Giggles, Wiggles and Wonder

Wordless Wednesday (well, there are some words, actually)

2009-11-11T12:04:00.004-05:00

From our visit to my Dad's on the Mississippi coast this past weekend.

View from the roof of the boathouse:

A swing at the end of the dock is everyone's favorite place to sit:

Cullen pushing his little cousin, Scarlett:

A new fall hair-do:

Clowning around with Pop:

Note his unique paddling technique:

Much easier to get around with some extra man-power:

Sending an "air five" to Pop:

One of my favorite places:

Wordless Wednesday

2009-11-04T16:01:00.002-05:00

Sudden Obsession

2009-11-04T12:34:00.004-05:00

I mentioned in an earlier post that Cullen has suddenly gone crazy for drawing and writing. The level of this new interest is almost frightening in its intensity! He begs for breaks between his usual work in order to draw his latest ideas. I have wondered if this is really the same child!

There are sixty or more drawings just from the past couple of weeks. Most of these are intricate and filled with a number of things happening. You can tell he rushed to get it all out onto the paper, including little speech bubbles with characters interacting with each other. Each of these has a story that takes him several minutes to get through! Then there are a few drawings which he obviously slowed down for, taking greater care in the way things look. This farm scene took him about half an hour earlier this week.

I sometimes - okay, frequently - get somewhat obsessed with a new interest or a revived old one. I know exactly what it feels like to have a thousand ideas frantically running around in your head and the terrible urgency of trying to capture them on paper before they frizzle out.

Today, I am letting Cullen write the book he so desperately wants to work on - something about a boy and his "Boat of Youth." It sounds like the beginning of a real adventure story! The only other formal work this afternoon will be pared down to the basics. It is so easy to double up on history or science another day.

This day, we follow inspiration!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-28T11:35:00.003-04:00

This little guy lives in the bushes beside our front porch and comes out to sit in the sun some mornings. He's becoming a little less fearful of me as long as I'm quiet.

Weekly Report - Taking It Easy

2009-10-25T22:08:00.007-04:00

This past week was a break of sorts for Cullen. I had a few doctor appointments and wasn't feeling altogether all together, so we did no formal lessons. Not a single one. There were plenty of the impromptu discussions and life-lessons that are part of everyday life around here, however, and he was a great help with the laundry! Other than his chess and art classes and the weekly gymnastics class, he was able to play as he liked. (With the exception of video games this week.)

Of course, he spent a great deal of time with the usual action figures and in cartwheeling through the house, but I was really pleased that he decided to write two letters to his cousins. I was absolutely thrilled to see that they were composed of more than two sentences each! He edited for spelling and clarity with a little help, and the handwriting, though not neat by any stretch, was legible - mostly!

Friday evening, my husband left work early, my daughter joined us, and we drove across town to Medieval Times for dinner and the show. Cullen was so excited, he had a hard time keeping his feet on the ground!

I couldn't help but grin when his Dad said something about Cullen being a knight, and his response was, "I can't be a knight! I'm not even old enough to be a squire!"

The sword fights sent sparks flying, the jousting was impressive with lances splintering left and right, and the good guys won in the end. Of course, my own favorite part of the evening was seeing the horses show their stuff. Beautiful!

We were seated in the Green Knight's section and were told to cheer for him, which we did heartily, but Cullen was a little bit distressed when he figured out that the Green Knight was the bad guy! The knight was really good at being the bad guy, though, and he also flirted a little with Cullen's big sister, so we managed to get past any moral dilemma in a way that I hope never happens in real life!

Before the show began, we killed some time walking around the Discover Mills mall where Medieval Times is located and found a Lego store. If you've read many of our posts here recently, you can imagine Cullen's face when he saw it. To make the surprise even better, there was a life-sized Lego statue of Darth Vader right at the entry.

We almost didn't get him out of there!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-21T12:46:00.002-04:00

Cullen took plenty of photos entirely on his own during our recent trip to Florida. There were the usual dozens of nostril shots and photos of my Mom's dog with a plastic pirate gun, etc. These few surprised me a little.

Breakthrough!

2009-10-19T14:22:00.003-04:00

My pencil-phobic child just asked me if I would teach him drawing lessons every day! Well, he actually asked for every day at 2:14 PM. He has always been a nut for a schedule!

This borders on the miraculous!

I do know that some boys take a little longer to really get into written expression, but my oldest was so into writing and drawing from such an early age, that I have not been entirely sure how to best handle Cullen. I kept reading to just allow him time. Apparently, that was good advice. In the past two weeks, he has produced at least 50 pages of drawings and lists all on his own.

Can you tell I'm excited?!?

Weekly Report

2009-10-18T17:45:00.005-04:00

We are still enjoying the Middle Ages in our history reading. Here are a few of our favorite resources from the past week or so. The Minstrel in the Tower is only halfway done. We're reading this one together!

As far as reading on his own, Cullen finished up the Magic Treehouse book, Knight Before Dawn, as well as a couple of Star Wars titles - all pretty light reading, I know. I don't want to only and always have him read this type of book, but a few choices that are easier to read, yet still interesting, seem to help Cullen's reading speed and fluency. I try to challenge him most of the time, but also to toss some easy and fun things into the mix.

The basic subjects are all moving along pretty well. I am guilty of slacking in the area of writing instruction, mostly because he has a history of resisting in this. He will compose all day long if I am the one dictating, but he does not want to write. Seriously, there have been tears before over my request for a little drawing and two or three sentences in response to something we've read or learned. This past week, though, Cullen has been writing and drawing like crazy on his own. I'm not sure what triggered this, but I am so glad to see his enthusiasm! I've tried to just let him do whatever he's motivated to do in order to keep it fun. My challenge next week will be to gently pull some of that into an intentional exercise or practice.

Math has focused on mental calculations and shortcuts in addition and subtraction. Cullen considers this more fun than work, so no problems here this week. In science, we've read about and watched videos on reptiles and birds. The session of clay classes came to an end, but he begins a multi-media art class next week.

At the awards day for this session of chess classes, Cullen's coach told me that he has definitely been improving and learning as far as chess skills go, but that the most remarkable progress has been in his sportsmanship. This was terrific news! His extreme competitiveness and intensity makes being a good sport something that Cullen has had to intentionally cultivate. It's the primary reason I signed him up for these classes to begin with.

We've had Cullen go with no video games this week (for reasons I will not detail to protect his feelings) and very limited TV time. He has been surprised at the number of things he has enjoyed instead! We've agreed that it is a very good idea to limit screen time more than we've done in the past. Cullen's response was surprisingly positive - Good! I can make more drawings!

He also dug out the playmobil castle, knights and pirates. You can tell by listening that he knows a great deal more about the era than he used to, especially when he moans about not having a proper seige tower. Maybe we can make one with cardboard this week.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-14T00:29:00.002-04:00

Favorite photos of the past few weeks

End of Summer in St. Augustine

2009-10-10T22:59:00.017-04:00

It's been crazy busy the past few weeks! I'm hoping very much to settle down and stay that way a while.

Toward the end of September, Cullen and I, along with my Mom and her little doggy, too, went to Jacksonville, FL, for my cousin's wedding. This was Cullen's first wedding, and he was very taken with the whole idea. His cousin Kathryn, who was beautiful as a flower girl, taught him a little of how to dance with a girl at the reception. Her mom, (another of my cousins) Jamie, and her husband, Ken, did the photography. If you love weddings or photography, check out their blog here: www.worleyarts.com/blog. There are some gorgeous photos, including a session of bride and groom in full wedding attire in the ocean at sunrise the next morning! Scroll down enough and you can see Cullen and Kathryn dancing like crazy!

After the wedding, we stayed a few extra days visiting with my aunt and uncle and enjoying South Ponte Vedre Beach. Here is Cullen with his grandmother, Ma (my Mom!) I just realized that they both have their eyes closed in this pic!

This area of beach was unlike anything I've ever seen! There was very little sand, but there were millions of shells. Most were crushed, but quite a number whole and intact. Cullen collected pocketfuls and bucketfuls, and he had a blast doing it.

We took two days to explore nearby St. Augustine, which wasn't really enough time to see everything. I let Cullen choose the places he wanted most to see. Of course, first on the list was the Castillo de San Marcos, the old fort. There were re-enacters working on cleaning muskets that were very patient in answering Cullen's questions and in posing for photos.

The structure is constructed of coquina, which is a natural limestone composite of crushed shells, sand and calcite. Cullen got a kick out of finding coquina in buildings and walls throughout St. Augustine.

Our visit was on a Monday and the fort was not at all crowded. Cullen had plenty of room to pretend, and I just sat back and let him have fun.

Looking at this photo, I can't believe I let him sit on the wall like that! It was quite a drop to the ground!

A little train tour was fun and informative, if a terribly bumpy ride. Maybe that made it more fun for the little guy, though. He wanted to see the Old Jail from the 1800's, so we took the tour and learned quite a bit - most of it more gory and morbid than I really would've chosen for him if I'd thought about it more ahead of time. Nothing seemed to upset him, so I guess it's all right. He is all boy, after all!

Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth Archaeology Park was another highlight for us. We both drank a little of the sulfer-smelling water. I'm hoping to look younger any day now!

The talks and presentations here were outstanding - very informative, yet engaging even to a 7 year-old boy! The planetarium showed us how the Spanish explorers navigated by the night skies. Cullen was fascinated. (He took plenty of pictures, but I really need to give him a lesson how to let the camera's auto-focus do its job.) He wanted specifically to get a photo of this little wall made of "tabby" - a mixture of lime, water, oyster shells and ash. Think of it as man-made coquina. Who knew a he would be so enamored with building materials?

Within the park's 15 acres, there are quite a few ducks, peacocks, squirrels and other assorted creatures. Cullen learned the hard way to never let a peacock take food right out of your hand. Their beaks are sharp! He tossed cracker crumbs out on the ground after that, but this way the squirrels had chance to get in on the munchies.

We spent time just enjoying the beauty of the place and talking about what life must have been like for the Spanish settlers and the Native Americans that had once lived there.

This was a perfect close to summer.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-07T09:20:00.004-04:00

Cullen and his cousin, Walker, on Stone Mountain's Sky Hike. Conquering this was a huge confidence-builder!

Reading and Cooking with Dad

2009-09-21T21:12:00.005-04:00

One of Cullen's favorite pastimes (of the more quiet sort) to share with his Dad is watching the cooking television network. This afternoon, he discovered that I have a couple of Alton Brown cookbooks, and he brought them out to show his Dad, all excited! They sat on the sofa together to look through the books, Cullen stopping to read the entire set of instructions for baking the perfect pie crust. I couldn't help but laugh!

The reading must have inspired him a bit, because he and Dad made mashed potatoes together to go along with a roast in the oven. Cullen can sometimes be ridiculously picky about trying new foods, and I don't think he's ever eaten mashed potatoes before. (Hard to believe, I know!) Since he helped make them, he was pretty eager to try some. I think I'll have him help with the cooking more often!

First on the list of dishes to prepare... some kind of pie!

No Acting Lessons Required

2009-09-17T13:40:00.004-04:00

I had to share a typical reading session from our house:

This is new material for him, as you can tell by the couple of words that I help with, but the overly-dramatic presentation is actually his favorite, silly way to read aloud. Sometimes I have to insist that he just read it straight or we'd triple or quadruple the time it takes to read a chapter.

Dull moments around here are a rare commodity!

Weekly Report

2009-09-11T22:44:00.010-04:00

This was a really good week at our house! We kicked it off with a bang at The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History. (See Monday's post here.) Overall, Cullen was cooperative and fun to be with, which as you can imagine, does help quite a bit!

Basics rolled along smoothly. Spelling, Bible, D'Nealian Cursive, Explode the Code 4 phonics - all without a hitch. Cullen memorized a few Bible verses and should tackle a poem next week. He finished reading The Sword in the Tree and is excited about beginning Adventures of King Arthur tomorrow.

Rounding out language arts, he read and wrote a response to one of Aesop's Fables and learned about synonyms and pronouns. After we read The Hero Beowulf together, he narrated a super short summary back to me. (I hope that these narrations grow a little longer as time goes on!) I jotted his sentences down, then wrote out two of them for him to copy. He added a gory illustration of Beowulf with sword in hand and a green, bloody monster arm at his feet. Typical little boy, yes, but don't get the wrong idea. He also wrote a couple of sentences with pronouns for me which read, "I have some butterflies. They are beautiful." There is a sweet side, too!

Math was pretty relaxed. He's been working hard on some fairly new concepts, so we mostly just did review work and word problems this week. On the top of the stack for this weekend's read aloud books is The History of Money from Weekly Reader Library series. Cullen saw this earlier and can barely wait to get into it. He finds money VERY interesting!

Due to time constraints last week, which means "we didn't get it all done," this week we combined some of Tapestry of Grace Yr2 week 3 with week 4 to catch up with the schedule, covering the rise of Islam, Charlemagne, an introduction to the Feudal System and what life would have been like in a Medieval village. This is such a fun period to learn about!

Crustaceans were the focus of our science, with a little reading and making a page for Cullen's notebook. Tomorrow, we plan to hunt down a pill bug, sow bug, or roly-poly as I've always called it, to get an up-close look at a land-dwelling crustacean. Now that I think of it, I guess we could spend a few minutes at the lobster tank in the seafood section of the grocery store, too.

Cullen created these clay pieces at his weekly art class - a castle and a goblet. (Perfect for our Middle Ages theme!) I was a little puzzled (silently, of course) at the castle until it suddenly hit me. It's a giant inflatable bouncy castle!

Most of Cullen's free time over the past several days has been spent hunched over a pile of legos and an instruction manual. He has made small things on his own before, but this week was a milestone. After three days, he completed this giant Coast Guard ship with all the bells and whistles - all on his own! The only assistance I provided was to help him backtrack a few steps to find a mistake, then he forged ahead to finish.

He's quite proud of this accomplishment! I am, too!

The Study of Legos

2009-09-09T21:29:00.000-04:00

Shouldn't following an intricately detailed Lego instruction manual count as school work?!?

I actually shortened math time to allow him to work on these. One of my goals for Cullen this year is for him to get a little better at continuing to work through when something is not easy, without throwing his hands up and quitting (or throwing whatever's in his hands up and quitting!) Plus it gave him the motivation to clean off his play table!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-09T13:16:00.003-04:00

Early morning backyard visitor
Two little ones wandered a little farther back in the trees, but I couldn't manage to catch them with my camera.

Southern Museum Visit

2009-09-07T17:44:00.014-04:00

Today, we met some friends at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History here in Kennesaw. The museum had a Homeschool Day with special activities in addition to their regular exhibits. We had never been before, and both Cullen and I had a great time!

The special exhibit featured now centers around the Native American Code Talkers of World War II. A guide led us through this area and explained the importance of the native American languages and their speakers in keeping our soldiers safe during the war. Good thing the guide was there to pronounce some of the words for us! Navaho, Choctaw - Hooked On Phonics would have been no help!

A large part of the museum houses items from the old Glover Machine Works which once manufactured steam locomotives. My little train-fanatic found this pretty interesting.

There were a couple of hands-on activities for the kids in the exhibit itself.

One of the highlights was a working telegraph station. Well, actually there were two connected across the room by real telegraph wire on real poles. Big charts with the Morse Code allowed the kids to send messages to each other, when they finally learned not to both tap at the same time. Cullen referred to this as "texting" at one point! I guess it was the original form of sending a text message!

The dress-up rooms were a big hit, too. Our friends, Hannah and Amber, decked themselves out in bonnets and shawls, and Cullen got to learn how to tip his hat to the ladies.

There were a couple of craft options for the kids also. Cullen's dreamcatcher creation doubles as an earring.

We watched a movie on the true story of the Great Locomotive Chase of the Civil War. I had known for years that there was a story, but I'd never actually read or heard it till today. It is an amazing tale! The actual General is here, just a stone's throw from where it was abducted all those years ago - only now indoors.

We bought some little packets of reproduction Confederate money in the gift shop. Cullen was so excited about this! First, he thought it was real, but didn't seem too disappointed that the bills are actually replicas. It's not like he could have spent it anyway. Actually, his word of the day has been "replica" since he read it on the package and asked what that meant. You wouldn't think you could use that word more than once or twice in a regular day, but somehow he keeps managing to slip it in.

This is a place I know we will visit again. There are layers of information that we didn't even get to today. As we get farther along in our history studies, I think Cullen may enjoy this museum even more.

Weekly Report (Two for the price of one!)

2009-09-04T17:35:00.016-04:00

We still aren't up to full speed and a firm routine yet, but I feel like we might get there sometime soon. This past week, two weeks really, there have been complications with appointments and odd schedule busters. As I gather my thoughts for this post, though, I see that we managed to accomplish a few things after all!

Cullen is reading his first chapter book all on his own. (We've sometimes alternated pages of a book in the past.) The Sword in the Tree has been an exciting tale that ties in with our history studies of the Middle Ages.

We read about the last days of the Roman Empire through the beginning of life in Medieval times, especially enjoying making fancy letters with calligraphy markers like the monks who copied and illuminated manuscripts. I have fallen in love with this book!

Science was a little light with reading and a few activities on insects and arachnids. Cullen firmly declined any offer on my part to help him catch a few critters to bring inside. He's like his Dad that way!

We completed our overview of the 50 states. Here's a pic of Cullen's map that he filled in as we went along. He had the hardest time coming to grips with the fact that the two-letter state abbreviations were all capital letters. That goes against everything he believes about capitalization, and he strongly disagrees with the practice! He did finally agree to go along with the rest of the country, despite his objections, and make both letters upper case.

He finished up Singapore 2A Math this week, did plenty of timed addition fact drills (He loves the stopwatch!) and watched some video segments of cool math concepts on our Mathtacular dvd from Sonlight.

Our Language Arts included Spelling, (which he loves,) writing in his journal, (which he fights, but is usually proud of in the end,) working in his Aesop's Fables workbook from Royal Fireworks Press and a little in a Spectrum LA workbook. He wrote Thank You notes for birthday gifts received a few weeks ago, too. The highlight of the past two weeks of school work for Cullen has been discovering his new favorite word game - Mad Libs. He literally begs to do these. It is a great way to review and reinforce parts of speech in an absolutely goofy way, and believe me, he does take it to the limits of goofiness!

He is enjoying and learning with our Bible Explorers study. I was a little worried about the format, but it works well for him as a short daily lesson.

Wednesdays have chess class and a fun clay class; Mondays always have gymnastics and Cub Scouts to look forward to. The composer we are focusing on this month is Vivaldi, one of my own favorites. Cullen, predictably, thinks that he doesn't even come close to Beethoven, but did agree to listen a little anyway. (Maybe I should have saved Beethoven's Fifth till last!)

Birthday Party

2009-09-04T00:16:00.003-04:00

Photos only of Cullen's 7th birthday party about 4 weeks ago. (I know! I'm a slacker!)

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-01T23:03:00.005-04:00

snaggled

2009-08-29T16:52:00.004-04:00

Eventful day! Cullen lost his first tooth - pulled it himself.

Actually he was attempting to pull it as we were driving home from a shopping trip, but quickly stopped and announced that he couldn't do it. He said this with the little detached tooth stuck to his lower lip.

"Son, it's already out!" I had to pull the tooth off of his lip and show it to him.

Then he just kept giggling at himself in the mirror.

I Love Math!

2009-08-27T11:58:00.003-04:00

We began exploring DIVISION today. Check out our fancy manipulatives! Yes, dried beans are fun at our house!

Cullen loves math - learning new concepts and solving problems that are challenging. I've discovered that if I go too many days with only review and drill, he becomes significantly less cooperative. (Did I say significantly?) Keeping the supply of interesting and new ideas steady keeps him engaged and happy and much more receptive to the daily review and drill of things he just needs to practice. When our Singapore curriculum doesn't have a fresh concept, I've been using some "living math" books on things like estimating, probability, really large numbers, etc.

I think we're finding our groove here!

Cullen actually burst out a few times today in shouts of "I love math!!!"

Now if I could just figure out how to draw out half this much enthusiasm for writing...

Summer's End and First Week of School

2009-08-15T14:11:00.014-04:00

Our summer break was filled with a good balance of crazy fun and lazy quiet days. A few highlights that I probably could have/should have posted along the way include Cullen's first flight in an airplane. His Uncle Drew took Cullen and his cousin, Justin, along with Papa, their grandfather, up for a quick trip in this little plane. (Yes, I was praying the entire time.)

A week-long, half-day Kid Chess camp was a highlight for our little guy in July. Here he is playing against the Caveman, who, by the way, never makes a good move. When a kid beats the cavemen (and they always do) the winning child is rewarded with a small rock as an award. Cullen displays his rock right along with his other chess trophies. He did win "Most Improved Player" for the week, so apparently he learned a thing or two.

There were a few Cub Scout events, including the pack's annual Luau and Pool Party. We also hit the pool a few times with family friends.

Our first week of school was supposed to begin Monday, but my plans were hi-jacked with a few urgent errands that came up suddenly. Oh, well! One of my goals this year is to be a little more relaxed about what we actually accomplish, as I can get a little obsessive sometimes. The first day provided a big opportunity for me to examine the importance of this goal!

On Wednesday, Cullen and I went with my Mom and my youngest sister, Tia, to the Georgia Aquarium. We all are in love with the place! Cullen has talked about it constantly for the past few days. His favorite was the male Beluga Whale that spent so much time entertaining spectators by blowing air bubble rings, then catching them in his mouth! I didn't realize how expressive these creatures are. I could have stayed right there all day.

By Thursday, our new routine was beginning to gel, and Cullen was enjoying himself with his favorite subjects. He even worked ahead 7 extra exercises in his Explode the Code Phonics on his own! He read Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie and A Long Way Westward this past week, and reviewed a few math and grammar topics that might have been forgotten over our break, even though he repeatedly insisted that he did NOT need to. Over the summer, he has been enjoying learning the states. We are only about halfway through the 50 right now.

One book that we both enjoyed was this from the library about large numbers. We both like this one so much that I might buy it just to have on hand all the time.

Outside activities this year include Scouts, gymnastics, weekly classes in chess and art, as well as church and a new playgroup through a local co-op. When we are home late in the day and he still has energy to burn, which is more often than not, Cullen usually spends some time on the trampoline in the yard. He jumps until he is exhausted, but then a trampoline is a great place to lie back and look for pictures in the evening clouds.

Sometime over the next few days, I'll share our curriculum plans and field trips for the year and show a few photos of our school room. I have to finish cleaning first!

Slimey Fun

2009-06-19T09:41:00.008-04:00

Of all the critters I've kept in jars over my lifetime, I've never had the opportunity to observe snails this closely. Though our science this past week was planned for Cullen's benefit, I've been delighted to learn a few things myself!

We kept three snails for several days in a large jar with air holes and a moist dirt floor. They didn't appear to be terribly afraid of us and would tolerate some handling without even retracting into their shells. Cullen and I were both surprised at how quickly these little guys can move! Of course, being the little boy that he is, Cullen was most fascinated with snail poopy - hard, dark and shiny left all over the jar. I have to admit, it didn't look at all like I would have thought it should!

Cullen wanted very much to see how it felt to let a snail crawl on his hand. This was a great deal of fun, but he did wash his hands two or three times afterward!

The most surprising thing that he discovered while playing with the snails amazed me. Did you know that you can actually hear a snail eat? Their tongues grate off bits of leaf (or cucumber peel in this case) as they lick. When we were very quiet and held our hungriest snail close, it was easy hear a soft, rhythmic rasping as it munched away.

He made a couple of pages for his science notebook - one specifically on snail observations and body parts, the other on mollusks in general. We are leisurely moving along to echinoderms then insects next. Getting a little science worked into summer fun is easy around here. Cullen considers this more fun than anything else. Me, too!

Scout Stuff

2009-06-18T10:34:00.012-04:00

Long time since last post, but we've been busy! April and May and early June were filled with some fun and interesting Cub Scout happenings. Here are the highlights:

Our pack did a small service project, planting some perrenials at the church that charters us and allows us the use of their facilities. The boys had a great time digging, planting and searching out the fattest earthworms!

One small activity at our last den meeting of the school-year really was a hit with Cullen and several other boys. The elective suggested in the Tiger Cub Scout handbook was to learn to sew on a button. We decided to make bookmarks with oversized plastic buttons and felt. I was actually worried beforehand that the boys would roll their eyes at this and call it a dumb idea. Boy, was I wrong! Here is Cullen's button bookmark. He asked if he could make more at home to give as gifts.

In May, there was the annual pack picnic at a nearby park. A cookout, flag football and a ceremony for promoting the scouts up to the next rank were part of the agenda, but the highlight was making rockets out of soda bottles, then shooting them up in a clearing with the use of water and an air compressor. (I really wish I'd had my camera; my phone won't take photos quickly enough to capture anything fast.) Here are the scouts, with a few siblings, lining up for launch. Cullen's rocket flew surprisingly, amazingly high, and as far as we know, is still resting about 80 feet up in the top of a pine tree!

The very first week of June, Cullen got to enjoy Cub Scout Day Camp, and I had the privilege (and grueling job!) of being one of his camp den leaders. The camp was very well run with tons of fun and challenging things for the kids. I took my camera, but I was usually too busy to even remember to pull it out of its case. I did get a pic of Cullen trying out soap carving, using a real pocket knife for the first time. Check out the red duct tape finger protectors! The older boy scouts working this station told our boys that they chose red so the blood wouldn't show. Makes perfect sense...if you're a boy.

The boys really enjoyed the BB gun and archery ranges. Cullen did surprisingly well at archery, even getting a bulls-eye once and coming pretty close to a second one. At the end of the week, each boy received little awards based on what they did well, tried hardest to learn or enjoyed the most. Cullen was tickled to get an archery award and one for knots.

There are several pack activities scheduled for the summer, so Cullen will have time with his scout friends. He is very excited about his new status as a Wolf Cub and is looking forward to August when our regular weekly den meetings resume. I have to say that the whole scouting experience has turned out to be a very good thing for him. And I've been having a bit of fun with it at the same time!