Six Flags over Texas in Arlington is a fun place (even if you aren't a homeschooler). It is even more fun for us with over four thousand homeschool kids and their families there. The photos in this post are from "Six Flags Homeschool Day" and were taken in May of 2006. We were living in Arkansas at the time and drove over five hours to meet up with friends from all over Texas. We also attended the Arlington Homeschool Book Fair on the day afterwards (Friday). It just so happens that Six Flags has its homeschool day (every year) on the day BEFORE the Book Fair starts. They know how to show homeschoolers a royal welcome and a good time!



The kids did NOT want to pose for this picture.

"This is for babies, mom."

I'm glad I made them do it, though. Sometimes a camera-happy mom has got to put her foot down. My kids know that it will go much easier for them if they just smile and get it over with.



I think this photo of Morgan's buddy is the one that really sums up what the kids thought of the field trip. We homeschool moms like to cram all those educational field trips in all year, but once in a while, the kids just need to HAVE SOME MINDLESS FUN! They had roller coasters, 40$ pizza and friends to get sunburned with all day! There's no better way to spend a school day in May.



This is Kaden in a kiddie ride. He's my roller-coaster chicken. My little girl (then 7) rode on the TITAN (which nearly made me pee my pants when I rode with her). She was just a hair big enough to ride it in the first place... and I just knew she was going to fly off on that fist drop. The whole ride I was trying keep both of our hind ends on the seat while not getting a fractured neck. She wanted to go again, but I made up some excuse like "Ummm, I don't think the other kids want to do the same ride twice. We should try all of them, right?" She bought it; thankfully for me.



Here's a cute one of my 7 year old with her big "sis". One thing I love about homeschool kids is their ability to get along with any age group. I mentioned before when I wrote my "about me" post that I began homeschooling after meeting some amazingly warm and friendly homeschooled teens. I was astonished at their social skills. That is one reason I find it so funny that one of the biggest mainstream arguments against homeschooling is "socialization". The superior socialization skills displayed by homeschool teens we met were one of the biggest factors in my decision to homeschool in the beginning. After all, why have kids if you won't like them when they get old enough to drive your car?



The tickets for six flags are more affordable at homeschool day, but they MUST be purchased in advance because it is a private event. The park is closed to the public for homeschoolers on the day before the homeschool book fair. In 2008, you can check the Six Flags over Texas - Arlington events calendar and find out for sure if May 8th will be set aside for another homeschool day. I'm sure that you can find out more about ticket prices there as well. I can't remember, but I think we paid about 20$ a ticket.

If you do plan to go, make sure you book a hotel early if you don't live within driving distance for a day trip. The hotels book up like crazy during the homeschool book fair. Next year (2008), the book fair will be on May 9 and 10 from 8:30am to 5:30pm on both days. It usually falls on Mother's Day weekend. That is good and bad... depending on how you spend your Mother's Days. It is a nice treat for mom to have a few moments to herself while she browses book vendor and curriculum tables and hears "pep rallies" to encourage her heart. If you attend the Six Flags Homeschool Day on Thursday, and the Book Fair only on Friday, you can still drive home Saturday and get back in time to see YOUR mom. Or, maybe your mom might enjoy going with you for the weekend and having grandma time with your kids while you do the book fair?



There are plenty of places to take photos at Six Flags. This shot is at the "Alamo" replica. I was having too much fun to tarry long, though. Hope you enjoyed a little snapshot of our very memorable day. Maybe next year we will go again.

The year before this trip was taken I went with a group of homeschool moms (without kids). That was a blast, too! We rode every ride and enjoyed being kids at Six Flags, stayed in a hotel together (had a slumber party), and enjoyed fun times at the book fair together the next day. So whether you go with your family and let dad watch the kids while you enjoy the book fair, or go with your friends and have a mom's weekend out... I'm sure you will be blessed by the trip!


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Labels: field-trip, Field-Trip-Foto-Friday, friends, fun, links, photos, reviews, Texas, vacation

What a crazy-busy week! I'm sorry for the silence in here; but there sure has been a LOT of talking going on through my PC. I feel like I know my blogger buddies as well as some of the people in my real life! I guess that is a sign that I "need a life". I don't let that deter me. My kids and husband give me the same blank look when I mention blog-people as I give them when they talk about their video game exploits. "Oh, really? You killed the clone army? Good for you." So we have different interests. At least we can agree on a few things... 1. Jesus, 2. Mexican Food, 3. Homeschooling.

What am I talking about?

I really shouldn't blog after midnight. Come to think of it, I should be asleep right now, too. I'm getting too old for these night-owl projects. I also tend to rattle on. Oh, you noticed? Thanks.

Anyway... I have been doing behind the scenes work for the Homeschool Blog Awards all week. We have a team of 15 wonderful ladies that are working hard to get a posting schedule set. We were so blessed to have so many join the team and some really fabulous bloggers at that! You can see who they are if you go check out the site. It has been such a joy working with these gals and I can't wait to watch the HSBA website kick off. Some of them are funnier through email and Google Talk than they are on their blogs. If you are visiting the Homeschool Blog Awards site daily, you'll notice that new names are popping up in the sidebar as "Team Members". As of tonight, 9 of the 15 have already posted a BIO for you to go read. Go and get to know your bloggy hosts!

In March of this past year we had the second annual Homeschool Blog Awards for 2006. The awards were created and first hosted by SpunkyHomeschool in 2005. The 2006 awards were a learning experience for Laura and Heather (the site's designers) and me and I think that with the great crew God has assembled on this project and the lessons we have learned, 2007 is going to be even more fun!

My homeschool week has suffered due to my involvement with the HSBA project, but it will surely benefit a bunch of great ladies who are pouring out their souls and hearts to encourage other homeschool moms. Having a few "light" homeschool days where all you get done is Math and penmanship is a small price to pay.

Speaking of encouragement... please do stop at Heather's blog and give her some as she endures chemo. Sometimes we miss the forests for the trees. Life is about relationships... not the busy work we do each day. There's a sermon in there somewhere. Too bad knowing the truth is not as easy as LIVING it. So for you and I both... I'll leave you with the mandate to hug and love on your kids and give them a "get out of trouble free" card that they can turn in when mommy is upset next. Maybe it is time to take a hooky day and go play outdoors? Every time I pop in on Heather she is reminding all of us that the little smiles and joys in life are so precious... and that Jesus is the reason for it all. You might wonder after you leave Heather a comment - "Who is doing the encouraging here, her or me?".

We hope you will join us in spreading the news about the awards so that everyone will know what is going on. We don't want anyone to miss the fun.

I had better get to bed ... so you have a great Friday tomorrow. I'll try and get my field trip post up some time in the afternoon or evening! See you then!


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OK, everyone... here's the moment you've all been waiting on! The boy has picked a number from the bowl. We had 28 contestants and I put a number in the bowl for each of you.

Eeenie-meenie-miney-mo... and YOU are IT!

The winner of the 'Taking Great Steps Contest' is......

AMY GRANT BAYLISS!!!

We hope you'll model your tootsies for us when you get your shoes, girlie! I want to see some foot action on Amy's blog. How about you? Email me with your size and address and I'll pass it right along to Easy Spirit.

Check back next week on the 1st for my next really groovy contest. I'll be giving away a PRINTER. A really NICE one. I don't care what your feet look like. Everyone needs a printer! Pass the word on, y'all!


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I have a tater-eater in my house. How 'bout you? Morgan could eat potatoes every day and never get sick of them. So what does her mom do? Bake potatoes!

That's all you get today, friends. Just a lousy photo of my baked potato. OK, maybe the photo isn't so lousy... I actually thought it was a good macro... which was hard to do with the glare on the foil... inside... with a flash.

I'm pooped after spending half of the day trying to get everyone set up to blog at the Homeschool Blog Awards website. We have a team of 10 ladies that are going to be posting there regularly! Aren't you excited? So next time you have a quick lunch or a cup of hot tea or coffee to enjoy... pop in and read the HSBA website! ...

...(after you come visit my site of course).

May you have many more wonderful baked potatoes and productive homeschool days ahead of you.


Quick Links
My Homeschool Lunch (the first in the 'series')
Gathering Manna Recipe Blog (my very own collection of favorites)


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Okay, so I'm not as hip as Boo Mama or Big Mama (who have fashion down to a science and their very own podcast with real intro music)...

...and I'm not as blessed with a plethora of comments on every post like the lovely Susan and Janice (nor do I have a pink vacuum to give away)...

...but I DO have some cool shoes to give away here at Sprittibee... and the deadline for entry is tomorrow by Midnight (Monday Sept 24!). I'm going to announce the winner Tuesday!

I should adopt Boo Mama's byline and just say that Sprittibee is read by "tens of people every day". I look at these ladies' comments sections and it blows me away. I want to grow up and be like them. I guess I need to give away pink things and talk more about skinny jeans and bacon grease?

I don't know, y'all. What do you think?

While you are pondering that, I better go water the flower bed I just planted. I can't wait to post a photo of my yard work today. We actually mowed our huge weeds (the neighbors are going to throw a party) for the first time since we moved in at the end of July!

So.... enter to win that pink vacuum and be sure to enter to win the groovy clogs here at Sprittibee. See you tomorrow!


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There's probably not a homeschooler alive who doesn't often frequent some sort of park. After a day or so of busy school, we start to feel a little 'cabin fever'. This was especially true for me in Arkansas where we were in a tiny two-bedroom apartment. The great thing was, we had a small park behind our apartments and a church within walking distance that shared their playground and park area with the public as well. The North Little Rock/Little Rock areas are full of great parks. In fact, the natural beauty of Arkansas makes the entire state such a great place for park locations. We really enjoyed our stay and got to visit so many great parks while we were there.



These particular photos were taken at Burns Park (also a place where you can camp, ride horses, fish, hike, ride rides, etc.). My kids had a favorite spot they enjoyed biking at. These photos are from the year my kids were in 2nd and 3rd grade in 2005-6. We had a nice picnic that day with Daddy and enjoyed the park to ourselves in off-hours during the week. At the time, my husband was working weekends and getting weekdays off. It made for a lot of fun field trips with Daddy, but it was a difficult schedule for him and for homeschooling in general. We're glad to be back on a regular weekday schedule.



Next up will be Six Flags Homeschool Day. In a few weeks we'll be through with our 2005-6 field trips and I'll begin posting the links for our entire year of 2006-7! In the mean time, enjoy browsing through all of our past field trips, book lists, curriculum choices, software picks, favorite KONOS units and memories at my Homeschool Series link below (organized by school-year). Get out and enjoy the nearest park, too! You'll be glad you did. Health experts say that vitamin D decreases your risk of cancer and we all know that exercise is good for you.

Other Quick Links:
Sprittibee's Homeschool Series (Links for field trip lists, book lists, other years...)
Spring Break in Arkansas - part 1 (told you it was gorgeous there)
More Beautiful Photos from Spring Break '07
Arkansas Nature Hike Photos
The Rest of the Nature Hike Photos


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Want a quick re-cap on what types of things the Bees are learning at homeschool? Most people who begin homeschooling are interested in seeing what a REAL day looks like. Not your perfect day... when you feel like Martha Stewart mixed with Mother Teresa. You know the days I'm talking about (they are the Holy Grail of homeschooling and happen about twice a year, or twice a month if you are next to perfect)... those are the ones that most homeschool bloggers like to brag about on their blogs. How about getting REAL for a change? I often wonder what it is like in other homeschoolers' homes. If only we could be flies on the wall.

Here's the nitty-gritty of how our day went today. Lots of things didn't get done, but we made progress. I always shoot high, anyway. My lists are always too long to ever complete. I'm working on making them more digestible (still). If you have read my blog for any length of time, you'll know that it is an area I've struggled with forEver!

A glimpse of our day*:

Morning
Up with Daddy to talk to him before he leaves for work briefly. Kids eat breakfast with him (6:30 AM). We all do some morning chores and I check email and do some goofing off on the computer (here's where I went wrong with the day... should have done my planning, prayer journal and praying first!). Oops.

School Starts/Prep
Kids shower and start school a few minutes late (8:08am). I print off their school assignment list.

Character (Mom and the Kids)
I'm learning to let go of the perfectionism and be happy when we get half of my long list checked off. I'm also learning (and the retreat this past weekend was a wonderful help) that I need to keep myself from getting mad, depressed, grumpy or upset when things don't go as planned. I guess that is called "being flexible". You would think I am flexible... and I do have a really spontaneous side; however, I tend to fall apart when our goals don't get accomplished. Super-mom syndrome. I'm beginning to claim victory over this area, though. We spent a large part of the last two days since I've been home working on HEART issues during school hours. Unforgiveness, anger, resentment, selfishness, pride, grumpiness, whining, and other nasty attitudes have reared their ugly heads between the kids and even with me. We've been working on instantly dealing with issues and praying for each other so that we can forgive each other and restore the good mood of the day. Trust me... the prayers work. It may take a few times (especially if you begin to really work hard on it)... because of course - if the devil sees you making progress, he's bound to jump on your back.

Bible
We read a great devotional today about a young girl in Pakistan that was brave enough to share her faith despite death threats (Jesus Freaks Vol. 2 by DC Talk). We read about leprosy in Leviticus. We wrote in our prayer journals... and we said a long prayer for all the things on our prayer list that we update each week. The kids took their memory cards (index cards) down from last week and we didn't get to do our new verse. I'll have them do that tomorrow. We also sang some hymns this morning (Morgan suggested this and picked the songs).

Math
We did an A Beka Math worksheet. We're doing review right now (first chapter or so in our new books is mostly review). Today's Math time went awry and we ended up spending over an hour on it. I have a dawdler that just didn't want to focus on the Math.

Morning Snack
Grapes and half of a muffin. I finally ate (forgot to eat breakfast earlier) last night's leftover rice. The kids fought with me for it and ended up nearly tackling each other on the stairs to get every last grain out of the bowl. We had a safety discussion and Mommy laid down the rules about no pushing, shoving, blocking, touching, passing, or otherwise bothering anyone on the stairs.

Writing/Penmanship
Morgan has a few pages left of last year's penmanship and she completed one of the pages today. Kaden finished his book last year, so he wrote five Bible verses in cursive instead. He managed to drag this subject out as well. We didn't get to our proofreading writing lesson, or our journal.

Reading
We read a few library books today that need to be returned tomorrow. Hopefully we will be picking up a whole new set of them tomorrow afternoon. I'm looking forward to being in our new unit and moving on. I do want to finish our read-aloud for this unit ("Around the World in 80 Days" ~ unabridged) before I return it. Looks like I'll have to renew it again. We're going to read the last of our library books tomorrow before we leave the house... and the ones we don't get to - "oh well!".

Geography
We finished our Visualize World Geography study on Japan yesterday, so today we were supposed to look at photos and plan a Japanese meal out that I could cook this weekend for them. However, we didn't get to this today. They did color a worksheet yesterday with all the provinces of Japan and they found the ancient capital city and the current capital city on the map. I'll probably look for some Japan books tomorrow at the library while I load up for our next unit. We did manage to re-pin the map to the school-room wall today, though... while looking for Guiana. Does that count?

Typing
Morgan got to her typing today. She did 18 wpm with 2 errors (98% accuracy) on Mavis Beacon. Kaden missed his, so he'll have to do it tomorrow (he was the one goofing off during Math time and didn't have time to do his typing by the time he finished his worksheets and got caught up).

Italian
Both of the kids did their online Rosetta Stone today. Daddy and Mommy are joining them to learn as they go. Daddy is great at languages and picks things up quickly. He learned French in high-school and still knows what many words mean. I did better in Spanish, but never finished learning it enough to converse. I'm really hoping to buy Rosetta Stone's Italian program (but who can afford 275$?). Right now we are using an online library's free version, but it only goes up to a certain level. Maybe by Christmas time I can afford to buy the full versions so we can get really serious about learning.

Lunch
Baked Potatoes

Lifeskills & Chores
After lunch, I figured out what was for dinner and set out the frozen stuff to thaw. 'Chores' kind of go without saying at a homeschool house (since of course, the house gets much messier if you are THERE all day). The kids helped me clean up dishes and the kitchen, take care of the cat, and do laundry and put it away today. They mostly do their chores before school starts (at 8am), during their lunch hour, and right before and after dinner. Of course, we do lots of things for school AFTER dinner... so I am not sure you could call that "after school" at our house. Tonight, they did both Italian and Art after dinner.

Science
Other than tid-bits in our books about flight, birds, and planes that we are finishing up... we didn't do any extra science experiments or reading. We do use a textbook from A Beka for science to fill in any gaps I may leave with the unit study method we use. However, I have found that it is not necessary. The kids are usually way ahead of their game.

History
No textbook today. We're about to watch "The Spirit of St. Louis" and "Apollo 13", though (probably Thursday, since we have church tomorrow and the library... and we'll be visiting a friend). We also had a book to read about Amelia Earhart (which I think the kids have read before at some point in history since it is our own book)... but we didn't get to it before Daddy came home and will have to read it tomorrow.

Music
Just some singing this morning. Oh, and we talked about a 'fermata' on the hymn music sheet we were singing from. I couldn't remember what the Italian name for it was. I called it a "hold" and a "Bird's Eye" (less formal names). I explained what it was for as we sang our song. How is that for some music rhythm tutoring "off-the-cuff"? Hopefully tomorrow after church, Chickie will give Kaden his piano lesson.

PE
We'll get a bunch of PE in Friday at our park day with our co-op, but I sure was hoping to take a walk or swim this week. Maybe Thursday. We didn't even get out to check the mail (which requires a walk around the block).

KONOS
We did no KONOS other than the books we read that were on subject. We were so bad today. Not one single KONOS unit study activity got done. We had plans to draw in our journals, discuss things, read a poem, read a Roman Myth, and finish our vocabulary up (if Kaden could find his - he lost it before the weekend and we looked everywhere yesterday and couldn't find it). This is the kind of thing that really gets me upset (when plans fail).

Dinner
Cajun pan-fried fish, baked green beans with butter and brown sugar sauce, butter beans and Mac-n-cheese. We had a quick dinner tonight. Nothing to write home about.

Art
Tonight the kids did a repeat of GeeArt Lesson #3. We (I say 'we' because I'm learning along with them and it is our favorite part of school) learned about layering in our computer canvas, using structure - color - and lighting to show "emphasis", and how the eye is drawn to a certain spot on the canvas. Kaden ran off afterwards to play video games with Daddy, but Morgan spent the rest of the evening until bed time using the computer to create one of her GeeArt challenges (projects that relate to the lesson). Tomorrow we're going to actually get out the messy paints. Yipee!

Bedtime
The kids went to bed at around 10:30 PM. That means tomorrow will come really early. We were having so much fun with computer Art (Morgan and I) that we lost track of time. I was tired at around 9pm, though... so I should have listened to my body and told the kids to go get their nightgowns on when the getting was good. There's something Mommy can work on for tomorrow.

Plans
I'm up at 11:58 finishing this post so I can blog it tomorrow (and while I'm blogging it, tomorrow comes!). The rest of the family is snug in their beds and sound asleep. Before I go to bed, I have to sit down and do a little preparation for tomorrow's school day and pick up some messes. We're going to have a short day tomorrow with our afternoon taken up with a social visit, the library, dinner and church.

Finally, Mommy goes to bed
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz (1:02 AM - I'm guessing here!) I'll be up at 6:30 AM today.... but I certainly won't be blogging! Too much to do, too little time... (less time at the computer will certainly improve tomorrow, don't you think?)


*Of course, this isn't really a typical day. They are all different. That is the beauty of homeschooling. God always keeps you on your toes!



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I wanted to give everyone a heads-up before the changes start rolling in here at my blog. My plans are to re-categorize most of my posts and that will require me re-posting all of them, one by one. They won't be re-posted on my blog, but if you are reading my blog through EMAIL or RSS feed (such as bloglines or feedburner, etc.), be prepared to see a long line of older posts.

I'm also going to be doing a little house-keeping by looking through links to make sure they are working, updating my favorites list of previous posts, adding some things to my sidebars, and possibly doing a little bit of design work.

Don't worry, I can't afford a total re-design yet... so those of you who told me to "leave it alone" because you liked it the way it was... you'll get your wish for now! Eventually I'll be moving to my own server, redesigning the blog with my own graphics, and adding a few features I've been dreaming of since not long after I started blogging two years ago.

I appreciate your patience during my "construction" and for your continued visits. You are really a blessing to me. It feels good to know that I can help someone else... even if it is just to share a homeschool link, encourage someone who is down, or laugh with you about something. I also wanted to thank those who comment... because it is through those comments that I get to know you. Don't be bashful - please drop a note in the comments box if you have something to add. Even if I don't respond to each comment, I am smiling and nodding in the background as I listen to what you have to say.

Have a great week!


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I got back from a women's retreat last night with a friend's church. The theme of the retreat was "Spiritual Warfare". I am still reeling from the weekend and feel so profoundly moved by all the lessons shared. It is a fantastic thing to see women getting real - no matter what happens to your mascara in the process. We cried and laughed together... and got to know each other... despite our different churches, different walks of life, different colors of skin, and different personalities. Above all - I felt Jesus in that place. He was working on our hearts.

The photo above was taken at the retreat this weekend. Another one of God's masterpieces painted just for me. The one below was right outside my cabin door... a butterfly came to visit and stayed long enough for me to snap a close-up.



I wish that I could share with you all of the things I learned and took home from the retreat, but I don't have enough room here and not enough energy to type it all out! I have to get back to my homeschooling and unpacking. I just wanted to encourage you all to go to the next retreat your friends invite you to. Make a point to plan ahead for the next ladies' retreat at your church. Save up your money in a can on your night stand for the year so you won't have finances as an excuse not to go. It will be well worth your while.

The kids woke up this morning with sinus trouble and I let them take a long nap after they had allergy medicine and breakfast. After lunch we started doing some homeschooling and chores. We're doing a "half-day" today. I am going to grade papers and plan the next unit before dinner. Speaking of dinner... I promise to try and get over to my recipe blog this week and post something for you. Tonight we are having Zesty Baked Oregano Chicken, Greek Salad, Lebanese Rice Pilaf, Hummus with Pita Bread, and Kalamata Olives.

Everyone who has emailed me with interest in participation with the Homeschool Blog Awards website should get an email from me this week with updates. I'm working to get you all set up in the system as contributors. Hopefully we can get that project underway soon.

I'll leave you with a small fact that one of the speakers at the retreat this weekend mentioned in a sermon about prayer:

"A ship's rudder can only turn the ship if it is MOVING"

That really stuck with me. Don't let yourself get stuck in a rut. Don't be stagnant and prayerless. Keep moving forward (even if it is baby steps) and stay in the Word so you can know where to put the next foot. May the Lord bless your week!


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Time for another Field Trip Foto Friday (although this one is a day late). I typed it on Friday (in case you are grading me)... but I needed to get yesterday's post up, too. I'm actually on retreat this weekend ~ so I wanted to be prepared to just click and post while I was away. I guess I don't get points for taking my computer on retreat... that kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it? I won't surf the net more than 20 minutes a day. I promise.



Today's field trip review (from the year my kids were in 2nd and 3rd grade ~ 2005-6) is from The Old Mill in North Little Rock, AR. In case you didn't know, Arkansas actually has twin cities as a capital. Little Rock gets to take all the fame and glory, but North Little Rock is just on the other side of the river that runs between their down-town areas and they share a really awesome trolley ride that takes you on a loop around both. I found it amusing that both the folks who lived in Little Rock thought Little Rock was best, and the folks who lived in North Little Rock thought North Little Rock was the best. Of course, the folks in West Little Rock took the snob cake, though! They REALLY liked their side of town. I have to admit that it sure was pretty over there near Pinnacle Mountain (which was on the West side of Little Rock).



We actually lived in North Little Rock and liked it there... but we liked West Little Rock, Little Rock and all the surrounding cities we visited, too. Arkansas really is a pretty state... and The Old Mill park is just a perfect example of Southern charm and the natural beauty of this great land we all share.



The Old Mill, a water-powered grist mill built in the 1930's (but fashioned to look as if it was built in the 1880's), is a great place to take photos. Part of the mill's ground floor may be an original mill, but the websites give conflicting information regarding its mysterious history. The park's claim to fame is that it was featured in the movie "Gone With the Wind".



The spring flowers that bloom there are spectacular. The peaceful waters reflect the sky overhead and make you want to spread out a picnic blanket and gaze for a while. If you manage to go there in off-hours and get the place somewhat to yourself, it is such a wonderful spot to read or talk with friends. However, it is a favorite area for locals to do wedding and senior photo shoots, so be prepared for a crowd if you go on a weekend. It seems that every time we went - and in every season of the year - we were not alone.



The bridges and trails have the most interesting concrete structures that were fashioned to resemble old, intertwined wooden vines looping over the water. Even the concrete bridges are cast to look as if they are petrified wood and fence railing that you might have expected to see a few centuries ago. The kids loved to making the circular track from one side of the park to the other using the bridges and trails. We took our "mushroom" picture at this park for a blog post that I wrote a year ago. There are plenty of little toadstools around the park and benches for those who want to sit and take in the picture-perfect view.



If you are in the Little Rock/North Little Rock area and are looking for a soothing park day (and free field trip for your kids), this park is the perfect choice. Be sure to bring your camera, though... there's plenty to photograph at the Old Mill.


Other Quick Links:
Sprittibee's Homeschool Series (Links for field trip lists, book lists, other years...)
Spring Break in Arkansas - part 1 (told you it was gorgeous there)
More Beautiful Photos from Spring Break '07
Arkansas Nature Hike Photos
The Rest of the Nature Hike Photos


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Buzz Words: North Little Rock, Little Rock, Sight Seeing, Field Trip, Nature, Geography, Parks, Arkansas, Travel, Review, Kids, Fun, Attractions, Homeschooling, Children, Homeschool, Outing, Family, Parenting, Photos, Fotos, Pictures

Labels: Arkansas, field-trip, Field-Trip-Foto-Friday, fun, nature, parenting, photos

In my spare time (as if), I am one of the hosts of the Homeschool Blog Awards website. Earlier this year we had the belated 2006 awards. It was a learning process and I'm hoping to have lots of help in making the 2007 awards even better.

The awards will hopefully start back up soon. By the end of fall, I'm hoping that we can take nominations for 2007's up and coming homeschool blog stars. By December, we should all be voting again. Before Christmas break, we will have a new set of winners taking home a ton of prizes!

Being a homeschool mom (who just began her 6th year of teaching at home)... and having my own daily blog to keep up, there's no way I can run the HSB Awards site without help. We are searching the net for willing participants with bloggish talent to help keep the HSB Awards Site going full speed. We are also working on some ideas for the website and are hoping to start regular posting there soon. Be looking for our new authors as they join. Each of them will have their own "bio" page on the Homeschool Blog Awards Webpage.

If you are interested in contributing and would like to find out more about this project, please email me (find my info under my contact link in the sidebar)!


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Labels: blogging, contests, Homeschool-Blog-Awards

I got up early this morning (before 7am) and baked some cinnamon streusel muffins by Homestead Gristmill for breakfast today. They were pretty good for a whole-grain muffin mix. The kids are downstairs singing "Old McDonald" while they wash their breakfast plates and pick up the kitchen. We are about to embark on our last three days of Flight and Airplanes today... and this weekend I have a women's retreat to attend while the kids head out of town with Daddy to go see his parents.

While we get our school day started and enjoy this lovely fall-ish day (the temp was really cool this morning and it made me want to go for a walk!)... I thought I would share with you a few of my links, ideas, plans, and artwork for the flight unit. Of course, if you are just tuning in, the "unit" I'm talking about is a unit study by KONOS curriculum (a character-based curriculum with a Christian viewpoint). You can read more about all of our homeschooling plans, adventures and what-not at my Homeschool Series Link. You can also search this blog in the very top left corner by key-word if you don't find what you need there.

FLIGHT AND AIRPLANE UNIT STUDY LINKS

List of Flight Museums by State/Province (includes Canada and USA)
Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, TX
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (Not in Austin? Look up the one near you!)
NASA Explanation of Banking Turns
NASA Explanation of Airplane Pitch
How do toilets work on a plane?
Nasa Flight Trivia Facts
Refueling in the air
Aviation Unit Study by Sandy Colquhoun
Airplane Parts defined
Airplane parts quiz

I'll be adding to this list for the rest of the week if I find anything else of interest. PLEASE do leave me a comment if you have a great airplane, air, or flight link!

FLIGHT AND AIRPLANE FIELD TRIP IDEAS

Of course, no unit is complete without a field trip. I am a big field-trip fanatic (hence my Field Trip Foto Friday review series here on my blog). I am working on getting a post together with all my FTFF links to make it easier for you to browse them. Until then, join me on Friday (or Saturday if I'm late) for a review of all the fantastic places we have visited.

Here are the ideas we had for this unit... but we will only actually do one of them before the unit is over. I had to make a call on this one - even though they all sounded great. Sometimes money, time, or availability prevents us from taking all the great field trips we would like. This unit was no exception to the rule.

1. Fly in a hot air balloon (can't afford this right now)
2. Go see Nasa's Ballunar Liftoff in Nassau Bay (not until November 2 - 4, 2007)
3. Go to an air show (usually these are free, you can find out more by researching the internet about the air shows in your state)
4. Go to a flight museum (see the links above for a list of them in USA and Canada)
5. Go to an airport (unfortunately, they don't offer field trip tours any more)
6. Ride in a prop plane or helicopter (Do you know a pilot? We don't.)
7. Go to a hospital and meet the life-flight EMS crew (call your local hospital)
8. Go see military planes or tour an Air Force base (best if you know a service man)
9. Ride in a blimp (good luck scheduling that one!)
10. Go to a NASA space center (bonus if you can actually meet an astronaut)
11. Go see an IMAX film about outer space flight (check your local IMAX listings)
12. Go to some other space vehicle museum display

FLIGHT AND AIRPLANE PROJECTS AND ART

Yesterday we did a ton of Science experiments about air. We read some neat books that had science project ideas as well. What we didn't get to was the "air" painting with a straw. Maybe we can do that today. We were going to mix that KONOS idea with a GeeArt lesson assignment, but we ran out of time. Another thing that we plan to make this week besides the "air" painting is a flight mobile. I haven't researched the how-to on that one, yet. The kids have enjoyed doing some of their own art assignments that have sprung up from this unit also. Here are two of their recent masterpieces:

Kaden's "Mars Crater Base" (we have also studied space flight)



It is hard to see the detail in his picture in such a tiny image, so I have blown up a little piece of it to give you a better view. It amazes me that he can draw such tiny little things. He told me that these people are "mining power crystals - which glow green - on Mars... to power their base and machines". He even drew two little Martians on the side of the cliff overlooking the dig.



Morgan's "Airplains in Flight" (spelling isn't her strong-point)

Morgan used the free Dover Sampler to show her how to draw a simple airplane. The instructions said it was a passenger jet. Hers was a little short, but she got the basic 'hang' of it. I loved the fact that she threw in a blimp and hot air balloon, too. Morgan really wanted me to take her and her brother up in a blimp. I figure it would take a small miracle to pull off a blimp field trip. That would be "one in a million".



This weekend before we move on to Human Birth and Growth, I plan to let them watch some flight movies (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Spirit of St. Louis, or Apollo 13) and maybe use a PC flight simulator. Hopefully we'll have time for those fun things after our weekend apart. I'm two weeks behind my schedule for units this school year, but we are really making a lot of progress and sticking with our schedule. I'm so excited that we're back in Texas, doing DAY-school, and able to spend 5 days a week on focused learning again! God is good!

Hope your school year is off to a 'flying' start, too!


Quick Links
Unit Study Link
More About KONOS with a Co-op
KONOS Planning for Dummies


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Buzz Words: unit study, lesson plans, school, homeschool, school year, plans, teaching, teacher, learning, art, education, KONOS, flight, homeschooling, children, parenting, SAHM, mom, link, kids, fun

Labels: art, books, curriculum, fun, getting-it-done, homeschool, KONOS, lesson-plans, links, parenting, science, teaching

It has been a while since I did a contest here. I know you cyber-chicks are all just itching to win something (and hey – you have much better odds here at Sprittibee’s Blog than you do at your local State Lotto). So, if you are a lurker, please de-lurk to at least take a shot at winning the prize. You can’t win unless you post a comment!



The prize for this contest is brand new pair of your very own snazzy Wedge Clogs from Easy Spirit. A girl has to look great while her feet are ‘walking on air’. Seriously, aren’t Easy Spirit some of the most comfortable shoes on the planet? They sure made Desiree Stimpert’s top 8 comfort list on About.com – so I am not the only one who thinks they are great for your footsies. We all need shoes, so why not get a pair for free?! These clogs are wonderful for moms who are on the go and need to slip something on and run (without sacrificing comfort and fashion-smarts). Put those Crocks back in your summer storage, ladies… it’s time for some fall style.

Here’s how to win:

1. Click over to Easy Spirit’s e Collection and tell me which shoe is your favorite (and why) here in my comment section. Can a shoe tell a lot about a person’s personality type? I don’t know, but it will be fun to find out. Honestly, this takes one minute, ladies... please join the fun!

2. Post a blog post about the Taking Great Steps Contest on your blog linking both my post and Easy Spirit’s e Collection as active hyperlinks in your post. This post can contain other content as well… but you have to mention the contest, the Wedge Clog, and link your readers back to both hyperlinks above. Maybe you homeschool moms can write about the “steps” you take in following your daily schedule, your morning chore list, your goals for the school year… and just throw in a few links for us to qualify your post to win! Be creative and post a photo of your nastiest pair of shoes and why you really need to win. Make us laugh.

3. Pass the word on. This is a random drawing, so there won’t be any judging. The more people, the merrier. Plus… I really do want to know which shoes are your very favorite! You don’t have to look like Mrs. Upside-Down-Seductive-Shoe-Lady to look great in a pair of these clogs.

How Easy is that? Now hop to it! You have two weeks to get it done. The contest ends at midnight (Central Time) on Monday, September 24th. All posts and comments must be posted before that time to be counted. My kids will be randomly selecting a winner for me and the winner will be announced on Tuesday the 25th of September.

Have fun window shopping for now!


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Labels: blogging, contests, fun

I made this file for myself so that I could type out my annual KONOS plans in a little more detail than I have it on my blog. I thought I would share the love with all of you unit study moms out there. I hope that if you use it, you will leave me a donation in the tip jar. As with all of the great tools for homeschooling, someone put a lot of effort and personal time in to creating them. I also am available to help make detailed forms for anyone who wants something special (for a reasonable fee).

This form is an overview of the unit study topics you will cover per week for the entire school year. It begins in August and ends in July of 2007. I'm filling mine out and putting it in my homeschool binder today (I color coded my vacation and holidays and typed in my units on the one I use... see the photo for details - if you have a magnifying glass handy!).

Another great link I would like to offer (in case some of you are as slow as I am and haven't seen it already) is a "Mothering Style" online quiz that you can take to identify your personality type. At a recent co-op meeting I attended, our gracious hostess took the time to give us this quiz and share some insights from the book it came from. The quiz is a small version of The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®. The book's promoters claims that knowing your 'Mothering Style' can help you find out what makes you tick... how to improve your relationship with your husband and children... how you can recharge your energy through the day, and what types of activities to avoid if you are stressed out.

I am using this day to get up to date on my planning and organizing for school (which fits my type of 'Mothering Style' and energizes me according to the quiz). I'm sure that if I get my ducks in a row before tomorrow and get ready for Monday, our week will be off to a much smoother start. Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!


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Buzz Words: schedule, lesson plans, school, homeschool, School Year, plans, teaching, teacher, learning, to do, education, KONOS, unit study, homeschooling, forms, mothering, parenting, personality, self help, kids, energy, planning

Labels: homeschool, KONOS, lesson-plans, printables, quiz, teaching