Catching up and Catching cold

Well here's some of the happenings that's been going on around here. I'm currently working on 1. catching up laundry and 2. organizing our unfinished space in the basement. We bought a new freezer Saturday for the unfinished space. It's an upright kind, that looks like a refrigerator. We've read numerous places that it's a good idea to stockpile food now (as of we weren't already!!), because the prices are expected to rise in the near future, and since the small freezer we have upstairs is already maxed out, we figured we'd just get another one to help out. We're also installing shelves all along a big wall down there to store extra food, and also to organize the things that are already down there (holiday decorations, kids clothes, collectibles, etc..). My Dad is coming tomorrow to help us put in a new outlet with it's own devoted breaker for the freezer.

Abby and I have a horrible cold. I know it's not allergies because first of all, we've never had them before and secondly because it's very much a chest cold, with lots of stuff in the chest and lots of coughing. I think Noah gave it to us, that stinker!! Of course he didn't have it very much at all, that boy truly has the best immune system I've seen, but I always end up with it the worst. OH well, at least I can still function with a cold!!

Today is Abbys picture day at dance class. I'm excited to see her all made up in the costume.

Well here's some things that have happened lately. First we went on a homeschool field trip at the Cincinnati Nature Center. Noah went with a group of other 2nd graders and with a member of the Center and another parent as chaperone, they went exploring the ponds and forests on one of the trails. They had all kinds of cool tools to use and saw lots of things the naked eye can't see. He loved it!! While he was doing that, I took Abby (she wasn't old enough for the groups yet), on one of the other trails and we had a great time too. It was very quiet and peaceful, except at the end it started to rain. We saw a waterfall and lots of pretty trees and flowers. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of Noah's group, but I did get some of Abby. The field trip was only $4 and ABby and I got in free because we came with him, so it was a really great deal. WE're definitely doing that again!!



Noah also had his opening day parade for baseball. "They moved it out of South Lebanon and to Maineville. As usual is was awesome!! Abby and I made a sign again for him this year, I think we're the only ones who do it!! It was very cold and windy that day though, which kind of stunk, but it was worth it!!



And he's also played three games now and won all three. Tonight is the next game and it looks to be with the toughest team. Hopefully it will go well!! Here he is running to first!



Abby had observation day at dance class. They are really working on their recital dance. It looks really cute! I"m excited for the family to see it!



So that's about it for now. Hope everyone has a great day!!

The Zoo in Bloom

These are some pictures from the zoo today. We went with Sonya on Monday and I forgot my camera, so when I saw that all the tulips were in full bloom, and probably wouldn't be for much longer, I decided to come back today to get some pictures. I LOVE it when the tulips are so pretty like that. It makes the best pictures.

Wow! Edited

While searching the internet for a few specific Bible verses, I stumbled upon this scary website. It's ffrf.org

or Freedom From Religion Foundation. Wow, is this scary. If you don't think we have a battle going on, you should check this site out. Check over their purposes and accomplishments. Notice their student essay contests offered to high schoolers.

In the accomplishment section you'll find:

Removing Ten Commandments monuments and crosses from public land

Ending 51 years of illegal bible instruction in public schools

Overturning a state Good Friday holiday

and several others.

And in the events section you can attend this:

"Tunes 'n 'Toons" plays in Ashland! Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Steve Benson and musician Dan Barker will team up to offer a humorous, multimedia dressing down of religious bigotry when they appear at Southern Oregon University

Wow is this website frightening. Just thought I'd share.

Edited to say:

If that wasn't scary enough check out this website that exposes the beliefs of one our the worlds most powerful and influential people:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW4LLwkgmqA&feature=related

Our church actually used part of that video in our sermon this past week and spoke in great lengths about it. How many people are listening and behaving because of what she says? We have to be ready. We need to defend our beliefs.

Aren't I pretty!!

Tired of seeing my big face yet????

Not much going on here other than just normal life. Noah has begun his baseball season and had his first game yesterday. They actually won by 20 runs, and they called the game after 3 innings because of the score. So that was a good start I guess, but I always feel awful for the other team. They're just kids, and to lose like that must feel bad. But I guess that's the risk you take when you sign your kids up for sports. Speaking of that, Abby will be signed up for t-ball again this summer (luckily there, they don't keep score, I don't think she could handle that yet). She also has her dance recital in early June. This year she's doing a tap routine for the recital. Her costume is just adorable and she has picture day for that next week. Oh and Noah is still doing karate and is actually the highest ranked kid in the school. Next week he tests out of the childrens program and into the teenage program. All that means is the moves will get more complicated. His sensei just beams when he talks about Noah. We're very proud of both of our children, but wow it seems that they are pretty busy!! We try to keep them at no more than 2 activities at any given time, but they are both expressing interest in learning a musical instrument, Abby piano and Noah guitar. We're looking into that now. Those lessons if we decide to do them, will be during the day, so that won't add on to the evenings thankfully.

We now only have three weeks left in school. But we're still going to be a few things over the summer. Noah is doing a cursive writing lesson, because I felt like the curriculum didn't give him enough to be fluent in it and he seems genuinely interested in learning to write that way. Abby will be continuing to progress in reading. We're trying different things with her to see what works best. She is definitely progressing, so that's great. Oh and we'll also continuing our family reading.

We got some new shelves for the unfinished space in the basement. We got them from Ikea. I only have two sets right now, but eventually I'd like to get about 10 sets so I can organize all the holiday decorations, gift wrapping items, long term storage items and overstock grocery items. They are so inexpensive from Ikea so I should be able to work getting another set here and there into the budget for a few weeks and then have them all in about a month or so. That will be so great to have all the organized. I will be very happy!! I especially need more room after the last few big shopping sales!!

Well that's the highlights right now. We have 152 days left til the next Disney trip!! And getting closer every day!!

A new me

Here's my new glasses! I only need them to read and they actually do seem to be working for that. I just have to start remembering to put them on!

A final word on the subject (for now!)

A final word, and since this is my blog, I will be the final word.

Our culture is no longer safe for the Christian. We are being ostracized and criticized for the beliefs that we hold to be truth. You only have to turn on the t.v, the radio, walk down the street or read a magazine to see that are beliefs are no longer welcome. Something big is eventually going to happen because of this huge shift from Christianity and God's protection. Something huge is going to happen, I'm not sure what, I'm not sure when, but I can make a pretty good guess and say it'll either happen in our lives, our children's lives or maybe even our grandchildren's lives, but probably before that. When this happens we need to be ready. Our children need to be ready. When chaos comes, people seek out absolute truth, and guess what? We know what that is. An example of this was after 9/11 when tons and tons of people went to church and prayed for safety and answers. When the next big thing happens, we need to be ready to guide them to answers. Our children need to be ready to guide them to answers. No other country has survived such a huge change in mentality. A big change is inevitable. I think of our children as spiritual warriors. They need to be ready for "battle". They need to be prepared. They need to have their coat of armor about them. They need to be ready at any time to not only defend their beliefs, but share them, live by them, and win people of to Christ with them. And by and large, this preparation will not occur in a public school, nor with supplements at home. I do think public schools are about as anti-christian as anywhere else. They teach untruths that are a direct assault on the teachings of the Bible. They do not allow God to be mentioned. They are forcing children to participate in other religions activities. They teach about homosexuality, premarital sex, abortion and actually teach "tolerance" in these areas. Well of course we're supposed to love people no matter what they do or participate in. But we are not called to tolerate sin. It's just not true. Our jobs are to change the hearts of these people so they can turn from their sin and be in the Glory of God. Of course that'll never happen if we threaten them, harass them, harm them. And I don't teach my children that in any way. I've already explained homosexuality to them (not in detail), but they get the idea and I made sure I spent the bulk of my conversation on, how we are supposed to love them no matter what and pray for them and not treat them like evil people. I believe that is how God wants us to handle these situations. This is how he wants us to be prepared. Not learning tolerance of the sin.

So anyway, that was a little rant. But my beliefs are that God has called a generation to be ready to fight the war that has begun and will only continue on until something dramatic happens. I am readying my children for that, by teaching them in a God filled home, where they are loved, nurtured and their God given gifts are grown so that when He needs them, they will be ready. He gave them those gifts for a reason and He will use them for His purpose. My job is to ensure those gifts are not trampled, beat down or forced into submission. And I feel that is exactly what the public school intends. Whether we like it or not, they do not want to breed great thinkers, great minds, great people. They seek to breed followers, people who don't ask too many questions, and will take a place a society and not make too much trouble. I know this is difficult to believe, but it is true. Now of course there are exceptions. Godly people can come from public schools. But it is much less likely. How many Godly people are making noise in the entertainment world now, the sports world, the political world? Sure there are some here and there, but let's be honest, they are few and far between. Most of these people are mentioned because they have achieved something great and credit it to God. Those are awesome stories, that always inspire us. But how many people are there in these worlds, reminding us that we need to turn from our sinful behaviors? How many are making sure the public knows that Hell is a real place? How many are actually preaching the great news of Jesus? Most of them mention God, but few mention Jesus. And most likely as soon as someone mentions any of these, they are called intolerant, and unloving, and narrow minded, etc.. But what we need is numbers. We need more and more and more spiritual warriors out there, preaching the truth and actually making a difference.

I know that our country does not make it a practice to send our soldiers to basic training in Iraq with Al Qaeda. They do not feel it is better to let them be out there with the enemy, so they can become stronger and more ready to handle situations this enemy may throw at them when they arise. They don't send them into Al Qaeda for the bulk of the day and then bring them back to US camps and supplement what they have learned there with what they know to be the better way. NO. They train them here, they ready them here, they prepare them here. They would never send an unprepared soldier out to war. They would never let you sign up one day and ship out the next. They take time to ready you. That's what I'm doing with my kids. They are kids, not little adults. They are not prepared to deal with opposing forces yet. Their brains are not physically ready to handle the problems that may arise. And no matter what anyone says, sending a child out to deal with bullies, oppressors, and attackers, does not make them stronger or in any way ready to deal with that as an adult. That's just silly. So as a tree grows, should we pull its leaves off, pull it's limbs off, deny it water in hopes of it becoming a stronger tree? Of course not. Children need to be raised in an environment that gives them self esteem, love, nurturing, and God filled, so that when they do have to deal with "those people" then they are ready. Throwing them into battle too soon, does not make them stronger, it defeats them.

I once posted and them immediately took down a thought on why all other creatures on Earth "shelter" their young and do not send them out into the world on their own until they are completely ready to survive on their own. Survive on their own. That means able to find their own food, make their own home, battle any enemies, and make their own families. For animals that may take anywhere from a few months to a few years. In humans that takes about 17-20 years, depending on the person. God set it up that way. God made it so it would take longer for humans to mature slower than animals. So are we just impatient then? Are we tired of waiting for our kids to mature, so we just send them out anyway? Well we shouldn't. We should give them that solid foundation to grown from as adults.

So anyway, I homeschool because the writing is on the wall for me now. God has called me to this as He has a growing number of families. I don't need statistics or facts to know that, although there are plenty. And I don't need a degree to know that God would much rather His children be raised in Godly environments, which we all know is not public school. So if you don't agree then hopefully at least you'll teach your children to recognize the spiritual warriors when they need them. I plan to make mine ready to fight any battle that comes there way. Never before have I understood the pilgrims more. If there was a "new land", I may just be ready to venture into myself. But since there isn't, I need to be ready to stay here and fight.

a great blog to visit

http://heartsforfamily.blogspot.com/

I just found this blog about 2 hours ago and can't stop reading it. I have read through all of her homeschooling posts and several of her birth control posts and it's like this woman is reading my heart. I only hope she knows what an encouragement she is to me and probably many others. I am constantly striving to be the "ultra conservative" that I believe God wants me to be and therefore reevaluating nearly everything in my life lately. Boy the Lord can change a person, that's for sure and I can't wait to see how much these changes bless my life, my husbands life, my childrens lives and any other life that comes in contact with our family. Just when I thought I might be alone in my beliefs or maybe just crazy, God gives me a map to find that the hope I so needed. So anyway, just wanted to share it. No need for comments here, you can just visit it or not.

Homeschooling

Disclaimer:  This post is long, I realize that.  But I have so much to say.  If your not interested than just skip this post and in a few days I"m sure there will be a new one up with details of our extremely exciting life!  Oh and there will probably be a follow up post as I remember throughout the day more ideas I meant to write here!

My focus has changed from why should I homeschool to why shouldn't my children ever step foot in a public or private school again.  Facts are facts and the truth is these schools were created for a single purpose, are currently and continually fulfilling that purpose, are not designed to promote the individual, are not designed to create "thinkers", but merely followers, was founded by the richest men in the country,  seeking an easily moldable and predictable workforce.  It's basically the run of the mill conveyor belt system.  In the book "A Thomas Jefferson Education" Oliver Van De Mille describes the conveyor belt like this:  "They are set up like a factory, everyone in the class gets the same education at the same age from the same textbooks and they are tested the same and graded based upon the same scale regardless of their individual interests, talents or goals.  The goal is to give students the same ideas, and to grade and rank them according to their conformity with these ideas.  In this system you go down the factory line, first grade, second grade, third grade with a factory worker at each station, being assembled with certain parts (the curriculum) at a certain in a certain way from a common book or manual."  No where does he mention these schools allowing for the individual to make the choices in what they should learn.  To let them focus on the subjects that they excel in and were made by God to be interested in. 

 For example, if a child shows an interest and talent for Math, of course they'll be likely to go into Geometry, Advanced Algebra, Trigonometry and probably Calculus and beyond.  They were designed to be interested in that.  But say this same child who gains high remarks in Math, does poorly in History.  This child does  not enjoy history, can not remember history facts and therefore gets low remarks in history and feels like he failed there (and I'm sure his parents will be very upset that he's failing history and bringing down his GPA and lowering his chances of getting into the college of their, I mean his dreams).  This is what happens when a system is designed to ignore the individual and concentrate on creating a society as a whole that walks and talks alike.  If that same child were in a homeschool setting, with parents that recognized this interest and talent (which probably wouldn't be hard for the parent to pick up on), then he would obviously work to excel in that area.  He would be able to pursue Math further than he probably ever would be able in a school setting.  Plus he would be fostering a love of learning.  

We love to do what we're good at and what we are interested in.  I feel like I'm pretty good at having kids Birthday parties, scrapbooking and recently couponing.  And I LOVE doing those things.  I am not good at wiring a t.v. or surround system or working on a car and therefore HATE doing those things.  This child would hate going to school to listen to the history lesson and then promptly doing poor on the exam.  But because of fostering that love of education, he will continually learn well into adulthood and will probably someday use that love to find out more about the history he hated before.  I mean who says learning ends at 18?  By growing a love of learning, you are ensuring that your children will never stop try to learn more and more in the lives.  I think that's hugely important.  I know I"d much rather have children love learning, love getting more and more knowledge, than hating the whole idea of school and feeling a sense of relief when it's over and that now they don't "have to do it anymore" because now they're 18 and can choose not to do it.  

A study done by UCLA of 1000 public schools found that teachers on average spent 7 minutes daily on personal interactions with the students.  That averaged out to be about 14 seconds per student.  14 seconds of personal interaction from the teacher.  Well that is of course unless you're the "problem" student and gets lots of attention (mostly negative), but attention nonetheless.  Even if it's a busy day and I give my children 5 or 10 minute doses of attention throughout the day, they have received multiple times more  interaction than in the school setting.  How much more can a child learn when their mentor gives them a much higher quantity (and quality considering, no one except God, loves your children more than you do) of that personal interaction?  I think the readily available statistics of test scores can show you how much children can learn in this type of setting.  They outscore children in elementary grades on the Iowa tests and highschoolers  on the SAT's and ACT's. 

 I am vehemently against standardized testing because as I said before I am not at all for testing every kids abilities as a whole on a test written with no consideration for a kids natural born strengths and weaknesses.  It's just not fair.  And there are even some who are just great "test takers"as I feel like I was in school.  I could pass ( and most likely get an A) in almost all subjects (except Calculus) yet not retain an ounce of what I learned.  I could not tell you 5 people who signed the Declaration of Independence, the symbols for 5 elements on the Periodic Table, how to conjugate a verb, or how to ask for help in Spanish.   Yet I took American History, Chemistry, 4 years of English, 4 years of Spanish.  But hey, what should I expect, I'm a product of the conveyor belt.  And luckily for me God put in me the ability to get past that and see it for what it is, and strive as an almost 30 year old adult to get an "education".  I now feel like the dumbest one in the room when I hear some of these people talk.  They all were conveyor belt victims too, but as adults chose to get an education.  And I want to be like them.  And that happens by reading books.  But that's another post.  Well, let me just say, how much more can you learn by reading a book written by Einstein, than reading a a quote here and there in a textbook filled with dumbed down information and more than enough opinions (not truths) to go around?  When you read the actual words of these great "thinkers' it's like they are sitting there talking to you and sharing the vast wealth of knowledge they have with just you.  It's like having a private conversation and they are sharing the secrets of their intelligence.  That's exactly how they learned.  They learned by reading what the great "thinkers" before them wrote.  Well anyway, that's enough on that for now.

Let's talk about socialization as that's always the hot button for anti-homeschoolers.   This is an article I found that had some very interesting points and rather than copying the whole thing and making this post longer than any other written, here's the link!  www.lewrockwell.com/orig/zysk1.html

or read this article from the Home School Legal Defense Association complete with studies and graphs and tables:   

www.hslda.org/research/ray2003/Socialization.asp

and here there are several articles dealing with this concern:

http://homeschooling.about.com/od/socialization/Socialization_How_to_deal_with_it.htm

Plus you can find many more simply by googling homeschool socialization and educating yourself in this manner.  

If you still aren't convinced that your kids shouldn't be in a public or private school setting, here's some more from the "A Thomas Jefferson Education" book by Oliver Van De Mille (worried about who this guy is, just google him, he seems very reputable).

"Historically the primary goal of public schools, the reason they were instituted, was to educate the poor so they could get a job and take their place in society.  The middle class already had private schools and apprenticeships, and the wealthy were tutored at home.  

Successful nations in history have had professional schools and leadership education, which complement each other.  In class societies, the middle classes have tended toward the professions while the artiocracy received leadership education.  Of course that left out the lower classes, so many nations established public schools to educate the poor.  This always improved the nation.  Delinquency, poverty and enslavement were replaced with widespread literacy and functionality, with resulting increased prosperity and opportunity.

In addition to these considerable benefits of public schools, they often came with a down side.  Consider two of the most successful cases:  18th Century Germany and 19th Century Britain.  Each instituted public schools to educate the poor, and the standard of living increased.  But eventually the professional and leadership schools deteriorated because they simply couldn't compete with free, government-subsidized schools.  

In each case the educational system and later the governmental system collapsed or at least convulsed.  The lesson seems to be that if you have all three systems working together, society benefits.  But when nearly everyone is getting an education for the poor and hardly anyone is being trained as a leader, the whole nation suffers."  

So basically I feel that he is saying that public/private schools do have a place in society for those people who have no other choice.  But for those who can do something about their education and have parents willing to help in that endeavor, the other choices are vastly better.  I just feel like my children deserve the education reserved for leaders.  Now I know when I think of the word leader, what immediately comes to mind is government leaders or military leaders.  And both of those are great and something to aspire to, but I mean even being great leaders in their families as Mothers and Fathers, or leaders in their churches as Pastors or Sunday school teachers, or worship leaders, or even leaders at the job they are employed to do.  The secret is out and you don't have to be "rich" to get the best education anymore.  Anyone in any class can offer the best to their children.  I mean we give our kids the best in most other areas of their lives, why should we chose not to give them the best here.  The best education is not found in a classroom of 20 or more other kids learning from the same book, in the same style of teaching, and testing in the same way.  It's just not the best, period.  And that fact can be proven.  I feel like my kids deserve the best, even if I have to drag myself out of bed every morning to do it, even if I have to work over the summer deciding what curriculum to use, even if I have to plan some field trips or crafts or science experiments, even if I hardly get "a break from the kids", even if my children are frustrated with my style of teaching, even if I feel like they'll never learn from me, even if my house is falling apart with mess and clutter, even if the laundry pile rivals Mt. Everest, even if we haven't eating anything that wasn't made by Chef Boyardee or my dear old Aunt Jemima in weeks, even if I just "don't feel" like doing school today, even if it seems that they are not getting it in whatever subject, even if I feel like pulling my hair out.  I know I am giving them the best education.  God chose me to be their parents.  He charged me in Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it".  In the original Hebrew text the word train was chanak which meant to train, instruct or initiate.  I feel like he entrusted us to raise up our children in the way they should go (following Him) and I daresay that dropping them off at a public school where God is blaringly absent, is not what He intended for His children.  Some say that if while the children are at home, they can work to bring God into their lives and show them there how to live as a Christian.  And to that I have two points:  One, how confusing must it be for a child to spend 7 hours a day at a school where like I said God is absent, behaving in such a society and learning to strive in such a society and then come home for the 4 or 5 hours in the evening only to switch gears and get into "christian mode" at home.  I don't think those 4 or 5 hours will do much good in de-wiring from them the ideals and behaviors they learned earlier in the day.  And my second point:  How much do you actually get to spend on showing them this Christian life?  They spend anywhere from 7-9 hours (including riding the bus to and from) in the actual realm of school.  Then when they get home most have at least an hour (when older much more) of homework to do.  Then there's projects: science fair, book reports, research papers, etc...that take up even more of the time, even on the weekends.  Oh and also the extracurricular activities:  band, basketball, play practice, cheerleading, chess club, whatever.  So when exactly is the child not in the "school" way of thinking?  Do you think they didn't know what they were doing when they designed school to take up so much time?  Do you think they offer so many enticing extracurricular choices for a reason?  Of course they did.  If you are too busy with that, then you don't have time to do anything else, which may hinder their cause.  But with homeschooling, they are in the Christian environment from the time they wake up until the time they go to sleep and they are not consumed with all things school.  They have time to learn by just playing, by exploring, by trying new things.  They have time for dance lessons or sports because they are not consumed with the rigorous hours of the school day.  There is just no time for kids to learn from the world around them and not just a textbook in the public or private school day.  

Now, private school does allow for God to be around in the school day, and that's wonderful, but they are run in the same principal of the same education for everyone.  They usually have more money and are therefore fancier, prettier and offer more extracurricular activities, but don't forget that are still a conveyor belt, paying no mind to the individual child.  And if you don't mind them receiving such an education, then by all means go for it.  But I just know that my kids deserve the best, and I believe all kids deserve the best.  

Now one last point, I know you're probably saying thank goodness!!  I hear a lot of people say that they just don't have the time to do it.  What??  You can't give your children 14 seconds a day!!  Just kidding!!  Learning doesn't have to happen between the hours of 8-3.  That's a public school idea.  It's set up to be a free childcare center so that both parents can work out of the home all day.  Learning can happen at 9 am, 2 pm, or even 11pm.  And the idea of learning is to set it up so that children will learn to educate themselves.  Now this doesn't mean you just leave them to their own devices.  But as they learn to read, learn basic math principles, learn basic science ideas, etc..they can apply that knowledge to a new idea and probably do most of the work themselves.  How often does curriculum introduce a new idea?  Probably once or twice every 10 or 15 pages.  At least that's what has been the case for the curriculum we're using.  So I probably have to spend 10 or 15 minutes introducing that new idea, showing them what it means using manipulatives or another hands on experience and then give them examples and a few problems to do in front of me and then they are ready to tackle the assignment.  So in the those 10 or 15 pages (about a weeks worth of work), I spend maybe 30 minutes of one on one teaching and then maybe another 10 minutes going over the assignments (which are usually review of older ideas or practice on newer ideas) on the other pages.  And then maybe a total of 5 minutes a week to go over the work and make sure he's understanding the ideas and if not offering help or suggestions to better understand.  So for each subject (Noah does 5: Math, Language Arts, Bible, Science and History/Geography) 45 minutes is about all that's required weekly.  So that comes out to 225 minutes for all 5 subjects or just less than 4 hours.  Can we not find 4 hours in a week to give to our children?  Even if it's just a little bit of time during the week and more instruction on Saturday.  And of course more time could be spent on reading to them (we do this in the evenings as a family), putting together and doing crafts, field trips, etc..but that's on a mother by mother basis.  You are not required to do those things.  But I'm sure you could squeeze in a few during the week anyway.  And again, how much better will your child do with 225 minutes of individual one on one time per week, than the 70 seconds they get at school?

Now I know I covered ALOT in this post and I'm sure there are still some things I didn't cover, but I feel like the Lord has lead me to write this post, he has put it in my heart for about a week now and I finally have the time and words to write it.  I hope no one is offended.  I was once just like those who are against it or even if their not against it, don't feel it's right for their family.  But now that my eyes have been open to the truth, I feel like I have to share it.  My kids deserve it and your kids do too.  

And here's another link to the a speech by a man who wrote the book "The Underground History of American Education".  He was a New York public school teacher for lots of years and quit and wrote this book and the book "Dumbing us Down".  I have the underground history book on order and will let anyone borrow it who is interested.  In this speech he talks more about the UCLA study.   It also talks about very recent events in the government to maintain their control of the schools.  It's very interesting.  

http://4brevard.com/choice/Public_Education.htm

HI

I thought I'd just do a quick update post.  We're doing well.  We have about 5 weeks and 2 days left of our curriculum.  We're starting to do a more "classical" approach to education as well and that involves reading the children classic literature.  I've ordered a classic christian book and we'll do that when it gets here, but for now we're reading together the first 4 books in the Chronicles of Narnia collection.  Prince Caspian is number 4 and that's the new movie coming out next month, so we made a deal to read all 4 before we could see the movie.  We're halfway through number 1 already and we just started Monday.  The kids are actually really interested in being read to this way.  I am surprised.  Well anyway, I could do a whole lengthy post about what I learned about classical education, but I won't now, maybe another time.  Let me just say that it's incredible to learn about the "agenda" of public schools in comparison to the education of great minds such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Isaac Newton and Joan of Arc to name a few.  It's very interesting.

But anyway, today Noah has a doctors appointment and we both have eye appointments.  So in between those times, we're going to do "vanschooling",  I love doing things differently and since we have about 2 1/2 hours in between the two scheduled times, I thought we could pull off at a park in Mason and do school in the van.  If it were nicer out, we might do it outside, but I think it's supposed to rain by the afternoon.  

Ok, my next big dilemma concerns a mom of a kid on Noah's baseball team.  Last year, there was a kid that Noah knew from school (they were not in the same class or anything, he just knew who he was), well they were on the same team and his Mom talked to me a lot through the games and she invited us to her house.  So we went and let me just say that within the first minute, I couldn't wait to get out of there.  Sonya knows this story.  She has two sons, one Noah's age and one a little younger than Abby.  Her younger son suffers from asthma, pretty badly apparently.  She has told me before that she wasn't sure what caused her son to have such bad ashtma.  Well as soon as we arrived, she wanted to make lunch, so we all went into the house and she immediately lights up a cigarette in front of my kids and her kids.  Hello Lady!!  That's why your kid has such bad asthma.  I immediately made my kids go outside and play, and made them stay out there the rest of the time we were there.  The smoking wasn't my only problem with her, but it was my biggest.  She also had a teenage nephew staying with her for the summer and the whole time our 4 kids were outside playing in the inflatable pool thingy, he just sat there staring at them.  So that really creeped me out.  So if anyone knows me, they know I hate confrontation.  So I tried desperately to avoid starting something there.  I figured if I just kept the kids away from her today, we won't have to deal with it anymore  because we won't come back.  Maybe I should've said something for her kids sake, but I've learned from personal experience that commenting on ones addictive behavior, usually doesn't come with good consequences.  So anyway, the season was about over at that point and she didn't invite us again or anything, so I thought whew, I made it through that one!!  Well last night, Steve took Noah to practice (they just started practicing again) and Noah walks in and says Mommy, Hunter's Mom said HI!  Oh no!!  He's on our team again.  We have like 20 games and probably 10 practices that I have to deal with her again.  What am I going to do???????  She told my husband that she left her phone out in the rain and she lost my number.  I thought I had just gotten off easy, but no, she just lost my number!  So last night, Steve and I were joking about the things I could do or say to her, so she wouldn't invite us to do anything!!  I said maybe I have an infectious disease, maybe homeschooling keeps us sooo busy, even in the summer!!  Maybe I could just pretend to be on my cell phone the whole time and couldn't talk to her!!  Of course I'll never do any of those things, but what should I do when she inevitably walks up and invites us to do something.  I really need to get a backbone here and just tell what I think, but I'd really rather not!!!!  Anyway, so other than the usual cluttered house, changing homeschool, giant pile of laundry and unmade dinner, I have this to worry about!!  And I am dreading it!!