The kids and Mr. Math Teacher are on their way up North to spend a night with a group from church at a Christian Camp. While I'm a little jealous about all the fun I'm sure that they'll have, I am very happy about getting to spend a whole night at home with just the cats.
We also just got a dishwasher installed today, so I don't even have to wash dishes! I plan to blog, play with my blog layout, watch movies, and do a little bit of housecleaning. Mostly, I'm just going to enjoy the peace and quiet!
Friday, May 09, 2008
The flowers are still alive . . .
Have I mentioned that I have a deep, dark black thumb? This will be interesting . . .
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Flowers!!
I haven't been doing much blogging because we've been rearranging furniture and doing other little projects. Things that used to take a day or two now take a couple of weeks, but we can finally walk through the main part of the house without tripping again!
Today, though, was something different. The weather is finally nice, so the kids and I went and bought flowers to put in the front flowerbed. We have been in this house for 2 years and the poor flowerbed has been very lonely. The kids and I picked out lots of annuals and a few perennials then came home and planted everything. After about an hour, I was pretty well done for - sore all over and a worsening headache. But, the kids (quite to my surprise) kept on until the bed was completely filled, then trimmed the bushes along the driveway and watered everything really well. I'll post some pictures in a few days.
Today, though, was something different. The weather is finally nice, so the kids and I went and bought flowers to put in the front flowerbed. We have been in this house for 2 years and the poor flowerbed has been very lonely. The kids and I picked out lots of annuals and a few perennials then came home and planted everything. After about an hour, I was pretty well done for - sore all over and a worsening headache. But, the kids (quite to my surprise) kept on until the bed was completely filled, then trimmed the bushes along the driveway and watered everything really well. I'll post some pictures in a few days.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Happy Habits of a Homeschooler
This is the first time I'm participating in Heart of the Matter's Friday meme. This week's meme is "Happy Habits of a Homeschooler".
Our family does have a few good habits that seem to work well for us.
1. Reading aloud at bedtime. We usually read a Sonlight read-aloud, but we have also read other books because we finish the books pretty quickly.
2. Books on CD. I have Story of the World on CD that we listen to while we're in the car. I also pick up other books that we listen to. The kids are on an "Artemis Fowl" kick right now, but I also come up with other books that we have enjoyed.
3. Quiet reading time. I came up with this to help Wild Man with his reading since Ga'Hoole Girl reads constantly, but I find that we all really enjoy this 20-30 minutes of the day.
Enjoy!
Our family does have a few good habits that seem to work well for us.
1. Reading aloud at bedtime. We usually read a Sonlight read-aloud, but we have also read other books because we finish the books pretty quickly.
2. Books on CD. I have Story of the World on CD that we listen to while we're in the car. I also pick up other books that we listen to. The kids are on an "Artemis Fowl" kick right now, but I also come up with other books that we have enjoyed.
3. Quiet reading time. I came up with this to help Wild Man with his reading since Ga'Hoole Girl reads constantly, but I find that we all really enjoy this 20-30 minutes of the day.
Enjoy!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Book Reviews - April 11
We just got back from the movie theater - in the snow! On April 11! An old/new movie theater opened here in town a few years ago. They reopened the old opera house/theater as a movie theater. There's only one screen, so there's only one movie playing at a time. It's not as comfortable as modern theaters, but it has a really cool, antique feel to it. Here are some reviews of what I've been watching and listening to lately.
"Nim's Island"
This is a fun movie about a girl who lives with her biologist father on a small island in the Pacific ocean. Her father leaves for an overnight trip, but gets caught in a storm. During that time, Nim is corresponding with the author of some adventure books, Alex Rover. Nim thinks that Alex is a brave, hero-type man, when, in actuality, Alex is an agoraphobic woman who won't leave her San Fransisco apartment. But, when Alex realizes that Nim's father hasn't returned and that she is alone, Alex manages to overcome her phobias and get herself to Nim's Island. There's also a storyline about a cruise line that wants to make the island a stop on one of their cruises for it's passengers. I won't give the ending away except to say that it's not sad. The movie is like a cross between Jungle Book, Monk (the TV show), and Home Alone. We laughed a lot, but felt sad as Nim worried about her father. I highly recommend it for families.
Mapping the World of Harry Potter edited by Mercedes Lackey
Ms. Lackey has compiled here a collection of essays about the Harry Potter series (up through Book 5). These essays range from "The Dursleys as Social Commentary" to "It's All About God". Some are humorous while others are quite serious. But, they are all good and useful additions to the Harry Potter discussion. One of my favorites had to be "Hermione Granger and the Charge of Sexism", in which the essay's author, a feminist writer, argues that the character of Hermione does not show evidence of sexism. Overall, I recommend this book for adult fans of Harry Potter (one of the essays is definitely a PG-13!).
My Fundamentalist Education by Christine Rosen
I loved reading this book, at least partly because I was reliving my own childhood. The author details her years (K-8th grade) in a Fundamentalist Christian school in Florida. I went to a Christian School (probably more Evangelical than Fundamental, but apparently rather similar) from 1st-5th grade during my growing up in South Florida. The author is no longer religious at all, but reminisces about her years at the Christian school with fondness. Her book shows the good and the bad parts of life in such an overwhelmingly religious environment. She gives us glimpses into her questioning about creation and evolution during her summer spent at a science museum compared to her young-earth creation science classes. She shares her anxieties about the End Times as she was taught about the impending rapture of the saints. She also tells us about her distress that she wasn't "winning more souls" to Jesus as a third grader. I relate so much with these things. I remember being taught a very strict Young-earth creation position, with no room for discussion of any non-literal reading of the first part of Genesis. Our school didn't talk much about End Times, but I recall learning about all the premillenial dispensational theories from church - and being worried that the Rapture might come and I might get "Left Behind". The author of the book compares growing up in Fundamentalism to "comfortable swaddling" which she has now left behind. I have many fond memories of my Christian school, but I have more memories of feeling rather strait-jacketed during my last year there and being very glad that I was allowed to transfer to a public school. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in growing up in Christian Schools.
Field Guide to Harry Potter by Colin Duriez
I was already familiar with this author because of his excellent encyclopedias to the work of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein. In the Field Guide, he has produced another excellent guide to a series of books loved by many. The first part of the book is a series of essays about the whole series - how the books are "school stories", some background on the author, Ms. Rowling's spiritual worldview, etc. The second half of the book is a guide to the many characters, places, things in the Harry Potter world. Mr. Duriez has done an excellent job of giving us Harry Potter fans some background on the series and a nice guide to use to find things when we need them. I really recommend this book.
Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola and George Barna
I'm not sure I can really do an adequate job of reviewing this book. If you are interested in more points of view about it, I would recommend starting here with Christianity Today then do a Google search - there are lots of good reviews. My first impression was a very negative one. The point of the book is that much of what we do as Christians is based on pagan traditions. The authors make the (dubious) link that we should then abandon everything that the church does that might have ever had a pagan link and go back to "pure" Christian practice. The problem that I see, though, is that they appear to be throwing out the baby with the bathwater. According the this book, no one since the book of Acts has come anywhere remotely close to practicing Christianity the way that it is supposed to be practiced. And that, because of that, the Church's effectiveness has been minimized. They say that the Church should be made up only of house churches without paid clergy. There is some negativity about seminaries as well, so I'm not sure how anti-academic the authors are. I am having a bit of a hard time sorting out whether some of my negativity is that the book is attacking things I hold dear (my current church practices) or because it really is going too far with their conclusions. Other reviewers (who have more background than I do in church history) also argue that their use of historical sources leaves something to be desired. Overall, I think that it's a book that should be read. We need to consider how much of what we do in church and Christianity is really necessary, but I think that they go too far in their conclusions.
The Twilight of Atheism by Alister McGrath
As I mentioned in an earlier post, McGrath is becoming my new favorite author - and this book is one of the reasons why. This book is an overview of atheism as a philosophy and why McGrath thinks that it is in decline. He surveys atheism from Ancient Greece to the present time. Because of the breadth of the survey, he does not go into much depth. I reviewed a book one time called Without God, Without Creed: The Origins of Unbelief in America which gives a much deeper treatment of atheism in the US. McGrath then spends some time talking about atheism in the present. He shows that atheism is very much a product of modernism, with its emphasis on science. As many people are turning to a post-modern worldview in which truth is relative and science is not as trusted, atheism is becoming less viable. Atheism is as dogmatic as Christianity, but the real threat to Christianity today is not atheism, but post-modernism. This is an interesting conclusion, given the attention gotten recently by Dawkins, Harris, et al. However, McGrath supports his case well. I very highly recommend this book to anyone interested in atheism and modern philosophy.
Modern Scholar audiobooks - Our library system carries the Modern Scholar series of course on audio CD. I have really enjoyed my time listening to these. So far, I have done "The Dead Sea Scrolls", "From Jesus to Christianity", "Rings, Swords, and Monsters: Exploring Fantasy Literature", and "The Literature of C.S. Lewis". I'm currently enjoying a series about the Crusades. This is a great way to learn something while exercising, doing dishes, or riding in the car.
"Nim's Island"
This is a fun movie about a girl who lives with her biologist father on a small island in the Pacific ocean. Her father leaves for an overnight trip, but gets caught in a storm. During that time, Nim is corresponding with the author of some adventure books, Alex Rover. Nim thinks that Alex is a brave, hero-type man, when, in actuality, Alex is an agoraphobic woman who won't leave her San Fransisco apartment. But, when Alex realizes that Nim's father hasn't returned and that she is alone, Alex manages to overcome her phobias and get herself to Nim's Island. There's also a storyline about a cruise line that wants to make the island a stop on one of their cruises for it's passengers. I won't give the ending away except to say that it's not sad. The movie is like a cross between Jungle Book, Monk (the TV show), and Home Alone. We laughed a lot, but felt sad as Nim worried about her father. I highly recommend it for families.
Mapping the World of Harry Potter edited by Mercedes Lackey
Ms. Lackey has compiled here a collection of essays about the Harry Potter series (up through Book 5). These essays range from "The Dursleys as Social Commentary" to "It's All About God". Some are humorous while others are quite serious. But, they are all good and useful additions to the Harry Potter discussion. One of my favorites had to be "Hermione Granger and the Charge of Sexism", in which the essay's author, a feminist writer, argues that the character of Hermione does not show evidence of sexism. Overall, I recommend this book for adult fans of Harry Potter (one of the essays is definitely a PG-13!).
My Fundamentalist Education by Christine Rosen
I loved reading this book, at least partly because I was reliving my own childhood. The author details her years (K-8th grade) in a Fundamentalist Christian school in Florida. I went to a Christian School (probably more Evangelical than Fundamental, but apparently rather similar) from 1st-5th grade during my growing up in South Florida. The author is no longer religious at all, but reminisces about her years at the Christian school with fondness. Her book shows the good and the bad parts of life in such an overwhelmingly religious environment. She gives us glimpses into her questioning about creation and evolution during her summer spent at a science museum compared to her young-earth creation science classes. She shares her anxieties about the End Times as she was taught about the impending rapture of the saints. She also tells us about her distress that she wasn't "winning more souls" to Jesus as a third grader. I relate so much with these things. I remember being taught a very strict Young-earth creation position, with no room for discussion of any non-literal reading of the first part of Genesis. Our school didn't talk much about End Times, but I recall learning about all the premillenial dispensational theories from church - and being worried that the Rapture might come and I might get "Left Behind". The author of the book compares growing up in Fundamentalism to "comfortable swaddling" which she has now left behind. I have many fond memories of my Christian school, but I have more memories of feeling rather strait-jacketed during my last year there and being very glad that I was allowed to transfer to a public school. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in growing up in Christian Schools.
Field Guide to Harry Potter by Colin Duriez
I was already familiar with this author because of his excellent encyclopedias to the work of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein. In the Field Guide, he has produced another excellent guide to a series of books loved by many. The first part of the book is a series of essays about the whole series - how the books are "school stories", some background on the author, Ms. Rowling's spiritual worldview, etc. The second half of the book is a guide to the many characters, places, things in the Harry Potter world. Mr. Duriez has done an excellent job of giving us Harry Potter fans some background on the series and a nice guide to use to find things when we need them. I really recommend this book.
Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola and George Barna
I'm not sure I can really do an adequate job of reviewing this book. If you are interested in more points of view about it, I would recommend starting here with Christianity Today then do a Google search - there are lots of good reviews. My first impression was a very negative one. The point of the book is that much of what we do as Christians is based on pagan traditions. The authors make the (dubious) link that we should then abandon everything that the church does that might have ever had a pagan link and go back to "pure" Christian practice. The problem that I see, though, is that they appear to be throwing out the baby with the bathwater. According the this book, no one since the book of Acts has come anywhere remotely close to practicing Christianity the way that it is supposed to be practiced. And that, because of that, the Church's effectiveness has been minimized. They say that the Church should be made up only of house churches without paid clergy. There is some negativity about seminaries as well, so I'm not sure how anti-academic the authors are. I am having a bit of a hard time sorting out whether some of my negativity is that the book is attacking things I hold dear (my current church practices) or because it really is going too far with their conclusions. Other reviewers (who have more background than I do in church history) also argue that their use of historical sources leaves something to be desired. Overall, I think that it's a book that should be read. We need to consider how much of what we do in church and Christianity is really necessary, but I think that they go too far in their conclusions.
The Twilight of Atheism by Alister McGrath
As I mentioned in an earlier post, McGrath is becoming my new favorite author - and this book is one of the reasons why. This book is an overview of atheism as a philosophy and why McGrath thinks that it is in decline. He surveys atheism from Ancient Greece to the present time. Because of the breadth of the survey, he does not go into much depth. I reviewed a book one time called Without God, Without Creed: The Origins of Unbelief in America which gives a much deeper treatment of atheism in the US. McGrath then spends some time talking about atheism in the present. He shows that atheism is very much a product of modernism, with its emphasis on science. As many people are turning to a post-modern worldview in which truth is relative and science is not as trusted, atheism is becoming less viable. Atheism is as dogmatic as Christianity, but the real threat to Christianity today is not atheism, but post-modernism. This is an interesting conclusion, given the attention gotten recently by Dawkins, Harris, et al. However, McGrath supports his case well. I very highly recommend this book to anyone interested in atheism and modern philosophy.
Modern Scholar audiobooks - Our library system carries the Modern Scholar series of course on audio CD. I have really enjoyed my time listening to these. So far, I have done "The Dead Sea Scrolls", "From Jesus to Christianity", "Rings, Swords, and Monsters: Exploring Fantasy Literature", and "The Literature of C.S. Lewis". I'm currently enjoying a series about the Crusades. This is a great way to learn something while exercising, doing dishes, or riding in the car.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Eclectic reading
Today is library day. We go to the public library in Appleton in the 45 minutes between Wild Man's reading lesson and the kids' piano lessons. During the week, we sometimes also go to the library in our small town and the nearby larger town, but I love the Appleton library because it is larger and I can spend time browsing. Today, I checked out five very different items.
1. "God Wills It" Understanding the Crusades - Lecture series by Modern Scholar. I have listened to several of these lecture series and loved them. I hope the kids will listen in on this one since we're studying the Middle Ages.
2. This Common Secret by Susan Wicklund - The autobiography of an abortion doctor.
3. My Fundamentalist Education by Christine Rosen - The story of one woman's childhood education in a Fundamentalist Christian school.
4. The King James Only Controversy by James R. White - An overview of the arguments about using only the King James translation of the Bible.
5. Revolution by George Barna - Why are so many Christians abandoning church?
The next few weeks promise to be quite interesting as I delve into my new set of books. Have I mentioned how much I love the library?
1. "God Wills It" Understanding the Crusades - Lecture series by Modern Scholar. I have listened to several of these lecture series and loved them. I hope the kids will listen in on this one since we're studying the Middle Ages.
2. This Common Secret by Susan Wicklund - The autobiography of an abortion doctor.
3. My Fundamentalist Education by Christine Rosen - The story of one woman's childhood education in a Fundamentalist Christian school.
4. The King James Only Controversy by James R. White - An overview of the arguments about using only the King James translation of the Bible.
5. Revolution by George Barna - Why are so many Christians abandoning church?
The next few weeks promise to be quite interesting as I delve into my new set of books. Have I mentioned how much I love the library?
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Milwaukee Museum
Our family took a little Spring Break trip to the Milwaukee Public Museum a couple of days ago, particularly to see the Body Worlds 1 Exhibit, which is being exhibited until June. The trip was a really fun day for the entire family. Milwaukee is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from home, so we left around 7am - quite early for me and the kids. It was Spring Break for Mr. Math Teacher, but also for the Milwaukee Public School System, so we expected lots of kids.
The Body Worlds exhibit was just amazing. The tickets are sold for specific times - ours were for 10am. We had to wait for just a few minutes before they let us in to the exhibit. One very slight problem was that the exhibit was rather crowded, especially the very first part. The Body Worlds exhibit is a set of human bodies that have been donated for preservation through "plastination". This is a technique in which the bodies can be dissected and then preserved and hardened for exhibition. There were a number of complete human bodies on display. Generally, these were for showing the musculoskeletal system. They were displayed in many different positions - dancing, jumping, archery, playing basketball. Some of them had sections of muscles removed or pulled away from the rest of the body to show the underlying sections. There were glass cases in the middle of the rooms in which were shown various organs of the body - most healthy, but some diseased. The smoker's lung was the most impressive.
My favorite part of the exhibit was the section relating to pregnancy. They had this in a separate room for propriety's sake. There were fetuses from implantation through about 8 weeks size shown on their own. Around the room were exhibits of fetuses in the uterus from 16 weeks up through 38 weeks. The most impressive exhibit was of a pregnant woman who was 38 weeks pregnant. The labelling information said that the woman had requested that her body be donated prior to her death. She and her baby died when she was 38 weeks along. The exhibit was dissected in a way that showed how the baby sat in the uterus, along with the placenta. It also displayed how the baby took up so much room within the abdominal cavity.
I strongly encourage people to see this exhibit. It was quite educational. My kids were a little freaked out by the nature of the showing. Ga'Hoole Girl was pretty quiet through most of the exhibit. Wild Man didn't have a problem until Mr. Math Teacher told him that these were bodies from people who had been alive - then he was a little uncomfortable. The bodies are shown naked and with the genitalia in place (most are male). They did have some female reproductive organs on display. Ga'Hoole Girl was amazed (as am I) at how small the female uterus is compared to how large it becomes in late pregnancy.
The rest of the museum was also lots of fun. We spent about an hour in Body Worlds and another two hours in the rest of the museum. We left because I had gotten a headache and the crowds and noise had gotten pretty bad. We missed the entire Africa exhibit and most of the North America exhibit. So, we have a good reason to return.
There were a couple of real highlights for us. First of all, we really enjoyed the butterfly house. They had a good size butterfly and insect exhibit, but then also a butterfly house with several different species of butterflies and moths. Ga'Hoole Girl seemed to attract the butterflies the most, but Wild Man did eventually get one to land on him.
We recently read Black Horses for the King which is a story about the early use of horseshoes (as well as about King Arthur). One of the characters in the book taught his apprentices about horses and hooves using the dissected lower leg of a horse that had been put down. When we went through Body Worlds, we saw a preserved horse (believe it or not) and we all looked closely at the lower leg to see how the hoof looked.
Another exhibit caught our eyes because of a book we've been reading. We just finished A Single Shard, about a pottery apprentice in medieval Korea. In the story, the apprentice wants to learn to make pottery with a celadon glaze - celadon glaze is a specific type of glaze that leaves a grayish green color. In the book, another potter develops an inlay technique that is used with the celadon glazing technique. At the museum, we saw some real celadon glazed pottery with inlay just like the book described - from the same time period! It is really cool to see what we've just read about.
If you get a chance to go to the museum - take it. You'll love it!
The Body Worlds exhibit was just amazing. The tickets are sold for specific times - ours were for 10am. We had to wait for just a few minutes before they let us in to the exhibit. One very slight problem was that the exhibit was rather crowded, especially the very first part. The Body Worlds exhibit is a set of human bodies that have been donated for preservation through "plastination". This is a technique in which the bodies can be dissected and then preserved and hardened for exhibition. There were a number of complete human bodies on display. Generally, these were for showing the musculoskeletal system. They were displayed in many different positions - dancing, jumping, archery, playing basketball. Some of them had sections of muscles removed or pulled away from the rest of the body to show the underlying sections. There were glass cases in the middle of the rooms in which were shown various organs of the body - most healthy, but some diseased. The smoker's lung was the most impressive.
My favorite part of the exhibit was the section relating to pregnancy. They had this in a separate room for propriety's sake. There were fetuses from implantation through about 8 weeks size shown on their own. Around the room were exhibits of fetuses in the uterus from 16 weeks up through 38 weeks. The most impressive exhibit was of a pregnant woman who was 38 weeks pregnant. The labelling information said that the woman had requested that her body be donated prior to her death. She and her baby died when she was 38 weeks along. The exhibit was dissected in a way that showed how the baby sat in the uterus, along with the placenta. It also displayed how the baby took up so much room within the abdominal cavity.
I strongly encourage people to see this exhibit. It was quite educational. My kids were a little freaked out by the nature of the showing. Ga'Hoole Girl was pretty quiet through most of the exhibit. Wild Man didn't have a problem until Mr. Math Teacher told him that these were bodies from people who had been alive - then he was a little uncomfortable. The bodies are shown naked and with the genitalia in place (most are male). They did have some female reproductive organs on display. Ga'Hoole Girl was amazed (as am I) at how small the female uterus is compared to how large it becomes in late pregnancy.
The rest of the museum was also lots of fun. We spent about an hour in Body Worlds and another two hours in the rest of the museum. We left because I had gotten a headache and the crowds and noise had gotten pretty bad. We missed the entire Africa exhibit and most of the North America exhibit. So, we have a good reason to return.
There were a couple of real highlights for us. First of all, we really enjoyed the butterfly house. They had a good size butterfly and insect exhibit, but then also a butterfly house with several different species of butterflies and moths. Ga'Hoole Girl seemed to attract the butterflies the most, but Wild Man did eventually get one to land on him.
We recently read Black Horses for the King which is a story about the early use of horseshoes (as well as about King Arthur). One of the characters in the book taught his apprentices about horses and hooves using the dissected lower leg of a horse that had been put down. When we went through Body Worlds, we saw a preserved horse (believe it or not) and we all looked closely at the lower leg to see how the hoof looked.
Another exhibit caught our eyes because of a book we've been reading. We just finished A Single Shard, about a pottery apprentice in medieval Korea. In the story, the apprentice wants to learn to make pottery with a celadon glaze - celadon glaze is a specific type of glaze that leaves a grayish green color. In the book, another potter develops an inlay technique that is used with the celadon glazing technique. At the museum, we saw some real celadon glazed pottery with inlay just like the book described - from the same time period! It is really cool to see what we've just read about.
If you get a chance to go to the museum - take it. You'll love it!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Book Reviews - March 29
It's been a while since I've written any reviews, but I have done a lot of reading and even watched a few movies in the last couple of months. These are going to be short reviews, but I hope they can help you decide whether or not to invest in reading a certain book.
An Assembly Such as This; Duty and Desire; These Three Remain all by Pamela Aidan
This series of novels takes us through the story of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice from the point of view of Mr. Darcy. Since it takes three books, you can imagine that it is pretty detailed. This is a wonderful series of books. Ms. Aidan does a good job of maintaining the characters created by Ms. Austen. The plot is interesting, although it gets a little unbelievable in the second book. The relationships between Darcy and Bingley and between Darcy and Georgiana are explored and fleshed out. If you're a Jane Austen fan, I highly recommend these books. (P.S. Special thanks to DA, my college roomie, for getting me hooked on these books!)
Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoli
This is one of the (many) novels that tells the story of Mr. and Mrs. Darcy after Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Overall, I liked the book. It has a wide scope in both plot and characterizations. At times, the plot becomes somewhat unbelievable and "gothic", but it seems to work as part of the whole story. The one downside is that Ms. Berdoli gives more detail about the Darcy's s*xual relationship than is needed for the story to work. If you're an Austen fan, you'll probably enjoy the book, but I don't think it's appropriate for teens - some of the content is clearly PG-13.
Pride and Prescience by Carrie Bebris
Ms. Bebris has written several "extension" novels based on Jane Austen's stories. One of the interesting things is that they are mystery novels. I enjoyed this book, but it was kind of like marshmallow - all fluff and no substance. The characters are pretty two dimensional. The plot includes elements of the supernatural (magic), but they don't mesh well into the rest of the story. It was an interesting read, but I'm not planning on reading anymore of Mr. Bebris' books. There are lots of other good books out there to spend my time on.
The Second Mrs. Darcy by Elizabeth Aston
Despite it's name, this book is only distantly related to Austen's Pride and Prejudice characters. It takes place 10 years or so after Pride and Prejudice. The main character is related to the Darcy family through her husband, but her husband dies before the opening of the book. The plot centers around the main character's adjusting to life as a widow and her trying to take control of her own life in a society in which women are generally dependent on their male relations. I really enjoyed this book. The characters are believable and engaging. The writer's style of writing made me want to continue reading. I recommend this to Austen fans.
The Language Police by Diane Ravitch
Ravitch has done an excellent job of documenting the degeneration of public schools' textbooks and standardized testing due to political correctness. This book explains the process by which test companies and textbook companies edit their items to be "appropriate". The assumption underlying their actions is that children will become uncomfortable and have difficulty learning or testing if they are shown negative events. There is also an assumption that children who are shown only an ideal world in print will take in those values and not be racist, sexist, or whatever other "ist" you can think of. If you look at current textbooks, you will see that the stories contain a representative sample of people by race and sex. Photos of all races, ages, and disabilities are also included.
So, what's the problem? For one thing, the publishers are spending a huge amount of money on this, apparently to the detriment of the academic side of things. Ravitch claims that publishers are also not using nearly as much classic literature as they used to because it does not meet their "PC" screening standards.
I highly recommend this book for anyone with kids in school. It provides motivation to get involved with the school district and in textbook evaluation. For me, it was another confirmation of the benefits of home education. My kids read stuff that might otherwise be censored and, I believe, are the better for it.
Black Rednecks, White Liberals by Thomas Sowell
I figured that anything written by Thomas Sowell was likely to be good and I was not disappointed. This collection of essays by Sowell was excellent. I enjoyed the topics. The depth and research level was impressive. I will briefly discuss just two topics in the book - you have to read it for the rest.
The first essay was a quite interesting essay on the history of American Black culture. The fashionable theory is that black urban culture is based on many American blacks being descended from slaves who were then freed at the end of the Civil War. The evidence, though, does not bear this out. In fact, Sowell shows that black urban culture is related most closely to "Cracker culture" from Scotland and Ireland which was imported to this country in the eighteenth century. The freed blacks absorbed this culture after being freed from slavery and living among rural whites in the South who were descended from the Crackers from Scotland and Ireland. It's a thought-provoking essay and I encourage you to read it.
The other essay that I most enjoyed was about the history of slavery in the history of the world. American slavery was certainly an evil, but it often gets treated as an evil that was peculiar to American whites. In fact, slavery is almost as old as civilization itself. Sowell does a nice job of showing slavery in many different cultures and shows that it was rarely based on race. He then asks the question of why Britain and America were the first two countries to really seriously pursue abolition. It's another essay I think everyone should read.
In the Beginning: the story of the King James Bible and how it changed a nation, a language, and a culture by Alistar McGrath
McGrath is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, partly because of this book. This book is a fascinating look at the history of the King James Bible and then how that translation has affected Western Civilization. McGrath does an excellent job of weaving history, linguistics, and religion into a coherent whole. I have never really been a fan of the KJV of the Bible; I think it's partly because it was the only translation used when I was a child and it was hard to understand, but also because I'm reacting against the almost worshipful attitude some people have toward this translation. As I've gotten older, I've mellowed in my attitude. This book, though, has opened my eyes to how this one translation of the Bible has affected so much of our culture. I very strongly recommend this book for anyone with any interest in history or linguistics. You will be enriched and fascinated.
Black Horses for the King by Anne McCaffrey
Yes, the author is also the author of the "Dragonriders of Pern" series. This, though, is the first book by this author I've read. This is a Sonight Core 6 read aloud. Mr. Math Teacher read it aloud for the whole family and it was a hit. The plot revolves around a young man who works with King Arthur's horses. He and an older man start to make "horse sandals" (horseshoes) to protect the horses' hooves. "No hoof, no horse" becomes their tagline. This was a great historical novel that is appropriate for older kids through adults.
An Assembly Such as This; Duty and Desire; These Three Remain all by Pamela Aidan
This series of novels takes us through the story of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice from the point of view of Mr. Darcy. Since it takes three books, you can imagine that it is pretty detailed. This is a wonderful series of books. Ms. Aidan does a good job of maintaining the characters created by Ms. Austen. The plot is interesting, although it gets a little unbelievable in the second book. The relationships between Darcy and Bingley and between Darcy and Georgiana are explored and fleshed out. If you're a Jane Austen fan, I highly recommend these books. (P.S. Special thanks to DA, my college roomie, for getting me hooked on these books!)
Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoli
This is one of the (many) novels that tells the story of Mr. and Mrs. Darcy after Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Overall, I liked the book. It has a wide scope in both plot and characterizations. At times, the plot becomes somewhat unbelievable and "gothic", but it seems to work as part of the whole story. The one downside is that Ms. Berdoli gives more detail about the Darcy's s*xual relationship than is needed for the story to work. If you're an Austen fan, you'll probably enjoy the book, but I don't think it's appropriate for teens - some of the content is clearly PG-13.
Pride and Prescience by Carrie Bebris
Ms. Bebris has written several "extension" novels based on Jane Austen's stories. One of the interesting things is that they are mystery novels. I enjoyed this book, but it was kind of like marshmallow - all fluff and no substance. The characters are pretty two dimensional. The plot includes elements of the supernatural (magic), but they don't mesh well into the rest of the story. It was an interesting read, but I'm not planning on reading anymore of Mr. Bebris' books. There are lots of other good books out there to spend my time on.
The Second Mrs. Darcy by Elizabeth Aston
Despite it's name, this book is only distantly related to Austen's Pride and Prejudice characters. It takes place 10 years or so after Pride and Prejudice. The main character is related to the Darcy family through her husband, but her husband dies before the opening of the book. The plot centers around the main character's adjusting to life as a widow and her trying to take control of her own life in a society in which women are generally dependent on their male relations. I really enjoyed this book. The characters are believable and engaging. The writer's style of writing made me want to continue reading. I recommend this to Austen fans.
The Language Police by Diane Ravitch
Ravitch has done an excellent job of documenting the degeneration of public schools' textbooks and standardized testing due to political correctness. This book explains the process by which test companies and textbook companies edit their items to be "appropriate". The assumption underlying their actions is that children will become uncomfortable and have difficulty learning or testing if they are shown negative events. There is also an assumption that children who are shown only an ideal world in print will take in those values and not be racist, sexist, or whatever other "ist" you can think of. If you look at current textbooks, you will see that the stories contain a representative sample of people by race and sex. Photos of all races, ages, and disabilities are also included.
So, what's the problem? For one thing, the publishers are spending a huge amount of money on this, apparently to the detriment of the academic side of things. Ravitch claims that publishers are also not using nearly as much classic literature as they used to because it does not meet their "PC" screening standards.
I highly recommend this book for anyone with kids in school. It provides motivation to get involved with the school district and in textbook evaluation. For me, it was another confirmation of the benefits of home education. My kids read stuff that might otherwise be censored and, I believe, are the better for it.
Black Rednecks, White Liberals by Thomas Sowell
I figured that anything written by Thomas Sowell was likely to be good and I was not disappointed. This collection of essays by Sowell was excellent. I enjoyed the topics. The depth and research level was impressive. I will briefly discuss just two topics in the book - you have to read it for the rest.
The first essay was a quite interesting essay on the history of American Black culture. The fashionable theory is that black urban culture is based on many American blacks being descended from slaves who were then freed at the end of the Civil War. The evidence, though, does not bear this out. In fact, Sowell shows that black urban culture is related most closely to "Cracker culture" from Scotland and Ireland which was imported to this country in the eighteenth century. The freed blacks absorbed this culture after being freed from slavery and living among rural whites in the South who were descended from the Crackers from Scotland and Ireland. It's a thought-provoking essay and I encourage you to read it.
The other essay that I most enjoyed was about the history of slavery in the history of the world. American slavery was certainly an evil, but it often gets treated as an evil that was peculiar to American whites. In fact, slavery is almost as old as civilization itself. Sowell does a nice job of showing slavery in many different cultures and shows that it was rarely based on race. He then asks the question of why Britain and America were the first two countries to really seriously pursue abolition. It's another essay I think everyone should read.
In the Beginning: the story of the King James Bible and how it changed a nation, a language, and a culture by Alistar McGrath
McGrath is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, partly because of this book. This book is a fascinating look at the history of the King James Bible and then how that translation has affected Western Civilization. McGrath does an excellent job of weaving history, linguistics, and religion into a coherent whole. I have never really been a fan of the KJV of the Bible; I think it's partly because it was the only translation used when I was a child and it was hard to understand, but also because I'm reacting against the almost worshipful attitude some people have toward this translation. As I've gotten older, I've mellowed in my attitude. This book, though, has opened my eyes to how this one translation of the Bible has affected so much of our culture. I very strongly recommend this book for anyone with any interest in history or linguistics. You will be enriched and fascinated.
Black Horses for the King by Anne McCaffrey
Yes, the author is also the author of the "Dragonriders of Pern" series. This, though, is the first book by this author I've read. This is a Sonight Core 6 read aloud. Mr. Math Teacher read it aloud for the whole family and it was a hit. The plot revolves around a young man who works with King Arthur's horses. He and an older man start to make "horse sandals" (horseshoes) to protect the horses' hooves. "No hoof, no horse" becomes their tagline. This was a great historical novel that is appropriate for older kids through adults.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Goodbye Notebooking
Well, another great homeschooling idea goes in the "doesn't work for us" column. I love the idea of notebooking. The kids are supposed to create pages about something they have learned in which they write a summary and then draw or use scrapbooking techniques for embellishment. My kids are completely uninterested. We were also going to include any other useful info in the notebooks (maps, etc.) so the kids could go back someday and look at their work. It just didn't work. I ended up spending way too much time tracking down papers and putting them in the notebooks.
Now we're doing "file-foldering". I still want the kids to write about what we're studying, but now I'm not worried about them doing drawings or other decorations. And the papers aren't organized into notebooks. I just put them into file folders in the file drawer by my desk. It's much more efficient and meets the educational goal of having the children write about what their learning in order to strengthen writing skill and reinforce the information.
I am very thankful for the flexibility of homeschooling!
Now we're doing "file-foldering". I still want the kids to write about what we're studying, but now I'm not worried about them doing drawings or other decorations. And the papers aren't organized into notebooks. I just put them into file folders in the file drawer by my desk. It's much more efficient and meets the educational goal of having the children write about what their learning in order to strengthen writing skill and reinforce the information.
I am very thankful for the flexibility of homeschooling!
Spring? Really?
I think I may have to take back my previous post about springtime. Tomorrow's Easter and we have a foot of snow on the ground and it's 30 degrees outside. We'll be wearing our Christmas clothes to church tomorrow. But, at least it's Spring.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Signs of Spring
It's going to be Spring soon. Here's how I can tell:
1. Rain instead of snow.
2. Wearing jackets instead of heavy coats.
3. Cats shedding even more than usual.
4. Ice fisherman on the lake in lawn chairs instead of shanties.
5. Exhibition baseball games on TV.
6. Kids practicing for the play, dance recital, and piano recital.
1. Rain instead of snow.
2. Wearing jackets instead of heavy coats.
3. Cats shedding even more than usual.
4. Ice fisherman on the lake in lawn chairs instead of shanties.
5. Exhibition baseball games on TV.
6. Kids practicing for the play, dance recital, and piano recital.
We live with Uncle Sam
Wild Man has been cast as Uncle Sam in this year's homeschool play, "Old Glory". Wild Man is a natural performer and is really excited about the role. He has lots more lines to learn this year than ever before, but he says that he's up to it. Mr. Math Teacher will be doing the sound for the play, with the help of Ga'Hoole Girl and a boy from the homeschool group.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Eating In
I found this here. I can't imagine this as a future, but, then again, could people 150 years ago have imagined not being allowed to teach their children at home?
April 13, 2099Reunited Press
After much heated debate on the house floor, legislation was passed today to allow a growing number of families to cook meals for their families in their homes. The children must have annual physical examinations to assure proper growth and weight gain. Attempts to require weekly meal plans and monthly kitchen inspections were voted down.
A spokesperson from the National Association of Nutritionists (NANs) condemns this decision. "These children are being denied the rich socialization and diversity that is an essential part of the eating process. Without the proper nutritional background, it is impossible for the average person to feed their own children. We, as child advocates, see this as a step backwards and speak out for the sake of the children who cannot speak for themselves."
Homecooking parents say the benefits of eating at home include increased family unity and the ability to tailor a diet to a particular need. Elizabeth Crocker, a home cook, states, "We started cooking and eating at home when we realized that my son had a severe allergy to eggs. The public kitchens required him to take numerous medications that had serious side effects in order to counteract his allergy. We found that eliminating eggs was a simpler method and our son has thrived since we began doing so."
After this experience, the Crockers decided to home cook for all of their children, and converted their media room into a kitchen. Elizabeth says, "We have experienced so much closeness as we have explored recipes and spent time cooking together and eating together. We have a dining circle with other families where we sometimes share ideas and meals together."
The Crocker children have done well physically under their mother's care, weighing in at optimum weights for their ages and having health records far above average. It should be noted that Mrs. Crocker, while not a professional nutritionist, has a family history rich with nutritionists and home economists. "Surely the success of the Crocker children is due to the background of their mother," responded the spokesman from NANs. "The results they have achieved should not be viewed as normative." Mrs. Crocker counters that her background was actually a hindrance to the nutritional principles she follows. "Our paternal great-grandmother was a home economist, but she prepared most meal from pre-made mixes. In our homecooking we try not to duplicate public-kitchen meals, but to tailor our meals to the needs and preferences of our children."
In a related issue, legislation is in committee that would provide oversight for the emerging homecooking movement. Says the Home Eating Legal Defense Association (HELDA): "We want to provide umbrella kitchens to aid parents in the complicated tasks of feeding their children. Many families lack the expertise of the Crocker family, yet desire to eat at home. As we have seen, the umbrella kitchens meet the needs of all concerned. We are happy to provide this service."
April 13, 2099Reunited Press
After much heated debate on the house floor, legislation was passed today to allow a growing number of families to cook meals for their families in their homes. The children must have annual physical examinations to assure proper growth and weight gain. Attempts to require weekly meal plans and monthly kitchen inspections were voted down.
A spokesperson from the National Association of Nutritionists (NANs) condemns this decision. "These children are being denied the rich socialization and diversity that is an essential part of the eating process. Without the proper nutritional background, it is impossible for the average person to feed their own children. We, as child advocates, see this as a step backwards and speak out for the sake of the children who cannot speak for themselves."
Homecooking parents say the benefits of eating at home include increased family unity and the ability to tailor a diet to a particular need. Elizabeth Crocker, a home cook, states, "We started cooking and eating at home when we realized that my son had a severe allergy to eggs. The public kitchens required him to take numerous medications that had serious side effects in order to counteract his allergy. We found that eliminating eggs was a simpler method and our son has thrived since we began doing so."
After this experience, the Crockers decided to home cook for all of their children, and converted their media room into a kitchen. Elizabeth says, "We have experienced so much closeness as we have explored recipes and spent time cooking together and eating together. We have a dining circle with other families where we sometimes share ideas and meals together."
The Crocker children have done well physically under their mother's care, weighing in at optimum weights for their ages and having health records far above average. It should be noted that Mrs. Crocker, while not a professional nutritionist, has a family history rich with nutritionists and home economists. "Surely the success of the Crocker children is due to the background of their mother," responded the spokesman from NANs. "The results they have achieved should not be viewed as normative." Mrs. Crocker counters that her background was actually a hindrance to the nutritional principles she follows. "Our paternal great-grandmother was a home economist, but she prepared most meal from pre-made mixes. In our homecooking we try not to duplicate public-kitchen meals, but to tailor our meals to the needs and preferences of our children."
In a related issue, legislation is in committee that would provide oversight for the emerging homecooking movement. Says the Home Eating Legal Defense Association (HELDA): "We want to provide umbrella kitchens to aid parents in the complicated tasks of feeding their children. Many families lack the expertise of the Crocker family, yet desire to eat at home. As we have seen, the umbrella kitchens meet the needs of all concerned. We are happy to provide this service."
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Ready for Spring!
I am soooooo ready for spring! I try very hard not to complain about winter, but it's getting rather old now. We still have about 2 feet of snow in our yard along with 3 1/2 to 4 feet along the driveway and road. We haven't had any new snow in over a week so the snow is icy and not nice to play in. Last night it was about 10 below zero, but it is supposed to get up to 40 this week. Yikes!
Of course, spring is lovely, but it accompanied by lots of mud as the snow melts. But, at least it will be warm. And, we'll be able to open the windows. I just have to be patient.
Of course, spring is lovely, but it accompanied by lots of mud as the snow melts. But, at least it will be warm. And, we'll be able to open the windows. I just have to be patient.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Teeth in mouth . . .
We were doing our evening reading the other night and came across a saying that meant "don't just stand there". I told the kids about a saying that my dad used to use when I was a kid: "Don't just stand there with your teeth in your mouth and your bare face hangin' out!" We had quite a laugh about it! The kids kept trying to keep their "bare faces" from "hangin' out". It involved trying to suck their mouths in as far as possible. What a fun moment!!
The Math Teacher
Mr. Math Teacher is a "real" math teacher now!! He is the long-term substitute in a high school math class, working for a teacher who just had a baby Monday night. He actually got the job about a month ago so he's been getting himself prepared to start. He was supposed to start on Friday so he went in Monday to get a feel for what he will be doing. He planned to sleep in on Tuesday, but he got a call at 10:30pm Monday. It was the math teacher, now in labor. She had the baby about five hours later, Mr. Math Teacher learned later. In any case, he was up and out early Tuesday morning to be a "real" math teacher.
The kids were very happy about Dad working. In fact, Wild Man was quite distressed that I would consider making him do schoolwork on such a special day. But, we did work. And, the kids decorated the house and made cupcakes so to celebrate. It was a great day for everyone. And Mr. Math Teacher survived his first day!!
The kids were very happy about Dad working. In fact, Wild Man was quite distressed that I would consider making him do schoolwork on such a special day. But, we did work. And, the kids decorated the house and made cupcakes so to celebrate. It was a great day for everyone. And Mr. Math Teacher survived his first day!!
Pain Update
My pain management plan seems to actually be helping some. Of course, the weather here has cooperated for the last week, too. I have had quite a good week on the pain front. I've had headaches every day, but they have been pretty manageable. The kids and I have been getting most of the schoolwork and housework done every day. I have been using minimal pain meds, and that has mostly been for muscle pains.
So, what has been working? It's hard to know for sure, but here are the things that I think are helping.
1. My schedule is manageable right now. I'm busy Monday evening, Wednesday daytime, and Thursday morning. I like having the time at home to rest when I need to.
2. I'm using my TENS unit. The TENS unit doesn't do much for a full-blown migraine, but it helps the daily headaches. It's kind of annoying to try to get set up, but once the pads are on, I don't have any trouble using it.
3. I have several scheduled breaks during my day. Actually, I don't get to all of my breaks, but just having the possiblity of taking them is reassuring. Even on Wednesdays, which are my busiest days, I can usually take a little time-out during reading lesson or piano lesson.
Let's hope this continues. I enjoy being able to keep the house reasonable clean and make sure the kids are learning something.
So, what has been working? It's hard to know for sure, but here are the things that I think are helping.
1. My schedule is manageable right now. I'm busy Monday evening, Wednesday daytime, and Thursday morning. I like having the time at home to rest when I need to.
2. I'm using my TENS unit. The TENS unit doesn't do much for a full-blown migraine, but it helps the daily headaches. It's kind of annoying to try to get set up, but once the pads are on, I don't have any trouble using it.
3. I have several scheduled breaks during my day. Actually, I don't get to all of my breaks, but just having the possiblity of taking them is reassuring. Even on Wednesdays, which are my busiest days, I can usually take a little time-out during reading lesson or piano lesson.
Let's hope this continues. I enjoy being able to keep the house reasonable clean and make sure the kids are learning something.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Homeschooling with Chronic Illness
I've been out of work for two years now because of my chronic headaches and frequent migraines. During that time, I've taken over the homeschooling responsibilities for our children. I've learned quite a bit during the last couple of years, so I thought I'd try to distill it down to one blog post. I have realized that these tips are really appropriate for life, parenting, and homeschooling.
1. Pray, then pray some more, then pray some more. I have found that praying helps to settle me down, keeps me in line with God's will, and helps me focus on what's really important.
2. Understand and accept your limitations. This does not mean to wallow in self-pity or lie around moaning and groaning. It does mean, though, to accept that you may not be able to work at the level that you did before. In my case, I used to work and average of 8 to 10 hours per day seeing patients, working in the hospital and nursing home, and delivering babies. Now, I need more sleep. I need to rest and relax during the day. When I have a bad migraine, I become pretty unproductive. By knowing myself and learning what I can and can't do, I don't overschedule me and the kids. This makes us all happier!
3. Adjust expectations. I had always thought that, if I was the stay-at-home homeschooling parent, I would be working hands-on with my kids several hours every day. We would go lots of interesting places and do really cool things. We would work together to keep a wonderfully clean home. In reality, I have had to learn not to expect so much from myself. On a really good day, the kids and I will have a couple of hours reading together or doing an experiment. On other days, I spend an hour or so with each one helping them on core subjects. On bad days, we watch movies and the kids work independently. But, now that I know what to expect, I don't stress that our current homeschooling doesn't look like my dream.
4. Set reasonable goals. This probably goes under adjusting expectations, but there are a few other things I have learned about goals in homeschooling. Before we do an activity, I ask if the activity will help us meet our homeschooling goals. I try very hard to avoid busy work and assign things that keep us moving forward. My goals for my kids are end-points of learning. So, a math goal might be to "become proficient with fractions" not to "finish the math workbook". If one of the kids is going quickly through something, I'll skip some assignments. If they need more help, then we slow down.
5. Take care of yourself. I have learned this the hard way. It doesn't do anyone any good for me to do something that will likely trigger a migraine. The whole family is better off if I take my regular breaks and keep our schedule manageable rather than try to go really hard for a few days and then be completely useless for several days when I have a bad migraine.
6. Use technology wisely. My kids use the computer for Spanish and typing. I also have Wild Man using time4learning.com. The jury's still out on how useful it is, but I'm happy to give it a try. I'm also planning on using an on-line program to help Ga'Hoole Girl with her writing. We also use some electronic devices for math fact review. DVDs are a big part of science and history for us. We have a Netflix subscription where I get science and history documentaries as well as relevant historical (and other) movies. Sometimes, we watch educational things on TV. Did you know that Mythbusters can be science?
7. Limit media. Sounds a little like I'm contradicting myself? Let me explain. We use technology when it helps. Otherwise, I don't let the kids watch TV or play video games indiscrimately. The rule in our house is that the kids can earn 30 minutes of media for every hour of math or language arts workbook work that they do. They can earn an hour daily. The nice thing is that even if I feel bad on a given day, they can earn their media. Most of the Wild Man's playtime is spent now with Legos, cars, and other toys. Ga'Hoole Girl enjoys computer programming, playing outside, and making things (food and crafts). So, there's a balance. If the kids get too much media, their behavior and attention span get atrocious. But, I don't mind some media. And, our system works well so far.
8. Don't compare. This is can be a real killer. I get to feeling really inadequate when I go to other people's homes and see that their houses are perfectly clean and their kids are so involved in zillions of activities. It's important to remember that God has called me to take care of my children in the best way that I can. So, it's OK that my house isn't clean. It's OK that my kids are doing the activities that they're doing. We don't have to be the "perfect" homeschooling family for my kids to get what's best for them.
9. Plan, but be flexible. One of the problems with homeschooling while having an illness is that plans seem to go awry regularly. And, I'm a real planner. In a perfect world, I would have a detailed schedule every day that we would follow to the last detail. I used to schedule my study times in college and medical school and loved it. Now, I start the day with a plan and have to change it halfway through because my headache gets bad. Or, I don't make any plans and I feel great and am left flying by the seat of my pants. The lesson I have learned here is to make overall plans, but be flexible about their implementation. We use Sonlight curriculum which comes with weekly schedules. I put this information into the lesson planning portion of Homeschool Tracker Plus and then can make daily schedules based on where we are in the curriculum. So, if we have a really slow day, I just move some assignments to the next day. The main thing here is to have an attitude that allows flexibility. It's OK to not do everything on the piece of paper! Really!
10. Enlist children's help with housework. We've had our kids help around the house since they were little, but I've really stepped that up in the last two years. They do most of the bathroom cleaning as well as the straightening up and sweeping. They can both make their own breakfasts and lunches and clean up (although they have to be reminded to clean up - big shock!). I'm teaching them to cook dinner as well. (When I don't feel well, one of them cooks either a frozen pizza or a Schwan's meal.)
Our life isn't perfect and I still don't have the homeschooling thing all figured out, but we're enjoying the process. I hope this helps you on your journey.
1. Pray, then pray some more, then pray some more. I have found that praying helps to settle me down, keeps me in line with God's will, and helps me focus on what's really important.
2. Understand and accept your limitations. This does not mean to wallow in self-pity or lie around moaning and groaning. It does mean, though, to accept that you may not be able to work at the level that you did before. In my case, I used to work and average of 8 to 10 hours per day seeing patients, working in the hospital and nursing home, and delivering babies. Now, I need more sleep. I need to rest and relax during the day. When I have a bad migraine, I become pretty unproductive. By knowing myself and learning what I can and can't do, I don't overschedule me and the kids. This makes us all happier!
3. Adjust expectations. I had always thought that, if I was the stay-at-home homeschooling parent, I would be working hands-on with my kids several hours every day. We would go lots of interesting places and do really cool things. We would work together to keep a wonderfully clean home. In reality, I have had to learn not to expect so much from myself. On a really good day, the kids and I will have a couple of hours reading together or doing an experiment. On other days, I spend an hour or so with each one helping them on core subjects. On bad days, we watch movies and the kids work independently. But, now that I know what to expect, I don't stress that our current homeschooling doesn't look like my dream.
4. Set reasonable goals. This probably goes under adjusting expectations, but there are a few other things I have learned about goals in homeschooling. Before we do an activity, I ask if the activity will help us meet our homeschooling goals. I try very hard to avoid busy work and assign things that keep us moving forward. My goals for my kids are end-points of learning. So, a math goal might be to "become proficient with fractions" not to "finish the math workbook". If one of the kids is going quickly through something, I'll skip some assignments. If they need more help, then we slow down.
5. Take care of yourself. I have learned this the hard way. It doesn't do anyone any good for me to do something that will likely trigger a migraine. The whole family is better off if I take my regular breaks and keep our schedule manageable rather than try to go really hard for a few days and then be completely useless for several days when I have a bad migraine.
6. Use technology wisely. My kids use the computer for Spanish and typing. I also have Wild Man using time4learning.com. The jury's still out on how useful it is, but I'm happy to give it a try. I'm also planning on using an on-line program to help Ga'Hoole Girl with her writing. We also use some electronic devices for math fact review. DVDs are a big part of science and history for us. We have a Netflix subscription where I get science and history documentaries as well as relevant historical (and other) movies. Sometimes, we watch educational things on TV. Did you know that Mythbusters can be science?
7. Limit media. Sounds a little like I'm contradicting myself? Let me explain. We use technology when it helps. Otherwise, I don't let the kids watch TV or play video games indiscrimately. The rule in our house is that the kids can earn 30 minutes of media for every hour of math or language arts workbook work that they do. They can earn an hour daily. The nice thing is that even if I feel bad on a given day, they can earn their media. Most of the Wild Man's playtime is spent now with Legos, cars, and other toys. Ga'Hoole Girl enjoys computer programming, playing outside, and making things (food and crafts). So, there's a balance. If the kids get too much media, their behavior and attention span get atrocious. But, I don't mind some media. And, our system works well so far.
8. Don't compare. This is can be a real killer. I get to feeling really inadequate when I go to other people's homes and see that their houses are perfectly clean and their kids are so involved in zillions of activities. It's important to remember that God has called me to take care of my children in the best way that I can. So, it's OK that my house isn't clean. It's OK that my kids are doing the activities that they're doing. We don't have to be the "perfect" homeschooling family for my kids to get what's best for them.
9. Plan, but be flexible. One of the problems with homeschooling while having an illness is that plans seem to go awry regularly. And, I'm a real planner. In a perfect world, I would have a detailed schedule every day that we would follow to the last detail. I used to schedule my study times in college and medical school and loved it. Now, I start the day with a plan and have to change it halfway through because my headache gets bad. Or, I don't make any plans and I feel great and am left flying by the seat of my pants. The lesson I have learned here is to make overall plans, but be flexible about their implementation. We use Sonlight curriculum which comes with weekly schedules. I put this information into the lesson planning portion of Homeschool Tracker Plus and then can make daily schedules based on where we are in the curriculum. So, if we have a really slow day, I just move some assignments to the next day. The main thing here is to have an attitude that allows flexibility. It's OK to not do everything on the piece of paper! Really!
10. Enlist children's help with housework. We've had our kids help around the house since they were little, but I've really stepped that up in the last two years. They do most of the bathroom cleaning as well as the straightening up and sweeping. They can both make their own breakfasts and lunches and clean up (although they have to be reminded to clean up - big shock!). I'm teaching them to cook dinner as well. (When I don't feel well, one of them cooks either a frozen pizza or a Schwan's meal.)
Our life isn't perfect and I still don't have the homeschooling thing all figured out, but we're enjoying the process. I hope this helps you on your journey.
Reading Frenzy!
On our recent trip South, we visited my brother and his family. My brother has a bunch of books that looked interesting and that he let me borrow. I'm in Heaven! Right now I'm working on Black Rednecks, White Liberals by Thomas Sowell. A couple of the books are relatively lightweight conservative political fare, but a few are more in-depth social commentary (like the Sowell book). I'll probably have some reviews up in a week or two.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Our Quest
One of my regular readers (OK, maybe my only one!) emailed me to ask if everything was OK since I hadn't blogged for a couple of weeks. I felt so loved!
Actually, though, my lack of blogging has been because our family went on a quest. "A quest? What kind of quest does one go on in 2008?" you may be wondering. Well, we have been reading the Dragonkeepers series of books (by Donita K. Paul - reviews coming soon) as a family. In addition, we have been listening to Eragon and Eldest. Both of these book series are about characters going on quests. We had a trip planned to see Mr. Math Teacher's and my families down South, so we decided to make a quest out of it.
Ga'Hoole Girl got creative and make Questing Books out of paper and fabric. She had three books and made one for Wild Man. The kids both packed questing bags which included things like binoculars, Questing Books, and mp3 players (don't ask). They were ready to go!
When we got into the van to get going on our trip on Wednesday the 13th, the kids found a letter from someone who had previously done our trip and found some dragon eggs. She included a diary of her trip, but it was in a coded alphabet. The kids had to decode the diary based on the locations that we passed on our trip. We had two days of driving, by which time the kids had completely decoded the diary. This was important because the last page of the diary was at my parent's trailer and it had to be decoded before the kids could find the dragon eggs or dragons. So, they decoded it and walked out on my parent's property to find their dragons! (The eggs had hatched while we were driving, apparently) We got back to the trailer and Ga'Hoole Girl proceeded to explain to my parents the difference between Western (European) and Eastern (generally Chinese) dragons - she has a book on dragons. Too funny!
After the dragons were found, we spent the rest of the trip visiting family. We spent time with my family then went to visit Mr. Math Teacher's grandmother, who is 93 years old!! While we were down South, we also got to have plenty of seafood, including boiled crawfish (despite the fact that it's not really in season yet). Then, we took another drive to visit my brother and his family. The kids had a great time playing. Wild Man is two years older than his cousin, E. They had a blast playing boy things together. Ga'Hoole Girl taught E to play the Zelda game that he has. Ga'Hoole Girl is a Zelda maniac! But, mostly, Ga'Hoole Girl played with her 8 month old cousin, J. It was really fun to see her playing with him. Overall, we had a great time and were really glad to see so much of our family at once.
The one downside was that I had three bad migraines on the trip. We were going to leave on Thursday but decided to leave on Wednesday because a big snowstorm was coming and we didn't want to get caught in it. Of course, I then developed a migraine Tuesday night making packing a real adventure. I had two more migraines on the trip, but I did have the advantage of being with family so I didn't have to worry about cooking or cleaning. Now that we're home, I'm having "withdrawal" headaches. The house is a disaster! But, we are glad to be home. And, I'm sure I'll get around the cleaning eventually. I've got three weeks of blogging to do, so I should have some new stuff up in the next few days.
Actually, though, my lack of blogging has been because our family went on a quest. "A quest? What kind of quest does one go on in 2008?" you may be wondering. Well, we have been reading the Dragonkeepers series of books (by Donita K. Paul - reviews coming soon) as a family. In addition, we have been listening to Eragon and Eldest. Both of these book series are about characters going on quests. We had a trip planned to see Mr. Math Teacher's and my families down South, so we decided to make a quest out of it.
Ga'Hoole Girl got creative and make Questing Books out of paper and fabric. She had three books and made one for Wild Man. The kids both packed questing bags which included things like binoculars, Questing Books, and mp3 players (don't ask). They were ready to go!
When we got into the van to get going on our trip on Wednesday the 13th, the kids found a letter from someone who had previously done our trip and found some dragon eggs. She included a diary of her trip, but it was in a coded alphabet. The kids had to decode the diary based on the locations that we passed on our trip. We had two days of driving, by which time the kids had completely decoded the diary. This was important because the last page of the diary was at my parent's trailer and it had to be decoded before the kids could find the dragon eggs or dragons. So, they decoded it and walked out on my parent's property to find their dragons! (The eggs had hatched while we were driving, apparently) We got back to the trailer and Ga'Hoole Girl proceeded to explain to my parents the difference between Western (European) and Eastern (generally Chinese) dragons - she has a book on dragons. Too funny!
After the dragons were found, we spent the rest of the trip visiting family. We spent time with my family then went to visit Mr. Math Teacher's grandmother, who is 93 years old!! While we were down South, we also got to have plenty of seafood, including boiled crawfish (despite the fact that it's not really in season yet). Then, we took another drive to visit my brother and his family. The kids had a great time playing. Wild Man is two years older than his cousin, E. They had a blast playing boy things together. Ga'Hoole Girl taught E to play the Zelda game that he has. Ga'Hoole Girl is a Zelda maniac! But, mostly, Ga'Hoole Girl played with her 8 month old cousin, J. It was really fun to see her playing with him. Overall, we had a great time and were really glad to see so much of our family at once.
The one downside was that I had three bad migraines on the trip. We were going to leave on Thursday but decided to leave on Wednesday because a big snowstorm was coming and we didn't want to get caught in it. Of course, I then developed a migraine Tuesday night making packing a real adventure. I had two more migraines on the trip, but I did have the advantage of being with family so I didn't have to worry about cooking or cleaning. Now that we're home, I'm having "withdrawal" headaches. The house is a disaster! But, we are glad to be home. And, I'm sure I'll get around the cleaning eventually. I've got three weeks of blogging to do, so I should have some new stuff up in the next few days.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)