So, that's the end, of, well, then end of the Thompson's with our home base on the Scout Road.
See you next week at http://learningonacurve.blogspot.com/. Make us a bookmark!!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
Highlight Reel
Twice this summer, we were able to travel to the north woods. Each time we had fantastic weather and fantastic times. One trip was the week before we closed on our new house. We sort of thought, "Now, or NEVER!!" Once the transition was done, though, we were able to meet Pops & Gram for another round.
.....
.....
Friday, September 9, 2011
Girls Rule
The gals in part of my family have gotten the real treat of vacationing together every few years for a long weekend. It is always a blast, filled with lots of laughing and catching up and hanging out. This year, we hit a beachside community in Michigan.
I, especially, enjoyed hanging out with Lena (and without the boys). It was fun just to meet her at her level and have tons of energy to include her in the group without other distractions. And SHE had a BLAST!! She loved everything about the weekend and was a trooper for all of the shopping and walking and odd mealtimes/bedtimes, etc.
(...love this picture because I know it made my Mom nervous to see Lena acting the daredevil like her father!!!)
We look forward to next year...where shall we go next???
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Quickly Covered
Birthdays of the latter part of May (as well as PJ in August) took a back seat to the move in-progress. We went a bit more lower key than usual and focused on celebrating the person rather than the hoopla surrounding. We toyed around with having one last blast in Maypalooza, but it wasn't meant to be!
#9
#39
#3
Look out next year, summer birthdays!
We're going to party like it's...well, you know how the song goes.
Monday, September 5, 2011
How to say goodbye in a thousand easy steps:
I think most bloggers, even recreational ones like me, would tell you they find themselves surprised at the end of a three month blogging hiatus. I mean, three months...where has the time gone? Blogging breaks can be intentional, but this break wasn’t meant to occur. In hindsight, however, I really don’t know when I would have found the time to post!
My break comes in part from the move, as well as trouble working on a set up for photo up load and writing at our new place. The other part, though, has been finding the energy to say goodbye to the Scout Road Schoolhouse and hello to something new. (And what might that something new be???)
To sign off, then, from the Schoolhouse, I’ll be posting a series on how the five of us have said farewell to the southeast.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
"Home schooling's appeal spreads to mainstream."
"Home schooling's appeal spreads to mainstream."
BOSTON (Reuters) - Studying at Harvard, meeting for group French lessons, volunteering at a hospital and spending a day in the wilderness are just a glimpse into a typical day of home schooling, which looks dramatically different today from just a mere decade ago.
Once considered distinctly Christian, the movement is deepening its mainstream roots, experts say.
While a majority of home school parents still cite religion or values as a top reason for keeping their children out of public schools, home-school education has been increasingly appealing to a broader audience.
The ranks of home-schooled students swelled to more than 2 million last year, by some research estimates, compared with about 850,000 home schooled a decade ago.
"It's a mainstream option now for most Americans," said Brian Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute, which compiled the latest home school data.
Home-school families include varied religions, members across the political spectrum, a range of income brackets and parents with different levels of education, Ray said.
Home schooling is no longer "seen as fringe at all," he said.
Among the reasons for choosing home education cited by secular parents are strengthening family ties, providing more time for children's interests and developing individualized curricula -- reasons that resonate with religious families pursuing home education as well.
They too cite concern about public school environments, family ties and academic standards as reasons to home school, research shows.
Home school is more visible than it once was, with museums catering to home-school groups, home schoolers performing in concerts and local theaters and students earning college credits while still in their early teens.
Such accomplished students include Sophia Sayigh's son, now 21 and on his own playing in a band, teaching music classes and working to get a studio off the ground.
Classes that he took at Harvard Extension School while growing up in the Boston suburbs translated into college credits, and he graduated from Berklee College of Music in just two-and-a-half years, his mother said.
Neither Sayigh's son or daughter, 18 and pursuing a nursing degree, ever went to public school, a choice their mother said stemmed from anxiety she felt sending them into a world of grades, tests and stifling structure.
On a typical Wednesday in Pamela Victor's home classroom, her 14-year-old son works on structured academics while her 12-year-old daughter heads out to a wilderness program to learn to track animals, find edible plants and build a fire.
An extended family trip to Florida will let her daughter pursue her interest in marine biology, Victor said.
"Home schooling has had the benefit of making our family unit much stronger than what it ever would have been," she said.
The trend could grow exponentially, according to NHERI research that shows about three-quarters of a sample of home-educated students who are now adults raising their own children are opting to home school.
(Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Jerry Norton)
BOSTON (Reuters) - Studying at Harvard, meeting for group French lessons, volunteering at a hospital and spending a day in the wilderness are just a glimpse into a typical day of home schooling, which looks dramatically different today from just a mere decade ago.
Once considered distinctly Christian, the movement is deepening its mainstream roots, experts say.
While a majority of home school parents still cite religion or values as a top reason for keeping their children out of public schools, home-school education has been increasingly appealing to a broader audience.
The ranks of home-schooled students swelled to more than 2 million last year, by some research estimates, compared with about 850,000 home schooled a decade ago.
"It's a mainstream option now for most Americans," said Brian Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute, which compiled the latest home school data.
Home-school families include varied religions, members across the political spectrum, a range of income brackets and parents with different levels of education, Ray said.
Home schooling is no longer "seen as fringe at all," he said.
Among the reasons for choosing home education cited by secular parents are strengthening family ties, providing more time for children's interests and developing individualized curricula -- reasons that resonate with religious families pursuing home education as well.
They too cite concern about public school environments, family ties and academic standards as reasons to home school, research shows.
Home school is more visible than it once was, with museums catering to home-school groups, home schoolers performing in concerts and local theaters and students earning college credits while still in their early teens.
Such accomplished students include Sophia Sayigh's son, now 21 and on his own playing in a band, teaching music classes and working to get a studio off the ground.
Classes that he took at Harvard Extension School while growing up in the Boston suburbs translated into college credits, and he graduated from Berklee College of Music in just two-and-a-half years, his mother said.
Neither Sayigh's son or daughter, 18 and pursuing a nursing degree, ever went to public school, a choice their mother said stemmed from anxiety she felt sending them into a world of grades, tests and stifling structure.
On a typical Wednesday in Pamela Victor's home classroom, her 14-year-old son works on structured academics while her 12-year-old daughter heads out to a wilderness program to learn to track animals, find edible plants and build a fire.
An extended family trip to Florida will let her daughter pursue her interest in marine biology, Victor said.
"Home schooling has had the benefit of making our family unit much stronger than what it ever would have been," she said.
The trend could grow exponentially, according to NHERI research that shows about three-quarters of a sample of home-educated students who are now adults raising their own children are opting to home school.
(Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Jerry Norton)
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
(Seacrest) OUT
As I sit on the couch watching the only (and apparently last) five minutes I've seen this year of American Idol (due in part to this new "Mama only" laptop) I'm waiting to see Ryan sign out with his usual blessing. Funny too, that I read an LA Times article earlier on aforementioned laptop (yes I'm very thrilled with it) about Oprah's last show. Sidebar...apparently she was preaching the Good Word (my caps)?!
All the endings lately bring me to tonight's blog posts. The end of May birthdays in the house. Can we all breathe a sigh of relief? Even the thank you notes are almost all written and mailed.
All the endings lately bring me to tonight's blog posts. The end of May birthdays in the house. Can we all breathe a sigh of relief? Even the thank you notes are almost all written and mailed.
So, since May is almost OUT, bring on summer!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Caption This
Can you guess....
what is going on....
in these pictures?
That's right, it's doll laundry day! We're saving the earth by line drying.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
burning the candle at both ends :: Letter #2
Dear Mermaid of Dolphin Avenue,
We’re coming poor and tired, although not hungry, surprisingly.
We apologize for not bringing anything. More so, we apologize for not offering to bring anything.
We apologize, in advance, for coming, and most likely, abusing your home and its belongings.
We’re bringing one thing in spades, however…our enthusiasm.
SEE YOU FRIDAY!!!
Love,
Us Five (minus one)
*note: I realize I've had an inappropriately unfair amount of photos of PJ lately...especially when it's not his birthday month. But, DANG, that kid gives good expressions! He doesn't pose either, like the other two are known for!!!
burning the candle at both ends : Letter #1
Dear May,
I really love it when you come, but now it's time for you to go.
All your groceries, and cakes, amazon orders, parties, company, cakes, special shopping trips, cookies, mounds of ice cream with toppings, trips to restaurants, and general merriment are really neat and fancy in the beginning of the month. But now? Well, let's just say, you've overstayed your welcome. Just like this mostly cool weather you keep shoving our way...move it along.
I'll be excited when you come around next year, but for now...don't let the door hit ya.
Love,
Mom
Friday, May 13, 2011
O-U-T
We're outside, and the only writing I'm doing these last few days is in chalk on the sidewalk. (Never mind, the writing on packing box labels).
Monday, May 9, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
The Ultimate Showdown
Who would win a battle between Pokemon & Star Wars? They both have enemies (double that, I guess).
My guess? Too close to call.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Cloudy Days
Jack seems to enjoy keeping several chapter books going at any given time. He picked this one up on a rainy day earlier in the week and has read with intensity since. He gave me the update this morning on how Percy was doing. It's a hilarious adventure for Percy, Jackson (and I!)
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
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