Label Me This...

This is in response to a thread at odonnellweb.

Don't label me as a Christian homeschooler. I am a Christian, I am a homeschooler, but I do not homeschool for religious reasons. I do not define myself as a Christian homeschooler.

Don't label me as gay. I'm not.

Don't label me as anti-gay. I'm not.

Don't label me as a Marxist. I'm not.

Don't label me as anti-Marxist. I'm not.

Don't label me as an Atheist. I'm not.

Don't label me as an anti-Atheist. I'm not.

Don't label me as a Libertarian. I'm not.

Don't label me as anti-Libertarian. I'm not.

Don't label me as an ACLU Supporter. Sometimes I am, sometimes I am not.

Don't label me as an ACLU hater. I'm not.

Don't label me as an anti-Christian. I am not.

Don't label me as a person who hates people that are different and unique and that have different opinions or ideas, a different faith or lack of faith than I do. I do not hate them.

Go ahead, label me as an Home-Educating Parent. I am.

Go ahead, label me as someone who is trying to polarize the Christian community. I am someone who is trying to "spread the news" that physically punishing your child is wrong, wrong, wrong.

Go ahead, label me as an action hater. I don't hate people. I hate some of their actions. Hitting a child with a hand or anything else is something I hate.

Don't label me as having a hidden agenda. My agenda is loud and clear: STOP CHILD ABUSE

Do not assume that because we share a belief that Jesus died for our sins, that all our beliefs are the same.

Don't think that I will actually believe this boycott will do no good and will make homeschoolers in general "look" bad.

It is time for "THE OTHER HOMESCHOOLERS" to speak up and out. We're not all denim-jumper-wearing, husband-obeying, blind-faith people. Some of us educate ourselves on issues. Some of us can think for ourselves. Some of us can separate ourselves from our husbands. Case in point, as I blogged earlier, my husband does not support this boycott only due to "the censorship" issue. Because I am a Christian, that does not preclude me from stepping up to the plate and honoring my beliefs. I have a voice. I will use it. If it causes a polarization of the Christian community, so be it. I guarantee it will NOT reflect poorly on the homeschooling community.

The point, though, is that if saves just one child from being hit, then "we" have won the battle. Hopefully it will save many more, I hope we will win the war.

Discrimination

Tonight I experienced discrimination firsthand and didn't recognize it for what it was.

I did recognize it only I thought it was sexism in action.

I was wrong.

I was talking to a man -- rather I was *trying* to talk to a man and give him some very helpful information. Not only did he not give me eye-to-eye contact, he wouldn't look at me when I spoke. Not only did he not look at me when I spoke, he didn't look my direction.

He was short, curt and uppity. He didn't want my help. He didn't want me talking to him. That was very clear.

When my family got home from this activity, I discussed it with my husband. I expressed my opinion that the guy was just being a sexist jerk.

My wise husband smiled and started speaking in a gentle tone. Frankie, he said, sexism was only a small part of it. He didn't want contact with you because you are overweight.

I was floored and about to ask why he thought that. Then it dawned on me. That's why the man couldn't even look at me, because I'm overweight.

I cannot understand how someone can hate someone else because of their body shape. Same with skin color. Same with religion. Same with sexual preference. I could write a million "same with" sentences here. I don't understand discrimination.

Really, I just don't get it.

I think the people that can't look you in the eye and are so closed off to any other ideas than their own are the saddest people that walk the face of the earth. I think they must lead the most miserable lives imaginable. I think they are projecting their own self-hatred and self-doubt onto others. I think they are so full of hate that it eats away at them so they lash out at others in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

I pity them.

My son saw all of this. He also was privy to our conversation after the fact. Another valuable lesson for him. Funny thing is, we don't need to tell him why discrimination in any form is wrong. He knows.

To drive home the lesson, though, I've come up with some vocabulary.

Tomorrow morning's lessons:

From dictionary.com:

discriminate: 2. To make distinctions on the basis of class or category without regard to individual merit ; show preference or prejudice

unreasonable: Not governed by reason.

preconceived: To form (an opinion, for example) before possessing full or adequate knowledge or experience.

conviction: A fixed or strong belief.

prejudice:

n.

1. a. An adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts.

b. A preconceived preference or idea.

2. The act or state of holding unreasonable preconceived judgments or convictions.

3. Irrational suspicion or hatred of a particular group, race, or religion.

4. Detriment or injury caused to a person by the preconceived, unfavorable conviction of another or others.

tr. v.

1. To cause (someone) to judge prematurely and irrationally.

2. To affect injuriously or detrimentally by a judgment or an act.

hate:

1. a. To feel hostility or animosity toward.

b. To detest.

2. To feel dislike or distaste for

pity: Sympathy and sorrow aroused by the misfortune or suffering of another.

tolerance: The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.

Tomorrow I will teach my son to start seriously questioning. Why do some people believe it is good to beat babies with plastic pipe? Why do people hate fat people? Why is there racial discrimination? Why do some religious people do what they do? I'm sure he will come up with a million questions.

Tomorrow I will stress my favorite line for the millionth time: LIVE AND LET LIVE with the caveat: as long as it does no one or thing harm. If it causes harm, fight it like crazy.

"When I grow up, I wanna be a..."

HEALTH INSPECTOR.

My son said this to me today. I'm thinking, what the heck???

I asked him why and he had a good reason.

"Dad said that sometimes health inspectors are given free food. Companies hire them to watch the wait staff to make sure they don't do anything gross like pick their nose when they're serving food. I want to be a health inspector because I want free food."

And there you have it.

Free food.

Color

I have a thing for color. I was just emailing with a friend that I was kicking myself that I didn't buy a ream of pastel pink copy paper at Office Depot when I was there. She wanted to know what I used it for.

Well, I like color. White is boring to me. When I was in high school, I bought colored paper spiral notebooks and my grades shot through the roof. I also bought a set of thin line makers and would come home from school and re-write all my notes in those colored makers. Weird, huh.

I buy little packs of 100-count pastel paper at Kmart. It's expensive compared to buying a ream at an office store. I like them. Pink is the color I do all my planning on. It's easy to find when I'm looking for some specific plans. My son likes the green. All his math facts sheets are in green pastel. Blues and yellows I use for other things, mostly for me.

I bought a pack of "brights" at Sam's Club at the beginning of the year. The red and blue was too dark to do school work on. We printed everything in orange paper at Halloween.

At Walgreen's the other day, I came across a pack of 100-count colored notebook paper. It's not pastel, it's very bright. Tommy's been doing practice math problems on that. He seems to like color as much as I do. I'll have him do his writing on that this summer.

We still use white paper, mostly for mapwork or if I'm out of pastels. The colored paper makes things more fun and peppy.

I read in a book while I was doing research for homeschooling that if children have difficulty focusing, that you should put their favorite color on their desktop. It will help them to focus. I haven't tried that yet, but it is worth a shot. Tommy has troubles with focus if I'm not in the room. Maybe a trip to the dollar store is in order. I could buy a green poster board and put it on the table.

I also like colored 3x5 cards. We don't use a lot of 3x5 cards, but when Tommy's math facts inexplicably escaped his brain last week, I made my own set of flashcards. I asked him which color he'd like his 9's on. Green. I made flashcards for all the upper multiplication and division problems on separate colors. As I started to make them, he requested certain color Sharpie markers. He told me that 9 is green to him. Six is blue. As much as I love color, I have never put colors with numbers.

Is it any wonder that my kitchen is pink, my hall is blue, my bedroom is purple, Tommy's room is yellow and blue? I really do like lots of color all around me.

Spring Planning

I've just been too frustrated to blog lately. That's because I go blog chasing and get disgusted at what I read. (Pro-Pearl garbage.)

School's been going well. We're over that awful spring-fever hump and going strong. I sat down today with a fresh quarter calendar and our books just to map things out a little. I'm not big on doing X the 23rd, Y the 24th, Z the 25th. We take our time with each subject, slowing down if we want to study further, speeding up and covering only the basics if it's boring. Of course we get sidetracked a lot, especially with science. Not sidetracked, but something piques Tommy's interest and we go off on that tangent. And that's okay by me. =)

It looks as if we are going to finish everything by the end of May. Yes!

Much to my son's dismay, though, I've announced we're doing summer school lite. I've talked about it all year so he knew it was coming. He's very upset. Tommy even asked me today if he could do all his work independently on the weekends so he could be finished a couple weeks earlier. lol Yeah, but...we're still doing summer school. With breaks, though. I certainly don't want to do school every single day.

For the summer I'm planning on continuing with math. It's going well but for math facts. Why is it that a child can pass a 100-problem-timed test several days in a row on his math facts and then wake up one morning and all those facts have escaped his brain? Why? WHY? See mom cry. See mom banging her head on the kitchen table. We will drill, practice, play math fact games until they NEVER escape his brain again. Hopefully.

Also on the schedule is a writing program. I didn't actually buy a new program for summer, I'm going to teach him about some of the different types of writing and then have him start outlining and writing five-paragraph essays. I might also have him do the American History writing program (forget the name, but it's by the Logos school) that I bought and we never used. Ahem. I hope my husband doesn't find out about that, he'll get ticked. He thinks I spend too much on school.

Finally on the summer agenda, science and lots of it. I'm still in the beginning planning stages, but I see lots of mini-units in our future. Lots of outside nature stuff. Lots of experiments. My son has requested a garden. We still have plenty of time to plan the garden, we still have snow on the ground -- plus it snowed again today.

Might throw in a weather station, too. Oh, and astronomy...oh the possibilities.

We tore up the check to Uncle Milton's and have decided to order our hermit crabs from Carolina Biological instead. We're going to be ordering a butterfly kit too. Hopefully we'll find some tadpoles at one of our lakes.

I like the planning stage as much as the carrying-it-out part. My plan is to make summer school seem as if it's not school at all, but lots of fun. If only I could make math fun.

What a waste of money -- Uncle Milton's Hermit Crab Habitat

We went shopping in the big city today. The big city actually has a bookstore, a craft store, decent restaurants, an Office Depot, a mall, a Home Depot and other great places.

While at the craft store, I picked up some things for my son's county fair projects. He found an Uncle Milton's Live Hermit Crab Habitat. $26.99. He didn't beg, he asked nicely if he could have it. We kept trying to explain that it was probably junk but he kept saying how cool it would be to have a hermit crab or two. So after walking through the store, debating, we finally gave in and bought it.

Big mistake.

Our $26.99 got us the cheapest piece of plastic that bends and warps and barely stands up on its own. It is JUNK. Most toy packaging comes with stronger plastic than this thing. The cat will be able to destroy it if he sees a hermit crab inside. If the cat even jumped on it, it would collapse. Everything but food was included. Junk, junk, junk.

Also included was the FREE coupon for a hermit crab. All you have to do is mail the coupon in and include shipping and handling for the crab. $6.95 shipping and handling. $13.95 for two crabs.

RIP OFF!

Because it is a major PITA to drive to the big city to shop, we won't be returning it. We will be using the coupon and spending yet another $13.95 for two hermit crabs. We'll use one of our glass aquariums to house the crabs instead.

I knew better, I knew better, I knew better.

Next time we think of buying something in a city far, far away, I'll be opening the box to check it out first.

$26.99, $13.95 -- I could have bought books!

At the Kitchen Table Tonight...Censorship

Tonight after supper, the three of us started a discussion on censorship. It was very enlightening to all three of us. My son sided with me immediately. My husband took what normally is my role. I took what normally is his role. He is a conservative. I grew up in a liberal family.

I brought the boycott topic up. I asked my husband if he would join me in my boycott. His answer? No.

Of course my jaw dropped to the table.

Why?

Because it's censorship. "As much as I hate it, as much as I hate what they are advocating, it is censorship."

We had a big, long discussion on censorship. My son decided the book should be banned off the face of the earth and then burned. Then we brought up how the conservative right try to and succeed sometimes to ban such books as Harry Potter, Narnia, Heather Has Two Mommies, My Brother Sam is Dead, The Stupids, The Color Purple which was turned into one of mom's all-time favorite movies, to name a few.

I told my son of stories where people have imitated crimes in novels. He thought the novels should be banned.

I told my son that some people hate Disney. He wanted to know why and I said because they are magical, and magic is against the bible's teachings. Maybe those should be banned, too.

We went through a long list of all the types of books out there: How to commit suicide and Kevorkian's books on assisted suicide. Had to get a little off topic with that to explain what that was.

We should ban those.

We kept bringing up other books and topics that might be offensive to some.

All should be banned.

Then I said to my son: Guess what? There are no books left. All books have been banned. Every book out there is going to be offensive to someone.

His eyes got huge. I could almost see that light bulb above his head going on.

At this point my husband got into a little bit of a "discussion" about children's rights. We bantered back and forth. We even brought up the cult that is demonstrating at the American soldiers' funerals. My husband, although he hated what they did, thought they should have freedom of speech. Then he jokingly added that he wants the right to protest the protesters. The protesters infuriate me and I don't know if I'm big enough to support their right of freedom of speech in that forum. Gulp.

My husband asked me how I could believe in censorship.

I couldn't come up with an answer right off the bat. How can I? It goes against everything I believe in: Freedom of choice, freedom of speech, live and let life. How can I believe in censorship?

After sitting there for a few very awkward moments, I turned to my son and said this: I am against censorship. Vehemently against it. However, sometimes we have to stand up for our principles. My view on the safety of children is stronger than my view on censorship. In my perspective, the greater good is to protect children and stop the production of child-abuse manuals and devices that are produced for the sole intent of inflicting pain. It may be wrong in the realm of censorship, but it is right in my heart and for children. I believe in it and therefore I will continue with my boycott.

My husband and I agreed to respect each other's choice. I do admire him for taking a stand on such a painful subject. I will add that he thinks the author was probably the child who mutilated bugs, pulled the wings off flies, killed baby birds, etc., because he was so cruel.

19 free gifts

Okay, so maybe I'm getting a little petty here, but this question has been at the back of my mind since I heard of a certain magazine.

Why do they need to give 19 free gifts to get you to subscribe? I've heard of magazines like Time, for instance, giving one free gift or Sports Illustrated giving one free gift, but why 19?

It makes me think they are desperate for subscriptions. Is it that bad of a magazine, they have to give you 19 free gifts to get you to order?

19?

First listed is Focus on the Family. That's enough to get me running in the other direction PRONTO. And yes, I am a Christian. (A point that is really nobody's business, but just added for emphasis -- the silent group speaking up, Doc.)

Scrolling down the list, oh, there's BJU Press...another supplier that I will never buy from. Ever. Not even used.

Scrolling further...oh wait, LOOK, it's NO GREATER JOY, Debi Pearl’s best homeschooling ideas from 20-plus years of homeschooling.

Yup, free, with your subscription. No Greater Joy. Free. One of the 19.

Three strikes, you're out.

Becky's Boycott Business

My very good friend, Becky at Farm School, wrote a very powerful letter regarding the boycott. Please, take a moment and read it. Thank you, Becky, and bravo!

Boycott Business

Memories of Public School Sexism

H at Not School has an excellent post entitled Pass Me the Vomit Bag. It reinforces something that I was thinking about just yesterday.
When my son was in public school, his school had to take part in a research project where someone came in and did weird exercises. It was supposed to fire up neurons and actually build more neurons in the brain.

My son hated it. You have to know my son to appreciate this, but he's very serious just like his mom and dad, and he just isn't the type kid that can bark like a seal, dance in public, or crawl on the floor like an alligator in front others. He just cannot do it. And that's okay.

And he didn't. And I got phone calls. "He's not participating. We can't make him do this. He needs this to build his brain."

So, this mom, who volunteered twice a week in his classroom already, went in three days in a row during this brain boost project. The kids did it on a daily basis the entire year. It wasn't bad, but I thought it was all rather silly. Had I been a child and forced to do it, I wouldn't have done it either -- parts of it.

So I watched the first morning, and my son sat with me because he refused to participate. We went home that night and discussed it. My final directive to him was do the parts that don't embarrass you. Barking like a seal was terribly embarrassing for him. Really, he's that sensitive. I would have been too. I told him he didn't have to do what made him uncomfortable.

I show up the next day and lo and behold, my son actually participates in parts of it -- the parts he feels comfortable with. I'm satisfied and proud he faced his fears. They aren't. He needs to do all of it to build his brain up.

So at the dinner table that night, I discuss this with my husband. He decides to take a half hour off work and go watch. I went a third time. My husband got down on the floor with the kids and did everything in the program.

My son wouldn't have done a thing if I had not encouraged him, given him permission to do only what's comfortable, to add things slowly.
My son had participated that day and the day before because I had made him feel safe and gave him freedom of choice.

I think it was wonderful that my husband went and was supportive. I know many men wouldn't do that. It did not make my son do the things he felt uncomfortable with, though. Dad was performing his parental obligation to help his son, nothing more.

Here's the kicker. The staff at that school put my husband up on the highest pedestal. He could do no wrong. He was basically worshipped! The rest of that school year I heard, "Your husband is so wonderful." "How's your husband?" "I can't believe how supportive and loving your husband is." "Tell your husband hello for us." "He's such a good father." Oh puke.

He shows up for a half hour one day and he is suddenly a male-parent god? Because he's male and took an interest in his son in front of an audience of public school staff, he's promoted to sainthood? Because he's actually performing his father role he is adored? I was shocked and appalled at the way he was treated versus how I was treated. I mean, I was there volunteering twice a week. I was the one that did homework after school, that took DS to the library weekly, that read all the classroom newsletters. My husband shows up for a half hour and is the man all men should aspire to be?

My husband is a good man and a good father. But by the mere fact he showed up for a half hour does not make him a saint. And he will be the first to admit that. My son learned a valuable lesson in sexism that year. We discussed it openly and honestly at home.

It was that same treat-them-like-they're-four-years-old mentality that H was discussing in her blog. We, the parents, are children and needed to be treated as if we are completely ignorant and unaware of our parental responsibilities. We need to be talked down to yet praised for our efforts. My husband was doing his job: he was being a father. Why do they not respect the mothers that are doing their jobs, too? When will they realize that there are a lot of people out there that take their parenting responsibilities very seriously.

As my son says way too often, sheesh.

Another HS Cartoon

Cute Cartoon

Frankie Preaches, Kinda Sorta

This is one of my favorite emails that's been floating around for years. I've been meaning to post it here for awhile, and today just seems appropriate.

Use your brains, people. This really is a good example of picking and choosing bible passages as a way of justification: In this example, it's silly. Put your brains to work regarding beating your children. Silly can't even describe it. Criminal does.

Dear Dr. Laura, Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22
clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to best follow them.

a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an
Abomination (Lev 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

g) Lev 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev 19:27. How should they die?

i) I know from Lev 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does
his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev 24:10-16) Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev.
20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging. Your devoted disciple and adoring fan.

INNOCENT CHILD DEAD -- BOYCOTT

I had started a post last weekend about a book called To Train Up a Child. It is the only book that I have ever thrown away not due to poor condition. I do not believe in book censorship, but that trash has no business in anyone's home. I stopped reading after the authors stated to pull the hair of an infant who was biting while nursing and to thump an infant when he started to pull hair, glasses, etc.

A fundamentalist friend gave me the book. It made me ill. I deleted the post before publishing because it was making me physically ill to think of all the abused children. I should have finished the entry and posted.

And now I've come to learn that an innocent child has been murdered by his mother who followed the advice of the authors of To Train Up a Child. Story

I wondered when I read that book years ago why the authors were not turned in for child abuse and promoting child abuse. I did nothing but throw the book away. I will take a stand now.


BOYCOTT

Michael and Debi Pearl
homeschoolblogger.com
The Old School House Magazine
Advertisers at The Old School House Magazine
advertisers


That child's blood is on your hands, Michael and Debi Pearl. According to my bible, murder is a SIN. Your actions are criminal.

Let's go beyond blogging. Let's start a letter writing campaign, or an email campaign, to all the advertisers at The Old School House Magazine. If they continue to advertise in a magazine that promotes child abuse, we, the homeschooling public, will not buy their products. What can we do further? America is a land of free speech, but when that speech promotes child abuse which is illegal, what can we do?

How do they sleep at night knowing the pain and torture that is inflicted upon innocent children at their direction?

Bloggers outraged:

http://beingbridget.blogspot.com/2006/03/boycott-supporters-of-child-abuse.html
http://dantesvirgil.blogspot.com/2006/03/repulsive-hipocrisy-boycott-these.html
http://intothesunrise.blogspot.com/
http://evilmissy.blogspot.com/
http://deskfullofclutter.blogspot.com/
http://asmallcornerofnowhere.blogspot.com/
http://lifewithheathens.blogspot.com/2006/03/boycott-refuse-to-support-abuse.html
http://www.odonnellweb.com/
http://cobranchi.com/


If you want to be added to the list, let me know.

May it be noted I am a Christian and I have never in my life believed in spanking or any form of child abuse.

County Fair Arts and Crafts

Last year my son entered things in the county fair under the Cub Scout division. He won lots of ribbons and a little cash, too. It was a lot of fun. He'll enter under Cub Scouts again this year. As we were walking through the fair, we spotted the 12 and under arts and crafts exhibits. We decided that it would be cool to incorporate County Fair Arts and Crafts into our school. I saved last year's fair book and typed up select categories that are boyish enough and I think my son might enjoy doing.

I'm scratching my head on some of these categories, though. Plastics? What does it mean, plastics? Liquid painting or stenciling? Isn't all paint liquid? I don't get that one, either.

I thought I'd share what we are doing because I know there are county fairs all over the country. My son was thrilled seeing his creations up on display, and was even more thrilled when he got ribbons. (He won the grand champion for Scouts division, which was very cool.) I highly recommend entering the county fair. As my son said, "Mom, plain and simple, it's just cool!"

Maybe some of you crafters have some ideas to help us out. We have no Wal-Mart in our town. We have no craft store, either. We are 60 miles from the nearest Hobby Lobby. I hardly ever go to Hobby Lobby because I spend too much money there. (In other words, I can't just hop in my car to go get ideas.)

County Fair Arts and Crafts

Basketry

Either buy a kit or find something on the internet. A rope basket would be cool.

Ceramics

Buy something and have DS paint it.

Plastics

???

Wreath or swag

Probably not, not too boyish...unless we made a Harry Potter wreath. Would a Christmas wreath count or would that have to be under Holiday.

Wall hanging

Something Harry Potter. ???

Beadwork

Make a bead wristband or a beadie.
Patterns
More Patterns

Recycled
Cool Recycled Site
DS will be making a train similar to that on this website. We have all the parts saved up, just need to build it.

Toy, small

???

Painting on item

Will buy a box or plaque and have him paint a scene or design.

Paper craft

quilling, oragami, paper airplanes...???

Liquid painting or stenciling

???

Leather

Leather moccasins

Craft stick item
probably a craft stick bridge. However, DS has free access to the craft sticks and builds with them all the time. His latest creation is a telephone holder. It's a major PITA because the phone falls off, but we use it anyway.

Holiday
Christmas wall hanging

Not specified
??? Could have fun but I'm drawing a blank

Quilt

DS has been begging to learn to make a quilt. (Probably because of my civil-war era quilts from my great-grandparents that I love so much) I have purchased everything, just need to give up control over MY sewing machine and quilting supplies. Gulp. Will make a baby quilt log cabin style with the Quilt in a Day pattern.

Pillow

?? Does Wal-Mart still sell Harry Potter fabric? How creative can you really get with a pillow? Will search the net.

Stuffed Animal

Need to find pattern...I'm wondering if a yarn snake would qualify as a stuffed animal. It's not really stuffed, but cool. My pattern is like a pom-pom snake, as long as you want to make it...wouldn't an eight-foot long snake be cool?

Latchhook

Have kit, have started.

Construction – wood or metal

Hmmm, the choices are wide open.

Collection of items – small

Ha ha, snort, too many collections here. Will probably spray paint an egg carton and display rocks. Last year he displayed his state keychains in cub scouts.

Photography – framed (made to hang)

Time to hand over the camera.

Picture – number painting (made to hang)

Have purchased, need to start.

Picture – any type

Probably a picture of his dream house, which there are at least a million of around here.

Refinished furniture

I have a night table that is old and ugly. He could use it in his room. Would painting qualify rather than staining?

Woodcarving

Sky's the limit here.

For your morning coffee

Have a cup of coffee with me this morning.

My son and I both think this is pretty funny. Put the coin in the slot, select your coffee and then make sure to click on apri after the coffee pours.

Really, this reflects my sense of humor.

And on another note, we got a cool email today with sidewalk drawings. We liked them so much we searched the artist, Julian Beever. Scroll down and check them out. Our favorite is the boat followed closely by the Coke bottle. Very talented!

Purity Fire

I received this from my local homeschool group. Okay, I admit that I am in a mini-depression right now. This kind of thing just does not help. At first I laughed at it because it was so funny, but then it fueled my depression because I want a homeschool group that isn't so extreme, so weird.

I wasn't going to blog this because the local hs group people have been very nice to me, have not preached. However, this is so against my beliefs and so stupid that I just couldn't not share it.

The two big questions are: What is a manly meal? Is it prepared by young virgin girls so it is pure?

What exactly do they do at the purity fire? Throw the boys into the fire?

I know...they tell the manly men and boys to not visit www.themarriagebed.com because they got smart and figured out that is just a place where Christians can discuss porn under the guise of their religion.

Shaking my head.

PURITY FIRE

For young men 7-12 grade and their fathers

April 8,2006
at 6:00 p.m.

at the XYZ Farm

Cost of $15.00 pair ($5.00/ additional son)

The evening will begin with a manly meal, followed
by music and skits. Mr. ABC will challenge and inspire
father and sons to be pure.

Reserve your tickets by calling ???

It was that bad.

This is one of the buildings downtown where I live. A friend of my husband's took it. You don't see that every day -- that's how windy it was yesterday during our blizzard. Kinda funny looking, but helped to reaffirm why I was in a very bad mood yesterday.

Let's Ban March

I think March should be outlawed. Maybe the last two weeks of February, too.

We had gorgeous weather Saturday that turned in a hurry. We are in a blizzard now except they call it a winter storm nowadays. Schools were closed, although we ended up doing three subjects anyway. It's actually pretty and much more tolerable than blizzards in colder months.

I was highly annoyed by one of the moms from scouts. She called my house four times this morning and let the phone ring nine to ten times each. I don't answer the phone during school. There are several reasons for this. One, I am spending time with my son and teaching and/or supervising him. Two, I have a propensity to gab and gab and gab when the phone rings. Depending who is on the other end, I can talk for a couple hours. Three, I think my son needs to learn that things can wait and to keep focused on what he's doing. Anyway, the mom emailed me instead. She made the comment that "someone must be on the internet this morning because they aren't answering the phone." Now in print that doesn't look bad, but if you heard her say it...highly snippy and sarcastic and bitchy.

I am in such a bad mood and it just seems to be spilling over to everything. Sigh.

My sister called tonight and talked an hour. She was diagnosed with diabetes today. My heart breaks for her. My half sister has it as well. My mom had it and my dad has it. All adult onset. I don't -- yet, but if I don't lose some weight and take better care of myself. She lectured me to wake up before it was too late. She's right.

I just cannot seem to focus on anything. Everything seems to be a major task. I have library books sitting here that were due Feb. 28th. Aargh! I'm not bipolar, really, I'm not -- but I just seem to be bouncing up and down lately. Last week was all down, I had a short reprieve Saturday, and Sunday and today I'm down again. It stinks. It's hard to do school when I'm like this. Today was another jammie day -- for me.

Someone needs to whack me upside the head to get me going. If my mom were alive, I'd be lectured severely. Of course she's probably the reason that I get depressed anyway, she was a carbon copy of Joan Crawford. (I'm NOT kidding, either.) I haven't broken all of my learned responses and reactions yet.

March last year was such a struggle, too. I really think the month should disappear. I don't like to whine all the time and that seems to be all my blog is lately, whine.

Ugh.

Sour Saturday

So we get up this morning, early, my son and I, hop in the car and go to breakfast. Biscuits and gravy for DS and eggs for me. After breakfast, we hop and skip on to the church where we will start a scouting adventure. We are to deliver bags house to house for scouting for food.

Tons of people show up, all are parent-with-child. Then one in my den shows up and the mom says, "Frankie, can I just drop Fred off? I am going to be at work and he can walk to work when you're done. I stood there with my mouth open. You mean to tell me you are too lazy to take your kid on this project? Get off your duff, set an example, be a parent. The man next to me said, "He can ride with us" because I was so dumbfounded I couldn't speak. Then I literally did the head shake thing getting myself back into reality. I said sure, and she had him go with us.

So we get our assignment -- all of three blocks, another idiotic move from the simpleton, and head off. Fred immediately calls, "I'm riding shotgun, runs to my van, hops in the front seat. Okay. Somebody needs a lesson in manners. I open his door, have him get out of the front seat. He's glaring at me. I told him, first of all, you do not call dibs when riding in someone else's car. Secondly, you are not tall enough to ride in the front seat. Air bags kill children. (My car doesn't have passenger front seat air bags, it's that old, but he didn't need to know that, it's still unsafe.)

So Fred and my son get in the back seat. Fred was not speaking to anyone at the church before we left so I knew he was in a bad mood. It got worse. This is how the car ride from the church to our designated area went:

ME: How are you, Fred?
Fred: Tired. (Said in a short, blunt, rude manner.)
Tommy: Hi Fred.
Fred: No answer.
ME: How was school this week, Fred?
Fred: Fine. (Short, blunt, rude....as all the answers were.)
ME: Why are you so tired?
Fred: I read last night.
ME: What did you read?
Fred: A book. (Extreme sarcasm.)
ME: What book?
Fred: A Christmas present.
ME: What was the name of the book?
Fred: I dunno.
ME: Was it good?
Fred: MMM.
Tommy: Have you been playing Runescape lately? What level are you up to now?
Fred: No answer.
Tommy: Oh, cool, look at that house, it has a deck on the roof.
Fred: So what.

long silence

ME: Okay. When we get to the first street, how would you guys like to distribute the bags?
Fred: I'm choosing which side I do.
ME: Uhm, is that okay with you, Tommy?
Tommy: Yes.
TOMMY: Did you know we're going to work on our engineering badge this week?
Fred: So what.

I parked the car, gave the lecture not to walk through lawns and to make sure the bags don't fly away.

The boys get out. Fred picks his side of the street and DS starts his side. Fred proceeds to walk through every single lawn. We have a strict rule to not do that because it is disrespectful. Fred also takes his sweet time. He's slower than molasses. My son finished his side and I told him to start on Fred's side. Fred got really ticked off about that, but we're not going to stand there and watch him -- what a waste of time. If Fred had his heart in it and a good attitude, I would have had DS wait in the car.

We get in the car, go to the second street. Fred refuses to speak when spoken to. He glares when I ask him to put his seatbelt on. I ask him what is wrong, and he snorts: tired. We stop the car, Fred throws half the bags into the back of the van, more on the floor and jumps and runs out of the car. My son had to pick up the bags that he threw on the floor. Fred started screaming at my son, "This is my side of the street, go away."

I wasn't thinking. I should have had him get in the car and taken him to his mother's work right then. Why wasn't I thinking? He refused to talk the rest of the time. He was such a snot. We finished the third street, this time I just had my son get in the car while we waited and waited on Fred.

As we were driving back, my son started asking him other questions which Fred totally ignored. I asked him a question and he ignored me, too. I pulled the car over, put it in park, turned around and said, "You are being very disrespectful to Tommy and I. You are also hurting our feelings." He just stared at me. I waited at least a minute. I said, "Perhaps you didn't hear me. You are being very disrespectful to Tommy and I." This time he eeked out an "I'm sorry."

I started driving again, my son started trying to start a conversation again, was being ignored. I dropped him off. He squeaked out a thank you and slammed the door.

I was fuming.

I left a message on his mom's answering machine but she hasn't called me back. When we drove away, I told my son if he ever acted like that he would be beat and grounded until he was 18. I don't beat my son, I don't believe in spanking, but I was ready to tear my hair out with Fred.

Fred comes from a good, fundamentalist Christian family. He goes to a parochial school. His parents are always preaching, they even have one of those bible-phrase email addresses. I have always been a little lenient with Fred in the past because his parents harp on him continuously to the point it is almost verbally abusive. Those days of my being lenient are over. That kid was rude. It was bad enough he was rude to me, but it was inexcusable how rude he was to my son.

So I'm going to give a big lecture at our next den meeting on manners. Big. I'm not naming names, I'm not pointing fingers, but I'm going to talk about it ad naseum.

After that, both DS and I were in a bad mood, we didn't need that crap while trying to do something good for our community! We pull into our driveway and nearly run into boys from a different pack. We hop out, ask them if they need help. The leader said they had half the city to do and only these five boys showed up. My son and I were eager volunteers. He gave us several blocks to do and more bags. So we delivered the rest of the bags. In peace.

What a morning. On a different note, I was very proud of my son today. Before we got to the church, I asked him to just leave his hat in the car because I didn't want to deal with the simpleton. He looked at me and said, "But mom, if I do, we're letting "him" bully us. Smart kid. He proudly wore his cap into the church. He's learning to stand up for his principles when I want to take the easy way out. Good job, Tommy.

The Fun Stops Today

My son and I had a fun week. In a rare turn of events, my husband was out of town. We did one subject per day this week. We watched movies, played games, and let our hair down. We ate out and we ate Girl Scout cookies.

Reality sets in this morning as I'm drinking my coffee. Time to clean the house, pay the bills (why am I always late paying the bills?) menu plan, grocery shop, be a responsible parent, spouse, person....bluuuuuch.

Spring fever has clutched me so tight that I can barely breathe. The great outdoors is a soggy mess as our great snow melts. Not quite let's-go-to-the-park time due to mud. Last year I remember telling my husband we needed to take time off in the spring or approaching spring because it is next to impossible to school. I scheduled two weeks off in April. Next year I'll be scheduling a week off in February and a week or two weeks off in March.

Summer is such a welcome diversion. It's weird because we get bored starting in July. There are always so many activities in June to keep us busy. I'm thinking that July should be a school month. It's too hot and humid to be outside that much, there are no fun activities set, and the skeeters are out.

We'll definitely be doing school in the summer. We will not finish our Rod and Staff English, and I want to finish that. I want my son to continue doing math and reading daily. I'd also like to delve into some fun financial studies that we just don't have time for during "regular" school.

I laugh about this a lot, but it seems as if there is never enough time to do all that I want to do. It is weird to me because we are homeschoolers and, well, at home. It's not like we are confined to a strict 8-3 public school schedule. Still, there's only so much school one can expect of a child in a day. Well, at least my child. Well, at least me.

I don't know if this spring fever business is a result of my aging or my geographic location. I've always had a touch of spring fever no matter where I lived, but here in Minnesota, I just want to climb out of my skin. I've always been one to enjoy gray days because bright sun hurts my eyes. There seems to be something special about gray days that enables me to get a lot done. A lot. Now, however, my day's progress is based on whether the sun is out or we have a gray day. A gray day now means a depressing atmosphere. It's like a heavy burden pressing on my shoulders.

I think back to when I worked for a living. I didn't get spring fever that bad then. Was it because I had no choice but to work, work, work? My mind was completely occupied with work. Maybe I'm too lenient on myself and my son due to spring fever. Maybe I'm not setting the correct example by having had a light week this week. Maybe I'm screwing up my son for life, destroying any chance at instilling a decent work ethic... NAH. I remember when he was in public school and I volunteered, the kids were climbing the walls. The teachers told me that spring was really tough. It was testing time and there were lots of movie days, lots of let's sneak outside for this or that activities.

Back to reality, sipping my coffee, facing my catch-up day. Bluch. Next week we'll hit the books hard. We'll have renewed our spirit, we'll be well-rested. We'll both have excellent attitudes, neither of us whining...it will be perfect.

Ha ha ha! One can hope.

google

I'm in google, baby.

Somebody found my blog by googling...and I was nineth on the list on the first page. How funny is that.

The search was: homeschool classroom photos

Snort, giggle. Kind of weird.

Actually, I'm on that page twice as I shared my homeschool photos with the about.com lady so our pix are up there as well.

I love looking at homeschool classroom photos, weird but true.

And speaking of our classroom, I had my husband haul out granddad's chair this weekend. It just took up too much room. Once it was out, I had much more room to get to my chair (and I need the room lol). My husband was disgusted with me because I immediately put in an old ugly rolling cart I had and an ugly three-plastic-drawer thing on wheels in the chair's place. They don't stick out nearly as far as the chair did.

Tomorrow I'll clean out the fish tank (yes, the dead fish is still in the tank and he died weeks ago) and we'll get it ready and get another fish who will reside in the classroom. I'm also going to order a tadpole kit and a butterfly kit so we'll have a place to put them.

Ah, love horizontal surfaces -- they call to me -- fill me up. And I oblige.

Sunday Night at the Oscars

Well, I watched. DH had to work so we had our Hardee's supper in front of the tv. My son didn't feel like playing, so he got out graph paper and designed houses throughout. He's probably the only 10-year-old boy in America who did watch.

For almost 25 years now, I have faithfully picked the winning Best Original Song. I have *never* been wrong. Okay, so I broke my record tonight. Dear son was absolutely horrified when he listened to the song "Hard Out Here for a Pimp." He didn't know what a pimp was so I explained it. Yes, he did know what a prostitute was. Anyway, he thought they should not allow that kind of thing on TV.

He is such a little character. ;-)

My innocent little son also had a fit over Felicity Huffman's outfit. He thought it way too revealing. I thought she looked pretty good. The beauty that really stood out to me was -- is it Jessica Alba? She had a TV show awhile ago, I can't remember the name of it, but she had a tattoo on her neck and she was like a warrior girl that was mass produced...can't remember -- anyway, she was radiant. Wow.

I did not see a single movie that was nominated. Sad, but I prefer to rent movies -- it's so much more comfortable to watch at home.

I was very glad that Philip Seymour Hoffman won. No, I didn't see the movie, but I saw clips and I've seen him in so many movies and even though he's not a heartthrob, sexiest-man-alive like Clooney, I really like him and think he's a wonderful actor. (I like Clooney, too.)

I am anxious to see Crash and Brokeback Mountain. Now I'd have to call my local theater to confirm this, but I never saw Brokeback Mountain listed as "now playing". My apologies to the theater if I am wrong, but because this is such a little bible belt town, I don't think it did play here. And that is the movie that I wanted to see. In fact, I won't rent it when it's available, I'll buy it. I know I'm going to love it.

I did notice that Nanny McPhee is now playing so I think I'll take DS this week. I'm also going to have to buy the last Harry Potter movie because DS informed me it's out now. I didn't see that in the theater, although DS and DH did.

There was a day when I went to the movies all the time. Aside from it not being "comfortable" for me in theaters -- noisy people and sticky floors, plus I like to put my feet up -- I don't know why I don't go more often. Maybe I will start up again.

my picky eater

When I was a child, I was a very picky eater. (I still am.) My mother gave me the curse....when you grow up, I hope you have a child who is just as picky as you. I got worse.

Well, my son is a little picky, but what gets me is his desire to be a vegetarian. He thinks animals should not be put to death for us, just because we're a higher species. He thinks it's cruel and grossly unfair. He has declared many times that if he were president, the nation would become vegetarians and it would be illegal to eat meat.

Mom and dad would both break the law.

We do force him to eat meat. He likes it, it's just the animal behind the meal that gets him. It is quite the ordeal when he eats meat. We have to do a prayer ritual. "Thank you, pig, for being slaughtered just for us. I hate the fact you were murdered, but mom and dad insist I eat you."

This little streak runs in spurts -- he always "hates" the idea, but his rants about it flare up in spurts. Tonight was one such night. Dad wasn't going to be home for supper, so I insisted we go get a $1 roast beef sandwich at Hardee's. Cheap, easy, grossly unhealthful, but good.

You would think that I had beat that child. We were at a stoplight with a car next to us and it started. "NO, I REFUSE TO EAT MEAT. How can you be so cruel to animals? You can't make me." When I'm grown up, I'm going to be a vegetarian." He was screaming like I was torturing him. Fortunately the people in the next car didn't look at us. He did relent and ate two sandwiches.

My husband grew up in South Dakota. All his family owned ranches and were beef producers. You haven't lived until you've eaten South Dakota beef. One of his uncles is raising ostriches. For consumption. (It's very tough, not my favorite meat.) All members in my husband's family are hunters. We've eaten moose, bear, venison, wild turkey, probably some I don't know about, etc.

The males in my family are hunters, too.

I think they mixed up my son in the hospital.

All this started when we were studying whales last year. Actually we were studying Alaska and the Inuits. Whales were my son's "thing" and when he learned they killed them -- even though it kept them alive, he threw a fit. Then we studied that buffalo being killed by the Sioux and other tribes -- "That's awful."

I am really at the point where I want to pull my hair out. I have tried to let him do the vegetarian thing, but he's not a healthy enough eater to do it. I can't think of enough protein for him. I really don't want to make tofu a regular part of our diet. I try to be respectful of his feelings. I do. He's getting to the point where he is not respectful of ours.

It is getting frustrating. How can one have a child that looks so much like you, you know it's your child, and yet that child has developed his own beliefs 180 degrees different than your own. He's only 10, he hasn't hit hte teenage years when that is supposed to happen.

And now for the punch line. My picky eater, who wants to be a vegetarian, hates vegetables.

Ha! The joke really is on me. Thanks, mom, for cursing me...it worked.

Sudokus

Sudoku from http://www.dailysudoku.co.uk/sudoku/index.shtml
I am absolutely addicted to Sudokus. I do several a day. I went through a Dell book in no time flat, so my husband bought me a book with 500 puzzles in it for Valentine's Day. (How romantic-NOT) lol I'm still plugging away in that book but should have it finished in a week or two.

What is a Sudoku?
Wikipedia has a better explanation than I can give.

Here are a couple websites for the kid-version sudokus.
First Site

Second Site


I started out my addiction by printing puzzles from the first site listed. They also have children versions there that I print for my son.

I do these all day long. When DS is working on something and needs me present, I'm working on a Sudoku. I do one when I wake up with my coffee. I do one before I go to bed. I really am addicted.

And I know contemplator is going to ask again...does doing sudokus make you more logical or just better at sudokus? Hehe, sometimes I think neither is my answer. I will admit here that the first sudoku I did took me a couple HOURS. D'oh. Of course I didn't read any tips on how to do them (yeah, that's my excuse) and I printed out a hard puzzle. Start with an easy one for pride's sake.

I have incorporated sudokus in school. Occasionally. I write them out on the big white board in my kitchen and have DS solve them. He does kids versions on his own because he just doesn't have the patience to do a big puzzle, even though he could. I do make him do the regular puzzles with me occasionally because I'm a mean mom.

Off to do another one before bed.

Our Next Amazon Order, Attention and Homeschooling

My hubby just bought a new band saw and cordless drill. So I think that entitles me to a small spree at Amazon.

On order:
The Number Devil
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Geography
Usborne's World Geography Encyclopedia (I haven't placed the order yet, please tell me this is good.)
Sudoku Puzzles for Kids (DS doesn't have patience for the big puzzles)
Nonfiction Reading Practice 4th Grade
Spectrum Spelling 4th Grade.

So far. I'm sure I'll add to the list.

Why am I ordering workbooks for my son? Busy work? Why a spelling book when we love Sequential Spelling?

Here's why. My son has "attentional" issues. No he has not been diagnosed with ADD. He does have problems staying on task. He cannot seem to work when I'm in not in the room. Some days he's on and can, other days (most) he can't.

We homeschool to suit his learning style. He learns well with what we do. I think he needs some practice at focusing himself a bit, though. He needs something he can do without me in the room. That's why I chose a simple spelling book and nonfiction reading. (He's a nonfiction reader just like his mom, he'll actually love that.) I hope that this will build up his confidence because I think he'll be able to stay on task with both items.

Today I left the room when he had a lot of math to do. I heard, "Mom, this is too hard! I can't do it. I don't understand it. Mom, help." I went back into the room and he hadn't even attempted to start. And we're talking *subtraction.* I was a mean mom. I told him to do his best, that's all I expected, and that I was going to go outside for a minute. I didn't help him with a single problem because he knew how to do it. I gave him the pep talk, "You can do it" and scurried out the door.

Well, I came back ten minutes later and he had done 40 problems. He was pleased, I was pleased. He informed me he'd do more work, so I left and went to the kitchen. He did 20 more problems.

It is a real struggle teaching a child to focus. It takes baby steps and lots of confidence building. He has come so far, though, and I am so proud of him. I'm hoping my busywork workbooks will further him on his way.

At this point I teach him to clear his mind and focus on one problem at a time. When that problem is done, don't think of Runescape or Sims or Jamaica or Rome or palmettos or palm trees, immediately move your eyes and brain to the next problem. Develop a rhythm and keep going.

I always think of his second grade year in public school. He had a wonderful teacher that actually *let* me volunteer. It was because of her that I was able to see him in action, how he performed in school. It was scary. He couldn't focus AT ALL. I came home from my first-time volunteering experience and bawled. What happened to my bright, smart, son? Where had he gone and who was this boy that couldn't focus and lost his love of learning!

After that we consulted an educational psychologist and had him tested. Yes, he's gifted. Yes, he has attentional issues. Yes, public school is not the place for him. And finally, my husband relented and agreed to homeschooling.

The rest is history. We won't be going back any time soon. When he's older he can have the choice, but he has no desire to go back. This is working for him.

Baby steps. Confidence building. Lots of love, support and hugs. It's working.

nothing coming to mind so I'll ramble

I've been meaning to blog but nothing has been coming to mind.

So here's a late-night ramble where free thoughts hit the keys. Of course completely chaotic and unorganized -- as usual.

Today we were supposed to go on a homeschool field trip. It actually would have been a cool trip. I just couldn't do it. I just couldn't face the fundies. I am really glad I kept my mouth shut and didn't tell DS. My husband thinks we should have gone because there might be "just one" family like us. I went to the group's moms night and the ladies were very nice, really, but it just wasn't my cup of tea or glass of beer or actually maui schnapps.

I met the leader of the group this summer at the beach. Our kids were playing together and we started talking. Then we discovered we both homeschooled and she invited me to join the group. I hemmed and hawed. Finally I just was blunt. I told her that yes, I was a Christian but I do not belief in organized religion, I do not attend church, we love Harry Potter, I am a moderate leaning toward liberal in politics, and that we prefer secular curriculum. I also stated that I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion or lack therof regarding religion and I will not now nor ever proselytize. She smiled and said that's okay. (Yeah, right, she can make me come around in the future, huh!) So I joined, I went to the moms night. Yes, the people were nice but it was just too -- goody good for me. What if I slipped up and said, "Oh, shit" in front of them, or better yet, took the lord's name in vain. (Something I tend to do every day.) Ahem.

I haven't attended anything else. Am I teaching my son reverse discrimination? We have known one family in that group for eight years. My son has played with those kids since he was two, although I kind of broke away from them this year. My son plays with the boy down the street, three other kids in the neighborhood, another good girl friend, plus scouts. Is that enough? Do I need to do the homeschool group thing?

I think I made the right decision to not go. I don't think I'll renew my membership next year.

{Please note that this upcoming paragraph is my dry attempt at sarcasm.)

And on another note, I was amazed to learn that homosexuality is caused by drugs and antibiotics in drinking water. Who knew? What I cannot figure out is how the water was infected with drugs and antibiotics since the big bang!

{End of sarcasm.}

I'm sure anyone who reads my blog reads doc's, so you'll know what I'm referring to. This comment has overshadowed me since I read it this afternoon. It makes me so ill. It makes me ill to realize the comment was not challenged. (I refuse to post where it originated, so I guess I'm guilty.) It makes me ill that there was not a public outcry about the homophobia. It makes me ill that people THINK this way. Today. In the 21st Century.

WHY?

I read that post to my son. Yup, to my 10-year-old son. He was amazed that there were such ignorant people in the world. It made him, my super-sensitive, fight-for-the-underdog kid, angry. And it should.

My biggest worry is what will happen some day when a child of someone who THINKS (or rather *doesn't* think) like that comes to them and says, "Mom, dad, I'm gay." What are they going to do then?

What is so wrong about it all!!!

I just don't get it and never will.

Live and let live.

Seed Catalogs

Our spring Gurney's catalog came in the mail the other day. Last night my son discovered it. He knew mom was looking for plants to give us privacy from the new neighbors so he started studying shrubs. I then got my plant books out and we were reading the Latin names of plants, learning about growing zones, soil conditions, pH, amending soil, plant food, etc. It's amazing how much one can branch out from one little old seed catalog. It's even more amazing how fast a child learns when he really wants to learn.

DS made a list of plants for his dream house. He's been designing dream houses since I can remember, but he's just now beginning to consider landscaping his homes. He wants lilacs and snowball bushes. He wants tulip trees. Just like his mother, he wants weeping willows. His home has to be in a warm climate because he wants palmettos and palm trees, too. He studied trees in second grade public school but didn't learn much. We've decided to really study them now and start nature walks and naming trees. (Mom is really bad at this, so we'll probably have to take a backpack full of books with us.) Of course, because we're in Minnesota we'll have to study the coniferous trees right now and wait for spring to study the deciduous trees.

Since my son was little, he has had a fascination with Venus Fly Traps. He has always wanted one, but due to the fact we live in the middle of nowhere, we have never found one. My son took the Gurney's catalog to bed last night and what did he find? A carnivorous kit for only $19.95. Comes with six carnivorous plants, a dome and informational book. Cha-ching. I just told the principle who has been complaining about the teacher's out-of-control spending habits, but the principal said it was okay to order the kit. (Like the teacher would need his approval anyway, ha!) Dear son also wants a packet of catnip seeds so he can grow his own and make the cats happy. He also wants a coffee plant. I think I'll just order the cat nip seeds and forget the coffee plant.

Right now I wish I had a classroom the size of a public school room. I'd devote an entire area for plants and another area for animals. We are going to be ordering a butterfly kit soon and need a place to put it. We're also going to be ordering a tadpole kit. Cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching.

I wonder if I can order a money tree that will produce prolific blooms?

Well, break's over. Back to school.

Geography

Last night I was reading blogs and someone was talking about what to do for geography.

Anyway, I didn't want to pay the big bucks for Runkle, especially not knowing that much about it. Because I live in a small town with no book store, I decided to shop at Amazon. My husband suggested I check out the Idiot and Dummy books. I liked the Idiot book, so I'm ordering it.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Geography, Second Edition. Take a peak at the table of contents and sample pages at Amazon. It looks very thorough.

To go along with this, we will use our Geography Coloring book which we already own.

While we usually study geography during our history studies, my son is craving a more structured and formal geography study. I think this will fit his needs nicely.

blog housekeeping and what we did today

Mull-berry, I think I have the link to the adventure mouse fixed, thanks for letting me know.

I have also added a bunch of blogs I read. In my late-night, tired state, I may have missed someone I regularly read and if it is you, let me know and I'll add the link. lol How is that for a weird request -- but bloggers know who reads their blog and who responds and I'm tired. lol

Okay, so here's how our day went. My son and I stayed up a little past midnight last night. He was too energized from late-night skating to sleep. We got up later than normal. I made oatmeal chocolate-chip muffins (from scratch, just call me Martha) and three scrambled eggs for breakfast. Then we played on the computer a bit. Then we decided we really did need to do some school -- but by this point poor DS was so tired he couldn't focus. (Okay, he was whining and making me miserable.) So, ha ha, I made him lie down for a nap. I joined him. He stayed wide awake but told me I snored.

This afternoon the telephone repairman showed up to fix our lines. We have been without our landline for over two weeks. That is a very long story that I promised DH I would not get into. (Hint: If you marry an engineer, he will want to fix everything, but timing is not important.) We now have phones again. I must say it was really nice to not have the phone ringing all the time. It was a luxury, really. I like my privacy. But reality won out, I need a phone.

We did a very relaxed but productive school session this afternoon. My son, who hates to color, colored in his geography coloring book. While he was coloring, I read from a book (forget the name) from the New York Public Library on American geography. When I got tired reading from that, I read a little book that was my moms about all the parts of speech. We then did math again, although DS was still not in the mood to work all his problems, so I made him practice figuring perimeters in his head. He wanted to do geography again, so we did. This time we got our tiny globe bank out and just started looking at it. We were talking about wars, world religions, poles, climates -- we must have talked for about thirty minutes. This kid is a geography nut. He loves it. I need to get my act together and figure out what resources he would love. He asks a million questions that I cannot answer. We then read Tituba again...I'm reading it out loud and seems to be never-ending. I hope to finish tomorrow. We'll see. Ending the day, DS started reading a book called My Favorite Ghost.

So school today was only about two hours, but he still learned.

I made my husband take me out to dinner AGAIN. He owed me over that thing I'm not supposed to talk about. I'll have to make him a really nice dinner tomorrow night.

Goodbye Message Boards

I've made a big decision today. I have decided I no longer need commercial homeschool message boards. They've served their purpose -- taught me about curriculum, scheduling, and homeschooling in general.

I'm having so much more fun with a certain group of people, some of whom I've actually met in real life, plus with bloggers. I've actually received more homeschooling help from my group and from bloggers than I have on the boards anyway.

Time to move on to greener pastures.

Goodbye boards, you're out of my favorites links, I wish you all well -- really, I do, and I wish you peace, understanding and open mindedness.

a clean house

Well, I did it. I got the entire house clean, shining and smelling good. I didn't smell good, though. lol

The house was SO clean that I didn't want to mess up the kitchen and COOK. My husband wanted to make hamburgers and I threw a fit.

He's ticked because we're out $15 for Wendy's. (I won that battle.)

After Wendy's, we went ice skating.

Walking in the door from skating was HEAVENLY.

My house is clean. Ahhhhhh.

Now off to do Sudokus and further contemplate on WHY I never use my real name on the internet.

Pizza Hut's Book It!

It's time to enroll for next year's Book It program from Pizza Hut. My reminder postcard came in yesterday's mail.

1-800-426-6548.

mediocrity

Sunday morning, 11:50 am.

I slept late this morning, awoke to the sound of bacon frying. No, DH doesn't make bacon for everyone, just him. The smell of the bacon grease is nauseating to me, so it's not a pleasant way to wake up. He does this almost every morning. (I can eat bacon prepared in a microwave, it doesn't have that nasty thick smell.)

Last night and this morning I've been in a contemplative mood. I watched The Color Purple last night. That movie makes me bawl every time I watch it -- and I've seen it probably 30 times. After the movie was over, I called my sister and thanked her for being so wonderful. My son watched a few minutes of the movie and kept asking so many questions that it actually started to annoy me. He wanted to know what happened in the end. I said the movie is not just about the end, although it is a good ending. I explained that he would need to watch the whole movie from start to finish to get the feeling -- it's an experience, not entertainment. Okay, at least for me it is.

That movie makes me think of mediocrity in my life. I feel like a prisoner sometimes. I always have. Mostly my life is about mediocrity. I play the bored housewife role only too well. The one aspect that raises my life above mediocrity is my son. I parent very well, I love very well. I try to nourish his brain and emotions. He brings me great joy. After my deep thoughts last night I decided that the mediocrity aspect of my life was a perfect example of bad parenting. My son knows I get bored easily, he knows that I hide out in the house. He knows I have dreams and desires that I never even attempt to fulfill. What kind of example am I setting for him by being this way? Not very good.

Lots of food for thought on a Sunday morning.

This morning I've also been thinking about our past school week. It was fantastic. My son was really "on" and did some great work and learning. His attitude was pretty good, too. We started Real Science 4 Kids Biology, read the first chapter and did the first experiment in one day (as opposed to the week that it's supposed to take.) When we finished my son said: MORE. This just drove home the point that we need to switch the focus of our school away from history toward science. He has always been a science kid -- I have always hated or been scared of science. Okay, I'll face my fears and fulfill his needs. I don't think this RS4K is going to be a good fit for him in that it doesn't go into things on the level he wants to learn. He wants more.

We attempted the chemistry earlier this year. I had to stop. I didn't get it. I'm going to have to start studying chemistry so I can teach it. RS4K is not elementary enough for me. Ah, those memories of being completely lost in high school honor's chemistry are coming back to bite me in the butt. How I got a C in that class is beyond me. I think my teacher took pity upon me because I went to his classroom after school every day and worked hard, though never understanding what I was doing. I think the C was for effort, not understanding.

Back to my contemplating: Why is it that if we have a really good school week, everything else is mediocre or dismal. School was great which means my house is not. Why can't I have both? My kitchen looks like a tornado went through it. I've got bills stacked to pay, checks to order, checkbook to balance, library books to return, a telephone line to get fixed, a broken car window motor to fix, a house to clean, menus to plan, groceries to buy, prescriptions to fill, sheets to change, laundry to wash, floors to vacuum and scrub, etc. Why can't I "do" both and do them well?

I think I know the answer. I expect better from school -- I put my son first. I accept mediocrity with the rest of my life. It's okay that there are dirty dishes in the sink, they'll get done -- that is my attitude about "the household" aspect of my life. That's not teaching my son well. I'm accepting responsibility here: the mediocrity is my fault -- it's bad attitude.

Aim not for perfection. Perfection is a dirty word in my house. Strive for balance, strive for excellence -- not perfection.

As Dr. Phil says (I don't care for Dr. Phil but my sister quotes him all the time) "GET IN THE GAME." Okay, mom, get in the game. Expect better of myself. Do not accept mediocrity.

That is a good lesson for my son to learn, a good example for me to set.

So I'm logging off and am going to go clean the house now. Get in the game, mom -- Just Do It.

Habitat Day

We went to an event this morning put on by our local waterfowl association. It was titled Family Habitat Day. The event was held at our tiny mall and the children were able to build wren, bluebird and wood duck houses for free. (I still don't know what a wood duck is -- next stop, googling wood duck.)

The event was fantastic with a great turn out. There were unattended kids everywhere. I was surprised at the amount of parents that just dropped their kids off. Both my husband and I stayed with our son.

Now for the gripe. I always have a gripe, it seems. We get there five minutes before the appointed starting time and of course they had started already. People everywhere. We found the registration line and waited a good ten minutes to sign up. After that, good luck. There was absolutely NO organization to this event at all. A bunch of the disgruntled parents formed a line to try to get some organization. When we finally got to the front of the line, one of the volunteers handed us all the wood and told us to go to a specific table. He even walked us over to the table. My son put his wood on the table and the volunteer running the table screamed -- and yes, I do mean SCREAMED, "Get back, there's not enough room here, only TWO at a time." He shook his head in disgust. We went back to the front of the line and warned the people behind us about the madman there.

At this point I had had enough. The registration line was gone so I went to talk to the lady at the registration table. I told her of the need of someone organizing the masses. I told her people were cutting in line, *parents* were going out of turn, volunteers were screaming. Her response? This is the way we do it every year. Okay. Thank you very much, this will be our last year attending then. I don't come to an event to get screamed at.

A majority of the parents stayed were the "me first" type. They were pushy, bossy, and rude. The volunteers didn't know what was going on. It really saddened me to see that -- but it's nothing new. Kids seem to understand order, patience and fairness better than parents do.

I am going to write a letter to this organization thanking them for putting such a wonderful event. In that letter I am going to tell them to do two things. One, have a volunteer to direct people where to go -- show them which line is for which bird house. Two, have that volunteer watch and control three lines -- one for each bird house. It's that simple. It would have made the event so much better.

Both my husband and I were really ticked off about being screamed at. My son was hurt. We did not go back to that table and brought the wood home to make that kit here. The other volunteers were all more than helpful, though.

In the end, it was mostly a good morning. I just don't understand why people that take the time to put on such a wonderful event do such a piss-poor job of pulling it off. I know those men spent hours of their free time cutting out the wood and getting it ready. It is just such a shame that they can't think ahead a little to have some organization.

meow

I came in from a break to find we had a new pupil. He demanded a front-row seat, right next to the teacher.







Kitty didn't think much of spelling. He got in trouble for flopping his tail on my son's paper. It's not good to distract the other student.









Kitty really had attention problems when it came to reading. He was looking out the window at the birds.







Kitty got really annoyed with the other pupils. He wouldn't even let the other cat come into the room. Here he's telling the dog to back off, becaue it's his territory.







Kitty really didn't care much for grammar. That tail of his was a constant battle all day. He just wouldn't listen to the teacher's rules: Keep your hands, feet and tails to yourself.




We had a really fun day. Usually the cat is in the room but stays on the floor. Today he just had to be part of the action. We had lots of giggles. We even managed to get everything done. Maybe kitty was good luck.

Monday, Monday

Monday Monday, so good to me,
Monday Monday, it was all I hoped it would be
Oh Monday morning, Monday morning couldn't guarantee
That Monday evening you would still be here with me.
The Mamas And The Papas

Okay, take out the evening and replace it with afternoon.

We were having such a good school day, everything from attitude to desire to work ethic to understanding was going right. Right in the middle of our homeschool bliss, darn, the kid down the street rang the doorbell. School was over in a flash. DS had his coat on, was precariously hopping to the door while putting shoes and socks on. Who am I to stop a perfectly good "socialization" opportunity? lol

On his way out the door I just had to do it. I yelled, "We'll be starting biology tonight, dear, and you need to finish your grammar yet, too. Have fun." What a snot mom I am. I'm sure both boys rolled their eyes or better yet, completely ignored me.

I wanted to report that we started our Lial's Basic College Math today. While DS could always read numbers into the millions and billions since he was in kindergarten, he had to do it slowly because he was counting them out in his brain. Today's lesson was on numbers and "click" the light bulb went on when the book discussed "periods" as opposed to just groups. Good grief, that kid could read big numbers faster than I could write them. So then we looked up what came after trillion (really, I didn't know or care) and so on. We were writing numbers bigger than I can fathom. He was reading them faster than I could think them up. He was writing them faster than I could dictate. Honestly, he kept saying "More, mom, more." Obviously we took it to the white board and were going above and beyond the book.

I am very pleased with the explanations in our first day's lessons. Looking ahead, I think the whole book will just click with DS. Yes!!!

Wow, I think success was the theme of the day.

The question remains: Will I really make him do biology and grammar tonight? Ha, ha, ha -- YES, the evil homeschooling mom WILL. Only because nothing good is on TV tonight. lol