Nov. 9, 2007
Home Spun strip #160
Posted in Home Spun comic part 8
 Public Service Announcement: There are wonderful links at Balderdash&Blokus for anyone who is trying to decide on toys to buy for Christmas with all the toy recalls lately. Thanks for taking the time to research that Vicki! |
Nov. 7, 2007
Home Spun strip #159
Posted in Home Spun comic part 8
 I want to thank everyone who commented on the last strip. *sniff* I'm not alone! You understand! I intend to check in on all of you at the end of the week, once I finish with these quarterly reports for the school district, deal with some sick children and take Marina to the orthodontist. (Did someone slow down time? I can't believe the week isn't over yet.) |
Nov. 5, 2007
Home Spun strip #158
Posted in Home Spun comic part 8
 Ever have one of those days where it seems like nothing is sinking in? I try to be patient, I take the time to explain the process, and then I move to the next problem and start all over again. I've told my children that they need to think of their brains as filing cabinets. When I explain something, they need to put the memory in a folder and file it in their brain. Now I just need to teach them how to find the file when they need it. |
Nov. 2, 2007
Home Spun strip #157
Posted in Home Spun comic part 8
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Oct. 31, 2007
Home Spun strip #156
Posted in Home Spun comic part 8
 Happy Halloween! |
Oct. 29, 2007
Home Spun strip #155
Posted in Home Spun comic part 8
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Oct. 27, 2007
Home Spun strip #154
Posted in Home Spun comic part 8
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Oct. 25, 2007
Home Spun strip #153
Posted in Home Spun comic part 8
 I've trained my kids to the point that instead of saying, "Mom, can I get..." they say, "Mom, when it goes on sale, can we get..." When I return home, hubby will ask, "Was it a good hunt?" This is me shopping. Shopping is a game. I know, I'm nuts, I'm the first to admit it, but if I'm not busy I prepare for my shopping trip. I take out the circular. I write down the sale items that we need. I always try to stock up on things we like while they're on sale, especially my coffee and cereal brands. And then I pull out the coupon box and try to match sale items to coupons. I also have to go on the correct day. If I go shopping three days into the sale week, the store hasn't restocked yet and I can't find half of the items on my list. Lately, I've had a hard time matching coupons to sales. I've been trying to have us all eat healthier, so I try to get more basic ingredients (except for the coffee and cereal). They don't seem to print as many coupons for less processed foods. Go figure. Bonus points if I can get a 75 cent coupon doubled on a sale item. I win. |
Oct. 24, 2007
Home Spun strip #152 (gasp! huff! wheeze!)
Posted in Home Spun comic part 8
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Oct. 19, 2007
Home Spun strip #151
Posted in Home Spun comic part 8
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Oct. 17, 2007
Home Spun strip #150!!
Posted in Home Spun comic part 8
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Oct. 14, 2007
Home Spun strip #149
Posted in Home Spun comic part 8
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Oct. 12, 2007
Home Spun strip #148
Posted in Home Spun comic part 8
 I have completely forgotten the words to Dinosaur Roar! The very first storytime the children did, Chase begged to read a story. He was five. I was doubtful. He was barely reading, and I hardly heard him speak above a mumble. He was insistent. I discussed it with my daughter and her two friends, who had practiced hard for this first ever story time. We decided to let the girls read one book each, then let my son read before they did their second selection. Each girl quietly read their first book. I stood at the edge of the circle and mouthed the word "Louder!" but their nerves had the best of them. Then Chase took the storytelling seat. From his first ROAR! something incredible happened. The children relaxed and started to enjoy themselves. All the girls raised their voices for their second books. They all found their Inner Dinosaur. |
Oct. 10, 2007
Home Spun strip #147
Posted in Home Spun comic part 8
 It's hard to start a group. The first year we did storytelling, it was usually just our three families. Usually we just read to each other. But we diligently kept it up. Eventually it caught on and we added some incentives, like inviting anyone who came to participate as a "guest storyteller." I added a storytelling workshop that I run once in September and again in March. I think we get a decent sized crowd now. It always pays to keep trying. |
Oct. 8, 2007
Home Spun strip #146
Posted in Home Spun comic part 8
 Once upon a time, my daughter started telling stories at our library's story hour. I thought it might be really nice if I could get together a group of homeschooled children to run their own story time. The idea was to have them tell stories to the library community. Instead, it has evolved into a monthly homeschooling event where the children tell stories to each other. We hardly read directly out of books anymore. Now we simply share tales with each other, stepping out from behind our books and telling stories as true storytellers, performers, and story lovers. Anyone who comes is welcome to share a tale! In the beginning, our biggest issue was getting the kids to speak up. Even the loudest among them seemed to lose their voice when they sat in the storytelling chair. Five years later, I am proud to say that these children have grown into wonderful, well spoken storytellers! |
Oct. 5, 2007
Home Spun strip #145
Posted in Home Spun comic part 8
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Oct. 3, 2007
Home Spun strip #144
Posted in Home Spun comic part 8
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Oct. 1, 2007
Home Spun strip #143
Posted in Home Spun comic part 8
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Sep. 28, 2007
Home Spun strip #142
Posted in Home Spun comic part 8
 There is an episode of I Love Lucy that I always think of when my children do this. Growing up with a Spanish speaking father and a native New Yorker mother, I could always identify with Lucy and Desi's sitcom. Except my mother wasn't as zany. I'll do this from memory so feel free to let me know if I got any detail wrong. Lucy is under arrest in France, I think for inadvertently passing a counterfeit bill. She's trying to explain what happened, but no one at the station speaks English. Ricky comes in and they find there is one drunk man in lock up that speaks Spanish and German, and one French officer speaks German. So they line up with Lucy speaking English to Ricky, Ricky translates to Spanish for the drunk, he speaks in German for the officer, and the officer translates into French for his captain. I find it amusing that if my children can't figure out a word in Latin, they can usually get it if I tell them the word in Spanish. If I can get one or two more languages in there we can have our own translation line. |
Sep. 26, 2007
Home Spun strip #141
Posted in Home Spun comic part 8
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