MECHE Skits

Every year for the past four years, we (homeschool graduates & students) get together to perform skits for our local mom's group.

Before the action begins, we rehearse - and play around to get rid of jitters.

In the end, the moms arrive. We stand backstage giving last-minute comments, suggestions, and reminders...

And taking foot pictures.

There are old favorites - like a MECHE meeting spoof.

And new craziness. Like a spoof of a real homeschool family...

Or an extremely fake, over-protective homeschool mom.

Even the cast of Star Wars made an appearance.

Our musical numbers seem to get better each year. "Take Our Test" - a spoof of "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast is, in my opinion, the best!

My absolute favorite skit? The above.  An intense liberal talk show. :) Now I'm already thinking about next year.

Education in the Scripture

Education is a topic about which I could never tire discussing. Having been homeschooled myself, I cannot take the subject of education for granted. Homeschooling nurtured my relationship with family and developed within me a Christian worldview. God is so good! In this vein, I was pleased to find this sermon. And I hope it encourages you to take the education of covenant children seriously. Enjoy.

Evangelia's Birthday Trip

Noah, Maggie, and Evangelia (Back row L to R)
Jude (Front Row)

Last month, I had the opportunity to take a weekend trip with one of the most delightful families I know. The occasion? Evangelia's birthday!

Silly Car Photos

With out much ado (or perhaps a LOT of "to do." I was quite excited. =), we set off to visit the Clay Center of Charleston.

Building a dam out of sand

Never having been to the Clay Center, I was expecting a place where you made pottery. Or at least played with clay, as is more likely in my case. Thankfully, I googled it the night before.

Getting our hand dirty

The Clay Center is a smaller version of the Carnegie Science Museum of Pittsburgh. It has exhibits and interactive materials to teach children science.

Waiting for it to spout

And I could immediately see why the children love it. This was a place where the floor could be covered with water, and no one would think anything of it. Literally!

Maggie

Answering many of the questions during the demonstration, the kids definitely showed their homeschool education. I was so proud of them!

And I couldn't help but laugh at their reaction to modern art. Yes, they definitely understand the concept that good art should demonstrate true beauty. 

If we had taken a vote, the favorite room would have been the one with the most interactive exhibits.

Between rope and pulleys, water cohesion, lasers...

a digital harp, motion capture filming, etc, it would have definitely been the winner.

More of the abstract art. Justly named, "The pile of junk." Tee hee hee.

And to top it all off, a Mexican dinner with a happy birthday song. Eva was definitely surprised. After a full day on Saturday, we had the pleasure of worshiping with Trinity OPC on the Sabbath. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures. =(

Monday, I was back at the kid's house. And who wouldn't be with smiles like that?!

Another Year

Another school year has begun! And the kiddos and I will be studying Greek Mythology together. Huzzah! I'm extremely excited about it. *grins*

Jude & Maggie

One of my favorite aspects of homeschooling is watching the children help each other understand the concepts. What a blessing on their relationships!

Evangelia

Teaching Greek mythology provides a great opportunity for worldview discussion and training.

Me & Jude

And of course, we couldn't resist taking some fun photos.

Evangelia

And some artistic ones. :O)

All the [Living Room's] a Stage

2011 MECHE Skits

For the third time, we gathered to write, practice, and perform skits for our homeschool moms. We had a blast! And it seems our program gets more elaborate each year.

"Locomotion"

I taped signs all around my room, the hall, and my brother's room -- to direct the actors and stagehands (i.e. ALL of us) what to do and when. :O)

Happy faces at our last practice!

Hannah

Amy

Emily and Kelsie

What does backstage look like?

Costume piles. Props. Scripts. General Randomness.

Good question. See above. :P

1st Skit - MECHE: Take 3

Once the skits begin, there is no going back!

Hannah and Kelsie

But, thankfully, with some prayer and encouragement, we come out the other side smiling! And the moms kindly support us and laugh.

Josh

Me, Emily, and Hannah

So don't I look ready for my next skit?

Skit: Overzealous Mom

Clearly, I was just practicing my facial expressions.

Backstage during the performance (Can you see all the props??)

While there were a few skits with just a few of us, some skits required most, if not ALL the cast...

Skit: Homeschooling Through the Ages

The Hippies from HTTA

Isn't Dee's expression great?

Skit: Homeschooling on the Roof

Yes, the above is a spoof of "Fiddler on the Roof" homeschool style. :P

Jake, Keely, & Daniel

Keely, with her backup guys, did a great version of "Help Me, Rhonda!"

But Keely doesn't just sing...

Our "boy" band

She also plays a mean tambourine in our homeschool version of "I'm a Believer."

Isn't the above picture hilarious? I <3 it!

Josh, Daniel. Jake, & Emily

Our favorite MECHE talk-show: One and Two.

After all that work, the boys do need an outlet. :P

Thanks moms for the love you give! And thanks to all the other kids who put in time and effort to make the skits fun!

Sights of D.C.

The Washington Monument

Once again, the Kincell family and I traveled to Washington, D.C. for HSLDA's CAP day. What a wonderful blessing it is to be able to lobby for homeschooling! God is so good to us. And everyone from HSLDA is very helpful. Thank you all for your hard work organizing these events.

Our travel was safe; the weather was warm... and we were on a mission. Being either homeschool parents, graduates, or students, we all have experienced the great benefits of homeschooling. Hence throughout our meetings with capitol hill staffers, we were eager to share our enthusiasm for and the terrific results of homeschooling. And we also made sure to mention the importance of the Parental Rights Amendment for protecting against dangers such as the UNCRC.

The Capitol

Even though we had a busy schedule, we squeezed in some sight seeing at the end of our day.

Keely and Kelsie
with the Supreme Court in the background

Aren't the buildings impressive?

For some reason, I was obsessed with the ceilings while we were there... So ornate and beautiful!

Of course, Kelsie was interested in other things...

The ship, of course!

And then there were the biodegradable utensils. Who comes up with this stuff?

"Ok, Ben, pay attention. I've brought you to the Library of Congress. Why? Because it's the biggest library in the world. Over 20 million books. And they're all saying the exact same thing: Listen to Riley."

The Library of Congress

While we didn't get to actually enter the Library of Congress, we did get to take pictures in front of it. Which included squeezing into a very small space. :P Good times.

And if you agree and want to see more: The Kincell Family has more pictures.

Do you see that small space?!

It was a great day! We'll be back, D.C.