BG will be entering 10th grade this upcoming school year after having only been in the US for 2.5 yrs. For the upcoming year, BG will continue doing most of what he was doing last year (post here and here ) with some tweaks.
His math will be Saxon Algebra 2 and he will continue his reading with Grandpa. However, I am going to replace his random video watching with a more structured approach.
For science, he will be watching the DIVE Biology video with JA and then watching supplemental Biology videos from Khan Academy, Netflix, Education Portal, LearnersTV.com and iTunesU.
For History, he will be watching the supplemental videos that JA will be watching and listening to the books that JA will be reading.
For English, I will have his also listen to the books that JA is reading so that they can discuss the books together.
I will continue to have him write about the videos/books and I will help him with correcting his grammar. I have also toyed with getting him a more structured grammar book, but haven't made a firm decision yet.
In addition, I want him to choose 2 electives from a variety of video sources to round out his day. We are also trying to get him a job at our local supermarket. If that happens, then I'll back off of the electives. And of course, he'll continue to play basketball for our local Christian school.
Hopefully, this will keep him busy during the day while pumping lots of information into his head!
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. Matthew 13:44-46
Showing posts with label grandpa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grandpa. Show all posts
Friday, May 03, 2013
Saturday, March 23, 2013
TJ - 12 and 2
I am FINALLY finding some time to post about TJ's second anniversary with us - and his 12th birthday! Unfortunately, since he doesn't like his picture taken, this is what you get to see of him.
(I think I'll nickname him "Wilson")
You're stuck with pictures of the rest of us.
Celebrating as usual with our donuts
Tim actually wrote out a lengthy list of items that he wanted for his birthday - in English! He got a couple of his wishes - money, a new MP3 player and a trip to see the Oklahoma City Thunder play the Orlando Magic.
As for his second anniversary with us, he has become very thoughtful lately about this anniversary. He is truly processing a lot of issues related to his adoption and to being a part of our family. As is characteristic of an older child adoption, some parts are easy and some parts are difficult. Overall, though, TJ is adjusting very well. He is doing great in school. He played basketball with one of our local Christian schools and did very well. He also is reading his Bible a lot and recently asked to start attending the Chinese Bible study again. He still struggles with the boundaries/limits placed on him since he had so much freedom in China, but he is learning. Many of the sibling struggles we had early on are rarely seen now. TJ even asks a lot about when JA and AT will be home when they are gone somewhere.
I'm so glad we ventured into the unknown territory of older child adoption. I encourage everyone to at least consider it and see if it is right for your family.
Sunday, February 03, 2013
Down the River
Last week, Grandpa had an opportunity to go cruising down the river with the Seniors at his church. He didn't want to go unaccompanied so he invited me to go along with him. We had a beautiful day to enjoy and the food and music was wonderful as well.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Friday, November 23, 2012
Love Your Neighbor
Yesterday, we had a different Thanksgiving. The kids and I got up early (like 6:30am!) and went to church. We helped prepare Thanksgiving lunch for the residents of a local mobile home park. This particular mobile home park is very run down. Many mobile homes have been removed due to being uninhabitable.
The kids became the "Mashed Potato Crew". The night before, others had peeled and cut up a TON of potatoes. When we arrived, the kids loaded the potatoes into steamer trays and then loaded the trays into the steamer. Fifteen minutes later, they took the trays out and dumped the steamed potatoes into the mixer. They then put the next load of potatoes in the steamer. While the first batch was steaming, I heated the milk and butter to be ready for mixing. We kept up this routine for probably a good hour and a half! There was a LOT of mashed potatoes when we were done. In fact, they had so many potatoes, that they decided to use some of them for Wed night chicken pot pies in the future. BUT, they needed the potatoes cut smaller. I volunteered TJ as he is excellent with a knife and routinely helps me cut up veggies at home.
The girls and I made lemonade; AT helped with making tea while BG continued to monitor the potatoes. (We left JA and CP at home due to their injuries!) Then it was time to start loading up some of the food so the boys helped load a number of pies, cakes, and bread to take to the mobile home park. CP showed up a little later with JA and Grandpa and took the kids to the park. I stayed behind to finish cutting up the turkeys.
We arrived at the MHP and had a wonderful Thanksgiving Lunch with the residents. I met two people: Robert and Amber. Robert is probably in his mid to late 50s and has lived a hard life. Right now he doesn't have a job and spends his days playing with his dogs. Amber is probably 18-20 and lives with her grandparents. She is trying to get a job, but is finding it difficult. She told me she called 34 places last week and only 5 suggested that she come in and put in an application. However, she doesn't have a car, a bicycle or any money for the bus to get there. Even if she was able to get the job, she wasn't sure how she would get to and from it every day.
As I was telling a friend about this, he commented that there is a critical level of resources needed here in the US (including transportation) that once you fall below that level, it is very hard to climb back out. Even if she had a bicycle, if it rains on her way to work, I'm sure they wouldn't be happy to have a soaking wet employee on the job.
Last night, we enjoyed North Carolina Bar-B-Q that Grandpa brought home from his trip. The meal was completed with Brunswick Stew, brown and serve rolls, homemade cole-slaw, boiled potatoes and pumpkin pie.
I think it was one of the best Thanksgivings I have ever had.
The kids became the "Mashed Potato Crew". The night before, others had peeled and cut up a TON of potatoes. When we arrived, the kids loaded the potatoes into steamer trays and then loaded the trays into the steamer. Fifteen minutes later, they took the trays out and dumped the steamed potatoes into the mixer. They then put the next load of potatoes in the steamer. While the first batch was steaming, I heated the milk and butter to be ready for mixing. We kept up this routine for probably a good hour and a half! There was a LOT of mashed potatoes when we were done. In fact, they had so many potatoes, that they decided to use some of them for Wed night chicken pot pies in the future. BUT, they needed the potatoes cut smaller. I volunteered TJ as he is excellent with a knife and routinely helps me cut up veggies at home.
The girls and I made lemonade; AT helped with making tea while BG continued to monitor the potatoes. (We left JA and CP at home due to their injuries!) Then it was time to start loading up some of the food so the boys helped load a number of pies, cakes, and bread to take to the mobile home park. CP showed up a little later with JA and Grandpa and took the kids to the park. I stayed behind to finish cutting up the turkeys.
We arrived at the MHP and had a wonderful Thanksgiving Lunch with the residents. I met two people: Robert and Amber. Robert is probably in his mid to late 50s and has lived a hard life. Right now he doesn't have a job and spends his days playing with his dogs. Amber is probably 18-20 and lives with her grandparents. She is trying to get a job, but is finding it difficult. She told me she called 34 places last week and only 5 suggested that she come in and put in an application. However, she doesn't have a car, a bicycle or any money for the bus to get there. Even if she was able to get the job, she wasn't sure how she would get to and from it every day.
As I was telling a friend about this, he commented that there is a critical level of resources needed here in the US (including transportation) that once you fall below that level, it is very hard to climb back out. Even if she had a bicycle, if it rains on her way to work, I'm sure they wouldn't be happy to have a soaking wet employee on the job.
Last night, we enjoyed North Carolina Bar-B-Q that Grandpa brought home from his trip. The meal was completed with Brunswick Stew, brown and serve rolls, homemade cole-slaw, boiled potatoes and pumpkin pie.
I think it was one of the best Thanksgivings I have ever had.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Father's Day
I know - I'm late as usual. We had a nice, somewhat relaxing Father's Day. We went to church that morning and then came home for lunch. BG and JA had a basketball game that afternoon (more in a later post), then I grilled steaks for the adults and burgers for the kids. We had corn-on-the-cob and green beans and watermelon for dessert. Our good friend Mr. E came over to join us for dinner. The four adults - CP, my Dad, Mr. E and I - sat outside enjoying a beautiful sunset and great conversation. We had such a nice time, I forgot to take any pictures. But here are some recent shots of the 3 fathers we celebrated on Sunday.
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
A Wedding
Today we went to my nephew's wedding. He waited until he found the right one for him. I am so proud of him for waiting! I pray they have a long happy marriage!
I took the opportunity of a captive audience to take some pictures.
I also managed to get pictures of all the boy cousins
and the girl cousins
We had a great day!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Family
Last weekend, my brother's family and my sister's family came over to visit. We hadn't all been together in two years! We had a fun time just hanging out and eating. We also played pool, ping pong and took a walk to the beach.
Grandpa joined us for our walk.
We took a post-placement photo!
Two truckers talking!
The whole crew - all 21 of us!
The house was perfect for hosting such a large crowd. I hope to post pictures of the house soon.
Saturday, November 05, 2011
A Physics Lesson
Today, my Dad decided to teach the kids a lesson in physics. He thought that Balance was a good topic. So he set out to demonstrate.
He started by picking up a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread at the local W*lgr**ns. Then he walked home and tried to sit down on a rock wall just outside our neighborhood. When he leaned forward to sit down, the milk (which weighs 8.6 lbs) was not over his center of gravity and threw off his balance. He proceeded to fall forward, catching himself with the milk (thank God!), his nose and his glasses.
He started by picking up a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread at the local W*lgr**ns. Then he walked home and tried to sit down on a rock wall just outside our neighborhood. When he leaned forward to sit down, the milk (which weighs 8.6 lbs) was not over his center of gravity and threw off his balance. He proceeded to fall forward, catching himself with the milk (thank God!), his nose and his glasses.
Fortunately, he is doing OK - a little worse for wear.
I told him to let me buy the milk next time.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Ouch!
This is what my car looks like
It didn't have a good day yesterday
My day wasn't quite as bad
Though it wasn't very much fun
Fortunately, Dad and I are OK
My car - needs a LOT of TLC
Fortunately for my wallet,
It was the other driver's fault
None of the kids were with us
So they just think it's cool
that Mom is driving a "new" rental car today.
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