Becca graduated fifth grade

Becca finished fifth grade and is now an official middle scholer! We are planning on using the K12 program we have been using with Melinda, and homeschooling her. A lot of thought went into the decision -- I just think Becca will get a better education if we go this way. I have also seen Public so leave kids behind - even smart kids! The public school is so focused on teaching kids to pass the SOL's they don't ever teach them to learn. Kids don't aquire a sense of wonder about learning new things and they don't learn how to fact find for them selves. I want my girls to keep a sense of mystery about the world around them, with a desire to learn about it. If I can give the tools for that, I will have achieved my goal.

I also have to confess to wanting to shelter my kids just a bit longer - having talked to some of the teachers at the elementary school - I was encouraged by them to homeschool - There is a lot of PDA going on in the halls, and violence is still going up. Also there is a lot of issues with drugs. This is the Middle school we are talking about and the worst part -- It's not as bad as the one in SC where she would have gone. (The field trip there was a real eye opener for me - let me tell you!! Down right frightening.)

The best news though - Becca finished up with a ton of academic honors - I was so proud of her. She got medals and certificates for having all A's in REading, Science, Math, and writing. She got a special award for being the most expressive and creative writer in Fifth Grade. She also got an award for having a 3.5 or better average for the last three years! She got an award for placing first in the school Science fair and getting to go to the regional competition. She got a medal for her reading and participating in the AR points. She got special mention for a perfect score on both her Writing sol's and her History Sol's.

Everytime I turned around - My baby was being called up for all the great things she has done. It was a really proud moment for me -- I felt like maybe I was doing something right. It just goes to show she's smart as a whip, as well. I wish the pics had come out better. I will have to try and correct for color and see if that helps.

so much going on!

Well We have been through a whirl wind of adventures since my last post and seems as though I'm only now begining to catch my breath.

We went to Washington D.C. for a week, with Stephen. We spent every available minute at the zoo and museums. I have to admit my favorites are the National American Indian Museum (The bead work!! go look at my beady blog for more about that) and I love the National Botanical Gardens. They are cool, misty, with soft music being piped in. Flowers are everywhere! I only wish we could have spent een more time there than we did. (Everything closes down between five and five-thirty).

We also went to the Air and space museum, the natural history museum, and the bead musem (very small).

We left a day early - The national Delegate convention was having a trial to see if Florida got to keep their delegate votes. The hotel we were in was the place where it was being held - all of a sudden there were protesters and guys in suits, lots of security and an all around people zoo. Quite frankly, we bolted.