begins-005_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Anna Pageant begins 005" width="244" /></a></div>
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and wiggled into her dress and I sent her backstage. That left me to take my place in the audience Pageant Mom then came out full force. I could say I didn’t judge each girl against my daughter, but that would be just a lie! All the girls were beautiful and accomplished, but I just couldn’t help compare their speeches against my daughters. I’m not proud that I did that—but I did! And A-M got on stage and delivered her speech flawlessly! She did her pageant walk with grace and a big smile. I was so excited for her I had to hold in the tears! I wanted to jump up and down and scream—That’s My Daughter!!!! But I hid that Pageant Mom part of me!</div>
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Sunday was the big event! Reinforcements were called in. I just couldn’t be trusted to do hair for the finals.</div>
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-zaMFPZer7ag/T5rGn3J7dEI/AAAAAAAAD3I/XUJqFs2Aylc/s1600-h/pageant-day-two-0054.jpg"><img alt="pageant day two 005" border="0" height="404" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-XN3Pojk8GEE/T5rGoOhQhqI/AAAAAAAAD3Q/g1FbbCqHyfw/pageant-day-two-005_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="pageant day two 005" width="304" /></a></div>
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You can see by the rollers in my sister-in-law’s hair that she knows what she is doing! She even used the mohawk method of hot curling hair without me mentioning it! She also had lots and lots of hair products! And A-M’s hair turned out beautiful—and big! </div>
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We sent A-M backstage and went to our seats in the audience. A-M came on and introduced herself! This time I couldn’t hold it in and I did cheer loudly! Turns out A-M did not make it to the top ten, but she did an awesome job every time she was onstage. I must say the Pageant Mom in me was a little disappointed, but mostly excited to see my daughter on stage doing a great job in the dance number and during her other onstage appearances. </div>
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The Pageant was a lot of hard work and a great learning experience. I’m thinking there won’t be a repeat anytime in the future, but if I’m wrong and there is, I’ve learned that like most anything there can be a dark side to being a Pageant Mom as well as a positive side. I learned a ton being a Pageant Mom and thank my daughter for the opportunity to learn so much new! </div>
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And now I’m letting that Pageant Mom out just a little bit to share my beautiful pageant girl with you!</div>
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-PeRvEylXNKg/T5rGow7bc0I/AAAAAAAAD3Y/ZbvVos3qhVQ/s1600-h/pageant-day-two-1264.jpg"><img alt="pageant day two 126" border="0" height="404" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-r4rg6Sz1kWM/T5rGpdDaL_I/AAAAAAAAD3g/bb2enzBkNjY/pageant-day-two-126_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="pageant day two 126" width="304" /></a><br />
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<center><a href="http://livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com/search/label/Linkey%20Parties" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x343/livinglifeintentionally/TGIFLinkyParty-1.jpg" style="height: 150px; width: 150px;" /></a></center></div>
</div>MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4729065816300918701.post-72180664464617160432012-04-26T20:52:00.001-07:002012-04-30T22:39:26.398-07:00Olivas Adobe Field Trip<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Today, we were able to visit Olivas Adobe Historical Park on an awesome field trip! </div>
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/--Px0gXdgvHQ/T5oXuzqJfLI/AAAAAAAADxU/m9tXthd9v3Y/s1600-h/olivas-adobe-field-trip-0015.jpg"><img alt="olivas adobe field trip 001" border="0" height="206" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-guUsrTJjjes/T5oXvQmAbtI/AAAAAAAADxc/B9ZpZftk2Lg/olivas-adobe-field-trip-001_thumb7.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="olivas adobe field trip 001" width="460" /></a><br />
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The Olivas Adobe home is the only two story adobe house from the California Rancho period still standing. In 1847 it was built by Raymundo Olivas after he received a land grant from the Mexican government for his service in the military. </div>
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An excellent set of docents helped us</div>
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mix adobe bricks in the mud pit</div>
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-fVZhji-jqb8/T5oXwSbNAFI/AAAAAAAADxk/p7RROEojN8g/s1600-h/olivas-adobe-field-trip-0307.jpg" style="text-align: left;"><img alt="olivas adobe field trip 030" border="0" height="225" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-CJVfLexgI0U/T5oXw9sNLQI/AAAAAAAADxs/NWvayLFXM_E/olivas-adobe-field-trip-030_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="olivas adobe field trip 030" width="300" /></a></div>
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Learn about herbal uses and remedies. </div>
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-NBnOWA3SBQs/T5oXyRB55zI/AAAAAAAADx0/jg6dhqKRo2Q/s1600-h/olivas-adobe-field-trip-0314.jpg"><img alt="olivas adobe field trip 031" border="0" height="229" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-kwh2cAnYGS8/T5oXy6fIB-I/AAAAAAAADx8/6deT4W1vSVM/olivas-adobe-field-trip-031_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="olivas adobe field trip 031" width="304" /></a><br />
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Rope Ferdinand the Bull</div>
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-jFORxAbhSDg/T5oXziEMcFI/AAAAAAAADyE/1F18zvxY2Rs/s1600-h/olivas-adobe-field-trip-0185.jpg"><img alt="olivas adobe field trip 018" border="0" height="241" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-05TwbdKDiiQ/T5oX0Km0HAI/AAAAAAAADyM/5q64r5_CNRU/olivas-adobe-field-trip-018_thumb8.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="olivas adobe field trip 018" width="289" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-XltZnPRmj64/T5oX1OTIOYI/AAAAAAAADyU/lOM1m3LNpJI/s1600-h/olivas-adobe-field-trip-0204.jpg"><img alt="olivas adobe field trip 020" border="0" height="229" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-x0oxz3QMeLY/T5oX1nTsgMI/AAAAAAAADyc/S3nqTEkwZD4/olivas-adobe-field-trip-020_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="olivas adobe field trip 020" width="304" /></a><br />
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Learn about the trade of cattle and their hides</div>
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-epCoH8iL80M/T5oX2Y2THuI/AAAAAAAADyk/hGIiEeHvJ1c/s1600-h/olivas-adobe-field-trip-0274.jpg"><img alt="olivas adobe field trip 027" border="0" height="229" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-_f62R15idWE/T5oX2v19CRI/AAAAAAAADys/cpV6Iza18Ag/olivas-adobe-field-trip-027_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="olivas adobe field trip 027" width="304" /></a></div>
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And Take corn from this</div>
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Mw1cymEUAUw/T5oX3YjdcKI/AAAAAAAADy0/CHRSXpfj17I/s1600-h/olivas-adobe-field-trip-0044.jpg"><img alt="olivas adobe field trip 004" border="0" height="194" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-a40P_bJmXLU/T5oX3s40mNI/AAAAAAAADy8/RF1IU-UclqM/olivas-adobe-field-trip-004_thumb6.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="olivas adobe field trip 004" width="244" /></a><br />
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To this</div>
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-6NMCIm3TsNs/T5oX4YTn3bI/AAAAAAAADzE/1yC63gXmtHw/s1600-h/olivas-adobe-field-trip-0034.jpg"><img alt="olivas adobe field trip 003" border="0" height="194" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/--Ee8_XiYR04/T5oX4nIAKLI/AAAAAAAADzM/dKxwO5_wFPc/olivas-adobe-field-trip-003_thumb5.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="olivas adobe field trip 003" width="244" /></a><br />
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To massa</div>
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-_QSrDZWA0SE/T5oX5P8WXKI/AAAAAAAADzU/TbLbVMGzSDI/s1600-h/olivas-adobe-field-trip-0085.jpg"><img alt="olivas adobe field trip 008" border="0" height="415" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-9QmWF6-LOU0/T5oX5YmAkwI/AAAAAAAADzc/YGhJiBiFW4w/olivas-adobe-field-trip-008_thumb7.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="olivas adobe field trip 008" width="304" /></a><br />
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So we could use tortilla presses</div>
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-oqPVidEC8UU/T5oX6JtP1_I/AAAAAAAADzk/3d_NiFdh1MY/s1600-h/olivas-adobe-field-trip-0343.jpg"><img alt="olivas adobe field trip 034" border="0" height="184" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-TSjfqE_KY-c/T5oX6aM-WDI/AAAAAAAADzs/9HLjxRLDndk/olivas-adobe-field-trip-034_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="olivas adobe field trip 034" width="244" /></a><br />
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To create super yummy fresh tortillas.</div>
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-aM2KmyoF6L0/T5oX7P66N_I/AAAAAAAADz0/sEhNB-zsmNM/s1600-h/olivas-adobe-field-trip-0414.jpg"><img alt="olivas adobe field trip 041" border="0" height="229" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-pe_z9a8k-DM/T5oX7W0VfNI/AAAAAAAADz8/BE8sNu312CY/olivas-adobe-field-trip-041_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="olivas adobe field trip 041" width="304" /></a><br />
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We were also able to tour the house. </div>
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Though the house is quite large, the upstairs only has three rooms. </div>
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A girls’ room </div>
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-7wXsVDwiey0/T5oX8IqAzaI/AAAAAAAAD0E/V8liuUXkiSw/s1600-h/olivas-adobe-field-trip-0434.jpg"><img alt="olivas adobe field trip 043" border="0" height="229" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-LAwYAFjxCyk/T5oX8ULUYJI/AAAAAAAAD0M/kHUYjGyd-0o/olivas-adobe-field-trip-043_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="olivas adobe field trip 043" width="304" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-iAuiAxk6mec/T5oX84WXrOI/AAAAAAAAD0U/tHZMT9yZ7KI/s1600-h/olivas-adobe-field-trip-0444.jpg"><img alt="olivas adobe field trip 044" border="0" height="229" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-825jvhxK24Q/T5oX9R200vI/AAAAAAAAD0c/aubI7529Q64/olivas-adobe-field-trip-044_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="olivas adobe field trip 044" width="304" /></a><br />
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The master bedroom</div>
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-UkeWfJEEFDA/T5oX979JRxI/AAAAAAAAD0k/p765FGxCtYE/s1600-h/olivas-adobe-field-trip-0484.jpg"><img alt="olivas adobe field trip 048" border="0" height="229" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-zVKbTTTXtIM/T5oX-GXrbqI/AAAAAAAAD0s/yZsGjCRCwK8/olivas-adobe-field-trip-048_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="olivas adobe field trip 048" width="304" /></a></div>
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And a boys’ bedroom?----Nope! The younger boys slept on the porch while the older boys bunked with the ranch hands. Instead of using the third room for a boys’ bedroom, the third room was used as a chapel. </div>
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-7VCWtb0KeOE/T5oX-x9wc4I/AAAAAAAAD00/3FyRQdoi_ig/s1600-h/olivas-adobe-field-trip-0534.jpg"><img alt="olivas adobe field trip 053" border="0" height="229" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-edqsIxuO2K8/T5oX_JsLIDI/AAAAAAAAD08/w2DDrQdDfGM/olivas-adobe-field-trip-053_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="olivas adobe field trip 053" width="304" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-WmN6bU0QAMc/T5oX_l0pjwI/AAAAAAAAD1E/2zUYEX72tYY/s1600-h/olivas-adobe-field-trip-0554.jpg"><img alt="olivas adobe field trip 055" border="0" height="229" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-LxeDp8KFan4/T5oX_8DIl1I/AAAAAAAAD1M/c0XSSIZ-Kps/olivas-adobe-field-trip-055_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="olivas adobe field trip 055" width="304" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0000ee;"><u><br /></u></span> Which served this family of <strong>21 children</strong> and around 100 Chumash Indians and other hired ranch hands.</div>
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The house was filled with charming little artifacts like this mouse trap</div>
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Wak7DDg6CWA/T5oYAjOWZjI/AAAAAAAAD1U/pinwVPIV-o4/s1600-h/olivas-adobe-field-trip-0515.jpg"><img alt="olivas adobe field trip 051" border="0" height="245" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-nM6UE6N0F-g/T5oYBNiwEyI/AAAAAAAAD1c/2qIAE9DJTdg/olivas-adobe-field-trip-051_thumb5.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="olivas adobe field trip 051" width="304" /></a></div>
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and this charming chamber pot</div>
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-cC2QBX5ZMn8/T5oYBpwdziI/AAAAAAAAD1k/SyMlIBTVAKM/s1600-h/olivas-adobe-field-trip-0455.jpg"><img alt="olivas adobe field trip 045" border="0" height="263" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-5Ka-zd4mErM/T5oYB7DPkYI/AAAAAAAAD1s/-KBb-QGSR6A/olivas-adobe-field-trip-045_thumb7.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="olivas adobe field trip 045" width="304" /></a><br />
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Many of the original plants still remain at the rancho.</div>
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-orx_3qhpfWY/T5oYCbewrzI/AAAAAAAAD10/kBGgzjePxnI/s1600-h/olivas%252520adobe%252520field%252520trip%252520068%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="olivas adobe field trip 068" border="0" height="404" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-1TbaYQe_eDw/T5oYCgmFAaI/AAAAAAAAD18/gUKXViG_9XQ/olivas%252520adobe%252520field%252520trip%252520068_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="olivas adobe field trip 068" width="304" /></a><br />
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We had an awesome day and learned a ton! </div>
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<center><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span></center></div>MissMOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768255902242857358noreply@blogger.com5