Week 34 ~ Winding Down

We are in winding down mode around here. We are basically doing half days for the next few weeks while we wrap up our remaining classes. As of this week, Dean has completed all of his 9th grade course except his Earth Science Course, which will be wrapped up as soon as I have the time to get him on two field trips that are a few hours away from home.

It really feels good to know that we have completed the most important classes (8th grade for Anne and 9th grade for Dean). Even if we had to stop now, they would both be in good shape walking into next year. Surprisingly, Anne isn't worn out and wants to keep going. She is two-thirds or more done in all of her 9th grade courses (except Math I) and wants to complete them before summer break, which for us will be the end of June. I think her goals can be completed in everything but biology, which relies on her brother being available. He will be working most of June as a camp counselor and will not able to do much school.

Exploring Our World ~ We discovered a hidden treasure just an hour south of us this week. The Tryon International Equestrian Center is the most amazing horse facility I have ever seen, and I grew up around horse country. The facility has restaurants, a general store, rows and rows of stables, several horse arenas, horse-themed stores and, best of all, the shows are free on Saturday nights!! They shuttled us in from remote parking lots for free, too. The only cost to us was food, which was very reasonable at the food stands. They had nice sit down restaurants if you were celebrating something. We saw lots of prom couples going in and out of the restaurants. We visited with the horses in the stables and then watched the show, which was jumping. There were horses and riders from all over the world. We saw horses from Colombia, Ireland, England, America, Jordan and so much more. They are even building a polo field right now. That will be exciting to see some day! We will definitely be going back.

This horse loved my husband and kicked the stall when, after 10 minutes of rubbing,
he stopped the neck rub and walked away. 

We usually share treats, but the food was so reasonably priced that each kid got their own treat.

Life Skills ~ Anne decided that her old bike, which she still fits on, was way too princess pink for a teenager. So dear husband taught her how to spray paint her bike. She is very pleased with her slate blue bike.

My Iris ~ My iris are putting on a show like never before. We did tons of work on the iris garden last year and it has really paid off. Every day a new surprise flower awaits me. Lots of the flowers are truly new to me since they were sent down from New York State by one of my aunts. She got them from my grandmother. I never know what color will appear next.

Culture Club ~ This month we studied northern Africa with our friends. We did Algeria and Morocco, and they did the Tuareg nomadic people. It is always fascinating to see what interests the kids and what they decide to teach us.

A Demonstration of Swordplay ~ Boffer games are a sport based around using foam padded implements representing swords, shields, arrows, and other gear that is designed to safely come into realistic physical contact with the players. My sons, Dean and Tim, took their boffing swords to Tim's brain injury program and gave a demonstration this week. They explained the sport, worked well together to demonstrate the many moves, explained the games they play in their boffing community, answered questions, and allowed volunteers to play fight with them. Dean did an awesome job. We have told him that he is a natural teacher (although often a bit too critical), but he thinks we are nuts. They both did an awesome job meeting the needs and disabilities of each individual that wanted to sword fight with them. I am so proud of both of them!

Today ~ There is so much house cleaning to do. I think I may just blast an audio book throughout the house while we clean. This afternoon, Tim volunteers at the Humane Society, and this evening the kids have a few friends coming over for dinner and board games. It should be fun. 

I hope all of you have a Mother's Day that blesses you!

Blessings, Dawn