The Girl is showing all the signs of becoming a tween, just as she is turning 9. She needs deodorant. She's starting to get little zits. And she's become a screaming banshee. No kidding, she hasn't stopped screaming for two days. My nerves are shot. I can't decide if it's autisism-related or hormone-related. Either way, at this rate, all my hair is going to fall out by the end of the week.
Any ideas out there? I tried snuggling up in her loft with her this afternoon, to see if I could find out why she's so angry, but she threw me out. It wasn't pretty, nor was it easy on my ego. Hopefully, she's coming down with the flu or something. Otherwise, I'm going to have to call in sick for the next 10 years.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
So, who's ready for The Big Day? Not me.
Well, we have most of the presents bought, and I did (mostly) make the scented heating pads. I went with orange oil, cloves, white rice, unbleached muslin, and flannel. Now that I don't consider white rice to be Real Food, it wasn't a real sacrifice. I have a present for my mom and dad. I really should get that package off to the in-laws and my neice. Maybe tomorrow... ;)
I'm also ahead on spending every last dime we have or are ever going to get. I changed credit cards in November, so the bill is due two weeks early. Eech. What a disaster. To top it all off, I put some of the presents on PayPal, which emptied out the checking account.
Fortunately, it's The Husband's fault. I can blame the overspending on him. He played the "they won't be young for much longer" card, and since he's the Frugal One, I let him. We'll sort this all out soon. I hope.
The Husband and I are going to take inventory tonight, and see where we are. Mostly, we just have Christmas and birthday presents for the kids. Yay. I'd feel even more self-absorbed if I haven't been buying for strangers as well. Now, I'm starting to think that even though we live comfortably, we really can't afford to help out the poor. It bums me out. I just feel that if we don't, no one else will. Oh well. If I keep this up, I'm going to have to do after-school babysitting to make a few extra bucks. Fortunately, I would rather live on beans and rice than take on any more kids.
The rest of our (totally unnecessary) Christmas preparations don't really require any money. I have cookies in the freezer. I already have pecans for the pie and spiced nuts. The chocolate is bought and unopened. Presents are all tucked away in The Husband's car trunk. (Shhhh!) I have to make a gift basket for my mom's soaps and teas. I also have to powerwash her and my dad's patios for the rest of their presents.
So, I have to get the out-of-town stuff to the post office TOMORROW. Yikes! Better get my butt off the internet, and get BUSY!!!
I'm also ahead on spending every last dime we have or are ever going to get. I changed credit cards in November, so the bill is due two weeks early. Eech. What a disaster. To top it all off, I put some of the presents on PayPal, which emptied out the checking account.
Fortunately, it's The Husband's fault. I can blame the overspending on him. He played the "they won't be young for much longer" card, and since he's the Frugal One, I let him. We'll sort this all out soon. I hope.
The Husband and I are going to take inventory tonight, and see where we are. Mostly, we just have Christmas and birthday presents for the kids. Yay. I'd feel even more self-absorbed if I haven't been buying for strangers as well. Now, I'm starting to think that even though we live comfortably, we really can't afford to help out the poor. It bums me out. I just feel that if we don't, no one else will. Oh well. If I keep this up, I'm going to have to do after-school babysitting to make a few extra bucks. Fortunately, I would rather live on beans and rice than take on any more kids.
The rest of our (totally unnecessary) Christmas preparations don't really require any money. I have cookies in the freezer. I already have pecans for the pie and spiced nuts. The chocolate is bought and unopened. Presents are all tucked away in The Husband's car trunk. (Shhhh!) I have to make a gift basket for my mom's soaps and teas. I also have to powerwash her and my dad's patios for the rest of their presents.
So, I have to get the out-of-town stuff to the post office TOMORROW. Yikes! Better get my butt off the internet, and get BUSY!!!
Scrounging for content...
Seems I can't get my own blogging done, so in the interest of posterity, I'm stealing this one from my comments on other people's blogs... I'm pretty sure that isn't plagarism...
As I see it, you have two routes to Christmas sanity:
1. Organize incredibly early. This includes making up the mailing list/labels October 15, getting out the menorah December 1 -- that sort of thing. Put 'em on the calendar and do 'em. This is surgical, antiseptic, and deadly effective.
2. Put as much off until after Christmas as possible. We go the beach on Christmas Eve and use the pictures for our "New Year's Cards". We have a sort of brunch on Christmas day -- fruit salad, ham, biscuits, pie, whatever's still in the house. Dammit, Christmas STARTS on the 25th and goes for TWELVE days!
Hints for those overloaded by Magical Christmas Expectations, trying to get it all done:
Isn't this the reason we had kids? One can make latkes, another can make cookies, the middle ones would LOVE to decorate the tree for you. ;) Add a couple of poinsettias, and you're done.
I have sort of the opposite of your problem right now. Every two days or so, The Boy remembers something he wants done. "Mom, where is the mistletoe?" "Mom, when can we put up the outside lights?" "Yayyyy!! Only three days until we put up the tree!!" (I always hold firm: NO tree until after The Husband's birthday!)
On the other hand, The Boy and I have no idea what Aunt Julie wants for Christmas... I think I've decided on: http://www.make-stuff.com/formulas/heating_pad.html
Oh, and if you put a few Christmas sprinkles in Rice Crispie treats, everyone just goes wild. Or throw a some mini M&M's on top of a pan of (box mix) brownies. Voila!
Throw out the Women's Day magazine, and get a grip. :)
As I see it, you have two routes to Christmas sanity:
1. Organize incredibly early. This includes making up the mailing list/labels October 15, getting out the menorah December 1 -- that sort of thing. Put 'em on the calendar and do 'em. This is surgical, antiseptic, and deadly effective.
2. Put as much off until after Christmas as possible. We go the beach on Christmas Eve and use the pictures for our "New Year's Cards". We have a sort of brunch on Christmas day -- fruit salad, ham, biscuits, pie, whatever's still in the house. Dammit, Christmas STARTS on the 25th and goes for TWELVE days!
Hints for those overloaded by Magical Christmas Expectations, trying to get it all done:
Isn't this the reason we had kids? One can make latkes, another can make cookies, the middle ones would LOVE to decorate the tree for you. ;) Add a couple of poinsettias, and you're done.
I have sort of the opposite of your problem right now. Every two days or so, The Boy remembers something he wants done. "Mom, where is the mistletoe?" "Mom, when can we put up the outside lights?" "Yayyyy!! Only three days until we put up the tree!!" (I always hold firm: NO tree until after The Husband's birthday!)
On the other hand, The Boy and I have no idea what Aunt Julie wants for Christmas... I think I've decided on: http://www.make-stuff.com/formulas/heating_pad.html
Oh, and if you put a few Christmas sprinkles in Rice Crispie treats, everyone just goes wild. Or throw a some mini M&M's on top of a pan of (box mix) brownies. Voila!
Throw out the Women's Day magazine, and get a grip. :)
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
The Minoans in 8 minutes or less...
Is it just me, or is there an inverse relationship between the time used to set up a lesson and the time that it holds a child's attention? (It's sort of like cooking chinese food -- 2 hours of chopping, 30 minutes of cooking, 5 minutes of eating.)
We covered the Minoans' invention of fresco mural painting in ancient Crete in our giant book of ancient history. I set up some plaster, and we painted it half-dry with water color paints to look like the Minoans -- lots of fish and dolphins, etc. The paint soaked into the damp plaster, and it was pretty cool.
It also took all of 8 minutes start to finish. "You're done already?!" "Yes. Can I go now?" Aaaagh!
We covered the Minoans' invention of fresco mural painting in ancient Crete in our giant book of ancient history. I set up some plaster, and we painted it half-dry with water color paints to look like the Minoans -- lots of fish and dolphins, etc. The paint soaked into the damp plaster, and it was pretty cool.
It also took all of 8 minutes start to finish. "You're done already?!" "Yes. Can I go now?" Aaaagh!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Aww... What a cute sweater...
I've had so many, many good ideas for blog entries in the last few weeks, but alas, no time! (At least, no time without kids hanging over my shoulder asking, "What's that mean?")
Sweater pictures, as promised. No, it's not too small for The Girl now that it's finished. It's actually too big still. I had subconsciously thought that it'd take a year to finish it, so I made it a little big.
The real issue is that it's really pretty, and she refuses to wear it. Oh yes. I've tried, and she just shucks it off like it's hideous and nasty.
Pretty hideous, huh? ;)
Thursday, November 6, 2008
visiting the evil kingdom...
This morning, for the first time in probably six months, I saw the Today Show. That, in itself, isn't so bad, but I just couldn't believe what I was missing in the Consumer World. You know -- the life of gourmet, single-cup coffee makers and "The Happiest Place in the World", aka Toys-R-Us. I had no idea how much consumerism that I had missed over the past few months, but it only took 10 minutes to get me hooked again: the creeping lust for slick kitchen appliances, the discontent with the lushness of my eyelashes, the dread of being less hip than Al Roker or the Obamas. Good Lord! What if I've missed some great new CD that was released today? What will I do if my dog isn't as trendy as the dog that the president-elect (and the Today Show) picks for Malia and Sasha?! The Joneses are getting away from me, and I didn't even know it!!!
I took a deep breath, clicked it off, and went to take a shower -- with cheap shampoo, in my slightly soap-scummy shower, with the door that I realigned myself (perfectly!) last month. I dried myself on a slightly shabby towel that my husband washed, fluffed and folded for me. I dressed in last summer's clothes and headed to my kitchen with the worn, out-of-date flooring. I had a piece of toast made from bread that I made yesterday from organic whole wheat, along with a cup of 8 O'Clock coffee, made by my my husband. I kissed The Husband good-bye and settled down to teaching my kids to print legibly and add correctly. We made a mobile of "The Gifts of the Nile" and basked in the morning sun in the back yard.
I think I'll leave the TV off for a while...
I took a deep breath, clicked it off, and went to take a shower -- with cheap shampoo, in my slightly soap-scummy shower, with the door that I realigned myself (perfectly!) last month. I dried myself on a slightly shabby towel that my husband washed, fluffed and folded for me. I dressed in last summer's clothes and headed to my kitchen with the worn, out-of-date flooring. I had a piece of toast made from bread that I made yesterday from organic whole wheat, along with a cup of 8 O'Clock coffee, made by my my husband. I kissed The Husband good-bye and settled down to teaching my kids to print legibly and add correctly. We made a mobile of "The Gifts of the Nile" and basked in the morning sun in the back yard.
I think I'll leave the TV off for a while...
Monday, November 3, 2008
mellowing out a little and sneaking out during school hours
Well, The Husband took me to a party Saturday, where I could have -- wait for it -- worn a costume! We went dressed as party poopers because he didn't tell me. LOL! Can't win this year!!
After (yet another!) pep talk from Suburban Correspondent, I've decided to take a small step back from this homeschool venture and mellow out a little. I'm trying to fit too much into too little time and not having enough fun. We've just started on motion, force, work, etc. I've decided to use the text book only as a compass to show me where I'm going. We're having fun with it. We make cartoons every day, showing the cat demonstrating the principals of physics: "The cat pushes the cup toward the edge of the table: force. Friction pushes back: opposing force. Gravity pulls it to the floor: force. The forces change the motion of the cup: work." Whee!
The Boy is doing more in less time, which is also good, since he had been spending the entire math hour working on his stuff. "We" do math for an hour, but he doesn't need to.
Today, we actually went to Target after lunch, so I could get some sidewalk chalk. Why? The Husband's Obama logo on the driveway was washed away in the rain, so I got some chalk and put it back on for him. I'm his hero now!
The cutest thing happens when I go out during school hours -- I catch other moms with school-age kids peeking at me out of the corner of their eye. "Is she a homeschooler or is she on vacation here? Do I know her? Ooh. I wonder if she has a double-pan balance scale I can borrow..." Oh wait, that last one was me. ;) I have got to get out more!
After (yet another!) pep talk from Suburban Correspondent, I've decided to take a small step back from this homeschool venture and mellow out a little. I'm trying to fit too much into too little time and not having enough fun. We've just started on motion, force, work, etc. I've decided to use the text book only as a compass to show me where I'm going. We're having fun with it. We make cartoons every day, showing the cat demonstrating the principals of physics: "The cat pushes the cup toward the edge of the table: force. Friction pushes back: opposing force. Gravity pulls it to the floor: force. The forces change the motion of the cup: work." Whee!
The Boy is doing more in less time, which is also good, since he had been spending the entire math hour working on his stuff. "We" do math for an hour, but he doesn't need to.
Today, we actually went to Target after lunch, so I could get some sidewalk chalk. Why? The Husband's Obama logo on the driveway was washed away in the rain, so I got some chalk and put it back on for him. I'm his hero now!
The cutest thing happens when I go out during school hours -- I catch other moms with school-age kids peeking at me out of the corner of their eye. "Is she a homeschooler or is she on vacation here? Do I know her? Ooh. I wonder if she has a double-pan balance scale I can borrow..." Oh wait, that last one was me. ;) I have got to get out more!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Where I come to my senses
I have come to my senses and realized that no one (besides me) wants to see me in a costume this Halloween. I know, I know, this is not a revelation to anyone besides me, but there you have it. No queen-sized sheet toga, no Statue of Liberty crown, no clown shoes. In short, no fun. Yes, there you have it.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
screaming, and all it implies
Why are my kids so darned contrary?
I have one that doesn't understand "turn the tv off now". Doesn't matter how soft or loud the command is; I get nothing, nada. I know she's autistic, but it makes me scream, and she doesn't care. I swear, Tuesday is trash day, and the guys haven't been by yet. I could still get those tv's to the curb in time. It's school time; turn the goddam thing off and leave it off. We ask before we turn it on, not after.
The other raised my hopes this morning by getting me to a web site with hieroglyphs, only to dash them by squirreling around and using it only to translate "llllllllllll" so it'll show 10 lions in a row. At least he didn't pee himself laughing this time.
Yesterday, he spent an hour reading to me while I dusted the house. Today he makes me want to scream. What's with that?
I have one that doesn't understand "turn the tv off now". Doesn't matter how soft or loud the command is; I get nothing, nada. I know she's autistic, but it makes me scream, and she doesn't care. I swear, Tuesday is trash day, and the guys haven't been by yet. I could still get those tv's to the curb in time. It's school time; turn the goddam thing off and leave it off. We ask before we turn it on, not after.
The other raised my hopes this morning by getting me to a web site with hieroglyphs, only to dash them by squirreling around and using it only to translate "llllllllllll" so it'll show 10 lions in a row. At least he didn't pee himself laughing this time.
Yesterday, he spent an hour reading to me while I dusted the house. Today he makes me want to scream. What's with that?
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Halloween, in my middle ages: take two
Oy. You should probably read the end of my previous post before you even try to understand this one. No. Really, do it. You'll be glad you did...
Okay here it is. I just googled around for costumes and found that the best selection of costumes for middle-aged, slightly-overweight women are listed under "plus size costumes". AAAAAAAHHH!
Sadly, these are the regular costumes, only they cover our hips.
http://www.anytimecostumes.com/costumes/pssexy.html
I think I'm going to wear a toga. (At least I learned something useful in college.)
Okay here it is. I just googled around for costumes and found that the best selection of costumes for middle-aged, slightly-overweight women are listed under "plus size costumes". AAAAAAAHHH!
Sadly, these are the regular costumes, only they cover our hips.
http://www.anytimecostumes.com/costumes/pssexy.html
I think I'm going to wear a toga. (At least I learned something useful in college.)
Halloween, in my middle ages
Well, The Girl only made it an hour into the Halloween party before begging to go home. I guess that's her showing initiative, which is good, right? (Okay, it's a reach, but I'll take my victories where I can get them.)
I should explain my "SCA garb" costume. I've never actually attended an SCA event, but I have a secret love for Renaissance fairs. I was into fencing in college, so I ran into a lot of the fun people that dressed on weekends, but I wasn't into it.
Anyway, I've always loved dressing up for Halloween. In high school, I once dressed as celery. (Obviously, I was thinner then.) In my 20's, I dressed as Tinker Bell.
Well, last year, I thought it would be fun to make a wench costume, just for fun, to wear for Halloween. One thing led to another, and I ended up researching and producing a hand-made, authentic Tudor commoner's dress, complete with chemise, corset, petticoat, and kirtle. I actually cut dozens of pieces of steel-spring boning into specific lengths and threaded them them into a corset. Don't even ask about making patterns. Still, I like to sew, and have a thing for all things Elizabethan, as long as I still have flush toilets.
But this year, I just found the costume heavy and uncomfortable, so I got to thinking, "What would be a good costume for a slightly overweight, middle aged mom?" And I'm still asking myself. I've eliminated many of my old favorites, based on my lack of waistline and age. I'm left with "aging hippie" and, what, "hag"? Oh Lord, help me... Does anyone have ideas?
I should explain my "SCA garb" costume. I've never actually attended an SCA event, but I have a secret love for Renaissance fairs. I was into fencing in college, so I ran into a lot of the fun people that dressed on weekends, but I wasn't into it.
Anyway, I've always loved dressing up for Halloween. In high school, I once dressed as celery. (Obviously, I was thinner then.) In my 20's, I dressed as Tinker Bell.
Well, last year, I thought it would be fun to make a wench costume, just for fun, to wear for Halloween. One thing led to another, and I ended up researching and producing a hand-made, authentic Tudor commoner's dress, complete with chemise, corset, petticoat, and kirtle. I actually cut dozens of pieces of steel-spring boning into specific lengths and threaded them them into a corset. Don't even ask about making patterns. Still, I like to sew, and have a thing for all things Elizabethan, as long as I still have flush toilets.
But this year, I just found the costume heavy and uncomfortable, so I got to thinking, "What would be a good costume for a slightly overweight, middle aged mom?" And I'm still asking myself. I've eliminated many of my old favorites, based on my lack of waistline and age. I'm left with "aging hippie" and, what, "hag"? Oh Lord, help me... Does anyone have ideas?
Friday, October 24, 2008
Umm... Halloween party tonight
Y'know, I keep thinking of a nice, funny blog topic, but everytime I get near the computer, my mind goes blank.
Let's see... I have toads in the house. Cute little grey and black ones with sticky pads on their feet. My mom lets them in every time she comes through the front door, sometimes two at a time. I have two hiding in the fabric piles in the sewing room/office/workout room. Guess I should get to that soon before they expire in something drycleanable.
Tonight is Parents' Night Out at the church, and this time it's a Halloween party, complete with an outdoor scavenger hunt. Yeah, you heard right -- one autistic girl, wandering around in the dark, general chaos. Hmm. Maybe, umm, NOT! So, since The Husband is sick with yet another cold, it's going to be Parent's Night Out. Only this parent has to dress up in her SCA garb and go to a kids' Halloween party. (My favorite part? Besides the corset? Having to wash the dress again after the kids spill catsup on it. Yayyyy.) But I was just guilting myself over the fact that The Girl never has any fun. So pony up, mom!
The Girl, of course, wants to be a fairy princess. (What's new?) They sprung this party on me suddenly, so she basically has a choice of last year's costume (the hand-made, golden princess gown) or the year before last (the cheap, blue and pink barbie princess dress). She chose the blue and pink dress. Can't blame her -- the gold one is lovely, but the cheap one has netting and glitter. The good news is that it was way too big for her two years ago, and it fits now.
The Boy chose Darth Vader. Fortunately, since he's a boy, he doesn't care how it looks from behind. This means that the el-cheapo mask is just fine. Oh, and add in the "Vader heavy breathing" noise maker, and we're good to go. And I just put new batteries in it this morning.
So, that's one more holiday dealt with. I feel Christmas looming ahead of me already. No money. No toddlers that want Play-Doh and cheap plastic toys. Oh no. We're up to the Digital Age. Pray for me...
Let's see... I have toads in the house. Cute little grey and black ones with sticky pads on their feet. My mom lets them in every time she comes through the front door, sometimes two at a time. I have two hiding in the fabric piles in the sewing room/office/workout room. Guess I should get to that soon before they expire in something drycleanable.
Tonight is Parents' Night Out at the church, and this time it's a Halloween party, complete with an outdoor scavenger hunt. Yeah, you heard right -- one autistic girl, wandering around in the dark, general chaos. Hmm. Maybe, umm, NOT! So, since The Husband is sick with yet another cold, it's going to be Parent's Night Out. Only this parent has to dress up in her SCA garb and go to a kids' Halloween party. (My favorite part? Besides the corset? Having to wash the dress again after the kids spill catsup on it. Yayyyy.) But I was just guilting myself over the fact that The Girl never has any fun. So pony up, mom!
The Girl, of course, wants to be a fairy princess. (What's new?) They sprung this party on me suddenly, so she basically has a choice of last year's costume (the hand-made, golden princess gown) or the year before last (the cheap, blue and pink barbie princess dress). She chose the blue and pink dress. Can't blame her -- the gold one is lovely, but the cheap one has netting and glitter. The good news is that it was way too big for her two years ago, and it fits now.
The Boy chose Darth Vader. Fortunately, since he's a boy, he doesn't care how it looks from behind. This means that the el-cheapo mask is just fine. Oh, and add in the "Vader heavy breathing" noise maker, and we're good to go. And I just put new batteries in it this morning.
So, that's one more holiday dealt with. I feel Christmas looming ahead of me already. No money. No toddlers that want Play-Doh and cheap plastic toys. Oh no. We're up to the Digital Age. Pray for me...
Monday, October 20, 2008
vomit, pee and a quiet weekend away.
Well, I survived the long weekend at Auntie's house in the hills. The leaves were beautiful. My brother was incredibly politically incorrect. ("All those retired Jews in Florida are really socialists. Seriously." Heh? We finally told him to shut up while he was ahead.) Auntie and her husand were gracious hosts and have a kazillion channels on the TV. Auntie's son and husband took my meek, little suburban son out and taught him what to do (and not do) with a gun. Wish I had pictures of The Boy shooting a BB gun. He had HUGE soundproof earmuffs on. LOL!
Anyway, we arrived near dusk on Wednesday night, with me feeling like Charles Lindberg. I swear, I was driving down the highway with cruise control on, thinking, "That's weird. I feel like I'm still driving. Oh wait. I am." Both kids refused to go in the house, and The Girl started screaming, "I want to go HOOOOOOME!" The Boy was just afraid of the dogs. Oy vey. We finally got them indoors, and The Boy started crying about the antiques hung on the wall of our room. (Remember? The Boy has a phobia about old things?) The Girl continued asking to go home, and we finally collapsed in bed without anyone getting eaten by dogs.
(I kept insisting that if the dog wanted to eat anyone, it would be The Boy's little cousin who is much smaller and meatier than he is. I think it finally worked. By the end of the weekend, he was sharing the recliner with the dog.)
Thursday, things went better. We all went on a pontoon boat ride to see the leaves, and only my brother complained about my bad driving on the mountain roads. There are no curvy roads OR hills where I live -- give me a break! The Boy got used to the antiques, and spent a couple of hours alternatively running up and down the hill and dancing in his room with his little cousin. The girl spent as much time as she could get away with in the car, apparently hoping to go home.
My brother left for home early Friday, so the rest of us just hung out until evening, when we left for the Chinese buffet. Halfway down the driveway, I stopped to dry out my car seat that someone poured water in. At the bottom of the driveway, I stopped to tend to a bloody nose, and then the fuel light went on. The Girl wept through dinner, and didn't eat, and we couldn't figure out why. After a stop at Wal-Mart to get granola bars and ammo, we visited four gas stations, looking for gas. (Do I love our GPS? Yes, I do! "Find me gas." "Yes, mistress!") I did find some, and we were headed home, when I thought, "Hey, why not call The Husband?" I had no sooner gotten him on the phone, when The Girl started barfing. And I do mean serious barfing. I hung up the phone, cleaned up the mess in a pelting rain storm, and headed back to Auntie's. The Boy's little voice in the back seat piped up, "Are we having bad luck?" Um. Yeah. Good call.
Saturday was pretty quiet, if you don't count Auntie's husband shooting a Kalishnakof at soda cans. Too much fun!
We left for home Sunday morning. Can you believe I loaded all those suitcases, put them in the hall, and they just STAYED THERE? Oh wait. It's The Husband's job to load the car. ;) I found a lot of those little husband tasks on the trip. Like, apparently, he's in charge of checking the gas gague.
Anyway, all went well until we got within 20 miles of home. Let's just say that it is possible for a boy to barf and pee along the side of the highway at the same time. Meanwhile, The Girl started screaming, "I have to go to the bathroom!" Oy vey. A stop at Wendy's, a change of clothes, and a small lemonade later, and we were on our way.
We're home now, and so grateful that we're having a holiday to celebrate. Yayyyy!!!
Anyway, we arrived near dusk on Wednesday night, with me feeling like Charles Lindberg. I swear, I was driving down the highway with cruise control on, thinking, "That's weird. I feel like I'm still driving. Oh wait. I am." Both kids refused to go in the house, and The Girl started screaming, "I want to go HOOOOOOME!" The Boy was just afraid of the dogs. Oy vey. We finally got them indoors, and The Boy started crying about the antiques hung on the wall of our room. (Remember? The Boy has a phobia about old things?) The Girl continued asking to go home, and we finally collapsed in bed without anyone getting eaten by dogs.
(I kept insisting that if the dog wanted to eat anyone, it would be The Boy's little cousin who is much smaller and meatier than he is. I think it finally worked. By the end of the weekend, he was sharing the recliner with the dog.)
Thursday, things went better. We all went on a pontoon boat ride to see the leaves, and only my brother complained about my bad driving on the mountain roads. There are no curvy roads OR hills where I live -- give me a break! The Boy got used to the antiques, and spent a couple of hours alternatively running up and down the hill and dancing in his room with his little cousin. The girl spent as much time as she could get away with in the car, apparently hoping to go home.
My brother left for home early Friday, so the rest of us just hung out until evening, when we left for the Chinese buffet. Halfway down the driveway, I stopped to dry out my car seat that someone poured water in. At the bottom of the driveway, I stopped to tend to a bloody nose, and then the fuel light went on. The Girl wept through dinner, and didn't eat, and we couldn't figure out why. After a stop at Wal-Mart to get granola bars and ammo, we visited four gas stations, looking for gas. (Do I love our GPS? Yes, I do! "Find me gas." "Yes, mistress!") I did find some, and we were headed home, when I thought, "Hey, why not call The Husband?" I had no sooner gotten him on the phone, when The Girl started barfing. And I do mean serious barfing. I hung up the phone, cleaned up the mess in a pelting rain storm, and headed back to Auntie's. The Boy's little voice in the back seat piped up, "Are we having bad luck?" Um. Yeah. Good call.
Saturday was pretty quiet, if you don't count Auntie's husband shooting a Kalishnakof at soda cans. Too much fun!
We left for home Sunday morning. Can you believe I loaded all those suitcases, put them in the hall, and they just STAYED THERE? Oh wait. It's The Husband's job to load the car. ;) I found a lot of those little husband tasks on the trip. Like, apparently, he's in charge of checking the gas gague.
Anyway, all went well until we got within 20 miles of home. Let's just say that it is possible for a boy to barf and pee along the side of the highway at the same time. Meanwhile, The Girl started screaming, "I have to go to the bathroom!" Oy vey. A stop at Wendy's, a change of clothes, and a small lemonade later, and we were on our way.
We're home now, and so grateful that we're having a holiday to celebrate. Yayyyy!!!
Monday, October 13, 2008
A frustrating day and The Big Escape. (Oh, and a little politics!)
Ever have one of those homeschooling days where the kid just sits in front of his handwriting and spelling list and stares at them -- for what feels like hours?! Now, I'm usually one of those "logical consequence" disciplinarians. "If you don't do your handwriting and spelling, you can't get to your journal, math, or reading. Then we all have to do science and history. And until you finish it all, there's no TV or computer. Any time you're ready. Your choice."
This, of course, implies that I can stand ignoring him for that long. Part of the problem is that he disrupts our science and history, which the three of us do together. And do I feed lunch him if he doesn't finish his math? And is it legal to just whack him over the head? 'Cause I think that might work best. I resorted to the yelling method of discipline today, which I'm sure isn't endorsed by the NEA. *sigh*
Well, we're packing up to go to Auntie's house in the mountains on Wednesday. The kids now have enough long pants, and I've mostly finished making their fleece jackets. (Gotta get on that.) I don't have anything washed or packed, and I have food co-op meeting tomorrow night. Scary. Every time I go on vacation or to a cocktail party, I always reach the "no wanna go" stage. I think I'm almost there by now. No wanna go!
But Auntie's husband has been griping for years that we never come to visit them, so now that they're within a day's drive, I have to go. The kids have never seen leaves change (not that they remember anyway), and we've finished our tree and leaf unit, so it's now or never. I'm just not sure I'm crazy enough to do this. I mean REALLY. What was I thinking when I agreed to this?!
And Uncle may be there. Eew. My pedantic, conservative, republican brother. The one who called me "an America hater" on the phone last week for being a democrat. I was floored. I have personally never hung up on someone -- until last week. I always assumed that 99% of republicans are nice reasonable people, but apparently not. That, or my brother is on the fringe. I don't think he's going to those McCain rallies where people scream "kill Obama," but maybe. I can't tell you how sad I am that John McCain's campaign has come to this. And then the crowd boos him when he asks them to be more respectful.
A year ago, I really thought that John McCain was an honorable man whom, if his economic policies were more liberal, I could actually vote for. He's lost all that in the last month or two. He traded his soul for a chance to become president, and it may not have been a good trade. It's really sad. ("No, no, don't hold back; tell us what you really think!" LOL!)
This, of course, implies that I can stand ignoring him for that long. Part of the problem is that he disrupts our science and history, which the three of us do together. And do I feed lunch him if he doesn't finish his math? And is it legal to just whack him over the head? 'Cause I think that might work best. I resorted to the yelling method of discipline today, which I'm sure isn't endorsed by the NEA. *sigh*
Well, we're packing up to go to Auntie's house in the mountains on Wednesday. The kids now have enough long pants, and I've mostly finished making their fleece jackets. (Gotta get on that.) I don't have anything washed or packed, and I have food co-op meeting tomorrow night. Scary. Every time I go on vacation or to a cocktail party, I always reach the "no wanna go" stage. I think I'm almost there by now. No wanna go!
But Auntie's husband has been griping for years that we never come to visit them, so now that they're within a day's drive, I have to go. The kids have never seen leaves change (not that they remember anyway), and we've finished our tree and leaf unit, so it's now or never. I'm just not sure I'm crazy enough to do this. I mean REALLY. What was I thinking when I agreed to this?!
And Uncle may be there. Eew. My pedantic, conservative, republican brother. The one who called me "an America hater" on the phone last week for being a democrat. I was floored. I have personally never hung up on someone -- until last week. I always assumed that 99% of republicans are nice reasonable people, but apparently not. That, or my brother is on the fringe. I don't think he's going to those McCain rallies where people scream "kill Obama," but maybe. I can't tell you how sad I am that John McCain's campaign has come to this. And then the crowd boos him when he asks them to be more respectful.
A year ago, I really thought that John McCain was an honorable man whom, if his economic policies were more liberal, I could actually vote for. He's lost all that in the last month or two. He traded his soul for a chance to become president, and it may not have been a good trade. It's really sad. ("No, no, don't hold back; tell us what you really think!" LOL!)
Thursday, October 9, 2008
So many blessings...
More on the title later, but first about the psychiatrist's appointment today. I set a new record today -- I burst into tears almost immediately upon entering her office. How embarrasing. The Boy didn't want us to talk about any of the problems he's having, so The Husband took him to the lobby while I made my confession. "Forgive me Father, for I have a wacky-doodle son. Last week, he saw an ad for Shriner's hospital, and the sick children scared him so badly that he's been belly-crawling across the living room for a week. Sunday, a toddler tried to touch him, and he freaked out so that I had to bodily protect the toddler. He won't touch library books because he's afraid he'll get the thoughts of the myriad children that have touched the book in the past." The full confession was limited to a half-hour, but it's amazing how much ground a mom can cover in that amount of time. Anyway, she agreed that he's either OCD (insisting that old things, library books, and toddlers can make his brain change the way it thinks) or he's simply overly anxious all the time. Either way, we're trying sertraline (one of the prozacs) that should help with either of those. Time will tell.
Anyway, back to the blog title, I was checking out and chatting with the receptionist. We talked about how kids seem to be getting wackier every year. We talked about how I'm able enough to teach my kids at home, how it seems to be working so well (especially for The Girl), and how The Husband makes enough money that I was able to quit my job and homeschool, and she says to me, "So many blessings..."
I was floored. I left the building with the thought echoing in my grateful brain. So many blessings...
Anyway, back to the blog title, I was checking out and chatting with the receptionist. We talked about how kids seem to be getting wackier every year. We talked about how I'm able enough to teach my kids at home, how it seems to be working so well (especially for The Girl), and how The Husband makes enough money that I was able to quit my job and homeschool, and she says to me, "So many blessings..."
I was floored. I left the building with the thought echoing in my grateful brain. So many blessings...
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Homeschool Group review and the latest buzz on shrinks
Well, I suppose I should write about the homeschooling group. It just didn't jazz me. They're setting up co-ops and field trips. They're setting up mom's night out at Friendly's. (What, no liquor?!) They're setting up regular meetings. But my kids can't go to co-op and they're probably not going on field trips. The next two regular meetings are "service meetings", and we'll be packing care packages for The Troops. Oye. To top it off, they lean heavily toward fundamentalist Christianity. As a Christian, I'm not supposed to be nervous about that, but I'm Episcopalian, and frankly, a lot of them don't really think I'm Christian enough. Whatever that means. (If you give a cup of water to the least of these, you have given it to me. Even if they're gay.)
Anyway, we're hanging in here. The Husband's allergies are so bad this Fall that he's just curled up in the fetal position, hoping to die. Not that sinuses ever killed anyone -- it just feels like it's going to. I've stopped talking to him. Mostly because he told me to.
The big deal here right now is that we're headed to the psychiatrist on Thursday morning with The Boy. (His anxiety levels are out of control, and I think that's what's keeping him out of the public schools more than the ADD. It's just that the psycologists always says aspergers and ADD.) I'm not sure I'm up to this. I hate crying in public, and it's just not an EIP until The Mom cries. I just feel so helpless when I go to people like this. Then I start feeling pitiful, and pitiful leads to inadequate. And inadequate leads to sorrow for my son. Then I start thinking about what will happen to them when they're adults, and then I cry. Start to finish, 10 minutes. Shorter if the person is nice to me. I HATE that. I spent years working out in the "real world" and was a highly respected professional in my field, and just see what my kids reduce me to. Oye.
You may wonder where "oye" comes from, when I'm a nice waspy suburban mom. College. I went to college with many nice Jewish kids, and came away with an appreciation for yiddish and the power of the Jewish grandma. My all time favorite Bubbe expression is, "How nice for you." It is used when someone starts shamelessly bragging, and it means something like, "Oh shut up. No one cares." I think it's related to, "On you, it looks good," which means, "I think it's hideous, but you go right ahead and wear it."
One funny school note this week -- The Boy spent forever on his work on Monday, dorking around so long that I literally finished school at 4:30. This morning, I threatened him with another 8 hour school day. He shaped up right quick! Yay!!!
Then both of them spent the rest of the day trashing the house whenever I wasn't looking. What is it with kids?! Foaming hand soap all over the bathroom counters, the band-aid box dumped all over the hallway floor, dishes everywhere, pajamas in the dining room, stupid destructive acts all afternoon. I was right happy to put them to bed tonight. It was a relief.
I'm hoping the psychiatrist can put The Boy on something that will get him over the fear of the copper Sun decoration on the neighbor's house, so we can run The Boy around the block several times a day. Maybe that'll help.
I remember when I had a life, and this doesn't feel like a life right now -- hostile husband, destructive, needy, ungrateful children. I get one Saturday morning a month off to visit with the food coop people, whom I adore. (We humor each other's wackyness without judging. I love those people.) These doctor's appointments always make me really edgy for days ahead of time. I start joking about whether the doctor will give the anti-anxiety meds to me or The Boy. After Thursday's appointment, I'll calm down again. I promise. I just need to get through tomorrow without snapping at the poor things. I'm all set for school, if I can only come up with a Mesopotamian activity for The Girl. Oye.
Anyway, we're hanging in here. The Husband's allergies are so bad this Fall that he's just curled up in the fetal position, hoping to die. Not that sinuses ever killed anyone -- it just feels like it's going to. I've stopped talking to him. Mostly because he told me to.
The big deal here right now is that we're headed to the psychiatrist on Thursday morning with The Boy. (His anxiety levels are out of control, and I think that's what's keeping him out of the public schools more than the ADD. It's just that the psycologists always says aspergers and ADD.) I'm not sure I'm up to this. I hate crying in public, and it's just not an EIP until The Mom cries. I just feel so helpless when I go to people like this. Then I start feeling pitiful, and pitiful leads to inadequate. And inadequate leads to sorrow for my son. Then I start thinking about what will happen to them when they're adults, and then I cry. Start to finish, 10 minutes. Shorter if the person is nice to me. I HATE that. I spent years working out in the "real world" and was a highly respected professional in my field, and just see what my kids reduce me to. Oye.
You may wonder where "oye" comes from, when I'm a nice waspy suburban mom. College. I went to college with many nice Jewish kids, and came away with an appreciation for yiddish and the power of the Jewish grandma. My all time favorite Bubbe expression is, "How nice for you." It is used when someone starts shamelessly bragging, and it means something like, "Oh shut up. No one cares." I think it's related to, "On you, it looks good," which means, "I think it's hideous, but you go right ahead and wear it."
One funny school note this week -- The Boy spent forever on his work on Monday, dorking around so long that I literally finished school at 4:30. This morning, I threatened him with another 8 hour school day. He shaped up right quick! Yay!!!
Then both of them spent the rest of the day trashing the house whenever I wasn't looking. What is it with kids?! Foaming hand soap all over the bathroom counters, the band-aid box dumped all over the hallway floor, dishes everywhere, pajamas in the dining room, stupid destructive acts all afternoon. I was right happy to put them to bed tonight. It was a relief.
I'm hoping the psychiatrist can put The Boy on something that will get him over the fear of the copper Sun decoration on the neighbor's house, so we can run The Boy around the block several times a day. Maybe that'll help.
I remember when I had a life, and this doesn't feel like a life right now -- hostile husband, destructive, needy, ungrateful children. I get one Saturday morning a month off to visit with the food coop people, whom I adore. (We humor each other's wackyness without judging. I love those people.) These doctor's appointments always make me really edgy for days ahead of time. I start joking about whether the doctor will give the anti-anxiety meds to me or The Boy. After Thursday's appointment, I'll calm down again. I promise. I just need to get through tomorrow without snapping at the poor things. I'm all set for school, if I can only come up with a Mesopotamian activity for The Girl. Oye.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
So. That homeschool thing. What's up with that?
Haven't written lately on my big homeschool thing. Since this is my first year, I'm taking a while to settle in, but it's starting to even out. People keep telling me how stressful this must be for me, but I gotta say, it's a whole lot less stressful than sending them to public schools! After having taught them for six weeks, I can honestly not imagine any other way to educate my kids.
We have our routine pretty well established. Up in time for an hour of PBS Kids. Breakfast, pencil sharpening, and ready to start by about 8:15. Handwriting, spelling, then journal. Arithmetic, then snack. Science, then lunch. (I have to do a LOT of one-on-one, so this takes longer than I reasonably think it should.) After lunch, it's history and reading.
Sometimes, I find the best way to present science or history to The Girl is to simply curl up in the recliner and read it with her. It means that science and history take twice as long as it should, since The Boy likes to do it standing up, but it works.
My one fight is the television. In summer, they got used to watching a lot of PBS kids, sometimes for noise, sometimes to watch, but always on. (Hey, it wasn't only on my shift either!) So, if we finish up Science early, we'll catch Word World at 11:30, and we might catch Big, Big World at 2:00. But then the thing gets turned off until closer to the arsenic hour, when I need all the help I can get to cook dinner without hurting anyone.
On the advice of the Suburban Correspondent, I invested in some A Beka for the basics, such as spelling and arithmetic. The Boy is doing grade 4 spelling and grade 3 arithmetic. The Girl is doing grade 3 spelling and grade 2 arithmetic. It's working out pretty well. I'm adding in extra materials for clocks, roman numerals, etc., and I've done some really fun hands-on for measurement. I'm also using Addition the Fun Way for The Girl, and she's through the 5's already!
Their handwriting is atrocious, but improving. I'm still doing Handwriting without Tears "Printing Power" with both of them. (I love, LOVE, LOVE their double-line paper!) The Boy is almost finished with it and ready to move on to Zaner-Bloser second-grade cursive next. I know he worked through most of it last year in school, but I can't see how! He just now learned to hold the pencil correctly and "bounce" the r, n, and m. He resisted the change for quite a while, but he's starting to see that making the letters correctly is both neater and faster. The Girl will require another pass through Handwriting without Tears. She's just all over the map! My latest ploy -- instead of saying "bump the lines", I say "kiss the lines!" She likes it better, but she still runs all over the lines anyway.
Let's see... Oh and some journal writing. Nothing profound yet, just getting them used to not hating it. ;) What I'm loving is the journal I found at Office Depot with the Zaner-Bloser lines on the lower half of the page!
We're just working our way through the McGraw-Hill 3rd grade Science book for now. They cover "Living Things" first, so I have a "let's go visit Auntie in the mountains to see the colored leaves" field trip planned. Heh, heh, heh. I love this job!
Our state standards have the kids hitting all major ancient civilizations in five months. Hmm. I think maybe not. I'm doing my best to help them tell the difference between Mesopotamia and Narnia, and we'll see what happens. I tried quite a few nice books on ancient civilizations, but most are geared for 5th grade or so, when kids develop a better sense of time and history. We've done quite a bit of time-lining, so I think they understand "a long, long time ago". For now, we're using those resources, plus the Encyclopedia of Ancient History, Stone Age Boy and History Pockets for the Ancient World. (That second one is The Girl's favorite book right now. I know WAY too much about the Stone Age.) The Boy has developed a phobia of mummies, so Egypt has been replaced with Mesopotamia for now. He particularly likes the "You wouldn't want..." series of history books! There's plenty of material to work with -- Sumerian slaves, Assyrian soldiers, etc.
Let's see, that's handwriting, spelling, journals, arithmetic, science, history. That leaves reading. We're just reading for now. Actually, I'm reading to them. I started out reading Elmer and the Dragon, which they both enjoyed, but The Girl tended to ignore sometimes. I separated them, and now The Boy is reading some Series of Unfortunate Events and Goosebumps, while The Girl is reading advanced picture books. I try to work in as much non-fiction as I can for her, just to get in a little more science and history!
Notice what I've left out? Yup. The deadly reading comprehension. *sigh* The Boy is very resistant to answering questions on what will happen next, what the characters are thinking, what the author is trying to tell us, etc. He absolutely hates it. And the Girl just looks blankly at me. So for now, we're letting it go. We stop and talk about what's going on in the book and what might happen next. I pause to preach the author's message. I admire the nuances of the text and use of vivid language. I gasp in horror when The Blob that Ate Everyone, well, tries to eat everyone. We have plenty of time to get around to the misery-making later in the school year. I know I should shove an "author's intent" worksheet at them every now and then, but I just don't have the heart. Maybe second semester.
So, that's what's shaking. I find the best resource I have is my HP Officejet printer/copier/fax. I can't imagine living without it! I know I'm supposed to buy six copies of Handwriting Without Tears Printing Power, but give me a break -- two copies are enough for my budget! The History Pockets just assume I have a copier. Now, I just need a cheap source for ink.
Oh, and I decided not to join the homeschool support group. It's a long story, but I don't think we'll go to any of the events, I don't particularly agree with their religion or politics. But I do need someone to show me a third grade portfolio pretty soon. Hmm. Must do more digging.
We have our routine pretty well established. Up in time for an hour of PBS Kids. Breakfast, pencil sharpening, and ready to start by about 8:15. Handwriting, spelling, then journal. Arithmetic, then snack. Science, then lunch. (I have to do a LOT of one-on-one, so this takes longer than I reasonably think it should.) After lunch, it's history and reading.
Sometimes, I find the best way to present science or history to The Girl is to simply curl up in the recliner and read it with her. It means that science and history take twice as long as it should, since The Boy likes to do it standing up, but it works.
My one fight is the television. In summer, they got used to watching a lot of PBS kids, sometimes for noise, sometimes to watch, but always on. (Hey, it wasn't only on my shift either!) So, if we finish up Science early, we'll catch Word World at 11:30, and we might catch Big, Big World at 2:00. But then the thing gets turned off until closer to the arsenic hour, when I need all the help I can get to cook dinner without hurting anyone.
On the advice of the Suburban Correspondent, I invested in some A Beka for the basics, such as spelling and arithmetic. The Boy is doing grade 4 spelling and grade 3 arithmetic. The Girl is doing grade 3 spelling and grade 2 arithmetic. It's working out pretty well. I'm adding in extra materials for clocks, roman numerals, etc., and I've done some really fun hands-on for measurement. I'm also using Addition the Fun Way for The Girl, and she's through the 5's already!
Their handwriting is atrocious, but improving. I'm still doing Handwriting without Tears "Printing Power" with both of them. (I love, LOVE, LOVE their double-line paper!) The Boy is almost finished with it and ready to move on to Zaner-Bloser second-grade cursive next. I know he worked through most of it last year in school, but I can't see how! He just now learned to hold the pencil correctly and "bounce" the r, n, and m. He resisted the change for quite a while, but he's starting to see that making the letters correctly is both neater and faster. The Girl will require another pass through Handwriting without Tears. She's just all over the map! My latest ploy -- instead of saying "bump the lines", I say "kiss the lines!" She likes it better, but she still runs all over the lines anyway.
Let's see... Oh and some journal writing. Nothing profound yet, just getting them used to not hating it. ;) What I'm loving is the journal I found at Office Depot with the Zaner-Bloser lines on the lower half of the page!
We're just working our way through the McGraw-Hill 3rd grade Science book for now. They cover "Living Things" first, so I have a "let's go visit Auntie in the mountains to see the colored leaves" field trip planned. Heh, heh, heh. I love this job!
Our state standards have the kids hitting all major ancient civilizations in five months. Hmm. I think maybe not. I'm doing my best to help them tell the difference between Mesopotamia and Narnia, and we'll see what happens. I tried quite a few nice books on ancient civilizations, but most are geared for 5th grade or so, when kids develop a better sense of time and history. We've done quite a bit of time-lining, so I think they understand "a long, long time ago". For now, we're using those resources, plus the Encyclopedia of Ancient History, Stone Age Boy and History Pockets for the Ancient World. (That second one is The Girl's favorite book right now. I know WAY too much about the Stone Age.) The Boy has developed a phobia of mummies, so Egypt has been replaced with Mesopotamia for now. He particularly likes the "You wouldn't want..." series of history books! There's plenty of material to work with -- Sumerian slaves, Assyrian soldiers, etc.
Let's see, that's handwriting, spelling, journals, arithmetic, science, history. That leaves reading. We're just reading for now. Actually, I'm reading to them. I started out reading Elmer and the Dragon, which they both enjoyed, but The Girl tended to ignore sometimes. I separated them, and now The Boy is reading some Series of Unfortunate Events and Goosebumps, while The Girl is reading advanced picture books. I try to work in as much non-fiction as I can for her, just to get in a little more science and history!
Notice what I've left out? Yup. The deadly reading comprehension. *sigh* The Boy is very resistant to answering questions on what will happen next, what the characters are thinking, what the author is trying to tell us, etc. He absolutely hates it. And the Girl just looks blankly at me. So for now, we're letting it go. We stop and talk about what's going on in the book and what might happen next. I pause to preach the author's message. I admire the nuances of the text and use of vivid language. I gasp in horror when The Blob that Ate Everyone, well, tries to eat everyone. We have plenty of time to get around to the misery-making later in the school year. I know I should shove an "author's intent" worksheet at them every now and then, but I just don't have the heart. Maybe second semester.
So, that's what's shaking. I find the best resource I have is my HP Officejet printer/copier/fax. I can't imagine living without it! I know I'm supposed to buy six copies of Handwriting Without Tears Printing Power, but give me a break -- two copies are enough for my budget! The History Pockets just assume I have a copier. Now, I just need a cheap source for ink.
Oh, and I decided not to join the homeschool support group. It's a long story, but I don't think we'll go to any of the events, I don't particularly agree with their religion or politics. But I do need someone to show me a third grade portfolio pretty soon. Hmm. Must do more digging.
Vindication! (It's the small things...)
I found someone who could articulately say what I was rambling about yesterday -- from David Leonhardt of the New York Times, no less! It's HERE! Basically, it's this:
In 1929, Meyer Mishkin owned a shop in New York that sold silk shirts to workingmen. When the stock market crashed that October, he turned to his son, then a student at City College, and offered a version of this sentiment: It serves those rich scoundrels right.
A year later, as Wall Street’s problems were starting to spill into the broader economy, Mr. Mishkin’s store went out of business. He no longer had enough customers. His son had to go to work to support the family, and Mr. Mishkin never held a steady job again.
Frederic Mishkin — Meyer’s grandson and, until he stepped down a month ago, an ally of Ben Bernanke’s on the Federal Reserve Board — told me this story the other day, and its moral is obvious enough. Many people in Washington fear that the country is starting to spiral into a terrible downturn. And to their horror, they see the public, and many members of Congress, turning into modern-day Meyer Mishkins, more interested in punishing Wall Street than saving the economy.
Damn. I'm good... ;) Looks like the grownups have passed the bill tonight, and we'll see what happens when the House gets back from their holiday.
In 1929, Meyer Mishkin owned a shop in New York that sold silk shirts to workingmen. When the stock market crashed that October, he turned to his son, then a student at City College, and offered a version of this sentiment: It serves those rich scoundrels right.
A year later, as Wall Street’s problems were starting to spill into the broader economy, Mr. Mishkin’s store went out of business. He no longer had enough customers. His son had to go to work to support the family, and Mr. Mishkin never held a steady job again.
Frederic Mishkin — Meyer’s grandson and, until he stepped down a month ago, an ally of Ben Bernanke’s on the Federal Reserve Board — told me this story the other day, and its moral is obvious enough. Many people in Washington fear that the country is starting to spiral into a terrible downturn. And to their horror, they see the public, and many members of Congress, turning into modern-day Meyer Mishkins, more interested in punishing Wall Street than saving the economy.
Damn. I'm good... ;) Looks like the grownups have passed the bill tonight, and we'll see what happens when the House gets back from their holiday.
Monday, September 29, 2008
The Wall Street "rescue" and our economy of credit
So, by now I feel obliged to spew a little venom on this financial crisis. First of all, I'm reminded of an old adage from my "working" days: lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine. Tragically, and as nice as it sounds, it never played for me at work either. So, it is my emergency, whether I like it or not. Someone higher up screwed up, and I can't just say "No, I won't help," and make it go away.
C'mon! No one wants to "rescue" Wall Street. Those idiots trashed our economy, took the money, and ran. There's a hot, sticky place in Hell for people who do that sort of thing, whether it's illegal or not. (Maybe something with vinyl car seats?) But like it or not, we have to clean up after them.
So, give the government control of the firm, and when the market (eventually) rebounds, let We the People get some of the profit from it. Or something like that. Don't just give the idiots more money. And don't give it without some oversight. 'Cause let's admit it -- we're not out of the economic woods yet, and there's going to be a steady stream of companies tanking. We need a vehicle in place to handle these events in the future, but we need some congressional control. That's what this is all about.
See, I thought that the congress had ironed out these details and were going to vote on it today. But no, it seems that our illustrious representatives are split pretty much on political lines: those in a close race for re-election voted "no", and those secure in their jobs voted "yes". So, the economy is going deeper in to the dumper because representatives are pandering to their electorate and refusing to be grownups and approve this repugnant but necessary plan.
What the average American doesn't realize just yet is that this economy doesn't run on Dunkin', it runs on credit. And apparently, it's not just the big guys. Turns out that there's a small-business equivalent of "Can I borrow a $20 until payday?" It's, "Can I borrow a little to cover payroll until I can cash the check my client just sent me?" And it also turns out, it's pretty common practice. Unfortunately, until these bozos in congress can agree on terms, some people are simply not being paid. I'm betting those people could help congress figure something out...
So get off your butts you idiots! Take the Yom Kippur break to reflect on your sins. Return renewed, emboldened, and ready to do your jobs.
C'mon! No one wants to "rescue" Wall Street. Those idiots trashed our economy, took the money, and ran. There's a hot, sticky place in Hell for people who do that sort of thing, whether it's illegal or not. (Maybe something with vinyl car seats?) But like it or not, we have to clean up after them.
So, give the government control of the firm, and when the market (eventually) rebounds, let We the People get some of the profit from it. Or something like that. Don't just give the idiots more money. And don't give it without some oversight. 'Cause let's admit it -- we're not out of the economic woods yet, and there's going to be a steady stream of companies tanking. We need a vehicle in place to handle these events in the future, but we need some congressional control. That's what this is all about.
See, I thought that the congress had ironed out these details and were going to vote on it today. But no, it seems that our illustrious representatives are split pretty much on political lines: those in a close race for re-election voted "no", and those secure in their jobs voted "yes". So, the economy is going deeper in to the dumper because representatives are pandering to their electorate and refusing to be grownups and approve this repugnant but necessary plan.
What the average American doesn't realize just yet is that this economy doesn't run on Dunkin', it runs on credit. And apparently, it's not just the big guys. Turns out that there's a small-business equivalent of "Can I borrow a $20 until payday?" It's, "Can I borrow a little to cover payroll until I can cash the check my client just sent me?" And it also turns out, it's pretty common practice. Unfortunately, until these bozos in congress can agree on terms, some people are simply not being paid. I'm betting those people could help congress figure something out...
So get off your butts you idiots! Take the Yom Kippur break to reflect on your sins. Return renewed, emboldened, and ready to do your jobs.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
The Plague and its aftermath
Well, it's been a few weeks, hasn't it? We've taken a serious hit in the last three weeks, as the plague has passed through the family. The Husband started three weeks ago with a cold that just kept getting worse. For two straight weeks. The Boy fell next, puking at 12:30 am with a fever of 102. Then I came down with a mider version of it. The Girl has just been lurking around the house for a week, sniffling and complaining that her nose is "leaking".
Now, for most families, this wouldn't be so bad, but our family operates as The Team. I'm in charge of bringing food home, packing it away, and cooking it. The Husband is in charge of cleaning up afterward. I can clean and put clutter away, but it doesn't really look good until he tidies it. And he does all the laundry. (Apparently, there's a system, so I only screw it up when I try to help.) When a child pukes in the middle of the night, I'm in charge of cleaning the child, and he's in charge of cleaning the bed. In under 4 minutes, the kid is clean and back in a clean bed. We're a machine. It's a product of having twins. Pure self-defense.
The Team is golden until someone gets sick, and then we each get a refresher course on what the other one does. I always lock up the house at bed time. He always throws out yesterday's paper. I always make more granola. He always makes the coffee in the morning. Ahhh. Life is good. My man makes the coffee...
Now, for most families, this wouldn't be so bad, but our family operates as The Team. I'm in charge of bringing food home, packing it away, and cooking it. The Husband is in charge of cleaning up afterward. I can clean and put clutter away, but it doesn't really look good until he tidies it. And he does all the laundry. (Apparently, there's a system, so I only screw it up when I try to help.) When a child pukes in the middle of the night, I'm in charge of cleaning the child, and he's in charge of cleaning the bed. In under 4 minutes, the kid is clean and back in a clean bed. We're a machine. It's a product of having twins. Pure self-defense.
The Team is golden until someone gets sick, and then we each get a refresher course on what the other one does. I always lock up the house at bed time. He always throws out yesterday's paper. I always make more granola. He always makes the coffee in the morning. Ahhh. Life is good. My man makes the coffee...
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Homeschool support group (or something like it)
Oye. Went to the homeschool "support" group. Yeah. Now I have curriculum insecurity again.
And don't tell me that homeschooled kids aren't weird, because they are. (Sorry, folks!) All of the seriously homeschooled kids that I have met so far seem to have the same quirky, intelligent, semi-sedated look on their faces. They expect to be treated like adults. Heck, they even seem to think like adults. Even when they're goofing around, they just aren't petty or immature enough in their behavior to pass for public school kids. The real question is, "Which version of 'child' is the correct one?"
And my poor brain keeps asking me, "How do I get one of those?!"
And don't tell me that homeschooled kids aren't weird, because they are. (Sorry, folks!) All of the seriously homeschooled kids that I have met so far seem to have the same quirky, intelligent, semi-sedated look on their faces. They expect to be treated like adults. Heck, they even seem to think like adults. Even when they're goofing around, they just aren't petty or immature enough in their behavior to pass for public school kids. The real question is, "Which version of 'child' is the correct one?"
And my poor brain keeps asking me, "How do I get one of those?!"
Fall, wherever it may find itself...
Well, it's mid-September, and I'm guessing that somewhere Up North, it's getting on toward fall. I've seen (and discarded) the L.L. Bean catalogues -- I know it's out there somewhere. Unfortunately for us, Down South, it's going to be hellishly hot for another month. Then it'll only be hot until Thanksgiving. Fortunately for us, my sister just moved to the mountains, and we have reservations at Chez Soeur for a week in mid-October. I figured it was about time for the kids' tree-and-leaf unit. Plus, she really needs the incentive to unpack. She's my sister. I would know.
The homeschool schedule is starting to even out a little. We do a little handwriting, spelling, and writing first, then we get something to nibble on. Then we do either science ("Living Things") or history (ancient cultures). After a serious snack, we go on to arithmetic (clocks, place value, and a lot of A Beka). A little TV and lunch follow, with time off for good behavior. Then we're back to reading and writing by mid-afternoon.
It was starting to feel like it's taking twice as long as it should -- until I remembered the credo of the twin mom: Everything takes twice as long. Duh. I'm teaching two completely different homeschool classes. The only thing we share (sometimes) is science and maybe history. We overlap a little on spelling, handwriting, and journal writing, but the rest is at totally different levels. Which would be okay if one of them would work independently, but (as you'll recall) I have ADD boy and autistic girl. *sigh* It's almost time to get them up and moving again...
Tonight is the meeting at the Baptist church for the local F.A.I.T.H. homeschool group. I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm keeping my mouth shut this time. Oh, okay. I'm going to try to keep my mouth shut. Experience has shown that when I'm nervous, I talk too much. (No. Really?) I may drop by after I pick up the Food Coop order. Not sure. Not sure I want to go...
The homeschool schedule is starting to even out a little. We do a little handwriting, spelling, and writing first, then we get something to nibble on. Then we do either science ("Living Things") or history (ancient cultures). After a serious snack, we go on to arithmetic (clocks, place value, and a lot of A Beka). A little TV and lunch follow, with time off for good behavior. Then we're back to reading and writing by mid-afternoon.
It was starting to feel like it's taking twice as long as it should -- until I remembered the credo of the twin mom: Everything takes twice as long. Duh. I'm teaching two completely different homeschool classes. The only thing we share (sometimes) is science and maybe history. We overlap a little on spelling, handwriting, and journal writing, but the rest is at totally different levels. Which would be okay if one of them would work independently, but (as you'll recall) I have ADD boy and autistic girl. *sigh* It's almost time to get them up and moving again...
Tonight is the meeting at the Baptist church for the local F.A.I.T.H. homeschool group. I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm keeping my mouth shut this time. Oh, okay. I'm going to try to keep my mouth shut. Experience has shown that when I'm nervous, I talk too much. (No. Really?) I may drop by after I pick up the Food Coop order. Not sure. Not sure I want to go...
Friday, September 12, 2008
On a lighter note, sort of...
I'm starting to suspect that there are rifts in the homeschool community, and that they're not pretty. I may be paranoid, but I'm already getting "don't contaminate our quality learning environment with your weirdos" vibes already. Is it me, or are there several distinct classes of homeschoolers? I can count only four:
1. those who are trying to produce the next Secretary of State
2. those who are trying to keep their children free from the taint of society's intellectual tyrrany
3. those who are trying to cloister their children from the influence of The Sinful World
4. those whom whom the public schools have failed and have chosen homeschooling as their salvation and refuge
Is it me, or does the first group tend to hold the rest of us in suspicion and mild distain?
1. those who are trying to produce the next Secretary of State
2. those who are trying to keep their children free from the taint of society's intellectual tyrrany
3. those who are trying to cloister their children from the influence of The Sinful World
4. those whom whom the public schools have failed and have chosen homeschooling as their salvation and refuge
Is it me, or does the first group tend to hold the rest of us in suspicion and mild distain?
9-11
We lived within a two-hour drive of NYC on 9-11. It was a gorgeous day for mid-September -- a bit too cool for a fleece jacket, bright blue sky, brisk wind. I was dressing the kids, almost two years old by then, for walk in the stroller when I got the phone call from my husband. He had been watching the smoking wreck of the first tower on TV, and while he had me on the phone, the second tower was hit. The kids and I went walking anyway, praying mightily for a people who hated us enough to kill us all.
The Thursday after, I went to a service at the Episcopal church and sang with strangers:
"God bless our native land,
firm may she ever stand,
through storm and might.
When the wild tempest raves,
ruler of wind and wave,
do thou our country save
by thy great might."
I'll never sing that song again without crying.
The Thursday after, I went to a service at the Episcopal church and sang with strangers:
"God bless our native land,
firm may she ever stand,
through storm and might.
When the wild tempest raves,
ruler of wind and wave,
do thou our country save
by thy great might."
I'll never sing that song again without crying.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Homeschool PE and other stuff
Well, I met my first group of local homeschool moms today. No one prepared me for how reserved they are. It was like a convention of librarians at the YMCA Homeschool PE class today. Tragically, that sort of environment always makes me more frenetic, and so now they all think I'm a wack-ster. They still invited me to the Official Group at the local Baptist church. Oh well.
The Boy participated in Homeschool PE and didn't hurt anyone. The Girl didn't participate, but the staff understood. The silver lining? I only have to pay for one kid. Yay, I guess.
In other "good" news, the pediatrician agrees with me -- she wants a psychiatrist to evaluate The Boy before he gets any anti-anxiety meds. That's, umm, good, right? *sigh*
The Boy participated in Homeschool PE and didn't hurt anyone. The Girl didn't participate, but the staff understood. The silver lining? I only have to pay for one kid. Yay, I guess.
In other "good" news, the pediatrician agrees with me -- she wants a psychiatrist to evaluate The Boy before he gets any anti-anxiety meds. That's, umm, good, right? *sigh*
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
the pediatrician and wild-and-happy kids
I'm taking The Boy to the pediatrician tomorrow to ask about his anxiety level. I think it's past anything he should have to endure. He's afraid of library books, little kids, anything old, and (for some reason) the middle of the tub. Somehow, he thinks they have some kind of germ-like contagion. (Last month, he saw an ad on TV for Shriner's Hospital, and he spent a week belly-crawling across the living room to avoid the sickness. He also wouldn't eat anything from the kitchen countertop that is behind that television.) On top of that, when he has to work with other kids, he gets so stressed that he starts hitting them when something goes wrong. Yikes. Some days are better than others, but I really have to do something about it. I'm not sure what I'm willing to do, but I'm hoping she can find me a good psychiatrist in the area.
The kids have been wild and happy today, and I'm exhausted. We didn't get enough done, so I'm frustrated, too. It seems like anything that doesn't get done before lunch just doesn't get done. And now, I'm going to miss two hours tomorrow for a doctor's appointment. Yayyyy...
The kids have been wild and happy today, and I'm exhausted. We didn't get enough done, so I'm frustrated, too. It seems like anything that doesn't get done before lunch just doesn't get done. And now, I'm going to miss two hours tomorrow for a doctor's appointment. Yayyyy...
Monday, September 8, 2008
household injuries and curriculum creep
I don't know what percentage of injuries happen in the home, but they seem to be happening to me more often lately. Last week, it was a stabbing pain from all the eye-rolling over the political conventions. Today it was neck pain. The Boy (who frankly doesn't need any more phobias) ran across a huge, tan palmetto bug this morning, which I was forced to kill all by myself. (For those of you from Up North, "palmetto bug" is a southern euphemism for "huge honkin' roach".) Apparently, The Husband saw it this morning, but couldn't catch it in time. Patrick and I "luckily" found it upside down, waving its spiny legs in the air. The recurring shudders of revulsion are actually giving me neck spasms...
The library's online system is down for another two weeks, and is wreaking havoc on my history curriculum. "You Wouldn't Want to be a Sumerian Slave" is supposedly at our library, but I can't find it, and we won't know for another few weeks when it's coming back. I finally decided to shell out the $10 to Amazon to get it on Wednesday. I hate that.
Curriculum creep has hit our home as well. I was putting together tools for handwriting/spelling and reading comprehension, and I just put too much on the list. The kids got antsy and grumpy on me this morning. They were already on edge about the dinosaur we found in the kitchen this morning. (Ouch, my neck again!) Anyway, it's back to the drawing board. I think the key to getting it all done is to get the nebulous, touchy-feely stuff done first. That means a little spelling/handwriting to start off, then science and history. Then math fits in neatly before lunch. After lunch, we can do reading. The only problem is that I just can't get up the steam to make them write answers to wh- questions on the reading. We're tired. I just want to read, and they just want to be read to. Worse things have happened.
I keep thinking I can combine some activities for the kids, but no. Patrick can draw shapes that look like letters, but they're not formed like letters, and will be impossible to convert into cursive letters. So, we have to start over with manuscript. My esnipe failed to get me a 4th grade A Beka spelling book for The Boy, so that's back to the drawing board. Oh well. Everyone needs a hobby. Right? ;)
The library's online system is down for another two weeks, and is wreaking havoc on my history curriculum. "You Wouldn't Want to be a Sumerian Slave" is supposedly at our library, but I can't find it, and we won't know for another few weeks when it's coming back. I finally decided to shell out the $10 to Amazon to get it on Wednesday. I hate that.
Curriculum creep has hit our home as well. I was putting together tools for handwriting/spelling and reading comprehension, and I just put too much on the list. The kids got antsy and grumpy on me this morning. They were already on edge about the dinosaur we found in the kitchen this morning. (Ouch, my neck again!) Anyway, it's back to the drawing board. I think the key to getting it all done is to get the nebulous, touchy-feely stuff done first. That means a little spelling/handwriting to start off, then science and history. Then math fits in neatly before lunch. After lunch, we can do reading. The only problem is that I just can't get up the steam to make them write answers to wh- questions on the reading. We're tired. I just want to read, and they just want to be read to. Worse things have happened.
I keep thinking I can combine some activities for the kids, but no. Patrick can draw shapes that look like letters, but they're not formed like letters, and will be impossible to convert into cursive letters. So, we have to start over with manuscript. My esnipe failed to get me a 4th grade A Beka spelling book for The Boy, so that's back to the drawing board. Oh well. Everyone needs a hobby. Right? ;)
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Leftovers and looking for bugs (not related thoughts!)
Suburban Correspondent is blogging about leftovers again today. Now that I'm the cafeteria lady at our (home) school, I find we're eating a lot of leftovers during the day. That helps. It also cuts down on my corn chip budget. "Hey! Who wants noodles for lunch?!" "ME! ME!" It's a far cry from last year when The Boy didn't eat from 7am until 7pm because of the ADD meds. I'm loving it.But speaking of leftovers, I did find the "when did we last have" hot dogs in a baggie. How do you tell when they've gone bad, when they don't smell good in the first place? ;)
This morning, I was supposed to prove that a bug is an "organism" because it "develops", "reproduces", and "responds to changes in its environment". Tragically, even this far south, I was hard pressed to find one! Imagine my surprise!! Ordinarily, I'd offer 50 cents to the first child who could bring me a non-stinging, non-flying bug, but no, as is typical for our house, there are no typical chidren here. I did get The Boy to come within three feet of the small, bulbous spider that I did find, but he wasn't happy about it. Hey, I'll take progress where I can find it. (Did you know that when you put a pencil, rock, or anything else in front of a small, bulbous spider, it will try to climb? Cooool. It's responding to changes in its environment!)
I'm still trying to understand the "work in the morning, play in the afternoon" concept of homeschool. I can't get all our work done by noon. Handwriting, vocabulary, reading comprehension, arithmetic, math, and science are enough for my morning. That doesn't account for extra reading, grammar, and history. Maybe it's because my kids need individual instruction, and they trade off their goofing-around time. Maybe it's because I don't skillfully-enough combine the history and reading comprehension. Who knows? Either way, the kids aren't up to going to the "science co-op" with the other homeschool kids anyway. Everyone keeps telling me I'm going to go crazy without a support group. I don't see it yet. Maybe in time, we'll get better about getting our work done and better about hanging with other people. Time will tell.
This morning, I was supposed to prove that a bug is an "organism" because it "develops", "reproduces", and "responds to changes in its environment". Tragically, even this far south, I was hard pressed to find one! Imagine my surprise!! Ordinarily, I'd offer 50 cents to the first child who could bring me a non-stinging, non-flying bug, but no, as is typical for our house, there are no typical chidren here. I did get The Boy to come within three feet of the small, bulbous spider that I did find, but he wasn't happy about it. Hey, I'll take progress where I can find it. (Did you know that when you put a pencil, rock, or anything else in front of a small, bulbous spider, it will try to climb? Cooool. It's responding to changes in its environment!)
I'm still trying to understand the "work in the morning, play in the afternoon" concept of homeschool. I can't get all our work done by noon. Handwriting, vocabulary, reading comprehension, arithmetic, math, and science are enough for my morning. That doesn't account for extra reading, grammar, and history. Maybe it's because my kids need individual instruction, and they trade off their goofing-around time. Maybe it's because I don't skillfully-enough combine the history and reading comprehension. Who knows? Either way, the kids aren't up to going to the "science co-op" with the other homeschool kids anyway. Everyone keeps telling me I'm going to go crazy without a support group. I don't see it yet. Maybe in time, we'll get better about getting our work done and better about hanging with other people. Time will tell.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
The Professional Mom and "fall"
The National Geographic Society, that bastion of well-documented scientific discovery, has offered me (ME!) the "Preferred Professional Rate" on an annual subscription. I wonder how they found out I was a professional?! Who knew homeschooling had such global recognition... ;)
You may remember the cold winter days Up North, when you poke your nose out the door, sniff once, your nose hairs freeze, and someone screams, "For God's sake, close the f-ing door!" That's happening here, only it's September and it's too hot to breathe. Ah, Florida in September -- hell on Earth, only made worse by hurricanes, flooding, and the first cool breath of Fall that you know is blowing somewhere Up North. Down here, you poke your head out the door, a blast of hot air hits you like a wet towel, the sun fries the top of your head, and someone screams, "For God's sake, close the f-ing door!"
The Boy asked me if it's "fall" yet. I just didn't know what to say, except, "For God's sake..."
You may remember the cold winter days Up North, when you poke your nose out the door, sniff once, your nose hairs freeze, and someone screams, "For God's sake, close the f-ing door!" That's happening here, only it's September and it's too hot to breathe. Ah, Florida in September -- hell on Earth, only made worse by hurricanes, flooding, and the first cool breath of Fall that you know is blowing somewhere Up North. Down here, you poke your head out the door, a blast of hot air hits you like a wet towel, the sun fries the top of your head, and someone screams, "For God's sake, close the f-ing door!"
The Boy asked me if it's "fall" yet. I just didn't know what to say, except, "For God's sake..."
Stone Age Mom
Hey! Yesterday we were doing cave painting. Check it out!
We're painting the animals that we want to get on our next hunt, then we're going to put our hand print to sign it, since we can't read or write. This is The Boy, and I think he's going to be hunting deer, salmon, and that thing in the lower right, which he tells me is a wooly rhinoceros.
We're painting the animals that we want to get on our next hunt, then we're going to put our hand print to sign it, since we can't read or write. This is The Boy, and I think he's going to be hunting deer, salmon, and that thing in the lower right, which he tells me is a wooly rhinoceros.
Apparently, The Girl likes eating mouse.
We only have wood, stone and animal parts for materials, and we only eat what we can find or chase down and kill. Later this week, we'll be getting into agriculture and clay pots. We're very progressive for stone age people. I imagine pretty soon we'll discover bronze. ;)
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Why are you working so hard?
People (often) ask me why I don't just fork over the bucks and buy a third-grade curruculum. I'll tell ya why. My kids are wackydoodles. Seriously, The Girl is autistic and way behind. The Boy is gifted but has trouble organizing his thoughts into words, meaning that his reading comprehension tests out at null. He can't tell time, but he understands "dimensionality". And neither of them can tie their shoes or ride a bike.
Starting to see why I pulled them out of the public schools? He was terrified of everything and hit people a lot. She had no aide in class and was learning nothing. Yeah. I'm a big believer in "No child of mine left behind," so I'm doing it myself. I'm SO happy with those education taxes I'm paying. NOT! Each of my kids could be getting a $10,500 scholarship to go to a private school, but there aren't any autism schools here.
One size does not fit all, particularly in this house. So, I quit my job to stay home and cut out little green squares and draw inchworms on them. "One inchworm, two inchworms, three inchworms -- three inches long. Write it down." I make increasingly long timelines, starting with units they understand (24 hours in a day -- breakfast, lunch, dinner) and ending with millennia (prehistoric, Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, etc.) Everything has to be physical, concrete, and manipulative. "The 3-bee flies in the 4-door, and Jeff takes her to the 7th street park. 3+4=7"
I try not to dwell on it -- all those nice normal kids out there, all those nice fun elementary classes, all those reading clubs, all those soccer teams -- it makes me a little crazy to think about it. Instead, I have fun with what I've got -- two really great kids! Sure, The Girl still tries to drink from puddles, and sure, The Boy still refuses to walk in front of the TV, but hey. Never a dull moment at our house... ;)
Starting to see why I pulled them out of the public schools? He was terrified of everything and hit people a lot. She had no aide in class and was learning nothing. Yeah. I'm a big believer in "No child of mine left behind," so I'm doing it myself. I'm SO happy with those education taxes I'm paying. NOT! Each of my kids could be getting a $10,500 scholarship to go to a private school, but there aren't any autism schools here.
One size does not fit all, particularly in this house. So, I quit my job to stay home and cut out little green squares and draw inchworms on them. "One inchworm, two inchworms, three inchworms -- three inches long. Write it down." I make increasingly long timelines, starting with units they understand (24 hours in a day -- breakfast, lunch, dinner) and ending with millennia (prehistoric, Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, etc.) Everything has to be physical, concrete, and manipulative. "The 3-bee flies in the 4-door, and Jeff takes her to the 7th street park. 3+4=7"
I try not to dwell on it -- all those nice normal kids out there, all those nice fun elementary classes, all those reading clubs, all those soccer teams -- it makes me a little crazy to think about it. Instead, I have fun with what I've got -- two really great kids! Sure, The Girl still tries to drink from puddles, and sure, The Boy still refuses to walk in front of the TV, but hey. Never a dull moment at our house... ;)
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
OMG! Clean up -- company's here!!
WOW! I feel famous now -- at least by my humble standards... Thanks Suburban Correspondent!
Well, school's been in for a week and a half. More correctly, the public schools were in on Monday of last week and then off for the four days of Tropical Storm Fay. I figured the school busses would make it from the bedroom to the dining room, and it'd be okay to have class. ;)
The kids' vapor-lock of the brain has let up a little. The Boy connected length/width/height with 1D, 2D, and 3D! He volunteered that the crack in the table is 1D (length), the table top is 2D (area), and the table itself is 3D (volume). He's fascinated that the cat can't see in 2D, only 3D. Woo-hoo-hoo!!!
We finished our timelines back past the Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians. I asked The Boy what happened to the left of the Egyptians, y'know, pre-history. His eyes lit up and he asked, "Like, 'prehistoric'"? Bing!!
You might wonder where The Girl fits in with all this. I work with her on a scaled-back version of what The Boy is doing. We measured length in "inchworms" and area in "square inchworms". She counted square centimeters, and measured centimeters of circumference. I'm not even trying volume with this one. We both feel smart, and I'm going with it. ;)
The Girl and I are still chipping away at timelines, and we've been reading about prehistory (GREAT BOOK: Stone Age Boy) and we'll connect it up with the far left of a timeline eventually. I'll probably have to block in all the VeggieTales stories before I'm finished. ;)
The Boy is past his review of addition, and The Girl is still working on adding her 3's. Slowly but surely, we WILL work through the Addition the Fun Way stories. Right now, we're on 3+8: The 3-bee fixes the 8-gate and gets an 11-popsicle as a reward.
I'm still trying to get organized. In a former life (three weeks ago!) I was a database analyst -- my job was to organize other people's data, give them a way to get their data into the database, and then give them reports to get the data back out. I have seven binders, and I'm still trying to find a way to keep the paper, HUGE PILES OF IT, in order. Is there no end to the paper...
Well, having finished up the coverage of the Democratic Convention, it's now time for me to go to bed before I start behaving like, well, y'know... ;) BTW, I saw a picture on The News Hour of four pants suits hung up on the stage of the convention -- Hillary's staff was color-testing her wardrobe against the set!! Of the four colors (light blue, royal blue, red and orange), I chose the same one she did!! Wa-hoo!
Well, school's been in for a week and a half. More correctly, the public schools were in on Monday of last week and then off for the four days of Tropical Storm Fay. I figured the school busses would make it from the bedroom to the dining room, and it'd be okay to have class. ;)
The kids' vapor-lock of the brain has let up a little. The Boy connected length/width/height with 1D, 2D, and 3D! He volunteered that the crack in the table is 1D (length), the table top is 2D (area), and the table itself is 3D (volume). He's fascinated that the cat can't see in 2D, only 3D. Woo-hoo-hoo!!!
We finished our timelines back past the Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians. I asked The Boy what happened to the left of the Egyptians, y'know, pre-history. His eyes lit up and he asked, "Like, 'prehistoric'"? Bing!!
You might wonder where The Girl fits in with all this. I work with her on a scaled-back version of what The Boy is doing. We measured length in "inchworms" and area in "square inchworms". She counted square centimeters, and measured centimeters of circumference. I'm not even trying volume with this one. We both feel smart, and I'm going with it. ;)
The Girl and I are still chipping away at timelines, and we've been reading about prehistory (GREAT BOOK: Stone Age Boy) and we'll connect it up with the far left of a timeline eventually. I'll probably have to block in all the VeggieTales stories before I'm finished. ;)
The Boy is past his review of addition, and The Girl is still working on adding her 3's. Slowly but surely, we WILL work through the Addition the Fun Way stories. Right now, we're on 3+8: The 3-bee fixes the 8-gate and gets an 11-popsicle as a reward.
I'm still trying to get organized. In a former life (three weeks ago!) I was a database analyst -- my job was to organize other people's data, give them a way to get their data into the database, and then give them reports to get the data back out. I have seven binders, and I'm still trying to find a way to keep the paper, HUGE PILES OF IT, in order. Is there no end to the paper...
Well, having finished up the coverage of the Democratic Convention, it's now time for me to go to bed before I start behaving like, well, y'know... ;) BTW, I saw a picture on The News Hour of four pants suits hung up on the stage of the convention -- Hillary's staff was color-testing her wardrobe against the set!! Of the four colors (light blue, royal blue, red and orange), I chose the same one she did!! Wa-hoo!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
8 year olds and prehistory -- plus a tropical storm!
Fun thing today -- I'm headed into teaching prehistory, so I'm now doing timelines. Monday, we did a timeline for a day. (I had to use the TV guide from the newspaper for The Girl.) Today, we did a timeline for a year, with all the holidays and our vacations. I'm hammering on earlier/later and past/future. I started on making a century timeline with The Boy, and told him that if I want to put the time Jesus was born, I have to extend it to the front lawn, and he asked me how far to the cave men! Wow! I thought the curiousity was gone! (I estimated from here to the airport!) That was fun. Hey, I take my victories where I can get them.
Other than that, I'm starting to get the urge to clean the house. I'm getting sick of seeing the mess. Hm. Bad sign. I've also been baking cookies. ;)
And the tropical storm is going to go off the coast, turn into a hurricane, and come back at us again. Or something like that. Can't wait...
Other than that, I'm starting to get the urge to clean the house. I'm getting sick of seeing the mess. Hm. Bad sign. I've also been baking cookies. ;)
And the tropical storm is going to go off the coast, turn into a hurricane, and come back at us again. Or something like that. Can't wait...
Monday, August 18, 2008
first day of school! first day of school!
Or something like that. Is is possible that kids get vapor-lock in their brains over the summer? They seem so, umm, stupid today. I read the following to The Boy: "Elmer Elevator flew into the evening air on the back of his baby dragon." I asked him, "Who is in the story?" No answer. No idea. No way. What are they doing? Same response. Heh? Look at the word next to the boy's name: flew. Heh? And he has forgotten all of his addition. *sigh* The Girl is going to need a separate curriculum. And a separate school. And they're still demanding to go to "PE" at my dad's pool. Ech. Not feeling the love.
Good things: everyone woke, dressed and showed up without complaining. The Boy cheerfully measured the items I asked him to, although he played dumb a lot. "If a yard is the length from the king's nose to his fingers, and you're smaller than the king, will you get the same size if you measure it on your own body?" Over and over. I think he finally got it. Can't wait to do area...
Oh yeah, good. Um. The school shirts turned out nice, except that the logo kind of migrates under their armpits. ;) Mine looks ridiculous. And also, they made so little progress that I have very little preparation to get ready for tomorrow...
Good things: everyone woke, dressed and showed up without complaining. The Boy cheerfully measured the items I asked him to, although he played dumb a lot. "If a yard is the length from the king's nose to his fingers, and you're smaller than the king, will you get the same size if you measure it on your own body?" Over and over. I think he finally got it. Can't wait to do area...
Oh yeah, good. Um. The school shirts turned out nice, except that the logo kind of migrates under their armpits. ;) Mine looks ridiculous. And also, they made so little progress that I have very little preparation to get ready for tomorrow...
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Parents' Night In (again) and Curruculum Envy
We're bailing on "parents' night out" tonight. I was sick of being there, sick of the gleam in the other parents' eyes, and sick of saying, "Girl, get back here. Stay with the kids." Sick!
My mom's going to babysit them Friday evening, so The Husband and I can go celebrate our new-found poverty. ;) Someone gave him $100 in Darden Restaurant cards for some presentation he did this summer, so we're off to -- what -- Olive Garden or something. I wonder how the daquiris are at Olive Garden...
Had my first fit of Curriculum Envy yesterday -- made the mistake of looking up a link my egg-head brother sent me -- http://www.greatbooks.org/programs-for-all-ages/junior/jgbseries/jgb2006.html Sheesh. Way make me feel like a total dufus. I was going to teach The Boy reading comprehension using Goosebumps books. *sigh* Turns out I should be using Nigerian folk tales instead...
My mom's going to babysit them Friday evening, so The Husband and I can go celebrate our new-found poverty. ;) Someone gave him $100 in Darden Restaurant cards for some presentation he did this summer, so we're off to -- what -- Olive Garden or something. I wonder how the daquiris are at Olive Garden...
Had my first fit of Curriculum Envy yesterday -- made the mistake of looking up a link my egg-head brother sent me -- http://www.greatbooks.org/programs-for-all-ages/junior/jgbseries/jgb2006.html Sheesh. Way make me feel like a total dufus. I was going to teach The Boy reading comprehension using Goosebumps books. *sigh* Turns out I should be using Nigerian folk tales instead...
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
math and other crazy ideas...
I started working in earnest on my math lesson plans, and am starting to realize that it takes a whole lot longer (in weeks) to teach measurement than I had thought. Not bad... As long as I can keep them busy, I'm good. (Quick -- what's the difference between volume and capacity? Why do we measure soda in ounces and not cubic inches?)
In other news, the kids have mini-vacation-bible-school this week. Basically, some crazy person is doing five days of "parents' night out" at church. Unfortunately, none of the people running it is as fast as The Girl, so there is no "out" for me, just "in". Meaning I get to go to vacation week at church with the kids. I asked my mom if she would go to vacation week with The Girl one day this week, and she said no, there wasn't enough money in the world. (To be fair, she did offer to sit her at home.) Maybe The Girl will settle down enough by Friday that The Husband and I can go out for a margerita on my LAST DAY OF WORK! We're working on our mantra with The Girl: "we stay with the kids". Wish me luck.
In other news, the kids have mini-vacation-bible-school this week. Basically, some crazy person is doing five days of "parents' night out" at church. Unfortunately, none of the people running it is as fast as The Girl, so there is no "out" for me, just "in". Meaning I get to go to vacation week at church with the kids. I asked my mom if she would go to vacation week with The Girl one day this week, and she said no, there wasn't enough money in the world. (To be fair, she did offer to sit her at home.) Maybe The Girl will settle down enough by Friday that The Husband and I can go out for a margerita on my LAST DAY OF WORK! We're working on our mantra with The Girl: "we stay with the kids". Wish me luck.
Monday, August 4, 2008
School Policies
My teacher friends are giving me advice -- on school lunches, fire drills, and not leaving students alone except between classes. I told them we'd be bringing our lunches from home, so the school lunch program wasn't much of an issue. We'll probably put off the fire drills until the weather's cool enough that it won't kill us. The only problem is that I'm not sure I WANT The Girl knowing how to open the windows. I'm sure The Boy would be only too glad to make the fire-drill noise for us...
I suppose I can skip filling out the emergency parental notification cards this year, along with the lunch numbers. What, The Boy is #1 and The Girl is #2. Lining up to go to PE could be interesting -- lining up to pee before putting on swim suits!
My mom is d-y-i-n-g to help, but can't figure out how to do it without getting in the way or, as she puts it, "actually getting her hands dirty". She doesn't want to come help us measure the backyard with yardsticks, but she would bring in lunch a few days a week. She's so cute!
I suppose I can skip filling out the emergency parental notification cards this year, along with the lunch numbers. What, The Boy is #1 and The Girl is #2. Lining up to go to PE could be interesting -- lining up to pee before putting on swim suits!
My mom is d-y-i-n-g to help, but can't figure out how to do it without getting in the way or, as she puts it, "actually getting her hands dirty". She doesn't want to come help us measure the backyard with yardsticks, but she would bring in lunch a few days a week. She's so cute!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Mom wants to know, "What exactly are you teaching?"
Mom offered to buy us some curriculum guides from Concordia Publishing -- the Missouri Synod Lutherans, I think. Here's what I told her:
I'm currently working from the Sunshine State Standard for 3rd (and 2nd) grade:
http://www.fldoe.org/bii/curriculum/sss/
I do have a couple of curruculum guides:
Making the Grade: Everything Your 3rd Grader Needs to Know http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764124781
Third Grade Success: Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Child Learn http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471468215
The first one is more of a curruculum book, and the second is a book of extra activities to support them. I was also heavily influenced by the following book to go ahead and do it as I see fit. (My kids are square pegs, so one size does NOT fit all for us.)
Homeschooling: Take A Deep Breath - You Can Do This! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0972807152
(All of these are available through the public library.)
I wasn't aware that there was a Christian way to do math. ;) I haven't checked out their social studies or science. Any book that says that the earth is less than 6000 years old gets burned in the front yard -- by my husband, if not by me. I have to be careful with history because at this age, anything more than 50 years ago is often viewed as akin to Narnia.
We'll probably follow the election a little, study mosquitoes, maybe continue our catapult work. I'm also planning some life skills -- tying shoes, riding bikes -- along with The Social Word of the Week (i.e. consideration, concern, politeness, cooperation, etc.) and the weather chart. I may also graph the groceries and/or electric bill, do a little comparison shopping in the Publix ads. Not exactly sure yet. We'll be mapping, measuring, weighing, maybe doing a little buoyancy. A lot of that stuff is in the "Making the Grade" book and the Sunshine State Standards.
I hadn't planned on teaching any historical bible, but if I could find a chronological study, it might be fun. (I never understood why the bible was assembled out of order!) The old testament is pretty gory and exciting, really. (Mayhem, gore, treachery, beheadings -- ooh! Vocabulary words!!) Speaking of vocabulary, I was planning to pick that up from their reading as we go along. Spelling's not really a problem for The Boy, and as The Girl proceeds, I'll be looking for words that she gets wrong.
Anyway, I think I'm set for curruculum for now, but I could panic and decide to pick up some more later. Until The Boy gets over his phobia of library books, I'll be picking up books from Amazon from time to time. (I own a "free shipping" membership, so it's no big deal, really.) I would still really like to have that Smithsonian Digital Microscope, for the mosquito unit and others. (You can capture pictures and embed them in your reports!) I haven't decided between World Book Encyclopedia and Encyclopedia Brittanica -- both are on CDROM for under $30. I've postponed the decision on the YMCA. Right now, I'm not sure what else I need, but I may submit a grant proposal later in the semester.
Anyway, that's what's going on. As soon as we pick out our mascot, I'll send you a JPG to put on our t-shirts! ;) I'm leaning toward squirrels -- because the kids make me nuts and taking them to the store is like herding squirrels. The Boy wants sea sponges ("We soak up knowledge") but I think it's mostly because he wants a SpongeBob t-shirt. I wonder how a mud skipper would work out...
I'm currently working from the Sunshine State Standard for 3rd (and 2nd) grade:
http://www.fldoe.org/bii/curriculum/sss/
I do have a couple of curruculum guides:
Making the Grade: Everything Your 3rd Grader Needs to Know http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764124781
Third Grade Success: Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Child Learn http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471468215
The first one is more of a curruculum book, and the second is a book of extra activities to support them. I was also heavily influenced by the following book to go ahead and do it as I see fit. (My kids are square pegs, so one size does NOT fit all for us.)
Homeschooling: Take A Deep Breath - You Can Do This! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0972807152
(All of these are available through the public library.)
I wasn't aware that there was a Christian way to do math. ;) I haven't checked out their social studies or science. Any book that says that the earth is less than 6000 years old gets burned in the front yard -- by my husband, if not by me. I have to be careful with history because at this age, anything more than 50 years ago is often viewed as akin to Narnia.
We'll probably follow the election a little, study mosquitoes, maybe continue our catapult work. I'm also planning some life skills -- tying shoes, riding bikes -- along with The Social Word of the Week (i.e. consideration, concern, politeness, cooperation, etc.) and the weather chart. I may also graph the groceries and/or electric bill, do a little comparison shopping in the Publix ads. Not exactly sure yet. We'll be mapping, measuring, weighing, maybe doing a little buoyancy. A lot of that stuff is in the "Making the Grade" book and the Sunshine State Standards.
I hadn't planned on teaching any historical bible, but if I could find a chronological study, it might be fun. (I never understood why the bible was assembled out of order!) The old testament is pretty gory and exciting, really. (Mayhem, gore, treachery, beheadings -- ooh! Vocabulary words!!) Speaking of vocabulary, I was planning to pick that up from their reading as we go along. Spelling's not really a problem for The Boy, and as The Girl proceeds, I'll be looking for words that she gets wrong.
Anyway, I think I'm set for curruculum for now, but I could panic and decide to pick up some more later. Until The Boy gets over his phobia of library books, I'll be picking up books from Amazon from time to time. (I own a "free shipping" membership, so it's no big deal, really.) I would still really like to have that Smithsonian Digital Microscope, for the mosquito unit and others. (You can capture pictures and embed them in your reports!) I haven't decided between World Book Encyclopedia and Encyclopedia Brittanica -- both are on CDROM for under $30. I've postponed the decision on the YMCA. Right now, I'm not sure what else I need, but I may submit a grant proposal later in the semester.
Anyway, that's what's going on. As soon as we pick out our mascot, I'll send you a JPG to put on our t-shirts! ;) I'm leaning toward squirrels -- because the kids make me nuts and taking them to the store is like herding squirrels. The Boy wants sea sponges ("We soak up knowledge") but I think it's mostly because he wants a SpongeBob t-shirt. I wonder how a mud skipper would work out...
Notice has been given...
Ta-dah!! Finally threw my hat in the ring. (See email below.) We'll be starting our school August 18, with the faculty returning the 11th. ;)
Nominations are still open for the school mascot. The Boy thinks sea sponge -- "We soak up knowledge." But I think that's just so he can get a t-shirt with SpongeBob on it. My personal favorite is the squirrel, as in "It's like herding squirrels!" or "They're driving me NUTS!"
From: Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 4:58
Subject: Sharon Barry
Regretfully for us, but good for her children, Sharon has decided to leave the university and homeschool her children. Her last day will be August 8th. Please stop by to wish her success!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Back to "work" (lol!)
Yeah, well at least I'm quitting work. SOON. My attitude is much better today. This morning before "work", I got to finish my new book case, fix the mini-trampoline cover, and get the hamburger into the freezer before it rots. (How it is possible for hamburger to rot in the fridge THAT fast?!) And I left the dishwasher full of dirty dishes for The Husband! I'm such a spitwad! ;)
Oh, and The Boy and I had a long talk about doing what he's told. Here's the premise. We stop at red lights because 1) it's the law and 2) it keeps us from getting hurt. We don't put tacks in our mouth because 1) Mom said so which makes it a rule and 2) it keeps us from getting hurt. There are always two reasons; the first is that it's the rule/law, and the second is either it keeps us safe, it doesn't belong to us, or it makes a mess. Sheesh! Don't chew on the nail file because Mom said so and it's not yours! Don't play with shredded cheese because Mom said so and it makes a mess! Don't hit that thing with a hammer because Mom said so, because you could hurt yourself, because it's not yours, and because it'll make a mess!!!! Go find something to play with!
The Boy had a terrible day at Multi-Media Mania Computer Camp yesterday, which is actually good. (Hear me out!) It was the usual over-tired plus overloaded, and he cried until they called The Husband to come get him. I told The Boy I felt his pain, and gee, wouldn't it be great to never go to school again? ;) "Remember how I said some families stay at home for school, and we're going to be one of them? You won't ever have to do that again until you're ready." I think he's buying it!
The down side was that I had to pick up his buddy at camp and keep him until 5:15 when his dad picked him up. By 6:00, his dad hadn't even called. We had just decided to go ahead and feed him dinner, when the dad called and said he's be another 20 minutes. No apology, no groveling, just "thanks for dinner". Heh? His wife had just left town with their other child for a tennis tournament in Nashville, but the dad is usually pretty good at being on time and being cool about this. Maybe I missed the part where if you say you're going to pick up your kid before dinner, you DO IT. Good thing we had enough. Weird...
Oh, and The Boy and I had a long talk about doing what he's told. Here's the premise. We stop at red lights because 1) it's the law and 2) it keeps us from getting hurt. We don't put tacks in our mouth because 1) Mom said so which makes it a rule and 2) it keeps us from getting hurt. There are always two reasons; the first is that it's the rule/law, and the second is either it keeps us safe, it doesn't belong to us, or it makes a mess. Sheesh! Don't chew on the nail file because Mom said so and it's not yours! Don't play with shredded cheese because Mom said so and it makes a mess! Don't hit that thing with a hammer because Mom said so, because you could hurt yourself, because it's not yours, and because it'll make a mess!!!! Go find something to play with!
The Boy had a terrible day at Multi-Media Mania Computer Camp yesterday, which is actually good. (Hear me out!) It was the usual over-tired plus overloaded, and he cried until they called The Husband to come get him. I told The Boy I felt his pain, and gee, wouldn't it be great to never go to school again? ;) "Remember how I said some families stay at home for school, and we're going to be one of them? You won't ever have to do that again until you're ready." I think he's buying it!
The down side was that I had to pick up his buddy at camp and keep him until 5:15 when his dad picked him up. By 6:00, his dad hadn't even called. We had just decided to go ahead and feed him dinner, when the dad called and said he's be another 20 minutes. No apology, no groveling, just "thanks for dinner". Heh? His wife had just left town with their other child for a tennis tournament in Nashville, but the dad is usually pretty good at being on time and being cool about this. Maybe I missed the part where if you say you're going to pick up your kid before dinner, you DO IT. Good thing we had enough. Weird...
After the Vacation...
Well, we got home okay. After two weeks of eating fast food, we gained 5 pounds and finally caught a cold. Actually, I blame the train trip for the cold, and it's more of a nasty sinus-headache thing. But still. We've almost recovered.
The heat here is oppressive. There are a few other words that could describe it, but that's the only one that'll pass the obscenity filter. It's so hot and we've all had such headaches, that I haven't even been out to check on the weeds yet. The neighbor did come over yesterday and ask that we cut back the plants that are surely just about to push down her vinyl (hurricane-proof) privacy fence. As if.
I did manage to drag my butt out to buy some 5-cent markers and other practically free school supplies. Then I dropped by my dads for an hour. I went up to Penny's and picked up some Dockers and running shoes -- both half-price. I actually bought The Husband a (half-price) polo shirt off a mannequin -- it was the only size small in the building -- and then made them special-order another cheap pair of Dockers. All in all, a pretty productive afternoon. I ALMOST felt sorry for the sales clerk, but not quite! ;)
Work is still boring, stressful, and futile. And yet, they still pay me to be here, so I should do some work.
The heat here is oppressive. There are a few other words that could describe it, but that's the only one that'll pass the obscenity filter. It's so hot and we've all had such headaches, that I haven't even been out to check on the weeds yet. The neighbor did come over yesterday and ask that we cut back the plants that are surely just about to push down her vinyl (hurricane-proof) privacy fence. As if.
I did manage to drag my butt out to buy some 5-cent markers and other practically free school supplies. Then I dropped by my dads for an hour. I went up to Penny's and picked up some Dockers and running shoes -- both half-price. I actually bought The Husband a (half-price) polo shirt off a mannequin -- it was the only size small in the building -- and then made them special-order another cheap pair of Dockers. All in all, a pretty productive afternoon. I ALMOST felt sorry for the sales clerk, but not quite! ;)
Work is still boring, stressful, and futile. And yet, they still pay me to be here, so I should do some work.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
School "services" lost and the Classical Education Model
My BFF is worried that my kids will lose the public school services if I homeschool. That is, even though her kid is in a private school, she's still entitled to "services" such as audiology through the public schools. Psht! She lives in a "blue state"! I live in a "red state", and believe me, we won't be losing services -- because there aren't any to begin with.
The school system here only provides services based on the "academic model". That is, if your child can move himself from the classroom to the cafeteria, he doesn't need physical therapy. If your child can print legibly, he doesn't need OT. If your child can speak without a lisp, he doesn't need speech. Voila -- my kids don't need services! See? Not missing much. My health insurance covers better than that.
New books bought for school this fall:
The school system here only provides services based on the "academic model". That is, if your child can move himself from the classroom to the cafeteria, he doesn't need physical therapy. If your child can print legibly, he doesn't need OT. If your child can speak without a lisp, he doesn't need speech. Voila -- my kids don't need services! See? Not missing much. My health insurance covers better than that.
New books bought for school this fall:
- Second Grade Success: Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Child Learn
- Third Grade Success: Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Child Learn
- Homeschooling: Take A Deep Breath - You Can Do This! (really good for lesson planning)
- The Everything Kids' Science Experiments Book: Boil Ice, Float Water, Measure Gravity
- Addition the Fun Way Book for Kids: A Picture Method of Learning the Addition Facts
- Times Tables the Fun Way: Book for Kids: A Picture Method of Learning the Multiplication Tables
Monday, June 30, 2008
Taking the Plunge
Big news -- we've committed to homeschooling this fall! (I know -- it's a little like deciding to have children, but it's big for us!) I just have to write a letter to the county and tell them. THEN the real work starts. Between The Husband (certified to teach in the CT public schools), and me (helped write five years' worth of Individual Education Plans in FL), we can do this. I'm knee deep in Sunshine State Standards for 2nd and 3rd grade. It's FUN! And I haven't said that about my job in years!
If I thought that The Boy could harness the synergy of 17 other freakin' bright kids in the same room, I'd keep him in the public schools. But his nervous system just can't handle it right now. What I'd like to do is put him back in the schools at 5th grade, so he can make the transition to middle school the year after with his little nerdy friends, but we'll see. I'll probably keep The Girl. Again, we'll see.
The one real loss in homeschooling is that you miss out on the explosive synergy you get when you have bright kids working together. And synergy is what makes think tanks so awesome and makes IT departments really rock. But you do what you have to do, when you have to do it. And it's now.
In addition to working on curriculum and unit plans all weekend, I also built a set of shelves to hold the homeschooling stuff. (AM I EVER STIFF TODAY. I have got to start getting some exercise. This is silly.) The shelves require one more stop at the hardware store. I'm starting to realize that having no money is going to take the fun out of scheming to get that new reciprocating saw... Maybe it's time to hit up the Brother In Law. YEAH! THAT'S THE TICKET!
It also occurs to me that if I homeschool, I'll have time to fix up the house in the summer. Yayyyyy! I'm already scheming a trip to visit The Sister in the mountains when the leaves turn. That's studying botany, right? :)
If I thought that The Boy could harness the synergy of 17 other freakin' bright kids in the same room, I'd keep him in the public schools. But his nervous system just can't handle it right now. What I'd like to do is put him back in the schools at 5th grade, so he can make the transition to middle school the year after with his little nerdy friends, but we'll see. I'll probably keep The Girl. Again, we'll see.
The one real loss in homeschooling is that you miss out on the explosive synergy you get when you have bright kids working together. And synergy is what makes think tanks so awesome and makes IT departments really rock. But you do what you have to do, when you have to do it. And it's now.
In addition to working on curriculum and unit plans all weekend, I also built a set of shelves to hold the homeschooling stuff. (AM I EVER STIFF TODAY. I have got to start getting some exercise. This is silly.) The shelves require one more stop at the hardware store. I'm starting to realize that having no money is going to take the fun out of scheming to get that new reciprocating saw... Maybe it's time to hit up the Brother In Law. YEAH! THAT'S THE TICKET!
It also occurs to me that if I homeschool, I'll have time to fix up the house in the summer. Yayyyyy! I'm already scheming a trip to visit The Sister in the mountains when the leaves turn. That's studying botany, right? :)
Friday, June 27, 2008
Vacation Time -- that long strange trip...
Well, it's almost "vacation" time again. To be more specific, it's time for our trip Up North. A vacation is a trip you take without your children. So, tragically, this is not going to be a vacation. I must say, however, with the completion of toilet training, this ordeal has become far more enjoyable. Now if they'd just stop puking in the car...
Y'know, I know I'm jinxing myself, but my kids are actually starting to take care of themselves. The Boy brushes his own teeth and (if he can keep his mind on the job), and he may even be taking his own shower by the end of the year. (Mostly, right now, he just wanders around the bathroom in varying stages of undress, making rude noises and enjoying the echoes.) I don't know the last time any of them pooped, but I know they're handling it because we keep running out of Kan-Doo wipes. (How did anyone live without flushable wipes? REALLY!) The Girl? Hmm. Well, The Girl can push herself on a swing. That's real progress! (The Boy can't!) She's starting to catch on to self-care stuff like putting hair bands in, but bathing, brushing, etc. are still out of her reach. Must add that to curriculum...
Ah yes, curriculum. (Must add that to spelling list....) I had started making a list of "things to learn", aka "goals" for the kids. Yesterday, I started on the "Addition The Fun Way" with The Girl and found that certain things had to be in place before I sat down with her. Hmm. Lesson preparations. Must make spreadsheet... I started a "math for The Girl" spreadsheet yesterday and it turned out really well. Not one to leave well enough alone, I tried to convert it into Microsoft Access, but no dice. Must be a trade secret...
The Social Word of the Week? COOPERATION. Cooperation means everyone helps. The Kids were tag-teaming me last night. Here's how it goes. The Boy loafs around instead of peeing/brushing/going to bed -- basically, he irritates me until I yell. Then The Girl seizes the moment of confusion and starts loudly demanding that I repeat one of her favorite phrases. Then while I'm trying to tell The Girl "no", The Boy starts shouting all of them, over and over. I tell him that it's mean, and we're trying to teach her NOT to repeat stuff over and over. As I get angrier with The Boy, the Girl screams louder. UNTIL! Bwaa-whoooom! Vesuvius!! Boy do they have my number. The Boy and I had a long talk about cooperation and helping. And I still didn't have to sing "El Coquille" for The Girl. Yay!
Then I headed for the gin bottle. JUST KIDDING! The Boy called me in two more times to say good night. He has this (not!) endearing way of whining "Mo-o-o-o-o-o-o-m!" Typically, the third time I come in there, ready to fight, he says in his most pitiful voice, "I need a hug..." This is not usually a demonstrative child, so I'm LOVING IT.
Today is the last day of his Lego camp at the museum, with his BFOP (best friend on planet). He was pretty happy the first two days, then he was a little edgy, then yesterday he got into a fight. His irrational fears are coming back, his level of agitation is up, he stopped eating breakfast -- the whole public school stress level thing. I have no idea how I'm going to break it to him that he's homeschooling this year, but I think he is. He's going to complain bitterly that he won't have any fun without his school friends. Truth be told, he spent as much time trying to kick his friends as he did playing with them, but they were a constant source of amazement to him. Like a moth to the flame he was drawn... But his nervous system just can't handle the public schools right now.
I do want to get him back into "real" school by 5th grade -- in two years -- so he can try making the transition to middle school. The synergy produced by bright kids is irreplaceable. Right now, he can't take advantage of it because of his nervous system, but the time will come when he'll want to. Hopefully, he'll be able to.
The Girl. Hmm. I worry about The Girl. I think I'm going to have to set up a trust for her long-term care. We were 37 when she was born, so she'll probably outlive us by at least as many years. Right now, I don't see her living on her own. Maybe she'll hit her stride, maybe someone will fall hopelessly in love with her and marry her, maybe -- who knows what. In the mean time, I need to help her fit in: learn to add, learn to pull information from text, learn to take care of herself, learn to be sociable, learn to learn. Oye.
But in the mean time, I have to figure out how to get everything we need for two weeks into a compact car! We're driving 8 hours, hotel overnight, driving 8 hours, brother's house for two days, driving 8 hours, cabin on the lake and in-laws for a week, driving 8 hours, BFF's beach house for three days, drive 4 hours, brother's house overnight, AutoTrain home. The lake house is gorgeous but the bathroom is tiny and cold. And usually the weather's cold, too, and THAT'S GOOD!!! No one believes us when we say it, but for us, COLD IS GOOD. Mmm... Cozy... And hopefully worth all that driving.
Next blog, remind me to tell you about THE BUDGET. Ouch. ;)
Y'know, I know I'm jinxing myself, but my kids are actually starting to take care of themselves. The Boy brushes his own teeth and (if he can keep his mind on the job), and he may even be taking his own shower by the end of the year. (Mostly, right now, he just wanders around the bathroom in varying stages of undress, making rude noises and enjoying the echoes.) I don't know the last time any of them pooped, but I know they're handling it because we keep running out of Kan-Doo wipes. (How did anyone live without flushable wipes? REALLY!) The Girl? Hmm. Well, The Girl can push herself on a swing. That's real progress! (The Boy can't!) She's starting to catch on to self-care stuff like putting hair bands in, but bathing, brushing, etc. are still out of her reach. Must add that to curriculum...
Ah yes, curriculum. (Must add that to spelling list....) I had started making a list of "things to learn", aka "goals" for the kids. Yesterday, I started on the "Addition The Fun Way" with The Girl and found that certain things had to be in place before I sat down with her. Hmm. Lesson preparations. Must make spreadsheet... I started a "math for The Girl" spreadsheet yesterday and it turned out really well. Not one to leave well enough alone, I tried to convert it into Microsoft Access, but no dice. Must be a trade secret...
The Social Word of the Week? COOPERATION. Cooperation means everyone helps. The Kids were tag-teaming me last night. Here's how it goes. The Boy loafs around instead of peeing/brushing/going to bed -- basically, he irritates me until I yell. Then The Girl seizes the moment of confusion and starts loudly demanding that I repeat one of her favorite phrases. Then while I'm trying to tell The Girl "no", The Boy starts shouting all of them, over and over. I tell him that it's mean, and we're trying to teach her NOT to repeat stuff over and over. As I get angrier with The Boy, the Girl screams louder. UNTIL! Bwaa-whoooom! Vesuvius!! Boy do they have my number. The Boy and I had a long talk about cooperation and helping. And I still didn't have to sing "El Coquille" for The Girl. Yay!
Then I headed for the gin bottle. JUST KIDDING! The Boy called me in two more times to say good night. He has this (not!) endearing way of whining "Mo-o-o-o-o-o-o-m!" Typically, the third time I come in there, ready to fight, he says in his most pitiful voice, "I need a hug..." This is not usually a demonstrative child, so I'm LOVING IT.
Today is the last day of his Lego camp at the museum, with his BFOP (best friend on planet). He was pretty happy the first two days, then he was a little edgy, then yesterday he got into a fight. His irrational fears are coming back, his level of agitation is up, he stopped eating breakfast -- the whole public school stress level thing. I have no idea how I'm going to break it to him that he's homeschooling this year, but I think he is. He's going to complain bitterly that he won't have any fun without his school friends. Truth be told, he spent as much time trying to kick his friends as he did playing with them, but they were a constant source of amazement to him. Like a moth to the flame he was drawn... But his nervous system just can't handle the public schools right now.
I do want to get him back into "real" school by 5th grade -- in two years -- so he can try making the transition to middle school. The synergy produced by bright kids is irreplaceable. Right now, he can't take advantage of it because of his nervous system, but the time will come when he'll want to. Hopefully, he'll be able to.
The Girl. Hmm. I worry about The Girl. I think I'm going to have to set up a trust for her long-term care. We were 37 when she was born, so she'll probably outlive us by at least as many years. Right now, I don't see her living on her own. Maybe she'll hit her stride, maybe someone will fall hopelessly in love with her and marry her, maybe -- who knows what. In the mean time, I need to help her fit in: learn to add, learn to pull information from text, learn to take care of herself, learn to be sociable, learn to learn. Oye.
But in the mean time, I have to figure out how to get everything we need for two weeks into a compact car! We're driving 8 hours, hotel overnight, driving 8 hours, brother's house for two days, driving 8 hours, cabin on the lake and in-laws for a week, driving 8 hours, BFF's beach house for three days, drive 4 hours, brother's house overnight, AutoTrain home. The lake house is gorgeous but the bathroom is tiny and cold. And usually the weather's cold, too, and THAT'S GOOD!!! No one believes us when we say it, but for us, COLD IS GOOD. Mmm... Cozy... And hopefully worth all that driving.
Next blog, remind me to tell you about THE BUDGET. Ouch. ;)
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Mayhem, murder, and hens
It's been a fast-food week. Not necessarily McDonalds, but "fast". The Boy has been at Vacation Bible School in the evenings, and The Girl refuses to go. So while the other parents drop and run (to the local pub), I'm sitting around, making sure that The Boy doesn't "rev" up too much, and The Husband is home with The Girl, trying to find something edible.
This morning I made a gallon and a half of mac-n-cheese. It was surprisingly expensive and gross, in an "Omnivore's Delimma" sort of way. I swear, some marketer did some serious color analysis to find that pale orange hue -- it makes me happy just looking at it, and I don't even like mac-n-cheese! I was going to say, I should paint a room that color, but that would be very gross.
Not much on the schooling front. My Dear Friend is having trouble keeping her son officially "disabled". They insist that by age 9, his complete reliance on a cochlear implant should be transparent. Heh?
The weather is officially "broken" here. The high is going to be 89 and the low is going to be 72 -- for the next six months. Welcome to summer on the peninsula. I swear, we *were* going to keep a temperature graph this summer on the kitchen wall, but what's the point?!
The chickens continue to fascinate me. The only hitch now is that when they reach about three years old, they reach "hen-o-pause", and you have to replace them. And by replace, I mean kill and eat them. Oh deeeeeear... That's a hiccup in the plans. Maybe someone will do a hen exchange for me -- stew hen for chick. Sounds like they're getting the good end of the stick, and I won't have to kill a household pet. I have no idea how long they live, but I want eggs, dammit. I'm not fighting the zoning board for ordinary birds.
I'm also continuing drawing hen houses late into the night. The Husband thinks I'm crazy. Well, he *did* -- until he ran across a 1950's horror movie in which bored housewives turn to witchcraft and murder. Now, he's thinking $100 in lumber and hinges may not be such a bad deal after all! That's my man -- avoiding witchcraft and death. Think I can still get a new power jigsaw out of this deal...?
This morning I made a gallon and a half of mac-n-cheese. It was surprisingly expensive and gross, in an "Omnivore's Delimma" sort of way. I swear, some marketer did some serious color analysis to find that pale orange hue -- it makes me happy just looking at it, and I don't even like mac-n-cheese! I was going to say, I should paint a room that color, but that would be very gross.
Not much on the schooling front. My Dear Friend is having trouble keeping her son officially "disabled". They insist that by age 9, his complete reliance on a cochlear implant should be transparent. Heh?
The weather is officially "broken" here. The high is going to be 89 and the low is going to be 72 -- for the next six months. Welcome to summer on the peninsula. I swear, we *were* going to keep a temperature graph this summer on the kitchen wall, but what's the point?!
The chickens continue to fascinate me. The only hitch now is that when they reach about three years old, they reach "hen-o-pause", and you have to replace them. And by replace, I mean kill and eat them. Oh deeeeeear... That's a hiccup in the plans. Maybe someone will do a hen exchange for me -- stew hen for chick. Sounds like they're getting the good end of the stick, and I won't have to kill a household pet. I have no idea how long they live, but I want eggs, dammit. I'm not fighting the zoning board for ordinary birds.
I'm also continuing drawing hen houses late into the night. The Husband thinks I'm crazy. Well, he *did* -- until he ran across a 1950's horror movie in which bored housewives turn to witchcraft and murder. Now, he's thinking $100 in lumber and hinges may not be such a bad deal after all! That's my man -- avoiding witchcraft and death. Think I can still get a new power jigsaw out of this deal...?
Friday, June 13, 2008
In which I learn that my kids are actually pretty quiet.
They've been making me actually WORK at work, so no posting. ;)
Homeschooling hasn't been a very serious effort yet. In preparation for building a seige machine, The Boy is learning about warfare: Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery. He did a which-is-which quiz yesterday (Clone Trooper? Infantry. Wizard throwing bolts of electricity from the castle ramparts? Artillery. Tie Fighter? Cavalry.) and drew me a sample of all three today, with mixed metaphors. (Evil skeleton army? Infantry.) Can't complain. Tomorrow we move on to chapter 2 -- Vikings!
Went to the schooling store today and got him some reading comprehension stuff and then to Michaels Crafts for some nice starting-to-tie-shoes stuff for The Girl. The Boy seemed interested. Maybe peer pressure will pay off after all.
Other than that, we've been hanging out, re-establishing our pecking order, learning about volume levels in an open-floor-plan house.
The Boy had a sleepover on Wednesday night. Apparently, The Friend's parents have a higher tolerance for crying, screaming, and tattling than I do, as witness their behavior when The Friend came over to play today. Man-0-man it that boy loud. The Friend's parents have a really huge house, so we all had a nice discussion of small houses and the need to keep it down a bit.
In other domestic news, the lock on the kitchen door stuck itself in the "locked" position and refused to let me close the door -- the latch refused to retract into the door. Can't close the door, can't open the door. Reminds me of the song -- can't go over it, can't go under it, gotta go in through the door. I disassembled the door knob, found that I STILL couldn't make the latch retract, and hence couldn't remove the old door knob. So I broke it off. Felt like a real man. I loaded up The Girl (screaming), The Boy and The Friend (both yelling) into the car and went off to Lowe's in search of door latches. Hoo boy. I actually handed the old latch to the sales clerk and told him, "If you can give me one of these, I promise to leave!" He did. We did.
I'm going to enjoy the quiet for a few days. I thought my kids were noisy, but apparently not. I guess that's a good thing? ;)
I've been doing a lot more research on hens this week. For some reason, I'm obsessed with getting three hens as pets. I know the town will shut me down if the neighbors complain, but I still like them. Suburban mom in search of an authentic life. Strange that the town will let me keep (up to four) rabbits for slaughter, but not three laying hens. Hm. Maybe I'll have to talk to the Town Fathers about this.
Nothing more to report. I was late for dinner twice this week, and work's getting a little crazier. The Husband is complaining of stomach problems. It seems to be a virus, and I think The Boy is suffering a bit from it. Whatevah. The Girl was just frantic with The Friend in the house, and is just plain loud lately. (See a trend?) If something displeases her, she just lets out a loud, whining, gutteral yell. The first thing we're going to have to do is to cut down on the yelling. That may play in the public schools, but it's not going to play here in Momland. ;)
Just to keep my panic level up, I looked up the curriculum goals for 3rd grade. Did you know that learning "Froggy Went a Courtin'" is a part of our curriculum goals. And the Phys Ed goals include "chasing, fleeing, and dodging"? Pardon? Hm. Maybe the chickens could be used for phys ed. Hmmm. Must work that angle...
Homeschooling hasn't been a very serious effort yet. In preparation for building a seige machine, The Boy is learning about warfare: Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery. He did a which-is-which quiz yesterday (Clone Trooper? Infantry. Wizard throwing bolts of electricity from the castle ramparts? Artillery. Tie Fighter? Cavalry.) and drew me a sample of all three today, with mixed metaphors. (Evil skeleton army? Infantry.) Can't complain. Tomorrow we move on to chapter 2 -- Vikings!
Went to the schooling store today and got him some reading comprehension stuff and then to Michaels Crafts for some nice starting-to-tie-shoes stuff for The Girl. The Boy seemed interested. Maybe peer pressure will pay off after all.
Other than that, we've been hanging out, re-establishing our pecking order, learning about volume levels in an open-floor-plan house.
The Boy had a sleepover on Wednesday night. Apparently, The Friend's parents have a higher tolerance for crying, screaming, and tattling than I do, as witness their behavior when The Friend came over to play today. Man-0-man it that boy loud. The Friend's parents have a really huge house, so we all had a nice discussion of small houses and the need to keep it down a bit.
In other domestic news, the lock on the kitchen door stuck itself in the "locked" position and refused to let me close the door -- the latch refused to retract into the door. Can't close the door, can't open the door. Reminds me of the song -- can't go over it, can't go under it, gotta go in through the door. I disassembled the door knob, found that I STILL couldn't make the latch retract, and hence couldn't remove the old door knob. So I broke it off. Felt like a real man. I loaded up The Girl (screaming), The Boy and The Friend (both yelling) into the car and went off to Lowe's in search of door latches. Hoo boy. I actually handed the old latch to the sales clerk and told him, "If you can give me one of these, I promise to leave!" He did. We did.
I'm going to enjoy the quiet for a few days. I thought my kids were noisy, but apparently not. I guess that's a good thing? ;)
I've been doing a lot more research on hens this week. For some reason, I'm obsessed with getting three hens as pets. I know the town will shut me down if the neighbors complain, but I still like them. Suburban mom in search of an authentic life. Strange that the town will let me keep (up to four) rabbits for slaughter, but not three laying hens. Hm. Maybe I'll have to talk to the Town Fathers about this.
Nothing more to report. I was late for dinner twice this week, and work's getting a little crazier. The Husband is complaining of stomach problems. It seems to be a virus, and I think The Boy is suffering a bit from it. Whatevah. The Girl was just frantic with The Friend in the house, and is just plain loud lately. (See a trend?) If something displeases her, she just lets out a loud, whining, gutteral yell. The first thing we're going to have to do is to cut down on the yelling. That may play in the public schools, but it's not going to play here in Momland. ;)
Just to keep my panic level up, I looked up the curriculum goals for 3rd grade. Did you know that learning "Froggy Went a Courtin'" is a part of our curriculum goals. And the Phys Ed goals include "chasing, fleeing, and dodging"? Pardon? Hm. Maybe the chickens could be used for phys ed. Hmmm. Must work that angle...
Sunday, June 8, 2008
children and livestock
Quick dip on the rollercoaster yesterday when I remembered I have to actually work for pay tomorrow. Bummer. I can't wait to quit my job.
I bought two 16" chairs and two adjustable tables, along with a few workbooks. Last week, I set up a chart so we could plot the high/low temperatures, but I just saw the forecast -- same high and same low for the next four days. Oh yeah. It does this all summer... Might as well take that down until Fall. ;)
I had been bemoaning the lack of livestock (and nature in general) at our house here in suburban heck, and my mother has found the solution. Apparently, in one of the local 55-and-over communities, there has been a "no cats or dogs" rule for some time; however now, some nice lawyer found a loophole. If you are found to be disabled by depression, you fall under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and if you doctor prescribes a pet for you to help with your depression, the residents association is required by law to let you have one. My kids are both under the autism umbrella, so that makes them disabled. Disabled kids = therapy hens! We almost peed ourselves laughing!
http://www.omlet.us/homepage/homepage.php
Yes folks, it's thaaaat simple!
I bought two 16" chairs and two adjustable tables, along with a few workbooks. Last week, I set up a chart so we could plot the high/low temperatures, but I just saw the forecast -- same high and same low for the next four days. Oh yeah. It does this all summer... Might as well take that down until Fall. ;)
I had been bemoaning the lack of livestock (and nature in general) at our house here in suburban heck, and my mother has found the solution. Apparently, in one of the local 55-and-over communities, there has been a "no cats or dogs" rule for some time; however now, some nice lawyer found a loophole. If you are found to be disabled by depression, you fall under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and if you doctor prescribes a pet for you to help with your depression, the residents association is required by law to let you have one. My kids are both under the autism umbrella, so that makes them disabled. Disabled kids = therapy hens! We almost peed ourselves laughing!
http://www.omlet.us/homepage/homepage.php
Yes folks, it's thaaaat simple!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
the end of an era?
Well, tomorrow is the last day of public school -- potentially the last day of public school for a long time.
Today is the "Awards Ceremony" at the school, when children are given awards for "Excellence in Spelling", and "Principal's Award for Good Citizenship". On the other hand, everyone gets at least two awards, and last year a child actually received an award for "Exemplary Playground Activity". Seriously -- once we're all above average, there will be no one left to be breathtaking.
The Husband just approved the purchase of chairs with 16" seat height. Then he told me he may or may not be able to pick up extra work next summer. So I told him, fine, I may or may not be able to pick up work of my own next summer. Hah! I am woman, hear my MS degree roar!
Started reading about trebouchets last night. Turns out they used to hurl all kinds of nasty stuff with those medieval catapults -- and the Romans before them were worse! Diseased horses, body parts of prisoners of war, burning resin. I tell ya, The Boy is going to love this!
Today is the "Awards Ceremony" at the school, when children are given awards for "Excellence in Spelling", and "Principal's Award for Good Citizenship". On the other hand, everyone gets at least two awards, and last year a child actually received an award for "Exemplary Playground Activity". Seriously -- once we're all above average, there will be no one left to be breathtaking.
The Husband just approved the purchase of chairs with 16" seat height. Then he told me he may or may not be able to pick up extra work next summer. So I told him, fine, I may or may not be able to pick up work of my own next summer. Hah! I am woman, hear my MS degree roar!
Started reading about trebouchets last night. Turns out they used to hurl all kinds of nasty stuff with those medieval catapults -- and the Romans before them were worse! Diseased horses, body parts of prisoners of war, burning resin. I tell ya, The Boy is going to love this!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
So, my father thinks I should definitely not homeschool my kids. Well. So what?
I have two kids just finishing 2nd grade -- The Boy is gifted/ADD, The Girl is multi-VE/autistic. Here's what I told him:
"You'd have to see The Boy in the classroom to really understand why I'm considering this. He has weeks where all he wants to do is kick the other kids in the ankle, then he has weeks where all he can do is pace back and forth across the back of the room, and then he has good weeks where he does most of his work except his writing assignments. (He has trouble organizing his thoughts into speech and writing, and he needs help.)
"Three years ago, we started him in the non-gifted kindergarten program at a different elementary school, just to give him another year to get his social skills together before starting first grade. And at the end of 2nd grade, we're still waiting for it to kick in. He doesn't bow to peer pressure or competition. ("That Boy has 200 Reading Counts points -- you'd better get on the ball!") He doesn't value the stickers and medals that the other kids work for. Recognition makes him jumpy and unhappy. We learned a long time ago that big groups of kids make him nervous. He's okay one-on-one, but when they start producing that "puppies in a box" effect, his brain overloads.
"This is not the environment in which he learns best.
"There are no small private schools that a) I can afford or b) have the teachers with the skills/understanding of wacky kids. There are homeschooling clubs in the area that have a weekly meeting with spelling bees, activities, and freeze tag. The YMCA has a homeschooling gym class. He never sees his classmates outside of school, but he sees his best friend usually every weekend.
"The Girl pays no attention to her peers. She's picking up bad behavior from them, and isn't learning her academics. She needs more one-on-one, and she needs more "kinesthetic learning". (Divide the 11 beans into groups of three -- you get 3 groups with 2 beans left over. 11 / 3 = 3 with a remainder of 2.) She needs more read-and-tell reading work. (Come to think of it, The Boy does too.)
"Both of them need to learn to tie their shoes and ride a two-wheeler bike. The Boy and I are going to research and build a seige engine this summer. The Girl and I are going to read Little House in the Big Woods and do, I don't know, something for it. I'll probably also do some math with them. I'll take them to the food co-op "divide up the shipment" work day, keep a weather graph, etc.
"I don't see any other way to get them grown and educated without completely stressing out The Husband and me. School is making us wrecks, and frankly, the kids aren't learning. What would you do?"
The Husband is with me on this, but he's not sure that The Boy and I will refrain from yelling at each other all day. We're both pretty hard-headed.
Either way, I'm starting to feel like I did when I was first pregnant -- alternating between excited and terrified. So, I'm starting to remember what I learned from that experience. Take it easy, don't overthink the process any more than I have to, and get plenty of rest. And don't buy everything I think I'll need. For God's sake -- all you need for a new baby is a blanket, a sock drawer, and diapers.
So, this is what it looks like from the top of the roller coaster...
I have two kids just finishing 2nd grade -- The Boy is gifted/ADD, The Girl is multi-VE/autistic. Here's what I told him:
"You'd have to see The Boy in the classroom to really understand why I'm considering this. He has weeks where all he wants to do is kick the other kids in the ankle, then he has weeks where all he can do is pace back and forth across the back of the room, and then he has good weeks where he does most of his work except his writing assignments. (He has trouble organizing his thoughts into speech and writing, and he needs help.)
"Three years ago, we started him in the non-gifted kindergarten program at a different elementary school, just to give him another year to get his social skills together before starting first grade. And at the end of 2nd grade, we're still waiting for it to kick in. He doesn't bow to peer pressure or competition. ("That Boy has 200 Reading Counts points -- you'd better get on the ball!") He doesn't value the stickers and medals that the other kids work for. Recognition makes him jumpy and unhappy. We learned a long time ago that big groups of kids make him nervous. He's okay one-on-one, but when they start producing that "puppies in a box" effect, his brain overloads.
"This is not the environment in which he learns best.
"There are no small private schools that a) I can afford or b) have the teachers with the skills/understanding of wacky kids. There are homeschooling clubs in the area that have a weekly meeting with spelling bees, activities, and freeze tag. The YMCA has a homeschooling gym class. He never sees his classmates outside of school, but he sees his best friend usually every weekend.
"The Girl pays no attention to her peers. She's picking up bad behavior from them, and isn't learning her academics. She needs more one-on-one, and she needs more "kinesthetic learning". (Divide the 11 beans into groups of three -- you get 3 groups with 2 beans left over. 11 / 3 = 3 with a remainder of 2.) She needs more read-and-tell reading work. (Come to think of it, The Boy does too.)
"Both of them need to learn to tie their shoes and ride a two-wheeler bike. The Boy and I are going to research and build a seige engine this summer. The Girl and I are going to read Little House in the Big Woods and do, I don't know, something for it. I'll probably also do some math with them. I'll take them to the food co-op "divide up the shipment" work day, keep a weather graph, etc.
"I don't see any other way to get them grown and educated without completely stressing out The Husband and me. School is making us wrecks, and frankly, the kids aren't learning. What would you do?"
The Husband is with me on this, but he's not sure that The Boy and I will refrain from yelling at each other all day. We're both pretty hard-headed.
Either way, I'm starting to feel like I did when I was first pregnant -- alternating between excited and terrified. So, I'm starting to remember what I learned from that experience. Take it easy, don't overthink the process any more than I have to, and get plenty of rest. And don't buy everything I think I'll need. For God's sake -- all you need for a new baby is a blanket, a sock drawer, and diapers.
So, this is what it looks like from the top of the roller coaster...
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