Harry Potter Geeks

In case you can't tell from these pics...that is a replica wand from the Harry Potter store at Universal Studios. This is also a cardigan made by the same company that makes the cardigan for the movies. Oh, and it's also an official HP tie from the HP Universal store. Yes, we (he) goes all out!!

Daddy's Boots

Brian recently had a photo shoot at Bonnie Springs, a recreated old cowboy town. He dressed the part wearing his Daddy's old cowboy boots. These boots have seen everything!

Merry Christmas 2009

I am convinced that 8 is the age when Christmas is perfect! It certainly seems to be so for Elias!

This year Elias obsessed about Santa, wanting to know every detail of everything  (making me cringe with the web of deception!). He made his gingerbread house yesterday and left it for Santa to eat, along with of course milk and cookies, and thoughtfully, some water and carrots for the reindeer. He went to bed early, without even being told to.

Overnight, we became the proud owners of Rock Band 2. When Elias went to check on Santa's snacks, he saw it all set up and ready to go!

Sebastian also saw his big gift, a firehouse/policestation. Complete with helicopter, fire truck, motorcycle and furnishings. This "dollhouse" was such a hit he didn't want to leave it to open other presents!

We eventually moved on to other things.

Brian opening his card from his "other Mommy"  my sister

Elias got the super wazoo BumbleeBee mask and wrist blaster he'd been wanting for months! Thanks Aunt Kristine and Aunt Mary!

And, once Sebastian came in and decided to open presents, he enjoyed himself too. He got lots of "little" things...he loves things he can put into other things. He got some little doggies and this little set of Star Wars characters. Of course everything promptly got put into the firestation!

Well, off to play Rock Band! Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Brian's 16th Bday Party

Brian just turned 16 and forbid me from having a party for him! He didn't even want me to make a cake! Luckily he has the greatest friends, and one who took it upon herself to have a party for him anyway. 

Cassia made this tailor-made cake for Brian. His favorite colors are green and black, and she knows he likes peppermint and chocolate. The icing is peppermint and the cake is Devil's Food. This is a recreation of his Holga camera.

She took care of every detail, from decorating to inviting people to the food to be eaten.

Here he is...he said he wasn't surprised, but who knows! He was sequestered away for the day and arrived to find the party in progress, just missing him!

After a long night, lots of pizzas, lots of teens, and lots of the game Sardines, I hope Brian went to bed just as happy as I did. I am grateful to every friend that came, and every friend he has....you all are the best bunch of teens ever! Cassia, especially, thanks for putting so much time and effort and thought into this night!

Rockband

Back at my sister's house they have Rockband...which quickly became a family fave. Elias couldn't get enough!

Doug, Kristine, Brian and Elias


Brian took turns on everything


Sebastian even got into it. He loved the microphone too! But he mostly mouthed it...gross!








Elias would pounce on Dougie as soon as he came home from work. Like the indulging Uncle he is, he gave in!

It's a fun game. I'd even think about buying it here.

Niagara Falls

On our recent trip back East we took a few days and headed to Niagara Falls. Thanks Brian for making that call! It was beautiful!

It is amazing


This, is from the Canadian Side.  Yes, it was worth going over the border. We spent a whopping 2 hrs maybe in Canada, 45 minutes at the Falls, and an hour or so lost trying to get back to America LOL!

We went on the Maid of the Mist...a must if you go. Elias LOVED every second of it and wanted to go again. Brian was busy taking pictures. Sebastian huddled on my lap and cried the whole time. No more boats/mist for him!

This is a shot from the Maid of the Mist


Ahhh, the favorite part of the trip. Cave of the Winds. Luckily I made the executive decision to NOT bring Sebastian, fearing I'd have to carry him. Good choice, it was slightly treacherous!

Basically they have these wooden stairs and platforms built all into and around the sides of the falls. You get so wet! The mist is heavy! The falls themselves gush ove rportions onto your feet. It was spectacular!



Elias loved it so much he asked Brian to take him up again. They stood on the wettest platform for awhile....here's Brian...and this is how wet he got UNDER the raincoat!

They are very well prepared there, they give you these nifty sandals and a raincoat...very cute!





While Sebastian did not enjoy the Boat, he loved seeing all the water and the Falls. He says Falls repeatedly! It made a very big impact on him.

We bought a documentary on the Falls, and he watches it 3 or more times a day, even now. He goes around talking about Falls, all water is Falls, Momma, Falls!  It's so cute!!!

We'll have to go back when they are older.

Granny's Old House

Today we drove past Granny's old house in Titusville. Wowsers! It went from 1 story to 2 story!

Dang! I want to knock on the door and ask if we can see the inside! I can't even imagine it all updated and redone!

Transcripts..more detail

I've written before about transcripting, but another year has passed and I've updated Brian's 10th grade transcript. I figured I'd share exactly what I do, and how simple it is.

Each year I keep a running list (or at this point THEY keep a running list) of field trips taken, topics learned about, books read, resources used, etc etc. Here's Brian's 10th grade list.

We don't list time spent, but I know Apologetics Class was 2 hrs 1x a week, plus personal reading on the subject, which I translate into 1 credit for Religion (Religious Studies, Bible, whatever you want to call it). Things like The Shark Reef I add into the category Biology (although he did have a co-op class on this subject). Between 9th and 10th grade, all the books he has read I termed it "Contemporary Literature". I gave him a Child Development credit because over the years being pregnant he's learned with me about fetus development,reading books such as While Waiting, he attended one of his brothers births, he babysits frequently, and has intimate personal knowledge of various developmental stages.

After compiling the list, I log onto my local school district website, ccsd.net, find their school websites, click on a high school ( I actually go through quite a few), then click on their Course Guide. Then I surf through their descriptions, with an open blank document in another window. I know I'm going to skip the Theater Courses, the Music Courses, etc as he's not into those things...I get to the courses I need and read them...see if he's covered the topics listed. Then I copy/paste the title and description over to my open document. I surf quite a few course descriptions...different schools offer different courses. After I am satisfied that I have enough courses down to cover the things listed on The List, I start adding/editing/deleting from their course description to make it reflect what he did. For example, in computers he is top heavy on Open Sourceware, and rarely uses Microsoft Products. Therefore I wrote "heavy emphasis on Linux and opensourceware". Etc etc

Here's where you can see Brian's Course Descriptions. I did go ahead and add in some of the courses he is taking this year, but they have not been added to his transcript.

And, here's Brian's Transcript through 10th grade. I have a blank sample transcript that I used last year, but I found this free site that adds up all the grades for you, so I used it to generate this transcript. It's called Teascript.com



Some other posts I've written on high school homeschooling are:
College....Diplomas
College....Transcripts
Binders

High School!

So, the dilemma today is...when do I graduate Brian? I just sat down and did his transcript through next year (cause I already know what he's going to do). He will have enough credits to graduate early, but still has no real focus on what he wants to do. He loves fixing computers, websites,photography and more, but has not had an "ahhh" moment of what his career will be.

Now, lest you think I want to push him, I do not. I want him to take the time to explore and get into a career he loves. But I do not want to "graduate" him and have him sit on his behind all day thinking he doesn't have to "learn" anymore. (He assures me this would not happen, especially with me drumming in "learning never stops".)

I've pretty much come to the conclusion that we're going to wait and see what happens. Isn't that life though? See what opportunities open, see where God is leading? I have no real time table for this to happen in...if it happens this year, great! If it happens next year, fine! If he's still searching after "graduating" that's fine too! Thanks for letting me talk it out!

He's Lucky I Let Him Live

Brian just got back from visiting his Grandmom and Aunt in FL. While he was there he decided to "surprise" me by getting his hair dyed. He's darn lucky I had already told him he could Henna it, and he's also darn lucky I don't really care about surface stuff like that (his step-dad is another story!)Trying to get a picture of Brian is just about impossible, but I tried!



After this one I tried to cajole him....I got this


After this I tried to get all serious and said, "I just want a good shot of your head." So, I got this...


Then I said, "Comeon, give me a good picture of your head and your teeth...smiling" I got this...


I give up! But, you can see his nice hair color! It's not too wild, and in some lighting you can barely even see it! Ok, he can live....

Metamorphis & Drivers Permit

Today I likened a teenager to a cocoon. A beautiful thing, curled up in a tangled web, no wanting to be disturbed....then emerging as a wondrous being. What brought on this conversation? My teenager!

He's getting older and older....and one day will be this wondrous adult (ok, he's already pretty wonderful, but when he loses all of his snarkiness he'll be close to perfect).

Anyway....today we went to the DMV to get Brian's drivers permit. "Mom, 70% of the kids who take this, fail it the first time", he says. I'm thinking, "YEAH!". But, of course, he's very bright and passes it the first time. "Yeah?!?!?"

Now, if I can get the nerve up to let him get behind the wheel of a car.....we'll see how that goes!