County Fair

County fairs are an interesting event. There are many sights, sounds and smells that assault the senses. I enjoy watching all the people, especially those that run the fair - the "carnies". I wonder about their lives and what it must be like, living in a trailer and driving all over the country to small communities to give little tikes a ride on the carousel. What decisions did these folks make that lead them to become gypsies of a sort? All seemed very kind to the young kids.

After going around and around the circle in little cars and in strange looking animal seats, William enjoyed the obstacle course so much and went through so many times, that he could barely drag himself up the steps. Even so, he was reluctant to leave. I asked the girls, closer in age to remembering what it is like to be so young, what was the attraction of climbing the same course over and again? The long, high, fast slide at the end, they said. Perhaps I've gotten old, for one trip through would have satisfied my curiosity.

We watched the lawnmower pulls and some sort of demolition derby. The girls saw a bit of the beauty contests and declared no interest in participating. Instead, they enjoyed rock-wall climbing. We all dragged home weary, and with a mom glad that the county fair occurs only once a year.

Mini-Einsteins

Around this time of year, I struggle with remembering the reasons that we homeschool and what it is going to look like next year. Each year, I start with renewed promises that I am going to be more organized in my reporting of our rather eclectic way of learning. Indeed, I even sometimes try to plan out curricula! Yet, I remain convinced that it isn't our objective to raise mini-Einsteins or grand scholars. We are committed to raising decent people that love to learn and can find meaning in their lives.

Recently, I borrowed a book from the library for dh, On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt. I found myself browsing through this small epistle to find a very pertinent (to education) paragraph:

"Bullshit is unavoidable whenever circumstances require someone to talk without knowing what he is talking about. Thus the production of bullshit is stimulated whenever a person's obligations or opportunities to speak about some topic exceed his knowledge of the facts that are relevant to that topic. This discrepancy is common in public life, where people are frquently impelled - whether by their own propensities or by the demands of others - to speak extensively about matters of which they are to some degree ignorant. Closely related instances arise from the widespread conviction that it is the responsibility of a citizen in a democracy to have opinions about everything, or at least everything that pertains to the conduct of his country's affairs. The lack of any significant connection between a person's opinions and his apprehension of reality will be even more severe, needless to say, for someone who believes it is his responsibility, as a conscientious moral agent, to evaluate events and conditions in all parts of the world."

Amen to that. My opinion is that school is often founded upon these beliefs, and children are subjected to being crammed with knowlegde which they will never fully master or maybe never even use, in the hopes of producing citizens that can participate in society. Often, it isn't about learning to learn, or about education at all.

I'm Back

My computer suffered a major meltdown, literally, as my ethernet card was fried in a storm. At the same time, it got a virus and so it has taken me awhile to get it all back together. I will try to get back in the writing saddle again. But right now, William is hanging on my neck and hollering!

Biology

I am working on developing the curricula for Lauren's freshman year in high school. We were given all the high school Saxon books in great condition. I assumed that was a message from God that we should continue with Saxon math, so she'll hopefully be able to do Algebra I in the fall (we're working on Algebra 1/2 this summer.)

I have purchased her Spanish program (Switched on Schoolhouse, secondary) and have a number of other Spanish resources (the Learnables, year one).

Music is set, for she has an outstanding Suzuki piano teacher. He is also supplementing the normal lessons with a class on theory this fall for his R.A.C.E. students (see previous posts on this) and it is high school level.

She'll be doing equine studies and work, and of course, physical education is covered by all her riding and horse competitions. So, that left Biology, Language Arts and History. So much to cover!

Someone suggested to me to purchase a college Biology text for an outline of what should be covered. Have you looked at the cost of Biology texts lately???? The most popular one on Amazon, Biology by Campbell, Reece is $137 new plus S&H. I fortunately found a used one on eBay for $5.99 with S&H. Combined with using Critical Thinking Skills materials, I guess that's decided. Now, on to Language Arts.

Hot!

Today, the heat index (temperature and dew point calculation) is to reach 105 Farenheit! We had a brief downpour yesterday afternoon, but our children are learning the meaning of the word "drought". We were under a restricted water usage (outside watering) this week. I suppose those flowers I planted are doomed.

Sciencewise

We just did one quick experiment from the Book 2 Sciencewise from Critical Thinking Books. My girls loved it. It had a little accompanying story that the king's egg had sunk, and the servant had to bring it to the top of the water, but no one is allowed to touch the king's food.

Here are the basics:
Put an egg in a container (we used a Pyrex 2 cup measuring cup) filled with water. The egg will sink. Without touching the egg directly with their fingers, the experimenters must think of as many ways as they can to bring the egg back up to the surface. Directions say to accept all reasonable solutions. Anna suggested using air bubbled in or a spoon. She tried, unsuccessfully, the addition of pepper, oil, a small amount of salt and dishwashing detergent. She is as I type, trying one last experiment - baking soda and vinegar - knowing from another experiment that the result of mixing the two cause gas to be formed. She's just called from the kitchen - it didn't work.

The "teacher" solution is to add salt slowly while stirring. It will take quite a bit of salt (1/2 a container), but eventually, you'll change the density of the water and the egg will float. Lauren immediately asked was that why it was easier to swim in the ocean than the pool? We discussed natural salt bodies of water (Dead Sea, Salt Lake) and what happens to a cargo ship that goes from salt water to fresh water.

Didn't take much time, but made a lasting impression. I think we'll like this book.

In the back of the book are "projects" that can be done in groups. I am thinking of forming a club of local hs'ers that would come together once in awhile to test their designs. One example is the design of an egg catcher with the egg dropped from a window or ladder.

Flies

We went to a park today to play before attempting to shop for shorts with a three year old boy. We ate a picnic lunch and played for awhile, and it helped to some degree. I noticed that the flies are biting now, though.

A member of our local homeschool list sent this link to me for beneficial bugs: http://www.buglogical.com/ There is a type of fly predator that one can order, put in the horse manure, and it eats fly larvae before they become biting flies. Worth a try, eh? I thought the prices looked good for other insects as well and might make a good summer biology project.

Speaking of flies, and time does fly, I was amazed at the changes to this state park we visited. When my girls were young like my boy, there was nice playground equipment, swimming in the lake, and in the winter, there was a ski slope. We notice that much of the playground was gone. There was a sign posted that the beach was closed, no swimming. The ski lodge and operation was obviously defunct. It seemed only yesterday....

A Little Vacation at Home

This past week has been oppressively hot, 95 degrees and very humid. So, we all look for a little shade. We have for the past years, taken our vacation at Holden Beach, North Carolina. There, we enjoy the porches with rocking chairs looking over the ocean. While we don't have an ocean, we have beautiful Kentucky greenery. Here is our back deck, where I sit with a book and some iced tea and watch William in the sand.

What I'm Reading

While I'll admit to devouring a good number of mindless pocket novels while I watch my son in the sandbox, I have also filled my mind with a few good books. I recently read The instinct to heal : curing stress, anxiety, and depression without drugs and without talk therapy by Servan-Schreiber, David. This book is about alternative therapies. I found it very interesting. One therapy mentioned, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy (see emdr.com), sounded intriguing but I am a skeptic and cannot see how this works, unless it is hypnotism.

For fiction, I read The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Kidd. I loved this book, and gave it to my 14 yo to read. Taking place during the time of the emergence of the civil rights movement in the 1960's South, a young girl learns to be loved and that she is worth loving. The interview of the author in the back of the book said that she doesn't plan a sequel. I am hoping she changes her mind. In the book, the young (white) girl is growing to love a young black man, who aspires to be a lawyer working in civil rights. They know that a relationship could mean death for him, and trouble for her. Rosaleen, a black woman who starts out as Lily's nanny, is just beginning to blossom in the book as a courageous civil rights advocate. These three people and their experiences in the troubled South during the late 60's would be a natural sequel. In the meantime, I hear Sue Kidd has another book out, The Mermaid Chair.

Now, I am working on Pride and Predjudice by Jane Austin. I am trying to read a non-fiction, good fiction, and some classics in with my reading for fun.

A Rude Awakening

The door bell rang yeasterday at 7:30 a.m., an event unusual enought that I "sprang from my bed to see what was the matter". Before I could get to the steps, I could hear the neighbor telling dh that our three horses were in his yard across the street. It never ceases to amaze me that in the handful of times our horses have escaped their confines, that they don't eat all the plentiful grass that is our yard, but instead cross our dangerous road for that across the road. The grass, indeed, seems greener on the other side of the fence.

I dressed quickly as dh roused the girls from their tent in the backyard where they slept the night before. Stealth, our white pony, was quite worked up, and all three were feeling the freedom and not wanting to return home. Before we could get grain to entice them to come, Stealth took off down the road, the other two following in hot pursuit. I could hear their hoofbeats on the road. They were gone.

I ran to the truck and the girls hopped in. We drove down the road, meeting our neighbor who was checking straight down the road. Following a hunch, I turned instead down a road that we often used for pleasure rides. "Bay" would know this way. Sure enough, we found them 1 mile from our house running along a fence holding in a herd of mini''s (miniature horses). Our grain got their attention this time, and we haltered them and led them home, the girls walking them the mile while I drove behind.

The girls worried over the fact that I hadn't taken time to put on my contacts, and that I was driving, though in truth I can see well enough to drive, just not read signs. Dh laughingly asked if I'd taken time to put on my bra before running after the horses down the road. (I had ;-)

So, all's well that ends well. The horses survived a run through rush hour traffic, and I've inspected the gate. The girls swear that the gate was latched the night before, but the clip that held the chain was un-bent. Therefore, either someone let them out (unlikely) or the gate was shut but not latched. I have today purchased a strong gate latch to install in place of the chain.

Three Year Olds

My greatest challenge these days is keeping my cool when my three year old starts hitting, chasing dogs, yelling and tormenting my 12 year old. She wanted to know why he so enjoyed fighting with her, and not with my (almost) 14 year old. She reacts to his three year old attention-getting schemes, and I told her that it was more fun to light a firecracker than wet tissue. She was a firecracker, and so, to his mind, he got more reaction (albeit negative) from her than the other sister who reacted more calmly.

It is difficult to not react when he hits or yells, yet I've learned to decipher his moods as his frustration for whatever reason. It is a signal to us that he needs something. Yet, it is hard on the patience because he does get so very much attention. It is going to be even more trying when school work gets underway.

Going anywhere is a study in patience, because he cannot understand the many reasons we need to get going, why he needs to be in his car seat, why we can't take home that neat bicycle that he can now peddle.

Finger Painting Anyone?

SOS Language Programs

Not too long ago, we purchased the Switched On Schoolhouse Spanish 2004 Secondary Education program. This program necessitated beefing up our computer's memory, but once done, we were well pleased with the program. The lessons are interesting and move forward in a logical sequence. My daughter, age 13, and I (never having studied Spanish before) are moving forward at a reasonable pace. The format is similar to the use of a high school text with audio added in. Perhaps that is why I enjoyed a certain comfort level with it, as that is how I was taught French many years ago.

My younger daughter, now age 12, has been using Rosetta Stone French, but was seeing our Spanish progress and asked to use the French Secondary SOS program. I have been disappointed with it thus far. Using a more "mother tongue" approach whereby you learn the language by using it, it is disorganized and expects the user to pick up much of the language intuitively. While I understand this approach, I don't think it is well done in this program.

In addition, the program directs the user to a website that isn't working. While I could tolerate this if it was merely supplemental, this website is intended to be part of the lesson. Hopefully, the site is just down, but AOP Technical Support couldn't say. Having studied French for several years, I am able to work the lessons fairly quickly. I'll write more after my daughter has a shot at it.

The Little Things

Our farrier came today to trim the three horses. All were in good condition despite the lush grass. Generally, while trimming, there is a good deal of conversation that goes on as well. "P" likes a good story and has many to tell. Lately, though, his family has had some tests of faith and challenges.

His son, "N", served in Iraq. Each time P would trim our horses, he would tell us of his prayers and anxiousness for his son's safe return. And then the day came when he returned to our communities welcome and yellow ribbons tied for him. Not too long after, we were saddened to hear that N had gone four-wheeling with some friends late at night - without his helmet - and had an accident. He had survived the war unscathed, but not the accident. He now is battling brain injury and infection.

You might think that such a tragedy would sour P and his wife. Quite the opposite, he seemed softened. He talked of the people he's met at the hospital, the small miracles they've experienced. He talked of meeting people that showed courage with even greater challenges. More than once, he's had chance encounters of people that somehow were unknown before but connected back to his life. "I don't sweat the little things anymore," said P.

P thought God would give his son back in some fashion some day, for why would they see such promising developments so far? Perhaps this journey has more to do with just N. It seems that N's tragedy has drawn together many people. I hope his recovery does, too.

Please consider a prayer for this fallen soldier and his family. And if you have a loved one, make them wear a helmet.

Anna learning to jump "Stealth"

You couldn't ask for more beautiful weather this week. The girls enjoyed a day of riding in the pasture and practicing vaulting on their ponies. Today promises to be just as beautiful. This photo was taken in the horse pasture.

William-isms

I wanted to record some of my favorite 3 year old William-isms.

nemowade= lemonade
ariel = oil
"I not need help"
"OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, OK......."
"I do it myself"
"lello" = yellow
"Lo-when" = Lauren
"Ya-Ya" = pet name for Lauren

A Special Bulletin

William was taking a rare nap and it was laundry day, so I turned on the last few minutes of Oprah while I sorted socks. Ironically (it would turn out later), the show, about a man sexually molested as a boy by a priest, was interrupted by a "special bulletin".

Oh, no, I thought to myself as I saw images of long black, bullet-proof limos driving slowly on my TV screen. I braced myself for the worst. Did a plane crash? The President shot? Some new terrible act of terror? My fears were relieved when finally the talking head came on and announced that the world had come to a standstill because the verdict was in on the Michael Jackson trial.

I watched, half fascinated, half disgusted. Here is one trial of one man that used so much energy of people both on and off the air. If only we could, as humans, devote one third of that energy and concern for all the millions dying in Africa.

A Sour Note

After the music ended at Mass this weekend, a man two pews in front of me and my two daughters said, "We need the three of you in the choir!" I smiled and thanked him, reminding myself to sing more quietly next time.

When I got home, I relayed the encounter to dh, who's turn it was to mind the 3 year old heathen. "Was the man old?" he asked.

"Well, about five or ten years older than me. It's not like he was flirting or anything. We were in Church! He was with his wife, and I with the girls..." I began, completely missing where he was going with that comment.

"No," he said. "I thought maybe his hearing was bad."

Arg.

A double rainbow we saw from our front porch one day.

Anna on left, Lauren on right.
On Friday, we went shopping. I found a skirt and top I liked. Well, so did my daughters, as you can see. They found that it came in three colors, so we each picked one. Last night, we went out to dinner and enjoyed our swinging skirts. Tell me, how many teens would enjoy dressing like their mom and going with them out to eat? I am so lucky. Aren't they beautiful?