Day 97 / 102 - UMATA Spring Show Down

On Saturday my children competed in the United Martial Arts Tournament Alliance's Spring Show Down in Oak Hill, West Virginia.  As you may remember, competitive Taekwondo is not new to my children, but embracing a new style of martial arts and walking into an unfamiliar and unknown tournament can be ridiculously overwhelming and nerve-wracking.  Even for the parents.  I am unbelievably proud, not only of their performance, but of their courage and willingness to try something new.

My son and I began taking martial arts classes at Family Martial Arts about 3 months ago.  Some of our previous training overlaps quite well and other techniques are brand new.  We've enjoyed being students at a different school, learning new skills and refining others.  They have been very gracious with us as they've respected our rank and experience from a different martial arts style and school.  When we first heard about the spring tournament they were hosting, we planned on attending just to get an idea of how their tournaments function and have some expectations for the future. But, our son decided a few weeks ago that he'd like to compete.  Then, at the last minute my daughter (who isn't even enrolled in their classes) decided she'd like to, also.

They were nervous and unfamiliar with some tournament rules (which wound up costing them some points), but even so my daughter took home a silver medal in her Forms division, and my son won gold in his Sparring division and bronze in his Forms division.  Funny story -- he tied for silver, but was unaware of the procedure to break a tie, so wound up in third place.  Lesson learned, and he knows for next time.

Great job!

Day 96 / 102 - Chart A Memory Book

For our Essentials program, Chart A is our foundation. (You will only get that play on words if you're a CC homeschooler).  Chart A has us memorizing all the essentials of English Grammar (parts of speech; sentence structures, patterns, and purposes; basic skeletons to diagram sentences; and more).  My children have had this information memorized for awhile, but recently I've decided they need to take their knowledge and apply it.  Rather than just knowing the Four Structures of sentences, I've wanted them to be able to tell me that a compound sentence is two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction.  Then, I want them to give me an example of a compound sentence.  Rather than just listing off the Eight Parts of Speech, I want them to define for me (with examples) a noun, a pronoun, an interjection, etc.

To help them with this task, today we whipped up this little memory book full of information from Chart A.  We have the basic framework of the chart spelled out on different colored paint swatches (thank you Walmart!).  We then added definitions, examples, and even pictures to help us remember what these elements of grammar are and how they are used.

Day 95 / 102 - Mary Poppins

Earlier this week my children and I enjoyed a showing of Mary Poppins with its Broadway Touring Cast in Dayton, Ohio.  The musical is based on both the movie and the book.  Since we are fans of both, we definitely found the show to be worthwhile and enjoyable.  It was a great cast and a fabulous performance.

Day 94 / 102 - Nanoblocks

Over the past few months, we've been introduced to Nanoblocks.  Nanoblocks are Japanese building toys, and the smallest block toy in the world.  They are amazingly small micro-sized blocks, and they make Legos look like toddler toys.  For any Lego enthusiast, these create a whole new level of construction challenge.  The smaller the block, the greater the detail.

My children had tried (and succeeded) at several of the Nanoblock 'Mini Series' collection.  As a result, I ordered them the Deluxe Himeji Castle set (pictured above).  I loved this mostly because my husband and I traveled to Kyoto, Japan twelve years ago and spent a day visiting the 400-year-old hilltop castle complex.  The 2200+ piece set took my children (mostly my son) some time to complete.  He assembles a difficult Lego set in less than an hour.  This took him about a week.  There was a warning on the box stating it was not designed for children under 14, with a level of difficulty of 5, out of 5.  Ha!

My children have also enjoyed recreating their 'Mini-Series' animals with Legos.  Below you see my daughter's recreation of her penguin.

For added fun, here are a few pictures of our visit to Himeji Castle in 2001.  We took a team of college students with us and spent the summer in the city of Kobe.  Disclaimer -- I'm 7 months pregnant, that's why I'm hiding in the back.

Day 93 / 102 - Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine and Youth Museum

We took a field trip on Friday to Beckley's very own Exhibition Coal Mine and Youth Museum.  The once-operating vintage underground mine, which was purchased by the city, has been restored to accommodate visitors.  We traveled by rail car and received general information from our guide, a veteran miner, about that specific mine as well as mining history in our area.  The area around the mine is set up like a turn-of-the-century coal camp including a Baron's house, a school, and a church.  If you would like to take the tour virtually, this author does a great job explaining his recent visit (click here).

Located next to the Exhibition Coal Mine is the Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia.  The youth museum is designed to entertain and educate as it portrays the history, culture, and character of our uncommon coal-mining town.  It even includes a planetarium and a mountain homestead.

Day 92 / 102 - Memory Masters!!

Today my children became "Memory Masters"!

"Memory Master" is an honor bestowed on Classical Conversations Foundations students who have mastered all of the memory work during the twenty-four weeks of Foundations class. We define "mastery" of the information as having committed the information to long-term memory, which means we do not cram for a single test and then forget it. I focus on my children being able to learn this information, and retain it, for a lifetime.  I have to admit, it is an incredible amount of work -- for both student and parent.

My son has become a Memory Master two other times, which means he has mastered all three cycles of information taught in the Classical Conversations Foundations program.  This is my daughter's first year mastering the information. 

The amount of information the students recite is lengthy. This year is Cycle 1, so my children have mastered, and can recite, the following:

- 161 events and people in a chronological timeline
- 44 U.S. Presidents
- 24 history facts to add depth to our timeline (several of these facts are 3 - 4 sentences long!)
- 120 locations and geographic features in Africa, Europe, and the Old World
- 24 science facts (including classifications of living things and each continent's highest mountain)
- 5 Latin noun endings and their singular and plural declensions
- English grammar facts (including 53 prepositions, 23 helping verbs, and 12 linking verbs)
- Multiplication tables up to 15x15, common squares and cubes, as well as basic geometry formulas and unit conversions

It's over 400 pieces of information!

During the process, they had to recite this information not only to me, but also to several other adults.  Becoming a "Memory Master" is no easy task.  Words cannot express how proud we are of them for how hard they have worked and for all that they have achieved. 

Day 91 / 102 - Gatlinburg, Tennessee

While my daughter was competing in Akron, my son, along with his Boy Scout troop, journeyed to Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  According to him, it was the Best. Trip. Ever.  Most likely that was because this was his first overnight excursion without one of his parents.

He stayed in a three-story cabin with a jacuzzi.  All he has talked about since his return is how desperately we need a jacuzzi.  He has also told us several times about the raccoon that would venture up on the deck at night.  One night he slept in a recliner.  The second night he slept under the pool table.  He subsisted on a diet of triple cheeseburgers, barbeque potato chips, and Dr. Pepper.  This does sound like an 11-year-old boy's dream.

Their trip was two-fold.  Of course for fun and sight-sight seeing, but also to complete some Merit Badge requirements.  They visited all of the following in less than 48 hours:

Bass Pro Shop
Knife Works
Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies
Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum
Ripley's Moving Theater
Ripley's Haunted Adventure
Ripley's Marvelous Mirror Maze
Guinness World Records Museum
Tour of a Veterinarian Hospital including a Q & A Time with Vets

Day 90 / 102 - Lake Erie AAU Taekwondo National Qualifier

If you've been reading my homeschooling adventures for awhile, perhaps you'll remember me mentioning last year that we spent a little bit of time at this place.

Well, even from a distance, we've tried to remain connected and involved to our former martial arts school during our absence from Cleveland.

This past weekend, my daughter competed in the Lake Erie AAU Taekwondo National Qualifier in Akron, Ohio.  Several weeks ago she suggested that she compete.  It had been awhile since her last tournament, so I was surprised she had the idea.  However, once the idea was planted in her mind, she worked as hard as she could perfecting her competition form.

Her hard work paid off.  She walked away with two gold medals.

Day 89 / 102 - Thurmond, West Virginia

Thurmond is a town that sits directly on the New River in Fayette County with it's level land almost entirely consumed by CSX Railroad Operations (formerly the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway).  During the heyday of mining, Thurmond was a prosperous town with a number of businesses and facilities for the railway.  It's population for the 2010 census was five.  Today, much of Thurmond is owned by the National Park Service for the New River Gorge National River. The entire town is a designated historic district on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as one of Travel and Leisure's coolest ghost towns in America.

Our children loved visiting this 'real live ghost town' last weekend.  (They were constantly on the lookout for Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Machine).  Because of how desolate it is now, it is impossible to believe that it was once a town bustling with activity.  In fact, there is no main road that runs through the town.  There never has been.  Main Street is the tracks.  All the former businesses sit directly on the rail line, and the town and businesses were necessary when people traveled only by train.  It was a coal stop for steam engines.  The town began it's decline in the 1950s when most steam engines were replaced by diesel engines.

What we also found interesting were the houses that can be seen from the rail line.  Since they are National Park Service property, I believe they have been restored, painted and well-maintained on the outside for the visitors of this historic place.  However, upon closer inspection, they are most likely inhabited only by ghosts.

This town was well worth the visit for West Virginia history.  We can also check it off our Things-To-Do-While-Living-In-West-Virginia list.