tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273189022008-07-18T21:24:35.777-04:00elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-52137053194350510052008-07-18T19:55:00.004-04:002008-07-18T20:05:40.152-04:00

The gardens were sadly neglected while we were away. I came back to lots of weeds and many dead plants. We're not getting much rain. The front garden, which is the first one I planted, has also become overgrown and messy. I didn't know the plants were going to need more room as they get older! Here's how it's been looking: The yarrow has taken over, and not in a pretty way. It's all sprawly, and

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-74488710984912599422008-07-17T20:02:00.004-04:002008-07-17T20:10:46.169-04:00

These are my new socks, finished while we were away at the beach, knit from handspun 3-ply blue-faced Leicester. The leg and instep are a simple k2 p2 rib. The yarn turned out much fatter than most sock yarn I use, so I knit these on 1s with 56 stitches around. It was an interesting experience, knitting with my handspun. I fretted from time to time over the unevenness of the yarn, but it

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-60203090586142701932008-07-15T17:43:00.004-04:002008-07-15T17:55:03.239-04:00

I go back and forth on how useful I think behavior charts are, and I am now swinging back into useful at times territory. Little is having a hard time using words instead of hitting, kicking, and throwing his stuff around. Given that he's well beyond toddlerhood, I think he can do better. Talking (and talking and talking) isn't working. Time outs aren't working (although they do remove his

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-82142048781210783242008-07-12T19:18:00.002-04:002008-07-12T20:23:47.959-04:00

My mom and I have what has become an annual tradition of taking the kids to a rented beach house on the Jersey shore. We're back now, and my mind has shifted from the big concerns of a beach vacation: Is today a beach day? Will tomorrow be a beach day? (I decided they all were, unless it rained, and it didn't. Much.) Will we make it to the end of the week without going to the laundromat? (We did,

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-24122997199776758532008-06-28T08:40:00.002-04:002008-06-28T08:47:52.270-04:00

So there's this virus going around our homeschool playgroup. The kids are fine, but the moms... well, we're breaking down. Too much laundry, too many bickering kids, too many dishes, too many demands. Nobody, it seems, is finding a way to adequately take care of herself. Me included. Isn't it an incredibly cruel irony that we take care of the kids, the dinners, the shopping, the vacuuming, and

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-14262180452370603012008-06-13T13:04:00.002-04:002008-06-13T13:11:21.635-04:00

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways: 1. My lawn mower simplifies my life. I don't have to get it tuned up, sharpened, or stored over the winter. As soon as the grass needs it, there it is, sitting in my garage, ready to go. 2. It saves me money. See above, plus it doesn't need gas or oil. 3. It's durable. Five years, no repairs or adjustments. 4. It keeps me in shape. It's work, but my

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-84308453642278085452008-06-10T07:24:00.011-04:002008-06-10T07:32:34.869-04:00

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-68190249814070076892008-05-18T15:35:00.002-04:002008-05-18T15:38:43.905-04:00

See you in a week or two.

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-26505184675526340872008-05-15T12:40:00.003-04:002008-05-15T15:52:56.364-04:00

I was all set to post yesterday about how if I could just let go of my ambitions to write professionally, teach kids other than my own, and help teachers learn to be more flexible and inclusive in their classrooms, I would love this life. I have incredible freedom. I can't believe that I can actually find moments in my day every day to spin, for fun. I can read what I want, I have enough yarn in

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-83458250098544545022008-05-13T12:28:00.009-04:002008-05-13T14:44:25.281-04:00

If you've been reading this blog for a while, or if you've clicked around a bit, you'll know that while many aspects of my crazy new unscheduled homeschooling life suit me to a T, I have really struggled with the unending requirement that I provide my family with reasonable things to eat at reasonable times. I don't mind keeping the house clean (probably because I've noticed that I can do it when

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-66700096227702773042008-05-12T11:48:00.007-04:002008-05-12T11:55:45.875-04:00

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-81953173234488484482008-05-11T08:19:00.005-04:002008-05-11T09:22:40.461-04:00

You'd never know it from my gracious aplomb (snort) and my general state of well-adjustedness, but my mom and I used to have a really rough time together. From about age 13 until, um, well into my twenties, uh, thirties, I barely tolerated her. She was the parent I could count on to love me no matter what, so I took advantage of her and was not very nice. In the guise of speaking my mind, I said

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-91850587285025780282008-05-09T11:35:00.010-04:002008-05-09T12:12:31.766-04:00

You may have noticed from Monday's post that I've acquired a spinning wheel. I've now had it for almost a week, and I think it's time for a proper introduction. Here she is. I may name her (actually, I may already have named her) but I'm embarrassed to admit that I seem to have become the kind of person who ascribes gender and then names an object, as charming as that object might be, so I'm not

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-43718285408251393562008-05-08T08:43:00.003-04:002008-05-09T12:12:39.957-04:00

As a result of my thinking about the need for some kind of final synthesis, I asked the kids to think about what they wanted to do as a cumulative project to convey what they've learned about the Lewis and Clark expedition. I told them they could write a book, make a poster, put on a play, make a television show, write some music, create a dance, or anything else they could come up with. Wide

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-83750400361335757172008-05-07T07:05:00.003-04:002008-05-07T08:45:58.001-04:00

Evenspor over at Spors in the Desert posed a great question recently, in a post about gifted education: There is one question that I still wonder about despite all of this. How much of this really matters in the end? Don't most of us still become productive and relatively happy adults, despite public schooling? I believe there are at least a few cases where the difficulties with the system are

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-16228247234686800562008-05-06T06:34:00.003-04:002008-05-07T08:45:58.002-04:00

Sandy, a fellow teacher and the parent of one of my former students, asked a really good question about my post about constructing curriculum out of children's questions. She writes: My problem is getting caught up in product and assessment. Should we write a report about Lewis and Clark, or make a play or draw a picture... I have to let go of that and see process as important. But how to

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-44587279785639975602008-05-05T10:20:00.008-04:002008-05-07T08:46:42.027-04:00

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-50399596485914245162008-05-03T18:34:00.006-04:002008-05-07T08:46:25.216-04:00

Almost twenty years ago, a good friend of Joe's from college told us that his grandfather had given him two pieces of advice. This conversation has really stuck in my head, because even in the inexperience of my early twenties, it seemed like really sound advice, and it still seems so now. Anyway, here's the advice. 1. Always have a project. 2. The most important decision you'll ever make is

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-73895633613798040022008-05-02T10:39:00.004-04:002008-05-07T08:46:31.877-04:00

I'm feeling too glunky to create any kind of intelligent post today. I'm reduced to mindless knitting and posting about socks. Uptown Boot Socks, from Opal 6-ply. These are comfy and warm. I was concerned that they might end up too thick or not fit comfortably because of a strangely narrow heel, but they are quite perfect. Cat Bordhi Sky socks, from Trekking XXL. I misjudged where to start the

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-14091229359971808672008-04-30T19:28:00.006-04:002008-05-07T08:45:58.003-04:00

We were in LA for a week or so earlier this spring, and the kids and I spent a few days exploring. We went to the library (right across from our hotel), we walked around the neighborhood (no grocery stores or laundromats), and we took the Metro. A lot. One of the places we took the Metro to was Chinatown. Here's me in my two dollar hat, purchased to shield my eyes from the Southern California

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-56333615309120617922008-04-29T13:49:00.002-04:002008-05-07T08:45:45.882-04:00

I've been running an experiment the last few days, to see what happens when I stop doing laundry, stop making bread, and stop vacuuming in order to knit as I listen to Rufus Wainwright, Leonard Cohen, and Steely Dan. So far the results seem to be that I finish the socks I've been working on, but we run out of clean clothes, bread, and the house is suddenly overrun by bits of paper (Little is

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-75304075586256886452008-04-25T07:07:00.003-04:002008-05-07T08:45:23.660-04:00

Another great question from anthromama in the comments: When you allow the children to lead, will they grow up thinking that they only need to study or do what they want? My children would die laughing to think that someone out there in cyberspace wonders if they get to do whatever they want, whenever they want. Just rolling. On the floor. Laughing. Here's how it goes in my house. In the

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-18579450863809931952008-04-24T09:40:00.010-04:002008-05-07T08:45:13.393-04:00

Big is feeling glunky. Nasty head cold, bad cough, general exhaustion. We've canceled almost all our plans for today, and he has agreed to stay mellow and in his room for the one remaining event (a recorder class he doesn't participate in so far.) So Little and I will continue to check in on our various gardening projects, and we're going for a walk to visit a neighbor's garden. After that, I'm

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-28334717262284897332008-04-23T09:48:00.004-04:002008-04-23T18:52:13.170-04:00

I gotta say something. I didn't mean to imply (and I hope I didn't) that it is only because my kids are somewhere on the gifted spectrum that I can be relaxed about milestones and ages and keeping pace with externally prescribed academic goals. I really believe this is something that can be applied to all children. It's just that I don't have to think too hard about it, because I know that my

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27318902.post-49225202824267372382008-04-22T07:32:00.004-04:002008-04-23T18:52:13.171-04:00

From the comments to my post about child-led learning, anthromama asked: I would be interested to hear about whether you have any specific goals for your sons, any milestones that you would like them to pass by a certain age, etc. Essentially, how you will gauge how they are doing. Or if you have something else you are measuring, either qualitative

elsie deluxehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01285701124252639728noreply@blogger.com