Dana Earns Black Belt in Kenpo Karate!

He has certainly come a long way!

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Cheese Balls!

I am sure we all have those times when we are too rushed, everything is going wrong, the kids are not those perfect children we swore we would raise, and we start to turn into the Hulk (again). Sometimes “those times” seem to be coming along every day. Well, if you haven’t yet read it, you really must read “Taming the Hulk”, a “life-of-a-mother” short story by Karen Cantwell.  Read it to find out how cheese balls can save the day, and maybe change your lifestyle.

If you enjoy this story and want to read this and more Barbara Marr  Life-of-a-mother along with some mystery shorts, you can get “The Chronicles of Marr-nia Short Stories” to download free for your Kindle right now.

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Homeschool Excursions Planned

Our studies are moving along now, so we want to add some field trips and take advantage of learning activities around us. Fortunately, I have found three that look like fun educational opportunities for Dana.

The first one on the calendar is a science workshop provided free for 6-8 graders (homeschoolers welcome) by Kenyon College, which happens to be very near where we live. The LADS (Learning And Doing Science) session for boys will be from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm, Saturday, October 22. This free session called “Chemistry All Around You” will include”  “KABOOM! Come see the hidden powers of common household items. How can you tell if a liquid has enough acid in it to burn through a table? You don’t want to touch it to find out, but a food in your fridge can tell you. We’ll watch candy blow up, and make and eat delicious instant ice cream. Come learn how chemistry can be cool! Registration will be open from September 1 to October 14, 2011.” If this one goes well, we will also register him for one in February on light particles. For more information, if you are anywhere in Knox County, Ohio, go to: http://www.kenyon.edu/physicslads They already held the first session for girls, but another will come up in March (http://www.kenyon.edu/x58103.xml )

Then, on Saturday, November 5, from noon until 4:00 pm, we will be taking a “Walk In the Past” at Mohican Outdoor School in Butler, Ohio. This is a family event giving the opportunity to experience what life was like in Ohio in the 1800s costing only $5.00 for the whole family. Click here for more info and to download flyer:  http://www.mohicanoutdoorschool.org/events/view/56/169.html No registration required.

On Tuesday, November 15, Dana and his granddad will be attending Mohican’s Fall HOOT (Homeschool Opportunities for Outdoor Training).

The website says: “Join us for the Fall 2011 Session of HOOT!, from 10 am – 2 pm.  Let’s start digging – that is, digging in our mock archaeology dig site!  We will explore the geology of Hemlock Falls, and learn about archaeology during this HOOT! session.  Cost per child: $5.00.  No fee for parents.  Please bring a packed lunch for child and adult, something to drink, and outerwear appropriate for the weather, as we will be outside for most of the class times, rain or shine.  Pre-registration required.”
Click here to register online

Hopefully these will all be great experiences and are all either free or extremely inexpensive. If you don’t live in my neck of the woods, check your own area for great activities. Happy Fall homeschooling!

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Kenpo Karate Brown Belt

  After a year and a half of hard work, Dana has earned his brown belt in Kenpo Karate and is now in the Advanced Little Dragons class at Panther Kenpo Karate, excellently taught by Steve Hatfield. He has learned to overcome some of his Aspie sensitivities and fears, and his perfectionism is actually a help. He learns the moves fairly quickly and practices regularly. He is, unfortunately, not as industrious about his required “To Do” list which says he must complete lessons, do required chores, show black belt respect for family and teacher, etc., daily. But the list is still a good incentive since it has to be checked daily and turned in weekly.

The Brown Belt is a major milestone and, after earning the stripes for the brown belt, is followed by the Black Belt with white stripe, the first of three on his way to a Black Belt. Now he is allowed to wear the black ghi, which we purchased for him in recognition of his hard work. We also got him the emblem patch for the uniform. He wears them proudly.

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Into the Dragon’s Lair!

Happy Halloween! Come with us, if you dare…into the Dragon’s Lair!

This slideshow design generated with Smilebox

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“Socialization”

Like many homeschoolers, I am tired of the old “socialization” issue coming up. Recently, it has been coming from Dana’s counselor and child psychiatrist wo are trying to help him deal with anxiety, behavioral issues and Asperger’s Syndrome in general. Because he often does not want to talk or interact much with them, they tend to assume that he is always like that, despite what I tell them.

I won’t go into the many excellent arguments and discussions concerning what “socialization” really means and the pros and cons of learning social skills in brick and mortar school versus in homeschool. There are many blogs and websites that cover this quite well. I am just going to share a recent page I made for his scrapbook/portfolio so that I have something to show them as proof that, yes, he does interact with kids his age, as well as adults, and yes, he gets along just fine with them, thank you, and even has a small circle of special long-time friends.

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Karate Blue Belt & Recognition

Dana demonstrated confidence and ability and earned his Kenpo Karate blue belt. His instructor also chose him as the “Little Dragon of the Month”. Looking good, Dana! One of the parents also complimented me on his politeness and good behavior. I was very proud. He has come a long way.

See my previous posts about why karate is so good for kids, especially those on the spectrum.

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Dan Emmett Music & Arts Festival 2010 – Mt. Vernon, Ohio

This is just a bit of the Dan Emmett Music & Arts Festival this year in rural north-central Ohio. It is held each year in honor of the acknowledged author of “Dixie”, Daniel Decatur Emmett, a vaudeville performer who was born and sometimes lived in Mount Vernon, Ohio. That’s right, “Dixie” was written by a Yankee!

This festival is true Americana – small town community fun with the heat, humidity, fiddle music, crafts, sore feet and $5.00 onion rings! The youth performers were much better than I expected. I didn’t know there was so much talent in our community!

Since I am no longer able to post videos without paying an annual fee, I put just half of the flash mob dance into a Smilebox creation.

 The flash mob dance was practiced for weeks, but kept pretty much a secret, although the media was notified. We (Dana and I) were supposed to be part of it, but I was afraid it was asking too much of him. The heat that day would have been hard on both of us, too. It can’t compare to Oprah’s birthday surprise flashdance, but it was good small town fun. Our day ended when the black clouds rolled in quickly after the flash mob dance, and we barely made it back to our car and got out before the storm broke.

It was fun and we got plenty of walking exercise and still avoided a heat stroke!

If you can wait for the download, I think you will enjoy the slightly less than 2 minutes of the flashdance. In fact, click here, go read your e-mail for two or three minutes, then come back to view. If you hear squealing and hollering, it has started. Just click the circle arrow to start it over. To view a professionally filmed and edited version with better music sound, click here to see it on Youtube.

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Swim Fun

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Kenpo Karate Purple Belt

Hurray for Dana! He practiced hard all week and passed his test for purple belt in Kenpo Karate! He is learning that hard work pays off. The moves are getting longer and harder to remember, but he is giving it his “Black Belt effort” and is learning them.

Congratulations to Dana for doing your best and succeeding!

I am proud of him. But more importantly, he is proud of himself.

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