Pumpkins and Molasses anyone?

Another enjoyable trip for homeschoolers and families alike is Burton's Sugar farm Located near Michigan City Mississippi off of HW 72. Owned and operated by a husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Al Burton. The 500 acre establishment has been in Al's family since his grandfather moved to Benton Co. from Arkansas in 1879. Burton's opened their farm in 2000 offering hayrides over rolling hills, and selling festive fall decorations. Then in 2001, they added the notorious hayride to the pumpkin patch where you can pick your own family pumpkins. 2002 introduced Al's grandfathers century year old grist machine that in used in an interesting display on how cornmeal use to be ground. A sorghum mill was also purchased, giving us the opportunity to watch fresh sorghum molasses in the making. Straight from watching the horse powered press squeeze the sugar from the cane down to the cooking and cooling process. You will also enjoy a blacksmith shoeing horses, and metal workers, Mountain man survival camp. truck pulls and Civil War reinactments are also part of the entertainment, complete with my favorite catfish dinners to curb the most savage appetite.

Open from September 29 through October 27.
The

Other things I do

Not only do I homeschool 2 great kids, I also have a very energetic 2 year old under my feet. (well, she will be 3 in April of '08) So... i decided I would get into a company that has great (you guessed it) educational toys. Yep I hooked up with Discovery Toys. Its a great investment, as these toys last a long time, and there are so many ways you can play with them. I mean take for example, the giant peg board. This one sells for babies, helps with color recognition, and pattern making, as well as hand eye coordination. BUT... at preschool years can be used to assist with teaching basic math, and even early geometry. COOL huh? yep I thought so.

The books are from Do-re-me-and-you, and are beautifully illustrated and really captivate my daughter. Some come with music Cd's that she loves to dance along to, with really cute music. Look and see! http://discoverytoyslink.com/kristenrice

One of the great things I love is the ability to have a lifetime guarantee on our toys, if something breaks, its replaced. loose pieces to a game? They're replaced. cant say that for some neighborhood stores, now can we? another great perk is no pressure to buy stuff to meet a quota, and I can make a business out of it in my spare time and feel good about what I do. ( I love playing with toys) Theres 3 levels you can participate at, which are:

level 1: Shop for yourself and get great toys at a discount.

level 2: Have a personal toy store for just friends and family.

level 3: Have a business and share with EVERYBODY the fantastic toys and opportunity our toys offer.

That's it in a nutshell. Love it and wouldn't do anything different.

Next homeschool fieldtrip in the making!!

Jefferson Davis House

The Jefferson Davis House, located in beautiful Biloxi Mississippi, was built in 1848 and was com pleated in 1852 by James Brown. After having to flee the cottage at the onset of the Civil War, the property was sold at the death of Mr. Brown to Frank Johnston who held ownership to it for a brief 2 months before selling it to Sarah Dorsey, a prominent author, the daughter of a wealthy Louisiana planter, and childhood friend to Jefferson Davis' wife Varina.

Sarah Davis named the estate Beauvoir (Boh-var) meaning "beautiful view" as it sits on 600 acres over looking the Mississippi Sound. Jefferson Davis had been searching for a quiet abode to complete his many writings. After visiting the estate only twice he and his wife fell in love with the land and eventually bought it from Mrs. Dorsey for $5,500 dollars to be paid in 3 installments. Mrs Dorsey died shortly after receiving the first payment, and the Jefferson's then learned that they had been named sole heirs of the estate. Beauvoir was turned over to Winnie Davis at her fathers death in 1889, when both she and her mother moved upstate to New York. Varina and Winnie continued to work in the literature department until Winnie's death in 1898.

Varina then sold the estate to The Sons of Confederate Veterans in 1902. It was kept as both a memorial to her husband, and housing for confederate veterans, widows and orphans. Roughly 2,500 vets and family members were sheltered there from 1903 to 1957

scheduled to reopen in June 2008 after remodeling and repairs suffered with hurricane Katrina in 2005

Why do I homeschool?

Ok, so my friends told me I had gone totally insane. I made the jump to homeschool not one, but both of my children. "What about your free time." "What about socialization issues." "How are you going to manage your time?" These questions and more came flying at me fallowed by some serious doubts on my ability to stick with it.

The decision to homeschool my children came when I realized that my being a stay-at-home-mom wasn't going to cut it. They needed more time to focus on the task at hand with out the daily distractions of rebellious students. ( and yes, that included my son). The schools don't have the environment that I really want my kids in. There was no way that I was going to sit back and watch as my children were simply pushed through the system. Or have to be subjected to daily harassment because they just weren't cool enough. Some of the subjects being taught were of a nature I didn't want my kids exposed to at that time.

I have joined many homeschool groups, and to my dismay, I have to say that I was disgruntled with a majority of them. What they were, in actuality, was a more structured "Clique" I guess you could say. Those of you who know me can support the common knowledge that byfar I am not a "Clique able" individual. So, we continue to look for the right group of homeschoolers, as I know we will find a group that meets our needs. until then my children get the socialization from church functions, and hanging out with their friends. With this blog, I hope to enlighten fellow homeschoolers with many creative ideas, and various field trip resources.