of teens & magical cameras

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thehobbit has been hard at work on his photo-blog over the past ten days, & i must say that i am quite proud of him. for the most part, it has been a positive experience working together. that said ...

this is the first time in eleven years of homeschooling him that he has struggled with remembering the difference between doing what mama says & listening to what your teacher is telling you. i am not surprised at the struggle, just that it took so long in coming. 

still, in the end he does listen, & finds that he is pleased with the results. i, being the most amazing mama-teacher that ever there was, have refrained from saying i told you so. mostly.

the above image was a collaborative effort. he took the photograph, & i played with it in an online editing program. isn't it fabulous?! i am going to tell people that he took it during the summer break, at hogwarts ;)

that is all, just felt like gushing over my hobbity teen & his magical camera.

~peace.

the return of hogwarts

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homeschool, that is. enjoy!

~peace.

thursday things - 4

** leave a comment here, to win a wonky birthday bunting!**

is it thursday already? is time set to fast mode? it does seem like the days have flown on by. how is it then, that the hours of those days drag on forever? it boggles the mind. well, my mind at any rate. i'm easily boggled these days.

this week's thursday things has to do with kids. life's master mind-bogglers! here are a few of the websites that have inspired many a homeschool adventure over the years:

* kids off the couch is great fun. i love their popcorn adventures. they find local goings-on, & pair them with family-friendly movies. even if you don't live here, you can use their pairings as inspiration for your own adventures.

*kids gardening - check out their teacher's room & family room for ideas & tips for gardening with children. if you too are homeschooling; or want to dig (ha!) more deeply into things, this site is a great resource.

* dad can do simply rocks. there are so many fantastic crafts, that i never leave the making section. it's no longer a totally free site, but the dues aren't high, & you'll really get your money's worth. we used them quite a lot when doing hogwarts homeschool. (which i shall be re-opening in the spring!! that's a chat for another day.)

that's all the things i have time for today. where, on the web, do you find inspiration for family adventures?

~peace.

& on saturday she rested

what a week! i feel like i've been on the go, with nary a moment to myself. that wasn't a complaint by the way, we've had an amazing week, i'm just ever so slightly exhausted. ok that was a lie. i'm so exhausted that i can barely see straight. it was the last two days that did me in.

thursday the belfry was overrun by 5 wild things. we had no crafts, projects, nor activities of any kind planned for them. we merely got them together, & sent them to the backyard. the hope was they'd stay out there all day, so we mamas could just relax, & enjoy a quiet afternoon. the wild things would have none of that, & kept concocting reasons to come inside: food, water, hugs, drawing supplies. wretched things.

there were less wild things at the belfry yesterday, but the day was just as tiring. most likely because it was hogwarts, so we mamas had to actually participate here & there. the kids prepared for an upcoming time-travelling adventure (renaissance faire) by copying elizabethan phrases with quills, & watching a movie.

the bulk of the morning was spent dying miniature dragon eggs with things from the kitchen.

pictured we have: turmeric, coffee, chili powder, & beet juice. they also wrapped eggs in spinach leaves, & boiled them. that last one didn't work, but it made the kitchen smell divine. for fun (& because auntiepaper brought 60 eggs!) we also let them have at the food coloring.

the kids enjoyed the process, experimented with techniques & combinations, & even discovered (through accidental splatterings) that turmeric had the best staining ability.

not surprisingly, their favorite part was cracking some of the shells, so the dyes would seep into the eggs. i had hoped to try one flavored with turmeric, or perhaps the chili powder; but this morning i found all the cracked ones were either beet, coffee, or blue. no thanks.

the papers stayed well into the night, because we mamas had a website meeting. happily, the most fabulous manlyman took over wild-thing-wrangling once he arrived home from work, & kept them occupied until the meeting's end. i'm one lucky bug.

so you see my dearest one & only reader? today we go nowhere, & we see nobody. today i rest. i hope you have a restful day as well.

~peace.

day :: 21

today is a surprise hogwarts field trip to a shop!!!! why all the exclamation points kat? why are you so excited about going to a shop? because a) thehobbit has no idea shops like this exist, so is going to pee himself when he walks through the door, & 2) hello???! need i say more?

this is the shop! oooooh miniatures i hear you say. oooooh indeed. their website says the shop is 4,000 square feet - dear reader, we shall be henceforth known as the most amazing mamas that ever did sit on their arses drinking coffee.

i shall be taking the camera, so expect photos! have a lovely day - i insist.

~peace.

some ruddy bird named errol

at the start of the term last autumn, thehobbit received regular owls from his professors at hogwarts. occasionally his owl post box contained something fun like a trinket, or copy of the daily prophet.

during the winter holidays the owls came less frequently, with the last one arriving just after the dawning of the new year. he checked daily, & asked constantly where his owls were. i gave every excuse i could come up with, & eventually he stopped asking - about the same time that i ran out of reasons to explain my laziness the mysterious lack of post.

he was sad. i knew this, & kept meaning to arrange more owls, but i was so lazy busy. plus i was vying for 'worst mama of the year', & knew that not doing something simple; that gave him such pleasure; would surely win me that title.


not to be outdone, the other mamas decided they too must win 'worst mama of the year', & promptly gave up owls. they both claim they got too busy as well, but i know better. they are a sneaky, diabolical lot. i digress.

we had an official meeting (that's code for 'putting down our teacups',) & decided that for the summer term we'd not create potterfied hand-outs for each lesson, & focus that energy on owl post instead. we are nothing if not brilliant.

last night i printed thehobbit's hogwarts homeschool acceptance letter, & snuck outside to put it into the owl post box. when he woke today:

k: (oh so casually) you know, this tuesday is the start of summer term at hogwarts.

th: yay! (jumping out of bed to do the happy dance) i haven't had hogwarts in forever! (2 weeks)

k: did your letter arrive yet?

th: (saddest face ever) no mama. remember i don't get owls anymore.

k: about that - i finally learned why you stopped getting them.

th: why?

k: it turns out the owl that was assigned to us was trained by errol.

th: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. (nodding as if to say 'say no more')

k: it's all sorted out, & the school has assigned us a new owl.

th: what is his name?

k: (oops)

th: mama?

k: i didn't ask, but i will. (quickly changes the subject) so you should start checking your owl post box daily.

th: (runs out of the bedroom, then out onto the front porch) (squealing...) mama! mama! post! there's post! it's my acceptance letter!

k: (damn. i think i just lost my chance at winning that title.)

~peace.

*note: if you have yet to read the harry potter books, then this post has confused you beyond measure. a) sorry about that, & 2) get reading!*

** edited to add: before i get any emails of concern about thehobbit:he knows that owls aren't actually delivering mail from hogwarts. he knows that the aunties & i are responsible. he is 10 after all. he has a freakyhuge imagination, & a strong desire to believe. so i just keep acting as though it is all real, & he happily makes believe. occasionally i get an eye-roll or two, but they stop once i ask if he wants to stop having hogwarts. thanks in advance for your concern.**