Didn't He Already Ask That?

The kids and I were at our local "Generally A Dollar" store today. This store seems to always be going through changes, and none of it for the better... lots of employee turnover and a floorplan that changes so frequently I half expect to stumble across a Minotaur. Because of all this upheaval, it appears that the "powers that be" at headquarters decided to send a regional manager to the store to help them regroup and increase their efficiency.

While I was at the checkout, aforementioned regional manager approached the clerk waiting on me. In his hand was some retail-related gizmo. He stuck it in front of the clerk's face and asked, "Is this broke? Or just ain't workin'?"

Poetic Procrastination

Along with the other members of The Great Books Reading Partnership, I am reading Chapter 9 (History Refracted: The Poets and Thier Poetry) of The Well-Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. However, I am finding the section on the history of poetry very difficult to get through because of an anology Ms. Bauer uses that makes the topic more, rather than less, confusing for me.

Anyway, I decided to take a break from reading in the hopes of clearing my head and starting anew after the kids went to bed. I went out to the back porch to watch the kids play outside and to watch the beautiful flights of the brown bats that hunt bugs in our backyard. As I was watching Terzo pick up a stick to fight an enemy I could not see, a poem formed in my mind. Although I like to read poetry, all my attempts at writing it are very juvenile and uninspired. I am generally too concrete and to-the-point in my thinking... i.e. not poetic. This time, however, I wrote the poem down and read it to Frodo... and he liked it. So here it is... such as it is.

It is so

The Child stands, spies a stick

He stoops, “You shall be my sword.”

And it is so.

The Child looks, observes the air

He commands, “You shall be my enemy.”

And it is so.

The battle begins, creature against creator

The victor is no mystery, still the battle must be fought

There is honor in it.

Armageddon, the fates of worlds

The creator triumphs, “I am the hero.”

And it is so.

Noah Takes A Picture Of Himself Every Day For 6 Years

This is the name of a short film that I discovered on YouTube this evening (a web site I am now totally addicted to, by the way). The film is exactly what it's title says it is. It is a series of photos that Noah Kalina took of himself everyday from January 11, 2000 to July 31, 2006 set to original music by Carly Comando (very reminiscent of Phillip Glass... so much so that Frodo thought I had started watching Truman Show without him... a cardinal sin in our house).

This film fascinated me. I felt compelled to watch it once it began and wanted to watch it over and over once it was finished. We may notice changes is our appearance year-to-year, but it was surprizing to see how much Noah changed day-by-day. I would watch the changes in his hair length, wardrobe, background and people who provided his 'supporting cast' and find myself thinking:

"Wow, he likes that plaid shirt."

"I wonder where he was going." (He had on a tuxedo shirt and bow tie twice... on non-consecutive days but within a week of each other.)

"Did he move?"

"Is that his girlfriend?"

"What is that picture on the wall?"

"Did he take his picture at the same time every day?"

"Why is there a seemingly long period of time when he took his photo in front of the alcove with the computer then another long period of time when he didn't?"

"What was his purpose in doing this?"

The film is 5.5 minutes long, so if you have a few minutes and you want to rest your feet while exercising your brain's areas of abstract (or not so abstract) thought, check out the film and let me know what you think.

Never Mind

Well, I guess Target didn't like me (and many others) pointing out the gaps in their copywriters' educations. If you were among the many people who were confused when trying to click the link in my post Sigh, there was good reason... Target changed what it linked to.

The link originally brought you to a doll that was obviously supposed to be Benjamin Franklin. However, the Target people identified the doll as being "Franklin Roosevelt".

I guess it is good that they have taken the page down to be edited properly, but I am sad over being made to look like I am clueless. I often am clueless, I just don't like it pointed out!

To prove that I am not crazy, here is a copy of the original product page.

On the plus side, Christmas is coming up. Why not buy a Presidential Action Figure for the child in your life today! They'll be glad you did.

Sigh.

I don't even know what to say about this.

Really. What could I say?

Note: For those of you who receive copies of these posts via email, you need to head on over here to the website so you can access the hyperlink. And since most of my posts contain at least one hyperlink, coming here to read the posts might be a good common practice.

A Top Notch Education In Economics

If you want to learn about a topic, the best person to learn from is an expert - preferably one who is world-renown in his subject. Who wouldn't want to take art classes from Leonard DaVinchi, learn astronomy from Galileo, or receive golf lessons from Tiger Woods? Unfortunately, for many of us, learning any craft from such an expert, living or dead, is equally impossible. Fortunately, this is not the case in economics. Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize winner in Economics, has made his "Free To Choose" lectures (originally aired on PBS in the 1980's) free for the viewing. Don't miss this rare opportunity to sit under the tutelage of a master.

Note: I had some trouble with the audio, so you may need to fiddle with it a bit. Trust me, it is worth some fiddling!

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Homeschooling 4 children, a dh who works full-time and goes to grad school part-time, writing, and taking care of a house are enough to keep any woman on her toes. She looks for those little things throughout her day to encourage her to keep going... evidence that all is not in vain (and that she can relax a bit because her children actually are learning something despite what seems like daily evidence to the contrary). One of those things for me is the rapidly increasing vocabulary of our 2-year-old, Quarto. As someone who loves words, dislikes "baby talk" and loves to talk, having children with large vocabularies is a great pick-me-up. True, Quarto's constant repeating of Terzo drives Terzo a little nuts, but all-in-all this rapid increase in speech has been a good thing... or so I thought.

It was cute when I would call Quarto over for a diaper change and he would call back, "Just a minute!"

Or when he would call out, "Can you pray with me?" after being in bed for an hour already or during a particularly strong "scary, terrible rain" (aka thunderstorm).

However, it ceased being cute when he began declaring, "Mom! I'm gonna throw up!" on a regular basis.

Now, to put you all at ease, the first few times he did this, I was a good parent and made sure he was provided with a bucket, that he had no fever and that he had plenty of bland food so as not to further aggrivate his delicate tummy. However, I began to notice that his declarations were not accomapnied by the typical physical signs of nausea. Quite the opposite. He would continue to run around and giggle and ask to play with cars or watch a movie or play outside. This phrase simply appears to be his "something to say when he doesn't know what else to say."

All parents know the high state of alert that the proclamation "I'm gonna throw up!" brings. You brace yourself for the wretch as you scramble to find a bucket and your brain plans how to clean whatever difficult-to-clean surface your child inevitably ends up targeting. Although my mind knows that Quarto is just repeating this phrase because he finds it an interesting phrase to utter (kind of like Frodo's need to use the word "phlegm" whenever the occasion arises because he loves the sound of the word and the chance just doesn't come up that often in typical daily conversation), I can't turn off this primitive reaction of reaching for a bucket and mentally replanning my day to accomodate a sick toddler.

I already feel like I have to be on my game on a daily basis without having the "kid alert" raised to red whenever my toddler is bored. Reprogramming appears to be in order. Here are the phrases I have decided to repeat randomly throughout the day with the hopes that Quarto will exchange one of them for his current favorite:

1. "Sweet baby gherkins!" (This is actually an exclamation that Frodo is attempting to introduce into the American lexicon. To be used when receiving a positive shock. For example: "Honey, we're going to have a baby." "Really?! Sweet baby gherkins!")

2. "The sea monkey stole my money." (from Finding Nemo. Strictly for the entertainment value.)

3. "Mom! I got a full scholarship to Harvard!" (Although still untrue, would successfully replace the instinctive dread elicited by the current phrase with a naturally joyous response.)

Any other suggestions?

Sometimes You Find Great Philosophy In Unlikely Places

Criminals thrive on the indulgence of society's understanding.

-Henri Ducard, Batman Begins

And sometimes you find terrible philosophy in the same place.

It's not who you are underneath, it's what you do that defines you.

- Rachel Dawes (repeated by Batman), Batman Begins

Praise God for grace!

Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

- Luke 11:39-41

A Great Pick-Me-Up and Exercise Program

Go ahead. Try not to bounce around with your kids while you watch... I dare you!

Furry Happy Monsters

Tagged For Homeschool Resources

Tagged by : Stepping Heavenward

1. One Homeschooling Book You Have Enjoyed

The Well-Trained Mind

2. One Resource You Wouldn't Be Without

Story of the World

3. One Resource You Wish You Had Never Bought

Loads of used easy readers. Better to borrow from the library.

4. One Resource You Enjoyed Last Year

First Language Lessons

5. One Resource You Will Be Using Next Year

Real Science 4 Kids: Chemistry Level 1

6. One Resource You Would Like To Buy

Good-quality, college level microscope

7. One Resource You Wish Existed

Clasically-oriented, grammar-stage science curriculum.

(I'm typing it as fast as I can!)

8. One Homeschooling Catalogue You Enjoy Reading

Rainbow Resource Center

9. One Homeschooling Website You Use Regularly

Well-Trained Mind Message Boards

10. Tag Five Other Homeschoolers

You know who you are!

Free Education

I am opposed to free education as much as I am opposed to taking property from one man and giving it to another who knows not how to take care of it... I do not believe in allowing my charities to go through the hands of robbers who pocket nine-tenths themselves and give one tenth to the poor... Would I encourage free schools by taxation? No!

-Brigham Young

Mushaboom

Frodo recently introduced me to the artist Feist. Her album Let It Die has quickly become a favorite... especially for road trips or as a gloomy day pick-me-up. I find myself drawn to the song Mushaboom, in particular. It has a wonderful, dreamy quality to it that I find easy to get lost in. I just may adopt this as my new theme song... it fits me so well. To listen, click the link below. The song's lyrics follow.

Mushaboom

Helping the kids out of their coats
But wait the babies haven't been born
oh oh oh

Unpacking the bags and settin' up
 And planting lilacs and buttercups
oh oh oh

But in the meantime I've got it hard
 Second floor living without a yard
 It may be years until the day
 My dreams will match up with my pay

 Old dirt road
 (mushaboom, mushaboom)
 Knee deep snow
(mushaboom, mushaboom)
Watchin' the fire as we grow...  old
(mushaboom, mushaboom)

I got a man to stick it out
 And make a home from a rented house
 oh oh oh
And we'll collect the moments one by one
 I guess that's how the future's done
 oh oh oh

How many acres how much light
 Tucked in the woods and out of sight
 Talk to the neighbours and tip my cap 
On a little road barely on the map

 Old dirt road
 (mushaboom, mushaboom)
 Knee deep snow
 (mushaboom, mushaboom)
 Watchin' the fire as we grow... old
(mushaboom, mushaboom)

 Old dirt road
 Ramblin' rose
 (mushaboom, mushaboom)
 Watchin' the fire as we grow
 (mushaboom, mushaboom)
 Well I'm sold ...
Oh oh oh oh oh oh ...
 Oh oh oh oh oh oh ...

What would you do?

Fox reporters, Steve Centanni (American) and Olaf Wiig (New Zealander), were released by their 'Holy Jihad Brigades' captors this week after a week in captivity. Although no one will ever know the minds of their captors, it is commonly accepted that the videotape made of the two men reading prepared statements in which they denounce Christ, America, and Western society were key to thier release. (To view the videotape, click here.) After their release, Cantanni said, "It was something we felt we had to do because they had the guns and we didn't know what the hell was going on."

What would you do? Would you agree to read the prepared statement with the hopes of being released?

I honestly don't know what I would do. It's easy to say that I would refuse to read the statement, but then who really knows what one would do at gunpoint?

"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." -Matthew 16: 15-19

Then Jesus told them, "This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: " 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."

Peter replied, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will."

"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times."

But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the other disciples said the same. - Matthew 26:31-35

Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. "You also were with Jesus of Galilee," she said. But he denied it before them all. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, "This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth." He denied it again, with an oath: "I don't know the man!"

After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, "Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away." Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, "I don't know the man!"

Immediately a rooster crowed.

Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: "Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly. - Matthew 26:69-75

Time to Catch Up

How ironic is that? These last many weeks I have had no time to post anything but the Carnival of Homeschooling links and when I finally begin to settle back into a routine and get back to my blog, I miss the last two carnivals.

Well, Yee Haw! It's time to set things straight! This week's carnival could be better described as a rodeo. So step right up Little Lady (or Buckaroo) and go visit the Carnival here. Say howdee to the head honcho, Sprittibee, while you're there.

And while you've got your feet up, check at last week's carnival over at PHAT Mommy's.

See ya'll after the fair!

School Is In Session

To be honest, it was never really out of session, but I can't fit "Sitting At A Table And Doing Workbook Pages, Handwriting Practice, and Other Textbook Learning Has Now Re-Commenced" in the subject line.

Since life occurs year-round, learning occurs year-round here at Apollos Academy. This summer was full of swimming lessons, trips to the local pool, trips to the neighbor's pool, hiking, museum visits, festival fun, family film fests, 4H, reading, watching thunderstorms, working in the garden, baking (both food in the kitchen and ourselves in the heat), church picnics, vacation bible school, and just being. With all that fun and learning, you'd think the kids wouldn't want to settle down with books, would you? Well, that's where you'd be wrong.

I called the girls into the kitchen this afternoon (after 2.5 hours working in the 4H garden) and told them that it was time for math. Both Primo and Secondo said, "Yay! Math!" Yay? Math? After half an hour, I asked them to clean up their Cuisenaire Rods and hand me thier worksheets,

"Now?! I was having fun."

"Just a few more minutes. PLEEEEAAAASSSEEEE!"

I gave in. Who wouldn't? They're begging to do math for goodness sake. A couple minutes later I hear:

Primo - "Mom, come look at my computer bars."

Tutor - "Computer bars?"

P - "Yeah. You know, like the bars on your cell phone or when you're waiting for a thing that you clicked on to come up on the computer."

T - "You mean a download?"

P - "That's what I said."

Secondo - "Mom, look. I can make steps this way (places rods vertically) or this way (stacks rods horizontally) or if I mix them up like this (places rods of random heights in a line vertically) it looks like New York City!"

T - "Very cool!"

I finally convince them to put the rods away after reassuring them that we can play with the rods again tomorrow, and they quickly clean up then scatter. I call them back in mere minutes later. Secondo arrives first and sees me holding books in my hands. "Are we having a spelling quiz?" I confirm that we are, indeed. Secondo enthusiastically screams, "Primo! Come here! Spelling quizes!"

"Spelling quiz?! Woo hoo!" Primo yells as she runs to her spot at the table. " I like spelling."

The rest of this week will be more of the same mix of conventional and unconventional:

Tuesday: Deskwork, housework, and swimming (maybe some car washing)

Wednesday: Deskwork, library trip, and swimming exhibition for grandparents at the local pool

Thursday: field trip to the county fair to see the girls' displays, eat fattening foods, and take in everything the fair has to offer

Friday: deskwork and swimming

And thus begins our re-commencement of "Sitting At A Table And Doing Workbook Pages, Handwriting Practice, and Other Textbook Learning"... and then some.

Angel Update

Angel (Mom and teacher at Adulai' Academy Homeschool) had her surgery on Thursday moring. I spoke to her Friday evening and she sounded much better and is enjoying being with family to recouperate. Thank you all for your prayers.

Beware the Mother's Curse

You know the mother's curse "May you have children exactly like you." (Usually said to a child having a strong-willed, trouble-making period.) Sometimes the curse is restated "Wait until you have a child who (fill in annoying, embarrasing, toilsome, or destructive bahavior here)." Apparently, when I was about 10, my mother uttered this curse because today it was fulfilled.

When I was a kid, we spent a week every summer in a rental cottage in rural North Hero, Vermont on the shore of Lake Champlain. It was a long drive from Central New Jersey where I grew up... especially when sitting in the back of our little, brown Honda Civic with my sister and our fluffy, energetic Chow/ German Shepherd mix. Our visit every year coincided with the Champlain Valley Fair where we would go and ride carnival rides, watch tractor pulls, see farm animals and eat delicious but very unhealthy food. My sister and I often saved up quarters so that we could play the games of chance on the Midway and win cheap treasures that we could haul home to document our ring tossing or number picking prowess. Usually, we walked-away empty handed, but one year we captured the gold medal of the Midway... two live goldfish.

Winning two goldfish wouldn't appear on the surface to be that big of a deal. You take them home, dump them in a bowl, get some fish food and enjoy them until they move on to the big fishbowl in the sky. (Carnival-won goldfish aren't known for their life-expectancy.) However, when you win those goldfish while on vacation 8 hours from home, it becomes more problematic. This is how my mom got her new lettuce crisper. Who knew that Tupperware could be so versatile? Sometime while my sister and I took turns holding the temporary home of our new pets in our laps as we drove through New England or maybe while we were shopping for a tank, gravel, food and other fish paraphenalia, my mom must have muttered the "mother's curse" because today...

We went to our town's annual street fair. We started the celebration in the traditional fashion. We stopped for doughnuts and drinks to go at the grocery store then went to eat breakfast while waiting in line for the library's book sale to open. After buying two boxfuls of books (not our best haul, but some good buys nonetheless), we parked Buster (our new-to-us, fire engine-red Suburban) and proceeded to the fair. After walking the length of the main strip, getting faces painted and eating lunch, we told the kids that they could each pick two activities (depending on cost). Primo and Terzo opted immediately for the rides. Secondo wanted to play a game and win something. Quarto was content to take everything in from his position in the carrier on Frodo's back (not that he had much choice). Frodo got ride tickets for Primo and Terzo and waited with them while I took Secondo to find a game to play. Upon spying the inflatable clownfish on a booth (the international sign for "win a goldfish"), she made a bee-line for the booth. We paid for our basket of ping-pong balls, and Secondo went to work. After watching a few tosses followed by frustration at their not even reaching the table, I encouraged Secondo to throw underhand. The next few tosses reached the table, but bounced erratically due to the fact that they were amazingly misshapen. As I was pondering whether the deformed balls were purposefully left in the rotation because of their erratic tendencies, I watched as one of Secondo's balls collided with that thrown by a couple next to us. The deformities on the balls complimented each other in such a way that they locked together and dropped directly into the mouth of a markedly small goldfish bowl. "I won a fish!" Secondo screeched in my ear. Secondo carried her new charge, aptly christened "Goldie", with great pride and care as we made our way back to the rides then on to the car. This is why Frodo had to leave for his study time early today. So that he could pick up a fish bowl, food, and other fish paraphenalia.

I have added a new lesson to our summer schedule. A science unit on fish.

And I will not mutter the "mother's curse." I will simply end today's blog entry with this moral:

Be careful what you wish for. Your child might get it.

Prayers Please

Angel, mom and teacher at Aduladi' Homeschool Academy, is facing emergency surgery. This is in the midst of other family health issues and other upheavals. Please pray for her health and for her family as they go through this time of physical, emotional and spiritual trial and join me in praising the One who promises eternal comfort and peace. May He be glorified in our suffering as we are sanctified through it. Praise be to God!

Update (as of Tuesday morning): Angel was released because the surgeon could not schedule her until Thursday. She is attempting to relax (with the aid of pain medication) until her surgery Thursday. Please continue praying.

It's That Time of Year Again

Time for the library's annual summer reading club!

Today we made our annual pilgrimage to the "big" library (the one with the greatest selection of books and the best reading rewards) to sign all the kids up for the reading club... even 2.5 year old Quarto was able to sign-up this year! Our library has great perks for participating in the summer reading program: minor league baseball tickets, coupons for free food, a big end-of-program picnic with live entertainment, family movie nights, free books, stickers, toys, and drawings for everything from stuffed animals to autographed baseball paraphernalia.

Most libraries throughout the country have some form of summer reading program, but don't forget to look for reading programs in more unconventional locations as well. Such as:

Barnes & Noble: Summer of Unfortunate Events

-Okay, maybe not "unconventional", but I had to mention it. This program is for kids in grades 1-6. For every 8 books he reads (each child may read 16 total), the student receives a free book from a preselected list plus a chance to win a signed copy of the 13th and final installment of the Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket (due out Friday, October 13, 2006... whenelse?) entitled The End. Primo's summer wish is to win the autographed book!

Commerce Bank: Wow! Zone Summer Reading Program

-Contact your local Commerce Bank branch and pick up a summer reading club form. Each child who reads ten books (limit is ten books per child) receives $10 in a new or existing Young Savers account. There are no fees associated with the account and your child will get personalized deposit and withdrawl forms. Commerce Bank also has free coin counting machines in every branch.

Red Robin Restaurants: Reading With Red

-Ask at your local Red Robin restaurant for a "Reading With Red" book list for your child. For reading ten books, your child receives a free kid's meal. This club is for children ages 10 and under.

Also, don't forget to check your local newspapers. If students complete our local paper's summer reading program, they receive a free child's ticket to a near-by major amusement park plus a pass for free parking.

BTW, each book read can go on ALL the different book club lists until you fill them up. And don't forget to encourage big sister to read to little brother because the book can go onto both lists. (Thus, why both Primo and Quarto have Berenstain Bears: The Big Road Race on all of thier lists!)

And while we are focused on reading programs, I hope you didn't forget to sign-up your homeschool for next year's Book It! program sponsored by Pizza Hut. Free personal pan pizzas are a great motivator!

Get out those library cards and get reading!

Just One Of Those Things I Never Imagined Saying

or have accepted as not that out of the ordinary.

Terzo: What's that out on the porch?

Tutor: That is what was left of your birthday cake that Frodo thought I threw out and I thought he threw out and that got left in the oven covered with plastic wrap so that when I tried to pre-heat the oven just now it caused toxic fumes from roasting ants and melting plastic wrap to rise out of the oven and form this big smelly cloud that is now in the kitchen, and I didn't have anywhere else to put it while I air out the kitchen and try to get these enchiladas in the oven before Frodo gets home. That's what.

Terzo: Oh, that.