OUCH!!

WOW!
Are they serious?

My spouse is a Lt. Firefighter/EMT so taking blood pressures is second nature. Since our daughter is planning on following him in this profession, he figured she ought to learn how to, too. Shoot, we all need to know as Grandma is in declining health at 82 and has been living with us since she had a stroke near two years ago.

Well today blood pressures were taken and needless to say, one was higher then it should be, one higher then normal (I had just finished my fifth cup of coffee! Give me a break! Lol, I was awake, though! And it's still in a healthy range!) Needless to say, my spouse figures it's time to get serious about being 'middle aged' (Lol, doesn't that sound like a history lesson?) so it's time to take this blood pressure thing serious and go on a 'heart healthy diet'.

YIKES!! & YUCK!!

So below is the diet that we started to 'improve our health'. I guess I upset my spouse when I said that I'd rather die at fifty then live to one hundred by eating the same thing day in and day out. I was exaggerating a bit, but get real! No eggs and toast for breakfast ever again? I mean no more Tomato and Sausage Gravy over Golden Layered Biscuits, ever again?
To NEVER taste a BLT on Rye? No more pasta? No more nachos? AND THE WORST!!

NO MORE STEAK!!!

I think I've already died....or might as well...Why didn't they tell me that growing old would mean the end of wonderful foods? What's to be done about this? I'll support my spouse and share his diet to get his BP down. I'll even give up all these foods because he's worth it. But NOBODY better get mad at me when the Thanksgiving table is all nice clean veggies with no special mouth watering sauces to make them melt in your mouth. No more savoury sides. No more delicious desserts. No more hot chocolate by a roaring fire...
Please Pray for me! I'm gonna need it!
One day down and counting...

DIET:

Foods to purchase and eat during your diet

Butter – I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light
Meats – Skinless Boneless Chicken Breasts, Lean Boneless Butterfield Pork chops
Lunch Meats – Chicken, Turkey (Healthy Choice)
Fish (White Only) - Tuna Albacore in water only, Haddock, Halibut
Cottage Cheese – 2%
Cookies – Sugarless
Cereal – Special K, Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios
Bread – 100% Whole Wheat (Arnolds is the best)
Crackers – Ritz Reduced
Mayonnaise – Helmans Just To Good (Green Top)
Vegetables – (Raw) Carrots, Celery, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Baking Potatoes
Salad – Fresh Greens
Salad Dressing – Low Fat type or Oil and Vinegar (Oil must be Virgin Olive Oil)
Starches – Reduced Fat Noodles, Rice
Fruits – Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Apples, Bananas, Honey Dew Melon
Sugar – Sweet and Low or Splenda only
Peanut Butter – Reduced Fat
Jelly – Reduced Fat
Cooking oils – Pam spray only
Snacks – Sugar Free Popsicles, Sugar Free Fudgesicles
Drinks – Water, Juice, Milk 2%

No Chips, Pretzels, Soda, or Candy
*********************************************************************
Breakfast – Cereal with 2% Milk and glass of Juice or Milk

10am Snack – Fruit (Small container) or 1 Apple, and a few Ritz Crackers

Lunch – Lunch meat or Tuna Sandwich, or Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich, or Salad with raw vegetables, and Cottage Cheese. Juice, Water or Milk

Afternoon Snack – Vegetables with small amount of Crackers

Supper – Any meat or fish listed (cook in Pam only, no oil/butter), Salad with vegetables, and your choice of Baked Potato, Rice, or Noodles, and Cottage Cheese. Juice, Water, or Milk
* Note: If you eat a sandwich at lunch you can not have a Potato, Rice, or Noodles with Supper.*

Night Snack – Sugar Free Popsicles, Sugar free Fudgesicle, Sugar free cookies, or Honey Nut Cheerios (no milk)


You Must walk at least one mile a day
Eat small portions at each meal and snack
No Ionized Salt, Sea salt only
Drink at least 64oz. of water a day




NO CHEATING

Hobbs

Hobbs is a very curious kitty!  He's looking for a snack and making a few bite sized finches nervous!

That's right, kitty.  I'm watching you.

Good, Hobbs!  No eating my birds!

Fact or Fiction?

I ran this email through snopes but didn't get an answer, so if anyone knows the truth of this, please fill me in.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Respect
Senator Barack Obama, Governor Bill Richardson, Senator Hillary Clinton and Ruth Harkin stand during the national anthem.
Barack Hussein Obama's photo (that's his real name) ...... the article said he REFUSED TO NOT ONLY PUT HIS HAND ON HIS HEART DURING THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, BUT REFUSED TO SAY THE PLEDGE ..... how in the hell can a man like this expect to be our next Commander-in-Chief????

Gemini Springs

This past Saturday, we were invited to join some friends at Gemini Springs for a carnival. It turned out to be a rainy day but we still had lots of fun.





























We finished the day visiting at our friends' home where Jamie and Marlie played very nicely together. Aren't they cute?

I Am Mom. Hear Me Rant.

Lol, I'm irritated and befuddled; so what better thing to do then blog about it? I may anger some (probably), I may crack a few up (doubt it), I may make a few think (hopefully). I'm so tired of ignorance. I'll admit that I still have lots to learn, but learn I do everyday. I'll admit that I'm not the best writer but I'm ready and willing to accept comments and help. I was raised to be judgemental. I work hard to avoid that, therefore, I will try not to name the irritants that set me off by name, race, creed nor color. Here goes:

1) Pro-choice/Pro-life. What a dumb fight! Ever hear of supply and demand? All this energy and money could be better spent on education, birth control and other means of improving the lot of those in need BEFORE they get to the place of having to choose to keep, put up for adoption or kill a future child.

2) Homeschooling/Brick & Mortar schooling. If one size fit all this stupid debate wouldn't exist. There are tons of awesome teachers out there making a 'formal' B&M education awesome. There are also many terrible teachers out there that make this a bad option. Same goes with homeschooling. Refer to #1 Some people are not prepared to be parents when they become one. Good parents will make good choices for their families and know to change plans when needed.

3) Controlled access to video games/unlimited access to video games. Another stupid discussion. So many parents feel they MUST dictate to their kids and MAKE their kids EARN privileges. I just don't get it. It didn't work for my parents. It doesn't work for anyone I know who's raising a normal, healthy, thinking child. Sure, you can make their life a living hell but what does THAT accomplish?

I have never limited my kids. We bought them their first system back in the 90's when they were five and seven and we took them across this awesome country in a slide-in camper in the bed of a Dodge pick-up with a Cummins engine. (What can I say, the truck is still awesome today.) That first system was a Nintendo 64. They started out with the seven year old reading everything to the five year old. By the time we got home, the five year old was reading.

We have never timed nor limited video games. We have many systems, many, many games for each, and always let the kids try out the demos so they can see which new games they'd like. In fact, I'm planning on buying them another one this Christmas! Maybe since I've never made the games 'forbidden fruit', my kids never developed a video game obsession. As for making them fat and lazy, well that never happened either. All my kids could easily sink into a good book just as easily into a good video game, which they do often. Note: My oldest jogs for pleasure and my youngest rode his horse often until she was recently killed by criminals. (Another story for another day.) Point being, all that video game access didn't make them less atheletic.

One final note on this issue. Last weekend, my third child celebrated his tenth birthday with a sleep over with his two cousins and a friend. One being six months younger and forty pounds heavier. The other one year younger and ten pounds lighter. One of the cousins is allowed some video games. The other none as they feel he will learn bad language. This child's step-father works at a college and has heard from his students what 'bad language' is on the games.

Let's stop here and review.

My son: Plays Halo 3 yet chooses not to curse ever.

Nephew six months younger: Not allowed to play Halo. Begs to play it, but please don't tell his parents. So he's being taught to lie. Hmmm. Not at my house. We don't lie or cover.

Nephew one year younger: Not allowed to play video games as step-dad says it will teach him to curse. Funny. This nine year old DOES curse. If you ask him, he'll tell you he gets it from his dad. (The only dad he's known is his step-dad as his bio-father was never in the picture.) When he was here I asked him to write down his 'bad' words. Here's his list in his spelling: sheet, crap, kill, frickin, dirt bag, Indint, daw. (Last one is supposed to be dam.) My only concern is that his dad freely uses these words yet punishes this child who looks up to him if the child repeats him. Not right. Either both should be punished or neither. All this father is accomplishing is to teach his son to hide his behavior from those who will punish him.

4) Judge a book by its cover/Read it. Gee, anyone who knows me, knows this one. I'm sick of the Harry Potter bashing. IT'S FICTION, FOLKS! FICTION!! I'll admit that it's so well written that one wants to believe that the wizarding world is real, and the characters are so well described that it's hard to believe that they aren't real. In the fifth book, Harry gets whiny. I know lots of people who quit reading at this point. It's hard to read through a whiny teenager's rage. Anyone who had read all the books could understand the why but it's still a tedious read, well worth the effort. Anyway, I was close on my predictions and happily pleased the books fullfilled my wishes. I would NEVER refuse a child this wonderful story.

So to summarize my thoughts here, I feel that being a 'bully' even as a parent is WRONG! I have always talked to my kids. I have always listened to my kids. (Tonight my now ten year old explained to me how an Ice Dragon's evolution would have happened. Very well thought out I might add. He also mentioned how he thought Science was a natural course for him to pursue.)
I believe that the best way to parent is the way God intended when he set up the nourishing links between mom and child. When a mom is totally in tune with her child, she knows when they need what and she creates a happy child. The mom knows when to nurse them, when to change them, when to add other stimulus...which makes homeschooling perfect.

I'll go one step further. I learn what is the being taught in each grade then inform my son what would be expected for that year. I give him the means to accomplish it. Then I leave it up to him to pursue. Oh, I can hear the shouting as I write this. So far, he has stayed at least two grade levels ahead. So you know what? It works for him.

I'll also add that my kids talk to me. One is just a few months shy of adulthood, yet she openly discusses all with me. Hmmm. My kids openly talk to me about everything. I'll take my way of parenting over a dictatorship any day.

Happy Harvest!

Educational Weblinks

Here's a list of websites that I started putting together when we decided to homeschool. As it seems wrong to hoard them, I'm posting them so others can put them to good use! Enjoy!


Kid sites:

http://www.funbrain.com/

http://www.bigbrainz.com/ - math game

http://www.coolmath.com/ - math

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skills_3rd_math.htm

http://www.gel.msu.edu/lifepreservers/game/full/index.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/dynamo/den/index.shtml

http://www.brainpop.com/english/

http://www.edhelper.com/

http://www.everydayspelling.com/grade3/index.html

http://www.gamequarium.com/

http://www.howtodrawit.com/

http://www.factmonster.com/

http://www.mathplayground.com/

http://www.funbrain.com/comics/comicontherocks.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/flash/stage1.shtml

http://www.iknowthat.com/com/L3?Area=Paintball

http://yucky.discovery.com/flash/

http://funschool.kaboose.com/

http://www.linkslearning.org/Kids/1_Math/2_Illustrated_Lessons/

http://www.infoplease.com/homework/wsbiography.html

Science:

http://education.jlab.org/elementhangman/index.html

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids/index.html

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/

http://www.theyoungscientistclub.com/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/dynamo/lab/index.shtml

http://www.exploratorium.edu/index.html

http://psln.apogee.net/kids/default.aspx

http://www.howstuffworks.com/

http://www.privatehand.com/flash/elements.html singing the periodic table

http://babbitsgarden.snoville.com/Birding.html bird songs

Space exploration:

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/

http://www.lauriefowler.com/moon.htm

Art fun:

http://www.crayola.com/

http://www.hitentertainment.com/artattack/menu_artattacks.html

http://artshowforkids.com/

Columbus Day fun:

http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/columbusday.html

http://www.theholidayzone.com/columbus/songs.html

http://www.gpschools.org/ci/ce/elem/holidays/columbus.htm

History:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/dynamo/history/index.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/anglosaxons/index.shtml

http://www.earlyamerica.com/series.html

http://hewit.unco.edu/DOHIST/vftrips/mining/lebmine/one.htm

http://www.usconstitution.net/constkids4.html

Foriegn Language:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryfrench/hello/cartoon_flash.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryspanish/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/

http://www.studyspanish.com/freesite.htm

http://asiaforkids.com/

Curriculum sites:

http://sandradodd.com/intelligences/

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/mathematics.htm#program

http://www.aaaknow.com/

http://www.cosmeo.com/

http://www.wordsonus.com/

http://www.learningstation.com/home/resources.html

http://www.unitstudies.com/index.cfm

http://giftedhomeschoolers.org/membership.html
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/musicchild.htm

http://www.abeka.com/ -

http://www.sonlight.com/ -

http://www.homeschooltracker.com/ one of many tracking sites

http://www.wayofwisdom.org/

http://www.progenypress.com/

http://www.flvs.net/index.php sixth grade+

http://www.tapestryofgrace.com/

http://www.hop.com/ Hooked on Phonics

http://www.mfwbooks.com/ My Fathers World

http://www.nestfamily.com/

http://home.talkcity.com/ArenaBlvd/mrdonc/

http://epsbooks.com/

http://www.laurelsprings.com/

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/

www.geocities.com/sportskids_2000/ThePlace.html

http://www.home-schooling.com/ Alpha Omega

http://www.bjup.com/

http://www.robinsoncurriculum.com/

http://www.saxon.com/

http://www.christianbook.com/

http://www.konos.com/

http://www.teachinghome.com/

http://www.nheri.org/

http://www.explorerbiblestudy.org/ Bible Study

http://www.bethlehembooks.com/

http://www.providenceproject.com/

http://www.pencilplayground.com/

http://www.audiobookclassics.com/

http://www.homeschools.org/

http://www.hometrainingtools.com/

http://www.power-glide.com/ foreign language studies

http://www.learnables.com/ foreign language

http://www.rosettastone.com/en/?a=b foriegn language

http://www.bolchazy.com/ (Latin studies)

http://www.kidsart.com/ Kids Art

http://www.howgreatthouart.com/ art program

http://www.hsi.edu/

http://www.classroomdirect.com/

http://www.novichristianoutreach.org/

http://www.mhkids.com/ McGraw Hill

http://www.calvertschool.org/

http://www.scahomeschool.com/

http://www.cwd.com/trimedia

http://www.school_of_tomorrow.com/

http://www.atco1.com/

http://www.mathusee.com/

http://livingmath.net/Home/tabid/250/Default.aspx

http://www1.minn.net/~heritage

http://www.thebackpack.com/

http://www.the-book-peddler.com/

http://www.phschool.com/

http://www.cadroncreek.com/

http://www.sycamoretree.com/

http://www.handsonandbeyond.com/

http://www.runklepub.com/ Geography

http://msnucleus.org/ science

http://www.homestead.com/minsbookcellar/home.html

http://www.mottmedia.com/

http://www.criticalthinking.com/

http://www.writingstrands.com/

http://www.designastudy.com/ Spelling

http://www.areasonfor.com/ A Reason for Spelling /A Reason for Writing

http://www.singspell.com/ Sing, Spell, Read and Write

http://www.wizardsspell.com/WhatProdDesc.cfm spelling

http://www.letterboxing.org/

http://www.clonlara.org/

http://www.bookplanetbookclub.com/ kids books

http://www.horriblebooks.com/

http://www.time4learning.com/

http://www.shillermath.com/

http://www.aaamath.com/div.html

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/

http://www.brightminds.us/

http://www.brightkidsathome.com/about-he.html

http://www.ydacs.com/ Youth Digital Arts CyberSchool

http://www.starfall.com/

http://www.learningpage.com/

http://www.holycowscience.com/

http://www.gdbdp.com/multiflyer/

http://www.homefires.com/

http://www.carschooling.com/

http://www.ilearnmusic.com/ - music lessons

http://www.pianonanny.com/1.html - music lessons

http://www.homeschoolmusic101.com/ - music lessons

Printable Worksheets:

http://www.sitesforteachers.com/

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/

http://www.tlsbooks.com/englishworksheets.htm

http://www.schoolexpress.com/fwsindex.php

http://www.50states.com/tools/

http://www.spelling.hemscott.net/

http://www.usingenglish.com/handouts/

http://www.busyteacherscafe.com/worksheets.htm

http://www.edu4kids.com/index.php?page=12


Miscellanious fun stuff:

http://parents.lego.com/PlayIdeas/

http://www.gel.msu.edu/lifepreservers/

http://lifewithoutschool.typepad.com/lifewithoutschool/2006/09/socialization_a.html

http://www.almanac.com/astronomy/moon/index.php

http://commtechlab.msu.edu/SITES/ASLWEB/browser.htm

http://www.spelling.org/homeschooling.htm

http://www.sciencefriday.com/kids/sfkc20021206-2.html - science

http://www.mensa.org.uk/mensa/puzzles/brainteasers.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/dynamo/home.shtml

http://www.gigglepotz.com/3.htmlepotz.com/3.htm

http://www.highiqsociety.org/iq_tests/

http://www.hsunlimited.com/resources/homeschool-methods/thomas-jefferson-education.php

Woot! wOOt!!

I AM SOOOO HAPPY!!!!

Caylee got into the Fire Academy!!

She starts in January, 2008 and will graduate in May then she moves onto EMT school!

Caylee, I love you and I'm so proud of you!

Beethoven's 5th

Your Superpower Should Be Invisibility

You are stealth, complex, and creative. You never face problems head on. Instead, you rely on your craftiness to get your way. A mystery to others, you thrive on being a little misunderstood. You happily work behind the scenes... because there's nothing better than a sneak attack! Why you would be a good superhero: You're so sly, no one would notice... not even your best friends Your biggest problem as a superhero: Missing out on all of the glory that visible superheroes get

What Should Your Superpower Be?

Honey Bee Unit Study

Education pages:

http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/ahb/

http://www.honey.com/downloads/HoneyFilesWeb.pdf

http://www.abcteach.com/free/b/bee_researchreport.pdf

http://www.kindergartentreehouse.com/bees.html

http://www.kinderkorner.com/bees.html

http://search.edhelper.com/cgi-bin/ednet.cgi

http://www.thevirtualvine.com/bees.html

http:/http://www.lessontutor.com/sci1home.html

www.bbc.co.uk/schoolradio/earlylearning/listenandplay_spring07_programme10.shtml

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bees/

http://www.biology4kids.com/extras/dtop_micro/7997.html

http://www.biology4kids.com/files/invert_insect.html

http://www.biology4kids.com/extras/dtop_plants/blueeye.html

http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=53420300

http://exploratorium.edu/cmp/exnet/exhibits/group_c/bluesky/media/blue_gb.pdf

http://nsdl.exploratorium.edu/nsdl/showRecord.do;jsessionid=5EF0A97BA8B337415A6F29BF27FD7CB1?id=446&qid=SAQ-2&itemsPerPage=10&index=0

http://science.howstuffworks.com/bee6.htm

Puzzles & Word Searches:

http://www.ncbeekeepers.org/bees.pdf

http://weeklyreader.com/kids/games/wordsearch_bees.asp

http://www.akidsheart.com/animals/bugs/beexwordp.html

Food:

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/honey-bees-recipe.htm

http://jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts?page=CraftDisplay&craftid=10626

http://jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts?page=CraftDisplay&craftid=11216

Happy October Tenth!

Hi everyone!

I've been cleaning house which means I've also been cleaning out my inbox of all those useful links I've been gathering since joining the homeschooling world. If you haven't checked out my list of Fun Links lately, you might want to take another look as some fun links have been added like:

Geospy - They have Fun Games to instill Geography.

Hippo Campus - Where high school students can get great information for Algebra, American Government, Biology, Calculus, Environmental Science, Physics, Religion, and US History.

Learning the States - Here's a fun online Map test!
And another at Learning the States 2

Reeko's Mad Scientist Lab - A great source for free science projects and experiments! Protective goggles are required.

The Study Shack - A great resource for online Flashcards in Geography, History, Math, Languages, Science, and Medicine!

UC Berkeley Lecture Videos - You can't get better then this! UCBerkeley has posted many of their college lectures on YouTube!

New Baby!

My good friend just had a new baby at her house and I thought I would show all my blogging friends the baby's first photo!

Congratulations, Julie!!

This is their first born baby Cockatiel!

For more information about cockatiels go to: http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Cockatiel

http://www.cockatiels.org/

Memory Lane

Here's a short stroll down memory Lane around the years 1998-2000... Family Friend, John, giving George an early lesson on airplanes.

 

Babies...

 Young George and his cousin Holden, checking out the piggy-back glider.... and yes, the picture in the lower right corner is of an alligator taking a stroll across one of our fields.

 Our backyard...

 

 

Quiz Time!

 

I found this one over at eclecticeducation !  If you haven't been there recently, go visit Lynn and check out all her very cool lesson plans!  She's got more links then Carter's got liver pills!!

Your Scholastic Strength Is Deep Thinking

You aren't afraid to delve head first into a difficult subject, with mastery as your goal. You are talented at adapting, motivating others, managing resources, and analyzing risk. You should major in: Philosophy Music Theology Art History Foreign language

What Should You Major In?

Assuming they are Properly Homeschooled; -)

 Properly homeschooled?

~~ (assuming they are properly homeschooled; -)  ~~  I don't know what this means....

------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Here in lies a few small snippets of conversations held in various groups that I found interesting and thought I'd share to help express what I have come to agree with.  I've left the *thoughts* anonymous.  Owners may claim them if they wish.

 I *thought* I had a grasp of the concept until it came to my attention that this is more than just about learning.  It is a part of all interactions with children...
------------------------------------------------------
I think you might be mixing what I see as 2 forms of unschooling. One kind is Radical Unschooling, which is a way of life, of living with your children, including educational style. The other one, is based more in educational style i.e.; no curriculum, total freedom for the child to follow their interests, joy-driven learning.

I'm becoming more and more radical as time passes, and it's freeing and soothing to me and to the kids. I don't know how "far" I'll go (I guess you could say), but with each change, my children and I respond better to one another, it's more fulfilling than ever before and we are enjoying one another more. It's not at ALL the child-king situation that I see you being concerned about. Or Lord of the Flies-esque. If so, we'd all be loosing our minds and not be as happy as these families are and I am.

Rather, this is a different type of hands-on parenting. It's just a matter of equality - we and our children are not the same. We are different, with different needs and wants and tastes. But we are still equal, and children can be an equal part of the family - it's almost like...in proportion to the whole family, I see it kind of like this: A new baby plays a strong role in the family, but not on decision making things. Babies of course can't chose their clothes, the carpet we buy or the color of the car or whatever we are doing, but as they age, they can and do. No reason NOT to allow that to happen! And as they age, the way they bring their ideas into the family, makes for more and more equality in more and more areas of the house...
---------------------------------------------------------------
Unschooling is an attitude, a lifestyle, a belief that only the
learner has the power to gain information and only they can know what
is important for their own life journey. There is no way to pick out
activities and label them as unschooling or not. It's a philosophy,
not a set of actions.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"What is the dividing line between homeschooling and unschooling?
Is it the type of work, the amount of work, or whether there is work at all?"

It has absolutely NOTHING to do with what work anyone is doing and EVERYTHING to do with the motivation behind the action. Unschooling is all about the learner choosing exactly what they want to learn, when they want to learn it and for their own reasons. That's why you can't say "workbooks aren't unschooling" because sometimes they ARE.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
***how do I prepare
him for the reality of most people's working-life: 8 - 5 stuck at a desk, working on someone else's schedule?***

Why does he need to be prepared for someone else's life?

He will meet all kinds of people and the ones who are "stuck" will seem like sad, stuck people to him. The ones who are alive and vibrant and who know they can do what they love will be the people who inspire him.

You can't prepare him for much, honestly. You don't know what he'll need in thirty years. But if you help him live the kind of life he wants to today, he'll be prepared to live the kind of life he wants in the future.

You can derail him though. You can make life seem like it sucks and he'd better get used to it, and chances are then, his life will suck.

***How much faith do you put in unschooling as "the right thing to do for the individual character" and how much is practical?** *

For me, faith doesn't enter into it at all.

When you think about how babies learn, they learn by doing. No one explains to a little baby how to pay attention to, or look for momma. Babies experience having their needs met and then naturally look to the one who has met them before to meet them again. No one explains how to start talking. Babies watch and listen to other people and experiment with making noise and then with saying words until they're talking. No one explains to them how to start walking. They become interested in standing and walking and we give them lots of opportunities to do that.

You have been trained to think that learning itself is a thing that is not natural to humans and must be put there by teachers. But humans naturally learn and naturally want to do what other humans are doing. There's evidence all around you in all the kids who aren't in preschool, who are walking and talking and playing and dressing themselves and feeding themselves. In the kids of people like me who aren't in school at all and never have been, who are pursuing interests and experimenting with ideas and in adults who are taking up new hobbies or traveling for fun, or making art, even though they're no longer in school.

You don't have to have faith *at all.* You just have to think.

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... There aren't very many teachers that devote extra time and focus on the individual. This was one of our main reasons to homeschool. Nothing compares to the homeschooled child and the rate at which they grow and progress ( assuming they are properly homeschooled;-)

The statement which lead to this post...

October 1st!!

October 1st is here!!

The winds are gusting, the cold fall showers are blowing, the barn is rattling...

It reminds me of what I always told my little daughter after she watched the Olsen Twins in Double, Double, Toil & Trouble (1993)

"Do you know why the wind is blowing like that? and from that direction? It's all the witches flying in for Halloween!! Keep an eye on the moon and you might see one fly by on her broom..." Then of course, because I'm a good mommy, I'd hum the theme from the Gathering in the movie... OoooOoooooOo .... That sometimes rendered a, "Mommy! Stop that!" Lol....

October 1st is HERE!! That means we celebrate my father turning 75 years old and he still works full-time! My nephew will turn 9 the next week, my spouse will turn 43 the following week on the same day as my good friend's daughter turns two, and then my son will turn ten!!

October is a month long celebration!!