For part of our lessons Wednesday we made desserts for everyone. We made Pilgrim hats and Indian Tee pee's,(I know the Indians who are back east did not live in tee-pee's, it was just for the image and 5 and 7 year old). And believe it or not the boys where so excited to show all our family on Thursday that they even waited to eat the desserts. They didn't take long to make and were very yummy.
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By the Way I think out of all the ads I have veiwed I saw 2 items I would like at a great price but not so great as to be a part of the madness.
And I agree with this viewpoint though most won't, try and remember it is just that a viewpoint.
Black Friday: everything that's wrong with society - Viewpoint
Well for this years thanksgiving we are going to take it easy, and its about time. I am not doing a whole lot of big dishes just the Turkey.
So Heres our Menu;
1/2 of a Applewood Smoked Turkey
Homemade Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Small Australian Squash with Cornbread Stuffing
Green Salad
Green Beans
Macaroni and Cheese
Rolls
And for dessert
Cherry, 7 in
Pecan, 3 made in 6 inch dishes
Lemon Meringue Pies, same as pecan
and Cheesecake
and Ice Cream and Whipped Real Cream
I am still thinking about a relish dish, its a maybe. Smiths has their Glad and Ziploc on sale this week so that's where I picked up a few extra freezer containers for Thursdays leftovers yay!
When someone usually says homeschooling no one really realizes the enormous responsibility you have taken upon yourself, and no one realizes at first how much you will learn. Most peole just think that you are going to replicate a public school system at home, with desks, chairs, a lot of paper work and memorization. But for the everage homeschooling parent this method of homeschooling does not fit your family or lifestyle.
So things I have learned are this that the homeschooling classroom is vast it is everything around you for this family it was a summer adventure that made memories and learning experiences along with coming closer together because we had to depend on each other. We learned a thing or two about tending a big garden and reaping the rewards. We learned more about fishing and how 2 little boys love to do it and can sit in a boat for 6 hours waiting. We learned that when you take on the responsibility to raise rabbits and care for them then find them good homes you feel accomplishment and then get to have a little spending cash that was well earned. We learned that dinosaurs are in all sizes, daddy's are really silly with a bike and a lake, and that a dirt road can take you to many places and make many memories-without money.
I have learned this about homeschooling, my children are great and have finally embraced this lifestyle with both hands. They have learned now to look at things very differently and ask why either aloud or with those eyes that you see the wheels turning. My eldest has done great she is doing online charter school, she is also running a online shop and has kept the responsibility great. Her time management skills are great. She is keeping a 3.7 gpa and is the VP of her class. My second has overcome a hurdle in her life and now has a goal to attend the online school as well and learning all that she can. As for my boys I have learned how free they are, they do learning time every day and then they have their chores, but they do have play time-real play time-
not just 15 minutes in the morning and afternoon to go home to a mountain of homework. The are reading, exploring and becoming best friends. They interact and love their sisters and there is no competition.
I have learned that my patience is great but my love for them greater and that I would not have my life anyother way because I would be missing to much. I like to see their reactions when they learn something new and it clicks, I like to reward them and make them feel important. But what I like most is how my family has come together and how much I can see that we love each other, and that makes my heart so full.
My little Bogan has been carrying around paper and crayons for weeks and his favorite drawing place is the chair right by the window at the Dining Room table, despite that there are desks and other places available. So the table will always be cluttered with art or for the other children-books and what needs to be there-but I don't mind because I get to see and hear about what is going on and at the end of the day an uncluttered table just seems empty and mine has family togetherness and just makes me smile and feel all loving and warm inside.
Just read this great article and thought to share it.
William R. Mattox Jr.
Friday, March 19, 1999
MOST FOLKS who have never met a homeschooling family imagine that the kids are about as socially isolated (and as socially awkward) as Bobby Boucher, the Cajun ``Momma's boy'' Adam Sandler portrays in the recent hit film, ``The Waterboy.''
But some new research by Brian Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute suggests otherwise. Indeed, Ray's research helps to explain why the number of homeschoolers in America continues to grow and now totals more than 1.4 million children. Ray reports the typical homeschooled child is involved in 5.2 social activities outside the home each week. These activities include afternoon and weekend programs with conventionally schooled kids, such as ballet classes, Little League teams, Scout troops, church groups and neighborhood play. They include midday field trips and cooperative learning programs organized by groups of homeschooling families. For example, some Washington, D.C., families run a homeschool drama troupe that performs at a local dinner theater.
So, what most distinguishes a homeschooler's social life from that of a conventionally schooled child? Ray says homeschooled children tend to interact more with people of different ages.
This is actually more akin to the ``real world'' -- what businessperson's social interaction is largely restricted to those born in the same year? It reduces the degree to which children find themselves constantly being compared to, and comparing themselves with, other kids their age. Interestingly, this reduced consciousness about age tends to help homeschooled ``late bloomers'' avoid being stigmatized as ``slow learners'' -- which is one of the many reasons homeschoolers, on average, score 30 to 37 percentile points higher than conventionally schooled students on the most commonly administered K-8 standardized tests.
Moreover, homeschooled children tend to draw their primary social identity from their membership in a particular family rather than from their membership in ``a tribe apart.'' That's the phrase author Patri cia Hersch uses to describe the conventionally schooled kids she followed through adolescence. According to Hersch, many school kids today feel isolated from the grown-up world and alienated from parents who fail to take an interest in their lives and to set boundaries for their behavior.
Now, Hersch's intention isn't to make a case for homeschooling. (She doesn't significantly address the issue.) But the angst- ridden teens she describes in her book closely resemble the peer-obsessed students Seattle public high school teacher David Guterson talks about in his compelling book, ``Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense,'' (Harcourt-Brace Jovanovich, 1992). Guterson reports that the kids in his conventional school often have difficulty navigating the turbulent social scene at school, with ``its cliques, rumors and relentless gossip, its shifting alliances and expedient betrayals.'' Guterson says that their preoccupation with peer acceptance often encourages young people to become ``acutely attuned to a pre-adult commercial culture that usurps their attention (M-TV, Nintendo, fashion magazines, teen cinema)'' and frequently fosters a sense of alien ation from people of other ages.
Interestingly, educational researcher Susannah Sheffer of Cambridge, Mass., says facilitating peer-dependency is part of ``how schools shortchange girls'' (to borrow the title of a highly publicized report issued several years ago by the American Association of University Women). In a recent study of self-esteem among adolescent girls, Sheffer found that unlike their conventionally schooled counterparts, homeschooled girls did not typically lose confidence in themselves when their ideas and opinions weren't embraced by their friends.
Now, none of this means that every homeschooler is socially well-adjusted. Or that homeschooling is the only way for parents to raise children successfully. Or that good things never happen in conventional schools. But these studies do suggest that homeschooling offers more than just educational benefits. No wonder a growing number of families are now giving home education a try.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1999/03/19/ED71809.DTL
This article appeared on page A - 23 of the San Francisco Chronicle
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