Then and Now: How Time Flies

We are, officially, back to being a school of one fish. Bay began her high school career this morning. 

Bay's schooling has been diverse. She's attended civilian public schools, online (k12) virtual school, traditional home schooling, Army schools, and eclectic home schooling. She began in public school. I wanted to put her in private school, but the money wasn't there. 

In Kindergarten, I expressed concerns over some things I saw happening with Bay. Her teacher said it was all normal, what I was seeing. I doubted myself. 

kindergarten

(Later, she was informally diagnosed with dyslexia, which I suspected all along.)

In first grade, I saw the same things with no improvement, plus her teacher bullied her. Her first grade teacher was a bully. So, we switched schools to finish out the year with a better teacher. It was okay, so we stayed for second grade too. 

first grade

She was still having issues with dyslexia and the school refused to test her or offer help.  So, we homeschooled with a packaged curriculum. 

second grade

Fourth grade was a year of k12. That was a tough year. K12 is intense, and there is no good reason to throw six hours of work at a home schooler. School doesn't take that long when it's one-on-one. 

The following year, we enrolled Bay in the Army school on post. Her teacher was awful but Bay enjoyed fifth grade nonetheless. 

Sixth and seventh grade were at the Army middle school on post, which was terrible. Bay was being bullied like never before, both physically and verbally, and the school wasn't able to stop it. We withdrew in the third quarter and homeschooled the rest of the year. 

eighth grade

Eighth grade, we moved to Germany. For the first quarter, we were in transition, so we continued to homeschool. Since we were in the midst of a transcontinental move, I enrolled Bay in time4learning.com's eighth grade program. It was quite boring and intense on the reading, but I felt like it filled in the gap well enough for the time being. 

We enrolled Bay in the middle-high school here on post (another Army school) and she didn't do well. She was having a lot of trouble with other students, to the point it was impacting her entire life. Out she came again and we unschooled her eighth grade year, very successfully. She learned things no other school or curricula has ever taught her. It was a wonderful year. 

However, Bay really does love school, so we decided together that she'd go to high school. 

So, we bought supplies, and new clothes. We bought lunchbox stuff. And this morning, I took her picture like every year before. Then, off she went to begin a very new adventure. 

ninth grade

Later on today, she will be trying out for the cheer leading team. I have my fingers crossed for her. 

So there you have my oldest daughter's school record. It has been a long, winding road to get to where we are now. I am completely confident she'll shine in high school, and I love the person she's become. She is a joy to have around, and I will miss her company. 

Touch the Fresco

We conducted an experiment here at our School of One Fish. It is called "Touch the Fresco" and it shows why museums tend to be hands-off with old exhibits, and why that's a great idea. First photo: day one of our experiment. Second photo: day seven. All we did was run our fingers across it whenever we thought of it. I think we should take a swab of that fresco and see what we can grow. An experiment within an experiment!

A quick trip to Munich

Munich is not a place you can spend one day in and see all there is to see. We visited yesterday and came away with some great memories and a list of places we want to go back to see. Yesterday, we visited Marienplatz, with its famous rathouse (city hall) and Frauenkirche. We ate at the famous Hofbrauhaus. And we meandered the grounds of Nymphenburg Palace.

We must go back for Sea Life Aquarium, the Deutches Museum, BMW World, Pinakothek, and the Bavarian National Museum. Oh, and Oktoberfest, which is already in the plans for next month while my mother visits. 

The traveling we've done lately has made my children more worldly than I ever was at their ages. They have no problem buying train tickets and traveling by rail. They even know how to find their destination. They have no problem (trying) to communicate with people of other cultures and languages. They are willing to try new things, and they pick up really cool tidbits of information everywhere we go that I miss out on. Having a younger mind gives you a different perspective on things. I love hearing what they take from an experience and how it differs from my own. 

Here are a few photos from our visit:

Two Little Victories

Tuna's grandparents gave her $30 to spend at the store for her birthday. She combined that with her $25 gift card and $5 she made from selling her skates, to give her $60 total to spend. She mentally calculated her total as she shopped, and bought herself a dress and leggings set, two Barbies, a Ken doll, and a spy gear set, with her total coming to $59.95: an amount she already knew would ring up because she added it in her head. 

Later, in the car, her grandmother asked her how her birthday was going so far and she answered, "Amazingly!"

AmazingLY. She answered in proper part of speech. 

Of course, these grandparents are the ones who refuse to acknowledge that Tuna is homeschooled. They ask her things like, "What are you wearing on your first day of school?" and "Are you excited to start school?" even though they have been told time and again she doesn't go to school. We usually just change the subject now. 

Funny, they tell her she's smart as a whip, predict she will grow up to do something noble with her brain, yet refuse to see or admit that NOT being a product of the public school system might possibly be a better idea for Tuna. 

Being a non-testing, non-prescribed curriculum using mama, it makes my heart flutter when I see real-life examples of success in my daughter, especially when it happens in front of nay-sayers. 

Tomorrow: off to Munich with the in-laws. Going to make the most of it. 

Happy Birthday, Tuna! (A Minecraft Party)

Today's my baby's birthday. Tuna turns ten years old today. I am so glad to be called her Mama. She's such an incredible person. Here's a video I made of her life so far. I think the song is a good choice for her. Tuna's got confidence pouring from her, and knows that she can do anything. 

I put together a Minecraft birthday party for her. You can't go out and buy much Minecraft stuff. You have to pretty much make it all. Lots of printing, cutting, folding, and gluing went into this party. 

The kids bobbed for apples, hit the pinata, played Minecraft, and listened to Minecraft song parodies. We opened presents, ate food (all Minecraft food!), and hung out with a large group of friends. My tiny German house was packed! Later, she had three of her friends spend the night. 


Here are some photos:

Afraid of the creeper!

My sweet baby girl

Hubs made labels for the foods in PowerPoint. 

I made dozens of blocks out of card stock. I have a bruise form the scissors. Still, the effect was worth it. 

My baby's public nickname, the one she prefers, is on her cake. Never mind that: how awesome is this cake?!?! We had it made by the bakery down the road. We were so impressed! It's perfect!

I found labels for water bottles on Etsy. Link below. 

I used masking tape to Minecraft pixelate my windows. All the first floor windows are pixelated like this. We left them up for her real birthday, too. 

My ghast pinata. This sucker was a lot of work but he is so very cool, isn't he? Tuna loves it. She salvaged it to keep in her bedroom. Only the top was damaged. 

Goody bags were simple lunch sacks with Steve heads glued on. Cookies and torches (glow sticks) were inside. 

Tuna got first swing on the ghast. Looks like it's flying away from her!

Free banner link below!

This was on the front door. It's in Tuna's room now. 

Our menu:

Cooked chicken (BBQ on the grill)
Baked potato (with all the toppings)
Carrots
Bread
Butter
Cake
Raw fish (Swedish fish)
Gold Ingot (Reese's peanut butter cups in the small gold wrappers)
Sticks (pretzels)
Apples
TnT (Twizzlers)
Water


And here are some links to sites where I found help setting everything up:



Happy Birthday Banner

Minecraft Papercrafts

Ghast Pinata

Printable Water Bottle Labels (Steve and Creeper)

Sun Prints

We have a subscription to The Happy Scientist. I love this site. The Happy Scientist is a jovial, bearded man who makes videos, performs science experiments, and poses trivia questions to his young fans. He reminds me of a modern-day Mr. Wizard. 

A while back, Homeschool Buyers Co-Op had a half-off membership to The Happy Scientist. We paid only $10 for a yearly subscription to the premium site features. Even at full price, $20 is a very low price to pay for all the wonderful science you can explore on his site. But, hey! I just checked, and it is still half-off at homeschool buyers co-op! This is a great deal. I highly recommend it!

Anyway, today, Tuna and I made sun prints. The Happy Scientist has a premium video about making sun prints, why they work, and the effects of UV rays. Tuna was impressed that it worked the way he said it would, and we discussed the need for sunscreen when outdoors: the sun prints were a visual representation of what sun screened skin looks like versus unprotected skin. 

Rothenburg, Germany

In an effort to entertain my in-laws, I drove the kids and them to Rothenburg, on the Romantic Road. It's an adorable German town with charming buildings and plenty of history. Its wall is original to the middle ages, and there are many artifacts to see from medieval times. It was a history buff's dream come true. 

The city wall goes all the way around the center of town. It's really neat to be able to walk up there on it. Since my in-laws were with us, we were not able to walk the whole wall, but we plan to go back next month and walk the entire thing. 

So picturesque, and easy to imagine living here in the middle ages. 

It's not often you can stick you face through a hundreds of years old wall!

Picture the sodliers walking along this wall, guarding it from attack. 

The view from the wall is gorgeous.  

Bustling streets filled with activity and good scents from the shops

To be here, experiencing this history, is unbelievable. Middle ages armor, weapons, clothing, medical care, and more are some of what we saw at the Histocial Vaults in Rothenburg. 

Straight out of the Reinaissance!

An officer's helmet, circa the 17th century

Bay in the dungeon

Bay and Tuna looking out from a cell in the dungeon

This well has the date 1580 carved into it. 

Did you know that the iron maiden was not a death chamber, and did not originally have spikes inside? We learned that. 

We got to ride in the carriage pulled by these naughty horses. They really were quite naughty. It was fun. 

Have you taken any great day trips lately?