Every Cloud Has its Silver Lining

Henry Cate over at the "Why Homeschool" blog is finding the news headlines today a bit on the depressing side & I can't say that I blame him. As I've been talking about at great length this week, homeschooling is under attack here in California and also now in D.C. The economy may be in recession, oil is at a whopping $106/barrel, the Euro is at a record high against the dollar, and stocks are tumbling as a result of all these woes.

So anyways, Henry is looking to start a "good news" meme, where people talk about something good that's going on. It could be anything- personal, in their community, or of national, or global interest.

The good news I have to share is that my DH, who has hitherto been a bit skeptical about homeschooling, showed for the first time yesterday the willingness to make a serious commitment to it. Whereas before he had shown reluctance to spend money on curricular materials and enrichment classes, he has agreed to pay for our DD to enroll in Stanford EPGY's "Reading and Writing About Literature" and "Language Arts and Writing" courses this upcoming fall.

I suspect that the impetus for committing to homeschooling is that his libertarian tendencies have been aroused by the Long case. However much "on the fence" he may have previously been about homeschooling, the fact that the People's Republic of California is claiming that he has no right to choose it for his own child makes him defiant. By golly, he's going to show those "nanny state" liberals!

Book Meme

I don't normally do memes because I often feel like I'm being put on the spot and I hate doing the same to others. But I've got insomnia and I've run out of housework that I can do without disturbing the rest of the family (seriously!) I finished the book I was reading and can't get at the next one in my queue without turning on the light in our bedroom. So I've decided to respond to Sunniemom's tag over at "A Woman on Purpose". Now, don't get your knickers in a twist if I didn't respond to your tag(s) in the past. It doesn't mean that I don't like you- it just means I happen to be bored at the moment :-)

Anyhoo, here are the rules of the meme:

1. Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages.

2. Open the book to page 123.

3. Find the 5th sentence.

4. Post the next 3 sentences.

5. Tag 5 people.

The book I just finished reading is called The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How it Has Undermined Women by Susan Douglas and Meredith Michaels. I'm planning to critique it in a future post, but here's what page 123 has to say. It's discussing those gushing profiles of celebrity moms women's magazines prominently feature:

"Often, in the profile, the celebrity mom has triumphed over various heartbreaks and challenges, and the very structure of the story is designed to get us to root for her. In addition, in the interview, the celebrity both notes how she is above the herd but is also so very much like you, especially because she is a mother. Retaining their success is essential for celebrities, and the more you want to identify with them, the better their chances of staying in the limelight."

Consider yourself tagged if you're interested in playing along! Drop a note in the comments or email me & I'll link to you below:

1. Be the first!

10 on Tuesday: 10 Useful Internet Sites

The theme of this week's 10 on Tuesday meme is "10 Useful Internet Sites". This was really hard for me to narrow down as I've got a ton of websites bookmarked but here goes:

1. The Baldwin Online Children's Literature Project. This website makes available classic children's literature that are now in the public domain. It is a wonderful resource for nursery rhymes, fables, folk tales, myths, legends, hero stories, fairy tales, Bible stories, Nature stories, biography, history, and poetry.
   
2. 1000 Good Books for Children from the Classical Christian Education Support Loop. Wondering where to find children's books that have both literary merit and reinforce traditional Biblical values? Sadly one cannot trust many public libraries these days as their shelves are full of books that are at best trite and at worst deliberately undermines those values. This website is a collaboration of 25 Christian homeschooling moms and the titles are grouped into those best for 1st-3rd grade, 4th-6th grade, 7th-9th grade, and 10th-12th grade.
   
3. Classics List for Children and Youth from the appendix of A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a New Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-First Century by Oliver Van DeMille. Overwhelmed by the previous list? These titles are some of the "best of the best" for kids and young people.
4. Living Math! Got a child who is a bookworm but resists math? Here's an extensive list of books covering mathematical concepts in entertaining story formats indexed by topic.
5. Reading Your Way Through History Who says history has to be learned from boring, dumbed-down, politically correct textbooks? This website is especially useful for Catholic families who want to see how Biblical and Church history fits in with secular history. Please note that Protestant families will most likely want to skip the titles on the Reformation as they are written from a pro-Catholic viewpoint.
6. Science Book List from Paula's Archives. "Living books" about science & nature.
7. A to Z Home's Cool Homeschooling Ann Zeise has created a Yahoo-like guide to the best homeschooling resources out there.
8. Love2Learn Favorite Resources for Catholic Homeschoolers. Alicia Van Hecke and a group of other Catholic homeschooling moms review both secular and Catholic homeschooling materials.
9. The TAG Project. Support for families with gifted/advanced children including the TAGMAX e-mail list for homeschoolers.
   
10. Catholic Culture. Awesome website for everything Catholic. My favorite part is the "site reviews" section where they rate other websites for fidelity to Church teaching. It can be hard to tell at first glance whether a website calling itself "Catholic" truly is. There are sadly many groups holding unorthodox and/or schismatic beliefs who claim the Catholic label such as the "Catholics" for a Free Choice on the left and the SSPX on the right. I always check the Catholic Culture reviews to see if they rate the site as faithful to the Magisterium.
    

Blogger Reflection Award

Blogger Reflection Award: this award should make an individual reflect upon five bloggers who have been an encouragement, a source of love, impacted you in some way, and who have provided an example. In other words, five dear bloggers whom, when you reflect upon them, you are filled with a sense of pride and joy. . .of knowing them and being blessed by them

Alicia Van Hecke over at "Studeo" tagged me for a "Blogger Reflection" award the other day. This really means a lot to me because Alicia is one of the Catholic home educators whom I've found inspirational during this homeschooling journey. She is a contributor to the "Love 2 Learn" website, which is a fabulous resource for reviews of curriculum from a Catholic perspective.

There are so many fabulous blogs out there that it's hard to pick just 5 to tag but here are some I enjoy reading:

• Elena over at "My Domestic Church". Elena is a Catholic homeschooler and mom of 7. Somehow she finds the time to write wonderful posts about Catholicism, education, and family life.
  

• Kathy McKinney over at "Broken Homeschool". And no, it's not because she nominated me for a "Rockin' Girl Blogger" award, LOL! I honestly didn't realize she had until I went to her site to check whether she'd already gotten the "Blogger Reflection" one. I find Kathy to be inspirational because she shows a deep commitment to homeschooling her children in the face of challenging circumstances. So many people think they are not in a position to homeschool because they are single parents and/or hold outside employment but Kathy shows that is not true!
• Elisheva Levin over at "Ragamuffin Studies". Elisheva is another non-traditional homeschooler as she is currently pursuing her doctorate in special education, studying "twice-exceptional" students who are both intellectually gifted and affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder. I find her inspirational for being able to juggle the demands of her own graduate school with homeschooling a 2E student.
  
• Kristine over at "MamaArcher's Blog". I don't always agree with her theological beliefs as she's an Evangelical Protestant but she often writes very insightfully about Christian parenting and homeschooling.
  
• MC Milker over at "The Not Quite Crunchy Parent". She's not a full-time homeschooler but what she does definitely falls into the category of "afterschooling". I enjoy reading her blog because she brings a refreshing “real-world” spin to natural parenting. Her tone is one of moderation, and she talks candidly about her struggles to do what she feels is best for her child within the confines of her limited budget and time.
  

New Homeschool Meme- "Tell About Your Homeschool"

Jacque from "Seeking Rest in the Ancient Paths" has started a new homeschool meme called "Tell Me About Your Homeschool"

I started homeschooling (years ago or year)

Last September.

I homeschool __ of my children

Both of my children. DD will be in kindergarten and DS I'm just very gently introducing him to basic preschool concepts like colors, shapes, numbers, letters, body parts, animals, etc.

I teach my children to read at age(specific age or not?)

I look for readiness signs, but I would get concerned if the child was not reading by age 7 or so.

A few of my most favorite homeschool teaching resources are:

Library card, family memberships to museums, The Writing Road to Reading by Romalda Spalding, RightStart Math games & manipulatives.

Do you write out goals for school each year?

Well, I started them but have not yet finished. I've been having a hard time figuring out what are realistic goals for my DD since her abilities are all over the map.

What time do you start school each day? Do you have a specific schedule?

Mid-morning usually. Right now we're pretty informal, but I'm planning to make things a bit more formal since DD will be in kindergarten. Right now the plan is for daily instruction in religion, language arts, and math; history 3x/wk; and science 2x/wk.

I have used ___ math programs. My favorite is:

We have not yet started formal math instruction but are planning to use Right Start Math Level B in the fall.

I have used ___ science programs. My favorite is:

We have not yet started a formal science program. We're going to be studying biology next year using "living books" and hands-on experiments from Biology for Every Kid and The Human Body for Every Kid by Janice Van Cleave.

I have used ___ grammar/english programs. My favorite is:

We used The Writing Road to Reading by Romalda Spalding for phonics. I'm planning to use First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind by Jessie Wise and Language of God Level A from Catholic Heritage Curricula next year. I looked at Michael Clay Thompson's grammar series from Royal Fireworks Press but they seem just a bit too advanced for DD right now. We'll probably use them after we finish FLL.

I have used ___ history programs. My favorite is:

We have not yet started formal history study. I looked at a bunch of different programs but couldn't find a complete one I liked. So I'm putting together a bunch of unit studies in chronological order.

What months do you homeschool during?

I'm planning to homeschool year-round but go lighter in the summer and during Advent.

Favorite homeschool method?

A hybrid of neo-Classical and Charlotte Mason. The two approaches really complement each other IMHO. I like CM's emphasis on "living books", short lessons, hands-on activities, nature walks, narration, and copywork. I like neo-Classical's emphasis on the Great Works, memorizing math facts and spelling & grammar rules, the 4-yr cycles in history and science, and the early introduction of Latin and logic.

Do you/plan to homeschool all the way through high school?

We'll cross that bridge when we come to it! I like what I hear about Stanford's EPGY on-line high school so that may be an option for homeschooling them through high school.

Have you noticed specific learning styles in each child?

Yes. DD is much more social than DS. She wants to discuss things, while he wants to be left alone to figure things out for himself. She's also more verbal while he's more mechanically inclined.

Do you keep specific or general records? Or none, really?

Here in CA the official records are minimal, but I'm going to be keeping a portfolio for our own purposes.

Do you teach Bible, art, journaling, phys. ed.?

The Bible is definitely part of both our study of religion and of history. Creative art and physical fitness are done on a daily basis but are not formal subjects. DD takes a dance class and will be on a soccer team this fall plus we're probably going to do swimming lessons too. I don't think we're going to be doing journaling just yet.

Where do you like to shop for homeschool books and resources?

Emmanuel Books, Catholic Heritage Curricula, Our Lady of Victory, Ignatius Press, Rainbow Resource, Amazon, Teacher Created Resources, Learning Through History, Calliope.

What resources have you been itching to try?

• History Links- I'm planning to use their "Early Medieval" unit and hopefully their "Late Medieval" unit will be available by the time we get to that part of history.
• RC History's "Connecting with History"- I'm planning to use their Volume 2 assuming it's finished by the time we get to that part of history.
• Minimus Latin
• Michael Clay Thompson's books
• CTY and EPGY courses
  

*Do you use and/or like to use E-books?*

I have not yet used any, but I would consider them.

Do you have anything to add?

I'm going to be trying to teach DD chess using WinterPromise's "Knights of the Square Table" curriculum. Should be interesting as my dad tried to teach me chess as a kid but I just never got into it. I keep reading though about research showing chess makes children smarter so it's worth giving a shot!

MommyCommunity Friday Fave: Ice Cream Flavor

The theme of this week's MommyCommunity Friday Fave is "Ice Cream". I absolutely lurve ice cream. Because I'm somewhat following South Beach, I don't generally keep it in the house. But I do make the occasional trip over to our local Cold Stone Creamery to get my ice cream fix.

It's hard to pick my favorite Cold Stone Creation but after much deliberation, I'd have to go with "Coffee Lovers Only": coffee ice cream, almonds, Heath bar bits, and caramel sauce. Yummy!

Quaternary TT: 13 Words Certain Individuals Think You're Too Stupid To Hear

Thirteen WORDS CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS THINK YOU'RE TOO STUPID TO HEAR I've been seething (v. to be in an agitated emotional state) all day about the great lexicon debate. Below are 13 examples in alphabetical order from the America article (discussed here) and the Globe and Mail article (discussed here) of words that Bishop Trautman and Professor Beck think you're too stupid to hear used. Some are a bit more obscure (adj. not easily understood) than others, but they all strike me as reasonable to utilize (v. to put into service) in the context (n. setting) of a classroom lesson or a church service: 1. betwixt- adv. between 2. gibbet- n. gallows 3. incarnate- adj. existing in bodily form 4. ineffably- adv. indescribably 5. inviolate- adj. virginal 6. nefarious- adj. extremely wicked 7. prefiguring- v. imagining beforehand 8. suffused- v. to become overspread as with a fluid or light 9. sullied- v. made dirty 10. thwart- v. to prevent 11. unfeigned- adj. genuine 12. unvanquished- adj. unbeaten 13. wrought- adj. shaped Links to other Thursday Thirteens! *Please note that I take no responsibility for the content of other blogs, so caveat viator! (let the traveler beware!) *

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

TT: 13 Things I Miss About My Pre-Mom Life




Thirteen Things I MISS ABOUT MY PRE-MOM LIFE Lara David from "Life: The Ongoing Education" had a fun TT last week on the 13 reasons she's glad that she's not yet a mom. That got me thinking about all the things I miss about my pre-mom life. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids to death and wouldn't trade them for any of these things. I'm only human though and I do get nostalgic for these: leaving the house with just keys, a driver's license, and a debit card! perky boobs and taut tummy skin. Diet and exercise can do a lot, but not everything :-( light carpets and glass-topped furniture all the cute clothes that I'm young enough and thin enough to wear but that look ridiculous on me when I've got 2 kids in tow (people assume I'm the nanny even though my DD is a mini-clone) indulging in regular facials. My skin looked sooooo much better when I had the disposable cash to get them every 2 months instead of once a year. freedom from the voices of Elmo, Barney, Captain Feathersword from the Wiggles, Weezy from DragonTales, or any of the other characters who I'd rather listen to scratching nails on a chalkboard than hear. not having to confine bedroom activities to our bedroom ;-) using idioms and polysyllabic words in conversation without having to stop to explain their meanings doing laundry once a week instead of every single dangblasted day! making spur-of-the-minute plans to attend adult-only events turning on the TV, popping in a DVD, listening to the radio, flipping through a magazine, reading a book, surfing the 'Net, or just walking around in public without worrying about what impressionable little minds might see or hear.* devoting 100% of my attention to Mass.** not having to always set a good example by wearing a lifejacket when boating, helmet when biking or rollerblading, safety pads when rollerblading, copious amounts of sunscreen when outdoors, and a seatbelt in taxis; eating 5 servings of vegetables per day; skipping seconds on dessert; limiting alcohol to one or two drinks; driving at the posted speed limit; never making an illegal left or u-turn; pulling over to the side of the road when I need to make a cell phone call in the car; crossing only at the crosswalk and when the light says "walk"; and so on.*** *I tend to hold relatively libertarian views on the freedom of expression but at the same time I also strongly believe in the parental right to shield one's own children from content one deems inappropriate for them. Censorship by the government - very bad! Attempting to keep negative influences away from one's children - a basic parental obligation! **I know God understands and I do believe it's important to worship as a family rather than sticking kids in the nursery. "Let the children come to me" and all that jazz! ***Yes, I am aware that I ought to be doing these things anyways for safety's sake. Realistically, though, most people don't do them 100% of the time for various reasons. Links to other Thursday Thirteens!




Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants




BlogHers Act: Life, Liberty, and a Roof Over One's Head

I've been thinking about the BlogHers Act Community Initiative for several days now. BlogHer has challenged its 11,000 female bloggers to identify "the top four issues that women online want the U.S. Presidential candidates to address in order to win our votes in the ‘08 Election."
It's hard for me to choose only 4 issues when there are so many problems our America faces at the current time. Energy independence, immigration, Social Security, terrorism- these are all very important issues our next President will have to tackle. After much deliberation, here are my four issues:

1. Respect for human life from conception through natural death. This goes beyond just the "hot-button" issues of abortion, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, and capital punishment. Poverty, unjust wars, racism, human rights abuses, sexual exploitation, domestic violence, lack of stewardship of the Earth- working to end all these tragedies are part of holding a "consistent life" ethic.
2. Fix the health care mess in this country. Having endured 5 years using the military healthcare system I'm leery of socialized medicine, but something needs to be done. Malpractice tort reform is important. Prescription drug marketing is out of control and driving up costs. Getting Americans to eat less junk and exercise more (perhaps by taxing the former and subsidizing the latter) would really help.
3. Allowing all parents true educational choice for their children. Poor and middle-class families often lack the options wealthy families have to move to a neighborhood with good public schools, enroll in a private school, or homeschool. Public schools should convert from district-run to charters with open enrollment policies. Individual charters should have the autonomy to choose their own textbooks, set their own curriculum, and make staffing decisions. Public schools should allow part-time enrollment and access to extracurricular activities for families who wish to combine homeschooling with traditional schooling. Vouchers and tax incentives should be available for parents who prefer private schooling or homeschooling. Encourage true competition and let market pressures drive schools to innovate if they want to stay in business.
   
4. Encourage the building of more affordable housing units. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach report, the "housing wage" needed to rent a 2BR unit spending the recommended 30% of one's income for housing was $16.31 nationwide in 2006. 88% of renters live in areas where 2 minimum wage jobs are not sufficient to meet the "housing wage". The situation is even worse in many cities. In San Francisco, the "housing wage" was $29.63. Orange County near L.A. had a "housing wage" of $28.56. Boston had a "housing wage" of $26.27. Washington, DC had a "housing wage" of $24.73. Bear in mind these are just to rent an apartment. To afford to purchase a starter home (priced at 85% of the median) in San Francisco in the 1st quarter of 2007 required an annual income of $142,000. Fewer than 18% of the households in the area meet that threshold.
   

As for the one global red-hot issue that BlogHer should choose, my vote would be for encouraging women to become active and informed citizens. Women today are so busy with career and family obligations that it's easy to "tune out" politics. We need to do a better job of paying attention to issues that affect us and our families. We need to make our voices heard on every level from our local communities to global ones. Blogging can certainly help, but we need to go beyond just words into taking action.

Can I get a chorus of I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar?

Jenny McB's Blog Limerick Contest

Through her Thursday Thirteen post on limericks, I discovered Jenny McB's blog limerick contest. The idea is to write a limerick describing one's blog. I'm not much of a poet, but here goes:

There once was a mom near San Fran
To teach her kids she did plan
Her home was the school
Love God was the rule
To train up a fine lady and man

Witty? Nope, but it does get at the heart of what we're trying to accomplish in our homeschool!

Thursday Thirteen: 13 Signs You're A Yuppie Mom

Thirteen Signs You're a Yuppie Mom All of the following are true occurrences from the past couple of weeks: 1. Your 4 1/2 year old DD is playing with her tea set and you overhear her offering her teddy bear a "latte". 2. You see a blog title called "If You Give My Toddler a Blackberry" and you think it's referring to an electronic device rather than a fruit. 3. Your 19 month old DS actually knows which button on Daddy's Blackberry to push in order to get a dial tone. 4. Your DD recognizes a Mozart tune but has no idea what Grandpa is referring to when he says "wascally wabbit". 5. You have a long discussion with some fellow moms about raw milk vs. organic milk vs. goat's milk and the best places to purchase the aforementioned. 6. You seriously consider driving two hours each way to attend a chicken pox party. 7. You overhear the kids at park day playgroup pretending to be ancient Romans fleeing the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. 8. The kids in the playgroup have names like Soleil, Finn, Lydia, Ivy, Graham, Clark, Catriona, Coco, Leilani, Gianna, Leon, Tobias, Veronique, Jasper, Bram, and Atticus. 9. Your mom asks your DD "what does Daddy do at his job?" and when she answers "he makes money for [name of his employer]" you realize you have no clue how to explain his job function in a way that will make sense to her any more than that. 10. Your DD talks about getting a dog "after I finish graduate school". 11. You volunteer your DS as a guinea pig for the Learning Lab at Stanford and you use the opportunity to explain the scientific method to his big sister. 12. Your DS makes the American Sign Language sign for "milk" when presented with a cup as part of the experiment. 13. Your old babysitter growing up is now a post-doctorate fellow in neuroscience at Stanford and just got married at a Buddhist retreat in a ceremony that started with the "marriage is what brings us together today" speech from The Princess Bride. Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Title Blending Meme

Nick over at Literary Compass has created a new meme. How it works is you take two books that contain the same word in their titles and blend them together to create a new title.

For example, Canterbury Tales + Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing = Canterbury Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.

Here are mine:

• Princess Brideshead Revisited by William Waugh
• Lord of the Rings of the Master by J.R.R. Chalker
• A Midsummer's Night Dream Fighter by William L'Amour
• St. George and the Dragon and the Unicorn by Geraldine Attanasio
• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day of the Butterfly by Judith Lofts
• Goodnight Moon by Night by Margaret Wise L'Engle
• A Wrinkle in Time Traveler's Wife by Madeleine Niffenegger
• Roll of Thunder Hear my Cry, the Beloved Country by Mildred Paton
• Fox and the Grapes of Wrath by Aesop Steinbeck
• The Lovely Bones Gather No Moss by Alice Sherwood

Consider yourself tagged!

Homeschool Meme

HT to "Mom to an Angel" for this Homeschool Meme:



1. ONE HOMESCHOOL BOOK YOU HAVE ENJOYED: Homeschooling: Take a Deep Breath, You Can Do This! by Terrie Lynn Bittner

2. ONE RESOURCE YOU WOULDN'T BE WITHOUT: A well-stocked library with inter-library loan program.

3. ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH YOU HAD NEVER BOUGHT: Boggle Jr. because it was too easy by the time I got it for my DD.

4. ONE RESOURCE YOU ENJOYED LAST (This) YEAR: I didn't really "enjoy" but found very useful Romalda Spalding's "The Writing Road to Reading".

5. ONE RESOURCE YOU WILL BE USING NEXT YEAR: RightStart Math

6. ONE RESOURCE YOU WOULD LIKE TO BUY: I've got WAAAYYY too much stuff on my wish list but I'd really like to get Catholic Heritage Curricula's "A Year with God: Celebrating the Liturgical Year"

7. ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH EXISTED: I've yet to find a science curriculum I really like.

8. ONE HOMESCHOOLING CATALOG YOU ENJOY READING: Emmanuel Books

9. ONE WEBSITE YOU USE REGULARLY: Love2Learn

10. TAG OTHER HOMESCHOOLERS