I always have good intentions about getting on here each day and then....

Tyler went on a cool camp out last weekend. They did lots of team building things like climbing walls, walking on ropes, etc. After the official event was over they even played paintball. They also got to sleep in tree houses that had hammocks in them. A good time was had by all.

Wes had another game and they lost...again. This team was also from SC and had won LAST year's 8 man national championship. They only allowed one other team to score on them all year and Wes' team got a touchdown.  Wes had a great punt return and some good tackles as well.

Maddie left on Friday after the game to go work at a camp in Florida with my SIL/BIL. The camp is for children who have cancer and their families. If you want to serve Jesus, I'd say the beach is a good place. ;)  She's texted me several times and seems to be having fun. She's flying back to Atlanta on Friday (all alone so pray for her and for mom!) so she'll be home to attend the White County Homecoming Dance on Saturday. With some youth group girls who invited her to go with them. (Wes is also going with his friend, Alexis).

Today I had to run errands, have my yearly physical (she said I'll live) and then took Wes to practice. Tonight Tyler has a scout Court of Honor. I'm looking forward to tomorrow being a bit more low key!!

And finally, another cool picture from my favorite French Bulldog, Peanut. I just love that girl. She's as pretty as she is smart.

Wes had a great game in Warner Robbins on Saturday. They did lose, BUT the team scored their first touchdown. Wes had a great block that let the QB score. Wes was a happy boy. And, all the rest of the games are a bit closer and are all on Saturday night so that's a relief.

Today we started out with a notice that I can pick out Maddie's geometry teachers' guides from the post office tomorrow. Yay, I can finally stop doing all the work with her. It's great for me to do that, to some extent, but it will free up more time for work with Ty and Wes. Ty has finished his second book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe so we'll be starting work using The Magician's Nephew this week.

I went to the store today, dropped Wes off at practice, and have dinner in the oven. I need to go over a bit of work with Maddie from her Anne of Green Gables unit study and then will relax. I used to feel like I should be doing something all the time but now see the necessity of and joy in relaxing to read, etc. And then today, I saw this from my great philosopher friend, Peanut (French Bulldog belonging to my favorite online workout instructor, Jessica Smith).  You tell them, Peanut!  

I sometimes have people who wonder what in the world we do in homeschool. And if I tell them, it doesn't always seem like "real school."  Well, it's not. That doesn't mean, however, that learning isn't occurring.

I thought I'd share a few things that Ty was studying this week as they pop into my mind. It's by no means exhaustive~just some things I remember off the top of my head.

Aerodynamics of bees
How to make time-elapsed shots with a camera and how to calculate the time necessary for a certain number of minutes of footage.
The properties of the light
Refraction, Reflection, and Absorption of said light
How the eye works in the light process and how sight works in general
Scripture study of resurrection
How to compare and contrast two different story lines
Metric measurements
How to calculate sales tax, take inventory, re-order stock, and calculate profit and loss(he's operating a pretend book store this year as part of his math program)
Architecture 
Writing descriptive sentences
Typing practice
The history of knights in Medieval England
The code of ethics of knights compared to a biblical worldview
Writing a modern day code of ethics using the above info gathered
Art work using pencils, Lego's, and other medium
Studying Fractals in nature and a bit of the history of fractals
Reading literature for fun
Emailing a pen pal
Studying the different types of verb tenses (something he chose to do on his own by finding a grammar book)
Vocabulary building with about 25 different words defined and used in sentences

Again, not exhaustive, just off the top of my head. Oh, and having critical thinking and discussion lessons with mom at the end of each Narnia chapter of study.

I'm discovering that learning is something that goes on all the time. It's fun, an adventure, a challenge, and impossible to stop. God made us to be creative and enjoy the journey of discovering more and more about him and this world so we can know him and make him known to others. My children help me to do that every single day. And for all of that, and most of all for who God is, I will praise him forever.

Okay, funny story of the day. One I get to tell on myself. We don't have the first teacher's guide for Maddie's geometry book so I've been doing all the problems to provide answers for her. Late last week I decided the heck with that and found the answer guides/teacher's guides as a set for $20 on eBay. Then I noticed that the answers to all the odd numbered exercises are in the back of her student book.  LOL, I have only needed to do the even exercises. That said, they often don't give the answers to the C group of exercises, which are the hardest ones. So, the teacher's book will be nice to have with all the great tips for learning/teaching AND ALL the answers. :)

This weekend was a lot of fun. The kids spent time with friends, we watched football, and just hung around. Their friends spent some time here and they spent time at friends' homes. All in all, we all enjoyed the long weekend.

Wes is back to football practice today but has picked up a head cold. I'd appreciate prayers for it to leave quickly before his game on Saturday.