THRILLER lives on!

It was just to darn short! I wish we could of hit play again!

THRILLER!

My little ZOMBIES!

The girls and I have been practicing the THRILLER dance for several weeks with many other people. It is for a special performance ... soon to be seen by many. SHHHHHHH!

Yes, that is me in the middle ( do ya like the hair?) and the little ones in front of me are my little zombie girls.

Another tough game!

So far our team is undefeated. We have a great team of girls that play hard but a clean ball game. Last week was a rough game as the other team played "hard ball." Our girls were a bit banged up afterwards, but we over came that aggression and won.

(ha,ha,ha! I know it is not about winning, but when you play a team like we did who was mean ... we were glad to kick their butt!)

This week the opposing team had a couple of aggressive girls and one in particular with an attitude. She kicked Shae real hard in the upper thigh and said "that's what you deserve!" Shae was hurt pretty bad and came off the field crying after holding it in to finish the play. She went back in later and finished the game.

(Today was picture day.)

Shae goes from this sweet look to the look below while on the field.

October Art Class

I have 8 kids that come to class each month and they rarely miss a class! We have a lot of fun and create something neat as well! I must say that the kids are so well behaved and respectful that it is a pleasure teaching them.

This month I decided to do an art project on the holiday "The Day of The Dead."

Some might say ... "that isn't appropriate" or "skeletons!" or "we don't do Halloween." I say that everyone has their own thoughts and ideas for things. I however, don't think like most. I am pretty open for the most part and think very abstractly. You can still learn about things and to me it is how you can see a different side of things. Some people freak out over Halloween. I don't think it is bad or devilish. If you look up how Halloween started it is a very interesting story that some people take the wrong way.

Today, we learned of how the Latinos celebrate their most popular holiday "The Day of The Dead" and how special it is to them. It isn't morbid at all or depressing. It is a 3 day celebration to remember their loved ones by decorating skulls in bright and beautiful colors and designs and feasting.

It is a time of happiness not sadness.

(The wonderful completed projects)

The kids worked very hard. First, they traced the skeleton and we learned about making half of something ... like the flowers on the side of the head. They were to create the same designs that was on one side to the other. They were to color in with marker in a nice solid way with no scratchy rushy looking coloring. Afterwards, they used orange chalk and a cotton ball to give depth around the forehead, cheeks and chin areas. Finally, they mounted their project onto black card stock for a more finished look.


(The gang)

We all wore costumes and of course I was a very pale, blonde Latino woman. We played a couple of games, handed out treats to each other, ate lots of yummy food and just socialized. Ha, I love that term "socialization!"

PUMPKIN PATCH FUN

Like I said before.... we love the this time of year!

Our tri-city area homeschool groups got together for a field trip to Freeman Farms.

The hay ride was very educational as we learned about how the farm conserves water while growing their crops.

The corn maze was their favorite thing to do.

And of course get that pumpkin!

CONGRATS KAYLA!!

( Kayla with the script)

Auditions are over! There were a lot of great kids with lots of talent who showed up. Day two came and went and at the very end the director decided to announce the cast instead of posting it the following day on the theatre door. It is always exciting to drive to the theatre the next day and to run your finger down the page to see if your name is listed as part of the cast. But, this time the kids found out immediately. Parents were biting their nails and kids were very nervous sitting on stage while the director called out the names of the cast and their part to be. Kayla got a part and will be "Erica the elf." There were tears from others who did not make it and it even brought tears to my own eyes. A learning experience for sure and my heart goes out to the kids who did not make this one and hope they try out for the next one.

Cheers!

My favorite time of year

FALL

Yes, October is my favorite time of year. It brings fall colors, cooler weather, more time outdoors, the pumpkin patch .....

ghosts and goblins ....

(this shot I took this am and is a mirror image on the fireplace glass from our ghost decoration on a window from across the room)

theatre auditions ...

Where In the Woods Is Our Elf?

Showing at Prescott Fine Arts December 17th and 18th

And with this play comes several animal faces to paint. So, lucky me, I got to practice last week for the owl and rabbit.

Contestant #1 is our neighbors grandson.

Isn't he adorable!
Contestant # 2 Shae

The standard red check mark.

Do you remember in school when you got a red check mark on your work or tests? I remember and I had lots of them! I frequently got my paper, homework or test back with red check marks all over it. Then I thought ... "Oh well!" But, now looking back ... I never figured out why I got it wrong and never corrected them. And all my work went down hill as I got behind and never caught up. Or at least we weren't asked to correct them and bring it back for regrading. So, why do it? Right?

In our homeschooling I do grade everyday and I do use that same red check mark. But, they don't just get that grade and move on. Everything has to be corrected before they start the next days work. This assures them and I of what they did wrong and how to correct it to get the right answer. I often get the ... "Oh, I get it!" or "Oh, I see what happened!"

So, my kids aren't afraid of the red check mark or to get that terrible grade. They know that it is something to figure out and get another chance to get it right.

Game 4 - Thanks grams!

Tom's grandma got all the girls on the team a soccer ball pendant necklace charm. Thanks grams!

The team showing their charms.
The girls played real good yesterday. With one child who was in the E.R. the day before and Shae with a sore hamstring they did awesome! We tried to keep Shae from playing offense and that lasted for the first two innings as she played goalie. Way to go Shae!!But, then she was dying to score a goal and get in and play with the girls. She did just that .... then it poured rain and was so much fun. The Bumble Bees were soaked and muddy in the end but had a great time.
As the rain came down our girls still played. They played till the end. As you can see the ball fields were cleared out ... parents and even the boys field next to us were done and done. What fun it was! Get ready to play hard next week Bumble Bees as we have 2-3 players out with no subs and no coach. Well, me! YIKES!!! Let's do it!

Let's Dance

This is the first time the girls have taken dance. They are at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prescott. The teacher is wonderful and teaches great form!

County Fair

Oh, what fun we had with our friends at the fair this past week! We got the unlimited ride passes and off to the rides we went. This was probably the first time I have EVER stayed at any fair till it closed at 10pm at night. And this was the first year that Shae was tall enough to get on the "magic carpet slide." And that she did ..... about 20 times and her leg muscles were in pain the next day.

We are so lucky to have so many friends and great friends! On the day we went most of the homeschoolers went so about 40% of of the attendees we knew. LOVE IT!

We waited to get their faces painted by an air brush artist.

The first thing we did was go check out their exhibits. Kayla won 5 first place ribbons and a total of $17 dollars and Shae won 4 first place ribbons and 2 second place ribbons for a total of $16. It is amazing the talent that kids have and the wonderful items that they took the time to create.