Back in the Saddle again...

I'm back to it! Carl, Grace and I packed up a bunch of stuff yesterday, and we really don't have much more to go. The house looks so neat now, with all of the boxes in a tidy row, standing at attention. :)
Carl and I have been offered two different houses here, so we need to decide between them. We will be moving to the first until the second becomes available, which shouldn't be long. One is "in the thick of things" and proximal to everything the campus has to offer, and the other is very private and up in the woods. The "tree" house, as I like to call it, is a free-standing house with a yard and a driveway. The "campus" house, is actually the entire ground floor of a victorian (read: BIG), but we'd be near to the campus coffee shop/bar and have access to the main road of the campus. (very pretty walk...)

In any case, I am slowly putting together a curriculum for Grace!

For History, Grace wants to study the ancients! We will be using unit studies for Mesopotamia-Greece so far, as well as attending History Club( NY History), Foreign Lands Club (Geography) and Mental Floss( Discussion Club).

For science, Grace has expressed interest in doing a comparative study of water samples from a pond, the ocean, a stream and the house. She would also like to do a comparative study of the biomes. We will take samples of the water every month and look for Microorganisms and content of each sample. She'll record the findings in her lab notebook. We will also be using a book called "Darwin for Kids" which is about, you guessed it, evolution! There are activities which go along with each of the lessons, such a creating a taxonomy! It looks wonderful!

For Math and Language Arts, we will be outsourcing! We are looking into a stepwise program here or engaging a tutor. We will most likely go with the tutor, as she came highly recommended from another parent. I'll have her evaluate Grace and begin accordingly. :)

Carl, Grace and I have also decided to start a Family Lit Club:) We'll be reading short stories of Mark Twain and Edger Allen Poe, as well as Swiss Family Robinson and the poetry of Shel Silverstein. Of course Grace will be reading many books for herself, and we'll just go where the wind takes us!

Grace will continue her music class and her Piano lessons. We are looking to add another art class like last year, but we haven't found the right place yet. It would be wonderful if we could find an artist willing to do individual sessions, as we are often gone to visit family and friends throughout the year.
This all may change, but that's the plan for now! :)
Now...ONWARD! To the New Home!!!
Forte

The Emperor's Senate Has Spoken

The Verdict is....
THUMBS UP!!!

Post-Free Week

I haven't posted in a while, due to Carl's ongoing job saga. We were slated to move to the Midwest in August, but it appears that has been suspended in lieu of staying here! Carl finds out for sure after a meeting on Thursday, but it appears to be "in the bag"... We are EXCEEDINGLY happy about the new development, as it means an extreme career advancement for Carl, as well as our own house finally! Cross your fingers for Carl on Thursday:) I'll post more when I can!
Forte

Two Feet, Two Levels

I've been thinking lately, novel I know, about Grace's learning style and her levels. It became apparent, after visiting several curriculum sites this morning, that Grace has one foot in the grammar stage, and one foot in dialectic/rhetoric stages. I am wondering how to "marry" all of that in a curriculum. The answer, it seems to me, is to either get stuff at the grammar stage and add the dialectic/rhetorical in, or the reverse! LOL That's the easy part. HOW is the hard part, right? I really like the idea of just letting her go and working on the grammar stuff as it arises, but I can't shake the thought that she's not filling in enough "holes". SIGH. I thought I had decided to drop her back a year in her core studies for that very reason, but I'm not sure she'll be amenable to that level without the "bells and whistles" of the higher-level stuff. That makes finding materials difficult, as there ARE holes, but she is also capable of some very impressive higher-level thinking. I suppose this is what they mean when DYS talks of children being in many levels at one time. I suppose I though we'd skipped that. ;)
Forte

Final Days

It's funny how a person can get attached to something they loathe over time. We came here for Carl's job, and our intent was to just stay for a few years. We all know that those "few years" have turned into *7*. I never thought I would say this, but I 've had a really good time here. Our first neighbors here were top-shelf! They really helped us set the stage for what to expect from "friends and neighbors". Our last neighbors were most decidedly NOT top-shelf, although the history books may disagree. We know the truth and the difference.
I can say that I love this place for teaching us what true friends are, helping us to understand what is important to us in life and showing us the way to the door when we needed to go.
Grace said yesterday, on the way back from a family movie, that we are leaving because, "We tried to plant our tree here, but it wasn't the right soil". I have to agree, Grace. It wasn't the right soil.
She then asked if, when we move, our tree can have blossoms on it. I answered that "Yes. Our tree will be a big, strong, flowering tree." Grace added that there ought to be a nest in the tree as well.
Yes. A nest would be nice;) Soon, Grace. Soon...
Forte

An Apple a Day!

Attention All Apple Aplologists!!! UNITE! There is Apple Camp during the summer, and it is GREAT:) Grace went to one on "Garage Band" this morning, and she now knows how to use this cool little tool for her entertainmen pleasure;) Go to Apple.com for a camp at an Apple store near you! It's free and you get a tee shirt as well!
Forte

I remembered something funny!

So on the first day at Hershey Park, we attended a movie on "The History of Chocolate", so we thought, which ended up being a 3D movie with dancing chocolate bars and action-packed fun! Our little Pointdexter was sorely disappointed that the lady who was at the podium didn't *really* get to discuss the" History of Chocolate" as planned. She was "terribly interested" in that subject ...in the middle of our vacation to Hershey Park. ;) LOL
Forte

Picture Pages!

Here are the PICTURES! :)

Dad and Grace head into the park...


Some of the lovely touches:


Water fun at the Boardwalk:


Yes. She's posing with a Candy Bar...Don't ask...


Grace and her buddy "H" in line:


Peas in a pod!


Happiness is... riding a "Buzzy Bee" with your friend! ( No matter how silly the name is!)


Grace and Carl take a moment to pose with Walt Disney...er...Milton Hershey....SAY...Where are we anyway??

Another Great Day!

Day two at Hershey park was every bit as wonderful as the first! We entered the park early in the morning again! Grace was eager to get measured up one more time. I wonder why?;)
We began the second day at "Minetown", as the monorail was once again in order. It was a really relaxing ride, and the wait was very short! Grace was "uncomfortable" with the fact that the ride had no safety mechanism, as the sides of the cars were all open to the elements. We took a ride by the actual Hershey's factory which in reality is a 1960's building with bad facing. Sigh. We also went around Zoo USA, which is just as wonderful from the air as it was on foot!

Grace and Carl then went on the Pirate Ship, a ride that swings you back and forth. Fun! Then they went on a flying ride and the wind whipped through their hair it was going so fast!

Then we made it to a ride called "The Falcon". This ride will go down in history as the "most frightening thing ever" for Grace.:( She really disliked the open cars, the height of the ride and the speed. We are learning more and more about Grace on this trip. I never knew that she was afraid of heights!

We went on a few more rides, met up with our friends and finished out the night!


Forte

That was a DAY!

We woke up at about 8 am, ate breakfast, showered and headed out to Hershey Park. When we arrived at the gate to the parking lot, Carl and I looked at each other an simultaneously said "Busch Gardens". Then Grace pipes up from the back seat "Yeah...It DOES look just like Busch Gardens, doesn't it?" We HOWLED. Great. She's part of our "inner jokes" now;)

W parked in Lot 1 and took the little Tram to the front gate, where we were presented with our first look at "Chocolate World", a building with a movie about the history of the sweet stuff, a ride through a "chocolate factory and a store where you can "make your own" Hershey's Candy. We continued on, eager to get into the park.
The first thing we came to were the "measuring stations" where they assign you a type of candy to go with your height range. Grace was a Reece's Peanut Butter Cup, I was a Twizzler and Carl was a Jolly Rancher. We GOT the type of candy we measured as from the attendants at the stations! Nice touch!

We were all impressed with how clean the park was and how friendly the workers were! Grace even ate CHOCOLATE, such was the mood in the park yesterday!

It rained on and off, so we were among the smart people who bough ponchos and didn't spend the day soaking wet. We even saw a Sea Lion show in the pouring rain, which added a unique touch!:)

The first ride we attended, Grace and I were slated to go on together, but the attendant caught me at the last second and "measured" me and declared me to be too short to take her...I have never run into this, and apparently neither have they! LOL Needless to say Carl was wiling to pinch-hit, and I happily watched them fly their spaceship for the next 5 minutes, while the attendant chatted me up. (I think he felt really badly!)

We then continued on to a smaller log ride, where despite our ponchos, we got kind of wet;) Grace LOVED it, I was complaining a bit, and Carl was on my case. I explained to him that I hate being wet at a theme park like he hates to be in large crowds. He was so good and apologized and saw to it that I stayed as dry as possible after that! I love him!!!

Next was the "sightseeing ride"...You know the one. Every park has it. It is a basket you sit in with your feet dangling precariously, so you can se the entire park from above. AHHHH. MY kind of ride!!!

Next, Carl and Grace wanted to tackle a smaller, but still adult, roller coaster called the "Comet". I rode with a chinese girl we met in line, and Grace and Carl were right behind us. By the end, Grace was catatonic. She didn't utter a sound on the entire ride, she was so petrified. She declared at the end that she would never ride it again, but guess what she said at bedtime, before falling sound asleep next to me? Yep! "Mom. I really want to tackle that Comet again tomorrow. I just didn't know what to expect!"

The rest pf the day was various rides, a visit to Zoo USA, which was WONDERFUL and Chocolate World! We had a BLAST in the 3-D movie and the factory ride, but we didn't get to do the "make your own candy' thing, because there were just too many people. Maybe tomorrow!

Forte

Hershey's Kiss

Well, we are off to Hershey , PA tomorrow. Yes. You read that correctly. We are traveling out of state on the 4th of July, and YES, we are crazy! We decided to "get away" from the crowds of the city and trade them in for the crowds of a theme park. Wish us luck, as we'll need it. We're going to stop by Gettysburg as well. Why not? We're there anyway!
Forte