Monday, May 17, 2010

"The Homeschool Life"

There are a lot of things to catch up on today, but I'm going to start with the latest (most requested) venture of my incredibly crazy life.
As most of you know, I have started down this exhilarating, overwhelming, rewarding, time consuming, selfless, selfish road called homeschooling. (If you have questions about why I would use those adjectives, we'll cover that on a different post) Well, my friend and fellow homeschooler, Lori (let's just say she's been doing this for quite a while and I've asked her advice numerous times regarding my leap of faith into home education), told me a while back about this curriculum fair where you can go and there's this HUGE room full of vendors and you can talk to the writers of the programs and get their input... there are tons of crafts to look through and books to purchase for ideas to go along with your current curriculum... blah, blah blah... following me? She made this thing out to be, well, awesome! She said she hadn't been in a couple of years, but that she would really like to go with me since she's about to start a preschool program with her little girl. So, I'm super excited (not only about the fair, but about a whole day of adult interaction with a good friend and lots of other mamas that share my belief of keeping their children close to home and teaching them what I want to, when I want to). We make plans and decide to meet early in the morning in order to give ourselves plenty of time to peruse the exhibit hall. We got a little bit later start than expected (which, turns out, was a blessing in disguise) and were on our way for the hour and fifteen minute drive into the Middle of Nowhere, Alabama. It was actually Gallant, AL, but, trust me, the former fits just fine. We drive and talk and drive and talk... discussing what we're gonna eat for lunch when we arrive and everything. We FINALLY get to the exit and realize we don't have many options... either Huddle House or Jacks. We agree to wait until we get home to eat.
So, as we reach the campground (yes, you read that right, this shindig is held at a campground), I just about fly by the guy that has evidently drawn the short straw and has to sit by the side of the road and direct traffic (there is no traffic). I stop just in time for him to ask if we're spending the night (um... no). Well, since we are just going for the day, our punishment is that we have to park 4 miles away. That might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but it was a long way. We are parking in a field... not a lot or gravel or anything... a field.
We get out and walk (for those of you that know Lori, just imagine that we aren't wearing appropriate footwear). Little did we know, our footwear wouldn't be the only thing inappropriate for our destination.
We walk up to the registration desk and sign in (I would like to inform you here, that the place smells like a stable). We are told where the main hall is (you, again, have to walk through a field to get there) and we're on our way. We get to where we think we are going, only to find out that it's one room with two vendors... however, we're spotted by a very sweet, yet certifiably crazy woman that has written a lame series, but she, obviously thinks it's fantastic! She gives us the whole story about her series (since we're pretty much trapped) and we nod and smile and promise to look it over and get back to her. We continue our walk, and by now, have noticed that there are a lot of people looking at us. I'm beginning to wonder if I've chosen the wrong color bra under this shirt or if there's something spilled on me or something. Seriously, people are staring!!! Lori later pointed out that they were just staring because we were wearing makeup and jewelry! Oh, boy. Were we out of place!!! She and I were both dressed modestly, but I had, unfortunately, forgotten all about wearing my hair in a bun and my floral jumper must have been in the wash! Oops!!! Jason pointed out that Lori and I should have a new reality show called "The Homeschool Life" where Lori and I would look a lot like Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton in this crowd. The best analogy of the day was when Lori said she felt like she'd just walked into church wearing a bikini!! Hahaha!!! I felt like the women were looking at us and wondering which one of their husbands called the whores! Anyway, when it was all over, we got a few good things and a lot of big laughs! AND we ate lunch at the Cheesecake Factory... which is much more our speed than Huddle House.
I do want to say that all homeschool mom's are not like this, and it is gaining popularity every year. This group that chooses to camp out for the weekend in this place... well, they are just more dedicated, I guess!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

More homeschool adventures

Well, I'm going to have to do some major searching for my camera charger since these posts aren't nearly as much fun without pictures. But, until then, I will just update what we've been doing lately. I'm really looking forward to the girls being out of school after next week. Right now, our homeschooling is really cut down due to the fact that they are at mom's day out 3 days a week. I may regret saying that I'm ready for them to be out, but I think we will be able to get a lot more done if they are at home during the day.
With that being said, last week, we worked on Katy no-pocket. It was tons of fun and we finished off the week by going to the zoo on Thursday to see the kangaroos. Adelaide really enjoyed the book and so did Lucy. I'm pretty sure we'll return to that one eventually since we liked it so much, and there is so much left to do. We just ran out of time!
This week, we've been working on "Corduroy" It has been a ton of fun. Today we went to the mall and rode the escalator. This is a big treat since we usually have a stroller and have to ride the elevator. The girls loved going up and down (Lucy was a little nervous, but she got over it). We then went up to the top floor in Macy's and they looked at the matresses, just like Corduroy. We counted how many there were and they loved it! We also made a trip into Build a Bear Workshop to look at the different stuffed animals and outfits, but we didn't buy anything (attn: Jason). The girls had a blast and so did I. I have more to post on today (mainly the lady that told me I should be on medication) but I digress. I will save that for another day. I have a ton to get started while the girls nap, so that's it for today. I will try to post again soon with pictures.