KJ is taking a confirmation class at the Methodist church he sometimes attends with his father.  The confirmation children (6th graders) had a lock-in last night at the church.  I was sooo worried that KJ would not be accepted or not have a good time.  When he was in public school, he was often a loner and never seemd to really fit in.  Since being homeschooled, he is "Mr. Popularity" with the other homeschooled children and has become much more outgoing.  KJ did have some difficulty with some cousins of his dad's ex-girlfriend though which was my main cause for worrying.  Anyway...he ended up having a FANTASTIC time at the lock-in!  He knew a few of the kids already and made several new friends.   He was telling David and I about some of the games he played, and had us both in stitches.  In one game, everyone (mentors + children) sat in a circle and said their name and what they would take with them to a desert island.  The game started with a woman who would take her bible, then a man who would take his piano, then a boy who would take an assortment of seeds, then KJ who would take....... a boat!  We died laughing at that.  I guess he didn't want to stay on the island very long.  In another game, the person in the middle of the circle said something that they had never done.  Anyone in the circle who HAD done that thing jumped up to change seats while the person in the middle tried to get a seat.  When it was KJ's turn in the middle, he said, "I've never been to Boston in the Fall."  For those of you who don't know, this is a line from the Veggie-Tales song, "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything."  (FYI - Someone who used to live in Boston jumped up.)

 

On another note, school went wonderfully on Monday.  We covered all the subjects that I had planned, finally restarted Latin, and KJ was a joy to teach.  Tuesday however, I couldn't get KJ up until 11:30.  Then he was in a TERRIBLE mood, said he hated school, all the lesson choices for the day stunk, etc.  I told him that was too bad, he had to learn anyway.  We started with Logic and Geography.  Meanwhile, KJ's mood had improved.  As I was reading History however, KJ leaned his head against my shoulder and I realized that he was burning up. Uh oh... I checked his temperature and he was running a fever.  After inwardly berating myself for being the worst mother in the world for never even considering that he might be sick, I drugged KJ who spent the next three days lying around the house, drinking lots of liquids, and sleeping.  In my defense, KJ has been remarkably healthy for the past year and a half so I tend to forget that he can still get sick.  By Thursday I was dying of boredom, but my house was extremely clean. :-)

David, KJ, and I are all on a diet and exercise regime to lose weight.  KJ has gained 28 pounds since April!  Admittedly, he also grew taller, but he still needs to slim down some.  David and I are just old, fat, and out of shape.  Anyway... hopefully we'll all be feeling better in a couple of months. 

 

KJ finally finished his project for Texas Parks and Wildlife.  It is a research paper called, "Whatever Happened To The Horned Lizard?"  He spent last week interviewing people and doing research.  Monday through Wednesday of this week was spent writing the paper.  It ended up taking up quite a bit more time than I had anticipated.  KJ had never written a formal style paper before and it took some effort for him not to slip into story-telling mode.  On another note, I learned loads about horned lizards!

 

KJ and I will be taking a continuing education class at Baylor University in Feb.  It's called, "Fun and Frolic in the Middle Ages."  Here is the course description.

 

Films such as Camelot, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Excalibur, and more recently, King Arthur have given us a common idea of what the Middle Ages were like –– but is it accurate? In this cultural history course, you can explore and experience what Middle Ages were like for French nobility. Did knights really wear shining armor? What did they eat, drink, and wear? What did medieval people do for fun? What games did they play, and what music did they listen to? Explore and experience the answers to these questions and more, and read some of the best stories ever, including the original version of Lancelot’s love for Guinevere. The course text, Chritien de Troyes Arthurian Romances, ed. William W. Kibler, is available at the Baylor Book Store. Anne Gwin teaches French in the Department of Modern Foreign Languages.

I thought that it would fit in perfectly with our history this year, but had to get permission from the professor first so KJ could take it too.  (The courses are only for adults.)  She was super nice though and agreed that he would benefit from the class.

When KJ returned from his dad's and saw the decluttering and more efficient storage system, he said, "Hey, you're defragging the house."    :-)

 

My Great-aunt Olene had a New Year's Eve bash for all the kids in the family.  My grandmother and mother were the only other adults invited to help supervise 9 children ranging in age from 7 to 17.  Apparently a great time was had by everyone, but when KJ returned the next morning, he described it as a "Survivor episode, 'When Girls Attack.'" 

 

We started back to school today, but are spending the entire week working on a research project instead of regular subjects.  We'll get back to those next week.  I'll explain more about KJ's project as the week goes on and he gets more into it.