tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62344152009-02-21T05:05:06.134-05:00A daily journal of a homeschooling, UU mother of 3 boysBethnoreply@blogger.comBlogger269125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1127098410858452852005-09-18T21:51:00.000-05:002005-09-18T21:53:30.863-05:00

Bethnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1117734596319566092005-06-02T12:44:00.000-05:002005-06-02T12:49:56.323-05:00

Why is it that as soon as my children see a telephone by my ear they turn into wild animals? They're old enough to know better, or at least that's what I tell myself, and it's driving me nuts.Of course, it's driving me nuts that I'm on the phone so much. All week I've been battling with the insurance agency of the man whose car I hit in my car accident. This man, driving a Lexus, pulled into

Bethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1117503561940514062005-05-30T20:29:00.000-05:002005-05-30T20:39:21.946-05:00

Recently, a long time poster on The Well Trained Mind boards was talking about how she doesn't really enjoy her older children. I tried to explain just why I really enjoy watching my children grow older but I know I failed miserably in my explanation. It's just not something you can really explain.My 11 year old son is a pretty typical 11 year old. He's big, goofy, loud, ridiculous, obnoxious,

Bethnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1117202353549321572005-05-27T08:58:00.000-05:002005-05-27T08:59:13.556-05:00

Please welcome the newest member of our family - Odysseus.

Bethnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1117135404652667882005-05-26T14:10:00.000-05:002005-05-26T14:23:24.660-05:00

We are in the middle of the Spring that never was. It's been raining nonstop and the weather has been COLD. We all could use a little sunshine. I miss playing ball with the boys. I miss working in the garden. I miss fresh air. Please send some sunshine our way.I've been thinking of blogging lately. It seems that there have been so many blog worthy things to write about. It's hard to know

Bethnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1117107908730132332005-05-26T06:43:00.000-05:002005-05-26T06:45:08.733-05:00

Is it possible to go too long between blog entries and make the blog obsolete?I'm thinking of returning to blog land but wondering if it's too late for me.

Bethnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1111710849184860142005-03-24T19:18:00.000-05:002005-03-24T19:34:09.186-05:00

So ... I've been feeling a little like a chicken with its head cut off. I couldn't really pinpoint why until today.We have a really busy schedule all year long except for the glorious months of July and August. The boys participate in three seasons of sports: baseball, soccer and basketball (3 boys, 3 different leagues that play at 3 different times). In addition, Adam started indoor soccer

Bethnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1111501852077636012005-03-22T09:23:00.000-05:002005-03-22T09:30:52.080-05:00

This is what homeschooling looks like on a good morning.While I was in the shower, the boys decided to gather their animals and books and read together on the couch. The cooperative together thing doesn't happen very often for my oldest and middle sons. On Sunday night, however, they watched It's A Dragon's World together. My oldest son has had a fascination with dragons for over a year and my

Bethnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1111274998118836292005-03-19T18:26:00.000-05:002005-03-19T18:29:58.120-05:00

My 5 year old called me on my cell phone this afternoon. He wanted to know when I'd be home with the new memory cards for the GameCube.We chatted for a couple of minutes until he said, "Mom, you're breaking up with me ..." Then the phone went dead. I laughed all the way home. Cell phone service in rural America is spotty, at best, and I guess he's heard us say, "You're breaking up," too many

Bethnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1111096887190793052005-03-17T16:59:00.000-05:002005-03-17T17:01:27.193-05:00

May your troubles be less and your blessings be moreAnd nothing but happiness come through your door.

Bethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1110921053629008152005-03-15T15:58:00.000-05:002005-03-15T16:10:53.633-05:00

As I rethink our educational goals and my educational philosophy, I promise that you'll never hear me call myself an unschooler. It's not just that I think the term is kind of silly or that it describes what you don't do rather than what you do. The real reason is that unschoolers themselves can't really define unschooling. Besides, I'm just not the unschooling type.I'm abandoning classical

Bethnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1110685856555361502005-03-12T22:46:00.000-05:002005-03-12T22:50:56.556-05:00

It's been a long time since I've done any homeschool research online. I've been in my safe little rut for a few years now and I haven't ventured from my path.Tonight I found a great resource. I still have a lot of exploring to do on this site but it looks very interesting. Check out Go Figure! The Fascinating World of Mathematics.While the boys shovel out tomorrow, I think I'll do some online

Bethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1110663716045346122005-03-12T16:41:00.000-05:002005-03-12T16:41:56.046-05:00

Bethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1110558496250984622005-03-11T10:58:00.000-05:002005-03-11T11:29:58.343-05:00

Sometimes you read a book and it changes the way you view the world. Othertimes you read a book and it resonates so deeply that it crystallizes the way you think. I'm currently rereading David Guterson's Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense. I read this book early in our homeschool adventure and I don't remember much about it. Lately, however, I've been rethinking our homeschool

Bethnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1110472188945977952005-03-10T11:21:00.000-05:002005-03-10T11:29:48.950-05:00

I found this at Lynn's blog and though it's a week late, I thought I'd post it here.A little diversion1. Grab the nearest book 2. Open the book to page 123 3. Find the fifth sentence 4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog, along with these instructions. 5. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it. Just grab what is

Bethnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1110374807361120192005-03-09T08:07:00.000-05:002005-03-09T08:26:47.363-05:00

I'm working on habits. Trying to get back into the habit of going to the gym. Trying to get the boys going on schoolwork again after a two week vacation. Trying to blog again. The best way to form a habit is to just do something over and over again. Even when you don't feel like it. In the case of blogging - even when I don't feel I have much to say.Getting comments from someone new who

Bethnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1109721499522815482005-03-01T18:44:00.000-05:002005-03-01T18:58:19.523-05:00

One week ago my boys left for Florida. My husband and middle son flew to visit his parents in Vero Beach and my oldest son flew to Tampa to visit my mom. It was strange seeing them all off. It left just me and my youngest son, Eric, home alone for an entire week.I know it would make me sound like a good person and mother to write about how I missed them terribly. The truth of the matter,

Bethnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1108387466115706832005-02-14T08:14:00.000-05:002005-02-14T08:26:52.766-05:00

Ah, to be the only woman in a houseful of boys on Valentine's Day. My husband is always wonderful on Valentine's Day and my romantic youngest son is following in his footsteps. Just a week ago, driving home from a soccer game, he told me that he will always buy his bride chocolates in heart shaped boxes (hmmm ... he also said that he was going to buy her 4 rings for their wedding). So, Eric

Bethnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1108330758853953162005-02-13T16:37:00.000-05:002005-02-13T16:39:18.853-05:00

"The hardest of all is learning to be a well of affection, and not a fountain; to show them we love them not when we feel like it, but when they do." ~ Nan Fairbrother

Bethnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1108132114527947312005-02-11T08:54:00.000-05:002005-02-11T09:28:34.530-05:00

It's been a very snowy January and February and we've been snuggled inside getting lots of reading done.While searching our truly pathetic town library one night while Adam was at Scouts, I picked up The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. I don't normally read mysteries but these books aren't really mysteries. They are light but wonderful and I really enjoyed the simple, direct prose. I read them

Bethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1107993429724174932005-02-09T18:43:00.000-05:002005-02-09T18:57:09.723-05:00

Jared has his second OT appointment today. His therapist, Michelle, is very nice and I like the way she relates to him. Seeing him relate to another adult one on one highlights the fact that Jared is "different". Not different bad - just different. It's hard to explain and you'd have to know him to see it but I'm his mother and, well, I just know. The OT doesn't have any special magic though

Bethnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1107897060294476392005-02-08T16:08:00.000-05:002005-02-08T16:11:00.296-05:00

This was our view from our kitchen window this morning Jeff and the boys had thrown out some apples that had been left in the garage. They were well past their prime but the deer seemed to find them delicious. First we saw the mother deer come down and eat. After awhile, she was joined by three smaller deer that are probably her children. They hung out for quite awhile and came back later

Bethnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1107436290725630762005-02-03T08:10:00.000-05:002005-02-03T08:11:30.726-05:00

Adam wrote this story last night as a speech therapy assignment. The dragon human wars One day, the human kings and leaders thought that the dragons would make the ultimate weapons. But the dragons didn't want to be enslaved. So the dragon highlords decided to attack the humans. But little did they know that the humans had good dragons who liked them. The elves joined the humans, too. The

Bethnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1106532746254717232005-01-23T21:05:00.000-05:002005-01-23T21:12:26.253-05:00

1. The book is always better than the movie 2. Chocolate is a food group 3. The search for truth is more important than the truth itself 4. The whole is always more than the sum of its parts 5. Opposites do not attract 6. We're all in this together 7. First impressions are generally correct 8. Silence is golden 9. Nothing smells better than a newborn baby 10. Baseball is America's sport

Bethnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234415.post-1106233513942299682005-01-20T09:59:00.000-05:002005-01-20T10:05:13.943-05:00

As a homeschooling parent it's really important to know when to call in outside help. This morning I had to admit to myself that although I've done everything I know how to do to help Jared with his fine motor skills, he really needs professional help. At 7.5 he still can't hold a pencil - he puts all his fingers on top and points the eraser away from him toward the opposite wall. I don't know

Bethnoreply@blogger.com1