Nov. 12, 2009 - The New Site Is Here!
Still working on stuff - but go take a look! http://www.PricelessPurity.org
Thanks!
~Rachel & Jillian~
Thursday, November 12, 2009 - Mr Music
There really are no words to say how cool it is as a non-musically oriented mom, to have a son who is studying piano and can sit down at it and make something up and holler to you in the kitchen, "Hey Mom, doesn't this sound like seaweed?" and you realize that is EXACTLY what it sounds like.
Nov. 2, 2009 - Home Spun strip #411
Oops. I can't believe I forgot to put the Halloween comic strip on this blog. I've been so busy it's been a bit overwhelming to keep up on dual posting. If I ever forget to post, check my Home Spun Juggling blog for updates!
Nov. 11, 2009 - Home Spun strip #412
Saturday, November 7, 2009 - What Would You Miss?
This morning at breakfast I got to wondering: What would you miss if your dear children went to public school and you did not spend quantity time with them? I am looking for specific answers that don't readily come to mind. If you have some, post them in the comments, and I shall compile a list. I think they would make wonderful reasons to encourage others to homeschool.
My inspiration: the sudden realization that if Miss Dog Lover were not here with me, I would not hear her twanging a concert on the elastics the orthodontist provides for dental alignment. Not even iTunes provides that service, last I checked. :)
Arby reports that (he) "would miss Major Havoc’s long-winded explanations of those random ideas that roll around his noggin’ but take FOREVER to be explained, and the huge grin that he gets when he realizes that I understand him. Those are moments that classroom teachers rarely have time for, leaving the Major Havocs of the world frustrated and disappointed."
My friend Christina, over at JugglingPaynes, says she "would miss the endless random discussions that pop up in the course of a day. Most topics revolve around superheroes lately, for example why do Spiderman's villains seem unable to live through the end of a movie? Batman's villains are much better at surviving. If you kill all your villains, who is left to fight? New York needed something like Gotham's Arkham Asylum, where they may as well have installed a revolving door considering how easy it is to escape. ~~ Hang on, the conversation just picked up again over here... "
Cellomom feels she needs to read the comments as they come in "cuz right now, I'm the one with the blank look when ds talks to me sometimes, and I see his frustration. I'm longing for some quiet, and I'm tired of the mess. It's been a long week. I will say I would miss the closeness with my kids. There just seems to be an easy camraderie with them most of the time." Ah, I know that feeling.
Mrs Q may be on the other side of the planet, but her feelings are familiar, too: I would miss the conversations around questions such as, "How many metres of double-sided tape would it take to cover an elephant?"
I'd also miss having a good excuse not to have to stand at the door and listen to the salesperson explain why I should change to their telephone/internet/electricity provider. "I'm sorry I can't talk to you now, I'm very busy homeschooling."
A new friend at Eagle Eye Academy writes that she "would miss those pajama days. Y'know the ones where your kids never get dressed and run around all day from one activity to the next with the excitement of learning! I would miss the adoring "I did it!" faces that they have when sounding out a word or figuring out a math problem!! I can't imagine days without them."
And Kellie (BTW, go vote for her) has a home like mine. She "would miss my messy kitchen table littered with everything from a worn copy of The Witch of Blackbird Pond, thirteen pieces of broken chalk, a plastic ruler, a hot pink calculator, the empty wrapper of a Fruit-by-the Foot, and a smudged spelling test dated Sept. 19, 2009. I would also miss the grubby hands that left my table in such a state."
Thursday, November 5, 2009 - Melrose Takes a Day Trip
Tuesday Miss Dog Lover and Mr Gingersnap had medical appointments in the big city. So, we decided to make a day of it and visit the plant conservatory there. This was a pretty routine field trip with lots to see and Mom talking altogether too much instead of just letting the student body look. However, Mom was greatly relieved when Mr Music quit making Darth Vader sounds in his efforts to help the plants grow by exhaling extra carbon dioxide for them.
Melrose, of course, begged to go along. Here he is, in a banana plant.
And again, in a different one. He did not eat any bananas whatsoever.
And this is called a Flamingo Plant. I include this for the owner of the world's most amazing fish and who happens to love flamingos. Hopefully seeing this will make her feel better.
Monday, November 2, 2009 - Coming Attractions
Late October starts my looking forward to Christmas. As a former elementary teacher, my mind moves through the year from one seasonal bulletin board to the next. By now I have things refined so that Reformation Day leads into the season of harvest and Thanksgiving, followed by Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. There is a sort of building that I think extends in my mind from the work of the Reformers that the Puritans and Pilgrims based some of their beliefs on, up through a Biblical understanding of Christ's coming.
I am offering a photo tour of early November at our place. :)
Oct. 29, 2009 - Home Spun strip #410
Every year I get three pumpkins. Three kids, three pumpkins. No complaints. Well, some complaints. Someone always has the better shaped pumpkin, or the best stem. I would get very excited helping to scoop out pumpkin guts and helping them decide on designs and carve them.
But as they get older, they do a lot of the work themselves. Marina has been carving her own pumpkin for years. This year Sierra did most of her own carving. They all make their own designs. Which leaves me with very little to do other than scooping pumpkin guts. Which isn't exactly fulfilling, creatively. You all know from my cakes and our edible models how much I love playing with food.
This year I bought an extra pumpkin. I had to get Sierra to agree to allow me to carve one (she gave me the littlest) but it was worth it. I didn't realize how much I missed carving pumpkins. It satisfies my inner sculptor.
If you want to satisfy your own inner sculptor, but without the pumpkin guts, this is a cute site for virtual pumpkin carving. Don't tell the kids until you've had some time to play with it.
Oct. 26, 2009 - Home Spun strip #409
Chase has always loved his superheroes, movie and cartoon characters. As I write this, he's playing with Star Wars action figures with Sierra. I like that he is 13 and still enjoys some imaginative play with his little sister. Unfortunately, it's always been hard to find the superhero/character of the moment when he wants a costume for Halloween. They never seem to have his size. The stores always seem to assume that kids will move on to more sophisticated costumes when my son still wanted to dress up as Yu-Gi-Oh. After my last endless search for his favorite character in the right size, I put my foot down. From now on, he has to make his own costume. Last year he was "Death's Door." This year he's going to be Skulduggery Pleasant, the skeleton detective.
I should have put my foot down a long time ago.
Sunday, October 25, 2009 - Happy Reformation Day!
Be sure to notice the gummy worms. :)
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