Josiah's Challenge class has a semester of economics with an emphasis on the stock market. They have two projects that they have to work on all semester. One is a Cost of Living Project. One option is they will see how much they currently 'cost' through an analysis of the family's expenses, bills, income, etc. The other option was to create a cost of living for when they are 23 years old. Josiah chose the project that tells him how much he costs right now. We were going through the bills to see all our expenses and as I had Josiah write, "Electricity, Gas, Water" he would interrupt me and say he didn't use any gas. Do you use the stove? Then, yes. Heat? Then, yes. We also have to calculate how many miles per week are spent on driving him to his activities. It's a great project.
His other economics project is a Stock Market Venture. His class is part of an online program in which they are given 100K each to play in the stock market. They use the real stock market numbers, so it feels like you're doing the real thing. On Monday morning, Josiah bought stock in McDonald's, Costco, Chipotle, and a few "secret" stocks. Then he watched their progress minute-by-minute. At 9:20 a.m. he was already selling 5 shares of McDonald's because it was down. At 9:45, he bought 10 shares of McDonald's because it was up. I tried to tell him that it was a long game, but that didn't stop him from watching the computer. It got us talking about stock trading as a job. Henry perked up and decided he would like to work as a trader from ages 24-40, make millions, buy a NYC apartment, and live the life. Goals. Josiah just wants to beat his fellow classmates over the spring semester. The program ranks his classmates as their stocks change prices. Interest is peeked, which is great for school projects.
Henry did his second egg trial this week. The Powerade egg turned out grosser this time with odd layers of purple. Henry's also had to practice his presentation because science fair is in 2 weeks. They are not telling the kids who is doing the judging, so they're a bit nervous about that.
We got to see the new sidewalk poured mid-week. It was a seven man crew, but one man was dedicated to keeping a tiny dog away from their work. The small dog (a neighbor's dog that roams somewhat freely) kept crossing the street to visit the workers. We enjoyed watching them smooth out the sidewalk and add the details.
Later that day we had even better news. After 10 days of no heat, it finally got fixed. Waking up to a 55° house was getting a little tiresome. We had a good idea that a fuse had blown, but without the skillset to fix it. Todd originally tried to change out our Nest thermostat. But then the old original-to-the-house thermostat didn't kick on. I bought a new thermostat and installed it and that didn't work. I reinstalled the Nest and it still didn't work. So, when the A/C guy showed up, we were very grateful. He showed me the tiny fuse that had blown. Even better, he taught me how to change out the thermostat (by flipping a switch in the attic beforehand). It was good the heat was fixed, because this week we dip into the 20s. Caroline is adamant that if it reaches below freezing temperatures, there must be a guarantee of snow. She is not about to endure 20° without a little precipitation to go with it. Of course, our chance of precipitation is 2%. Fingers crossed we'll have snow in South Carolina.
During the days of no heat, Josiah consistently built us fires every day. There was a little pyromania going on as well, but overall, we appreciated his efforts. We also said that the heat getting fixed was a little early birthday present for Josiah who turned 15 this week! 15! That somehow sounds much older than 14. He requested a 5:30 a.m. wake-up. Fortunately it was a CC day, so I'm up at that time anyway. Any other day, 5:30 a.m. is not on my list of morning alarms. He opened his gifts before enjoying a healthy serving of Lucky Charms. He requested the biggest box the grocery store sold. Check. He got more Beatles gear - a new hat and t-shirt as well as Paul McCartney's Lyrics books from Grandma and Grandpa. He's been perusing the books a lot and can never get enough of the Beatles.
For dinner, we had his beloved chicken fingers, this time from Cane's. He spent the evening starting his new Lego kit and playing video games with his friends. At 10 p.m. Henry set up his new Codenames game so we did that for a few rounds as well as Tapple (another game).
He had a tuxedo cake at home as well. Josiah always goes for the fancy. (He arranged his own candles.)
This weekend Josiah went to his friend's basketball game. He was having a good time until the game ended in a fight. One kid from the opposing team put another kid in a headlock and started punching his head. The parents from the stands ran on the court to break it up, and the parents of the punched kid pressed charges. Josiah's friends from that game have texted/told him many times, That doesn't normally happen at our games. That's good to know...
Friday and Saturday Josiah worked on his Lego kit a lot. It is a Parisian Boutique and Hotel. The top two floors are the hotel rooms. They are part of the Lego City collection, so they all connect together like a city block. Josiah's kit was a corner section, and they connected Henry's sections onto it. Henry's already been online looking for a building to put on his birthday list.
Caroline is in her art quarter at CC and this week they did Grandma Moses. She did a snowball fight with some action and perspective thrown in. I love the little pine trees she put in the background.
At Awana this week, they had a new theme night - Arctic Blast. Caroline mentioned that she hoped they didn't do it Texas-style by using bubbles. She wanted real snow. What she got was a roll of toilet paper that each team wound around a leader, making them into a snowman. Caroline thought it particularly gross when a kid on her team put a dirty carrot in the leader's mouth. He played to win. They also had a jar of marshmallows and you had to guess how many were inside. So it was a bit Texas-style. You got to do what you got to do when you don't have actual snow.
The boys were happy that LifeGroups started back up this week. They really enjoy hanging out with their friends and studying through the Bible together. Henry got to turn his evening into a sleepover. As he said goodbye to his siblings he said he wouldn't miss them. They, in turn, replied the same. So, love all around happening here.
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