Monday, February 28, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Home Spun comic strip #587
I had never known this little fact until my aunt pointed it out to me. This winter has been great for studying the rhododendron outside of our window. Those days when we could freeze bubbles, its leaves were so tightly curled they looked thinner than straws. I find it easier to check the rhododendron before going out than trying to find out what the current temperature is. When the leaves relax and open, I know I won't need as many layers to keep warm. Last Friday, the leaves were fully open as the temperature approached the high 60's. Now they are tightly wrapped again. I'm hoping it gets warmer tomorrow.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Home Spun comic strip #586
I believe in reaping the benefits of homeschooling. If we end up with a beautiful day in the middle of winter, I like to take advantage of the fact that my kids aren't stuck in a classroom. So I send them outside to enjoy the sun. I did that last week when our weather flirted with the sixties, causing a good amount of our snow to melt (finally!) Mud is a small price to pay for fresh air. I remember how much I hated being stuck inside on a nice day when I was in school. Winter is hard enough. We need to enjoy the sun and blue skies whenever possible! It helps us hang in there while we are waiting for the spring.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Home Spun comic strip #585
All of us make choices in life. Every day is full of decisions and many of those decisions are financial ones. My series this week is not meant to disparage the choices of my fellow parents, but to enlighten those who think I share their idea of wealth and have the ability to homeschool as well. I do not. I simply made a choice thirteen years ago that I wanted to try homeschooling. Each year I choose it again.
I don't think we want for anything. We have basic cable television and a couple of computers thanks to my geeky husband. We don't have the latest cellphones and we never had handheld games. I'm really good at getting books for free or at a discount, so our house is packed with books. We are lucky that we have a close extended family who can be incredibly generous at Christmastime and birthdays. I also have some generous friends in real life and in the blogging world who have blessed us with gifts of books, clothes, and supplies. We have a home with a big yard, but it is also the smallest house on the block. Our unpaved driveway is more of a mud pit since the snow started melting this week. And we have a lot of cats. I'm not sure why, it just happened.
What I am trying to say here is that we all make choices. Homeschooling families are no different from any other family. We do without or we find a way to pay for what we want. We all have different needs and desires. The one choice homeschoolers have in common is the desire to educate their children at home. A lot of us do that on one salary, but some families do have dual incomes and there are also single parents who have chosen this path. Can we afford it? I would think many of these families would say they can't afford not to. We make it work, because we want it to. I'm thankful I made the choice to homeschool. It's a tough job, and I know it's not for everyone, but it was something I had to do.
Even if it means I have to wait ten more years to pave that driveway.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Carnival at the Faithful Homeschool
This week's Carnival of Homeschooling: Winter Weather Homeschooling in Small Spaces is happening at The Faithful Homeschool! Be sure to take some time to read some of the submissions. It will give you something to do while the snow melts!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Home Spun comic strip #583
In the past, I've always been amazed at the excuses I'm given for not homeschooling. Especially since I wasn't really trying to recruit anyone. I like homeschooling, but I know it's not for everyone. Some days it isn't even for me! And yet, parents at various classes we've attended have felt the need to detach themselves from any thought that they might homeschool. My personal favorite is "I could never spend all day with my kids!"
Honestly, I haven't heard the excuse in today's cartoon more than once or twice in my 12 years of homeschooling, but I was recently reminded of it in a private email exchange. So this week I decided to address the affordability of homeschooling in my own comic.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Bean There, Done That
Sierra has been bothering us for the past few days (weeks?) about giving her an email address. Two of her friends have email and since it is sometimes difficult to get them together, I agreed that it might be a good thing to have. Anything to keep her writing.
Last night my husband (Tech Support) set up her brand new email. It had been a long day for me, driving here, there and everywhere, and I didn't really get to look at my email until 11Pm. Sierra had sent me the following email:
Now, I'm a homeschooler, I'm a mom. My thought process went something like this...
Hm. This is well written. Did Sierra really write it? Could it be spam? How can I get spam from her email address already? It must be a joke. Why would she think I would be mad? How can anyone get a bean stuck in their ear?
I get up to find her. She is watching me with that guilty look I know so well.
Me: Did you really put a bean in your ear?
Sierra: *nods*
Me: Why would you do that?
Sierra: *shrugs*
I find the flashlight and try to maneuver it while I look in her ear. We had been using black beans as counters for various math games. I didn't think they could possibly be small enough to fit in an ear. To be honest, I didn't think my eight year old would consider trying to stick a bean in her ear. But here we are. I scan her ear, and hand Chase the flashlight so I can hold her ear open enough to look deeper. I can't see anything bean-like. I ask if she's sure it got in her ear and didn't fall off onto the couch. She's unsure. I start moving blanket throws around and find various black beans. I hold them up like a police line-up. "Is this your bean?" No. "Is this your bean?" No. "Is this your bean?" Not sure. Maybe.
I decide I should at least look in the other ear for contrast. As far as I can tell, they both look the same to me. But now Sierra isn't sure which ear she put the bean into.
Me: How can you be unsure?
Sierra: I didn't do it today.
Me: Well, when did you do it?
Sierra: Two or three days ago.
Me: *speechless*
I try to remain calm, but I'm teetering between annoyance and the urge to burst out in laughter at how surreal my life is. My husband and I explain how serious this could be, since you don't want to do anything that might damage the ear. My husband calls the doctor to see if we need to make a midnight run to the ER or if it can wait until morning. I imagine possible House, M.D. scenarios where my daughter is convulsing before Dr. House realizes the problem is a bean in her ear. The doctor decided we could wait until morning and come in to have the ear checked.
Incidentally, after she went to bed I showed her father and Marina the email. Marina mentioned that Sierra had asked her how to spell "by accident." She asked whether there was a space. She didn't know if it was one word or two. It may have been inappropriate, but we all ended up laughing until we couldn't breathe. I guess I should be happy that my youngest now has this new way to communicate with me. Considering all of our past adventures with Sierra--putting antiseptic gel on her tongue at two (call to poison control), unscrewing the safety cap on her brother's asthma meds and taking several (that was the second call to poison control that week), eating several bottles worth of homeopathic remedies (should have hid them better), hiding in our car and covered in scribbles at five (that one involved a call to the police)--a bean in the ear seems like...small potatoes.
And there was, indeed, a bean in her ear. The doctor managed to pull it out with a tiny scoop tool. Sierra is fine, and allowed me to write up the experience. The reason I couldn't see it is because it had turned white. I suppose I would have eventually noticed it sprouting out her ear.
Last night my husband (Tech Support) set up her brand new email. It had been a long day for me, driving here, there and everywhere, and I didn't really get to look at my email until 11Pm. Sierra had sent me the following email:
from Sierra
subject Mom......
to YouSorry I couldn't say this to you in person........ I was just too scared. I by accident stuck a bean in my ear........... Please don't be mad.:'(
Now, I'm a homeschooler, I'm a mom. My thought process went something like this...
Hm. This is well written. Did Sierra really write it? Could it be spam? How can I get spam from her email address already? It must be a joke. Why would she think I would be mad? How can anyone get a bean stuck in their ear?
I get up to find her. She is watching me with that guilty look I know so well.
Me: Did you really put a bean in your ear?
Sierra: *nods*
Me: Why would you do that?
Sierra: *shrugs*
I find the flashlight and try to maneuver it while I look in her ear. We had been using black beans as counters for various math games. I didn't think they could possibly be small enough to fit in an ear. To be honest, I didn't think my eight year old would consider trying to stick a bean in her ear. But here we are. I scan her ear, and hand Chase the flashlight so I can hold her ear open enough to look deeper. I can't see anything bean-like. I ask if she's sure it got in her ear and didn't fall off onto the couch. She's unsure. I start moving blanket throws around and find various black beans. I hold them up like a police line-up. "Is this your bean?" No. "Is this your bean?" No. "Is this your bean?" Not sure. Maybe.
I decide I should at least look in the other ear for contrast. As far as I can tell, they both look the same to me. But now Sierra isn't sure which ear she put the bean into.
Me: How can you be unsure?
Sierra: I didn't do it today.
Me: Well, when did you do it?
Sierra: Two or three days ago.
Me: *speechless*
I try to remain calm, but I'm teetering between annoyance and the urge to burst out in laughter at how surreal my life is. My husband and I explain how serious this could be, since you don't want to do anything that might damage the ear. My husband calls the doctor to see if we need to make a midnight run to the ER or if it can wait until morning. I imagine possible House, M.D. scenarios where my daughter is convulsing before Dr. House realizes the problem is a bean in her ear. The doctor decided we could wait until morning and come in to have the ear checked.
Incidentally, after she went to bed I showed her father and Marina the email. Marina mentioned that Sierra had asked her how to spell "by accident." She asked whether there was a space. She didn't know if it was one word or two. It may have been inappropriate, but we all ended up laughing until we couldn't breathe. I guess I should be happy that my youngest now has this new way to communicate with me. Considering all of our past adventures with Sierra--putting antiseptic gel on her tongue at two (call to poison control), unscrewing the safety cap on her brother's asthma meds and taking several (that was the second call to poison control that week), eating several bottles worth of homeopathic remedies (should have hid them better), hiding in our car and covered in scribbles at five (that one involved a call to the police)--a bean in the ear seems like...small potatoes.
And there was, indeed, a bean in her ear. The doctor managed to pull it out with a tiny scoop tool. Sierra is fine, and allowed me to write up the experience. The reason I couldn't see it is because it had turned white. I suppose I would have eventually noticed it sprouting out her ear.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Carnival at Bugs, Knights, and Turkeys in the Yard
This week's Carnival of Homeschooling is being hosted by Bugs, Knights, and Turkeys in the Yard! Please head over to the carnival and take a look at some of the links this week!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
How Snow Turns College Back into Homeschooling
Marina has been taking a few courses at the college this semester. It has been frustrating so far. Not because of the coursework, but because she has had at least one snow day per week since the semester began.
In some ways it has been amusing. She took a remedial algebra class this year because of the struggle she had with passing the placement. We decided it would be better if she simply took an algebra course so that she could have an actual professor help her over the parts that still give her trouble and give her more confidence. We discussed whether she should take it online or in a regular class. She decided on an actual class so that if she was unclear on anything, she would have a real person to answer her questions during the class. The funny part is, with all of the snow it has been more of an online class. So far, the textbook author's online lectures have provided more instruction than her class, which has taken the brunt of the snow days (why does it always seem to snow on Tuesdays?) She's been doing well. She even offered to share some of the lectures with Chase, who needs to brush up on algebra. I wish I had found this textbook three years ago. For anyone who is interested, it's called Beginning Algebra by Elayn Martin Gay. Our used copy came with a CD, but the instructor actually wanted them to use the online version, My Math Lab, which includes a virtual copy of the textbook, so I guess I bought it twice. (FYI: I'm including the link, but I'm not sure if it can be used outside of a classroom setting.)
I know she's been enjoying taking Art History-The Renaissance to Modern this year. It is her favorite period and she has the advantage that she has seen some of the works they are discussing when she went to Italy. The professor introduced her to a site called Smarthistory, which is a non-profit free and open art history textbook. (Warning! This is art history, so there are many nude paintings. You may want to preview it before showing it to younger children.) The paintings featured include an audio of art historians discussing each artwork and their period. I enjoyed listening in on a few of the lessons.
The third course for this semester is a Sketching 101 class. She hasn't had many of these yet (snow!) but I think she likes it. The biggest challenge has been filling a large sheet of paper after years of working on 8½ x 11 paper or smaller. She appreciates the philosophy of learning new techniques here. Discussing her professor's lecture, she explained that an artist learns composition and the rules of good composition so that if they break those rules they are doing it purposefully and thoughtfully, instead of out of ignorance. I think this helped her to be more willing to try things out of her comfort zone, like blind contour drawing.
Knock on wood, we haven't encountered the level of anxiety Marina faced with her first college class last semester. I think it helps that she is taking subjects two courses she likes and has some confidence in this time. I think she's even starting to believe she is better in math than she thought. Time will tell. I'm simply happy that she is happy. And I've benefited greatly from all of the secondhand learning and links!
In some ways it has been amusing. She took a remedial algebra class this year because of the struggle she had with passing the placement. We decided it would be better if she simply took an algebra course so that she could have an actual professor help her over the parts that still give her trouble and give her more confidence. We discussed whether she should take it online or in a regular class. She decided on an actual class so that if she was unclear on anything, she would have a real person to answer her questions during the class. The funny part is, with all of the snow it has been more of an online class. So far, the textbook author's online lectures have provided more instruction than her class, which has taken the brunt of the snow days (why does it always seem to snow on Tuesdays?) She's been doing well. She even offered to share some of the lectures with Chase, who needs to brush up on algebra. I wish I had found this textbook three years ago. For anyone who is interested, it's called Beginning Algebra by Elayn Martin Gay. Our used copy came with a CD, but the instructor actually wanted them to use the online version, My Math Lab, which includes a virtual copy of the textbook, so I guess I bought it twice. (FYI: I'm including the link, but I'm not sure if it can be used outside of a classroom setting.)
I know she's been enjoying taking Art History-The Renaissance to Modern this year. It is her favorite period and she has the advantage that she has seen some of the works they are discussing when she went to Italy. The professor introduced her to a site called Smarthistory, which is a non-profit free and open art history textbook. (Warning! This is art history, so there are many nude paintings. You may want to preview it before showing it to younger children.) The paintings featured include an audio of art historians discussing each artwork and their period. I enjoyed listening in on a few of the lessons.
The third course for this semester is a Sketching 101 class. She hasn't had many of these yet (snow!) but I think she likes it. The biggest challenge has been filling a large sheet of paper after years of working on 8½ x 11 paper or smaller. She appreciates the philosophy of learning new techniques here. Discussing her professor's lecture, she explained that an artist learns composition and the rules of good composition so that if they break those rules they are doing it purposefully and thoughtfully, instead of out of ignorance. I think this helped her to be more willing to try things out of her comfort zone, like blind contour drawing.
Knock on wood, we haven't encountered the level of anxiety Marina faced with her first college class last semester. I think it helps that she is taking subjects two courses she likes and has some confidence in this time. I think she's even starting to believe she is better in math than she thought. Time will tell. I'm simply happy that she is happy. And I've benefited greatly from all of the secondhand learning and links!
Friday, February 4, 2011
Home Spun comic strip #579
The year this happened, Marina took the test three times. The second time she was checking her work and was surprised by how many questions she had missed. When I was checking to see if she had filled the darn bubbles completely, I noticed the large amount of erasures and figured out what happened. The third time around she fixed her mistakes using the correct test. Then I spent a large amount of time making sure everything that needed to be erased was fully erased. I know I'm paranoid about this. I get flashbacks to my own childhood experiences with standardized tests. I was always afraid the scan reader would reject my bubble filling and I would fail miserably.
It came as no surprise when the testing company we were using later changed the format so that we only received the questions for her level.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Carnival at The Informed Parent
The latest edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling is happening at The Informed Parent! Please take some time this week to have a look at the carnival and enjoy some of this week's submissions!
Home Spun comic strip #578
For my rant on test bubbles, go here.
Did you know that once you write over 500 comic strips you start forgetting which topics you've covered? If I've done testing before, please think of this series as a flashback. I really need to organize my old comics better!
Happy Groundhog Day! May your favorite furry forecaster predict an early spring!
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