Special Connection Homeschool

We went to our first field trip with our Homeschool Co-op. It was an event called Old Iron Days where they show you how things were done before we had all this technology. We saw food cooked over an open fire and ate a bit too. They gave us a taste of rabbit stew. That is the first time I ate rabbit! We also saw how they used stoves inside their homes. We watch them make and tried homemade apple butter ...  and apple cider. She shucked, ground, and sifted corn. She watch them make a corn husk doll. We saw several different inventions to help women wash clothes. These still took a lot of work! We also saw what the old bank looked like and what doctors used to wear.  There was so much  more that we didn't even get to and a few things I didn't photograph. It was a wonderful day! I can't wait to see more next year!

We have to have one of the best libraries in the country! They are always doing tons of activities for kids. While many of the activities are book related, not all of them are. There are several activities that simply encourage the children to be creative, meet new friends, and try new things. Gess has participated in a couple of these this month. The first one is called Play With Your Food . Instead of just making a snack, they literally make something out of their food before they eat it. These have always been fun, and Gess has found some interesting treats to make. This month she made a scarecrow, spiders, and a marshmallow animal. They also started a Lego Club . This was the first time for this event. Each time they will have a different idea to build on. This time was just anything they wanted to put on display. Gess built a T-Rex but only managed to build a small one so she named it baby T-rex. Gess loves sorting her Legos but has trouble building anything other...

I think Gess has to be the only kid I know that just loves going to the dentist. We got our appointment reminder in the mail which was a little clock with a smiley face saying it was your appointment time! Gess read that card and went around telling everyone that on September 9th she was going to the dentist. She was super excited! As it turns out her teeth are great and she has no cavities. Her 12 year old molars and in and guess what? She is 12 so that is good!  She really follows directions and takes great care of her teeth! Last year at this time I reminded you of some resources we used to teach these skills. Be sure to check that out so your child can also have great results at the dentist!

This year is bringing lots of change in our lives. My daughter, who as most of you know has Down syndrome, has entered the 6th grade! This transition is exciting, but also a little frightening. I am always trying to find ways to give her more independence and responsibility when she needs it, but I also need to be on top of what tasks she is doing. Thankfully my latest review introduced me to a tool that works beautifully to meet both of those needs. My Student Logbook has come up with a simple, but thorough system of tracking your students work and activities throughout the day. This will not only help you keep them on task but it will allow you to track their progress and hours spent in each subject. This will come in handy when you have to make those transcripts that are necessary to get your child into college one day! Having all this information at your fingertips makes homeschooling record keeping a breeze! It also just helps you keep your child accountable in the day to day...

We had our first official Co-Op on Friday. It went really well. Gess was included in everything and seemed to like her new friends. Our class was a lesson on where our money comes from, how it is minted, how it is protected and things like that. It was quite interesting. Then they painted self portraits during art. I had a miserable day Saturday but was glad to get out of the house for awhile. Since I was not feeling 100% I decided to sit and watch while Gess and daddy played tennis. They played at the racquetball court so they wouldn't have to chase as many balls. Gess is getting so much better. She still is not up for any challenges, matches, or serious play, but then again neither are we! Sunday I was feeling better and went to church. We get there early to help prepare some things and so I can drive the bus. When I went to fetch Gess I caught her playing Sunday School teacher. She was teaching her imaginary class about the Behemoth found mentioned in Job 40:15 which w...

I think we are all familiar with daily planners but I bet you are wondering what 7 minutes has to do with it. Well, let me tell you about it. The 7 Minute Life is a time management and productivity company which offers tools to help moms organize their lives. They have a unique approach that I am sure many people will find helpful. One of the tools they offer to do this is The 7 Minute Life Daily Planner which I received for the purpose of my review. The point of  The 7 Minute Life  time management system is to take at least 7 minutes to organize and plan your activities for the day. It sounds simple enough and yet so often we aren't willing or simply don't think about taking the time to do it. It is, however, a little more complex than that. At the beginning of  The 7 Minute Life Daily Planner  is a very detailed guide about  The 7 Minute Life  time management system. It explains how it works, how to implement it, how to use the planne...

Gess has been taking oil painting lessons so when my son wanted to show us around the art museum on campus last week, I was thrilled. As we walked through gallery Gess was interested in about every piece of art. She was, however really drawn to the paintings. I didn't take many pictures because I wanted to just enjoy the experience. However, there were a couple that really drew drew her attention so I took a shot of them. Knowing my daughter's love for weather and meteorology can you see why she got excited about this painting? But around the corner we found one that she liked even better. She declared that this one below was indeed her favorite. Is think this will give her new perspective as she makes her own paintings. She actually has painted clouds before. Below is an original Gess painting. I love her clouds!

Don't you just love a good adventure? I certainly do! Thanks to my recent review of  Heirloom Audio Productions I have an exciting one to tell you about! Their  Under Drake's Flag  audio drama is a captivating way to immerse yourself in the compelling story of Sir Francis Drake. I love audio books and dramas because they help my daughter improve her auditory processing skills. Since she has special needs, that is something important to us. However, I was blown away at just how good this particular drama was. It was definitely professionally done and executed perfectly. My whole family was engaged in the entire story. I could listen to it again and again! Under Drake's Flag  is based upon the novel by G.A. Henty. His story of Sir Francis Drake is compelling for many reasons, but mostly because through it you learn real life lessons in character, courage, faith, and commitment which comes from a belief in the God of the Bible. The story begins in England with...

Gesserine's brother is now attending his third college. At first he went to the junior college in town, then he went on Fort Hays State University to earn his bachelor's degree. Now he is attending grad school at Kansas State University. We took Gess to see him this weekend and he showed her around campus. She really does want to go to college someday "like Tim." He is a great example to her! Here are a few shots of us on campus and having lunch at Aggieville. We ate at the Keltic Star and enjoyed some traditional Irish food. Gess tried lamb for the first time and seemed to enjoy her lamb slider, but she did have to dip it in ketchup because she didn't care for the pesto they put on it. I had a traditional shepherds pie which included lamb as well which was very good. We also enjoyed Irish Soda Bread with a truly "awesome sauce." Our family is not very sports oriented and I felt like we were the only ones in town not wearing purple. It was in fact ...