Slowly Settling...

we're in our new digs...and waiting on our own goods to get here.

Been interesting in these parts the past few days, what with the sudden lack of planes/chem trails in the sky. Nice to look up and see blue sky with not a trace of any of that mess. Had a chat with the taxi driver that dragged me and the groceries home this a.m. about it...his brother in Frankfurt thinks it's eerie. No planes, no noise, no chem trails. Being that he shuttles from the airport up there he's anxious to see flights going again and worried about the whole continuing erruption. His bread and butter afterall.

Oh, forgot to drop this one on ya...the eldest screamer has decided he wants to give "school in a building" a shot again. Fine, 6 weeks left in the year so we'll see how he does. The youngest on the other hand has NO desire to go because "girls might kiss" him and he'll "have to marry them all." I'm not really sure where that kid came from.

Ah...the bed calls since I'll have to be alive and somewhat human for tomorrow's adventure at the school with teacher and counselors (I swear it takes less paperwork to get a license than to enroll a kid in school).

Much love to ya'll weathering the storms (in more ways than one) in the States.

Interesting....

the boys, the Spouse and myself indulged last night in a pleasure we so rarely get to experience...we hit the Barnes & Noble in E-town for a little hands on book shopping.

It was fun, we all found something we wanted and the screamers played at the train table whilst Mommy shopped around for some books to add to our "learning to read" list. Mommy was quite happy thumbing along until she ran up on this monstrousity: D is for Democracy

Yes, ladies and gentlemen...the ugly thing...bet you can't guess what T is of in that book. You got it! Taxation and according to that particular book (paraphrasing here but it's damn close to what it says) "no longer the fees of kings, they help us pay for many things." Yak, gag, gross...okay, so even the Spouse curled his nose when I said something about it and said he'd rather read the screamers "Too Purply"...which means you know it's bad.

I'm not really surprised...honestly. When Sid the Science Kid starts rambling on about the importance of vaccines and flu shots, it's hard to be surprised about the level to which "they" will stoop in order to reign in young minds.

On a side note, Missouri just changed their homeschooling laws. Parents are now required to keep a log, use the same school year AND hours (1000 w/ 650 being IN HOME)...gone are the send a letter to the school saying you're homeschooling days. Hello control. It's all politics, of course. But then, it pops up just as this happens...interesting, no?

Some post-Holiday Randomness...

Good holiday overall here...the littles didn't get spoiled with battery operated goo, just some good ol' fashioned games (checkers, connect 4, etc), some puzzles, matchbox cars, crayons, coloring books, notebooks, pencils and S-A-N-T-A brought an EasyBake oven. 

Go on, say what...yes, the screamers are boys...yes, they got an EasyBake...why you ask...well, they asked for it.  And it was really the only thing they asked for.  I take that back, the youngest DID ask for a real magic wand so he could turn his brother into a frog and step on him, but I couldn't find one of those anywhere.  So EasyBake it was.  Totally cool with me though, since I can work on their baking skills without risking the oldest shoving the youngest headfirst into a super-heated stove and visa versa (truthfully the visa versa is what would totally happen here...the youngest is a spitfire).  Looking forward to actually using it, haven't yet 'cause I'm an evil mommy (you just don't know).

On another note, I'm patiently waiting for some of this snow that is supposedly in the area to start showing up.  Jet stream is hooked just above us (literally) and keeping all that fluffy stuff north about 30 miles...30 miles...sigh.  We got just enough on Christmas Day to whiten things up, but it was gone by nightfall.  Unlike so many, I love the stuff...can totally rip up the road in it...and would so much rather have it than just the butt chilling cold we've had.  Give me a reason for the cold (aka snow on the ground) rather just having me freeze my rearend off, if you please.  This freakin' global warming is giving me frostbite! ;P

I hope you lot used the pre-season sales to stock up on some of the baking essentials out there.  Had some pretty decent prices on flour and sugar in these parts (at one point it was $.99 for a 4lb bag of sugar...killer deal for us).  Right now, the pantry is loaded and we're pretty much good to go.  Could use some more powdered milk but we'll survive until the 1st I believe.  Did score some pouch tuna for a little under 1/2 price on the last grocery trip though, with the assistance of a bunch of cent off and bogo coupons...poor cashier just didn't know what hit her.  I used the 'savings' to grab up some pouch salmon and still stayed under budget....which is a really big deal for me since we are now off the food stamps/ebt and going it all on our own.  A step forward, I think.

Which leads me to a whole different kind of rant...we make too much for assistance (not a gripe per se).  Only because the spouse gets chow hall allowance.  That puts us right under the line, by about $30 which isn't worth the red tape I'd have to fight through in order to keep it.  Yup, if it weren't for that, we'd still have the same amount of $$ coming in that was coming in when he was a civie making $8hr.  Scary isn't it?  Oh, yeah...for those that use the "you get benefits" argument...that includes all benefits but health insurance (since I can't really put a price to that one yet...what with the fantabulous healthcare plan that our great leader and his minions will be providing the civilian world with...please note the sarcasm).

Should be an interesting next few months on this continent...just keeping my eyes open for things that "may" impact us (being that we are in a rather interesting position now) will keep me busy.  Top it off with all the stuff that I KNOW (Afghanistan, Iran, Korea, etc) will impact us and well...it makes me want to just not look at the news anywhere...online, on the boob tube, in the paper.  Unfortunately, I can't...it's just not in me to turn a blind eye and live in the dark.

If ya'll don't mind (and I know you don't because it is MY blog after all) I'll likely be ranting, sharing, discussing some school related stuff here.  Seems my "Environmentlism professor" thinks I'm a meat-eating, carbon producing, Earth killing moron...2 outta 3 ain't wrong, but I'm no moron.  Break ends on the 4th with the first real assignment being about Urbanization...yeah, interesting and essential stuff (SARCASM).

Well, that's it folks...out for the day...unless I get a wild hair up my rear and decide to come back later...you've been warned.

A History Lesson...

mixed with an ancestory lesson...for the screamers.

Tonight we were reading a free book we found in the mail (I requested it, it wasn't some random box stuffing) about Thanksgiving and the history of it and such. I flipped through it a few days ago, giggling at how I was going to present it to the screamers...segway to tonight. Picture us all snuggled down in the big bed, blankets securely tucked around the screamers and Mommy sitting between with a paperback....

M (Mommy) "Tonight we're going to read a little about Thanksgiving."

OS (oldest screamer) "Why?"

M "Because that's the book I picked up. Now sit down and listen."

I read a bit, details on why the Pilgrims head over and such. Then the coming over, then the landing and tada the intro to Native Americans.

OS "Is that Pappaw's grandpa?" pointing at a rather unflattering rendering of a man supposed to be Squanto.

M "No, but let me give you another lesson...Mommy's ancestors, people from a long time ago that are part of our family, were like these people" I point to the delicately drawn white woman wrapped in a shawl shivering against the cold "Daddy's ancestors were both these people (again the white woman) and these people (Squanto)."

OS "So we are Natip Amernicans"

M "Yes and no. Not fully."

OS sits back and chews on that for a little while before he interrupts a bit on the Three Sisters (beans, squash and pumpkins for the uninitated). "Momma, where are all the Natip Amernicans?"

Ah, I've been waiting for this one...I really have.

M "You know that green vine we see when we're going to KY...the kudzu?"

OS "Yeah?"

M "Well, the white people were like that vine. They weren't from here, they were transplants. But they grew like that vine. They spread out all willy nilly and just took over everything. They pushed the Natives out or crushed them, just like that vine. The Natives were told that they had to leave and live on a little bit of land...they couldn't stay where their people had always been, couldn't hunt there or plant gardens."

OS sits quietly for a moment before looking up and saying "That wasn't very nice, was it Momma?"

Sigh..."No baby, they weren't."

I think, just maybe, I might be raising a kid that is a deep thinker...lol. Wonder how he would react to the Trail of Tears story (sadistic ain't I?) after all...those were/are his people too. I'm saving the plight of the Irish for later.

Spoons, School and a little fun....

Just a quick drop in to let ya know I'm still livin'....albeit with a little less time on my hands for much in the way of bloggin'. That doesn't mean I don't read my usuals or think of you lot...it just means that I forgot how tough some of these college courses can be (hello, 1400 word papers on something I don't really care about every other week) AND top it off with the whole restarting with the edumacationating of the screamers here at home....fun all around!

Really, it is. The oldest is one happy fella and is breezing through a lot of 1st grade work (proud, bragging momma alert). It's been an easier transition back than we thought. Doesn't hurt that the boy is obsessed with all things scientific...so we are focusing on a bit of Nature Studies (i.e. we walk around the woods and momma points out stuff and answers questions).

That is where the 'spoons' part comes in...you might remember that we have a huge amount of persimmon trees around these parts...the oldest decided to snap up about ten of these orange beauties...Momma decided to do a little cutting and guess what? Go on...guess!! Ten spoons, all lined up in a row...Momma's hoping that it holds true and we have a nice, super snowy winter. Heck, with the quick change in weather round here lately (summer to fall in something like 4 hours, lol) I'm thinking this winter is going to be interesting anyway!!

Dear Potosi R-III School District,

Thank you so much for the trauma you have caused. My oldest child was given to you, with much trepidation, to teach. He came to you as an excited and elated five year old boy, eager to learn and happy. He will be leaving you this afternoon as an unhappy, labeled little boy who is no longer excited at the prospect of "going to school in a building."

Congratulations, it took you less than a month to destroy his joy. That is some kind of record, I'm sure.

My apologies for sending you a child that was "very bright" (to quote his teacher) and "academically advanced" (to quote another). I didn't realize that preparing my child and teaching my child was something that would cause trouble. My apologies for sending you a child that is an independent thinker, one that does not depend on adults to defend him and one that is not a (sorry all) sissified pussy that is all touchy feely about others feelings and refuses to moderate his opinions for the sake of others' feelings.

I do thank you for showing me the light...and that I was right. My child is infinately better off where he will be as of this afternoon...home, learning with someone that loves him and bothers to take the time to understand him. Farewell to those that have made this last month one of the sigularly most trying in my young son's life. You jerks.

A bit stretched out...

right now! What with the summer time upon us, familial trips (out of state, in state, camping...the list goes on), school for me and now the garden popping up all over...I'm pulling myself a little thin all around.

I'll try to keep up regular posting, but you must forgive me if I go a few days (or a week) in between. There is so much for me to get done before the spousal unit takes off (sometime soon) to post unknown (as of yet) and the oldest screamer starts school of his own (now I'm thinkin' it wasn't such a bad idea!!) that I've gotta cut somewhere and unfortunately it's here.

I'll still be around, just not as much. I'll still post irrelevant information, just not as much. Heck, might even be a useful gem or two in here somewhere at some point.

Catch ya'll soon, I hope!!

Expansionism

Not US, Russian or any other country (though that is an interesting lesson for the future when the eldest takes up the history bug)...expanding on the Shaping the Future post.

I feel that I should explain why we came to the decision to school the way we do and how we go about it. Not for justification, by any means, as I know that these are my children (I was there, I know...believe me, I know) and they are my responsibility to educate, raise and shape into semi-decent human beings. There in lies the root of the reasoning. They are mine. I should be one of the models that they base themselves upon in the future. Am I saintly? Uh...NO. But in general I am an educated woman with a sense of community, responsibility and a touch of human sensitivity.

I base my decisions on personal experiences (both mine and the spouse's) with the public school system. I was bored to tears (in the most "academic" classes available btw). The spouse was told that he was ignorant and unteachable (big, huge story there that still ticks me off...I believe his parents were negligent for not reeming that teacher's ass). Nephew was medicated because he was "disruptive" (he was bored too), neice had an ENGLISH teacher that I witnessed saying "Ya'll kids get aways from over yonder" (yes, it was in rural KY...but this was an ENGLISH teacher).

Suffice it to say that neither the spouse nor myself were overly excited at the prospect of our typically active 5yr old going into a school and being told basically to sit still for 8hrs (no half day Kindergarten). The boy will sit still every night for upwards of 30mins for reading, 20mins or so for art and sometimes even 45mins for workbooks/computer work. But practically 8hrs...not on your freakin' life! We are lucky to make it halfway through the 5.5hr trip to KY without having to stop and let him run. Is he overactive? No, he's 5. Does he have ADHD/ADD? No, he's 5. It's what 5yr olds do. They run, they play and they learn as they go. Sorry, it's true (if they aren't totally addicted to the boob tube by that age).

We didn't come to our decision to home/unschool lightly. We weighed the options, including Montessori, and found after extensive research that our ideals of being our childrens' teachers were not un-natural or out of touch with the way we want to live anyway. We strive for something independent and natural, teaching our children is as independent and natural as it gets. Plain and simple.

As to the way we school...well, it isn't natural to sit in one place for hours on end cramming information that you have zero interest in into a tired, overstimulated brain. That's why babies will scream bloody murder until their situation/surroundings are changed. So we chose to continue with the independent/natural theme. We let the screamers tell us (in their own funny/weird ways) what they are interested in. It really isn't difficult to pick up on what they want to learn about. You listen, watch and offer. When they get tired of a particular subject (this week is weather/seasons/plants) we abandon it and pick up again when they are interested. It teaches them that the knowledge is there, when they want it, and they can utilize it at their whim. This may not ALWAYS be the case, but I am well versed enough in plenty of subjects to muster my way through until the oldest is at least 10.

This approach is what works for us. Makes hard work sometimes for logging things in for the "school" to review but worth it because it teaches the screamers more than they would get from sitting in an overcrowded (40 students, 1 teacher and 1 aide) classroom with "peers" that have little to no respect for their elders, let alone for one another. The screamers accompany me on shopping trips where they learn manners (from me, not other shoppers by any means) like holding the door, assisting elders and other good things. We work on shapes, lists, colors, math and a variety of subjects on a single grocery trip. In restaurants (what are those? lol) we work on table/public manners and if we happen to be in a cultural inspired one (Mexican, Greek, Italian, etc) it offers a learning opportunity involving those cultures from people that are of those cultures.

These are occasions that aren't truly offered in public schools. More hands on, inspirational learning moments that come from the child's own natural curiosity. Instead of the insipid lukewarm response to that curiosity that would be given in most public schools, my screamers get to experience things firsthand with relish...as I tend to get overly excited when they show true interest in something vs passing interest. We visit National Parks weekly instead of maybe once a year, the zoo is a favorite place as is the science museum and art museum. In public school, these places would be visited rarely. That is not the education I chose for my children. I chose for them to experience life firsthand, learn true consequences, search for realistic and usable answers to questions that they are allowed to form themselves.

In all of this, we try to instill a sense of self. Self-knowledge, self-sufficiency and self-utilization. Use the skills you have to learn/develop new ones. It is just starting to click with the eldest that this is feasibly possible and he adores that freedom that he wouldn't necessarily have elsewhere. It's a selfish teaching form, I think...selfish in the sense that I am there for those discoveries, those moments when all the things click together in that amazing little brain and BAM, a solution is born. I am a selfish mother, a selfish teacher, in that I WANT to be there for those moments. When those big blue eyes light up with wonder at what he's discovered. I love that click moment. It is my favorite.

Shaping the future...

and the little minds it belongs to. Important stuff in our house, that edumakation stuff. Yep.

Confession time: I am an unschooler. I have issues with forcing my screamers to learn something that they totally do not want to learn. I firmly believe it stems from my own experience in high school. I had NO desire or need to learn Calculus. Yet I sat there, bored to tears, failing miserably because I hated it. I can do it, don't get me wrong, I have zero interest in it. Didn't then either. I can't make myself teach the screamers something uninteresting to them as a result of that one semester.

So, we spend our days playing (which is learning in and of itself): board games, card games, tag, hide and seek, pretend rope the cow/dog/sheep/whatever and anything else that their active little minds think up. The eldest has a few freebie games on the computer to help enhance his letter recognition (p.s. there isn't a letter that boy can't copy...he adores writing...it's going to be soooooo easy to transition him to bigger things), numbers (loves math too), matching and memory skills. BUT he doesn't get to play them all the time, not even every day. Recently he has taken to word recognition. Small things like hat, cat, jump, run and the likes.

Littlest screamer is a whole different field of fun. He is only 2, of course, but has zero and I mean ZERO interest in anything except coloring. Go figure. I try, he resists, I let it go. He'll come around eventually. See, unschool. It's the same approach I took with the eldest and he's ahead of the curve on a lot of things. Brag, brag, brag...I know.

No set curriculum, no set hours. We work when we want and on what we want. I've found that my little free spirits blossom under this approach in the past few weeks. Add to that the wonderful fact that we FINALLY got my large collection of books out of storage (what! you mean I can read something more than Harry Potter and Dr. Seuss?! Happy Day!!). The screamers see me reading all the time now. Devouring books one after another. They've taken up the same habit. Sitting quietly, "reading" books to one another. The time has come (the walrus said) to get the screamers something more. Not that they don't have a gazillion books just like mommy does, but something that mommy will enjoy reading just as much as them. I don't think "Clan of the Cave Bear" is really age appropriate, if you know what I mean.

So family, if you are reading this (yeah, uh huh) the screamers and mommy would love to have the following books:

The complete Oz series (there is something like 15 stories, you can get it all in one at Barnes and Noble dot com)
The complete Alice in Wonderland series (yes, the screamers like it)
The Tales of Uncle Remus : The Adventures of Brer Rabbit (I'd love the old Disney movie aka Song of the South too if you got the change)

Off now to take the youngest screamer BACK to his bed for the second time tonight...dang kid.