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Apr. 25, 2008 - La la la - it's Spring!

Who has Spring fever?  It's an epidemic at my house.  Mom and Dad have the worst case ...

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Jun. 27, 2007 - Not Gates, but Sykes - still good!

Snopes made the clarification....

*****

This list is the work of Charles J. Sykes, author of the book Dumbing Down Our Kids: Why American Children Feel Good About Themselves But Can't Read, Write, Or Add. (The list has appeared in newspapers, although not necessarily in this book.) Many versions omit the last three rules:

Rule No. 12:   Smoking does not make you look cool. It makes you look moronic. Next time you're out cruising, watch an 11-year-old with a butt in his mouth. That's what you look like to anyone over 20. Ditto for "expressing yourself" with purple hair and/or pierced body parts.

Rule No. 13:   You are not immortal. (See Rule No. 12.) If you are under the impression that living fast, dying young and leaving a beautiful corpse is romantic, you obviously haven't seen one of your peers at room temperature lately.

Rule No. 14:   Enjoy this while you can. Sure parents are a pain, school's a bother, and life is depressing. But someday you'll realize how wonderful it was to be a kid. Maybe you should start now. You're welcome.

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Jun. 26, 2007 - Gotta love Gates!

I saw this on another loop.  Hope it's accurate (i.e. from Gates).  It's sure interesting.

******************************

Bill Gates recently gave a speech
at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school.
He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a
generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them
up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1: Life is not fair -- get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect
you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't
be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had
a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about
your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are
now. They got t hat way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and
listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you
save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try
delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS
NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give
you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the
slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and
very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on
your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to
leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

***************

Amen!

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Jun. 22, 2007 - Deer in Door County WI

We're winding up a week's vacation here.  It's been awesome.

Wondering how the deer know which signs to stay between.  We see signs that say, "Deer next 3 miles."  Can they read those so they know which areas to inhabit?

Truly a city girl!

Christine

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Jun. 15, 2007 - Go to school ... get a car

This is an old item, but a good one.

The Associated Press reported on December 1, 2006 that "Schools try to keep kids with free cars."  School districts in Casper, WY, Hartford, CT, Pueble, CO, South Lake Tahoe, CA and Yuma, AZ, among others, give away vehicles for going to school.  The article reports, "In most cases the car or truck is donated by a local dealership, and the prizes typically are awarded through drawings open only to students with good attendance." 

Hmmmm, maybe I shouldn't feel so guilty about awarding my Summer readers with a trip to the candy shop.

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Apr. 14, 2007 - Secret Gay Indoctrination

By Bob Unruh
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

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Mar. 26, 2007 - Low cost college: Is this an oxymoron?

Have you seen this video floating around on YouTube? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evJeAAJedbY

I've read several accelerated distance learning books.  Anyone heard of this one?

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Feb. 28, 2007 - News Flash: Flip-flops banned in public schools!

How we spend our time and what we focus on determines who we are.

Our school district just banned the wearing of flip-flops to school.  They wrote a policy about it, had meetings about it, and concluded, "Students do not have a constitutional right to wear flip flops."

No right indeed.  Just as they have no right to pray, worship, have values and do Kingdom work.

Jesus wore sandals.  Perhaps in modern day He might wear flip-flops.  I would imagine they would send Him home for violation of this policy.

The more I hear, the more I learn, the more grateful I am to have the opportunity to homeschool.  Guard your freedom!

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Jan. 19, 2007 - Do you do dating?

I'm interested in an informal survey.  It seems people from across the dating spectrum homeschool.  Some don't allow dating until they are ready for formal courtship.  Some allow dating with friends.  Some allow dating at 16 or 18.  (I'm Irish and if I had my way, they would wait until 30!)

We attended a lovely wedding last weekend of two homeschooled kids.  it was so lovely and meaningful.  They each waited for the right person.  It really touched my heart!

So, where do you stand on this?

Christine

www.HomeFieldAdvantage.org

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Nov. 29, 2006 - Women talk three times more than men ...

I heard today that women talk about 20,000 words a day while men only utter about 7,000.  So, we talk about three times as much.

Do you talk that much?  I truly don't think I have that much to say.

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Nov. 2, 2006 - The Price of Privilege

I'm reading an interesting book called The Price of Privilege (Madeline Levine, PhD).  I'm trying to reconcile it all in my head.  I was raised poor - really poor.  Eight kids, my Dad was a janitor, etc., etc.  The Lord has blessed my husband and I.  We aren't wealthy, but we are comfortable.

This author says, basically, that materially advantaged kids have higher rates of depression, anxiety and substance abuse.  She says it's because they lack "an authentic sense of self."

I have trouble with some of the psychological mumbo jumbo, but the fact remains that kids who don't have struggles or obstacles do tend to be bratty!  An adult who has not suffered in their life is pretty uninteresting to me.

Am I the only one who feels this way?  Another interesting question.  Should we engineer suffering so our kids can learn to cope (i.e. not make things easy for them)?

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Oct. 22, 2006 - Today's Rant - Stress and teens

One of mine announced that she was stressed out.  I truly am sympathetic, but let's look at the facts:

Her main job is school.  She does not have an outside job.

She doesn't have to make mortgage payments or car notes.

Her meals are provided for her, as is a roof over her head and other simple amenities.

She doesn't have the complexities of a spousal relationship  :)

Her biggest major decision is to decide what she will do for entertainment with her friends.

Oh, for the simple stresses of the teen years.  Which is not to minimize what they are going through, but ....

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Oct. 20, 2006 - What drives me crazy - today's version

Those super skinny pants that kids are wearing now.  They look like they are walking on sticks.

Automatic flushing toilets.  Ever had one of those puppies go off while you were still "in process?"

White cake.  What's the point? Where's the chocolate?  It tastes like air.

Christine

www.HomeFieldAdvantage.org

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Oct. 18, 2006 - My babies are growing up

Many things have happened this fall.  My oldest turned 17 - a shocker to her mother!  I can completely remember picking her up from the hospital and the giddiness of new parenting.

This fall, she and her 15 1/2 year old sister started classes at the community college.  They are only taking one class each and doing the rest of their studies at home, but they both go together 4 days a week.  One studies while the other is in class and vice versa.

They are starting to talk about things like "getting their gen eds out of the way" and "deciding on a major."  It was only yesterday they were playing with Barbies and running in the sprinkler!

Seize the day, friends.  It passes quickly.

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Sep. 20, 2006 - Top 10 Reasons Why the Field Family Homeschools

1. To celebrate and nurture the uniqueness of each child.  We have many learning styles and personalities in our family, including a child with learning disabilities and a very bouncy little boy.  Homeschooling allows us to help them learn in ways that make sense for them.
2. To keep our family close.  With so many parents working outside the home, it’s hard for families to stay connected.  We spend lots of quantity time, which results in greater quality time.  Although the kids still fight, they are close on a deep level that I don’t think would have been achieved if they were scattered in different directions all day.  It was important enough for me (mom) to give up practicing law (I laid down the law!) to nurture that family closeness.
3. To ensure that our values are taught.  We have wide ranging discussions with our kids – discussing and analyzing many of the issues of the day.  But we always bring the discussion back to this:  What does God have to say about this issue?  In the process of doing this, we find that our kids have formed strong values, but are remarkably tolerant and loving toward others who are not like us because we have taught them to try to listen and understand first, and not judge.
4. To seek academic excellence.  To us, that means making sure a topic is understood and digested before the next topic is pursued.  For example, rather than plowing through something because it’s in the curriculum, we have the luxury to linger over it if it is something we find fascinating, or to deal with it efficiently if it is uninteresting.  While our kids aren’t Rhodes Scholars, they have some pretty deep understanding about life, people and many subjects.
5. To preserve social sanity.  Kids go through predictable phases of craziness.  Who survives puberty without some insanity?  In schools, they tend to take some of this nuttiness out on one another in terms of cruel social games, or, in its worst manifestation, school violence.  While our kids have perpetuated their share of social silliness in their fairly expansive social networks (church, arts groups, sports, etc.) they are still basically kind, compassionate people.
6. To encourage independent learning and thinking.  In the early years, homeschooling is very hands-on.  Reading and beginning math are mom-intensive subjects.  Once they learn to read, they really teach themselves.  This is a trait we want to encourage, rather than having them rely on someone else to force feed them knowledge.
7. Because it’s our parental responsibility.  Schools are a rather new idea in our history.  In the past, children were educated by their parents or in the church.  It was not assumed that the government would be available to provide everything.  We feel it is primarily our responsibility to raise and educate our kids.
8. Because of the creativity factor.  This is related to Number One above, but we can take creative approaches to learning that would not be possible in a crowd of school kids.  Also, if a child has a particular creative gift (music, art, acting) we can allow them to use their gifts and earn “academic credits” in the school setting, as we have done with several of our children’s pursuits.
9. Because we love them more than anyone could be paid to love them.  We truly seek their best, rather than a high test score or an academic quota.  Our goal is to help them turn into the best human beings they are capable of being.
10. The intangibles.  For me as a mom, raising, loving and training my kids has been the most important, rewarding thing I have ever been allowed to do.  On most days, it’s fun.  Even on the hard days, it’s good.

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Sep. 14, 2006 - I have been a negligent blogger

I confess I have been a negligent blogger.  A naughty negilgent blogger, completely neglecting this awesome opportunity to share my ramblings, hopes and longings.

The truth is - technology has been making me crazy.

I have been through TWO laptops is the past two months.  I have a love/hate relationship with technology.  My laptop and I had a real Love relationship.  I spent a lot of time with it, then it let me down.

So, I bought another laptop, as the other was out of warranty and would cost $400 to fix.  We took a while to get to know one another, but I grew to love this new laptop as well.

Then, last week her hard drive crashed.  I had to send her in a big cushy box to the laptop hospital where she is being treated.  I grew to love her, and she crashed and burned.

What's a blogger to do?

Hey - I finally re-did my website.  Check it out!

www.HomeFieldAdvantage.org

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May. 29, 2006 - OK, so the cat had a UTI

Remember my peeing cat, a few entries ago?  Turns out he had a urinary tract infection.  You learn something new every day!  Here's the deal - if a male cat sprays pee on the wall, it's a behavioral issue.  If he squats and pees, it's probably an infection.  Who knew?

That's more information than  I wanted to know ....

Happy summer!

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May. 20, 2006 - Back from yearly conference

We had our Illinois conference this weekend.  It was fun to attend and recapture the enthusiasm with all the homeschoolers.  Some seem so scared and confused!  Boy, do I remember being there.  (Sometimes I'm still scared and confused!)  Others seem so weary.

Hope they drank deeply from some refreshment.  I know I did!

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May. 12, 2006 - anyone want a cat?

OK, so we have three.  The fat boy is mine.  The crazy girl is Caitlin's.  Somewhere along the line, our vet gave us a bengal.  She breeds him and his colors are wrong.  Go figure.  He's beautiful, but his colors aren't the only thing wrong with him!  He has started crying all night and has claimed my favorite couch as his place to pee!

That's it!  I am OK with the cats until they start peeing in the house.  We're redecorating this summer and this guy's got to go ....

Anyone want a bengal whose colors are off? And a few other things are off?

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Apr. 21, 2006 - Fabulous Friday!

It's nearly the end of April!  Yippie!  I am counting the days left of formal school.  I've been compiling summer reading lists to do with the kids and planning a few - very few - activities, like swimming lessons.  The garden yet remains untended.  So many repairs need to be done on the house!  Will I spend the summer in activity, or relaxation? 

How do you all balance your time over the summer?

Visit the Lifeway Homeschool Message Board - forums.lifeway.com - scross to homeschool

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