Destination Aviation

Big Bro was blessed (really blessed!!) with an unexpected opportunity to attend a week long aviation camp about an hour from us in July.  Thankfully Nana and Papa invited him over to stay with them since they are only a half hour to the camp.   It was a group of 11-13 year olds, most with a passion for aviation like Big Bro.  Here are some snapshots the instructors took during the week and passed along to us in the form of a DVD slide show (very nice for scrapbooking moms like me :)  (NOTE:  in preview of post, everything appears okay but when published the pics and captions don’t match up…not sure how to correct, sorry)

                                

Day 1:  Learn aviation history at on-site museum                             

Day 2:  Begin flight simulator practice                                  Day 3:  Design own airplane

Day 4:  Learn pre-flight checks procedures                    

 

Learning to read a flight map, use a compass and determine weather patterns and atmospheric/cloud changes

             

Group shot                                                                           They traveled to Vero Beach Flight Safety School to actually fly (was not his turn in this photo) the plane!  No joke!!  He did the take off and landing.  He said it was an awesome experience!  

            

They flew over Lake Okeechobee, too!                 Getting his log book filled out (3rd entry!!)

                   

Flight simulator at Flight Safety School the kids were able to ride and another group shot!

He had a fantastic week and loved every minute!  It was an early morning each day andfinished late but he said it was well worth it!                                            

Day 5:  A presentation by each student about one aspect of what was learned during the week.  Mr. Frey, the instructor (very good teacher…and I’m a tough judge), and Big Bro

It’s official!

We made a family trip to the Home Education Office earlier this month to officially identify Big Bro as a homeschooler.  Little Bro is, too, but the state does not require any documentation for a few more years yet.   

                   

The lady in the office thought we were nuts but oh well!  She probably doesn’t scrapbook.  Besides this was/is a BIG deal to us!!  Exciting day :)

School’s Out!

Well, I’m a couple weeks behind on this post but better late than never!  Big Bro is officially done with elementary school…not sure if we should be celebrating or crying.   Either way, it’s finally here and after a whole week of activities at school and with friends….here are some shots from a great week of celebrating:

5th Grade Field Trip to Busch Gardens with a good friend

 

                              Award #1                                                      Presidential Award #2

The Banquet… where to begin.  At our school, the 5th grade banquet is a major affair, not something to be taken lightly.  Planning began in July and the theme voted on in September.  Teams of moms (yes, me, too) planned, created, decorated and ultimately assisted to prepare an elaborate send off for our precious babies. It was really a spectacular event and I think all the kids and parents (even those who decorated) were surprised at how it looked!

Wizards Walking the Red Carpet Theme (Hollywood Style)

Lighting (one of several colors)                              Kids’ Wall of Fame (stars with photos)

Entrance to Party…kids loved this part!   There

were even two limos as part of the scene!                             Big Bro entering the party!                   

Let the fun begin…                                                      Big Bro (center) gettin’ his groove on!

            

 

Here are the limos that took his class to Cici’s the next day!

 

Big Bro was the first one out of class and the first one in the Hummer Limo!   This was a surprise so his face says it all! 

 

Daddy was excited, too, because they asked him to ride up front (not planned at all!) and give driver directions to extend their ride before going to eat.  Look at that smile!  

  

So, here we are, end of June and six years of elementary school and many memories behind us…ready for the journey ahead but sad for the end of this period of his life.   As they say, though, the best is yet to come! 

Fantastic Frogs!

Little Bro is head over heals in love with his new “pets”…two of the largest tadpoles I’ve ever seen!  After sending off the order form for the tadpoles weeks ago, we began the very long

 

wait for their arrival.  I was on pins and needles when the box arrived that they when I opened the box the tadpoles would still be alive and well.   And they were.

While waiting for the 6 lb tadpoles(or so it seems) to arrive, we began our theme unit study of frogs with the introduction of a new homeschool project I’ve learned called a “lapbook.”  It is essentially a file folder that when opened reveals a book of child-made items that helps him to learn the topic.

  

Little Bro really loved working on this!  Each day we would complete another part of the lapbook together.  I love his drawing above of the tadpole and the frog above.  He copied it from a book we read and I thought his rendition at the age of 3 was quite nice.  Some of the frog activities during our unit study include:  sequencing the life cycle of the frog, matching various frogs, rereading books to me, made a paper plate frog with popsicle stick tongue, even Big Bro made an origami frog for Little Bro. 

Sequencing the frog life cycle

Rereading some of our frog books

Play-doh life cycle creations

Just today our tadpole started to grow tiny legs.  We are all excited to see them become froglets!  More to come…

Testing the Waters…

We began to join a few homeschool groups for various activities after Christmas.  We really wanted to see for ourselves what a homeschool family would be like.  Were they unsocialized, sheltered, or otherwise “weird”?  Nope!  They were just like us…moms who were trying to educate their children and kids who were more interested in playing!  Here are some photos from some of those activities:  (run cursor over photos for description)

From Jan at Crystal Springs Preserve…learning to build shelter, make water in the ground and identify different snakes.

    

Homeschool Kickball                                                  Trip to Busch Gardens with new HS friend

                      

HS Day at Renaissance Festival:  Maypole dancing, medieval clothing & weaponry classes

Not a HS activity, but a good learning experience nonetheless…Take Your Child To Work Day.  Garren went with Nana to MacDill AFB and got to see and do some amazing things!

Another fantastic opportunity, not an organized HS activity, but a great learning lesson…

seeing the (maybe) last launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis in May.

Rock Climbing with HS group in May

Looking forward to lots of new adventures both at home and in our world! 

Homeschooling for Kendan

Well, Big Bro is still in school for a matter of days still so I have been focused on activities with Kendan alone.  With that said...

We have had a blast with our new Sock Monkey tea set.  We've had a tea party for the past two days...today he said, "Mommy, can we play tea party again?"  Who could say no to that?  But what really got me was our first "tea party" yesterday.  I showed him how to hold his little tea cup with his pinky out, check, place his cup on the saucer, check, gently take a piece of food one at a time, check...all very dainty UNTIL the very end...I look up and catch him swigging from the tea pot itself!  Just goes to prove that boys are boys!  Boy, did I get a laugh!