Changes happening but happiness abounds

Monday - the Girl Scout flag team had practice before their big event in March.  After practice, we had our regular troop meeting where the girls were finishing up their swaps and tri-fold boards for Thinking Day.  Thinking Day is coming up soon!!  Can't wait - my co-leader, Lori has done a fantastic job getting the girls ready.

After our meeting some friends came over to play before dinner and before I headed out the door to teach a co-op class.  It was only for the moms so the kids stayed home and played with Dad.

Tuesday - we were out the door to drive to the Springs for our field trip to the Cave of the Winds.  I didn't take my camera because I didn't think it would be allowed in the cave but I was wrong.  Oh well - maybe next time.

The kids learned about bats and caves - bats are the only mammals that can fly, they can see (they are not blind), vampire bats do not actually kill the animals they get the blood from, bats eat fish, insects (up to 1000 an hour) small rodents, and fruit.  We watched a video before our tour into the cave.

The cave was found in 1869 by Arthur B Love when he investigated a limestone archway but the kids liked the 2nd discovers - brothers John and George Pickett who found a large chamber in 1880.  The first tours started in 1881.  The tour cost $1 (about $80 today) and took 12 hours - (2 hour hike up the mountain to the entrance, 4 hours in on your belly, and 4 hours out on your belly and 2 hour hike back down).

Luckily, our tour only took an hour and a half.  The kids learned about limestone, calcium carbonate, Stalactites, Stalagmites and columns (when a stalactite and stalagmite meet), different types of rocks, and a few jokes.  Immediately, after the tour we had to race back to get Andrew to piano class.  The kids ate lunch in the car while we listened to a book on tape (our new favorite thing to do in the car).  We got to piano about 15 minutes late but Andrew transitioned right in.

Today, we went to dance class, Panera bread to visit with our dance class friends and then we took Jewel to the vet.  In the afternoon, when we finally got to work on schoolwork, everyone got right to work without complaint.

I did take the kids out of COVA on Monday.  The teachers didn't give me a hard time at all.  I have been talking to a couple friends of mine about how we are going to homeschool now without the curriculum right there for us.  I am looking into a math curriculum, Math-U-See for the kids but especially for Cairn (my visual learner) But I am also reading lots and lots of books.

Tonight, Cairn and I headed to the library to pick up our books on hold.  Andrew asked for books on bats and caves (I can do that).  Skylar just wants books.  Tonight I introduced Cairn to a new site, Goodreads.com.  Here she can rate books she has read and then get recommendations, log the books she has read and find out about other books.  She is constantly asking me to find her a new series of books to read - this way she is in charge of finding the books.  She was super excited!  This way I can also see what she is reading and she is writes a book review when she is finished reading a book.  I just snuck in some writing without her knowing it!!