Junie B is a Naughty Little Booger

I find myself on the sofa enjoying the quiet stillness that everyone going to bed brings to this house- I couldn't ask for a more relaxing feeling then blogging to the light of my scentsy listening to the sound of silence. Whew! As much as I love being home with the kids, the constant background of bickering can fray these nerves of steel that I possess or is it that I desire to posses...?

We are incredibly busy right now which is not our norm but probably a sign of the age that the kids have hit. As I blogged about last time, the boys are heavily involved in the FFA (future farmers of America) and are really enjoying themselves. They are on a Greenhand Conduct of Meetings team that will compete at the state level in two weeks. This team is amazing, really. There are seven kids on the team- 5 of which had never heard of Robert's Rules of Order until they joined the FFA. The team consists of 2 kids that are adopted and have learning struggles. The first is my Jared who is very dyslexic and has major medical issues. The second is a little gal who is 17 and in the 9th grade She too is home schooled. She was adopted as an older child from an orphanage in the Ukraine, I think.

So this group has worked and worked. They competed in Districts and really did not do well but 2 teams go on to regionals and only 2 competed. At regionals, they did phenomenal. They competed against some of the hardest teams in the state and came out 2nd- so they will compete at state! That is the amazing to this pro-adoption, home school mom! Three of the seven on this team are home schooled. I have attached a pic to this post- enjoy. Jared, of course is the black handsome fella and Loren is directly opposite of him.

The boys are also working on their 4-H State Award papers. This is a 15 page form with a 3 page story, a business letter and a picture journal of their 4-H career. It is a lot of work but oh so worth it. In June, if they are selected, they will go to Michigan State and compete for awards. The boys tell me that the best part of competing for these awards is that they get to 'cut' in the food line past the other 3000 4-H members...Leave it to a boy to think of his stomach first.

Filling out a state award is a lot of work for my resident dyslexic. So it is a lot of work for me as well but I think that it is important for Jared to figure out how to complete a project. Everything that I can do to help him figure out how to compensate for his struggles is worth every bit of blood, sweat and tears- which we are working on drawing!

Jacie has a unique fascination with the Junie B Jones books right now. I keep telling her, "Wow, Jace...Junie B is a naughty little booger."

She replies, "Yes but I sure like her."

She probably sees similarities, as I do...

I love encouraging reading so I continue to invest my time and sanity in Junie B in the hopes that one day someone comes by and swats her little bottom in one of the books. I think that I will be waiting a long time for that one. Anyway, Jacie did read a three line story the other day with some assistance. I was excited. I have to say that homeschooling a dyslexic and an ESL child could put me over the edge some days. I am learning patience though.

I truly love what I am doing here. The kids are learning everyday. For that I am grateful~

~Camo Pants