Balderdash and Blokus

Eight Year Olds and Unschooling

2011-12-29T10:09:00.006-05:00

This is a response to a worried mom of an eight year old.

I'm coming into the discussion a wee bit late and have skimmed the majority of responses and have just a few points to add:

Jane McGonical was on TED Talks. You can view here.

The original poster states a few concerns I'd like to address:

"but I miss my cheerful son who in younger years would happily be up for all kinds of adventures."

"if we do go out, a hour or 2 later he's ready to go home."

"I hate to make an arbitrary ban/regulation of this, but it seems like it might be helpful."

We started 'homeschooling when my son was 7yo and moved into full blown radical unschooling by the time he was 8yo. He is now 14 so I've run the gambit of much of what you address in your questions and this is what I have learned.

1) You haven't really 'lost' your cheerful son. He has grown and his interests have grown with him. Ask him what sorts of adventures he'd like.

When my son was 8, I pulled up the Dwarf Fortress website and let him read it to see if he would like that sort of game. (Got the link off the homeschooling Mensa site so I had no clue how my son would take to it.) He liked what he read and is still actively involved with the game/forum/linked branches/etc ever since. To this day if you looked at what he is reading on his iPod, it's usually something linked from this original site.

Do I worry? Not at all! What I have done is stay connected and in tune with what has him so intrigued. I take the time to listen and get engaged with him and his interests. This also gives him someone close that he can talk to about all his discoveries. It has allowed him to ask crazy questions like, 'Can a carp really kill a man?' which lead to us researching everything about carps and how big they grow, the probability of 'man killing carps' and a game designers right to be as silly as they so choose to be.

Along with Dwarf Fortress, I, who was NOT a gamer in any sense of the word, learned to play Runescape, World of Warcraft, and tons of other 'addicting' games. But my learning wasn't limited to just learning games! No! By bringing my boy home from school, I was now his number one person to whom he spent the most time with. I'm the one he talked to about EVERYTHING. This meant I got to enter his world and I considered it my place to know his interests and feed them. I read all the books he read (and he reads a lot!) so he always had someone to discuss the stories and plot lines with.

When his interests expanded beyond my time constraints/desires/and or tolerance, (I got motion sickness from some of the xbox games) my spouse jumped in. The two of them watched every Star Trek, played Halo, and discussed all types of weighty subjects even doing the math to see if the directors got it right. This lead to them getting into Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawkings to name a few.

My point being is your 'happy son' is still there. You might just need to get to know him again as a slightly older child with slightly grown interests.

2) My son also grew to hating to leave the house. To the point at one point, I feared he would become a shut in. He balked at having to even accompany us to the store. Well, turns out it was just a phase. The store bored him and being a typical boy, he really hated shopping ~ unless it was like a gaming store ~ but even then, he could look online at home and skip the actual store shopping. He had grown out of play dates and playgrounds. He hated roller skating and the likes. He always carried reading material and getting his nose out of a book was near impossible.

Sure, we could intrigue him out to things he was interested in like one year for his birthday we spent the day going to the parks that had the big cats (The Big Cat Rescue & Busch Gardens)but that would be cost prohibitive to do often. My spouse took him to see the Space Shuttle launch close up a few times, but even things like this didn't happen often enough to make it a weekly adventure.

The good news is age does in fact change this. When my son turned 13, he began to take an interest in people again. Now at age 14, he is actively involved in taken martial arts classes with adults and teens alike making many friends. Turns out that he really wasn't 'anti-social'. He was simply 'anti-interested'.

3) Arbitrary rules do not work. They never worked for my parents. They've never truly worked for anyone. Sure, you can make all sorts of miserable consequences but does it truly work? You might get compliance but you won't get growth.

Teaching the 'why' behind the reason makes more sense to me. My son knows that if he stays up late on a day he needs to be up early the following day, he will be too tired and grumpy. If he goes to bed too early in the evening, he is going to wake up extra early the next day, etc, etc.... I once had some lady give me crap that if I didn't force my child to sleep 8pm to 7am the next day, he would never be able to function as an adult and I was doing a disservice to society as a whole. Considering all the crazy shifts I've had to work in my life, I can tell you that her concept is totally off! The whole world is not asleep between 8p and 7a. Nor should it be.

So as far as 'arbitrary rules' go, what has worked better for us, is talking about the cause and effect of choices and learning to make wise choices. Yes, kids as young as eight can handle these sorts of discussions.

Well that's my $.25 for what it's worth.

May your New Year be blessed with laughter and joy!

Vicki

Shaolin & Brazilian Ju Jitsu

2011-12-07T10:44:00.008-05:00

In 1986 I earned my black belt in Shaolin Kempo Karate. What a day! I still remember it as if it was just yesterday abet my body isn't nearly so tired nor sore, lol. I still remember the first day I walked into the dojo to see about signing up. I wasn't looking for a black belt then. I just didn't want to become another statistic and end like my big sister. Back then, I referred to my first gi as 'my three hundred dollar pair of pajamas'. (Bet the Sensei wouldn't have liked to know that!) Fond memories.

2011, after over fifteen years of none training nor keeping myself healthy, I have once again joined a dojo. This time my youngest child has joined me. I'm enjoying watching him learn the techniques as he progresses. Already in only a few months, there's been great changes in his form, strength, and attitude. It's a beautiful thing to watch my quiet introverted son start growing into a strong young man. It warms my heart to have this chance to share my love of the martial arts with him.

After the first weeks of training, my son felt he wanted more time in the gym. We were already attending all the scheduled classes and he was working out at home everyday. We asked the Sensei for privates so we could feed this hunger but he felt my son was still too new.

Maybe it's just a side effect of unschooling but I tend to think it's just my way. I had a teenager with a craving to learn so I wished to feed that craving while it was still there. I researched where all the other martial arts schools were in our area and when they held classes. I found a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) school otherwise known as Brazilian Ju Jitsu (BJJ) that had classes that wouldn't conflict with the first dojo's class times. (Or at least not too much.) It looked promising so I asked my spouse to take my son over and check it out.

HA! They were gone a very long time! Turns out that my spouse and the instructor had much in common. Both my spouse and son decided to give the place a try. It's now been over a month and we have officially joined the world of BJJ! Yes, I, too, have joined BJJ along with my spouse and son. My son and I are doing both Shaolin and BJJ. My son is getting faster and stronger everyday. I'm praying to get faster and stronger everyday.

LOLZ ~ Never too late to take up a new sport!
Wish me luck!

Red Eagle Racers: 2 Months in 3 Minutes

2011-10-12T12:26:00.004-04:00

George had the unique experience of assisting the Red Eagle Racers prepare for the Tampa 2011 RedBull Flugtag!

George sitting in the pilot's seat. No, he wasn't the actual pilot. John is at the tail of the racer checking things over.

The Zen of Unschooling

2011-10-07T10:38:00.003-04:00

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.

The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"

"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

Zen: such an interesting concept. Much like Unschooling in many ways. Trying to explain unschooling to one like the above mentioned professor garners about the same results. One has to be open to receive.

One of the great, persistent myths of education in our culture is that children become reluctant learners as they grow older. In fact, what they become reluctant about it going to school, where they’re bullied, regimented, bored silly, and very effectively prevented from learning…We know what works for children up to the age where we ship them off to school: Let them be around you, pay attention to them, talk to them, give them access to as much as you can, let them try things, and that’s it. They take care of the rest. You don’t have to strap small children down and teach them to speak, all you have to do is talk to them. You don’t have to give them crawling lessons or walking lessons or running lessons. You don’t have to spend an hour a day showing them how to bang two pots together; they’ll figure that out all by themselves–if you give them access to the pots. Nothing magical happens at the age of five to render this process obsolete or invalid.

Daniel Quinn

Enjoying Life

2011-08-15T10:15:00.009-04:00

Many years ago, as I was learning about unschooling, a woman in the group I was conversing with wrote a tearful story about her daughter. Someone had been asking about rules and such which had started the conversation towards ambiguous thoughts in the mainstream on the ways children grow and learn. This story has stayed with me through the years as it truly made me consider just what is really important. Having lost my older sister when she was barely twenty and I was only fifteen, has lead my thoughts down this road before and left me to ponder just what does really matter in this life.

I guess I should tell you the gist of this mother's story. This mother had a beautiful daughter whom she unschooled. They spent wonderful days together exploring, and learning, and being as joyful as they could. One day, the daughter died leaving behind a heartbroken mother. She was able to share with us that had she the chance to do it all again, she would still love and spend her days with her daughter the same way. She was so glad their days were not filled with fighting over homework, chores, and other ambiguous things that would have tainted the joy of the every day.

Recently, I rushed my son to the emergency room for extreme abdominal pain. On the way, he told me he couldn't feel his arms nor even his heartbeat. He began to panic. So did I. I called 911. They dispatched an ambulance as the dispatcher, too, began to panic with us. The fire truck met us. (Here Firefighters are first responders trained in emergency medical skills.) They advised me there was nothing to be done accept to get my son to the Emergency Room, and considering where we live, it would be quicker for me to continue the drive myself. So I did.

In the ER we learned that my son was fighting an infection and that part of his bowel was inflamed. It was bad enough that they put him into the hospital and called in a Specialist. Anyway, he has now had further testing that revealed he has ulcers in his colon and severe swelling of his small intestine. The doctor started him on three different meds and has ordered more testing. So far all we know is the first biopsies weren't found to be cancerous but they were very infected. It's looking like he is suffering from Crohns but the doctor hasn't made that a confirmed diagnoses yet. She is still waiting on more tests results.

Last week, during the follow up doctor's appointment, when we learned of the biopsy results, the doctor mentioned that school would be starting soon and that my son would need to learn coping methods for stress as stress is thought to make the attacks worse. My son told her that wasn't a concern as he is unschooled. She started to debate 'school' then quickly altered it to asking him if he planned to go to college. He told her yes, he was. She then went on to explain that school and youth come with immense stress. >.< This is where getting into a debate about the concepts of learning with someone who obviously has devoted much of their life to learning, isn't worth it. Obviously, the GI Specialist enjoys learning as one would require this ability to truly enjoy their work, but chances are, they were also traditionally raised, plodding through school the way most people do.

So later, when my spouse and I were alone, we talked at length about our son's future and whether or not college was really a necessity. If it was a choice between serious stress that would cut our son's life short, or not going to college, we were all for skipping the killer stress. There are many ways to live one's life without throwing a mountain of stress on one's shoulders. College is possible without carrying a mountain of stress, but to do that, is really up to the person involved.

So me being me, I got talking to my son about this and he told me that he wanted to go to college so it wouldn't be stressful to him. Recently, before his trip to the ER, he had read an article about the person he most admires: Tarn Adams, the creator of Dwarf Fortress. This lead to a discussion about how Mr. Adams has chosen to live his life and the point that seems to come across the loudest, is he is happy!

How many people can truly say that they get to be happy in that which they do? It's a wonderful place to have one's life. This is the charm of unschooling. Unschoolers get to be happy about life and learning! So many people hear 'unschooling' as 'un-educated' and that is so far from the truth! The GI Specialist after spending a short amount of time with my son, told her staff she was impressed with the intellectual young man. Yes, over hearing that, did in fact make me smile.

Through the freedom of unschooling, my son gets to learn at his own pace, things of interest to him. He tends to enjoy the weightier subjects of math, physics and computer languages. He has been putting forth effort to write well, as he has become active on a forum where other intellectual types converse. He has found his intellectual peers. I do not need to force him to study. Recently, I came across another online free resource for learning Python called 'Snake Wrangling for Kids'. I had printed it out and left it on his desk for him to peruse should he want to. (He has already learned some Python via other means so I wasn't sure if this manual would be helpful or not.) Last night, I found him working his way through this new manual and he showed me his beginning progress on a simple program he had just written. Recently, there's been other times, I've found him working his way through Kahn's Academy which is another terrific free resource. He is enjoying learning. He does in fact, plan on going to college and therefore, he is making sure he will be ready.

Biology and Math

2011-07-08T09:51:00.006-04:00

Question asked: For the original Life of Fred books you have to be able to do long division. I assume they need to be done sequentially but I am not really sure.

I bought the complete original series of LoF when my son was 10. He asked if he could just read them as novels instead of working the math as he went. I told him of course! He read and giggled his way all the way through the complete series. Later, when he and his dad were busy discussing quantum physics and black holes, my son decided he really needed to get a better handle on the higher maths. He jumped right into the calculus book and after a bit of struggle, he decided that it would make sense to go through the math in a more step by step procedure actually working the problems as he went. (We had already talked about this, but coming to his own realization was beautiful!)

He is now 13 and every so often he picks up the books and works his way through them. He now has a strong grasp on Algebra and Geometry. As for Biology, he has had an intense interest in that since around age 8. Back then he wanted to learn everything he could about cats. I looked for every book I could find, every video, and I totally disregarded 'age level'. Soon he was reading college level biology books just because he was interested. We let him breed his cats and raise all the kittens. He's pretty much an expert on cats and all their biology now. (Our vet was impressed.) Also, in letting him learn all he could about cats, he now has a solid foundation on the biology of mammals which has lead to many more studies including humans.

For my son, the most beautiful part of unschooling, is the freedom for him to be able to explore a subject as deeply as he likes. I just pay attention to his interests and do everything I can to feed those interests. Needless to say, his bookshelves are loaded with books on biology, physics, religions of all forms, mythology, math, tons of various reference books, tons of D&D books, comics, tons of fiction and classical literature, to name a few. He has access to the local library should he want it. He has unlimited access to the web. He has unlimited access to video games. He has unlimited access to a menagerie of pets and a life outdoors.

Today finds him in a kayak with his dad and a family friend who till just recently worked at NASA while they wait to watch the final launch of the space shuttle. Yesterday had him working on a SeaDoo learning to rebuild a carburetor.

Who knows what he will learn tomorrow? I'm sure it will be something interesting.

Living Biology

2011-07-07T10:08:00.000-04:00

Posted on original blog May 5, 2009.

Living Biology is something we get to experience here on our farm. Over the past few years, I've been sharing many of these experiences as they have come along. My children have been raised with many pets so I'd like to share with you our newest bebies born just this morning. First, here is the story of how these new precious babies came about.

Hobbs the daddy, was born born here on May 30, 2007. You can read his birth story at Lamaze for cats? He and his siblings baby pictures are posted at Introducing Five Little Kittens. All of the kittens and momma were fixed except for Hobbs. We kept him intact as he was such a beautiful cat, with a loving personality, which we thought would be excellent in future generations.

Then along came Suvy and Stickers who were rescued on June 11, 2008. To this day, Stickers, still earns that name. She's sweet and loving but she just can't grasp the concept that her claws need to be in. Stickers was also a bit of a surprise. Early in her life, she needed an emergency trip to the twenty-four hour vet clinic. Her life was saved but the vet insisted that she was a he. Since that left Suvy as the only unfixed female, we didn't give it another thought. We were going to breed Hobbs and Suvy and see what type of kittens they'd throw. You can read Suvy's and Sticker's story at How Many Kittens?

Well, sometimes it's best to trust yourself when sexing kittens. Both Suvy and Stickers are females. Early this morning, Suvy gave birth to four beautiful kittens. Stickers should be having her's soon. Both mommas are being kept safe inside away from all the other pets. Poor Suvy was very confused this morning about what those wet noisey creatures were. My spouse soothed her and got her to lie down and I went and gathered her babies, dried them off a bit, then handed them to James. He rubbed them on Suvy's face and placed them on her belly. Poor Suvy was so very confused. She wasn't taking to motherhood very well and it was beginning to look like it wasn't going to go well. James encouraged her to lick her babies and I'm happy to report nature has taken over and even the smallest is now nursing!

National Geographic has an excellent series called In the Womb for any one who would like to learn more about cats and their development. I'll post babies pictures once they get a little bit bigger.

Lamaze for cats?

2011-07-07T10:02:00.000-04:00

Originally posted May 30, 2007 on my original blog:

I'm currently holding a phone to my ear as I type this to share what's happening at home while I'm at work. My son is delivering his first baby!! Baby kitten that is. (My son is only nine.) Our cat, Tonga, is having her first babies and my son has been anxiously attending her for weeks now waiting for this blessed event.

The sounds of my spouse and son as they time Tonga's contractions, and describe what's happening is priceless!

The first baby is born! They say it appears all black and wiggling! Momma is licking her first born and all appears well. I'll post this now and update it later with pictures when I get home

Comforting the soon-to-be momma.

Tonga loves her new babies!

Helping the babies find norishment.

Five Little Kittens!!

And a peep?

Just kidding.

This is one of the peeps the kids found in the barn the other day.

I'll get sweeter pictures of the kitties when they get a little bigger.

Writing and Patience

2011-06-01T19:57:00.017-04:00

Writing...it's such a wonderful form of art. A pure expression of thoughts, emotion, or controlled structure in which laws are written, directives administered. Words are POWER! No wonder that we all so worry about whether or not our children will master the written word.

When our children are little, we worry over when they will learn to read and how they will learn it. If we happen to have an early reader, we tend to be PROUD and LOUD about it! Not meaning to be rude, just it's hard not to celebrate when our little ones seem to master a major stage and early!

When our children seem to trail behind the spectrum of the perceived norm, we worry. What if ...? How can we help? What did/didn't we do? Should we hire a specialist? Different teacher? New school? Different learning style? On and on till one day, we either give up hope or (what seems) miraculously, the child is reading!

Writing doesn't seem to be as large of a hurdle, yet we still worry abet, a bit less.

I remember the day I took my son to the library to get his very own library card and the condescending way the Librarian 'asked' him to sign his name once she learned he was a homeschooler as if, by being a 'homeschooler' he would be seriously lacking in simple writing skills. What she failed to observe, is that my son did notice her attitude. Needless to say, she may have been an adult, but she wasn't looking to be someone to be looked up to.

Why would this matter? Well, my son wasn't so worried about her attitude as much as he was worried about my feelings about her attitude. He did fine, though her attitude didn't leave either of us feeling very welcomed to use the library. Perceived views.

What I have observed over my long life is people who enjoy writing, write. People who want to have a voice, write. People who need a place to calm their thoughts, write. There are many reasons people write but when you go looking for the reason of why, the reasons are varied yet oddly, come back to one simple truth: They need or want to get their thoughts out and writing fulfills that need.

When we jumped into homeschooling, and I tried to 'make' my son write, I felt like I was hitting a wall. It's not that he couldn't write. It's more a case of he was a deep and logical thinker so just telling him to write, wasn't going to work. I tried creative writing books. I tried designed lessons plans. I tried everything that everyone suggested for such a young man. For those who have followed me, you know it didn't take long for me to try unschooling.

The unschoolers told me to relax! Don't worry about it! He will write and write just fine when he decides he wants to. No grammar lessons needed. No spelling drills, nor weekly spelling tests would change any of this except to further him not wanting to write.

I pondered this a wee bit, but then I observed my nephew and his attitude towards reading and writing. If he wasn't in school, and earning a grade, he had no curiosity to read nor write anything! Books? WHY WOULD WE EVER GIVE HIM A BOOK!?!?!? Were we sadistic?!

So it's been a few years now, five years to be precise, and I am here to inform you, that the unschoolers got it right! No lessons nor writing drills required!

Writing happens.

Years ago, I was told if he could read, he would write. Have faith and let it happen. My son has become quite the writer! He found his passion online, writing in gaming forums where he has met people from all over who share his passion for gaming and such. He is always doing research, taking notes, and putting together interesting findings. No writing lessons nor English classes required. It really is true that if they read, they will write. They just have to have the desire and that comes from within.

Diane Ravitch on the Daily Show

2011-03-04T13:41:00.000-05:00

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Florida wants Parent Accountability

2011-03-01T09:00:00.004-05:00

Florida legislation will soon be deciding on whether or not to pass a bill that would require teachers to grade Florida parents on how well they are preparing their children for school.

Are they serious? Yes.

This bill would require the teachers, grades kindergarten through twelfth grade, to grade the parents on homework completion, the child's attendance, how well the child has slept and whether or not the child has eaten a proper meal, along with the parents' responsiveness to these opinions of the teacher. (OK, they phrase it as 'communication' and not opinion, but I digress.)

So let's take my past experience with the Florida school system and break it down to what they have used in my experience to where they are going with this new legislation. For the record, I and my siblings attended Florida schools then sent our children through the Florida system so I could rightfully say I've years of experience as to how the Florida system works in a few different Florida counties.

Let's start with homework.

When my family first moved to Florida, I and my two older brothers entered high school and my baby sister started kindergarten. Never was homework collected and graded. It was given, but the teachers didn't care if you did it or not. They didn't bother. One teacher had explained that the homework was 'student optional' and if the student wanted to do well on the final, then they would do the extra work to master the subject. If they opted not to, then their grade would reflect this.

Hmmm.. Student accountability in high school.

Now, in the lower elementary grades, this same attitude was present. Except, younger students don't tend to remember what they copied off the board by the time they get home. I will offer that I much preferred how a few of the private schools handled this situation. In a few of the private schools, they simply required that the parent sign the homework after it was completed. This allowed the teacher to be in daily contact with the parent and the parent to have a daily idea of just how well their child was handling the topic. I still have happy memories sitting with my daughter when she was in first grade, while she read her reading assignments to me. I suppose the difference here is that I cared and somehow the current thought is that unless you score the parent on the job they do of parenting, today's parents don't care. Both my spouse and I fall into the 'we care' concepts of parenting so both of us spent much time helping our children with their homework. I don't see how grading parents would change this much but we'll get back to this later.

Florida schools have had an attendance policy in place for a very long time if not forever. Simply put, the teacher marked whether or not a student was present and the attendance was then sent to the office. I remember in high school, this being done at the start of every class and a student sent with the results each hour. (Classes were an hour long when I was in high school.) Now I was under the impression that it was up to the attendance office to notify the parent when a student went missing (i.e. skipping) or when the absentee student was in excess of the allotted amount.

Now, back in the day when I was in school, the attendance office wasn't watching so closely. The school I attended was close to the ocean so when the surf was up, the surfers weren't in school. At least not till the surf died down. At some point along the way, I became so disappointed in the "education" I wasn't receiving that I, too, started skipping school. At first it was just a day or two, then it became a week. Eventually, going to school felt weird. I'd show up on test day, ace the test, then head on back to the ocean. At some point, I gave up on bothering with the tests, too.

I believe I hadn't been in school for over three months when my father came across me on his way to work. It was one of the few times I can still remember steam coming out of my father's ears! Well, that's another story. I just bring this up to point out a simple fact. Why hadn't the school's attendance office notified my parents about my lack of attendance in all that time? I was in the top five percent, an advanced and gifted student, yet, no one, noticed I was not attending school. I opted to not return to high school and went to college at age seventeen instead.

Some would say, well, that was so long ago. Florida schools have improved! They are much more vigilant of such things today. Hmmm. Really? Well maybe a little. Looking back to when my girls were in public school, the attendance office was much better at sending out form letters once fifteen days were missed. I still remember the first time I saw one of those form letters! I promptly called the school to find out what it was all about. I had sent in doctor's notes whenever my girls were sick so the absences were legit, due to illness. The very kind lady who worked in the attendance office, informed me that it was just a form letter and not to worry. She had all the doctors' notes and they never pursue anything in regards to non-attendance. I couldn't say if they do or don't. I'm just repeating what I was told.

So let's address the proper meal issue. I totally agree that children need proper nutrient. I'm also aware that the schools have in place a free and a reduced breakfast and lunch plan for those less fortunate and in need of food. Now, my kids ran into a different problem. We had to head out for school before their bellies could handle food. None of my kids ever wanted to eat that early, and my son would throw up every day on the way to school whether or not he had eaten. Needless to say, we later realized he had issues with his teacher which ended up with us removing him from that school. The morning vomiting only occurred if he thought he had to see her.

So I would always keep Pop tarts and other easily packed breakfast type items available for my kids and once their stomachs had woken up, they would eat. They either took a packed lunch from home or bought a school lunch but in all honesty, after spending time in the schools volunteering my time, I doubt the schools could truly monitor what every child eats for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's a noble concept which I believe they would completely fail at. The sleep issue would also be a hard one for them to accurately rate. Young teens are notorious for preferring to sleep the mornings away while staying up late so God bless them for even considering trying to score that one.

Now, as for the parents' responsiveness to the teacher's communications, that is a loaded topic. I found that in the 'communication process' it was the teachers and school administrators that caused the road blocks. I've got years and years of them refusing to communicate I could list. Usually, an issue had to become a mountain before I could get them to address it. In the end, I got tired of the war and gave up on them and their system. Finding another path was a positive way to go.

Now, in the school's defense, I do recall watching teachers as low as kindergarten level, having so much paperwork to fill out, that they had to leave their students in the hands of a 'helper' who would hand out crayons and busy work. After witnessing this phenomenon, I don't see how adding more paperwork on to the teachers obligations is going to improve the classroom. This new legislation may be seen as just another 'tool' to help a teacher out but how will this tool really work?

Homework. The schools currently have in place a system for low achieving students to be monitored by both the teacher and the parent. The student is required to pick up a form from the office each week, write out the homework assignments, and have the teacher sign it, verifying that it was copied correctly. The parent is then expected to review the completed homework and sign off that they have reviewed it. At the end of the week, the student is to get a weekly grade from the teacher. So if this current system which is only monitoring the weaker students is already failing, how is monitoring ALL the students going to improve this?

Attendance. Parents are already held accountable for the students' attendance. This just adds one more form and without a comprehensive follow up, won't change a thing.

A good night's rest and a proper meal. Wow. Now this is a hot topic. In a stable home, attaining both of these are achievable, but if you look at the totality of society, not all children come from 'stable' homes. God bless the government for thinking that they are going to be able to solve all domestic issues in every house. This has me wondering just how the legislatures plan to address this. They already have Children's Services in place, so just where are they planning to take this one?

As for the proper meal issue, bullies stealing lunch money and leaving the victim to go hungry has been a story line since I can remember. The only real way I see for kids to be guaranteed, no matter of the reason for lack of food, to be fed, is for the schools to provide free meals, breakfast and lunch and possibly an after school snack, for all students regardless of whether or not their parent applied for it. This just raises the bar that all kids are fed and removes the need to prove need.

Is this new legislation really necessary? Well, some may feel it is. I doubt that the poor child who comes from an abusive home will have any more hope than they had before. Will some parents feel the stress and put more pressure on their kids? You bet. There will always be 'over-achievers' even if misdirected and there will always be parents who really weren't ready for the job when they entered parenthood. No legislation requiring teachers to grade parents is going to change this. Parents who care will continue to care and parents who don't, won't. So I see this as the first step to many future steps where parenting rights will slowly start to be taken away. The state will start to believe that they can do a better job. (In a few cases, they may be right, let's not look too closely at Florida's record on how well Florida has protected children in the 'system'.)

All and all, I don't see this legislation as necessary or truly useful. The teachers need less paperwork and more time to actually get to the business of teaching. Make teaching engaging, and most students will become engaged in the learning. No paperwork mandating records of food intake and sleep habits is going to make learning fun and intriguing. Homework isn't really needed when class is interesting and if the class is interesting, then the homework would be, too. If we are going to change our system for the better, why don't we return to making learning an interesting thing to do?

Anonymous said...

2011-02-05T15:08:00.005-05:00

Anonymous said...

most things I read assume that the unschooled teen who desires college is academically able to handle it. I am not.
I love my life, but Im not a musical prodigy, I don't really have a passionate hobby, My math is at about a middle school level if that,I don't like ot read and I can't write well. my only option seems ot be community college with years of remdial classes to "catch up"
sometimes I feel like I was shortchanged.i don't always feel like that, but sometimes I do.

Anonymous raises much thought on what I've been thinking lately. See I have a younger sister. Nine years younger. I was the "baby" up until her arrival. She is now approaching the end of her thirties and I am approaching the end of my forties. It's interesting to look back and see how we each view the same event. As my spouse would tell you, it doesn't appear we were raised by the same family. So here below, I shall try to elaborate without 'upsetting' any parents whether they be mine or yours.

Anonymous's point one: most things I read assume that the unschooled teen who desires college is academically able to handle it. I am not.

OK. So why are you not? I ask this on many levels, when did you decide college was an option you might desire? When did you learn you weren't ready? How old are you currently to make this hard to achieve?

I'm gonna try try hard here, not to throw stones at ANY parents. I try and talk to my kids BEFORE large decisions need to be made. I also spend, or have spent, a great deal of time researching just where they will be required to be and the many ways to get there. It DOES NOT mean that they always hear me.

Anonymous, I can't know what happened in your world, nor where the 'failings' were should your not being 'college' ready comes from. But I will tell you that should you decide that you want to be ready, there are many ways to get ready, besides just going deep in dept to pay the college to bring you up to speed. I will add, that my baby sister, did in fact, use that method, taking six years of junior college to earn her two year degree, after opting (all on her own) to never learn a thing in school. There's far more back story here that may or may not make it into this rant.

Anonymous's point two: I love my life, but Im not a musical prodigy, I don't really have a passionate hobby, My math is at about a middle school level if that,I don't like ot read and I can't write well. my only option seems ot be community college with years of remdial classes to "catch up"

I'm so happy to hear you love your life. Do you even know how few people can say that? I love mine, too, but not all the time. (Extended family ~ Oy Vay!!) I always seem to want to improve it but fail in the motivation to do so. But I'm blessed with a man I love and a wonderful home which we all love. That's not to say there hasn't been times my oldest has been ashamed of us, nor times I wished we had a showier place to invite friends to, but all and all, we have a nice home, a roof over our heads, and an abundance of love under that roof that radiates out through our fields to all our many pets. Do I know for sure that some day my kids will want to care for me? No, but one can hope and pray and do their best to be a lovable parent the kids will want to care for out of love, not obligation.

Math. Most people in the world do not understand math past a middle school level. Middle school is where they tend to introduce algebra and geometry which starts to tickle the ends of abstract thought. If I was making a skirt, for a group of dancers, and each girl had a different size, then algebra would apply in the pattern making. You probably have a better understanding then you think, but need the tried and true formulas taught to you, or a damn good reference library. I've found excellent algebra links online and excellent geometry links, too. If you want to learn it, you are blessed with interest and a current ability to find it on the web. This wasn't an option when my sister and I were younger. Check out my links above and I bet a few might be able to bring you up to speed without wasting your money on college tuition.

As for reading and writing, HAVE YOU EVER READ A POLICE REPORT?!?!?! Those boys, CAN'T write! They actually have a Report Writing 101 course just to bring them up to speed yet they get the right to carry a firearm! Proof one skill has little to do with another. Sure, sure, there are a few excellent writers in law enforcement. (I had a hard time NOT acknowledging the ones that actually turned a proper paragraph ... I digress.) Anonymous, your skills aren't all that lacking as you convade a point. Maybe you could have applied spell check.. but that's all I can criticize. (Note, my spell checking isn't finding the word I want for convade.)

Anonymous's point three "sometimes I feel like I was shortchanged.i don't always feel like that, but sometimes I do"

I SO UNDERSTAND THIS FEELING!!!!!

OMG! You don't even wanna get this old lady started on feeling short changed!!! I was the fourth child, (the annoying, whiny baby, being the fifth, yes, yes, that's YOU, Sandy!!! AND NO!!! I DON'T care for how you are raising your first born!!!)
Yes, I wrote it here, but it will require her to READ to see it.

Dear Anonymous,

My spouse points out ALL THE TIME how I am SO different then my family. We all get to make choices in our life. Some of us get to start younger. And some of us get to start later. My parents never chose to enter my world. They sent me to school and left me to do my thing. I can remember being angry when my perfect 'A' report card was blown off 'Because they never expected different from me" yet my failing older brother got their attention "because he was a failure". ~_~

No, my parents weren't perfect parents. In fact, they influenced both my baby sister's way to raise her son and mine on how I raised mine. In my personal opinion, my way was the better way. She tries to be strict. I'm a total radical unschooler so as far from strict as can be! I, not knowing your parents, can't speak for or against their way.

My parents never got involved with our schooling. Period. Sink or fail or succeed by your own accord. I DO remember my dad helping my older sister on a science project for the science fair once. She fared well. I don't recall him ever helping any of the other four kids.

Yea, I can relate to feeling short changed. I got near fifty years of being short changed by my parents. Thank GOD! I have an incredible spouse to help me through, and if you hang in there, and choose wisely, you can have that, too. So they sold ya short. What's new? Parents all over are doing this. Adjust your own self worth and go from there.

You have the right to demand more from yourself and others. And NO I don't mean stand in line and hold out your hand...

If you want to understand math, then learn math! The Life of Fred breaks it down in such a great way. Real math, for the real world. If you want to write better, then do so! Never has there been an easier age to master the language in! Any language!

So exactly what DO you want from this here called life?

Happiness?

You are already ahead as you state you are happy.

I worry about these things often. My son, who has already excelled, has reached a point to where I ponder, if he doesn't drill these things, will he retain them?

I'm trying an odd approach. It's called talking to him.

He gets to hear my concern then apply that knowledge into either pursuing higher math or accepting responsibility for not knowing higher math when he is eighteen. ~.~
I can't live his life for him. He goes deep on the variable options to my character I'll play in his game, but it's hard for him to accept "too many options boggle my head". We each come into this world as we are. Life experience lends itself to who we become.

I highly suggest, before you have your own child, if it's not too late to say so, is spend some time thinking hard about just what you remember and what you would do different. So many times, this becomes about money. And money is a definitive factor! The first real unschoolers I ever met face to face, lived bi-country and traveled where they choose for whichever season! Their kids could surf! In the middle of winter!! They were fluent in German and English. They traveled the world! There's no way I could give to my kids what these kids experienced.

I ran into this family while waiting for the release of Cataclysm. He told me that he gave up private tutors for his kids and moved into unschooling when he realized that he had no clue on what they will need to know in the future. His kids no longer fight, and are happy.

Sounds like to me, you are already further along on the road to a happy life then many high school grads. Good luck and write me any time. I haven't even skimmed the top of my thoughts on this topic. =)

Carnival of Homeschooling: 42 edition

2010-12-14T08:54:00.004-05:00

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The Carnival of Homeschooling: 42 edition is now up at Home Spun Juggling!

This recent issue of the Carnival takes a look at the number 42 and all the interesting ways this number has come into play from being the Ultimate Answer to the Secret of the Universe (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)to frowning using about 42 muscles. The Carnival also contains more of Cristina's wonderful and original comics, always worth a visit.

Take a moment and go visit the Carnival. It's sure to warm your heart.

The Ultimate Question

2010-12-01T09:02:00.013-05:00

Secular homeschooling is growing, and growing amazingly fast. Much of the curriculum is now secular, radical unschooling is on the rise (don't confuse radical unschooling with unschooling),...

Wait...WHAT?

The above quote is from a Christian Homeschooling group leader that started out by being 'upset' by non-Christian groups censoring 'Christian Material'. Prior to this message, she had advised upon hearing there were radical unschoolers in her group, she would have to pray about this. I remember wondering just what she needed to pray about. Whether we truly exist? If we should be burned at the stake? I pondered just what it was about 'radical' unschooling that so disturbed her. I pondered what was written in the Bible that so clearly states radical unschooling is evil. I couldn't think of one thing. Oh sure there are these verses:

"He who spareth the rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him correcteth him betimes" (Proverbs 13:24)

Withhold not correction from a child: for if thou strike him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and deliver his soul from hell." (Proverbs 23:13-14)

But think about this. Are these verses saying that we should beat good children? I believe these verses are referring to bad children and more specifically, for weighty matters that NEED to be reinforced firmly. Things like catching your two year old just before they dart into the street ignoring your order to STOP! Those are the times that a smart smack on the bottom make sense and only for the point of reinforcing the importance of listening so you can keep your child safe.

Thinking about that old adage 'What would Jesus do?', gets me thinking about how Jesus taught the little children (and others) by telling them stories. He painted beautiful portrayals of people and the choices they made. Some choices worked out well and their life was rewarded. Some made poor choices and they didn't fair so well. Jesus just put the thoughts out there and left it more as a 'Which do you choose?' instead of 'Believe what I tell you or I'll beat you!'

This all got me thinking about the many people I've met over the years. There were many who made poor choices. I looked at their lives and said, 'No, that isn't the path for me.' I looked at some truly happy people who were content with their life and that got me looking closer to just what was it that made them so happy. What I found was the truly happy people had an acceptance of life, a love for their fellow man, a walk much closer to the Lord. They tended to follow the idea that it wasn't their place to judge others. That they would leave that roll to the Lord himself. For themselves, they chose to just live a good life and do the best they could asking the Lord for guidance along the way. These are the people I've found that are content when their life is over. They know where they are going and are ready to go there. There's a peace in this.

Now, just how does this tie into why I was so surprised to hear a fellow Christian state that radical unschoolers can't be true Christians?

Well, partly, the simple fact that they were censoring someone else right after complaining about being censored, hmmm. Partly, because instead of looking and learning, they simply judged. In looking back to the stories I remember of Jesus's early life, he, too, seems as if he lived a more radical unschooling life than the conventional model most people currently tout. (Here's a list of references to Jesus's early life.)

From the above link,

McGee writes, "Jesus was subject unto His parents. This is interesting in the light of the fact that young people today are rebelling and are demanding to be heard.

Now maybe, just maybe, this is where people are getting confused with 'proper homeschooling' vs 'radical unschooling'. People are failing (or maybe just uninterested enough to look deeper) to see that radically unschooled kids do obey their parents. It's just that RU parents tend to not have so many arbitrary rules. RU kids don't tend to be rebellious because they tend not to have anything to rebel against!

According to Luke 2:40 'And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.' One could surmise that Jesus was wise. How do children become wise?

Wisdom is generally thought of as keen insight that helps in navigating life. Believing in wisdom carries the assumption that there's a best way of doing things. There are many ways to gain wisdom and learn how to navigate the storms of life. Generally, wisdom is best gained from your own personal experience, but you can also learn by watching others and even through reading and meditation

(Read more: How to Gain Wisdom | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2317069_gain-wisdom.html#ixzz180iuGmKB)

So my friends, I am going to leave you with a final thought. If you believe in the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior, and you believe that through Him, all things are possible, why would there be doubt that being radically unschooled would prevent one from having this same belief?

Happy Holidays to you and yours,

Vicki

P.S. When in doubt, the answer is always 42.

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

2010-10-29T12:34:00.001-04:00

Educational Freedom

2010-10-20T11:54:00.004-04:00

Lately I've been reading many new articles being written about unschooling and I must admit, that many of them are really getting on my nerves. The reason I'm guessing so many articles are being written is partly because some unschoolers are looking for a way to turn it into an income, other non-unschoolers are unhappy with the most prevalent school system so they are looking for other options, and the third, the people who write the news, like controversy. The later is what is really on my nerves.

I'll not be linking the articles as I wouldn't want to line the pockets of those who write dribble that might one day be used to create a law to stop or cause harm to our educational style. I will make an issue with some of what is being written.

1) To read one particular article, they make it sound as if Unschooling means 'non-parenting'.

This is far, far, from the way I had come to understand unschooling and far from how we unschool. Unschooling done properly, means parents are more in tune with their child(ren)'s needs. The parent is always looking for things and means to enhance the child(ren)'s life and learning. Parenting to me means being involved in helping one's child(ren) grow and learn in a safe way.

A dear friend of mine recently posted that her children no longer need her to orchestrate their Story Tellers Group. She has become more of the chauffeur and secretary instead of the director. To me, this means she has been very successful in raising her children! See a few years ago, when her children were younger, they needed their mother's guidance to learn how to tell stories, and guide the group of one-day-to-be story tellers. Now these children have grown and along with becoming quite talented story tellers, they have learned management skills! Personal and group! My friend has done an excellent job at parenting.

2)Another article makes unschooling sound as if unschoolers just open the front door and send their children to go discover the world alone.

This is also very far from the truth! Unschooling parents join their children in exploring. They are there to share experiences with, to help when help is needed or wanted. To provide options and opportunities.

An example of this is my son has been wanting to learn how to modify PC game programs. He read a thread online about how a certain game could have modifications (mods) added that would expand the game to such an extreme, you would be hard pressed to ever reach it's limit. There are over 2,500 mods available just from the main site, so he spent the last bit of time reading and learning all he could learn. When it finally came time to start the downloads, he asked me to come be with him.

Now this may sound strange, but we've had a few bugs and or viruses, that have made him a wee bit gun shy to just download without a second opinion. Also, learning computer programming is rather involved so it's nice to have another person there to discuss things with. So last night he gave me a crash course on mod installments by pulling up the best information for me to read over and cutting out the fluff so it wouldn't take me a month to get through. Between the two of us working together, he was able to install the first few of what I believe will become many modifications. In fact, I was so impressed with his new skill that I plan on picking him up another modifiable game for his birthday tomorrow!

3) Unschoolers neglect math and science and other 'schooly' topics.

Now I can't speak for all, nor would I want to, but unless the schools are producing every student with a near perfect higher math and science understanding, this is a mute point.

In my home, everyone has a higher understanding of math including my only true completely unschooling youngest. He uses math naturally and way beyond the simple cooking examples many people use to show how math works in the real world. I will state that there is one thing I have noticed that tends to be missing, though, and that would be some of the titles to procedures that schools dole out. I mean really, once you are out of school, how many of you use the procedural terms in everyday conversations? (OK, I do know of one person who would, but she's a bit unusual.) So because of this, I've made sure my son owns an excellent reference book to these terms and he knows how to use it should he ever need it. We figure he most likely will never even see these terms unless he someday decides to take a standardized test.

Unschooling isn't about neglecting our children. It also isn't about forcing unwanted and unneeded rules and drudge work on them either. When we first came to unschooling, the more experienced unschooling moms said, don't think of things in categories like reading, writing, math, science as those are forced distinctions and not how the real world works. Unschooling doesn't mean our children won't learn to read, either. Nor does it mean that our children can never have a textbook, or a course should they want one.

What unschooling does mean, is that our children are allowed to thrive! For my son, this meant that I fed his desire to read and kept him stocked with books, books and more books, on every subject he wanted to read about. When he wanted to learn everything he could about cats, I found him everything I could get for him to explore this topic as deep as he wished to go! I had to learn not to look at a book by it's marked level and more for what information it contained. I found him science videos, and let him own cats! All his working knowledge on cats, easily transfers to other mammals. My son now knows more about biology then most high school graduates because when he wanted to learn, he was allowed to.

Unschooling really equals educational freedom to learn all one wants to learn with no limits imposed. At least that's what it means in our home.

Star Trek Education

2010-10-12T12:17:00.002-04:00

Early the morning, my spouse and I were talking as I began to prepare for my day. This particular day had me heading off to work and he was going to be running errands and getting things done while spending time with our youngest. At some point in our conversation, he told me that they had finished the last Star Trek DVD we had received from our movie service and he was going to drop it off today, unless I had wanted to watch it, too.

Then my spouse said, "Star Trek is very educational!"

He went on and told me of his conversations with our son as they have watched this series. They have discussed theories, calculated light years, time travel, along with the densities of metal, temperatures of planets, solar systems, debated the concepts of other life forces, relativity of flight, biometrics, and on and on! My spouse told me that Google has been of great help in them finding real information they could calculate and compare to the series.

I really need to convince my spouse and son to write about all of their Star Trek discoveries but that might take them away from having fun with their learning so I'll just leave it at, Star Trek is a viable source for real learning! =)

Anger and Life Choices

2010-10-12T11:32:00.002-04:00

I'm going to take a moment and talk about something a wee bit different then my usual topic. Anger. I recently asked a close friend how they saw me and they said they love everything about me except that I still carry a bit of 'anger'. They quickly added that I've been through more then my share of things to be angry about, but anger doesn't have any redeeming qualities and even though it's hard to release, it's worth it. I pointed out that I was aware of this and that's why I remove myself from having contact with those things (people) who cause these hard feelings. My close friend pointed out that , yes, they knew this, but it doesn't heal the wound and it still leaves a raw sensitive place on my underbelly.

I've spent the last few hours thinking about this and thinking about what the Lord has to say about this. It's a lot to think about.

There was a time, many years ago, that I was angry over my brother being a bully to his siblings. We've all grown up, but those beatings from him, didn't create a desire to have him as a close life long friend. We're not. I'm no longer angry.

There was a time that I HATED the person who killed my sister. They never learned who murdered her so I never had a face to hate. I left this 'anger' in the Lord's hands years ago, realizing that no fate on Earth would ever equal God's wrath. I'm no longer angry.

I was angry at the drunk driver who almost killed me when they caused an accident. Oh boy do I remember being ANGRY! But I was seriously injured and bleeding out, so I was never able to show them just how angry I was! That was years ago and the Lord saw fit that I stayed here on Earth. Guess he wasn't done with me at that time. I'm no longer angry.

Oh, the list is long but the theme remains the same. I'm human and anger is a real emotion. One I've felt intensely from time to time. I've been aiming for a peaceful life for a long time. I live quietly, I drive cautiously, and I always try and be pleasant. You can't bubble wrap life though. So I always return to where I started and that's knowing that the Lord is always there for me. And you, too!

Hear, O Lord, my righteous plea;
listen to my cry.
Give ear to my prayer -
It does not rise from deceitful lips.
May my vindication come from you;
may your eyes see what is right.
Psalms 17 1-2

I am no longer angry.

Best Advice I Ever Received on Unschooling

2010-09-21T13:19:00.000-04:00

Five years ago, I went looking to learn about homeschooling after my son had endured extreme bullying in school. I knew nothing more then there's no way I could do worse for my son then the current 'system' was doing. At first, I thought 'homeschooling' equaled setting up a 'schoolroom' in ones house and doing a smaller version of the classical one room schoolhouse image.

I bought posters and charts and filled the house with all sorts of scholarly things. Looking back to the beginning of our first full year of official homeschooling makes me smile. (We pulled George out of school when he was in second grade but didn't seriously push 'homeschooling' till what would have been considered the beginning of his third grade year.) He seemed to take to learning so naturally, that I soon learned to relax, which shortly after, slid more comfortably into unschooling.

As with many new homeschoolers, I worried. As I kept finding myself more and more drawn to unschooling, I worried more! What if? As a mom, I now know I'm not alone in this concern for just how will my child learn? Will I teach him all that he will need, to go to college, to get a successful and happy life? So to help me learn more, I joined a bunch of groups. I joined local homeschooling groups. I joined national homeschooling groups. I researched and I read then I researched some more. I shared the highlights with my spouse who now is enjoying life as an unschooling father! Yes, unschooling just as with parenting, can be a family affair.

My son is soon to be thirteen. By age requirements, he would be in seventh grade this year had he opted to return to school. He did not but the choice shall always remain his to decide. He has officially been unschooling now for four years plus one year of deschooling. He is still an avid reader and is always learning. There have been a few times he has been concerned that he might not be as smart as his same age peers, but at those times, we help him to explore just what his peers are learning and so far, he has been unimpressed. It seems that my son has a deeper knowledge base as he doesn't have to stop something he is into because he must switch to a different class or subject. He learns things because he is interested so the information sticks.

The best advise I recall ever receiving on education, or on how kids learn, or how to teach, was this; If you read, your children will read. If you write, your children will write. If you love life, so will your children. Instead of looking to engage your children in something, go find something to engage yourself into. They will come to see what you are doing and if you make room for them to join you, they will. Love learning and they will, too. No force will ever be required.

Oh, and most importantly, be willing to do the same in reverse! Be open and willing to learn what they have to teach YOU! You may just find yourself pleasantly surprised!!

Introduction to SAT

2010-07-21T10:51:00.002-04:00

The other day I found my spouse and son discussing the problems presented in the SAT Study Guide. It was interesting to watch as my son reasoned out the answers. =)

Unschooling Social Studies

2010-06-29T10:39:00.006-04:00

In an unschooling life, one doesn't in general, put schooly categories on learning but as this blog is more about posting some of the learning my youngest is doing while also helping others see the value of unschooling, this post is being put into the Social Studies column. That being said, I will also need to warn that the links may have strong language. My son filters himself, we are not raising him in a bubble away from the real world, and the real people in it. He understands that under the stress of war, men tend to use explicative language they in general would refrain from if they were addressing a middle school classroom. They are not, so the language is real to their situation.

In recent news, our current President has found the need to remove one of his top commanders from his post. I'm sure most of you have read about the situation with Gen. Stanley McChrystal. I kept seeing all the news blips, but I had to dig a little to find the Rolling Stones article. Strange as it may be, I'd rather read the actual article then the slanted news takes offered by much of the press. For those who haven't read the actual article, click here.

As I read this article, I kept thinking that my son would really enjoy reading about Gen. Stanley McChrystal and his team. See, my son has been of a military mind since he was three. Actually, much earlier, as he preferred being read to from a Military Airplane and Helicopter Encyclopedia over baby books. He, also, preferred pictures of the Blue Angels and aircraft carriers, over Blue's Clue's or Teletubbies which were all the rage when he was small. We never really figured out exactly why he had such a strong love for everything military, but he did, so I catered to it. Yes, I was an enabler. I admit to spending much time looking for the closest fit to military issue boots in toddler sizes. You wouldn't believe just how hard it is to locate appropriate BDU (Battle Dress Uniform) in his small size so I learned to sew them for him, per his correct camouflage requirements. =) Happy memories. Anyway, my little military man grew and continued wanting to be a top ranking Special Force Officer until 9/11. That was the day the reality of war came home to my young soldier. That was the day, he decided he would just play soldier, but as a career, he would become a game maker so all those kids who lost their dads would have something to help them smile again. He wasn't even four years old, yet.

So the other day when this news broke about Gen. McChrystal, I found I really wanted to know the back story and after reading it, I knew it would be insight my son would enjoy. He sat down to read the article and was soon engaged in it. He came away with quite a bit of respect for McChrystal. We talked of the 'political' ramifications and such and just what caused the problem. Simply put, McChrystal made his mistake when he spoke candidly in front of a man who makes his living with words. This lead us into discussing the 'expertise' of different people and how one goes about putting together a great team. Different people have different skills and sometimes, the least likely source is the exact one you may need.

As we talked, Dateline came on. They were showing their story on 'A Father's Mission' It's the story of a career military man who lead a group of parents to find out what happened to their sons in Afghanistan when they were sent to a remote and isolated area. They showed the video the young men took as they dug in. The pictures say more then anything else could. We backed it up a few times to really look at the terrain. My son, who has now been engrossed in all things strategic for over ten years now, couldn't believe where they had been ordered to build their outpost! Here, a twelve year old, could clearly see the error of the ones making the orders. The soldiers knew it. The videos clearly show they knew it, but they were good soldiers, so they did as they were told.

Well, as blogger is a "public" forum, I'll refrain from stating just what we believe happened. Our prayers go out to the families and friends of these brave men. Our prayers go out to our leaders that they use good judgment in their deployment of our soldiers in the future. Watch the video for yourself, then pray for our Military.

Dwarves... Who would have thought?

2010-06-01T14:00:00.001-04:00

Dwarves .... (Yes, it's a weird word that can be spelt dwarfs or dwarves but I'll be using the classic way popularized by J.R.R. Tolkien) =)

Dwarves....

Back in 2006, after months, near a year of deschooling (even though I was not aware that's what it was called at the time), I was still trying to figure out just how I was to go about educating my youngest. See, back in November of 2005, when I saw first hand the abuse he was enduring in a private Christian school, I had had enough and it was quite obvious that my son had had far more then enough and he had just turned 8! At that point, I realized that no matter what I did, there was no way it could be worse then what he was suffering at the hands of the so called educational authorities. So with right on my side, I withdrew him from school and registered him as a homeschooler.

I had demanded the Abeka books I had paid for and had set up homeschooling in the only image that I knew. It didn't take long to realize that homeschooling with one and classroom schooling with 20 to 30 students were in no way going to work the same way so I had to let go of my preconceived ideas and find a new path. First I went about checking out the few links that my county homeschooling office supplied and I visited the local library and found very few books on the topic. I wasn't very happy about this great lack of information so I started Googling. Googling wasn't turning up much and I started getting frustrated at this seemingly lack of information! (I later learned it was my lack of knowing keywords) I then stumbled on Yahoo Groups! What a find!

I found Gifted Homeschoolers. I found Homeschooling Mensa! I found Homeschooling Boys!! I started joining as many groups as I could find that seemed to have any information that might be useful! Then I found the mother load! I discovered U N S C H O O L I N G !!!!

Wait...what does this have to do with DWARVES?!?!?!

Ummm...yeah...This post was supposed to be about those short stocky fellas....

Dwarves... Long ago, in another state, I met my first dwarf...

Ooops... Wrong tangent...

He, he, he....

So while reading and reading and researching, I started exploring all the great information that all these wonderful ladies in the many homeschooling forums went about sharing. One day, someone shared a link to Dwarf Fortress and highly recommended it. With a motto of 'Losing is Fun!' how could they be wrong? Note: They weren't.

I pulled open the link which I had only given a cursory glance, and left it to my then eight year old to read over to see if he might be interested in downloading the game. Thank goodness, I had a reader! I was under the impression at the time, that this was simply a computer generated 2D game! I was so wrong! Well, it IS a 2D game without all the fancy graphics, but it is so much more! Here's a recent interview with Dwarf Fortress Developer Tarn Adams which is very enlightening or at least it was to me. He he.

So what I hadn't realized oh way back a few years ago was:

A. This would become the longest lasting game my son has played to date and he is still currently exploring and discovering more all the time.

B. This game would lead to all sorts of learning from how magma flows to how an Archimedes' screw works.

C. This game lets you learn how ridiculous a game designer can be when they design dwarf eating carp's into their design. (Yes, this silliness lead to an eight year old learning all he could about carps and whether or not they had any potential to be dwarf (or man) eaters in real life.

D. This game lead to downloading Python, "a powerful dynamic programming language".

E. This game lead to learning that even games designed to be solo player can become a cooperative and hysterical adventure. See Boatmurdered. So named by a random name generator as there are no 'boats' deep inside a mountain fortress. (Caution: Not all players have the best language skills.)

So there you have it! Dwarves! Those short, crazy, mushroom eating, beer guzzling, elephant taming (don't ask), insanely long lived mountain loving miners and craftmens, have lead to a most entertaining and educational journey. One I certainly hadn't foreseen when I first pulled up that link to a (so I thought) simple game. I caution you though, before you open the link, this game has been known to be highly addictive to the curious geek. It will lead to learning and exploring beyond basic fortress building, and stock piling. This game looks innocent enough, but don't be deceived! It can lead into wanting to learn computer languages and programming skills, so be careful! If you aren't of the mind to venture out in what appears as a simple adventure, but will lead you far deeper then you thought to go, DON'T DOWNLOAD IT!

He he he... You've been WARNED!!!

Life is Good!

2010-05-27T12:27:00.004-04:00

Always Learning. Yes, I'm always learning and I must say it makes life interesting and fun! I've recently taken up Tribal Fusion Belly Dancing and it's giving me a new zest in life. I'm reacquainting myself with muscles I forgot I even had. I'm, also, realizing that somewhere along the way, I've lost my youthful agility and flexibility.

Doing simply things like the Sun Salutation (A wonderful morning stretching routine.) is extremely difficult! I know this because I was feeling so good this morning, I decided to give it a go. There was a time that I did this every morning with deep breathes and perfect posture but this morning, wasn't one of them. No, some where as I've grown older, I stopped this practice and now I wish to regain it again. My new routine is to get up an hour earlier then I had been getting up and getting to the gym. Today I only worked out on the treadmill and then decided to do some stretching and basic yoga. Oh boy! I'm far stiffer then I can ever remember being! So on that note, I'm going to start incorporating stretching exercises into my whole day.

I met a few different ladies at the gym who were really encouraging. I'm thinking I could get use to seeing all these friendly faces so early. Tomorrow, I'm planning on attempting the Zumba class before work. From the sounds of it, it would be a great way to get energized! Then on Saturday, a friend of mine is holding a Spinning class. That's Poi Spinning. My girls both spin and I've tried it a little, so I think I might just attend the class as it's just another fun way to get a workout. I'm excited to be getting back to things for me! It's been awhile and I probably should have never stopped, but I did, so now it's time to get moving again.

The most beautiful thing about this is I'm regaining my youthful feeling. Oh sure, I'm feeling my age in my knees and such, but I'm quite aware that Life truly is an 'Use it or Lose it' option. Being healthy is a must if I want to be around to tell stories to my future grandchildren and I do so want to be around for them! Being able to get down on the floor and roll around with them is my goal. Also, all this activity has gotten my creative juices flowing. I'm currently in the process of designing Gypsy Dance outfits and I just finished creating my first Tribal Belt!

Life is good!

Unschooling Physics and Such

2010-05-21T10:03:00.005-04:00

Hi everyone,

I've gotten out of the habit of blogging as often as I should, which has led to me contemplating pulling my blog. I love that this latest design allows for the posting of all the links I've found, but I still haven't finished cleaning out my files and listing them all. >.< Nor have I truly accepted the look of my blog yet. Using a blog to keep track of learning is an interesting concept, but with my youngest, sometimes it's hard to keep up with him.

All this being said, he is still unschooling. Sometimes, it feels more like I'm being "schooled" by him as he tends to try and teach me all that he has learned. My son is a voracious reader and a deep thinker. Recently, he has been diving back into reading about quantum mechanics and astrophysics focusing on reading 'THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING: The Origin and Fate of the Universe' by Stephen W. Hawking and 'The Black Hole War: My Battle with Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics' by Leonard Susskind Heady subjects. Along with reading these books, I've found him pulling out the advanced Life of Fred books. I must admit it's fun to observe how he bounces from one book to the other as he explores all the concepts he is absorbing.

The other night it was quite obvious that all this deep thinking had him fired up and he went on in great lengths explaining to me how a black hole functioned and all about gravity, pressure, etc... I love how he lights up as he explains this all to me. As he went on, at some point, he paused and pondered just how many other kids his age get into reading and pondering about these things. I truly couldn't tell him as I don't know. We then talked about the fact that he comes about this type of curiosity honestly as he comes from a long line of Physicists. One of his great grandfather's even having earned his doctorate degree in Physics from Princeton in days gone by. These facts lead into further interesting conversation about his grandfathers having proved their potential with all their inventions and patents where as he is still just potential ability.

As the night progressed, we turned on Minute to Win It. Shows like this always make me glad we have DVR and the ability to play back and or pause whatever we are watching as this show leads into great discussions. Then we watched What Would You Do? which lead into further discussions on morals, people and the choices they make. My son then told me that he is really interested in psychology, too. Well, this I already knew as he has been interested in the human brain and it's workings for years now. I told him that his father and I also had an interest in psychology. In fact, we met in college in a psychology class! We became friends when the two of us would stay after class delving into deeper discussions with the teacher.

Both of my girls have found they, too, are fascinated with the subject and have recently taken a few college courses on the topics. I asked my son if he would be interested in reading their college textbooks. He said he would love to read them so he has now added two college psychology textbooks and one college biology textbook to his reading pile. I guess he should be set for serious reading material for a bit. Now to hope this summer finally sees the release of the last addition of the Inheritance cycle by Christopher Paolini to counterbalance the weighty with great fantasy.

For my readers who like free links to great learning, here are a few more that look promising for the curious explorer:

Khan Academy which states on their site "is a not-for-profit organization with the mission of providing a high quality education to anyone, anywhere." Check them out!

Library of Books, Links & More which has an amazing amount of information and resources for learning! A must visit for those wishing to learn more!

Rader's PHYSICS 4 KIDS another great resource for learning

Identity Theft

2010-05-12T12:42:00.003-04:00

A year or two ago, my father suffered from Identity Theft. It caused my parents all types of problems and stresses trying to get the matter corrected. I'm sure many of you have known someone who has become a victim. Recently, on Mother's Day, I found my son had become a victim of this.

I signed on to my favorite online game and saw that my son's character was also online. What? How could this be? He was in the shower! I went and checked his computer just to make sure and sure enough, it was off. OK. So someone had stolen my son's account. The gaming company had been warning about phishers and scammers working harder then ever lately to steal account information. They have warned and posted links to tons of information on how to protect oneself. Unfortunately, it seems our 'computer protection' had missed a potential malicious spy-ware cookie.

Well with time spent on cleaning the computer, changing and adding more security, resetting emails, passwords, etc., and adding other encryption stuff, hopefully, we will be able to avoid this happening again. In talking with a few online friends, they had a few friends whose accounts were stolen, then gotten back, only to have it stolen again within a week!

So why in the world would someone steal a gaming account? I understand credit card theft, bank account theft, but a game? It turns out that my son's account was stolen and moved to Europe. By the choice of character name spelling, one would guess towards a Russian or German area link not that that truly means anything because anyone can makeup any type of name. Anyway, where exactly, isn't really relevant. I'm sure the gaming company knows all they need to know, and have handled this person to the best of their ability. My son's account was recovered abet missing most everything he had acquired. Time will tell whether or not items/monies are reestablished. All the gaming items that were stolen have no real world value, or do they?

When I was speaking to the customer service rep, I asked him just why are they having such a crazy increase in game accounts being stolen? He said that there are so many different ways for spammers, scammers, and phishers to steal your information and once they get your account, they steal (sell) all your items and then 'sell' the gold they make from it to someone else who sends them real money for the in game gold. This seems like such a lousy way to make a living! But is it??

I must admit to a strange sense of curiosity as to just how much they actually make doing this. I have trouble believing that many people would fall for this concept but then I look around at society and realize that not all people want to work for their wealth. Oh how much easier it would be to just acquire wealth! But if it's 'easy' is it really worth it? Where's the challenge? the value? the sense of accomplishment??

Times are currently hard all over the world. Many people are without jobs, or only being able to find part time work. Most people I know are planting food gardens to help them get by. This isn't the first time in human history for times to be trying. It isn't the first time for thieves to look for a way to steal.

Once we were able to regain my son's account, we noticed that whomever had stolen it, had used it to gather and mine resources to sell to gain more wealth. I personally find this funny as they still had to log the game time same as any other player, to gather those resources. So using his character, ultimately, didn't save them any effort. I'm guessing that it saves them having their accounts canceled?? Either way, just how much real money can be made this way?

Well I can't answer that question but I will warn you to pay attention to your computer security. Vultures are everywhere.

If I Had An Elephant

2010-04-14T14:00:00.000-04:00

I'd name her Sue.

I could jazzercise with her..

We would go exploring together..

The reality is....

(log off now my sensitive friends)

An Elephant named Sue would leave big piles of...

That's one of the reasons I haven't gotten a beautiful baby elephant.

Another one would be keeping my neighbors happy.

That would require serious fencing like below:

But having an elephant is precious.

Here's a few facts for you about elephants and why they are wonderfully made:

1. they are the largest of all land animals

2. they are a favorite of people all over the world

3. they are over ten feet tall & weigh more than 10,000lbs

4. their ears are the shape of Africa and can weigh 110 lbs each

5. this unusual sweetie grows two teeth that grow several feet long.

6. An elephant's nose reaches the ground

7. There are two basic types:

African with same shaped ears

Asian with smaller ears & a double domed head

African elephants don't

While both sexes of African elephants have tusks, the Asain girls tusks are so short you can't see them!

Elephants are known to live to eighty years!

They'd make great life time friends to my tortoises who should live 150 years. I should be around 193 when they get there.

An elephant can run 24 mph! (I can't)

Momma Elephants HOMESCHOOL and are good mommas!

Elephants love to take baths! (even the boys!!)

Elephants communicate & are social

They are wonderful swimmers

Elephants scarcely leave foot prints because their great weight is so evenly distributed

It is thought that early people mistook the elephant skull for a giant with only one eye! The center hole was for the trunk not a giant Cyclops.

Elephants are better then modern machinery

Elephants require 300 lbs of food a day

And they drink 15,000+ gallons in one year

SEE!!! I"M NOT THE ONLY ONE!!!

Bye my lovable wonderful sweet kind baby elephant, I'd adopt you if I could. I'll keep you in my heart forever.

Good Morning World!

2010-04-12T10:45:00.002-04:00

Spring is finally here in full bloom. The weather has been so beautiful that we have been leaving the windows open. New trees have been planted around the house to supply the much needed shade we will need in another month or so. The kids are growing and blossoming, too. This month finds our second child becoming an adult as she will turn 18. She is nearing her AA degree, also. Our oldest will be turning 20. She, too, will be getting her AA degree. Both girls are making plans for where they will be continuing their studies. The youngest is becoming a young man. I can't help but smile as his voice deepens. He is still wavering on whether or not he wants to try middle school. With all that is in the news and all the further cuts the schools are facing, my spouse is pushing for him to just head towards early college.

Before I had children, I had believed that attending school was the only way to truly learn. Since being forced into homeschooling, I've learned that is such a false belief. I'm not going to step up onto my soapbox and start expounding just what is required to fix the current state of our schools in this country. The information is already out there in great abundance. I'm not going to shout about how stupid I feel closing down libraries is. Oh sure. I hear you. They are only planning to shut down the rural and smaller community libraries, after all, the politicians all know that only city kids need the use of free books....

No, Spring is in the air and I'm going to enjoy this Spring. April is my favorite month and I'll be getting one more year older. My spouse and I have been looking to buy a watercraft as we miss getting out and playing. When we first met, living on the beach, scuba diving, surfing and such was a normal part of everyday life. We don't live quite as close to the water as we once did, but we are still close enough to get out there and play so that is the plan. When the youngest fussed that he wasn't quite so interested, my spouse said to me that for many, many, years, I've been putting the kids in front of all my wishes. For once, I should get my wish. =) So on that note, wish me luck in finding something that's in great shape and still affordable.

Duel Enrollment, Art Masters, Turkey Chili & Paya Beach

2010-03-16T10:18:00.006-04:00

Finding the right learning environment for our children is one of the largest challenges for parents. Turning our children over to the "professionals" and trusting they will get the best possible experience is most certainly the easiest route, but unfortunately, that doesn't mean the experience will be a good one. Click here for the latest example in the news.

Parents who choose to take on the challenge of homeschooling find the choices can be daunting. There are so many choices! This is were the researching starts and seeking knowledgeable and experienced homeschoolers comes in handy. (Note for those curious why as an Unschooler, I use the term Homeschooler: Keep in mind, that Unschooling is only a sub-set of Homeschooling.)

Today's parents are so fortunate as we have the internet. It provides connections to people that we otherwise would have a slim chance to ever learn from. Instead of reading through older books, we can get up to date information just by going online. Not to say that I don't love books! So many homeschooling parents currently blog which is a wonderful way to take a peek into what life outside of institutional school looks like. The internet also provides a community forum allowing for local groups, co-ops, and even the area's program directors, to keep in contact with each other. Parents can come together to get advice, plan classes,and get-togethers just to name a few of the benefits.

I use my blog as my personal reference Library. I'm always coming across interesting and or helpful links that may or may not be useful at the current time and my blog gives me a place to store them until such a time I may want to use them. I have made my blog public so others may benefit from it, too.

So today's useful links come from a few places. First, since my last post was about Early College/Duel Enrollment I will start with more information about this topic from the Davidson Gifted ~ Educators Guild. In the March 2010 Educators Guild Post, they explore the reasons for Dual Enrollment and have further links to more articles on the topic. If this is something you are considering, I highly recommend popping on over there and having a read.

The next interesting link is from Meet The Masters. Meet The Masters is an Art Education based on the work of Master Artists: Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Andy Warhol, Michelangelo, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Leonardo da Vinci. Normally, I steer away from posting resources that are not free. I'm bending that rule as I'm wishing I would have come across this link back when my son first started homeschooling as this was what he wanted to learn. Even though I had studied art myself, I found my teaching skills on the subject not very engaging. This course seems like a well put together learning tool.

The teen years bring on topics that not all parents are comfortable teaching. As I'm always looking for information I believe my son will be interested in, and he is interested in Biology, I didn't hesitate to record Sizing Up Sperm which is currently playing on the National Geography Channel. The National Geography Channel can provide all sorts of great learning on a wide variety of topics, so if you haven't tuned it recently, I'd suggest you do!

As a working mom, making dinner can become burdensome. It's not that I'm against cooking as I actually love to cook but having the energy or the time or the creativity to come up with something new can sometimes be stressful. I've been trying to carry cookbooks to work so during my downtime, I can think about what I'm going to make for dinner. (The daily phone call home to ask, "What are you in the mood for tonight?" is really more stressful then successful.) Recently, someone made the suggestion to use the crock pot. I happen to have a crock pot which was bought just for this purpose yet figuring out what to put in it, still seemed troublesome. Well today I have come across The Crock Pot Blog! There is a wonderful index of all the posted recipes here. I'm thinking tomorrow night, we might be tasting the Turkey Chili posted the other day.

I have one more link I'd love to share. This is a place I dream of visiting but doubt I will actually ever go there. The Paya Beach Resort comes highly recommended by my friend in Singapore. Her family vacations here every year. Doesn't it look like paradise?

Early Enrollment for Homeschoolers

2010-03-10T09:32:00.006-05:00

Question about Early College: How does this process work and how do they get a diploma to get into college, I have 2 boys ages 13 and 16.

Thanks *****
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi *****,

If you were going through the public school system, your boys would be required to meet a certain GPA to use the duel enrollment option. Here is what my local high school's website says for duel enrollment:

Dual Enrollment
02/25/2010 It is time to register for Dual Enrollment classes for Spring Term. You need to fill out a guidance form to see your counselor. Early College students need to register at this time as well.

Students in grades 10-12 may take some college credit courses at ******* Community College and transfer that credit back to the high school under the following conditions:

1. The student has at least a 2.5 GPA for academic courses and 2.5 or 2.0 GPA for vocational courses.
2. The course is needed to fulfill a high school graduation requirement.
3. The student has the required score on the College Placement Test, ACT, SAT, or TABE test.

Course offerings not offered at the home school may include foreign language, math, English, science, social studies, computer science, performing or visual arts, and others. Courses in physical education will not be available through dual enrollment for high school credit. Students may also select a vocational education program, but this must be part of a high school program they have already started.

Students interested in dual enrollment should contact their counselor at least two months prior to registration for the semester they plan to attend. Any Dual Enrollment courses taken in high school may count towards the freshman year of college Grade Point Average depending upon the policies of the college you are accepted to.

And here is what my local high school has now added about Early College:

Early College
The Early College Option is an acceleration mechanism that allows students on track for graduation to begin earning college credit while still in high school. The credits earned will be counted for both high school credit and an A.A. degree.

Students must have a 3.0 cumulative, unweighted GPA and a recommendation from the high school principal or designee. It is also recommended that the student has met the FCAT requirement for graduation. Students must also meet a predetermined score on either the SAT, ACT, or College Placement Test.

Early College students will have the opportunity to participate in all high school activities. Early College students will begin and end their school day on their high school campus. This will allow students to remain a part of their zoned high school and to easily participate in after school activities.

Now, with all this being said, as we are homeschoolers (unschoolers actually) we chose to go directly through the college without bothering with dealing with the local high school. Also, I'll add the schools are changing their policies every year as two years ago, they were very confused by the two above categories. It's nice to see that they are finally figuring it out.

So as a homeschoooling student (registered with the county, otherwise you need to go through your "private school counselor") you apply directly to the college. For my daughter, they only required the CPT and never mentioned that the SAT or ACT would work. I see that per the high school, those tests now do qualify a student. The college only cares about the test results. Age doesn't matter so much. If you have an exceptional student, like a child who passes the CPT at age ten, then they may require you to get special permission from the teachers as they feel the child may not be mature enough. I know this as my son is one of those, but he has opted to wait till he is taller and would 'fit in' better at least height wise.

Now the public schools would have you believe that it takes years and years to master enough information to graduate high school and be prepared for college but the fact is that it doesn't take so many years. The student should have English skills of course, and should have Algebra, an understanding of Biology and such, but most kids have a solid foundation by 7th or 8th grade and certainly by 10th grade. You can have your student attempt the online sample test which will get you an idea of how close they are to being ready for the actual test. I believe they are only allowed to take the CPT three times but once again, my information is a few years old on that.

Click HERE for Daytona State College's link for the CPT info plus study links to improve your student's readiness.

Most colleges/universities have a link to a practice test so check out the website of the college of your choice for helpful information.

Now for my daughter, she is currently enrolled in college as a high school student so her classes are free but since she is a homeschooler, we are required to buy her books. She is taking American Sign Language to earn her two high school credits in a foreign language so she will qualify for the Bright Futures Scholarship. All her classes were chosen to fulfill the requirements of earning her AA degree. Since she will have a High School Diploma issued by me, along with an Associates of Arts Degree from the State College, she will have no trouble transferring into the Bachelor Degree program at which point the scholarships will hopefully start helping to pay the tuition costs. I'm not sure if since the college has switched from a two year to a four year college, if she will even need to change colleges now, but we will soon be learning this too. I'm also not sure just how high a student is allowed to progress through the college system under this Early College/Duel Enrollment option. All I'm currently aware of, is the student may be considered 'high school' till 19yo. If anyone has information on this, I'd love to know, as we have been discussing just how far our son could go if he starts around 14yo.

Laws and rules change all the time, so I'd suggest reading at the college/university of your choice, to see what their current procedures may be.

I hope you find this helpful.
Peace and Laughter,

Vicki ~ mom to dd 19, dd 17, & ds 12

PS ** This information is about enrolling in college BEFORE they earn a high school diploma.

2010 Young Scientist Challenge!

2010-03-04T09:46:00.002-05:00

Discovery Education and 3M is holding their annual science challenge for kids in 5th-8th grade. The winner will receive $50,000.00 in U.S. savings bonds plus much more! All the kids need to do is make a short video about science in everyday life.

For all the details please click here.

Links Updated!

2010-03-01T12:56:00.002-05:00

I've been working to get many of the great free websites added to my link bar! Feel free to take a look around and hopefully, you will find something that will be helpful to you and your homeschool. If you have a favorite link not listed, please share?

*While updating, I noticed that some websites have started moving towards subscriptions. Even though I've tried to post mainly free sites, changes do occur as time goes on. I'm hoping that the ones that change, will still allow for a free membership so one can see if it's what their kids need before they spend money.

**I will be adding a few free foreign language links soon.

Feel free to share your thoughts! Input is always nice.

Homemade Art Supplies

2010-02-26T11:11:00.002-05:00

Homemade Art Supplies from the The Homeschool Network Internet Library News

Baker's Clay
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 tsp. powdered alum
1 1/2 cups water
Food coloring

Mix all ingredients in bowl. If too dry work in extra water with hands. Color by dividing and adding food coloring to each portion. Roll or mold as desired. Once molded or rolled bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 30 minutes in 250 degree oven. Turn and bake another 1 1/2 hours. Remove and cool. When done, sand lightly if desired and paint.

Bath Paint
Shaving cream
Food coloring

In a muffin tin, place a quantity of shaving cream. Mix in food coloring.

Big Bubbles
2 c Joy or Dawn dishwashing liquid
6 c Water
3/4 c Light corn syrup

Mix ingredients in bucket. Let settle 3-4 hours. Makes super big bubbles.

Bookbinding or Leather Glue
1 packet (1/4 ounce) unflavored gelatin
3 tablespoon boiling water
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon glycerin

1. In a pan, add gelatin to boiling water. Stir until gelatin is completely dissolved.

2. Add vinegar and glycerin. Stir until well mixed.

Makes about 1/3 cup. For larger projects, double the recipe.

How to use it: While the glue is still warm, apply a thin layer with a brush. This waterproof glue is excellent for binding leather to leather.

It also makes a good flexible glue for use on paper, or for gluing cloth to cardboard for making notebook binders or scrapbooks.

Stored in a tightly capped plastic or glass jar, this glue will keep for several months. It will gel in the bottle after a few days. Warm bottle in hot water to reuse glue.

Colored Playdough
1 cup flour
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
Food coloring

Mix all ingredients in saucepan. Heat, stirring constantly until ball forms. Knead until smooth.

Condensed Milk Paint
1 cup condensed milk
Food coloring

Mix one cup condensed milk with a few drops of food coloring. This makes a very bright, glossy colored paint.

Cornstarch Finger Paint
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 cups cold water
Food coloring
Soap flakes
or liquid dishwashing soap

Mix sugar and cornstarch in medium saucepan over low heat. Add cold water and stir until mixture is thick. Remove from heat. Divide into four or five portions (in muffin tins or cups). Add a drop or two of food coloring to each portion and a pinch of soap flakes or soap. Stir and let cool. Store in airtight container.

Egg Dye
1/4 teaspoon food coloring
3/4 cup hot water
1 tablespoon vinegar

Measure liquids into a bowl. Separate into small bowls. Add food coloring to each mixture. Soak hard boiled eggs in dye.

Face Paint
1 teaspoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon water
1/2 teaspoon cold cream
Food coloring

Stir together starch and cold cream until well-blended. Add water and stir. Add food coloring. Using a small brush paint designs on child's face. Remove with soap and water. Store in airtight container.

Glue
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 tsp. white vinegar
1/2 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup cold water

Mix water, syrup and vinegar in small saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil. In small bowl, mix cornstarch and cold water. Add this mixture slowly to first mixture. Stir constantly. Let stand overnight before using.

Goop
2 cups water
1/2 cup cornstarch
Food coloring

Boil water in saucepan - add cornstarch stirring until smooth. Add food coloring and stir. Remove from heat and cool. Child can play with the goop on any plastic covered surface.

Homemade Paste
1/2 cup flour
Cold water

Add cold water to 1/2 cup flour until a thick cream forms. Simmer on stove for 5 minutes. Add food coloring or flavoring if desired. Wet messy paint that takes a while to dry.

Jewelry Clay
3/4 cup Flour
1/2 cup Salt
1/2 cup Cornstarch
Warm water

Mix dry ingredients together. Gradually add warm water until the mixture can be kneaded into shapes. Make beads by rolling the dough into little balls, piercing the balls with toothpicks, and allowing the balls to dry. Paint and string the beads.

Kool-aid Playdough
1/2 cup salt
2 cups water
2 tablespoons salad oil
2 cups flour
2 tablespsoons alum
Kool-aid for color

Boil salt in water until salt is dissolved. Add Koolaid for color. Add salad oil, flour and alum. Knead or process until smooth. Keeps for two months or longer.

Library Paste
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon alum
4 cups water
Oil of cloves

Mix all ingredients in saucepan and cook until clear and thick. Add 30 drops of Oil of Cloves and store covered.

Modeling Clay
2 cups salt
2/3 cup water
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup water (cold)

Stir salt and water over heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cornstarch and cold water. Mix until smooth, return to heat and cook until thick. Cool before using. Store in plastic bag.

No-Bake Craft Clay
1 cup cornstarch
1 1/4 cups cold water
2 cups baking soda
Food coloring
Paint

Mix all ingredients except paint in saucepan over medium heat for 4 minutes until thick (like mashed potatoes). Add food coloring to water before mixture adding for color. Remove from heat, turn out onto a plate and cover with a damp cloth until cool. Knead like dough. Store in airtight container.

Paper Mache Paste
1 cup water
1/4 cup flour
5 cups lightly boiling water

Mix flour into one cup water until mixture is thin and runny, stir into boiling water. Gently boil and stir for 3 minutes. Cool before using. (Use with newspaper/newsprint strips for Paper mache).

Pasta Dye
1/2 cup rubbing alcohol
Food coloring

Mix alcohol and food coloring in bowl. Add small amounts of any type of pasta to liquid and gently stir. Dry on newspapers covered with wax paper.

Poster Paint
1/4 cup flour
1 cup water
3 tablespoons powdered tempera paint
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon liquid starch or liquid detergent

Measure flour into saucepan. Slowly add 1 cup water until mixture is smooth. Heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Cool. Add 1/4 cup flour paste into small jar or plastic container. Add tempera paint and water for each color. For opaque finish add liquid starch. For glossy finish had liquid detergent.

Salt Playdough
1 cup salt
1 cup water
1/2 cup flour

Mix ingredients and cook over medium heat. Remove from heat when thick and rubbery. As mixture cools, knead in enough flour to make a workable dough.

Sidewalk Chalk
Plaster of Paris
Water
Colored Tempera Paint OR Food Colors

Mix 2 quarts. plaster of Paris w/ 1 part water. Mix in desired color. Pour into paper towel or TP tubes (about 3" high). Let dry thoroughly (may take several days). Remove from tubes.

Silly Putty
2 parts white glue
1 part liquid starch

Mix ingredients and let dry until workable. Add more glue or starch if necessary. May not work on humid days. Store in airtight container.

Simple Playdough
3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups salt
6 teaspoons cream of tartar
3 cups cool water
3 Tbsp oil
Food coloring

Mix dry ingredients in a big cooking pot. Blend liquids together in a bowl. Combine with dry ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat when dough pulls away from the sides of the pot and can be pinched without sticking (about 5 min.) Turn onto board or counter and knead until smooth play dough consistency. Store in an airtight container.

Soap Crayons
1 cup Soap flakes
Food coloring
2 tablespoons Hot water

Have one large bowl and several small bowls, one for each color. You will also need an ice cube tray with different sections, or containers to act as small molds.

Put soap flakes in a large bowl and drop the hot water into the soap flakes, stirring constantly. The mixture will be extremely thick and hard to stir.

Spoon some of the soap into each of the small bowls and color each separately, adding the color by drops until the soap has the consistency of a very thick paste.

Press spoonfuls of the soap into your molds and set the crayons in a dry place to harden. They should take a few days to a week to dry completely.

Uncooked Playdough
1 cup cold water
1 cup salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3 cups flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Tempera paint or food coloring

Mix water, salt, oil and enough paint to make bright colors. Gradually work flour and cornstarch to consistency of bread dough.

Waterproof - Glass Glue
2 pk (1/2 oz.) unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons Cold water
3 tablespoons Skimmed milk
Few drops of oil of wintergreen

In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin into cold water. Set aside to soften. Heat milk to boiling and pour into softened gelatin. Stir until dissolved. Add oil of wintergreen as a preservative. Makes about 1/3 cup. Use while still warm; may be applied with a brush. This glue is very effective for gluing glass to glass, metal to metal, wood, mending china and labels on glass jars.

To glue marbles together allow glue to cool slightly so it begins to jell. Glue should be stored in a screw capped glass jar. It will jell as it cools. To restore it to use set jar in hot water.

Calling for all links!

2010-02-25T12:22:00.000-05:00

I'm looking for all useful links to resources, books, and games for learning. Free is the operative word. User friendly is nice, too. Over the years, I've gathered quite a few links and they are currently spread out over four or more computers. I am going to attempt to tame them by listing them on this blog so they will be available to anyone who has use of them. Feel free to leave links in the comments and I will get them added. Thanks! This will be left as a sticky post for awhile.

I Love My Girls!

2010-02-25T11:27:00.003-05:00

In the last post I talked about perceived 'doing something'. My spouse doesn't see our son as doing anything, but I see that he is always doing something just maybe not what dad is wishing he would do at a particular moment. This has lead to an interesting couple of days.

The youngest is trying his hand at persuasion and manipulation by going back and forth between my spouse and I and trying to pit us against each other. This might work if I was persuadable and or if my spouse and I hadn't been in a talking friendship for over twenty-five plus years. We have a few more years under our belt of dealing with each other then he has of being on earth. I get where my spouse's issues are coming from. I just don't agree with them. I believe that my spouse will come around pretty quick to not wanting to send our son back to school. I don't for a minute believe that my spouse ever really wanted to send him back to school but the threat was made, therefore, the options looked into.

The original game plan was to let him unschool until he he was around fifteen and then get him started in Early College. I always figured around fifteen or sixteen and my spouse has always wanted to start him earlier. George himself has stated he would like to be taller so he doesn't stand out so much. Going before he can grow a beard makes him stand out from the crowd.

So with this current decision on the table of whether or not to send him to middle school, of deciding to place him in sixth grade as one of the older kids in the class or to seventh as one of the younger kids in the class, (by birth it would be sixth grade), or skipping to eighth just because he can, has been getting tossed around. The school isn't open to discussing placing him into gifted nor honors but I know I could argue for honors classes but I won't as I wouldn't be sending him there for an academic education.

Since both my girls attended this school, I did ask them both individually for their thoughts on the matter. The oldest who experienced the range of classes; regular, honors and gifted, highly recommends NOT allowing him to get placed in the gifted program. Most kids who do gifted don't recommend it. She took some time and talked to her brother about behaviors of the kids, how to behave himself, what are things to not say and things that would be fine to say. She gave him good advise on how to read a teacher and had him practice sending and receiving text messages so we know he is comfortable texting in case he should need one of his sisters to come rescue him.

She also gave me some good advice on the best way to get him aquanted with the school and their procedures. She advised me to request a conference with his teachers, find out what he needs (supplies), what he needs to know (procedures), and what he needs to read/do to be where the rest of the class is. She also recommended getting a tour of the school so he knows where everything is including the cafeteria and those procedures. None of this was offered by the school but it makes sense and would make the transition smoother.

My other daughter said she has never thought of her brother as uneducated or lacking in knowledge. She does feel that he is lacking in social skills, more by his own choice then any real lack of skill. She feels that his attending school would be excellent training in how to deal with the social issues of a concentration camp. She went on to say she doesn't fault the parents nor the schools for the situation but the schools are more of a daycare then a place of learning. The teachers just do what they have to do to get a paycheck which doesn't necessarily mean teaching.

She went on to say many people have told her college professors don't really care about the students but that hasn't been what she has found. She feels that the professors she has met teach because they wouldn't know what else to do with themselves if they didn't teach. They teach for the love of learning not the paycheck. She says the college classes can't even be compared to all the other school classes she has ever had. Sending her brother to school will only allow him to see how much better college is of an option.

Both my girls have clearly stated that they will be there for their brother whether it's help with school work, help with dealing with social issues, or just needing to be picked up from the place at any time. They both have said they will even leave their own classes to come and get him should he need to escape. I love my girls!

Deals

2010-02-24T09:02:00.009-05:00

Monday night left me emotionally exhausted Tuesday. (It is now Wednesday, right?) So what happened you ask? Well, life ebbs and flows and is always changing. For most of us it seems anyway. In my spouse's eyes, it did not seem so with our youngest. Our older girls have moved out for the most part. One still stores most of her stuff in her room and we see her once or twice a week, but being a young adult, working, going to college, she has only to obtain her own home to be completely out on her own. My spouse's mother fell and broke her hip last fall and still hasn't learned to trust her new hip enough to re-learn to walk so she now resides in a nursing home. As for my spouse, his job is always giving him new challenges to learn and grow from. Recently, he was assigned the job of creating a new training lecture that would be used to train his fellow co-workers and possible sold to other departments to train their employees.

I recall him feeling the pressure to make sure he created an easy to understand, easy to read, manual. He knew he did not want to use a PowerPoint format as from experience, he knew that tends to make the audience fall sound asleep. I knew that the last few months has filled his free time with dealing with Medicare and nursing homes, and insurance companies, and taxes, and tons of other things that there are not clearly written rules and regulations on. Life is so much easier to handle when the path is straight and clear. Unfortunately, it seems that the rules for dealing with the elderly, as with government, are purposely made convoluted and abstract at best. My spouse even received the advise of legal counsel on a few of these issues and was advised of the few possible ways to address some of these topics with the lawyer saying that some of these laws are written to be confusing therefore open to being altered to fit the desire of the day of the power in charge of the topic.

I'm not a personal fan of non-clear rules but such is life. So just what does all this have to do with stressful Monday night? As stated above, my spouse has been dealing with many, many, issues, and recently, more then he has ever had to tackle at one time. Along with all these added pressures, there are still the everyday daily tasks of life. Monday morning found him checking all the electrical pathways throughout the house to find out what was causing a breaker outage. (The day before while he was at work, I had lost half the power in the house so to prevent a possible fire, I had to re-route where the refrigerator was drawing power so I could leave those breakers off.)

Now dealing with electricity is interesting. My spouse knows his stuff. While he was working, he involves our son so he can learn. My spouse has always taught the kids everything he does, hence how we have a young lady for a daughter who knows how to work on her vehicle's engine, brakes, tires, and knows how to weld, too.

Monday night...Monday night found my spouse seemingly upset with the youngest. I can't really say why, as I'm still somewhat unsure, but it seems that my spouse was resentful over what appears to be the youngest having a life of leisure. I'm the parent who has for the most part, over seen the children's education. Gross total, I've got over forty years of combined dealings on this topic! Oh my! There's a reason one should never combine one's numbers as gross totals, so let's just say I've been dealing with childrens educations for near the past twenty years.

I'm a curious sort, so I was reading all I could before I ever conceived my first child. I knew what to expect; the milestones, the resources available, the old ways and the new. I thought I was prepared. The private school was easy to deal with and provided an outstanding education for our daughters. When the girls switched to public school, I learned one had to fight to obtain a decent education. The public school wasn't designed for the student. We were deluded to believe that if your child could attend an 'A' rated school, then the child would receive a top education. Then our baby boy reached the age to take his turn and we learned differently. I'm not going to bother repeating all that transpired more then to say this child is who sent me looking deeper for other paths.

In the past, my spouse had mentioned homeschooling. Homeschooling would allow us to be free and travel whenever we wanted. I never gave it much thought as the private schools never restricted our traveling and the girls loved going to school and did well in school. The baby boy did well in school educationally, but it didn't take long to realize that he already knew the information prior to the school 'teaching' it and he only regurgitated it for the grade if I paid him for said grade. Otherwise, the grade meant nothing. This child and the school setting with age like peers was a bad mix so I pulled him home and set out to learn all I could about homeschooling. I remember my spouse referring to me as having the tenacity of a pit-bull. I can't say I was thrilled with that description but I understood his meaning. I was going to learn what our son needed.

Many of you know that I learned of unschooling and it all just made so much sense! I talked to my spouse about all that I learned and he pondered it. He wasn't so sure of all I was telling him but I was stubborn and stuck to the course. It's been over four years now and in my personal opinion, our son is doing well. Then Monday night happened.

To hear my spouse's side, he would tell you it's been brewing for much longer then one night. He feels that our son does nothing. I don't see it this way, but then again, I'm constantly reading at the unschooling sites so I have a different concept of "doing nothing". My spouse wants to impose his new rules. Bed by such and such a time. No food after such and such a time. You must accomplish such and such each day...yada, yada, yada.

Now, I'm not unsympathetic to what my spouse is getting at. I just don't see it the same way on some of these points. Our son has been living in his own natural rhythm and has been a much happier person for it. He sleeps late because there is no demand to force him up. He's always up and ready to do things with me when I get home. He use to be up and ready to do things with his dad, too, but then dad got really busy dealing with his own mom, and stopped being available so much. The girls ebb and flow as to when they are stopping in between classes, visits, laundry or whatever, but there is no demand for a certain young teenager to be up and running at any particular hour. The couple of virtual courses he attends, can be signed on to whenever he chooses, twenty-four/seven.

This all being said, my spouse was having issues over this lifestyle and Monday night made the threat of our son either 'doing something' or being put back into school. I don't do idol threats well. I wasn't very happy over this and really needed to figure out just what was setting my spouse off on this topic. The sad part came when I hugged my son good night and he whispered that when dad's not home, he really missed him and wished he was, but when he was home, he wished he wasn't.

A paradox. A sad and unfortunate paradox.

When I woke in the morning, I still wasn't very happy. As I prepared for work, I spoke to my spouse and suggested he follow through on his threat. I suggested that he take our son over to the school at the time of all 1600+ kids being in the halls and go talk to the school about just what would be required to re-enroll him back into the system. The look my spouse shot me! I informed him just to take our son there and inquire not enroll him. I knew they would want a current bill of health, paperwork filled out, I've heard of possible testing but didn't know if this school would require it, but I also knew that they would have to accept him. The going theory is many schools will test the student, then subtract five from their current age and that's the grade they are placed in regardless of test results. I also suggested he not mention unschooling as the school would have enough issue over 'homeschooling' without venturing into understanding 'unschooling'. No sense wasting ones breathe on that topic. He told me in general, he doesn't go into unschooling for exactly that reason, but he does explain it when someone is genuinely interested which usually occurs whenever someone meets our incredible son.

So they arrived at the school early but not early enough to see all the kids in the halls. My spouse received the needed paperwork, which included two different health certificates or proof of shots and vaccines. They spoke to a counselor who asked questions on what our son has studied. Upon being informed of the two virtual school classes for sixth grader, she informed them that our son would qualify for seventh grade as the kids in this school's seventh grade, were just learning the stuff covered in the virtual school's sixth grade! Don't even get me started on my thoughts on THAT topic. Have I mentioned my son's opinion of the virtual classes?

Needless to say, I don't look at sending my son back to school as something that would be done for an 'education'. The school is even further behind then it was years ago when our girls attended. No, sending our son back to school would only be to have him out of the house, to occupy his time with 'something', in lieu of him hanging around the house 'doing nothing'. It would give him the chance to interact with that 1600+ young teens that I already know he has little interest in interacting with. As for how he would do? From my daughters switch from private school to public, I doubt he will do well. Partly because he isn't interested in impressing them and partly because he hasn't had their system beat into him. My daughters found that since they hadn't been shown the public schools way of doing things, they had some adjustments to make. They also learned that the teachers had no desire to show them the system preferring to just dole out 'F's for non-compliance.

What I found most interesting was the lack of interest in actually speaking to my son. The school had no interest in the fact he has a very high IQ, proven by their own testing. They have no interest in the fact that per their own system, he has already been placed into their 'gifted' program having had an IEP written up for him to attend their highest offered classes. No, should he be sent back to school, he would be place in the 'regular' classes. I say 'regular' because of my past experience with fighting with this same school over my daughter's placement. Regular means in a class with many kids who can barely read and few who can handle simple multiplication and possibly a little division if one is lucky. Per their own words, the last statement is true. They stated that when their students are placed into the same virtual school my son was in, that their kids fail as it's too hard!

In speaking to my spouse, I learned he had already set up the doctor's visit to get the forms filled out. It was already past time for our son to have his yearly physical, so two birds with one stone. I suggested that we start our son back this coming Monday which seemed to surprised my spouse. He was unaware that I had already spoken to my son and figured that dad would offer some sort of deal. Some things are predictable. I just wasn't sure exactly of what the deal would be. The deal turned out to be that my son could continue to unschool at home if he returned to learning a musical instrument or wrote a book.

Wrote a book? This coming from a man who had recently struggled over writing directions for an item he used on a regular basis. My spouse's defense was that our son needed to produce something. So last night I set out to help our son get started while, also, preparing him to return to school.

I looked over quick reference sheets for the terminology or 'schoolese' he would be expected to know or laughed at for not knowing. As our son has recently started learning to play Magic the Gathering card game with his sister, I knew he had been intensely researching the subject. I was also aware that his other sister had recently posted a great reference link on her Facebook account for how to write a twenty page paper. Pulling all these resources together, my son sat down and got started writing that book. Now, dad never said how large of a book had to be written. Loop holes. At first my son started to panic over the concept of diving into writing a whole book but I re-iterated the above fact. Just because the word 'book' makes my son picture at least 500+ pages, does not mean that a book couldn't be much less. I suggested he start with a 'Beginner's Guide to How to Play Magic the Gathering' aimed at instructing his father and/or me in how to get started. I counted that he had about four days in which to produce this book as he would need the fifth day for his dad to read it and or accept it as 'payment' to stay home, for if it wasn't acceptable, he would be back in school on the sixth day.

As my son was getting going on his writing, my spouse came in and asked our son to come outside and help him build a new stall. It turns out that my son told him couldn't because he was working on something I got him started on and he was under a time crunch. My spouse then came and asked me what I had him doing as he had wanted his help with the stall. I told him that he wasn't doing something for me, but he was working on that book for him. The young man only had a few days in which to earn his right to stay home and he was more then welcome to go help outside but that would greatly reduce his time to complete his part of the deal. At this, dad went outside and worked on the stall alone.

An Unexected History Discussion

2010-02-18T08:55:00.007-05:00

I've been posting random things here and there that gives a small glimpse into unschooling in action. Well, last night turned into another one of those interesting evenings and all because I tend to like movies that the others in my home tend to shy from. I had wanted to see the Kit Kittredge film when I had first heard about it, but opted to put in in our movie queue in lieu of seeing it at the movies. Last night it had finally arrived and I have to admit that beyond remembering it had gotten good reviews, I couldn't remember what it was supposed to be about.

So my spouse said we had three movies to watch: The Producers, Kit Kittredge, and a third I can't remember at the moment. We started with Kit and once it was loaded, it was quickly realized that it was rated 'G' and 'An American GIRL Movie'. These things do not bode well in the eyes of a twelve year old boy who's father has asked him to join us watching these films.

Said twelve year old joined us but he also brought his DS and only sorta tuned into the movie...at first. As the story began to unfold, he found himself being drawn in as were both my spouse and I. The parallels to our current times of home foreclosures, unemployment, people needing soup kitchens, really gave one pause to see how things were going to unfold in this movie.

The movie allowed you to see the distress of neighbors losing their homes. Of the prejudice of the haves against the have nots. It brought up personal family stories from my spouse as even though he wasn't alive back in the 1932's, his parents were. My spouse's own grandparents had families living in their home, in their barn, so my spouse was raised on many true life stories of the Great Depression therefore being able to reflect the real life facts the movie portrays.

The movie portrayed homeless children, hobos, and how they lived. At one point, the mobile librarian offered a young hobo child a loaner book to read. The child stated that they only knew how to read hobo. Now at this point, I was pondering that the child only read the letters 'H-O-B-O' and was wondering what else this child had suffered when my son whispered in my ear as if he could read my mind, what the Hobo language was. My spouse paused the movie and my son went on to explain the system of symbols the hobos used so other hobos would know where to go and where to avoid. I'll have to ask him again where he learned this system, but I believe he had said he learned it from reading about it in the Warrior Series.

So many other issues were covered in this movie; pride, living frugal, kindness, recycling. I love that they took the time to show the extremes people went to to make do. They even added some positive spins like showing the feedsack cloth dresses Kit's mom went on to make and sell and how Kit preferred selling eggs to moving in with her uncle. That last part, made me laugh as the uncle was not portrayed as a kind fellow.

I would highly recommend this movie just for the simple fact that it's a good movie. If you add in the benefits for it's timely lessons to our country's current economic situation, plus it's an excellent jumping off point for deeper discussion into life in the USA in the 1930's and the Great Depression, one can easily see why homeschoolers, unschoolers, well, every 'schooler' could get something out of this film.

Astra Taylor on the Unschooled Life

2010-02-15T12:05:00.002-05:00

SNL: Don't Buy Stuff

2010-02-05T21:22:00.002-05:00

Another Reason Homeschoolers Must Pay Attention

2010-01-16T10:02:00.002-05:00

I never really thought there would be much that would truly draw me into the heavy political debates and such. After all, the powers that be don't really tend to listen anyway. The people have turned more into sheeple. I figure if I can instill just a smidgen of logical thought in just one petition pushing person outside of Wally's World, then I've had some small effect. Unfortunately, it seems that I'm being drawn into this arena whether I like it or not.

Recently, there seems to be a growing movement trying to get purchase in America. We have people pushing for the President to sign the CRC which in my opinion, would be a terrible and unconstiutional thing to do. England did sign it and here is an article explaining how it has played out on the other side of the pond. England, Homeschooling.

Well even in America, where we have the freedom of speech, it seems some people are given large megaphones to spew their ignorance from. I'm refering to an article that has been circulating through the homeschooling groups, hopefully, so as to call us to arms, to prevent further stupidity from spreading.

This article offended me, but I'm not an excellent wordsmith. Alas, homeschooling doesn't need me to be the spokesperson as so many of the homeschooling community are very adabt at rebutting! Please visit Homeschooling on the Hudson to read a most excellent rebuttal!

Florida life

2010-01-13T13:58:00.003-05:00

It's January, 2010. Wow... Time really moves fast as we age. When I was ten, I don't think I ever considered that some day, it would be the year 2010. Then again, I was born in the Year of the Dinosaurs... j/k

So what's been happening at our home? Lets see... recently, Florida has been experiencing crazy freezing weather. Needless to say, our kitties have been having fun discovering their first frost, first ice, and first snow! yes, we have actually had snow in Florida!

Homeschooling, unschooling, has continued on. Our oldest daughter is working in a professional position while attending college working towards her B.S. Our second daughter is in Early College and is soon to graduate high school with her A.A. Our youngest, our only son, continues to unschool with a recent taste of two online classes.

Per age, he would be in sixth grade this year. Even though he hasn't been subjected to the standard peer pressures of schooled children, it's been interesting to watch him grow and explore entering the teenage years and thought processes. We let him sign up for his two favorite school subjects, math and science, when he started to have some self doubt. It didn't take long for those two classes to re-assure him that he was much smarter then he was beginning to think! He easily aced the classes and if he had any real issues, it would be continuing to "attend" the classes when they bored him to 'near death'. Needless to say, it didn't take long for him to request to return to complete unschooling and get back to learning at his own preferred pace which is much faster then the online classes.

A Must Read if you homeschool and love freedom

2009-12-09T11:29:00.001-05:00

Thankful Thoughts on Freedom, England, Homeschool, and Writing by Janice Campbell.

I'm going to have to spend some time filtering back through my emails, posts, and files to find the beginnings of this conversation about this same type of thing coming to America. With President Obama coming into office, there comes a large chance that America, too, will sign the CRC. In the above article, you can see how signing over ones rights plays out. I, for one, pray America NEVER gives up our Constitutional Freedoms!

Change is Coming!

2009-11-17T13:19:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone!

We have just officially finished four years of homeschooling! It's been quite an interesting and fun filled journey. Along the way, I've gathered all types of great information about learning. I have shared many of these resources over the years on my various blogs and in homeschooling groups of all types from Homestead Homeschooling to Florida Homeschooling, to Mensa Homeschooling, to Radical Unschooling. I've also learned quite a bit from all the wonderful and incredibly smart people I've met along the way.

I have been working on changing up my blog to make finding all this great information easier. I have files on four computers, so it has become a task just of itself to locate some of these great resources. An example of this, was when the other day, my spouse asked me for a link to a particular typing program. I ended up just suggesting he Google it. I'll most likely ALWAYS suggest Googling if for no other reason then it still makes me giggle to suggest someone Googles.

OK. On to serious matters. I am currently working on updating my blog and cleaning out all those many files. As I accomplish this task, I'll be adding links to all the great websites in an user friendly fashion.

It may take some time to get them all up and running and as with most things, may require a bit more tweaking. I'm always open to more information and any helpful suggestions.

Happy Homeschooling!

Vicki

Resources

2009-11-17T13:08:00.033-05:00

Bright Kids at Home

Camp Resource

CM Summaries

Color Matters

Core Knowledge Foundation

Core Knowledge Lesson Plans

CurrClick

Ed Helper

Gifted Homeschoolers

Homeschool Christian Curricula Resources and Learning Links

Internet for Classrooms

Khan Academy

Kids Know It Network

Let's Homeschool

Lesson Pathways

Library of Books, Links & More

Living Math

MIT Open Courseware

Study Skills

Theme Units from Homeschool Network Library

ACT & SAT Sites:

A Student Site for ACT Test Takers

ACT Test Prep

SAT

SAT test Prep

Free Printables:

Prim Doodles ~ Free Fun Printables

Weather Printables

For the U.S. Department of Education's website click here.

Career Information

Florida Department of Educational Standards

Unschooling Resources

2009-11-17T12:34:00.007-05:00

I get asked quite often about homeschooling and, particularly, about Unschooling so to help new unschoolers out, or for those who are simply curious, here are a few of my favorite sites for reading on the subject.

Joy Fetteroll

Sandra Dobb

Unschooling Curriculum

Unschooling in Florida

Here's a nice comparison of traditional and natural learning

English Links

2009-11-17T12:15:00.012-05:00

TSL Books

Essay Rater

Internet4Classrooms Language Arts for Elementary

Internet4classrooms Language Arts for Middle & High School

Learning Station

Story Starters

Spelling:

Everyday Spelling

Free Spelling Course

Spelling City

Useful Spelling Rules

Games:

Learning Vocabulary Fun

Paint By Idioms

Fun Math Links

2009-11-17T11:29:00.003-05:00

The Internet is a great place for learning. Here are a few lists of favorite places for math games, classical math education, and math history:

Learning Fun:

Cool Math for Kids

FunBrain

Math is Fun

Math Cats

Gamequarium: Math Games

Timez Attack

Math Lessons:

Math Lessons

Online Math

Music Links

2009-11-17T06:54:00.003-05:00

Carnegie Hall Listening Adventures

Sing Along Midis and Lyrics

Fun Science Links

2009-11-17T03:48:00.026-05:00

Science Games:

DynaMo's Lab

I Know That

Gamequarium Science Games

Everyday Mysteries

Kaboose Science Games

School Time Games

Engaging Science

Surfing the Net with Kids

The Young Scientist Club

Science Lessons:

Chemistry

Discovery Education

Exploratorium

Fly Me to the Moon

The Happy Scientist

How Stuff Works

How To Teach Science

Khan Academy

Physic4Kids

Plant Structure

Online Biology

Savage Earth: Restless Planet

Science for High School

Solar System 3D Simulator

Supercharged Science

Science News:

Aurora Photo Gallery

Everyday Mysteries

Muse Magazine

PhysOrg Science News

Rader's PHYSICS 4 KIDS

Satellite Flybys

Science Daily

Science Magazines

Science News for Kids

SpaceWeather

Science Videos:

Brainiac: Alkali Metals

Sodium On Water

Tour of the International Space Station

Learning Games

2009-11-17T03:08:00.010-05:00

DynaMo's Den

Engaging Science

Everyday Mysteries

FunBrain

Gamequarium Science Games

Kaboose Science Games

Learning Vocabulary Fun

Learning games for Kids

Life Preservers

Math Puzzles

Mummy Maker

School Time Games

Surfing the Net with Kids

Typing

Keyboarding Games

Dance Mat Typing

Reading Links

2009-11-17T03:03:00.005-05:00

Book Adventure

Books Online

Learning Station

Online Classic Children's Books

Starfall Learn to Read

Words On Us

Animation Links

2009-11-17T02:41:00.012-05:00

Alice

Anim8or

Basic Tutorial for posting images to a web page

Computer Science Unplugged

Do Ink

Google SketchUp

Pencil

Python Programming Language

A Beginner's Python Tutorial

The Python Tutorial

Scratch

Fun Social Studies Links

2009-11-17T02:33:00.013-05:00

Anglo-Saxons

Build a Medieval Castle

Christopher's Crossing

Color Matters

Congress 101

DynaMo's History

Kidspast

Mining

Movies of Early America

Social Studies for Kids

The Great Idea Finder

Underground Railroad

US History

Online Sunshine (Florida Gov)

Art Links

2009-11-17T02:16:00.010-05:00

Art Attack

Art Show for Kids

Crafts

Crafts from Recycled Stuff

Crayola

Origami Accessories

Origami Alphabet

Origami Easy

Origami Fun

Origami Useful

Play Dough Recipes

Homemade Art Supplies

Geography Links

2009-11-17T02:12:00.001-05:00

Geography For Kids

Kids National Geography

I'm Going Slightly Mad

2009-10-20T13:45:00.001-04:00

http://www.freddie.ru/e/bio/

We read this Biography today then watched this video. As my spouse said, you can really see where Johnny Depp got some of influence from. We love the music of Queen.

Star Trek as The Love Boat

2009-10-20T12:35:00.001-04:00

And one last one for memory lane....

Star Trek as The A-Team

2009-10-20T12:33:00.001-04:00

More for the daily giggle

Star Trek Meets Monty Python

2009-10-20T12:30:00.001-04:00

Just had to share.....

Today Show Talks about College Apps

2009-10-16T10:58:00.005-04:00

Times are changing fast and so are the words being used. I currently have two girls in college and none of these keywords in the below video became an issue for us, but maybe they will as my girls proceed towards their higher college degrees. So I'm posting this video for those of you who may actually come across these keywords and would like to know what they mean for your future college student. Enjoy!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-15T12:54:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the new face of my blog!! I hope you like it. Soon I will get all the links up and working making all the great links I've come across quick and easy to access.

If I had to pick any one site as the most amazing one I've ever stumbled on, I'd have to say Dwarf Fortress is the best.

I came across this site about four years ago and showed it to my son. Now, as he approaches 12yo, he is still totally engrossed in delving deeply into this game. Some days he can be found reading the Wiki information learning how to program his own personally designed characters. Some days he is programming our old computer to work out his ideas before he loads them into a particular saved game. Sometimes, he can be heard giggling up a storm at the way his latest fortress plays out.

I never imagined that a game which proudly states as it's motto "losing is fun!" would have such a long lasting and deep ability to intrigue my son so well.

Have a wonderful Fall Holiday Season Everyone! Please feel free to let me know how you like my new site and be sure to come back and visit!

American Math Challenge

2009-10-13T10:59:00.003-04:00

I flipped on the TV this morning and this really cool clip was playing on the morning news. It was so interesting that I just had to share it with my friends. Scott makes a point of stating that the current way math is taught, forces kids to use their memory part of their brain instead of the human calculator part. He is able to do the math he does because he has turned on this calculator instead of relying on memory. Every one can do this. Visit the American Math Challenge for more details about learning this 'missing chapter' and also, the Math Challenge that is going on.

Re: Please answer 5 questions on how you homeschool

2009-09-01T10:53:00.004-04:00

Recently, a new homeschooler asked these questions. Here are my answers:

1.? How many days and hours per week do you spend preparing materials for the week?

That will depend on how you choose to homeschool.
a) School-in-box will take the least as the plans are already laid out.
b) Preparing your own material will take more time unless you use the tons of online ideas and lessons someone else has gathered and posted.

I've used both of the above before we moved into Unschooling =) Unschooling goes about education in a completely different way so it would be extremely hard to calculate the hours spent. My spouse and I are always looking for interesting things that we think our son will like. My son is greatly into Biology (focusing mainly on cats and dogs) so I've found all types of great books, documentaries, and hands on exposure for him. He gets to explore the topic as deep as he likes which has lead to him exploring way beyond the age/grade level normally designed for a child his age.

2.? How many hours do you spend actually doing planned?homeschooling?

Prior to moving into unschooling, homeschooling took approximately 1/4 of the time to accomplish the daily work then the amount of time the school had required. Looking back, it became apparent that there was a lot of wasted time in the schools of lining kids up and taking turns for things like bathroom breaks and water fountain breaks. With Unschooling, learning happens all the time. It's more of an ebb and flow of information and discovery. If something is intriguing, there's no reason to stop because it's time to switch topics or subjects. (This also applies to homeschooling, too.)

3.? On average, how many planned trips (museums to follow up on a concept for example) do you do per month?

This has more to do with what is happening locally and within driving distance. I signed up for all types of alerts so we get notification when the museams are having special events, when the parks are having special events, when the county is hosting interesting classes we may want to explore, etc...

4.? How much do you spend per month on homeschooling?

??? Trips? $________

This is so open ended. You can buy a membership to the local Science Center and that usually gains you entry to all the museums. A membership to your local Zoo is also a good investment. Other trips can vary.

????Materials/ supplies $_____

As one mom stated, the cost per tuition far exceeds the cost of homeschooling material. Tons of great material is free from the Library and internet. For us, our main expense is books, books, and more books. I have readers who LOVE books so I'm always looking to keep the house stocked. There are tons of ways to save money or you can buy new and spend more. One of the best investments I've made is the complete Life of Fred Series. As your child is still young, you can sign up for the Scholastic Book Fair and save lots of money on attending one of their warehouse sales. I've known families that spend a fortune and families that don't.

??? website memberships $_______

Yahoo Groups has been an excellent resource and is free. There are also tons of homeschooling parents who blog and post tons of lesson plans, ideas and free links. One of the first I was told about is the www.homeschoolblogger.com site. I found so much great information there when I first started this journey.

All of the below items would be unique to each of your children whether they are homeschooled or mainstreamed.

??? Other$______ __

???? Group activities

???????????? ? Dance$_____

???????????? ?? Piano $________

???????????? ?? Karate $______

etc. ?

Searching the archieves of the homeschooling groups and of homeschooling bloggers is a great way to investigate all the many and varied ways people handle these issues. On of the beauties of homeschooling is there is not a 'one way fits all' so you get to alter the plans as life requires and or as your child changes as they grow. Lapbooking can be fun with a five or six year old but a teenager will most liking resent you for forcing lapbooking on them.

Good luck on your journey.

Vicki ~ Mom to dd 19, dd 17, & ds 11

The Carnival is in Town!!

2009-08-19T09:31:00.004-04:00

Ever desire to learn how to juggle? Christina over at Home Spun Juggling is hosting a wonderful Homeschooling Carnival! She walks you through the beginning steps of juggling as she also gives you lots of great links for your progress through homeschooling. Stop by her blog for some fun!

Is College for Unschoolers even Possible?

2009-08-12T11:10:00.005-04:00

Unschooling. Oh, how I've come to love saying 'Unschooling' and even better then the sound of the word, is the actual living of a Radical Unschooling life! I've come to love the shock effect when people ask me which school my son attends and I reply, "Oh, he doesn't go to school. We unschool."

I've grown so use to the blank stare, the confused expressions, the need to translate the term 'unschooling' into something that they can wrap their head around. Oh sure, it would be much easier to simply say we homeschool. After all, unschooling is considered one form of homeschooling, but for those who have actually looked into the different forms, they will tell you that unschooling is nothing like doing school at home.

With unschooling, there are no tests, no grades, no curriculum, no grade levels, no need to read till the child desires to do so. The same concept applies to writing, math, science, social studies, English,....you get the point. There is absolutely no rules towards much of anything. Nope! Nada. Children are left to move at their own natural pace, be it a slow one, an average one, a fast one, or completely unique to the child. The later tends to be the more accurate way most seem to go in the unschooling world.

No, the previous paragraph doesn't mean we neglect our children. Please don't even bother following that thought path as from my observations, I would say that the oposite is true. Unschooling parents are very involved with their children and helping them learn everything! This is a hard concept to grasp so I like to describe it as how a loving mom helps her baby grow. She supplies interesting experiences, and learning opportunities. She points out a bird, and will draw her child's attention to it while saying 'bird' (or for some of us, 'Look at the Blue Jay'). Nobody ever questions all the wonderful ways new parents help their baby grow into a curious toddler then on to a smart young child...then that same curious and smart child reaches the age of five and most parents will bundle them up and send them away for most of their day. For unschoolers? Well, unschoolers aren't in such a hurry, unschoolers tend to be able to wait to bundle up their children till the child is ready to leave the nest on their own.

For some, college will be a choice they choose to pursue, but after what I've written above, many readers are probably wondering,"Just how can an unschooler get into college?" Well? The answer is, EASY!

I currently have two children in college. One started at age 17 and the other at age 16. My 11yo is also elgible but he would rather wait till he is taller. He figures he might go at age 15. Do I worry how they will do? Absolutely not. They all are and will do well. There are many reasons they will do well. The most important one being that they are there by their own choice. Having a choice and being responsible for yourself is very empowering. Unschoolers tend to be very empowered individuals.

They have faith in themselves that they can learn anything they want to learn. Most unschoolers are very knowledgable as they have been learning and living and exploring for years! College isn't just a first taste of freedom so failing doesn't tend to happen. So as I was looking for good links to back up my story here, I came across files and files of great information on how to get your unschooler into college. There is advise on how to prepare for the SAT or ACT. There is advise on how to translate an unschooling life into 'schoolese' therefore creating a transcript outlining a life of learning. But as I reveiwed these links, which I will include at the bottom for you to puruse, I thought what is it that you are REALLY asking?

Sure, sure, local community colleges let everyone in. The actual knowledge level doesn't matter. What if your child wishes to go to a high end college? Say Princeton University? Well, I know what I've read, but you don't want to hear second hand rumor. Lets go to Princetown and see what they want. If you click here, you will be taken to their Applying for Admission page.

Here is a snippet from that page: "As you prepare your application, help us to appreciate your talents, academic accomplishments and personal achievements. We'll ask for your transcript and recommendations, and we will want to know more than just the statistics in your file. Tell us your story. Show us what’s special about you. Tell us how you would seize the academic and non-academic opportunities at Princeton and contribute to the Princeton community. Above all, please write in a style that reflects your own voice."

Hmmmm.....sounds like the unique life learning of an Unschooler would fit rather well for what they are looking for.

Here are more links for those that would like ideas on how to prepare transcripts and other information on how to help an Unschooler get into college:

Sandra Dodd has a wonderful collection of articles on this topic. Click here.

Joyce Fetteroll also has a wonderful information page here.

The Simpliest Shape

2009-08-02T14:23:00.001-04:00

The question was asked.... and it took over a hundred years to answer... and the solution is worth one million dollars!

Or....Why Johnny should do his Math homework....watch the video for details!

Puppetji vs Yoga

2009-07-30T11:35:00.001-04:00

THanks Christine for this hilarious link!

HSLDA's opinion on Health Care Bill

2009-07-22T09:20:00.004-04:00

NOTE: I am NOT the author of the below, but I do feel that this information needs to get out there. Please call your Representative and demand they vote NO on this Bill. Read on:

H.R. 3200—"America' s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009"

Action Requested:
H.R. 3200 is expected to be on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives as early as this week. Please call your U.S. representative and urge him or her to oppose the federal government's takeover of health care. You should not identify yourself as a homeschooler. You can use some or all of the following message:

"Please oppose H.R. 3200, the `America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009.' In a time of economic hardship, the federal government should not take on a program that will double our national debt. I am also opposed to H.R. 3200's creation of home visitation/early education programs through grants to the states. Parents, not federal or state officials, should make child-rearing decisions for their young children. Additionally, H.R. 3200 will expand the federal government's role and will interfere with medical decisions between me and my doctor, as well as use my tax dollars to pay someone else's abortion."
You can find the contact information for your U.S. representative by using HSLDA's Legislative Toolbox.

Summary:
H.R. 3200 is President Barack Obama's signature health care reform bill. While the United States has one of the best systems of private health care in the world, no one would disagree that reforms are needed. Unfortunately, H.R. 3200 has numerous flaws, and would create far more problems than it would fix. The following points discuss some of the major flaws with this bill.

Status:
7/14/2009 Introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.
7/14/2009 Referred to Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Committee on Ways and Means, and the Committee on Education and Labor.
7/17/2009 Passed by the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Education and Labor.

Sponsor: Rep. John Dingell (MI)

Cosponsors:

Bill Summary and Status H.R. 3200

Bill Text (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

HSLDA's Position:
Oppose.

Talking Points:

H. R. 3200 is too expensive: H.R. 3200 is over 1,000 pages long. The complicated plan it presents would cost at least $1 trillion. The federal government will have to raise taxes in order to pay for this, since the federal government will shoulder more responsibility for health care costs. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Elmendorff said on July 16 that "…the legislation significantly expands the federal responsibility for health care costs…The way I would put it is that the [cost] curve is being raised…." The CBO further estimated that H.R. 3200 would add $239 billion to the federal deficit in the first 10 years.

H.R. 3200 establishes home visitation programs by adding two amendments to the Social Security Act: H.R. 3200 will establish a "Quality Home Visitation Program" and "Optional Coverage of Nurse Home Visitation Services." The states will apply for grants from the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and will use the federal grants to create or expand state-run home visitation programs. While these programs are not supposed to be forced on families, families who accept these services will have government officials entering their homes, monitoring their children, and teaching the parents how to raise their children.

H.R. 3200's home visitation programs could encourage states to pressure families into these home visitation programs: Page 843 requires states that receive grants from the federal government to "provide voluntary home visitation for as many families with young children and families expecting children as practicable, through the implementation or expansion of high quality home visitation programs…." While H.R. 3200 says that these visits will be voluntary, the states may have an economic incentive to increase enrollments in these home visits, and may pressure families to participate in them. This is especially likely because page 848 requires states that receive these grants to submit an annual report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, which includes the number of families in the home visitation program and retention rate.

H.R. 3200 could lead to politically influenced parenting classes that pressure parents to raise their children how the government mandates: Pages 843–847 set forth the requirements that states, which receive the federal grants, need to meet. Subsection (v) on page 843 requires that the state home visitation programs provide parents with "knowledge of age-appropriate child development… knowledge of realistic expectations of age-appropriate child behaviors; knowledge of health and wellness issues for children and parents; modeling, consulting, and coaching on parenting practices; skills to interact with their child to enhance age-appropriate development; skills to recognize and seek help for issues related to health, developmental delays, and social, emotional, and behavioral skills; activities designed to help parents become full partners in the education of their children…."

Pages 768–769 of H.R. 3200 provide that eligible first-time pregnant woman and families with children less than 2 years old will receive home visitation services "improving maternal or child health…increasing birth intervals between pregnancies, reducing the incidence of child abuse…increasing economic self-sufficiency, employment advancement, school-readiness, and educational achievement, or reducing dependence on public assistance."

All of these detailed aspects of the home visitation programs are open to being politically influenced by government bureaucrats who may think that they know more about parenting than parents do. They may pressure parents to adopt child-rearing methods that are against the family's religious beliefs. Home visitation officials may even threaten families with abuse and neglect investigations if the families do not choose to follow the official parenting education models.

Additionally, the program outlined in pages 768–769 of home visitation services to first-time pregnant women to teach about "increasing birth intervals between pregnancies…" may result in government officials teaching young mothers about birth control or abortion services.

H.R. 3200 will result in taxpayers and employers paying for abortion services: Although H.R. 3200 does not explicitly mandate that health care plans cover abortion, the bill does require health care plans to cover "essential benefits." Numerous amendments were introduced in various House and Senate committees to clarify that abortion was not an "essential benefit." However, all of these amendments were defeated. Without an explicit amendment to prohibit abortion from being covered, such services could be required by courts and the secretary of health and human services, resulting in employers and taxpayers being forced to pay for this service.

H.R. 3200 will expand the power of the federal government: The bill would create a "Health Benefits Advisory Committee" which would consist of 20 to 26 members appointed by the president and comptroller general. The committee will recommend benefit standards and updates to the secretary of health of human services. This unelected committee made up of government bureaucrats will dictate what services a health care plan must provide.

The secretary of health and human services alone chooses whether to adopt the standards. There is no appeal process. The secretary of health and human services conducts audits and determines if plans comply with benefit standards. The secretary can fine an employer, or suspend or terminate the plan if the secretary deems the employer in noncompliance. The secretary may decide to require that health plans cover polarizing services, such as abortion, and all employers will be forced to abide by the secretary's decision.

Additionally, the federal government does not have the authority to take over health care under the U.S. Constitution. You can view a video of Mike Farris discussing this.

HEY ABBOT!!!

2009-07-20T15:14:00.001-04:00

For those of us who REMEMBER Abbot and Costello, this is almost as good as "Who's on 1st"!!

You have to be old enough to remember Abbott and Costello, and too old to REALLY understand computers, to fully appreciate this. For those of us who sometimes get flustered by our computers, please read on...

If Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were alive today, their infamous sketch, 'Who's on First?' might have turned out something like this:

COSTELLO CALLS TO BUY A COMPUTER FROM ABBOTT
ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: Thanks I'm setting up an office in my den and I'm thinking about buying a computer.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: No, the name's Lou.

ABBOTT: Your computer?

COSTELLO: I don't own a computer. I want to buy one.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: I told you, my name's Lou.

ABBOTT: What about Windows?

COSTELLO: Why? Will it get stuffy in here?

ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows?

COSTELLO: I don't know. What will I see when I look at the windows?

ABBOTT: Wallpaper.

COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.

ABBOTT: Software for Windows?

COSTELLO: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write proposals, track expenses and run my business. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?

ABBOTT: I just did.

COSTELLO: You just did what?

ABBOTT: Recommend something.

COSTELLO: You recommended something?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: For my office?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yes, for my office!

ABBOTT: I recommend Office with Windows.

COSTELLO: I already have an office with windows! OK, let's just say I'm sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I need?

ABBOTT: Word.

COSTELLO: What word?

ABBOTT: Word in Office.

COSTELLO: The only word in office is office.

ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.

COSTELLO: Which word in office for windows?

ABBOTT: The Word you get when you click the blue 'W'.

COSTELLO: I'm going to click your blue 'w' if you don't start with some straight answers. What about financial bookkeeping? You have anything I can track my money with?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: That's right. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: I need money to track my money?

ABBOTT: It comes bundled with your computer.

COSTELLO: What's bundled with my computer?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer?

ABBOTT: Yes. No extra charge.

COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much?

ABBOTT: One copy.

COSTELLO: Isn't it illegal to copy money?

ABBOTT: Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money.

COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money?

ABBOTT: Why not? THEY OWN IT!

(A few days later)

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: How do I turn my computer off?

ABBOTT: Click on 'START'.............

unknown author

Kittens + Woot

2009-07-14T14:28:00.001-04:00

What to do with an empty box and seven kittens....

Bright Kids!

2009-06-09T08:53:00.007-04:00

Oh my goodness! Many of my friends know the story of how we came to become Unschoolers. Many have read the stories of my children and shed tears for them. And along with the tears, they have shared the joys with them that homeschooling/unschooling/escape from the system has brought with it. When we realized that the standard route wasn't going to work, I was frantic on what we were going to do. I will admit to wondering just what was wrong with us that we were so different that the standard route that seemed to work for so many, failed so miserably for us. I thought we were alone in this,too. Well, thanks to many connections online, I have since learned that this is a nation wide problem. Children all over this country are suffering. Many have loving parents who like me, have chosen to rescue their children from this torture we call school. To this day, I'm in awe of the parents I've met who had the wisdom to spare their children from this experience. Currently, two blogs are gathering more information. If you would like to contribute, The Stone Age Techie is doing a survey on 'Why do you homeschool'. Click on this button to take the survey:

Then head on over to A Chance to Shine. I love that they are taking their story and sharing it so that maybe, another parent will find it and save their child from the suffering. I know it would have been a huge comfort to me a few years back. Make sure to read their Stupid Discipline section. They are accepting stories so if you have one, please contribute.

David Garrett breaks violin world speed record

2009-06-03T12:23:00.001-04:00

This is such an amazing young man! He's humble, too. I love that he credits his talents to practice; lots and lots of practice.
They say the only difference between an expert and a novice is the number of hours they've put in. I still think there's more to it. Like maybe motivation *and* practice?

I'm going out to buy this young man's CD! He ROCKS!

Seven Kittens

2009-05-30T19:33:00.023-04:00

Opinions of Noble Prize Winners Towards School

2009-05-18T11:00:00.005-04:00

So many times, I get asked, "How can he (my 11yo son) learn if he doesn't go to school?" My parents have settled their minds to the concept that we homeschool. I've explained time and time again, that we do not do school at home. We don't do school at all! My son has the freedom to do as he pleases, read what he likes, explore what he chooses. You should see the expression on peoples' faces when I tell them this! Many of them just can't grasp what living in freedom, unschooling, means.

"You give your child freedom?" "You don't make him do anything?" "He gets to sleep in?" "He gets to try everything he wants to try?" "He has no limits?" "How does he learn?" and my favorite "How did he get so smart if he doesn't go to school?"

The answer is simple! Kids love to learn! They are designed to learn, to create, explore, observe, experiment, play,..etc.. In unschooling, parents just make the possiblities available. We play with our kids. We explore with our kids. Many unschooling parents (and homeschooling parents, too) will tell you that they are learning right along with their children.

I love when people who are considered educated share veiw points that prove learning is not mandated to the forced learning of schools. There's a great post over at Learning in Freedom
about what a few Noble Prize Winners feel/felt about school. It's worth the read!

NBC Poll...Hurry Vote!

2009-05-16T08:39:00.002-04:00

Will NBC be surprised?

Here's your chance to let the media know where the people stand on our faith in God, as a nation.

NBC is presently taking a poll on "In God We Trust" to stay on our American currency.

Please send this to every person you know so they can vote on this important subject.

Please do it right away, before NBC takes this off their web page. Poll is still open so you can vote:

CLICK ON BELOW, VOTE & THEN FORWARD TO FRIENDS

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10103521/

This is not sent for discussion. If you agree forward it, if you don't, delete it.

By my forwarding it, you know how I feel.
I'll bet this is going to be a surprise to NBC.

"In God We Still Trust"

Eyes Open!

2009-05-15T17:32:00.003-04:00

At nine days old, the kittens eyes are open. None are named yet.

Flash & Madeye

2009-05-13T18:23:00.002-04:00

Madeye, Flash and Rex playing.

More & More Babies!

2009-05-13T17:33:00.002-04:00

Stickers had her babies today!! Yeah!! (I've been informed her real name is Houdini, but she's stickers to me.)

Momma Stickers with her three new kittens. All three are dark and tiger striped. The babies were very hungry so no close ups yet. Sorry.

Here are a couple of new pictures of Suvy's babies:

Aren't they adorable?

Candy's growing up! Please throw the ball?

Flash and Misky

Living Biology

2009-05-05T10:08:00.001-04:00

Living Biology is something we get to experience here on our farm. Over the past few years, I've been sharing many of these experiences as they have come along. My children have been raised with many pets so I'd like to share with you our newest bebies born just this morning. First, here is the story of how these new precious babies came about.

Hobbs the daddy, was born born here on May 30, 2007. You can read his birth story at Lamaze for cats? He and his siblings baby pictures are posted at Introducing Five Little Kittens. All of the kittens and momma were fixed except for Hobbs. We kept him intact as he was such a beautiful cat, with a loving personality, which we thought would be excellent in future generations.

Then along came Suvy and Stickers who were rescued on June 11, 2008. To this day, Stickers, still earns that name. She's sweet and loving but she just can't grasp the concept that her claws need to be in. Stickers was also a bit of a surprise. Early in her life, she needed an emergency trip to the twenty-four hour vet clinic. Her life was saved but the vet insisted that she was a he. Since that left Suvy as the only unfixed female, we didn't give it another thought. We were going to breed Hobbs and Suvy and see what type of kittens they'd throw. You can read Suvy's and Sticker's story at How Many Kittens?

Well, sometimes it's best to trust yourself when sexing kittens. Both Suvy and Stickers are females. Early this morning, Suvy gave birth to four beautiful kittens. Stickers should be having her's soon. Both mommas are being kept safe inside away from all the other pets. Poor Suvy was very confused this morning about what those wet noisey creatures were. My spouse soothed her and got her to lie down and I went and gathered her babies, dried them off a bit, then handed them to James. He rubbed them on Suvy's face and placed them on her belly. Poor Suvy was so very confused. She wasn't taking to motherhood very well and it was beginning to look like it wasn't going to go well. James encouraged her to lick her babies and I'm happy to report nature has taken over and even the smallest is now nursing!

National Geographic has an excellent series called In the Womb for any one who would like to learn more about cats and their development. I'll post babies pictures once they get a little bit bigger.

Kennedy Space Center Behind the Vistor's Center

2009-05-02T20:14:00.003-04:00

Kennedy Space Center invited their employees to invite their friends and families for a behind the scenes tour of the actual facility! Since my husband's best friend is employed there, we were included in this special event! Thanks John!! We love you!

And so the tour begins =):

This is the back end of the real space shuttle minus it's engines. They take them out after every flight to check them out before the next flight.

This is a shot of one of the moving walls inside the OPF (Orbitor Processing Facility). By moving the walls, the space shuttle can be brought in easily and then worked on once the walls move in close.

Here is the Space Shuttle inside the OPF. This is the under belly of the space shuttle. The green tags mark tiles that need replacing.

This picture speaks for itself =P

George in front of one of the Space Shuttle's engines.

Dad & son in front of engine.

Sibling love.

How would you like a set of these at $4500.00 each?

This is a demonstration of just how much control they have over the crane they use. They have this monstrous wheel sitting on an egg. Interesting...

Dad explaining how it all works. These are the moments that I treasure being married to an extremely smart engineering minded man. =D

Now this is my type of tool! This is an airbrush!!

Pilot Parachute.

Learning happens all the time.

Flash

2009-04-23T19:00:00.002-04:00

Easter is always such a wonderful time for the Lord's blessings. A time to remember that He has given his all for us. This year, he gifted me with a beautiful reminder that he loves me and wants me to have joy in this world. I say this, as I have been through much stress on so many levels which sometimes feels all encompassing. So let me just touch the highlights that happened this past Easter weekend.

First, He reminded me of the wonderful blessing He gave me near nineteen years ago, on another Easter weekend, when my first born came into the world bright and early with the sun. This year, I went outside at sunrise, and found that Marble, my horsey baby, hand raised by me since her mother died giving birth to her, had just delivered her first born.

Upon seeing this little one, my first thought was 'Flash'. I can't tell you why, but so far, no one has come up with a better more suited name. Marble looked hungry, so I went and fed everyone. I was surprised when Madeye lead the baby up. Marble was too hungry to worry and Madeye left Flash in my care while he, too, went off to eat.

That's Marble in the background with the white strip down her withers. She ate her fill then came over and collected her baby. I moved them both into a secluded pasture so momma and baby could get to know each other in peace. =)

It's been twelve days, and today, Flash had her first outing away from momma. As a general rule, we allow the babies to meet people and get accustomed to being touched. So this morning, Flash received her first non-momma bath, then we took her to visit a friend who has been asking to see a newborn for quite sometime. Today, we made that happen. We took Flash over to visit Mary, a blind friend that had been raised with horses. Larger, much larger horses then Flash, but the smile on Mary's face made me so happy that we made this trip.

After Flash's first outing, she was tired and took a nap on the way home.

Babies are precious. Easter babies are God's way of reminding us he loves us and wants us to be happy. =) Blessings to all.

Britains Got Talent 2009 Susan Boyle 47 Year Old Singer

2009-04-15T23:24:00.001-04:00

NEVER judge a book by it's cover...
=D

Have You Seen This Site??

2009-04-10T11:25:00.005-04:00

Hey there everyone! As you know, I'm always looking for new and interesting ways to promote further exploration of many things. Well, today I feel like I've come across a gold mine!! So of course, I have to share.

Studio 4 Learning is a website that explores and explains Math, Sciences, English, Languages, Business, Arts, Test Prep, Find a Job, and Tutor Corps. How's that for being an awesome site for teenagers and young adults (and those of us who like to believe we're young adults still, hehehe)?

Oh....you want the link?? (Almost forgot...)

http://studio4learning.tv/index.php
Check it out!

Sound of Music - Central Station Antwerp (Belguim)

2009-04-07T09:44:00.000-04:00

Doesn't this just brighten your day? It did mine =)

Judas Asparagus

2009-03-25T14:55:00.004-04:00

If you need a laugh today, then this should do it! I can't QUIT giggling!

A child was asked to write a book report on the entire Bible. This is amazing and brought tears of laughter to my eyes. I wonder how often we take for granted that children understand what we are teaching???

Through the eyes of a child: The Children's Bible in a Nutshell

In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says,'The Lord thy God is one, but I think He must be a lot older than that. Anyway, God said, 'Give me a light!' and someone did.. Then God made the world.

He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren't embarrassed because mirrors hadn't been invented yet. Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden.....Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn't have cars.

Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel.
Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something.

One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind of a Ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check.

After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat.

Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh's people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable.

God fed the Israel Lights every day with manicotti. Then he gave them His Top Ten Commandments. These include: don't lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor's stuff. Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more: Humor thy father and thy mother.

One of Moses' best helpers was Joshua who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town. After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn't sound very wise to me.

After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets. One of these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed up on the shore. There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don't have to worry about them.

After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of The New. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a barn too, because my mom is always saying to me, 'Close the door! Were you born in a barn?' It would be nice to say, 'As a matter of fact, I was.')

During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Democrats.

Jesus also had twelve opossums. The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him.

Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount. But the Democrats and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn't stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead.

Anyways, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up to Heaven but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.

Received via email ~~~ Unknown author ~~~ ^_^ ~~~ Hope you enjoyed!

Behind my House

2009-03-22T22:19:00.007-04:00

a young couple went fishing...and this is what happened from them parking their car on the side of the dirt road (according to the news)

And the next day.......things where still burning....here's a few interesting yet things you wouldn't normally think about, fire doing.

I don't currently know how many acres were burned and it appears that today the fire moved away from my home. This is just one of a few that are burning. I know that over 1000 acres had burned as of this morning on another fire close to us.

And one last picture to lighten the load and prove the point that nature will overcome...

A History Quiz prepared by Lynda

2009-03-20T18:33:00.006-04:00

Can you identify who said the following? Scroll down for the answer.

"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest [the U.S.] become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."

Lynda

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." Aldous Huxley

Answer:
--Cicero, 55 BC and the brackets should actually read "Rome."

Thank you Lynda, for an enlightening History lessons! Too bad the American people, many of which are graduates of the public education system, and our so called called intelligent leaders, many of whom are graduates of the private school sector, are clearly not paying attention to what they should have learned from history!

Perpetual Motion and Entropy

2009-03-03T08:53:00.004-05:00

As many of you who read here know, both my spouse and I are full-time working parents whom have chosen to unschool our youngest child. In stepping off the mainstream path most people follow, we have had to learn some new concepts and ideals about just what constitutes a real education and just what constitutes real value in ones life. These conversations have lead to much reflection on both of our childhoods, time spent with friends, time spent with parents, and just how did these life events effect our overall growth and life choices.

My spouse had an incredibly happy and carefree childhood. His father was an incredible man, deep thinker, inventor, who traveled through his life in a very unique way. His mother was a woman far ahead of the ladies of her generation, working in a man's world, piloting planes when very few women even stepped near a cockpit. These two people raised a very interesting man that I'm proud to call my husband.

So....now let me share with you why this praise is being shared today.

In choosing to unschool, as working parents, we needed to find a way to keep each other informed (or more so, he needs to keep me as recordkeeper, informed) of just what type of topics are discussed, learned, and or played with. Recently, we have started using emails as they make for easy filing and future reference. So here is the recent email I just received on just what these two deep thinkers have been discussing:

From my spouse:

George and I are studying Perpetual Motion Machines today. This covers basic physics, research techniques and critical thinking. As usual George has impressed me with his understanding of the world around him, which is well beyond his years.

George's entry:

Perpetual motion machines are machines that last infinitely without any outside energy. One example is where there is a water wheel that powers a generator that powers a pump which pumps the water back up to the water wheel.

This is impossible because of friction. The friction between the water wheel and the generator converts some of the energy into heat this heat is not harnessed so the machine always loses some energy and will eventually grind to a stop.

In raising children, it is truly a blessing when two parents can find some balance and work together to enrich their children's lives. I've been incredibly fortunate to have such a spouse.

Where Does One Start?

2009-02-17T09:52:00.001-05:00

Hi friends,

I've been getting private emails asking me about unschooling along with being in a few unschooling groups where these same questions come up so I thought I'd share a recent post with you all. Whether you homeschool or unschool, I believe the most important point is to 'see what your kids are gaining from the experience and not on what you think they are missing.' So many parents are finding their children ever so sad in the 'school system'. I would like to encourage those parents that there truly is a better way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~snip~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Most of all though, my daughter lives life with me, shopping, cooking, taking care of the house, helping with little ones, volunteering at church, talking loving and laughing. She is learning and happy and we are closer than ever. When you make the leap into home schooling, I think it is important to see what your kids are gaining from the experience and not on what you think they are missing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~snip~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The above statement makes very good points. Learning happens everywhere. If you run a business, share that knowledge of HOW to run a business. I don't mean in a 'schooly' way but as something you do and openly share should your child have an interest to see what you are doing. My parents owned a skating rink when I was growing up. I could run the business by the time I was a teenager. I knew our vendors, clients, bookkeeping, policies, could sell skates, make schedules, book parties, etc. It gave me a great sense of just what is involved in running a business. Shoot, by the time I was an older teen and driving, I could even make the bank deposits!

My spouse is an engineer, mechanic, firefighter, EMT, welder, horse trainer, scuba diver, pilot, ....and the list could go on. He shares all his knowledge with the kids. My oldest daughter (18) speaks four languages, welds, dances, is a certified Firefighter/EMT now, and is thinking about becoming a doctor. We have never discouraged her. She is incredibly smart. Our second daughter (16) is now in college and loving it. Our youngest will talk physics to you for hours on hours if you allow him to.

Life is short. Run with it. You will be amazed at just how much curious minds want to know. Remember to relax. If your child has been in the 'school system' it will take them time to find thier own footing in the unschooling freedom so start simply by saying yes more and no less. One day at a time.

Peace and Laughter!
Vicki

Good Morning!

2009-02-10T10:42:00.000-05:00

Good morning! I'm feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed today and I'm SO hApPy about this!!! See, a few weeks ago, I was tested for Sleep Apnea and found to have a mild case. A machine was ordered and last week, I finally received it!! I was told not to panic if it took awhile to sleep through the night with it, but most people adjust within thirty days. I was told that even a few hours would make a world of difference.

So here it's been five days, and I'm already feeling so much better! I can feel myself regaining energy! So if any of you are feeling exhausted in the morning when you wake up, I'd highly suggest looking into Sleep Apnea. To think that a simply machine that helps you breath while you sleep, can improve your health, without drugs, is awesome!

((((Huggs))))

Math Funny

2009-01-30T08:57:00.004-05:00

Click here if you can't read the above.

76%

2009-01-27T09:58:00.007-05:00

So I've become a bit stressed lately, as I just learned that my blood oxygen levels drop incredibly low when I'm sleeping. I found this out through a sleep study I just had done a week or so ago. My spouse has been bugging me for years now to go get this addressed as he has freaked out a few times when he has witnessed me stop breathing during the night. He has timed it and just about the time he is ready to call the ambulance, I start breathing again.

So after the night at the hospital, he asked me what my O2 levels were prior to them putting me on the forced air machine. I didn't know as I hadn't thought to ask. Afterall, they woke me up at 6:00am and sent me home. Then I waited for the holiday weekend to finish figuring the office would be closed. So I finally called and learned that my levels were down to 76%! From what little I know, this is bad. Really bad. They said once they put me on air, my levels came right up to 87%-97% so a machine has now been ordered. I should get it in another week.

So now I get some time to freak out about this. This morning, I woke with a really bad headache and my spouse said that's no wonder as I had a really bad night sleeping. He kept moving me to get me breathing again. Sounds to me, like he had a bad night, too.

I've asked quite a few nurses and doctors just what this low level means as I know per Emergency Standards (EMT/Paramedic stuff) that oxygen would be administered. They all just say yes it's very low and nothing else. So I went looking online and kept coming across people saying that they got very low readings of 85% and were put on oxygen. When my spouse was suffering from his gallbladder episode, he told me most people are unconscious under 85% and under 80%, you are DEAD!

So here I am getting death levels and I need to wait.....

Have I ever mentioned I'm not a very patient person?

So I have googled Sleep Apnea and Hypoxemia. Turns out it's a REALLY good thing I finally got that sleep study done. At the rate I was going, I might not have had a few more years to play with this. Besides, even if I did have the years, could I really afford to lose more brain cells?

Otronicon

2009-01-20T14:30:00.005-05:00

Orlando Science Center is having an Otronicon! What's an Otronicon? It's a convention that allows serious gamers and the wannabes get a sneek peek at all the latest and coolest innovations of the digital revolution! They also have the some of the oldies available. Everything is set up to play! Does this not just sound like the perfect field trip? Too bad I work.

Just kidding. Actually, this is where my spouse gets to jump in on all the fun and spend the day exploring with the kids. James took all three of them, even the oldest who had worked all night (and should have been sleeping) to the Science Center, renewed our yearly membership, then spent the day playing game after game. He told me he hadn't realized just how much of a spectator sport Rock Band was. The crowds cheered and clapped for the preformers (players).

Rock Band on Stage but not my kids playing at this time. =)

<

11yo George looking at a display.

18yo Caylee proving you're never too old?

And two pictures I can't explain...

Photos curtesy of Melissa.

I'm Addicted!!

2009-01-14T09:16:00.006-05:00

I have a new addiction and it's calling my name. I feel that I should be attending to it right now but feel I should resist while I update my first online love of blogging. So what is this new intense distraction you ask? Why nothing other then WoW! WoW stands for World of Warcraft. WoW is a major online game that at first I thought was just a game.

I didn't get involved with it when I first learned of it, as a dedicated player had advised me that I wouldn't enjoy it without a high speed connection. We have a S-l-o-w ping meaning the time the signal leaves our computer, travels to the satellite, then returns, takes too long for PvP play. (PvP = Player verse Player) That slow ping has made Halo3 a simple in home game or take the Xbox to a friend's house game as live play isn't fun unless we relocate.

But World of Warcraft is just Too AwEsOmE to let the ping problem get in the way! I have found that using an aircard works wonders for PvP & RPPvP therefore avoiding the whole s-l-o-w ping issue! So here I am, learning my way around my second gaming experience. (My first was Runescape.)

I first started learning to game so I could keep my son company while he played. He is an expert and even though he is young still, he really knows his way around video games. Some of this is due to how much he plays and some of it is due to how much he reads! He's the only person I know who studies the manuals and I'm not talking about little twenty page manuals, either. No, the manuals and books for these games can be upward of a thousand or more pages. Some even have corresponding novels to further the story line and he has read them all!

A few months back, we joined the WoW world and started building our first characters. I chose a Night Elf Hunter. I love my Hunter. So much so that I have now learned about 'twinkin' and have started another Night Elf Hunter to make into a twink. A twink is a low level character that has high stats because of specialized equipment that make it near indestructible. I'm just learning how to do this and have just ran my first real raids with my Guild.

I find that I need to learn a whole new vocabulary: Guild, Aggro, Tank, grind, Twink, to name just a few new terms. I am also learning the ins and outs of auctioning, crafting, leveling, and socialization in the gaming world.

While shopping for Christmas presents at Best Buy, the salegirl and I got talking and she told me about addons. She gave me some really cool sites to look into. Now I'm 'twinkin' our computers to increase our game play experience!

Yes, I'm addicted and have much more to share on this interesting journey. I was under the impression that the players were mainly young teenagers to young adults. I've since learned that WoW gamers come in all ages and expertise. Yesterday, I read an article at WOWInsider about an Anthropologist who plays. He tells of how he is researching "American cultures of self-control, efficiency, masculinity and success amongst players of WoW." You can read about his experience here.

I have much more to share on this interesting topic but feel the need to go check the auction house. ;-) I'll tell more later. Have an AwEsOmE day everyone!

Dear Dr. D

2009-01-02T23:57:00.000-05:00

IF you really did come looking, it seems I gave you a bad link. My apologies as I guess I haven't memorized how blogger stores posts. So here is the link to the Gallbladder fiasco I mentioned. Or you can click here.

It was nice meeting you today.

Peace and Laughter!
Vicki

The Ending of 2008

2009-01-02T22:04:00.003-05:00

Dear Friends,

I SO apologize for neglecting to update what's been happening over the holidays. I do have pictures that I'll try and post this weekend. Santa was awesome once again and Christmas was wonderful. I'll try and post some highlights soon. I just got over walking pneumonia while I was dealing with insane happenings at the office. Nothing like being hit on a few sides at once, right?

On the 'homeschooling' front, I've been getting read to sleep lately by George, my 11yo son, reading his trigonometry book out loud to me. He's decided to master trig in the next two weeks! It will be interesting to see if he does, as later, he informed me he is backing up a level or two as he doesn't have all the needed formulas memorized yet.

I'm still tripping that my eleven year old even has a clue what trig is! This child never fails to surprise me and in looking at what he likes to learn, I don't see how he would ever "fit" in to the "regular" public school system.

HEY! He never has to go unless he wants to! Guess that's a Win Win if I ever heard of one, lol. I figure there will come a day, and he might want to go, just to see what else this town offers. When that day comes, he has my blessings. Shoot. He's already ready for college, so it's not like he needs to go to school to learn, right?

For those of you that stumble upon my page, before you 'freak out' at my 'truant' attitude towards school, we unschool. Unschooling is the best possible education a young mind can have. It allows the young mind to grow at it's incredible natural rate, without silly rules and guidelines being imposed by someone who has no clue.

Unschooling works. Nuff said. :-D

14 Days of Homeschool

2008-12-26T08:29:00.001-05:00

A doggy Christmas surprise

2008-12-24T19:57:00.001-05:00

And now for the puppies turn ;-)

A Cats Christmas

2008-12-23T17:04:00.001-05:00

Hi Everyone!

How is your Christmas Holiday unfolding? Have you finished all your Christmas shopping? Baking? Wrapping? Decorating? Card writing? E-card sending? Lol, the stress, the stress!!!! ;-)

So to help you relax and take that much needed break, and maybe enjoy a giggle or two, I'd like for you to click on this link for A Cats Christmas.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

Vicki

(Just a cute link but not my cats )

Christmas Lights

2008-12-21T07:01:00.001-05:00

It's getting close to Christmas! So here's a link to a really fun puzzle to brighten up the day and help the kids be patient. We played this game for hours last night as each time you start over, it gives you a different puzzle to solve. Christmas Tree Lights

The Indigo @ Tribal Fest 7 - Opening

2008-12-07T08:29:00.002-05:00

What Fun!