Back Where We Belong

I have not blogged about homeschool nearly as much as I thought I would. To be honest, I thought I would need it more. I often use writing as a way to process. The wonderful thing I have found about teaching Wes at home is that it comes very naturally. It does not feel like work. I was just reading some of my very first blog posts and I can't believe how far we've come. All of that initial anxiety has vanished as I have watched my son become an enthusiastic and independent student of the world around him.

Now we are in 6th grade and one important thing has changed. When I first started homeschooling, I always thought that we would at least explore going back to public school. I had several reasons for this and one of the bigger ones was being around other kids. Homeschool does feel a little isolating, especially where we live. My nearest, active group of homeschoolers is not in fact very active and most of the members have very young children. So, at the beginning of this year, we went back to public school. I was not perfectly comfortable with the idea, but I felt the need to explore public school one more time.

Our schools start early, so we just finished the first quarter. It was always my plan to take a good hard look at how things were going at this point and decide how to proceed. It was a no brainer to run, not walk, back to homeschool. It would be easy to kick myself for even exploring going back, but that wouldn't serve much purpose. All I can say is that after nine weeks, I'll never worry about whether I'm making the right decision again. Homeschool is simply where Westen learns the best. It's here where he is allowed to explore, create, build, write and problem solve without any distractions. It's where he thrives.

With a renewed passion for this path we are on, I have made one more change. Since I believe Wes will homeschool through 12th grade, I wanted to be a part of an accredited online school. I didn't have to search for the right school, because I've been carrying a particular one around in my back pocket so to speak. It's the place I've always known I would choose when the time was right. Now Wes is enrolled in the Global Village School. For me, the Global Village School is almost too good to be true. Their philosophy and mine are perfectly in tune and I can't wait to get started on their curriculum. This year feels like a new beginning. This time there is nothing but pure joy in the process which is exactly what learning should be!

A Fable

The World in the Center of the Universe

Three million years ago, there was a talking animal world in the center of the universe. There were zebras, spotted chameleons, tropical birds, owls and tigers. Long ago, one of each animal ran into a magic circle and became one being. This new animal was called the creator. His black and white zebra horns Stood on his head like a king’s crown and his zebra eyes were gentle and wise. He had a rainbow face with pretty feathers and colorful scales. Two chameleons’ tails made his nose. His mustache was the soft plumage of an owl which partially covered his fanged tiger mouth. The creator and all the animals lived together in love and harmony.

The world in the center of the universe had a sun. The sun shone on the world and gave it warmth. It had so much fun watching the animals play. The sun was happy to be a part of the animal world. Then one day, the sun saw another sun off in the distance. She was beautiful and golden and he fell in love. The sun thought that to win her heart he must have more love to give, so he started absorbing the love from his world. He saw the zebra children playing and he took their love. Then he took the love from the happy tiger couples. Next, he took the love from the chameleons. Finally, he saw the birds and owls and he took their love of flying. After he was done, the sun left with the golden sun leaving his animal world in darkness and despair.

Without the sun and all the love, the world was pitch black and icy cold. The animals started fighting with each other. They yelled and clawed. The birds were so sad, they didn’t fly. Chameleons cried in the trees. The tigers layed sadly in the grass. The zebras walked with their heads down. Mom and dad animals didn’t care about their baby animals. Some others just criedbecause all the love was gone. They were all upset except for one, the animal with love still in his heart, the creator.

The creator went to visit the animal sun. He begged with his whole heart for the sun to give the love back. The sun said that he wanted the love to give to the golden sun, but the golden sun heard the entire conversation. She told the animal world sun that she would not stay with him unless he returned the love to the animals. She told him that she loved him even more when he was just being himself. Since the animal sun cared about her so much, he used all his strength to return the love. The flowers bloomed and the black grass turned green. Fighting turned to playing. A colorful rainbow filled the sky and the birds sang and soared. The chameleons didn’t cry anymore. Tigers ran and wrestled playfully again. Zebras walked with their heads high. It was the happiest day ever. The animal sun learned his lesson. You can’t steal love. It has to come from your heart. And they all lived happily ever after.

THE END

Art

When They Were Ten

When They Were Ten

I would like to know what life was like when my grandparents were my age. What about my aunts and uncles? I want to know their hobbies, what favorite movie, radio or TV show they liked and where they lived. I’m going to interview three members of my family and see what I can learn.

First I called my Grandma Helen. After I said hi, I asked her what hobby she liked when she was my age. My grandma liked to read books. She also played with her orange cat Carrots and her dolls Judy and Dolores. Next, I asked her where she lived when she was my age. She lived in Corry, Pennsylvania. It was a small town with only about ten-thousand people. Her dad worked in a factory that made office furniture and he was the manager. Finally, I asked my grandma what TV, movie or radio show she liked when she was my age. She said she watched Snow White and Bambi, but that’s when she was younger. She didn’t listen to the radio and they didn’t have TV. I’ve never imagined a ten year old life like grandma’s.

After I called my Grandma Helen, I emailed my Grandpa Gary. He gave a lot of information about his younger days. The hobby he liked was building model airplanes and this interest influenced him to become a NASA engineer. He lived on a farm 15 miles north from Sublette, Kansas. He liked growing up there. He worked hard. His favorite movie was Tarzan of the Apes. He went to any Tarzan movie that came to Sublette. He thought it would be fun to live in jungles and be strong like Tarzan. He also watched western movies like Roy Rogers. His horse’s name was Trigger and Grandpa’s horse’s name was Dixie. He listened to radio shows such as Sky King, Cisco Kid, Straight Arrow, Inner Sanctum and Fibber McGhee and Molly. Grandpa’s childhood wasn’t like mine, but it sounds fun.

After talking to Grandpa Gary, Mom and I sent a face book message to Uncle Scott. Uncle Scott’s hobbies were reading, board games and computers. He lived in Niceville, Florida. He had a magnolia tree in his front yard. I even looked it up online and saw it on Google Earth. He had lots of friends and he was a happy kid. He didn’t watch a lot of TV, but he watched the saturday morning cartoons specifically Looney Tunes. Uncle Scott’s childhood seems like it was great because he made lots of friends and had cool hobbies.

Now I have a good idea of what life was like when my relatives were my age. Grandma’s life was different from mine because she played with dolls and didn’t have television. Grandpa’s life was fun because he worked on the farm and watched a lot of Tarzan movies. Uncle Scott’s life was like mine because he played on the computer and watched saturday morning cartoons like I use to. I learned a lot and I’m glad I know what life was like when they were ten.

Westen's Spooky Story

One Dark, Black Night

One dark, black night, a little boy named Andrew was walking through the woods alone. For an 8 year old, Andrew was small. His short, wavy, brown hair looked dark compared to his skin which was pale and thin like the skin of an onion. His striped shirt hung loosely from his shoulders and a pair of baggy jeans almost hid his new brown shoes. As he walked along the leaves crunched under his feet. He saw an old house with broken windows and a crooked front porch nearby, but Andrew didn’t want to go inside. Just then, a clap of lightning broke into the night. He raced for the door, even though he was scared.

When Andrew got to the door, he put his grip on the brass handle of the leopard door knocker and knocked. There was no answer. He turned the knob and the door opened with a creak. There was an eerie rattling and Andrew gasped. Suddenly, another clap of lightning forced him to go inside. Out of nowhere, bugs appeared and swarmed his face, but Andrew slapped them all off with his hands. Before he could find anything, he heard a spooky howl. Then, a rattlesnake slithered right past him. Andrew screamed and ran deeper into the house. There was another terrifying howl which left Andrew cowering in fear.

Trying to be brave, he stood up straight, put his shoulders back and swallowed the lump in his throat. He reached his hands out in the darkness and felt something mushy, wet and slimy. Andrew yanked his hands back, but the slimy thing grabbed him. His heart was pounding. Then another flash of lightning gave him enough light to see that it was a giant worm monster! Andrew struggled to get free and began punching the monster. The monster backed away from Andrew giving him the chance to escape. Andrew ran for his life and he didn’t look back.

-THE END-

Barkling ~ A Short Story

Barkling

This little brown dog is called Barkling. He loves chewing on his bone and he barks a whole lot. He likes food pellets that cats eat. Also, he loves his name because he loves barking all the time.

One day, Barkling is playing on the beach and runs right into a boat. He decides to climb aboard. Suddenly, a strong wind blows it out to sea. Then, a giant whale swallows the boat up making Barkling scared.

Barkling spied a purple fish who lived inside the whale. The fish swam out of a wooden box that the whale had swallowed. The fish hit the whale’s jaws with it’s tail which opened the whale’s mouth. Barkling quickly sailed out of the whale’s mouth before it closed. He made it just in time.

When Barkling wanted to go home, a magical bunny jumped out of the clouds and used it’s magical paws to carry the boat to shore. Once Barkling and the bunny reached the shore, the magical bunny bounced back into the clouds with Barkling on it’s back.

Barkling and the magical bunny got to the cloud top kingdom. That was the place where the bunny lived. Barkling loved the kingdom in the clouds. He wanted to stay forever. He and the bunny played and lived happily ever after.

Wes Art