Our fall break...did I say break?

OK, I shouldn't have spoken so soon! The fancy chore site I listed earlier did nothing but convince the kids that they had a CHOICE as to whether they did their chors or not. I'm back to nagging again, when I had clean bathrooms, clean laundry, and sparkling windows before I set up that reward list!! BOOOOOO!

But this week it's all Todd's duty! I'm off with the kids for a whirlwind tour of field trips. Because I'm teaching on Tuesday nights and have had rehearsal on Sundays & Thursdays, I've had to save all of our field trips until my break at the College. So this week (Tuesday-Friday) we'll visit Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, Biltmore Estate, Exchange Place, and do a little letterboxing. Homeschool vacations are never restful!! Thank goodness for that little bit of peace & quiet between midnight and 6am!

Scavenger Hunt

This week we took a break on Tuesday afternoon to join some friends for a scaenger hunt. It was great fun! We did lots of silly stunts, but in the end our team won!! Here's a list of some of our favorites...

Go to Speedway, sing Happy Unbirthday to the cashier on duty.

Go to someone's house and say, "Trick or Treat" Bonus Points if you get a treat from them without asking.

Get the book Green Eggs and Ham, then go to the grocery store of your choice. Go to the dairy section and read the book out loud. (You may stop only if the manager asks you to.)

Get a clean diaper. (1) (Loose 200 points if the diaper is dirty.)

Take away one point for every red light that stops you.

Thank a fireman for being a hero, then get his/her signature.

Anansi

During our study of Africa we read many Anansi the Spider tales. One day we created Anansi puppets. Why is it my kids can't paint without painting themselves? It's a family tradition!

Brice's favorite thing

Brice loves books! During schooltime he either reads or draws the whole time. No kidding! We have toys all over the classroom for him and he would rather sit in the reading corner and look at books, or sit at the table with the big kids & draw/write. Finally, I may have a kid who loves books as much as I do!

Our new pets

Embree & Reeves got new pets this weekend.

Reeves got three new fantail goldfish - Rainbow, Colors, & Cheeto...who join Goldie whom we've had since we were living in Wise (six years!).

Embree got a Firebelly Toad, named Flame. He is really quite fascinating...beautiful. Little did she know that having a toad also meant having a cage that houses, feeds & waters live crickets! Feeding time is exciting! She has to get two crickets into a ziplock back, pour in a little calcium dust, shake 'em up so they are covered and pour them into the vivarium for the frog. They look like they are covered in powdered sugar! The frog seems to think they are the tastiest things around!

She really wanted a lizard of some sort, but wanted to be able to hold it. The pet store owner recommended we begin with a toad and work up to lizard...they are so fast! I'm sure we have a lizard in our future someday!

Chores

OK, all I can say is, "Why hasn't someone thought of this before?" My sis told me about a website called Handipoints. It's a kids chore list site that allow parents to setup a chore chart on and/or offline. Kids get goal points for chores completed that go toward prizes set by the parents and they get bonus points that allow them to set up a character online (sort of like Webkinz) and interact in that world. My kids have been brushing teeth with no prodding, setting the table for dinner after breakfast, and reading extra minutes just to gain points. I know it will eventually lose its appeal...but I'm lovin' it today! http://www.handipoints.com/