Sunday, May 31, 2015

Lifestyle of Learning 2015 Edition: Volume Fifteen

May 24-31

Sunday - Maceo returned home from Memphis and Bishop and I hit the road.  
We cruised a small town that had over 120 flags flying for Memorial day and the most incredible murals all over the town.

We then went on to the St. Louis Art Museum.
It is a beautiful museum and was a great way to wrap up our history studies.  We saw art from ancient Greece and Rome which we had studied last year.  We saw art from Africa, Asia, Australia and MesoAmerica that reinforced what we studied last year and this.  And we saw art from the middle ages, including a special exhibit of Heironymous Bosch, which coincided with this years studies in history.











A puzzle jug - cool!


Bishop posing as a Aztec sculpture!











Bishop even found inspiration for his own work.


We tried new versions of hamburgers for dinner.  We are always logging away culinary ideas.  This restaurant also had some cool pop art.  We logged away those ideas as well.


Bishop spent the evening listening to podcasts and music.  He told me about the cajon and shared with me a lot of music that he likes and told me why.  He is so cool.

Monday - Today was all about the Renaissance Faire.
We were greeted at the gate by magic.  Delightful!








Delighted by the dragon puppeteer.

The dragon Bishop fell in love with.
We visited the German Guild where we got to handle armor and chainmaille.



Then we experienced a little more magic...

the most amazing leather masks...

some beautiful music...
a feast...
some serious contemplation on his throne...

Throne of Swords.
and then back to the German Guild...
where Bishop was trained in the use of the pike.








That was such a blast!
Then we watched a jousting tournament ...





before heading back to the dragons.
I so wanted to adopt the dragon that Bishop loved but I really couldn't afford it.
I could, however, afford the one below as it was free.
I won it!!!



Well, the faire was a hit, enjoyed by all.  We went swimming with these friends before heading back home.

Tuesday -  Bishop and I spent time recuperating from our adventure.  Maceo went to troupe and Annie Get Your Gun rehearsal.

Wednesday -  Maceo had vocal instruction today.  He reprised several songs and finished up an Italian piece that his instructor says is competition ready, Just a bit of exciting news,  Maceo's vocal instructor will be on The Voice next month.  He is an amazing vocalist and it will be fun to see him perform in that way.

There was a surprise youth group meeting.  They spent two hours having nerf wars then did a Bible study.  Afterwards Maceo went out to dinner with friends.

Thursday -  We took Maceo to Creasian today.  He would only eat the beef and broccoli.  Bishop and I tried the lamb with cumin.  It was yummy, although we have found that we prefer the beef with cumin and the lamb with green onions.

Bishop went to pottery in the evening.  He cleaned the pots that he threw last time.  I joined Maceo at Annie Get Your Gun rehearsal; it was dance rehearsal.  It is such a joy to watch Maceo in action, working so hard.














Friday -  Overall, we just stayed close to home.  I am working on sorting, organizing and, most importantly, purging.  Maceo did go to a friend's party, then spent the night with another friend.  Bishop occupied himself in ways that intrigued him.  That makes for a great day.

Saturday - The highlight of the day, maybe even the week, was attending this dear friends graduation.  One of the beautiful things about homeschooling is that we design our own graduation ceremonies.  A couple of weeks ago I attended the graduation of another friend.  He opted to attend the community homeschooling commencement that resembles a traditional commencement ceremony.  This friend was offered the same opportunity but favored just having a gathering of family and close friends.  His mother spoke and his father prayed a blessing over him.  Then we ate and partied.  It was a wonderful thing!




Sunday - We had a very relaxed day.  Bishop did attend youth group.  Most importantly, this marks not only the end of May 2015 but the end of the academic year.  Maceo has completed his freshman year of high school and Bishop his eighth grade year.
What a great year!
Looking forward to yet another adventurous year!