Home Spun comic strip #500!

This strip is dedicated to all the wonderful homeschoolers out there who have encouraged me over the years through their comments, their encouragement, their appreciation and simply by taking the time to read my little comic strip. You are the reason this comic reached its 500th strip! May your homes be filled with peace and laughter!

P.S.~ I may or may not have a strip on Friday. I haven't had much time to think past this one. In any event, I'll be posting reprints next week while I take a much needed break...and possibly go on jury duty.

Imagining Heroes

I sent in all of my homeschooling paperwork to my school district. Most likely, I will not hear back from them. Usually they don't bother. This is fine with me. I figure no news is good news. Being well known can be an incredible burden.

Consider the cost of popularity. I've seen too many examples of people being hoisted up onto pedestals, expected to be infallible, and then they are knocked down by the mobs when it turns out that they truly were human. People have a funny way of creating an image of the people they idolize. We humans are a creative lot. We sometimes mistake our imaginings for reality. I recently watched Julie and Julia (excellent movie, by the way). In the movie, Julie Powell, learns about Julia Child through her attempt to cook everything in Julia Child's first cookbook. (I couldn't help but think that this was something an unschooler might do!) As Julie's own popularity grew through writing a blog about her experience, she was devastated by a negative comment from her idol, Julia Child. It's a touching scene when her husband explains that the Julia she has come to love and see as a mentor only exists in her mind. She created a Julia Child that perfectly matched what she needed.

Is it wrong to admire others and look to them for leadership? No. I think we need the inspiration that comes from celebrating the accomplishments of others. We are most human when we can share the happiness of a victory that is not our own, or commiserate over a defeat that does not affect us personally. The problem comes when we create expectations for our heroes, when we hold them to standards that set them up for failure.

I think this is why it has taken me so long to set my own thoughts and comics into a book. I'm not crazy about pedestals. I'm afraid of heights. This doesn't mean a book won't eventually happen, simply that I will move a bit slower than most. Like a little ant collecting one crumb at a time, I have slowly built up my stockpile of comic strips. I am amazed to have reached five hundred, and I have the 500th ready to show you on Wednesday. In spite of that accomplishment, my priority right now is being with my husband and children, so any grand schemes I have are limited to those fleeting moments between life adventures and quarterly reports.

Home Spun comic strip #499

Home Spun comic strip #498

Here's to summer and the undying hope of avoiding overloading my schedule next fall! (I can dream, can't I?)

Check out the number of this strip. It number 498. I am close to writing my 500th comic. I'm thinking it needs to be special, so I will apologize now if I run late next week. Ideas. I need ideas...

Celebrating Every Day and Fifty Years

My dear husband's birthday is today. He has officially hit the big 5-Oh. Fifty. A half century.

In our culture, fifty is a big deal. People like to have huge celebrations to mark the occasion. When my mom turned fifty, she had a big pie fighting party complete with children's games. My husband and I juggled for her.

I did not plan a huge party for my husband. For me, every year with him is a celebration. I am grateful for every moment I am blessed to be with him. So I will be a bit subdued with the celebration and simply enjoy another day with him. Except with cake. You gotta have cake.

As a tribute for his special day, I am posting the lyrics to a some songs that always make me think of him as I drive around bringing everyone to their activities. All songs were found at Lyrics Mode.

Lyrics | In Your Eyes lyrics

Lyrics | Leann Rimes lyrics - How Do I Live lyrics

Lyrics | Sting lyrics - You Were Meant For Me lyrics

Lyrics | When I See You Smile lyrics

Pictureka!

Sierra has started a blog. She has become very interested in photography and also wanted a place to occasionally post some of her artwork. I haven't helped her more than explaining how to customize it and helping her spell words from time to time. She put three posts together while I was out getting her dad's birthday present. I was impressed to see how much work she put into it.

She never ceases to amaze me.

Feel free to visit her blog Pictureka!

Home Spun comic strip #497

Scenes from a 2nd Degree Black Belt Confirmation

Last Friday, Chase had his 2nd Degree Black Belt confirmation and tea ceremony. (Sorry about the blurry pictures. He moves a lot!)

He had to demonstrate his skills. I love this shot. He looks like a genie that was just summoned from his lamp!

The tea ceremony symbolizes the passing of knowledge from master to student. They share a cup of tea and then Master Edwards puts on Chase's new belt before tying it onto Chase's waist.



Best part: He gets a sword to symbolize he is now a warrior.

Just in case you couldn't tell that was the best part.

We are very proud of our son's accomplishment. This is the culmination of four years of practice. Just shows what you can accomplish when you set your eyes on a sword goal.

Carnival at Taking Time for Things that Matter

The latest Carnival of Homeschooling: The Beach Reading Edition is happening at Janice Campbell: Taking Time for Things that Matter. Please take a moment to read some of this week's posts!

Home Spun comic strip #496

To All of the Fathers...

A father is a special person. I know a lot of special fathers.

Here's one:



My dad with my mom and Sierra. My children's Buelo.

Here's another:



My husband with Dusty. My children's dad.

I know a lot of special fathers. The reason I know they are special is that their kids love them. And the funny thing is, you will never hear them called "Father" by their kids. They are dads, daddies, papas, grandpas, abuelos, and the list goes on and on.

What do you call the special fathers in your life?

I wish all of the fathers a happy Fathers' Day!

May you know the love of your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, etc. by the special names they give you!

Home Spun comic strip #495

Postproduction Values, or It's All in How You Edit

My son recently finished a film course at the Jacob Burns Media Arts Center. They were nice enough to set up some classes for homeschoolers (read: before 3pm), so I figured this would be a good opportunity for Chase to learn about one of his interests. He had a great time! He wasn't so crazy about being filmed, but he enjoyed working behind the lens and editing. The six students were broken up into groups of two to work on editing and adding sound effects. On the final day, parents were able to watch their movies.

It was fun to see how each of the groups decided to edit the same raw footage. Each movie told the same story, but depending on which scenes were left in and what sounds were chosen for the background, you ended with a very different impression of the story. My son used a heartbeat sound to show tension when the characters were hiding from a man they thought was a killer. Another movie used suspenseful music for this same scene. The third left out the scene altogether. These choices affect how the viewer reacts to the scene.

With all of the attention radical unschooling has received lately in shows like Good Morning America and Nightline, I felt like this little film course and the work these children did took on greater meaning for me. After all, life is about our editing choices. What we choose to highlight in a situation--how we talk about the events of our days, choosing a lighthearted soundtrack full of happy, fast paced flutes and piccolos or the pensive sad tones of strings--this is what makes the difference in how we remember and what we choose to forget.

Home Spun comic strip #494

This was from an actual conversation I had and that was the actual answer I gave. Learning is an ongoing process. It does not need a special building to occur. Every time I pick up a book, sit quietly in the yard or spend time with others, I am always learning new things. Education happens. I remember the year I taught religious education to third graders at my church. I told them that everyone had something to teach and we could learn from anyone. In fact, I could even learn things from all of them. They looked at me as if I had lost my mind. But I truly believe this. We each have our own abilities, skills, and knowledge to contribute to the world. The trick is finding others to listen and learn from us and to be open to the possibility of learning from others.

Carnival at The Informed Parent

The latest Carnival of Homeschooling is happening at The Informed Parent! Go check out this week's links!

Home Spun comic strip #493

This week's strips are not about the homeschooled kids. They're about the grown-ups. Because if we really want to convince the world that homeschooling is a good choice, we need to help them see that what we do is create a lifelong love of learning, a nurturing for knowledge, and a path for passion. (OK, I'm not sure if that last one works, but once you start alliterating it's hard to stop.)

There was a point when my husband felt like he wasn't contributing enough to our children's education. As if bringing home a paycheck wasn't enough. So I suggested he do something with them that he had talked about for a while--build a computer. It was a learning process for him as well as the kids, and since then he built a new computer for me after my old one fried. I'm not sure if he ever would have done more than talk about it if I hadn't suggested it as a homeschooling project. He is still figuring out how to improve the computers, fiddling with things, trying to make them work better and occasionally making mistakes. Because that's how we learn at any age.

Outside

The backyard is full of animals lately...

We picked more than a quart of strawberries. Not many were taken by the catbird. I think they were too well hidden under the leaves of the plants...



Sierra has been getting creative with this dwarf Colorado blue spruce. Call it the warm weather snowman...

Of course, not everyone gets to go outside. Once you start catching chipmunks, you end up on the naughty list. Then you do your nature watching from behind a screen...



Nice turnout. Hobgoblin is set for the cat ballet.

Home Spun comic strip #492

More Creative Editing from ABC

I found a link to this excellent article, "Nightline Truth" at Alasandra's Homeschool Blog. I don't really watch Nightline very much, but I'm sorry I missed this piece on Radical Unschooling. The wonderful thing about Dayna Martin is that she can take a crazy situation and flip it, finding the good in it. I'm certainly glad the Martin family took the time to make this segment. In spite of Nightline's attempts to make the piece another statement against radical unschooling, you can truly see that these kids are doing well and thriving in their environment.

It's a pity that unbiased journalism has shriveled to the pressure of sensationalism and ratings. It is unfortunate that they had to try to end the piece on a negative, but it was highly expected. We need to constantly remember that these news shows and newspapers do not represent radical unschoolers or homeschoolers. Frankly, they don't even represent mainstream America. They represent the sponsors. That's where their money comes from. Sponsors simply want controversy, fire up the viewers and, as long as you're watching, why don't you go out and pick up some Big Macs and Allegra (or drug of your choice) after you compose your angry emails demanding more government oversight for homeschooling?

I did not start unschooling as soon as I wanted to. I did practice many unschooling principles long before I realized that was what it was. At first, I was opposed to the practice, thinking from the bias of my own traditional education, and then I was afraid to attempt it because of my highly regulated state. But now that I'm fully in the unschooling world, I see how natural it is.

At the end of the Nightline piece there is an interesting exchange and closing:

What happens when the learning becomes more sophisticated and her kids need to be exposed to Shakespeare or Twain or Henry James?

"I think a lot of people might value that more than others. That that is important and it is part of someone's life. I honestly don't remember, yes, although I know their names, I don't remember the details of what I learned in school about the historians," Martin said.

Those are details her children may never even have the chance to forget.

Horrifying! They won't have a chance to forget? I truly believe I have learned more, and learned to enjoy learning, as a result of home educating and unschooling my children. This is much different from the stressful environment I grew up in, full of mind-numbing homework and tests. How very sad that going to school has taught this Nightline reporter that learning ends when you get your cap and gown and there is no chance to further your education after that.

Home Spun comic strip #491

Carnival at Homeschooled Twins

The latest Carnival of Homeschooling is happening at Homeschooled Twins! Please take a look at some of this week's submissions.

Home Spun comic strip #490

Real World Uses for Timed Tests

Times when thinking and calculating fast are important:

• You're trying to reach level 50 on your favorite video/computer game
  
• You're on a game show
• When an animal jumps in front of your car on the highway
  
• When your flight leaves in one hour and you need to plot the fastest route to the airport because the highway is congested. (we've done this one, it was hairy)
• When you are facing off against a rabid animal
• The house is on fire and you need to get everyone out safely
  
• Your ship has sprung a leak
• You have moments to save your patient
  
• The time bomb is about to go off
• The dam is bursting
• You have a hostage situation
• Oil is spilling into the Gulf of Mexico
• When you're calculating the exact angle to aim the laser to shoot the asteroid to SAVE THE ENTIRE EARTH!!!

Please add to the list in the comments section!

Passing on Tests

My test results came back. I am negative for Lyme's Disease and other tick-related illness. This came as a surprise to some of my friends who have had Lyme's and say my symptoms were similar. The doctor said it is possible we caught it before it actually registered as Lyme, so maybe it was, but the tests say no. At any rate, I am feeling better.

Speaking of tests, Marina just had a big one recently. She took the placement exams for the nearby community college. High scores in English language. Her essay hasn't been graded yet. Low scores in math and algebra, which really wasn't a surprise to me, but it did get me thinking.

You see, I know what my daughter is capable of. People talk to her and are impressed. She draws upon a well of knowledge in conversation and easily shifts from one topic to the next. There is nothing she cannot do if she sets her mind to it. But she managed to inherit my ability to panic in the face of a test.

What is it about our society that it holds the exam up as the one true measure of aptitude? It is such an arbitrary tool. I consider myself adept at composing a coherent essay, but I would be hard pressed to do it in one hour, hand-written. At best, I would finish it, but it wouldn't be my best work. I like to write, then read over, then mull over, then add or remove as inspiration comes to me. The computer has become my best favorite tool because I can type faster than I can write. And the word processor allows me to be creative in editing. I am the queen of cut and paste. Marina used a computer for the test, so why did she need to write out the essay by hand? Are they planning some handwriting analysis along with a critique of her essay?

As for the math test, I take responsibility for not regularly having her refresh her memory about algebra. That was a dark year in our lives and I was happy to leave it behind as I mended her lost confidence in math. Geometry was much easier for her. Perhaps if I had saved algebra for this year she would have been able to get through it. Or perhaps she would have blanked anyway. Who knows? The first time I gave her a timed test, she did terribly. Just the idea that she was being timed made her panic and guess her way through it. The following year I took great pains to keep her calm and she spent more time reviewing, which resulted in a higher score. Hmmm...I suddenly realize I was teaching to the test.

It would be wonderful if we realized that people are individuals, not some sort of Borg collective. We are all creative and we should use our gifts to the betterment of our society. That creativity presents itself as our own unique set of talents and perspective on the world. Some of these talents test well, some do not. How sad that so many have to set aside their natural gifts for the sake of passing a test. Sadder still that an entire industry has grown for the sake of passing these tests. No wonder we can't figure out how to plug an oil leak. We have given up our potential in favor of a passing grade. The question is, when will we learn?

Marina is beginning a new journey. I have no idea how it will turn out, but I hope she always maintains her love of learning and her creative spirit. I think that would be much more fulfilling than a perfect score on a test.

Home Spun comic strip #489

Home Spun comic strip #488

The June Carnival of Unschooled Life is Up!

The latest Carnival of Unschooled Life is up at The Expanding Life! If you already unschool or are just curious about it, this is a good place to meet unschoolers and learn about how education happens when you have the freedom to learn.