Journey to Excellence

My kids have always been big fans of scavenger hunts. And they are fun! But the work that goes into them, coming up with clever and age-appropriate clues, is just too much work! Clued in Kids has come up with a solution to that problem. We were asked to review the Halloween Treasure Hunt (pdf printable) and Princess Clue Pad (physical treasure hunt) from Clued in Kids. The great thing about reviewing this product is that it required absolutely no work on my part. All I had to do was tear out the clues, put them where I was told to put them, put a prize at the end, and send my kids off on their hunt. The company motto of Clued in Kids is "Treasure the Journey". This definitely fits in with our homeschooling philosophy that we are on a Journey to Excellence. And what better way to travel the journey than to have fun, to enjoy it, to treasure it! The creator of Clued in Kids followed a childhood dream of professionally creating treasure hunts for children. It w...

This one is a day late. But I always love answering all of these questions so your Wednesday Hodgpodge is really on Thursday. I did ponder the majority of these questions yesterday. Are there hunters in your family? If so, what do they hunt? Which of the following have you tasted - pheasant, rabbit, venison, duck, goose? Which of those would you most like to taste, or be most willing to taste? Vegetarians .. keep calm and Hodgepodge on! My dad used to go deer hunting for a week on opening season every year. And I kind of remember my brother bow hunting deer when he was a teenager. Other than that we have not been a big hunting family, until Collin. Collin lives and breathes hunting and fishing. He shoots a bow and a gun. He hunts deer and turkey. Kyndal is a hunting widow from early fall until late spring. Then he is at the lake fishing every chance he gets. I have eaten venison and do not care for it. I guess I would like to taste an elegantly prepared duck or goose. Othe...

.... Fever , that is. But we'll get to that in a minute. Let's talk about the other extreme highs of our weekend! Because there were many. Rick showed up on Friday with our king sized bed! Thankfully our bedroom suite fit in our tiny bedroom, although it's cramped. But I don't care because we are now sleeping comfortably. On Saturday morning Eli and Brynne started their new bowling season. Their team, the Cobras, won first in state last spring so they were presented with their plaques. Eli also received a plaque for placing 4th in singles. Then the kids bowled three games. We are so proud of them and excited for another season! Rick took Brynne to play golf and after Eli got a haircut from Kyndal (and a massage in the pedi chair), she and I went "to town" to get groceries and Halloween costume props. We might have stopped for a little snack because THE McRIB IS BACK! It's my favorite time of the year! We got home at dinner time and Co...

All things with school went as planned last week, with the exception of a slower day on Wednesday because I had a really bad sinus headache that I couldn't shake. On that day the kids still got the basics done, worked on their current art project, and watched an episode of Little House on the Prairie . We have been without a Bible curriculum for the past few weeks waiting for our new one to come in, and it did over the weekend. So we were back at Stick Figuring Through the Bible on Monday, this time from the New Testament. We have used Grapevine Studies Level 3-4 for the past two years and it is a highlight of our morning. My kids have learned so much by using it and were excited to start drawing about Jesus! We also moved on ahead in Math U See Delta with two-digit division with remainders. The kids have already learned this with the CTC math curriculum they used over the summer. But it's nice to be building on division from the ground up again. Even though our review...

1. Dawson and I are at it again. We have started another television show ... Game of Thrones . It is epic. It takes place in Dawson's favorite time period and has lots of history involved, which we both love. Now, it has some pretty intense sexual content and gore so I have to turn my head sometimes. But overall it is fascinating television. We checked out Season 1 from the library and have Season 2 on order. We have been watching an episode every night after the little kids go to bed. 2. As you are reading this I am probably sleeping! Our public schools are out today so Macie's mom does not have to work. I have a shorter and more relaxed school schedule planned for my kiddos so we are sleeping in! I need it with the sinus headache I have had the past several days. 3. With Kyndal's wedding coming up in July, I felt it was necessary to seek some part-time employment to help with the cost. Weddings are expensive. I have been taking care of Macie since school started...

Elizabeth Lawrence is quoted as saying, "Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn." So have you done just that? And what did you leave undone to do so? Does this mean literally taking time to watch leaves or metaphorically, like taking time to stop and smell the roses? I am not one who is afraid to let things go in order to appreciate the sweet things of life. I have literally sat on my porch swing and stared at the colored leaves while I am thinking about all of the leaves on the ground that need raked. I don't care a thing about putting aside a task I "need" to do to, instead, sit and drink a cup of tea while taking in the beauty of things around me. My soul needs it. There have been times that I have scrapped a homeschool lesson just to listen to my kids laughing and playing together in the next room. I have left loads of laundry undone to spend time with one of my older kids watching a television s...

Our family went to a local pumpkin patch on Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful day and we had so much fun! Prairie's End was a crazy fun pumpkin patch with lots to do. Be ready for some picture overload. I hope you are enjoying your fall season. We sure are!!!

Yesterday my son became a man. Dawson turned 18 years old. It was such a great day celebrating him and his transition from boy to man. And what did my new man want to do for his birthday? He wanted to go to Incredible Pizza Company!!! We all loaded up in the car and drove the two hours to the nearest Incredible Pizza. We spent the night eating and playing games. It was lots of fun!!! Dawson wanted the entire Avatar: The Last Airbender series on dvd. We got him that and a Gamestop gift card. Oh, and a coffee mug. But there's an inside joke about that. Taylar surprised him with an awesome headset for his XboxOne and a video game organizer. Wesley, one of his best friends from Oklahoma came to spend the weekend with him. It was great to have one of our boys here. I can't say enough how proud I am of the young man Dawson has become. He was such a stinker growing up (and still has a little orneriness in him) that it is just awesome to see how he ha...