Lessons of Life on the New River

February 2015 Tween/Teen STEM Challenge

Each month one of the homeschool groups we belong to does a STEM Challenge. This month the challenge was to construct a zip line that would drop a marble onto a target.

The materials included:

kite string
index cards
marbles
tape
paper clips
paper cup
scissors
a bulls-eye target

Sometimes the kids work in groups but my munchkin decided to work on her own. We have this event at a local library and only have a short time - 2 hours to be exact - so the kids have to work quickly, My child does not. For part of her daily school work I had her draft and test her design at home. She was not able to bring her design with her, but constructed it on location.

Although most of the kids had the same design some worked better than others due to the construction. This was a great way to teach the kids about motion and forces, transfer of energy and technological design.

She placed first in the girls category AND overall. Let's just say she had bragging rights for a month and left with a smile on her face.

Want to do this on your own? Visit Starfish Education: The Brown Bag STEM Challenge.

Knock, Knock...

Knock knock.
Who's there?
Ben.
Ben who?
Ben away for a while but I'm back now!

I can't believe how long ago my last post was! We went on vacation and things just got crazy! We joined a couple of homeschool groups and they are hoppin'. There is always something going on. My child has more of a social life than I do!

With homeschooling, homeschool co-ops, holiday parties, choir, church functions, civic meetings, CERT meetings and training, the list could go on and on, but I am tired just typing it. I am finding it hard to keep up with chores, specifically organization. Oh, and I might add, I was offered a part time job (that pays) and I took it!

So what am I going to do? I am going to restructure my life. I need to get back into exercising, specifically walking. I signed up to do my first 5k - "A Walk for Epilepsy." Being that I have epilepsy, I thought this would be a perfect thing for my first walk. I'm a little excited and a lot nervous. Excited that I am finally biting the bullet to do this but nervous in that I will fail or not follow through. Yesterday I worked a marathon water station which I love doing, but somehow I sprained my knee. I have no idea how, all I know is that it hurts. Bad.

I have a number of things I need to do to organize my life to prepare for this new chapter. Guess I need to start...yesterday!

Epilepsy Awareness Month

Did you know that November is Epilepsy Awareness Month? No? It seems like everything has its own "month" but we should be aware of these things not just during its particular month, but all the time.

I have epilepsy. I have been plagued with it for 12+ years. In fact, today, twelve years ago was my first grand mal. I scared the crap out of my mother, dropped my new baby girl and terrified my husband. I might also add that it was my birthday!

Last night at a CERT Meeting we went around the table and said what we were thankful for. Each year when they get to me I am on the verge of tears. When my seizures were at their worst and I had to step out of my comfort zone and ask for help, these fantastic men and women stepped up to the plate to help. They were my chauffeurs, my supporters, but overall my friends.

I went through some really dark times. Times that I just wanted to give up. I saw how it effected my husband but mostly my daughter. My seizures terrified them. Scared them. Scared me! The doctors had me on some pretty strong medication and I was a zombie. My doctor spent more time talking to my husband than he did me. I just wasn't there. The new concoction has resulted in me being seizure free for four years!

Although I have been seizure free for four years, I have horrible migraines. You've probably seen some of those "problem" memes. Well, here is mine...

Sometimes I wish I had one just so I can say my brain rebooted and maybe, just maybe it will work again. My family thinks I am crazy but sometimes the migraines hurt worse than the results after a seizure. I can handle a chewed up tongue or a couple of bruises, heck even a broken nose, but migraines are a whole different critter. THEY HURT!

So my comment for the day is...

- BUT -

I read a quote yesterday (or maybe heard it, I don't remember) but it said "Dark days don't always mean rain." I don't know why, but I thought that summed up my time with seizures. I'm glad I have family and friends who are there for me. They may not understand - heck we don't understand, but they are there to support me.

Please look at the pictures below. It's so important to know what to do if you happen upon someone who is having a seizure or just coming out of one.

November Teen/Tween Challenge

On Friday, Kira participated in our monthly homeschool group's Teen/Tween Challenge. This month the challenge was to make a paper table out of eight sheets of newspaper. It didn't go exactly as planned...for Kira at least. Before we got there she was super excited about going and seeing all her friends again. Attendance was extremely low so instead of working in teams they worked individually.

I didn't get many pictures because Kira was having a really bad day.

The winners!

Kira began working on her table and just seemed to get more and more frustrated. They had a time limit of one hour and time limits are an anxiety trigger for her. Needless to say she didn't get done in time to compete. I was working on one myself, and we just used mine and added to it. We "competed" against the other kids that were making additions to their tables and she didn't do bad, but we definitely could have made out design better!