The Broomball Craze Has Hit

Broomball is the poor man's hockey.  Well it is, the way we play.  Expensive equipment can be purchased, but we've found it to be more fun with cheap kitchen brooms and a small playground ball.

How do you play broomball?

Simple.  Gather a group of sturdy people.  Ice is slippery.  Ice is hard.  A broom to the face hurts.  Make sure the players are sturdy!  Head to the ice.  Hand everyone a broom.  Pick teams.  Choose a goalie.  Toss up the ball, let the centers take it from there.  Any somewhat intuitive person can figure out that the goal is to get the ball into the opposing teams goal.  A point is scored and the game continues.  We usually play to ten.

The players go down.

The players come back.

The ball is out of bounds; a little broom fight breaks out to get it back in.

We let the little kids play.  It keeps us from getting too violent.

Broomball is an excellent cardio workout.

There's always a lot of smiles and crazy faces.  Running on ice does that to a person.

The game is heating up.

Defending your team's goal is serious business.  Everyone has their own style.

Time for a break.

If broomball is done right, a snowball fight should break out after a couple of games.

Smells like Teen Spirit - these kids are going to sleep well tonight.

If you're looking for a great way to get your kids some fresh winter air, tire them out and maybe even a couple victory bruises......BROOMBALL is your game.

Boundary Waters 2015

The three oldest headed to the Boundary Waters.  It's year 6 for Emily and year 5 for Nick.  Amber is making her maiden voyage.  Woohoo!  They've been going with some family friends.  Each year the group is a bit different, the core group staying the same.  This year they headed off with the maximum size group of 9.  That's how many are allowed at one campsite.  Four of the 9 are "newbies" so I'm looking forward to lots of stories.  For a look back at 2011 click here.

Super Bowl XLV

GO PACK GO

We're getting ready for the Superbowl.  Heading to a friend's.  He has a 84" bachelor TV.  There's bound to be 15-20 adults and another 20 kids.  Food is big, big, big today.  Our contribution:  Italian sausages simmering in beer, onions and peppers, m&m cookies, grapes and Doritos and drinks, lots and lots of drinks.

It's a big day across the country.  I hope all involved stay safe and that the after parties bring fun not disaster.

GO PACK GO

Polar Plunge for Special Olympics

Two weeks ago Emily's friend asked her to take the plunge for Special Olympics.  She jumped at the idea and started raising funds.  Together these girls raised $547.  Isn't that incredible?  Here they're being interviewed as they prepare for the jump.

Just seconds before the big plunge they take a breath and prepare as best they can (which is not at all) for the cold that's about to engulf them.

Just as they jumped an event photographer stepped in front of me and I couldn't get a good pic of the actual jump.  Of course they planned that so I would buy two 4x6 photos for $8.  Below you see them as they grabbed their towel and headed on up the hill to the HOT TUBS.

Enjoying the warmth.  Although they both agreed that this is definitely an annual event and the water wasn't as cold as they expected.

A Little Socialization

If you happen to be a reader who thinks that us crazy homeschoolers hide out at home with the drapes drawn, keeping our children as far removed from civilization as possible, you'd be happy to know that today we got out for a little socializing.  We went rollerskating with approximately 100 crazy homeschoolers.  I socialized to the point of having a dry throat.  The kids skated, raced, talked, laughed, ate pizza, drank soda, played video games...did all the typical roller rink stuff minus the top 40 music (all Christian music) and plus lots of parents nearby.

What About Socialization?

We field this question more than any others. Well meaning onlookers are wondering if, as homeschoolers, we ever get out with other people. I'm not sure if they think we hole up, never needing groceries or library books or visits with relatives or animal feed. I do know that many people don't think of that as socialization. For most, childhood socialization means getting together with like aged kids and doing what kids do: talk, laugh, play games, listen to music, eat snacks, ride bikes, etc. Let's just clarify what socialization means. According to my Webster's College Dictionary socialization is 1. a continuing process whereby an individual learns and assimilates the values and behavior patterns appropriate to his or her culture and social position. I interpret that as being able to get along in the world: knowing how to be courteous to the grocery checker, postal clerk and garbage man, understanding the benefit of asking for help at the library, fabric store and county park and most importantly conversing with all age groups in a kindly fashion. Socialization really isn't about friends of the same age hanging out together. The next word in the dictionary is socialize, 4th definition is to associate or mingle sociably with others. This is what I think most people think about when they ask homeschoolers about socialization. Do they have friends? OR Are they social misfits? I have to stop here without really communicating all I think about this issue because I really wanted to say that yes homeschoolers (the ones I know) socialize.

Another mom and I organized St. Francis Nature Club and we met for our first of 6 gatherings at a local county park. We had 10 kids (age 15, 12, 11, 9, 8, 7, 5, 3, 1, 1) at the first gathering and next week another family will be there bringing our total to 16 kids. We had a great time eating lunch, playing all sorts of made up kid games at the playground and then walking, talking and exploring nature together. Our theme was early signs of spring and the kids found things like violets and drew them in their journals, tree buds, shades of green, frogs, dead crayfish parts, a spider web, poison ivy, stinging nettle, wood ticks, ants and clam and snail shells. They played a bit longer, shared what they found and said goodbye until next week. Three full hours of SOCIALIZING and learning of course, but it seems most onlookers aren't concerned with academics. It's all about the socializing.

Flowers: (top) Spring Beauty; (bottom) White Trout Lily

Highlights of the Week

Sunday: We looked at a pony, which as the week progressed, we decided to buy. Looks like this weekend we'll be transferring her to the stable. The girls are excited, the boys indifferent and I am a little worried about the time commitment necessary to train Pearl properly.


Monday: Rain was predicted for the afternoon so we went on a morning nature walk and scheduled school work for the afternoon.

open water - what a beautiful sight

first sighting of a Sandhill Crane this yearpoplar buds

a good climbing treecold and on the way home to a mug of hot cocoa

We celebrated the Annunciation of the Lord. I read the story from our Children's Bible, we prayed a decade of the rosary and then made tissue paper flowers for Mary.

Tuesday: Movie Night - Portesi freezer pizza and Derby Stallion.

Wednesday: Violin, Subway lunch and then a high school production of Bye, Bye Birdie. Just a note about gas. I honestly never realized how often my three year old farts, until I was sitting in the bleachers of a crammed gymnasium for three hours. Even the 7th grade boys groaned about the smell.

Thursday: MOPS in the morning and school work in the afternoon. Horse stable, exercise class and pork roast for supper.

Friday: Public schools have the day off so a friend came for the entire day. Grace and Lee still did math, language and spelling. They four-wheeled, baked Peanut Butter Swirl Bars, roller bladed, ate popsicles, played hide-and-seek and watched PollyWorld. Just a note about that movie. I had assumed that a Polly Pockets movie would be absolutely suitable for young children when Lou grabbed it from the shelf of Family Video. So they popped in the video and I headed to the computer to do work and pleasure. Part way through I walked in on a distraught Polly, upset that her father doesn't want her around and his girlfriend doesn't like her. Loudly, I exclaimed What is this an animated soap opera? The kids were quick to hush me so I sat down and watched for a while. Seems like Polly's parents are divorced and her father's girlfriend doesn't like her and is trying to get the father to send Polly to boarding school. Polly just wants to stay home and play in a rock band with her friends, some of which aren't very nice. While eating lunch Grace asked me why I didn't like the movie. Although everything worked out well in the end and the girlfriend was no longer the girlfriend and Polly stayed with dad, I pointed out that there's enough divorce in the world and why do they have to market a movie to 5 year olds about divorce, dads with girlfriends and not being liked by an adult. Don't enough kids live this life. Would it be too much for the movie makers to present a plot where the parents loved each other? and Polly had positive adults in her life? and her friends weren't backstabbing characters?

Saturday's Adventure

We were up early and ready to leave by 8:15 a.m. for the Elroy-Sparta Bike Trail. It's our First Annual Bike Adventure with the M's (college roommate). After a slight detour through roads not on the map, we eventually pulled into the Wilton parking area only 10 minutes past our meeting time and still ahead of our friends. We chose an 18 mile round trip trek. As us moms planned this trip we were playing with the idea of a 24 mile route or even a 30 mile route. I finally made the call and said 18 will have to do. I don't want to bite off more than my kids can chew; there's a fine line between fun and meltdown. We started, we made it to the first stop sign (100 yards down the path). I'm pulling the Burley with Ray and DH has a trail behind bike with Lou on it. This is a piece of cake. The weather is perfect. How long, really, can an 18 mile bike ride take? I'll tell you. It can take a little longer than 6 hours if you try real hard. That doesn't include a 1 1/2 mile walk through a tunnel where we left our bikes behind since we were just turning around at the end anyway. We had a great time, lively conversation, plenty of exercise and lots of, not too hot, sunshine. And at the end every last one of us was tuckered out and ready to find some good reenergizing food, aka. hamburgers, onion rings, root beer, Bud Light, chicken strips. Just good 'ol bar and grill food. It's been decided, same thing next year.

Better Late Than Never

I know it's 3 days past the Fourth of July, but I had just a couple photos to share. I've talked about Twig before, here and here. And what a surprise to see our favorite miniature horse marching in the parade. He's pulling a cart filled with four children. See the white cowboy hats in the back. Those are three of the kids.

Once home we had a fantastic afternoon of tubing and kneeboarding in our pond and then a cookout. Rain did dampen the affair slightly, but only as we started to grill. The guys continued grilling in the rain, while the rest of us brought the party inside.

My friend Dawn brought rhubarb dessert, yummy! I made this Jello Cake, a recipe I received from my sister-in-law. The recipe I linked to isn't the exact recipe I use, but awfully close. I always use two small boxes of jello. I mix 1 cup boiling water with each flavor. I do one color at a time, pouring into alternating holes. I let set for a couple of hours and then do the other flavor Jello. And the rain cleared in time for the fireworks.

Today's Details

By some act of God, everyone in this house slept in this morning. DH and I didn't wake up until 7:10 a.m. What came over us? I'll never know, but boy did it feel good. I even had a few minutes alone before slowly, very s..l..o..w..l..y, each of the kids awoke. It was 8:25 a.m. before Grace emerged from her twisted sheets. Morning routines had to be done quickly so the entire day didn't end up late. Lee started his morning with a quick canoe ride in the shallows. He enjoys his time alone while he canoes and always comes in with a nature sighting to tell me about. This morning it was a bald eagle flying over the shed and chicken coop. I discovered I had enough laundry soap to wash a pair of socks, so laundry had to be skipped today. Yeah for today, but boo in two days when I finally get to Wal-mart; the pile is going to take on a life of its own by then.

School started for Lee promptly at 8:30; he pulled out his book and began reading, then did spelling. I quizzed him on his words, orally and then he took a short break to help me make sandwiches while we waited for Grace to be ready for math. Today's lesson was plotting coordinates on a graph. They both picked up on this quickly. They took a division timed test. Lee got 99/100, Grace 78/100. Both had improved from last week. Basically, school is done except for math (one lesson left=1 day) and spelling (two lessons left=8 days) and of course they will continue reading all summer. Lou wrote some letters, sounded out a few simple words and did a page in her workbook. Grace did her spelling and reading and then we moved on to more fun.

Today from 10:30 - 2:30 was our annual homeschool pool party. We meet at an area campground, pay a small fee and use their pool. The weather cooperated; we had a sunny and warm day, perfect for swimming and lounging poolside. Old friendships were rekindled, a few phone numbers swapped for hopeful summer get togethers and cheeks pinkened by bright rays of sunshine. The moms swapped reviews of favorite books, stories of dreadful swimsuit shopping and summer vacation plans. Some moms even shared their zealous summer homeschool plans. Blech! No thankyou. I say that now, but come August 1 I will be chomping at the bit to get started. I thrive on the routine of our school days.

Once home, we had a snack of cheese and crackers and Kool-Aid. Grace and Lee went for a canoe ride. Ray napped. Lou played with horses under the table. I prepared chicken potpie for tonight's supper. Yeah, it's Tuesday and we're supposed to have pizza and a movie, but for reasons too long to explain things changed. The winds picked up so Lou and I picked up the yard debris (toys, hoses, watering cans). The rain never came, it went North, but the yard looks nice anyway.

The plan changed again; DH needed to work tonight so everyone piled in the van to take Grace to violin. While she learned music theory, we walked to the grocery store to pick up coffee and bananas. Then I treated the kids to Taco John's since the pizza/movie night was cancelled. I thoroughly tired out four children today and now I'm reaping the benefits of an early tuck-in. I get to relive and blog my day in peace.

On Star

Jokingly, my husband and I tease each other about having OnStar. Really, I don't have OnStar; I have a Honda van and I have a mechanical husband. He's my OnStar. I know he'd rather be doing so many other things than receive an OnStar type call from me, but you'd never guess it. Like last night. I left at 6:00, with four fully inflated tires, to meet some friends at a restaurant. L. is moving away because of her husband's job and we wanted to drink wine and indulge in low-cal desserts one last time with her. I turned off the expressway, only 3/4 mile to go. As I started to turn there was no denying I had a very flat tire. I pulled over assessed the situation. Indeed the driver's rear tire was down to the rim, a large piece of gravel had slashed and was still stuck in the tire. I could hear the air hissing out. I called my OnStar, figuring my evening out had been doomed or very postponed. Guess what he said. Just lock the doors and walk to your party, I'll take care of it. From his point of view, this must of been miserable. He loaded up four kids, changed a tire (first time for this van), tried to get it patched at 8:00 p.m., found out the slash was just too big to patch. He dropped off the van at the restaurant and then walked with four kids back to the truck and headed home. What a guy. OnStar has some tough competition.



*The night out was a blast. Tons of laughter, a few tears, lots of great stories.