Recap

Leah has been taking her ITBS all week so I have been getting a lot done in the way of computer work and book reading. I figure I might as well get something done while I do the boring job of proctor.

Today I have no more computer work and I finished a great book last night so I figured I'd update my blog. We've been enjoying a slower schedule now that a lot of our extra curricular activities have taken a break for summer. However, we have stayed busy with fun extras that we never took the time for during the school year. Some I forgot to take a camera to record but here is what I have...

Leah joined the American Heritage Girls about 2 months ago. She has been camping with them and learned how to start a fire safely, learned all sorts of etiquette rules, tried her hand at cake decorating, and most of all she had fun! The girls in the troop are super sweet and inviting and made her feel welcome from the first meeting. She has enjoyed earning badges and received her first 6 at the awards banquet. She can't wait for next fall to resume all the fun.While I'm tooting Leah's horn, I'll share a few birthday pics. She decided to decorate her own cake again this year. It is so nice to be able to leave the kitchen and come back to a finished product. I can't wait to turn her loose with dinner prep! We had a small family gathering with the grandparents, Sandra, Crawford and Alexandra. The kids had a great time and I don't think they minded at all when the dads all disappeared. Jeff, Crawford and Papa headed to a movie and Grandpa passed out for a nap. Gran Gran also zoned out for a bit so Mom and I enjoyed a nice chat and figured out Leah's new bead weaving tool. I'd like to say beading was relaxing but my "need to get bifocals" eyes were a bit strained! Earlier this week we went berry picking with some friends from church. It was a wonderfully windy chilly day but we quickly warmed up with the flurry of berry picking. I forgot to take my camera on this trip and I was really bummed about it. Thankfully Krista managed to grab a few with her phone. It was funny to see the kids' personalities come out in their picking. Both had definite ideas about how it should be done. Theo picked anything that was ripe and hanging on the vine. He didn't miss much.

Leah had a different approach. She didn't bother with moving leaves. She was on a hunt for the biggest, ripest, most perfectly shaped, cleanest and most visible berries. If one hit the ground, it was discarded. If one had a bit of dirt on it, it was discarded. You get the idea. I started to say she wasn't meticulous and Theo was but then I realized that she was. Her pickiness just came out in a different way. Funny! Our second excitement of the week was the end of Science Tuesdays. We have truly enjoyed having the Holbrooks join us each week for an afternoon of science fun. This week I decided to celebrate all their hard work with a science free-for-all. I laid out some exploratory activities like balances, magnets and a bucket of sink/float objects for the little gals to bounce between. Knowing the big kids wouldn't want to stay out of the water I had them create a boat that would stay afloat and hold weight. Then, at the end of the day we had a contest to see whose would hold the most weight. We were thrilled when Marcy and her kiddos decided to join in on the fun. They brought a science fair project that measured the amount of gas in a liquid. It was a fun and messy demonstration. In addition to all that we had worm races- Which worm would make it to the wet paper the fastest?

Sinking sailors- Which paper sailor would sink the fastest in the bowls of water- the one in clear water or the one in soapy water?
Finger printing- How are your fingerprints different from your friends' prints?Crayon Physics Deluxe- A cool game Jeff found while surfing one night. It is only 20 bucks and it is a big favorite in our house. You draw in objects that allow you to move the ball and change its direction in order to get it to the goal. It is hard to explain so you should check it out at http://www.crayonphysics.com/

I also put out our electricity snap kit. The kids loved making the alarms sound and the light shine when they completed the projects.

It has been a fun week despite the ITBS. Of course, the more relaxed schedule makes testing week more fun for me. We have to endure a couple of hours of testing but then we get to have fun. Leah is done for today and then we'll finish up completely next Tuesday. Jeff is off Monday so we'll likely have a day of science fun to log in another day for our 180. The kids are done with all their curriculum for the year but we haven't hit the mark on our number of days. So, now we play! Well, after Tuesday that is. Leah has one more day of tests left. I figure then we'll do some letterboxing on Wednesday and Thursday. I have been wanting to create and hide a letterbox in the new park nearby.

The end is in sight. Whew!