Foofee's Zoo

Still here

We are still here.  Dd, 11, is preparing for her debut operatic performance in "Amahl and the Night Visitors" with the San Antonio Opera.  Of course, with no time to be sick, she has caught a cold.  I think she'll be okay soon.  I hope so!

I haven't vanished, just roasting in Europe

We are on a family vacation.  We've been to Napoli and Roma Italy.  We are in Paris now.  We'll head to London next.  When I return to the US, I'll post a journal of our trip.  I just haven't had internet access most of the time - yes, a person can live without the internet but it's difficult - so haven't been posting.  I've actually been journaling my trip on paper! 

This should handle history for the next year, to go back and study what we have learned and seen.

A Busy Week

This past week was spent in another city, doing Pageant stuff.  2DD10 and I spent an entire 9 days running around.  We went to museums, took train rides, and just generally had some great learning opportunities.  It's amazing how much is out there to learn about when you aren't concentrating on assignments from school! 

On another note, I just need to vent a bit.  I am/was a director of a local pageant.  Now I am being bashed on a board for not supporting my girls.  Guess what?  As a new director, I expected some help from the state association, never got it.  I had 3 partners in this venture, all 3 bailed on me and left me with the bills.  All the emails from the state association went to one of the partners who bailed and got forwarded to me eventually.  I scheduled practices and sessions with my girls.  They always cancelled or didn't even show up!  I tried to advise them as to gowns, they went off and did their own thing. 

As I said, I am a former director.  I can't work with girls who won't give me the respect I deserve and listen to my suggestions regarding wardrobe, etc.  I feel that I was trying to do something good, now I get slapped in the face.  Oh well.  I have my kids and we are happy - that's all that matters!

I was mistaken, sort of......

on my understanding of the legislation not passed on June 20 at the General Convention.  After a vote to suspend the rules against bring issues forward for further resolutions, the General Convention today agreed to a proposition to  "exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion." 

So, while not doing everything the Windsor Report requested, at least there won't be any new practicing homosexual bishops for the time being.

As I was steaming over this last night, a though occurred to me.  Yes, a real thought!  The segment of the population that is yammering for the thorough inclusion of a small group of people is like a squeaky wheel.  That wheel whines and carries on and gets tended too while the other 3 wheels keep on doing their job without complaint.  We as Christians should stand up for what we believe, make it known when we consider behaviors unChristian, in other words, the other 3 wheels, which carry the majority of the burden, need to start squeaking!!!!

I appreciate the comments!

Squeak away!!!!! 

My Church has left me out in the cold!

This bothers me a great deal.  When I married, I was Presbyterian.  My husband was Roman Catholic.  We compromised on the Episcopal Church, it was a good fit for both of us.  Well, today was the final straw.  First of all, the General Convention elected a liberal woman, who has never been a Parish "priest" as Presiding Bishop.  That just doesn't work for me.  I believe a woman does not need to be sheparding a flock.  I have no problem in the role of a woman as Youth Minister or Deacon.  That's fine with me, but not as the Priest in Charge. 

Three years ago, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church knowingly consecrated a practicing homosexual as a Bishop.  The Bishop is supposed to be the leader and role model for all in his diocese.  How can someone who will not obey God's Commandments be a leader?  I have always understood and believed that "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery" meant that you do not have sexual relations of any type outside of the bonds of marriage, which is defined as between a MAN and a WOMAN.  How do I teach my teens to be celibate when the leaders in the only church they have known do not live by the Ten Commandments.

I do know and support all the decisions made by our parish priest.  How can I support my own church though, when a large portion of my monetary donation goes to the national church to support a liberal woman and others not living by God's Word! 

Please pray for Christianity in America, this is not the only assault a Christian church, there are many others.  Pray that this Church will figure this out.  I know that I cannot and will no longer be an Episcopalian.  I will now say I am Anglican and look to other churches in the Anglican Communion for guidance. 

Pray for the young people in this church, those who are struggling with their identity.  Do not let these liberals convince them that this is the right course.  We need to return to a Christian lifestyle and heed God's Word!

Report Card day

Today did it.  I am now officially homeschooling.  My 2dd10 received her report card today.  She made at 68 in Language Arts!  Of course, the teacher didn't tell me what extra work she could (or should) do.  All I ever got from her was that 2dd10 needed to study harder, needed to diagram her sentences.  What a waste - and I paid for this education!  Her grades ranged from 96 in Bible, which she loved, to 68 in Language Arts.  Why such a huge discrepancy?  She had a 77 in Math.  That's okay, not great, but I'm allergic to Math myself, especially if it has letters mixed with numbers.  Letters are for reading, numbers are for Math.  The two should never mix!   Sorry, not the time for my Math soapbox - back to 2dd10.  She raised her grades in Reading (71 to 79) and Science (80 to 85). 

DH figured out today that I am homeschooling.  He isn't happy with my choice, but I have to do what is right.  He doesn't have confidence that this will work.  I know it will.  I know my 2dd10 is very smart, she just needs the right environment, and I am thinking that Unschooling is probably the way to go.  We'll still use the BJU curriculum and I am going to order The Latin Road since she needs to know Latin for voice, but we will work on these subjects as she wants them.  If we get absorbed in a reading story and don't have time for Math, that's fine with me.  If we are having fun with Math problems and miss Reading for a day, that works too. 

Summer is busier than the school year!

I have decided that we are much busier in the summer than during the academic year!  Youngest dd is in the musical Oklahoma! which will be performed in August.  She began dance rehearsal this week.  Now she has decided to take up ballet again and will be attending workshop every afternoon, rehearsing every evening and singing 3 mornings per week.  Just another reason to homeschool - she learns so much more in a shorter time period! 

Older dd, 13, has decided to make decorated hammers and other tools and sell them.  Part of the money she makes, she is donating to a friend who is saving to buy a dog to alert her before she has an epileptic seizure.  I think she needs about $2000 for the dog! 

Oldest is loafing like a teen boy should!  He did have a date earlier this week and they are going out Saturday evening to see Cars.  I hope they have fun. 

We, well me actually, have been planning our European trip.  I finally found a hotel I liked in Paris.  I chose it because it has a doctor on call!  Travelling with husband's 79 year old mother requires making some difficult choices for accomodation.  We can't just stay anywhere, we have to have handicapped access and the US is the only country with requirements for that.  We also have our Eurail passes ordered and tickets for the sleeper train from Rome to Paris.  I ordered a wheelchair today for MIL.  She does fine walking, but if the roads are uneven, which most of the are, I would feel better with her using the wheelchair as a walker. 

I guess that is all for this evening.  I am exhausted, hopefully I can sleep tonight.

Mom, I'm a Canteloupe

2dd10 is hearing impaired with Central Auditory Processing Disorder.  Frequently she doesn't distinguish between sounds and gets words mixed up that sound similar.  Today she got a new pair of Jazz Boots for her role in Oklahoma!  She's wearing them around the house to break them in.  She decided to jump around and said "Hey Mom, I'm a canteloupe!"  I burst out laughing, with her and at her.  She said "Oh, that's not the right word, what is the right one?  A canteloupe is something you eat!  That's it, I'm an antelope."  We had a good laugh over it, picturing a ripe canteloupe with legs!

Not on Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Arghhhhhhh!  It's Friday, I had grand plans for today. 1dd13 didn't pass pre-algebra in her private school.  I took her to the public school to enroll her in remedial math.  They refused her!  The summer school principal said she could not enroll because she was not a student of the district.  I threw the ball back to the principal of her private school and let him deal with the powers that be in the public school.  In the meantime, she needs help in pre-algebra so the same thing doesn't happen next year.  I have arranged for a tutor for her, a dear friend who is an excellent math teacher.  I know that 1dd13 will learn so much more in this one-on-one situation rather than at the public school.  Perhaps this is a blessing in disguise.  1dd13 said she didn't want to go to summer school with non-Christian kids.  I did have to point out to her that not all kids in public school are not Christian.   

This morning we got up to a sick kitty cat.  The youngest, Snickers, has Feline Urinary Syndrome.  He is on prescription cat food.  He's been off antibiotics for 10 days, after being on them for 10 days, and his urinary tract infection is back.  1dd13 and I took him to the vet.  He had not tinkled in a day, at least, but oh boy, did he decide to tinkle at the door of the vet.  Guess who was holding him?  Right, me.  Obviously they couldn't get a sample, since I was wearing the contents of his bladder, so I had to leave him until they could.  I hope this isn't going to be this way the rest of his life, but it probably will be. 

Husband took Italian-ds and my father fishing.  They went to Roaring River, in southwestern Missouri, to go fly-fishing.  My father grew up fishing there, it is one of his favorite places.  1ds16 didn't want to go.  He's being stubborn.  That's okay, he is 16 after all.

2dd10 has a voice lesson today and we'll do some research on Spinning Dolphins that she saw on Animal Planet last night.  I love being able to use teachable moments and investigate what she is interested in. 

I am taking my MIL for hearing aids this afternoon, that should be fun.  She really needs them though.  This will make all of us happier, not having to shout. 

Time to pick up 2dd10 from voice.  Thanks for reading!

Started, now let's get going!

In my first post, I introduced my family.  I was wondering how to start homeschooling.  I think I figured that part out.  I chose curriculum from Bob Jones University.  I chose 5th grade Reading and 4th grade Math for my daughter.  Since it is summer, we are just going to concentrate on those two subjects. 

Little one loves the math workbook.  It starts with basic two and three place addition and subtraction problems.  After her frustration with multiplication and division this past school year, this has been great for her self-esteem.  She keeps wanting to work more pages than I assign. 

Reading is a full year above her supposed reading level.  I say supposed because we read the first story by alternate paragraph and she did fine!  She was able to sound out the words she didn't know.  The workbook had two pages of questions from the story, and she did fine with those. 

Little one has decided that Animal Planet is part of her curriculum.  She loves watching the shows and then we have to talk about the animals.  Tonight we saw some Spinner Dolphins that live near Hawaii.  After that, we talked about the Pacific White-sided Dolphins we had recently seen at Sea World in San Antonio.  It's amazing how one thing leads to another.  She also wanted to add Bible to her schedule.  We haven't decided yet what or how we want to approach Bible, but we will work that out next week.  I think we may cover the history of Christianity.  In school, she studied I Kings and II Kings and really did enjoy that. 

Music was a problem today, she really didn't want to go to her lesson.  Once she got there, she was fine.  She has Theory homework tonight and another lesson tomorrow.  Her lesson schedule has gotten rearranged these past few weeks with her voice coach having end of school activities, UIL and other things.  Hopefully next week we can get back on schedule. 

Next Tuesday we are joining a Homeschool Group at a nursing home.  I think it will be a good experience.  I also think it will help Little One to see more kids who are homeschooled.  She doesn't realize all the opportunities we have here with very active groups. 

Next Monday we will definately get on schedule with her academics.  Since it is a light load, it won't take all day to teach.  I am amazed at how fast Little One does learn, when it is just the two of us. 

Well, that is all for now.  I have to go back to surfing Random Blogs.  Reading what others have said here has helped me understand what I need to do and how to do it.  The most important thing is to develop in my children, even those I have in private school, is a love of God, Christ and family. 

Where do I start?

Here I sit, not sure where to start.  I am a SAHM of 4 children, 3 of whom are mine by birth, the 4th as a gift from a family in Italy.  I also have a husband, 4 cats, 2 dogs and 3 fish.

My oldest child is Dave.  He is almost 17.  He is a great kid, most of the time, but he is a teenage boy and an artist!  'Nuff said!  My 2nd child is Katy.  She's 13.  That takes care of that!  She's an artist too.  My 3rd child is Clemmie.  She is 10.  Clemmie is why I am homeschooling, again. 

Dave was homeschooled for a bit.  He had some difficulties in public school, so I homeschooled him until we placed him in private.  That has been a good move for him.  Dave decided that Katy wasn't going to the junior high where he had trouble, and offered to get a job to pay for his own tuition in private so Katy could attend as well.  We didn't make Dave get a job, and Katy started in private in junior high (7th grade).  Both of them love the school.  It is a pre-K thru 12th school. 

We decided to put Clemmie there this year for 4th grade.  Bad idea.  Bad, bad, bad idea.  It has not worked for her, not at all.  We finally gave up trying to send her to school all day, and teach her in the evening and just let things slide the last part of this semester.  Clemmie has some learning differences and this school didn't work with her as they should have.  Together, Clemmie and I have decided that homeschooling over the summer is the best option for her.  Clemmie doesn't realize that this will continue into the next school year, but we'll cross that bridge later.  It's not a battle I choose to fight right now. 

Clemmie is not a good reader, but she can read the Latin lyrics for her opera solos!  She is a budding opera singer, taking private voice coaching 3 times per week.  She is also a dancer and a drama queen.  That figures, she's the Bonus Baby! 

Now for the 4th child.  He came to us as an exchange student with the AFS program.  We weren't his first family, that family decided to move and left him without a host family.  We took him as a temporary family, and he stayed!  He plans on coming back here for the next school year, finishing high school, graduating and going to an American university.

I am not sure what I have gotten myself into, but I know it is the best choice for all my kids.