Preparing for U.S. History

This is one of my favorite activities, even though it consumes my Mondays and Tuesdays every week.  That is also why there are usually no posts on here Mondays and Tuesdays… but a few occurences are worth mentioning today… as I step away from the Civil War for ten minutes.

1.  My 15-year-old son has been growing out his hair for a long time.  Yesterday he asked me a question I NEVER thought I’d hear… “Mom, do you know how to cut my hair in a mullet?”  What in the world?  It’s been 25 years since I’ve done a mullet, but I believe I remember how.  And then it happened… I was transported back to college in 1985… mullets everywhere.  The mullet went down a little rustier than planned (in fact I need to do some repair work tonight) but it made us all laugh until we cried.

 

2.  My 15-year-old son got some running TOE shoes.  What in the world?  They are red with black rubber on the bottom…. with a little strap just like Mary Jane’s to hold them on his hairy feet.  He’s been wearing them around the house all day “breaking them in”… for what, I’m not sure.  Maybe running.  But he’s a cyclist.

3.  Ringo the wiener dog is brain-dead when it comes to house/potty training.  Seriously… brain DEAD.  This will take a LOT of diligent work.  He also tried to chew the back of the Ethan Allen rocking chair.  Not good.  We initiated the use of the spray bottle today.  All I have to add is he’s lucky he’s so cute.

4.  Buying SparkNotes from Barnes & Noble online is cheaper and quicker than running down to the store to buy them.  Don’t tell my American History students, please.  A few clicks…. 44 printed pages… and BAM… I’m smarter than a 5th grader.

That is all for now.  Peace out!

Many Prayers Later

Two days ago my first born son turned 15-years-old.  He is taller than me.  I’m not sure if I could take him anymore.  He has more muscles than Jack LaLanne. ……..Ok, no he doesn’t.  I just looked up Jack on google.  But my son has the potential of turning into the juicing giant.  Wasn’t it just a few months ago when my chubby, blonde little boy was yelling every word and stuttering because he was so excited about life???  Wasn’t he telling me, just weeks ago, that “Daddy take good care for you, Mom.”  Where have the years gone? 

Sadly, said son’s birthday happened to be on the busiest day of our week…. really, the ONLY day we all leave the house together.  I did make cupcakes and take them to co-op… like all good homeschooling moms.  He asked for vanilla cupcakes with vanilla icing.  WOW!  Go crazy!  I called him from Walmart to make sure I got the right kind.  Then I asked what kind of cupcake papers he wanted…. Dora… Mickey Mouse… Cars… Cinderella.  He said he didn’t care as long as the cake and icing were vanilla.  I bought purple.

And what gift did my 15-year-old ask for on his birthday?  Money to go on a missions trip to build houses in Mexico in October.  What kind of kid asks for missions trip money for his birthday?  Maybe the kind of kid who asks every Friday night if he can go downtown and feed homeless people.  Or the kind of kid who spent his summer vacation feeding men on skid row in Los Angeles.  He recently told his Dad that he didn’t think he was doing enough for others.  To which my wise husband replied, “You are doing WAY more than the average kid your age.”  My brilliant son retorted, “I’m not an average kid.”  SO TRUE!  I couldn’t be more proud of my 15-year-old son. 

However, (that always means the next words are important and contradictory in nature) this is my one in four children whom I have probably mentioned in more prayers than all the others.  Okay, that’s not true because my 17-year-old daughter went to Africa for three weeks this summer…. they might be tied.  His leadership ability has been obvious to me for many years…. I hoped and prayed it wouldn’t be for the dark side.  And his drive is unbelievable.  Even when he was nine, he would get up early and do all his chores and as much school work as he could…. before I stumbled out of my room to whip us some breakfast.  (For those who know me well, they are thinking “That’s nothing… she sleeps in.”  It’s true.  But still!)

We had a family gift opening for Aus… with little girls invited.  :o)  But he simply wanted $$ for missions, so no grand party was had.  Weird, I know.

Studying the Hebrews

There are three homeschool high schoolers who are digging their way through Ancient History with me on Tuesday mornings.  I give them a Weekly News sheet that gives the details of our study for the coming week to keep them on course and make sure they are using both sides of their brains.  Immediately upon getting the Weekly News in their hot little hands, their beady little eyes go directly to the section titled ‘What We’ll Do Next Week.’  I enjoy making their lives interesting so I put little hints in there like “bring your dancing shoes” and “wear grubby clothes” and “bring sunscreen.”  I do it for my own entertainment… and it works.  I smile every week when they read it and ask what it means.

They are strong.  They are brave.  They are smart.  And it was all put to a test this week as we learned about when the Hebrews split into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah.  During this time, for your historical information, the Children of Israel built walls around their cities to fortify them.  What better way to learn about building walls…. than to build a wall???  My thoughts exactly! 

Wandering around our yard, I couldn’t find a place for a block wall flowerbed that didn’t require major sprinkler line running.  So I phoned my parents and asked it they needed a block wall.  Well, boy howdy!  They sure did!  Bring on the cinder blocks and the mortar.  Here I give you a photo essay of the HOW Wall.  (History Of the World = HOW) 

Here is my daughter sifting dirt while the men look on…… (hmmmm).

Again, the GIRL using the heavy tramping device that probably has an appropriate name, but I don’t know what it is. Good posture!

They mixed the mortar.

They laid the blocks.

They leveled every single block side-to-side, front-to-back, and vertically.

This is Mortar Man Matt.  He perfected the art of mortar patty-cake pancakes that could be easily rolled onto the tops of the blocks.

They even drove rebar (which stands for RE-enforcement-Bar) into the corner blocks.  Vocabulary and masonry all mixed into one delicious lesson.  Oh, that makes my motherly homeschooling heart pound with glee.

Ta-Da!  The 3 1/2 hour block wall flowerbed…. constructed by three 15 year olds.  My dad plans to put red brick along the top for a decorative edge.  Mom wouldn’t stand for open block holes…. heaven forbid.

I’m so glad these kids have the opportunity to learn life-skills outside of the classroom.  They laughed.  They played ti-tac-toe in the wet mortar.  They sprayed each other with the hose.  And they learned how easy/hard it is to lay block.  On the way home we passed a block wall that crossed about 12 backyards.  The kids were in awe of how long that must have taken to build!  Fine job, my pupils!

My Third Most Embarrassing Moment

I’m still not to the place in my life where I can write about my first and second most embarrassing moments of my entire life, but I CAN face my fears and post my third most embarrassing moment for all the world to read.  It helps that it is so fresh in my mind.  It occurred only last month at church.

It was a Sunday morning and the service was over.  It is a 30 minute drive home, so I decided to visit the ladies room before our journey.  I emerged from the stall and was washing my hands and visiting with another gal when one of my daughter’s friends came in and a comical, yet horrified look arose on her face when she saw me.  A bit out of the ordinary for her, but not totally surprising to me.

At that point, the other gal pointed to my backside and asked if the toilet seat cover was supposed to be sticking out of the top of my skirt….. sweet mother of Moses…. I’m SO glad she said something before I left the bathroom to have my extra appendage witnessed by the entire universe. 

BUT, I knew my secret would not be kept behind tight lips… being that it was a 15-year-old friend of my daughter who was allowed to live after being an eye witness.  True to form, I received an email the next week from the girl’s mother asking about my wearing of toilet seat covers.  She wished she could’ve been there to see it for herself.  I wish she had have been there too, because she’s the type that would’ve laughed hard enough to need Depends. THEN who would’ve been laughing!?

Thank God for friends who help us in our time of need.  :o)