The other day I posted about a odd bug I had seen in my yard and have gotten lots of replies and help identiflying it. I am very greatful because of that.
Just because I educate my children does not mean I know everything there is out there. Hell, even public and private school teachers don't know everything. I honestly had never seen this bug before so that is why I posted about it here to get some help from someone who might.
I know I shouldn't let a stupid little comment left to me rile me up so much, but I have had it. I get comments left to me alot here and over at Cafemom about my choice in education and faith. I am tired of letting this stuff roll off my back and say oh well. It bothers me and I am sick of it. I usually just delete the comment, but this one is staying.
To that person who left that comment to me, why are you anonymous? Afraid that a homeschool educator might be a better teacher than you? Scared that I actually might know something more than you? Or is it that your jealous of the fact that I am able to stay home and give my child a better education than his peers?
Sorry about the vent/rant post, but I really just needed to get it off my chest.
Today was our homeschool group's first games day of the school year. Once a month the kids (mostly ages 8-14) get together and play games usually based on a theme. Sometimes it will be math games or geography games, today it was your favorite games. Of course all of our games are packed up and in storage, so we had nothing to bring to share.
Matt had not been to one in a year, so it took him awhile to warm up to the kids again. Towards the end of the time there, he was acting like his normal self, running around chasing this one boy there that he has known for 3 years now. So hopefully next time Matt will be a bit less antisocial and actually play a game with someone instead of watching others play.
It was nice to see the other moms and to chat with them. There are two mom's there that live in my town and we were talking about how they got their phone calls to go in and see our new superintendent. I was saying that I did not get any notification and waswondering if I even would because I never got anything last year.
Well, I get home and I check the caller ID to see if there were any calls. I swear since I switched to Comcast, I get no phone calls from anyone except people looking for donations. So anyway, there is a number from my town there and so I call my voice mail box to get the message and it is the Superintendents assistant calling to set up a time for me to go in and talk about Matt's homeschooling plan.
She had called at 3:15. Normally I would have been home because games day ends at 3 and I live less than 5 minutes away from where it is being held. But I had to run to the grocery store to pick up some pasta sauce (eventually I will get around to canning my own this year) and missed the call. So, I mix up the meatballs and get them cooking in the oven and by this time it is 3:45. So, I call the Super's assistant and I get nothing. it was dead air. So I called again and again I got dead air, but when I said something to Matt, I all of a sudden get the woman's voice mail.
So, I leave a message saying that I am returning her phone call about homeschooling me son and for her to return my call. But, I told her she can only call me in the mornings because once noon hits, I am busy and I also work. Of course I made it sound like I work from noon on, but I don't work until 5:30pm.
So, tomorrow, I will probably be blogging about the phone call a little and then once after I see the super, I will blog about that. From what this one mom was saying, he is nice and like to chit chat alot. I also guess tehre are a total of 16 families homeschooling in my town. I only know of 4 other families and never herd of the others.
My hubby drives a concrete truck for a living and he happened to be in the neighborhood one day a few weeks ago. Matt got to hang out in the cab for a little bit, asking questions about how everything works and if he could talk on the cb radio.
It has been one busy month. Between painting the inside of the house (outside is tomorrow) and with drama from Chantelle's grandmother, we have been busy.
Chantelle had been living with her gram and was planning on giving her custody of herself until last week. It seems that her gram has been blowing off enrolling Chantelle in the local high school (school starts next week for crying out loud) and she has also been denying Chantelle her much needed asthma medication. Gram claimes that it is because she can't afford the 50.00 in co-pays a month to pay for it (um hello I gave her 300.00 a month and she has Chantelle on her food stamps. Plus I bought Chantelle 300.00+ worth of school clothes and supplies). Gram also calls me once a month (always when Chantelle has PMS mind you) saying she can't handle her and that she is talking back to her. Chantelle is 14 after all and I know my mind doesn't work right during that time of the month either. This last time Chantelle had enough of all the crap her gram was saying to me about her and such.
So, now she is happily at my sisters and my sister has already gotten the ball rolling on enrolling her in school and heading to court for guardianship (she has to have it in order to enroll Chantelle in school in NH).
Now I have to figure out how to get transcripts for the 3 years I was homeschooling Chantelle. NH homeschool law is slightly different from ours here in MA. In NH, you have to have either a standarized test or a teacher evaluate a portfolio as an assesment. Here in MA it seems that each school district has a different means of evaluation. Some want nothing more than a report others want to see everything and I mean everything. I never got a letter from our super (who we report to) after our evaluation meetings and this year we have a new super (hope he is nice). So I'll have to make an appointment with him and show him everything and ask him to write a letter so I can bring it to the Manchester school department along with her standardized test score (she scored a 69 where 40 is passing!).
So, because I am having a little trouble getting Chantelle into school (I think it is mostly because it is a different school system in a different state), my hubby is a bit leary about me homeschooling Matt. He is on board and knows I can do it, it is just the part when we go to enrool him (the plan is to send him to middle and high school when we move to NH. Where he is only enterign the 2nd grade atm, we are way off right now). The middle and high school in the town we are looking to move to are excellent. I guess the school system gets a ton of money from the power plant in town.
Well, I am going to go for now. We went to the local farmers market and got a ton of blueberries (I ate almost half a pint on the way home LOL), early Mac apples, and cider donuts (Yummy!). I think I will go curl up and eat a donut now. LOL
I don't have any before pictures, but once like 5 years ago ther ewas nasty pink striped and flowered wallpaper. Then after I stripped it, it remained a blank wall covered in dings and cracks (and the art work of one little boy in my house).
These pictures show the during, which is after mudding and priming the walls and trim and the after with the base coat and color.
This took me months to strip and I found these wonderful details under 30 (yes 30) coats of paint.
Those who know me, know that Matt would not be caught dead reading anything other than a gaming manual. I went to Barnes & Nobles today to grab a book on harvest preserving and he picked out 4 books. Well we got home and he curled up on the sofa and read 6 chapters!!
Devil eyes! I forgot to turn on my red eye reducer on my camera hehe.
I got this article from another blog, but it never stated where it was from.
While over all I think this article is funny, I do hate the stereotyping. I for one do not wear long dresses, hell I don't even own a dress that isn't some sort of medieval or Halloween costume. I also don't wear my hair neatly in a braid. Everyone who knows me, knows I am a jeans and t-shirt gal and I either wear my long hair pulled up of straight down my back. Oh, and the day my kids don't have some dirt on them, is the day hell freezes over. hehe
SONNY SCOTT:Home-schoolers threaten our cultural comfort
6/8/2008 9:39:01 AM
Daily Journal
You see them at the grocery, or in a discount store.
It's a big family by today’s standards - "just like stair steps," as the old folks say. Freshly scrubbed boys with neatly trimmed hair and girls with braids, in clean but unfashionable clothes follow mom through the store as she fills her no-frills shopping list.
There's no begging for gimcracks, no fretting, and no threats from mom. The older watch the younger, freeing mom to go peacefully about her task.
You are looking at some of the estimated 2 million children being home schooled in the U.S., and the number is growing. Their reputation for academic achievement has caused colleges to begin aggressively recruiting them. Savings to the taxpayers in instructional costs are conservatively estimated at $4 billion, and some place the figure as high as $9 billion. When you consider that these families pay taxes to support public schools, but demand nothing from them, it seems quite a deal for the public.
Home schooling parents are usually better educated than the norm, and are more likely to attend worship services. Their motives are many and varied. Some fear contagion from the anti-clericalism, coarse speech, suggestive behavior and hedonistic values that characterize secular schools. Others are concerned for their children’s safety. Some want their children to be challenged beyond the minimal competencies of the public schools. Concern for a theistic world view largely permeates the movement.
Indications are that home schooling is working well for the kids, and the parents are pleased with their choice, but the practice is coming under increasing suspicion, and even official attack, as in California.
Why do we hate (or at least distrust) these people so much?
Methinks American middle-class people are uncomfortable around the home schooled for the same reason the alcoholic is uneasy around the teetotaler.
Their very existence represents a rejection of our values, and an indictment of our lifestyles. Those families are willing to render unto Caesar the things that Caesar’s be, but they draw the line at their children. Those of us who have put our trust in the secular state (and effectively surrendered our children to it) recognize this act of defiance as a rejection of our values, and we reject them in return.
Just as the jealous Chaldeans schemed to bring the wrath of the king upon the Hebrew eunuchs, we are happy to sic the state’s bureaucrats on these “trouble makers.” Their implicit rejection of America’s most venerated idol, Materialism, (a.k.a. “Individualism”) spurs us to heat the furnace and feed the lions.
Young families must make the decision: Will junior go to day care and day school, or will mom stay home and raise him? The rationalizations begin. "A family just can't make it on one income." (Our parents did.) "It just costs so much to raise a child nowadays." (Yeah, if you buy brand-name clothing, pre-prepared food, join every club and activity, and spend half the cost of a house on the daughter’s wedding, it does.) And so, the decision is made. We give up the bulk of our waking hours with our children, as well as the formation of their minds, philosophies, and attitudes, to strangers. We compensate by getting a boat to take them to the river, a van to carry them to Little League, a 2,800-square-foot house, an ATV, a zero-turn Cub Cadet, and a fund to finance a brand-name college education. And most significantly, we claim “our right” to pursue a career for our own
"self-fulfillment."
Deep down, however, we know that our generation has eaten its seed corn. We lack the discipline and the vision to deny ourselves in the hope of something enduring and worthy for our posterity. We are tired from working extra jobs, and the looming depression threatens our 401k’s. Credit cards are nearly maxed, and it costs a $100 to fuel the Suburban. Now the kid is raising hell again, demanding the latest Play Station as his price for doing his school work … and there goes that modest young woman in the home-made dress with her four bright-eyed, well-behaved home-schooled children in tow. Wouldn’t you just love to wipe that serene look right off her smug face?
Is it any wonder we hate her so?
Sonny Scott a community columnist, lives on Sparta Road in Chickasaw County and his e-mail address is sonnyscott@yahoo.com.
The house is now on the market. We (or should I say my hubby) signed the papers this morning.
Of course this being Sunday, I just wanted to hang out and read and relax in my jammies until we had to leave for a birthday party. So, I am in the shower, taking my time, enjoying the hot water, when my hubby pops his head in saying the realitor will be here shortly!
Well, my shower ended right there. I dressed really fast and started barking orders at Matt to clean up the living room. He had a friend try to sleep over the night before (his friend got homesick and wanted to go home. No big deal, he only lives right next door) and there were toys and blankets all over. My kitchen was a mess. I made pancakes for breakfast and I didn't feel like cleaning up right away. You couldn't tell there was a table in the kitchen is was so covered in books and papers.
The realitor showed up like 5 minutes after. I was freaking out! I am by no means a neat freak, but the fact that my house looked like a monster ran through it did not help. Thankfully, our realitor, who has 3 kids under 8, knows how I feel. Her inlaws decided to show up and she was freaking out herself.
It took like 5 minutes for my hubby to sign the papers and she told me she had someone lined up to see the house TOMORROW NIGHT!!!! I guess they like the neighborhood or whatever. I love it here honestly. But all I could see was my house being so cluttered with boxes and papers and stuff that I still need to fix around the house, that I just went into a melt down. I am still freaking out, just not as much.
So, now I have to make sure the house is spic-and-span by 7pm tomorrow. Ya right. That never happened the 9 years I have lived here. My house has always been cluttered, but in a neat way. We are still storing crap from my inlaws and they passed away 7 and 4 years ago!
So wish me luck as I run around like a chicken with it's head cut off tonight and tomorrow. Housework is not my favorite thing to do. Good thing is we rented a storage unit, so I can throw all the boxes in it tomorrow, but there is still so much that needs to be done.
As much as it would totally rock my socks to have the house sell asap, I don't want it to. I need time to go through my crap before I pack.
Boy, have we gathered a ton of stuff living here. I have been here 9 years, my hubby grew up in this house. So you can just imagine how much junk we have. Not to mention I am still finding stuff from his parents (this was their house until my FIL passed away 5 years ago, MIL passed away 7 years ago). I found two huge boxes of pictures, in my closet, that no one knows who they are. I found old bill stubs and checks from banks that were back when my MIL first had her stroke in the early 90's. Those were stashed in my sons closet. There was even a huge box of old medical bills and reciepts in the basement. Lord knows why my FIL saved all this crap.
Like most homeschooling families, we have a T-O-N of books. We have donated a bunch (like 6+ boxes) to Got Books but we still have a ton. They are everywhere in the house too. I have 4 novels here at my desk, all but one has been read. I read a ton too. I can read a 400 page novel in one day, if the kids let me. I did today infact, but I was up at 5:30 with my asthma bugging me and hubby didn't want me to do too much to aggivate it more. I did fill up 6 boxes of stuff here at the house though and a load of laundry before needing to rest again.
We are having a huge yard sale this weekend up at my BIL house. Lots of stuff we have gathered are in need of a new home. We don't use most of what we have, so why not get some money back from them. My son alone donated 5 huge rubbermade bins of toys, while my daughter donated two. Most of her "toys" are cd's a movies anyway.
I am going to go curl up with a good book again before I tackle more packing. I'll post some things later in the week.
Now that the weather here in eastern MA is finally getting warmer (it will be in the low 70's by the end of the week), we are doing a huge spring cleaning. Mostly because our house is going up for sale this week. This is something my husband and I have been talking about for months now and have decided that this is the time to do it. With any luck, our house will sell by the end of June. That way Matt is out of school and I won't have to put him in a school for a short amount of time. Although I would take that oportunity to ask to homeschool him as well.
The only thing I am worried about is the fact that this house is in some serious ned of TLC. My inlaws (it was their house for over 40 years) did nothing to maintain it other than a few coats of paint here and there. I know those "flip that house" type of shows are pretty popular right now, so I am hoping a flipper (or someone who can see the charm of this house and quiet kid filled neighborhood) will by the house and give it the love it needs.
I see a H-U-G-E yard sale in our near future. One persons junk is another persons treasure. My hubby and I have accumulated so much "stuff" over the past 9 years we have been together. We still have all his parents stuff here as well from when they passed away (over 4 years ago). I hate yard sales and our neighborhood actually stinks for one (easy to get lost up here), so it will have to be at my BIL in NH.
Well, back to cleaning. I'll post some more things tomorrow. Like all the lapboosk we have finished that I haven't posted yet and some pictures of our cat homeschooling. They are cute.
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend. We did, even though I was sick with an upper resperatory infection (third one this winter). I am getting better. Antibiotics are all taken (and they made me sicker I swear), but still coughing.
My dad came over for Easter dinner. Nothing special, just ham, potatoes, and corn. Easter is not a big holiday for us (we don't really celebrate it). Just some baskets from the Easter bunny and a special dinner.
CBD has hired me permently. I had been working there since July as a seasonal employee, but they asked if I was interested in staying. The extra money is nice (not to mention the discount on our homeschool materials), but I am going to miss not doing anything but sit and watch tv or reading at night. Plus we actually have to plan our vacations now. Usually they were spur of the moment things.
Tonight is our homeschool groups tween/teen activity night. I am glad it is on a Thursday once again. This is my day off.
Monday is also a day off for me, although I had to find someone to cover my shift so I could get it off. It is my 8 year wedding anniversary. Every year to celebrate, my hubby and I go back to where we had our first date. At a carnival in the town next to us. hehe. Sounds kind of cheesy, but I like cheesy. hehe.
This past Sinday, we went to my sisters house for my nephews second birthday. I was watching Nascar (or "Fast cars" as my nephew kept saying) and I over herd Chantelle talking to my BIL.
She would really like to go to this agricultural highschool (Essex Aggie) but it has been a pain to try to get her in. They need test scores (we do not do yearly testing because our superintendent wants to see all work even though our "law" here in MA clearly states that the parents and school officials work together to choose the form of evaluation (see Charles). Ok that is intirely another post, that I will do at a later date.
So my BIL asked her why doesn't she just finish school at home. He stated that no matter what school you go to, they are all relatively the same. I agreed, in a way. The Aggie is a bit different, where it is more of a vocational high school. In responce, Chantelle said she is bored with being at home.
Yes, this hurt. Yes, we have been focusing on academics this year and will as well next year. (We decided to homeschool her for her first high school year using North Atlantic Regional Schools program for homeschoolers). There is no way we can "unschool". My dear daughter would do nothing all day if that was an option.
I don't have time (or money) to do all the fun things her other homeschool friends do. I have to work starting at 3:30 four days a week. Thursday is her 4-H day and is either her Nature Study or Book group day. Both of those are once a month. SHe also is taking a hunters education course and does archery every Friday night. Dad time for both of those classes because I have to work. My youngest is also in school, so I have to be thereto pick him up by 2:40.
Some of her friends are in an Aquarium School program put on through the Family Resource Center here in MA. I wasn't aware of it until to late and it is a bit pricey. Chantelle loves science. There are other classes through them that sound interesting, but they are either 1 hour away and on days that I can not do.
There is another option for outside the home classes from New Hope Tutorials. The classes are limited and from what I have heard, they are very expensive. The fact that no prices for the classes are online are a bit discouraging.
I don't know what to do next year now. Chantelle and I have already picked out what she will be using next year (infact we have already ordered and received most of it. I'll post what we will be using at a later date). I am afraid that this will be an even more boring year for her. I have to say that we are both burned out right now. My hubby and I have mentioned schooling year round to her, where it would lighten the load of work and she can do fun things mixed in and still do all the academics needed for her grade. But she wants nothing to do with that.
Sorry for my lack of posts. I was sick all last week and am finally feeling good. I had yet another sinus infection which turned into an upper resperatory infection. I am still coughing a little, but not contagious or anything. I am so glad I can breath out my nose again. hehe
Last night, Chantelle and my hubby started a hunters education class together. She wants to learn how to bow hunt, my hubby wants his FID card (he wants a gun to hunt deer). One thing that bugs me is that Chantelle is old enough to take the class (she is 13) but can not get her FID card until she is 15. At least that is the rules in my town here in MA. My hubby went to the police station to get the application for the card once he finishes the classes.
She seems excited about the class. It is all she was talking about last night when she got home and through out the day today. There is a huge test at the end of the class and she seems more focused on passing that test than her huge midterm in English this friday. I guess hunting is a bit more exciting than English. LOL.
Matt wishes he could go, but he is not old enough yet. He does get to hang out at his friends house (our next door neighbor) until 9:30 every Tuesday night for the next month. He was having a blast there last night playing with Monster trucks and robots.
Today, Chantelle is going to go see the Spyderwick Chronicles with a few homeschooling friends. It was last minute for us as I have to work at 3:30, but thankfully a friend of mine will be able to pick her up and bring her home. I do live on the way to the theater they are going to. hehe.
This Saturday is the start of the Iditarod. We plan on following along with it as well as lapbooking it. I'll be posting a huge post about our plans and website links laster this weekend.
-You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.
-- Alan, age 10
-No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.
-- Kristen, age 10
2. WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?
Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.
-- Camille, age 10
3. HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?
You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
-- Derrick, age 8
4. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?
Both don't want any more kids.
-- Lori, age 8
5. WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?
-Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.
-- Lynnette, age 8 (isn't she a treasure)
-On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.
-- Martin, age 10
6. WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?
-When they're rich.
-- Pam, age 7
-The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that.
- - Curt, age 7
-The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids w ith them. It's the right thing to do.
- - Howard, age 8
7. IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?
It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.
-- Anita, age 9 (bless you child )
8. HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?
There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?
-- Kelvin, age 8
And the #1 Favorite is........
9. HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?
Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a dump truck. -- Ricky, age 10
So, ya we all know how it ended. The Pats (our team) stunk bad. What was with the offensive linemen? I am not a fan of football, but I have to watch the play offs and super bowl, but only if the Pats are in it. I am not one of those dedicated fans by any means.
We spent the afternoon at a friends house exchanging Christmas gifts. (Don't ask). After much munching on food there, we left and got home around 6:45 - 7 pm. All I remember is it was in the second quarter.
I start setting out munchies for our own Super Bowl Party (just the four of us). Someone at work made these adorable cookies and my mom snagged four for us to have.
We had tortilla chips and salsa, potato skins loaded with cheese and bacon bits, pizza rolls, and chicken and cheese Taquitos. Steve had a hamburger (bunless) while we ate all the rest. I swaer I put on 10 lbs last night.
I thought the comertials were funny. Well some of them. My favorites were the Clydsdale "Rocky" themed one, both of the Bridgestone ones and the Pepsi "Justin Timberlake" one. Check them out here if you missed them. Super Bowl Ads .
So, now that that Super Bowl is over, it is time for our "Super Bowl" to start up. On February 17th it is the Datona 500. Go Tony Go!
Yesterday, Matt got his report card. His teacher was telling my hubby that he has been failing these reading tests called "Dibbles" and she was worried that if he doesn't pass, than he will never read properly. He reads perfectly fine at home. As well as any 7 year old IMO. He hates to read, but he does read.
So, when I look at his marks on his report card, I expected to see a check in the "needs improvement" section for his reading. Nope, it was checked off as "satisfactory". Ummm ok, whatever. He did have one "needs improvement" check for his handwriting. That I have to disagree with. He writing has improved so much over the past year. He writes constantly. He has this notebook filled with passwords to games, names of all his characters and vehicles for his Simpson Gamecube games. I think his handwriting is beautiful. Maybe it is because he spelled his teachers name wrong on the folder his report card was in. I thought that was kind of funny.
Yesterday at work, we recieved an email about a spot opening up for another "Homeschool Specialist". After the current homeschool specialist said I should go for it, as well as my mom (who works there too), I applied. I would love the job, but then again I don't. I am burnt out and need a little break right now. The current homeschool specialist (who is on my team and works nights like me) was telling me she knows of only one other person who may go for the job. She is already permantly on staff (I am seasonal, although my season keeps getting extended) as well as full time, I am part time. So we will see.
So this has nothing to do with homeschooling, but I just adored Heath and was so saddened to hear of his untimly death. He will be missed in this household.
Today, we recieved a phone call from my sons school. Hubby answered it thinking something was up with Matt. He had gotten in trouble at the beginning of the year for fighting with another kid who happens to live in our neighborhood.
Anyway, It appears that Matt has missed 18 days from school. and the principal wanted to let us know that he only allowed to miss 25 days for the whole year before they call a truant officer. Hubby explained to him that Matt had been sick and we did not want to expose the kids to his sickie germs, so we kept him home. Something I wish other parents would do, but some just simply can't do to child care issues.
We also explained to the principal that when it is slippery out, we will not take Matt to school. I live on the top of two hills on the side of one ofthem, so if we can not get up or down our street safely, we will not leave the house. I hate the cold and it does bug my asthma when it is super cold. Not to mention that my hubby is on blood thinners because of his DVT and he gets super cold really easy.
So anyway, the principal tells my hubby that we need to send Matt to school even if he is sick. If he is sick then the nurse can evaluate him and call us if he needs to go home. Hello?! I much rather avoid all that and avoid risking getting other children sick. But noooo, the principal wants us to risk getting the whole school sick.
So hubby played the "Well we can keep him home and homeschool him" card. I was like Yippy! Honestly that is what got my attention to the conversation. I was washing the dishes and not listening until I hear the word homeschool. Hubby hasn't been very on board with homeschooling Matt, mostly because Chantelle enjoyed her elementary years up until 4th grade. Maybe things will go the way I would like them for once instead of me always doing what my hubby feels is right even though I don't. (Does that make me selfish?)
I got the call about an hour ago that my mom and Chantelle have safely landed in Florida and are waiting for my grandparents to pick them up at the airport.
Monday brought us yet another snow storm. Just when I was liking all the snow gone, Mother Nature drops another 10 inches on us. So while my backyard looks like this:
