Baby Pigeons Hatched!

Right after we moved into our home, we discovered this nest built by pigeons right off our 3rd story balcony. We thought there was only one egg, but it looks like mama hatched 2 baby birds! We finally got a look at her babies today. She is very protective!

In our neck of the woods, Summer is the time for Science! Check out this video of her babies.

Motherhood

My reflections on the last 20 years as a mother have brought to mind memories of the various stages of my children's lives. Now, as we enter the stage nearing the end of raising children, I feel it is especially needful to encourage all those out there, what ever stage of life they are in, that Motherhood is a noble calling. No greater work can be done than to raise a happy family.

Happy Mother's Day!

Innovative Thinking?

I found this video on chistianlogic.com and thought it was so interesting.

I have been asked many, many times why I do what I do for free. Why would I offer my time to build a homeschooling community? Why am I not charging for my TJED Teens Club? Why do I spend so much time doing freelance projects - websites and blogs? Why am I a substitute and not a full-time teacher?

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Could this phenomenon be true? What do you think?



After watching this video...

If purpose is our highest level of motivation...is it so hard to see why people are drawn to deschooling and/or Thomas Jefferson Education (TJED)? The cornerstone to TJED is that each person has a mission in life...a purpose for living...a reason for existing. This mission or purpose is then transformed into a reason to be educated. Powerful stuff for human beings who want to be autonomous.

"Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by Bach - Performed by Nayna

Nayna has been so happy to finally have a piano...a real one not just an electric keyboard. She as been practicing several songs.

Marshmallow Canons

Chris LOVES making things. He says he is leaning towards becoming an Engineer. I think it would be an awesome career, based on his likes, dislikes, and abilities. He and his friend took apart the Marshmallow Guns he made the other day and made this...

Bass Pro Shop Fun

We live on the outskirts of the city, we typically like to not live in the city. We are close to so many fun things to do! We are near the "Grandaddy" of all Bass Pro Shops...seriously, it is huge! This summer all the Bass Pro Shops are having Summer Family Camp with a lot of free stuff to do. They also have a couple of Merit Badge Classes for Boy Scouts. I took Chris last night and he got his Rifle Shooting Merit Badge...whoo hoo!

Here is a little video of the fun we had at Bass Pro Shop.

Boom Baby!

Nearly every day has met with rain in the past two weeks. I love rain, so I am not disappointed. We have tried to enjoy the weather as much as possible since we are SOOO happy to be away from the oppressive heat of the desert that we have lived in for the past ten years. Here is a little video of our last attempt to go hiking...

I love the sounds of gentle thunder and small flashes of lightening. We are so much closer to the clouds that it often seems MUCH louder than when we lived in the desert.

Grand Canyon & Other Stuff

Grand Canyon
Last Wednesday (was that a week ago?) we went to the Grand Canyon with Les & Ronda's family. They stayed the night and we all got up early and drove about an hour to the canyon. It was such a beautiful day! Here are some pics from that trip. It rained on the way home, but at least we did not get rained on at the canyon.

Chicken Run (Nope, not about the movie.)
We worked on a fenced area for the chickens Saturday. They are getting bigger and needed room to roam...safely! We added a doggie door to the coop so they can get in and out of the coop as needed to get out of the wind, rain, and snow. Our bunny, Joey, decided he wanted to explore that area too and had a great time hopping around. He was hilarious doing some extra little hops and twists to show how excited he was to be out in the dirt. The bunny has a hard time with the doggie door, he sometimes slips off the ramp and takes several attempts to get into the coop/shed. I need to get that on video...it is so funny!

Bunk Bed
Chris got a bunk bed for his room off of Craigslist. It is one of those with a futon couch on the bottom. We spent hours putting that thing together on Saturday. *whew!* He is happy to have the couch so he can sit on that while he plays Playstation games and uses his Linux computer that we built together. We now have plenty of beds so come on up and visit!

Goat Barn Anyone?
We are looking for a large shed or small barn to house some goats. Marly is anxiously waiting for the right price on milking goats, but she needs a place for them to stay first so we can keep them safe (see More Nighttime Visitors). She has saved up close to $200 for the goats, but it is far from enough for a shed for them to live in. Heavenly Father has blessed us with several things to allow us to have animals and I believe he will send something our way when the time is right. Craigslist and Freecycle have been huge blessings!

School House Rock

I remember these little videos that used to play during Saturday morning cartoons. I ran across them on YouTube and thought...."I can use these for homeschool." I mean, I thought they were catchy and fun when I was a kid. Of course, my kids think they are corny...but they do teach something, unlike most cartoons these days.

This one is my favorite - Conjunction Junction:



Here are some others that I found about:

Grammar

• Interjections!
• Lolly Lolly Lolly Get Your Adverbs Here
• A Noun is a Person Place of Thing
• Verb
• Unpack Your Adjectives
• Grammar: The Tale of Mr. Morton
• Prepositions
• Pronoun
  

Government & History

• I'm Just a Bill
• No More Kings
• The Preamble
• The Shot Heard 'Round the World
• Elbow Room
• The Great American Melting Pot

Science

• Dem Bones
• Electricity
  

There are tons more...

Hilary Weeks "My Favorite Things"

I copied Katie May on this once...she has it on her blog too.

Too bad my kids are too old for naps anymore! It used to be one of my favorite things too....

Jim Henson' Fantastic World Fieldtrip

We have been on a few fieldtrips lately having a great time with our family and friends. We had the chance to see the Jim Henson Exhibit at the Arizona Museum for Youth. This exhibit is owned by the Smithsonian Institute. We had a blast seeing how the ideas behind "Sesame Street", "Fraggle Rock", "Dark Crystal", and "The Muppet Show" were created.

I remember watching all of these shows, but I know that Fraggle Rock was on cable and not everyone had it. So, here is a clip of the opening scences for the show. Enjoy a flash from the past!

Renaissance Festival 2008

This week we attended a fun fieldtrip to the Renaissance Festival. It was on a student day where it is supposed to "toned down" with appropriate shows and costumes for children. For the most part it was, but we saw a few things that were not. I can't imagine attending on a regular day. The best show we saw was this guy playing what could be called an organ of bells, some as big as a typical church bell. He was really good and the music was fun!

Here is our slide show of pictures we took. I did not use my new camera, because I don't have a memory stick, so they are not as good as I would like.

"The Homeschool Family" video

I love this video made by Tim Hawkins. His website has some other funny clips of his comedy act so check those out too.

"The Homeschool Family" video