31 March 2015

My Alyce Bundt Pan

 
I just unboxed this.  It makes a perfect fruit bowl when it's not in my oven.  It matches much of my other Polish pottery.  Do you like my curtain?  It's just a tablecloth that I never get around to using between meals.

30 March 2015

Parenting Done Right.

If you want to take to social media after your child has behaved outrageously, here's how you do it.  Kudos to this lovely mom for acting with class and respect, showing remorse for her children's actions without overly shaming them, and instilling appropriate consequences.  Hope these families can meet up. 

How's this for parenting??? -- A mother found out her kids misbehaved at the movie theater and ruined a night out for a...

Posted by WPXI-TV Pittsburgh on Monday, March 30, 2015

28 March 2015

LINC Chess K-12 Tournament

Ready for his opponent.
See this little fellow?  It's hard to get him out of the house.  We started homeschooling in part because we've gotten more than one "your child just ran away and we are looking for him" phone call from the school.  He tends to elope when he's overwhelmed.  So going to an all-day chess tournament was a big step for him. 

Rose drew two games!
LINC Chess made it happen!  The director made sure he had his own table, and Woodjie's hired assistant was better able to watch him without interfering with the other players. They want to make sure every K-12 age child in the community can play chess, and although they're funded through the schools, that includes the homeschooled kid outside their area of the metro.

Thanks for a great tournament!

If you're interested in finding out more about LINC Chess, or in signing up for their May 4 tournament at Hickman Mills, click here.

Emperor is the K-12 Champion!  He won a trophy, and a spider chess set with a case.

Things We're Working on With Woodjie.

 Woodjie has funding for some autism behaviour therapy once a week.  We're working on his staying safe (not eloping!), giving people outside his family a "space bubble," and not over-reacting to problems.  He could bump you, you'd call it to his attention, and he'll apologize about 20 times profusely.  Nope!  Just one, "oops" or "sorry!" will work, kiddo.  You save the big sorries for the biggies.  I laminated several of the sheets we've gone over and stuck them up in the kitchen.  This way we can refer to them as situations come up. 

I'm not sure it "works," but it's a handy reference for times I want to speak to Woodjie about these issues.  We used to also have a very detailed morning routine schedule, but since it's the same almost every morning, we really haven't been using it.  Once our reference sheets haven't been used for a while, they'll come off the wall as well.





26 March 2015

Brave Girls: Faithful Friends


"It's late, and the slumber party has quieted down.  Now the girls are in their sleeping bags on the floor, talking into the darkness to one another.

"'Hey, did you hear about Hannah?' a voice breaks into the quiet."

What should Kaitlyn do when the girls start to gossip about Hannah?

Brave Girls:  Faithful Friends by Jennifer Gerelds is a 90-day situational devotional for 8- to 13-year-old girls.  The paperback is 135 pages long and is on perhaps a third- or fourth-grade reading level.  I'd recommend it for a church lending library, as the basis of a small group Bible study for preteens, or as a stocking stuffer at Christmas.

I like the casual writing style in this book.  It begins with a Bible verse, a situation, some advice, and a one- or two-sentence prayer in the conclusion.

Rose is a first-grader and while she could easily read most of the devotional, she doesn't know the meaning of words such as imminent, armadillo, and Philistine.

One thing to keep in mind when selecting a devotional for children is the fact that smaller people are still learning all the "rules," whereas you and I usually already doggone well know when we're leaving people out, being dishonest or changing the way we act around different friends.  I think the book is perfect for preteens who are just starting to learn some of the more complicated rules and would like some guidance. 

I know girls in this age group want to start to take control of what they wear, where they go, and who they hang out with.  I think the advice offered in the book is pretty generic and balanced.  For example, when planning a party, hosts should "listen to what your guests want to do, not just what you want to do," and "help those who seem shy or afraid to join the fun," as well as to remember to "talk to everyone at some point."

It's not a short book, but it's an easy read, and it gives some good advice.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”



25 March 2015

Atheists Can't Be Moral

Do you watch Duck Dynasty?  Phil Robertson seems like one of those people it would be interesting to know, but you wouldn't want him to be your uncle or your best friend.  I don't really get what Miss Kay sees in him, but ok.  Recently, he went off on some odd tangent about how atheists don't really believe in divine judgement.

Something about well, if an atheist's wife and kids are raped and decapitated, the perpetrators won't face divine judgement because they were just having fun and somehow this is all ok.

Well.

First off, they'd face divine judgement whether the atheist in this hypothetical story were kooky or not.  Second... what the hello?

Now, if he were to say that any moral code that isn't based on God's Word is imperfect, I'd agree.  If he were to say that even Christians disagree about some moral issues, and therefore we ought to try to have some grace for people - but that that grace doesn't include decapitation and stuff - I'd agree. 

I'm not a theologian but I think that we get much of our moral code from the people around us, Christian or not.  Do you think that a Christian in 2015 would have the same way of looking at the world as a Christian in 1368?  God's Word never changes, though our society sure does and I'm not sure I want to go back to 1368, thanks.

Not to mention, I don't know of any atheists who feel it's "ok" to rape and decapitate children and women.  I mean, probably some of them are out there.  But I don't know of any and I don't think that's a normal "atheist thing," ok?

If you watch the show, you know Phil Robertson just kinda rambles on about nothing in particular every now and then.  Ordinarily I just roll my eyes a little but I think he went a bit far this time.  If he wants to be a good Ambassador for Christ, he could at least apologize for being insensitive.

Up to him.  Because really, everyone needs to evaluate what they feel God's calling them to do, or not to do, or even whether there is a God.  That makes for scary times, maybe, but I don't want anyone else making those decisions for me.

20 March 2015

Start Talking.

Huntsville City Schools just contracted to spend $100,000 to make sure parents of infants and toddlers interact with their children properly.

You read that right.  See, lower-class people don't speak much to their children, and when they do?  They use simple, stupid words.  The LENA program the schools are using would change all that.  Basically, what they do is this:

1.  They yammer at the parents, particularly parents in poverty who might not feel they can say no to some do-gooder's project, and indoctrinate them into believing the way they're raising their kids is messed-up and wrong.  This so-called "mass intervention" is projected to reach the "90% of families in poverty not served by most current programs."

2.  Distribute goody bags containing a couple of books and what looks like a pedometer that measures words.  Data from these families is collected on a "LENA Mobile cloud-based tool for 24/7 access."  ( I can't make this stuff up.)

3.  LENA provides goal-setting and incentive plans/recognitions of achievement if the purchaser chooses (in this case, the schools).  (source for above)

So there you have it.  People who are lower on the socio-economic ladder are going to get talked down to, indoctrinated, pushed to accept this "help" and then tracked in their own homes in the hopes of "closing the achievement gap."

Allow me to adjust my tin-foil hat on just a little tighter before I say, it starts with "voluntary" programs for the poor, to "help" them.  It ends with mandatory programs for everyone "because if it saves just one child..."

The idea of mandatory kindergarten, zero tolerance, and monitoring what our kids eat in the lunchroom was crazy talk 30 years ago.  Here's today's batch of crazy, I guess.

Updated on 21 March to add:  today, Missouri Education Watchdog has also done a writeup on this development.

18 March 2015

Some Pictures.

Instead of throwing away my eggs from *January,* I left 'em in the fridge in a separate bowl.  Boiled them and let the kids decorate them and hide them outside. 


We never did find them all.  Maybe our handy yardwork guy (aka Dad) will see them later.

The realities of sharing a room.  When you want to stay up late and giggle about your Star Wars book, you have to sit in the hallway in your jammies.
Say hi to the Elf!  It's been a while since he allowed me to take his picture, but this time, he probably figures he owes me one.  Several calls to the plumber over what should have been an easy fix have been going on of late.  Finally, much panic happened downstairs as the older children were "fixing" the toilet themselves and knocked over the toilet tank lid.  I'm just glad no one was hurt, although with no lid, our downstairs toilet does look kinda... trashy.  Works now, though. :) 


17 March 2015

Henry Hodges Needs a Friend

"If we're lonely or sad, God knows just what we need."

This charming story from Andy Andrews may be a great source of encouragement for your four- to ten-year-old. It teaches children that our friends need us just as much as we need them!  The gift book comes with a presentation page, and I'd highly recommend reading this story aloud before any trip to the local shelter for a new furry friend.

Henry Hodges Needs a Friend is not only about how Henry finds the friend he needs, but about how his new friend finds acceptance and belonging and a home.  The end of the story makes moms sniffle!  Be warned!

It also features some zany imaginary characters.  Eight-year-old Woodjie was laughing at some of the illustrations Colleen Madden contributed.  They really brought out the emotion of the book.  I've read the story to Woodjie, but Woodjie is certainly capable of reading the story himself.  I'd recommend it for kids to read on their own from about first grade and up.

I'm hoping for a sequel, I really am.  I didn't want the story to end.

It's a nice-sized book with several pages, but short enough to make for a heavy rotation bedtime story.  Guess what we're reading again tonight?



Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

16 March 2015

Family Planning

Rose and Woodjie were playing Pokemon cards.  "It would be nice if we had another sister," Rose reasoned.  "Then, I won't be the only girl."

"I think we need another brother and another sister," Woodjie told her.

"But... we already have too many brothers, I mean lots of them!" Rose wailed.

Woodjie started whimpering.  "Then I'm not ever ever going to be your best friend in the whole world, not ever, Rose!  You won't even be my friend for one hundred days!"

"Oh, okayyyy," Rose rolled her eyes. "But they live in your room and not mine."




15 March 2015

March Zoo Pics


We just renewed our membership, so you can expect many more zoo pictures in the months ahead.  Hope you had a great weekend!  

14 March 2015

Click to Mix and Solve
I've played Jigzone puzzles for quite some time but last night I discovered that their accounts are FREE! You can sign up for an account using your first name and email address, load pictures from your computer, and turn them into puzzles to share with your family and friends! Enjoy!

10 March 2015

Social Studies Grade 2

We use BJU Heritage Studies 2 in our homeschool now.  For a good while this year, we were reviewing "safety rules."  Our address and phone number, not to open the door to strangers, leaving the house if there's a fire, and so on.  Now I feel we're ready for a proper history curriculum.

We used BJU with Elf and Emperor years ago and they got so much out of it.  Woodjie and Rose are working on understanding basic concepts of time, however.  The Colonial days did not happen "thousands of years ago."  I'm hoping with some review of where we are in history now, and some things that happened in the past, that they will begin to put things into perspective.  It's almost as though they have nothing to compare it with and I'm not sure how to fix that just yet.  (Ideas welcome!)  So far using a timeline has been helpful, but I can tell it hasn't really sunk in.

Today, we pretended to work at Ben Franklin's print shop.  Instead of ink rollers and letter blocks, we used paper and tape and held our creations up to the mirror when we were finished.  Typesetting was rather a labourious process.  Today we just type and hit "print."  Much easier. 



The teacher's manual is the best thing about BJU stuff.  See the little boxes?  Those are pictures of what's in the child's textbook.  All around the textbook copy are the ideas for your lesson.  Most BJU stuff is extraordinarily easy to teach.  Class discussion questions and all the materials (except a few very occasional crafts) are provided.  I still have all the notebooks from when Elf and Emperor were small.

This is the older version of the curriculum, but I have some of the newer items in the third grade and aside from using colour and binding the worksheets into a glossy workbook, it's pretty much the same. 

09 March 2015

Get Ready for Testing Season!

When Emperor was a tiny tot, I was worried about the kid being "behind" everyone else because he's a bit... eccentric.  So off I went to the screening held by the local preschool.  Nationally normed tests and stuff.  You know, objective. No grey area.  Just science.  The kid gets the test right or he doesn't. Pretty simple.

Emperor, age four.
So off Emperor went. They had it all set up so that when your child was called, he'd go to different stations and do a different test at each station.  At the first station, the teacher would explain to the child that she would be holding out different blocks and he was meant to say what colour he thought each one was as quickly as possible.  Ready? 

She held out a brown block.

"Tan!" Emperor yelled. 

"No, wait!  I want to change that.  It's brown.  Or... maybe a beige.  I don't know, do you think it's more a beige or a brown?  Because I'm not really sure about the difference yet, which one is lighter..."

tick tick tick tick

You know the teacher is not allowed to give the answer and there is an uncomfortable silence. You could tell at this point she was about out of her skull.  He has only thirty seconds, and if he doesn't get at least six colours in that time, he's marked as deficient.

"Well?" he asked.  "What do you think?"

tick tick tick - Time's up!

Obviously, my child is very far behind and doesn't know his colours.  They marked him as getting one colour right.  Brown.  (Though I think Emperor was leaning toward beige, thanks.)

Another station was the "draw the thing you see" station.  A little paper wheel was turned so that a cross, a triangle, a diamond or whatever was revealed.  The kid had to draw the same thing on his paper.  Ready?  Go!

Emperor turned the wheel round and round and decided he wasn't ready to draw today, because the wheel was too interesting.  Obviously, he will never be an engineer.  This teacher was unable to redirect him, because just then he caught sight of a large plastic dump truck on one of the shelves and screamed so loudly about it that other testers were a bit distracted.

Can you believe they didn't let him play with the truck?  They marked down that he failed every test and was in something like the third percentile on stuff.  He had a great time at that preschool, because his abysmal scores qualified him for four afternoons a week.  Mostly he played, but his teacher thought he was quite bright and couldn't understand how he could test so poorly every year when really, this level of performance wasn't what she saw in her classroom.



08 March 2015

04 March 2015

Homeschooling Odds n Ends.

Love those little Dover Activity Books.  They're perfect for elementary-aged children.  I usually wait until there is a sale and then plunk down... some serious money.  Here's my stash.

The Judy Clock.  My littles can tell time, but sometimes they need help visualizing what the time will be in half an hour or six hours ago and so on.  It's surprisingly durable and kid-friendly.

If you're a homeschooler and you take your children out for an occasional treat, the Book-It program is something you'll want to do every year with your younger children.

Our picture schedule - read it from the top down.  I have little laminated squares stuck to magnets and keep them in a plastic container when not in use.

I'm sooo tired of digging through every little workbook.  I go through and tear out about a week's worth of sheets at a time, holepunch them and pop them here.  Arranged by subject.  So much easier than digging.  I seriously used to have one box per subject and just move everything around all day.  I just... can't... do it any more.  You know.

Crafts!  I go to JoAnn Fabrics or Hobby Lobby every few months with the little people and we pick out something to do. 

Little first grade notebooks.  I appreciate how there is a spot at the top for the child to draw a picture of his story.

Court Demands Woman Write Attacker Regularly.



Or be held in contempt of court.  And she'd better include pictures and updates on the children. 

It doesn't matter that she could have died when she was beaten to a pulp for seven hours and her throat slashed.  The twins are his kids, so she has to save all his little notes for them to look at later as well. 

I'm thinking she should send pictures of her children in costume so he doesn't get to really see how they change over the years (and/or use photoshop liberally), and she should pen a nasty note about how the kids are doing so wonderfully now that they don't have to see their mother's abuser.

If you're interested, there's a change.org petition circulating in the hopes of convincing the court to review this order. 

Bringing Garbage Home

Some people up the street were throwing this table away. It was in pretty bad shape and one of the legs was off. I've glued the leg back...