(Dear God, please do not let him see me laugh!)

We have talked with the kiddos before about the new US quarters, depicting each state’s “claim to fame”, I promise.  We have enjoyed looking at the various design for years now when we get change at the grocery or at Hastings.

Yes, we actually own “National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets”, with its adventuresome trek across Native American areas as well as lovely sections of Our Nation’s Capital.  The kiddos have watched that movie over and over, as kids are wont to do.

Which makes it hard to explain why, gazing upon New Hampshire’s quarter, with its relief of the Old Man of the Mountain, #3 suddenly burst out, “Look, it’s John Wilkes Booth carved into Mount Rushmore!”

Note to self:  Pay particular attention to which American History text we use next year.

Computers Make Life Easier

Don’t they?

Just a quick note between schooling (which is consistently lasting until 4 o’clock p.m.), and Other Stuff- if you’re on the blogroll to the right, I’m reading your blog three or four times a week.  I still haven’t figured out the password/userid thing to comment.  I’m praying for you when things go bad and cheering for you when things go well.

Thankfully, I got details of when and where my French 2 class meets (it’s so embarassing when the teacher gets lost on the way to class!), and tomorrow starts English, followed by private tutoring in Latin. 

Just got a phone call- will be supervising 2 extra kiddos for a friend who got called in to work.  The boy can be a handful- wonder if the 5 kiddos (3 of mine, 2 of theirs) can sit in the school’s studyhall during my English class? 

Wheee!

 

Later:  English was AWESOME: the whole class stayed focused for 1 1/2 hours!  The kiddos weren’t disruptive (they sat in back; no study hall available), but didn’t do a lick of schoolwork.  So they worked during Latin.  We had packed a picnic and stopped by a library for Garfield and Nancy Drew books.  Then home to Wipeout (on abc.com) and “The Bee Movie”.  Mr W is due home in about an hour, and the visiting kiddos (the boy has been a charmer and very well-behaved!) should be picked up around 6.  GREAT day!

Huh-BLUH!

That’s about all the English I can muster at this point.

This morning was a “dry run” for the rapidly-approaching 2 days each week that the kiddos and I will be getting up, scarfing down grits, grabbing bags of schoolwork, and driving to a church for 2 hours.  On Mondays, the church will be across a not-very-busy street from a LOVELY library.  We went there today, and I went into a separate study area from the kiddos for an hour. 

I prepped my next class.  The girls did schoolwork.  The boy stared out at the man cleaning windows.  Sigh.

We grabbed books on tape for Mr Wonderful (who has a daily 45 minute each-way commute), McGyver on DVD for #3, Wyndham Hill CDs for my commutes, and Hank the Cow Dog episodes on tape for the kiddos to listen to these rainy afternoons.  Oh, and a few books.

Happy day!- #1 voluntarily picked up the Elsie Dinsmore series.  Each time we read some of Elsie, both girls spend the next 2 days being VERY well-behaved.  That Elsie, she’s a good influence! 

Then it’s home for unpacking and shelving media, #3 and I in the kitchen making hot dogs and fries for lunch, and a few hours of homeschooling.  Now it’s 2:30 and #1 and her math are accompanying the clicking of my posting.  In 2 hours, Mr W will head home for a veggie plate dinner, then he’s off to tutor a young man who is the first American to be accepted to the University of Marseilles (France) for an Engineering Master’s Degree.  Willikers, Mr W meets some interesting young people!

(Warning!  Competive self-affirmation approaching!)  Me, I MAKE interesting young people.  So far, two of my students have clepped out of college-level Spanish classes at UGA, a former French student is taking her Masters in French at West Georgia, and an SAT Prep student is in his first semester at an Ivy League school.

Sometimes I wonder about profound things amidst all this accomplishment, however.  Will Big Fish (where I have a purchase credit) ever get JoJo’s Fashion Show 2 on their site?  Will the homemade applebutter that Mr W burned onto the crockpot ever come off?  Is “Fireproof” going to be better than “Facing the Giants”?  How many tissues will I need to see the movie in its entirety? Who’s going to be the next President of the USA?  What should I wear to the AWANA kick-off? Does the chewinggum lose it’s flavor on the bedpost overnight?

Life, it’s complex.  I’m glad there’s coffee!

The Perfect Dress

Mom’s Night Out was lovely this month; we talked about our wardrobes.  I realized I dress for cost, comfort, and cosmetics- in that order.  About 1/3 of my outfits are donated from one of the moms who has lost a bit of weight over the past 2 years.  (It’s a secret desire of mine to lose enough to pass them on!)

Like most American women, I’ve spent my time with color wheels, “Color Me Beautiful”, Avon saleswomen, and Teen Beat magazine.  Thankfully, in the computer age there are virtual makeovers, Fashion Solitaire (a game of designing clothing distributed by bigfishgames.com, amongst others), and Vogue online.

I have 15 minutes before it’s time to wake up #2 to help with breakfast and to share a devotional time.  I’m going to imagine the “perfect” outfit.

I’ve always liked CS Lewis’ description of Narnian clothes “as beautiful as your best Sunday outfit but without the uncomfortable parts”, or something to that effect.  So, a long (knee-length) tunic over leggings for me, some soft knee-high boots, or sandals for the summer.  Boat collar and 3/4 sleeves on the tunic to hide the flappy parts of my 40+ year-old body. 

Denim blue, of course.  Although the “color wheel” says I should offset the blue with red or pink to bring out my skin tones, I despise pinks, thanks to my femininst-era mom.  So, blue with silver embroidery or a leafy pattern, or both.  Grey boots (I’m feeling a pull toward Merry Olde England- can you tell with the spelling?)

(Side note: You know you grew up in the feminist era if, upon reading The Adventures of Robin Hood, you found yourself wanting to be Robin instead of Marian!)

For “Sunday best”, a simple undershift (floor length) of white and silver with a floor-length surcoat/overtunic (no sleeves, almost like a jumper, but more open under the arms) of royal blue. 

If I get a chance I’ll browse around for pictures of something similar to what I’m imagining and post them.  Meanwhile, what would your perfect outfit be?

Out of the Box

English 9th/10th Grammar/Comp/Lit class starts in 8 days. 

Can you tell by the class title that it’s pretty open-ended?  I read that as “free reign to teach whatever I want” (snicker)! 

Again, I’m thankful to have the freedom to teach subjects I think are exciting and/or important.  Because of the excitement, I’m much more likely to challenge the students, rather than “coast” through the class.  I hope the excitement is contagious, and that my teaching changes their lives for the better!

Part of me is “yipes- 8 days already?”, but I’ve actually been prepping since July, so the framework of the class is solid.  I’ve got LOTS of experiencing multi-tasking, so spending 15 minutes each class period on grammar then switching to a comp/lit lecture won’t be a problem.

I remember the first year I taught, the school needed a Latin tutor.  Then some folks heard I also knew Spanish, and one family desparately wanted a French teacher.  The Board said, “There is no way you can teach all 3 languages in 1 morning!”

The next year they hired me for Latin, Spanish, and SAT Prep- all in 1 morning.

Jeepers, if a mom can change a diaper at 10 and iron a shirt at 10:10 and chat with her mom about the Dodgers at 10:30, why can’t she teach Spanish at 8 am, French at 9, and Latin at 10?

And yes, the students were well-taught in the languages (and SAT prep).  Several got credit for college-level language abilities on tests that Spring.

(Oh, yes, I AM competitive!)

Happy Birthday to Me!

I was reminded by a friend this morning that I became a Christian on August 18, 1988- so I’m 20 years old today!

I’m thrilled to still be loving God and seeking Him.  I’m SO thankful for my brothers and sisters in Christ, and all the growing they’ve helped me do over the past 20 years.  I love the church our family attends now- and the churches we’ve attended in the past.

God has been so gracious- in the first six months as a Christian, there were temptations to just sit back and coast (spiritually speaking), or to go back to old (VERY bad) habits, but God’s Spirit in me and faithful friends encouraged me to grab the adventure of Christian living instead.  I wouldn’t go back now for a million dollars!

God willing, I’ll have another 20 years to grow.  Just yesterday I was convicted that I’m not practicing seeking God’s will daily about what I do with my body (eating, exercising, and don’t even get me started about how I use my tongue!, etc.), so I hope in 20 years to see a LOT more maturity in that area of life.

I’d love to mature as a wife, and have a marriage that’s a shining example of Christ’s faithful, loving relationship to His Bride, the Church by 2028.

I’d love to see my physical and spiritual kids maturing as Christians over the next 20 years, and know God had used me to help them grow leaps and bounds!

So, there’s work and joy ahead (which are not mutually exclusive), triumphs and defeats in the past, and a Happy Birthday today.  Wonder if there’s any of that chocolate cheesecake left?

Tah-Dah!

8:15 on a Sunday morning: the family has been fed, the dishwasher is running. 

The girls and I are dressed, hair styled, and ready to walk out the door, although we aren’t supposed to leave for church for another 20 minutes.  (Two points off: #1 has a shiner from some wrestling she and #2 were doing and is totally bummed that she has to appear in public.)

Where are the boys?  Getting #3 ready.  In these muggy August days, the church runs the A/C on high, but the kids like go outside to the playground whilst the grown-up chatter after the service.  I wonder whether #3 will show up in short sleeves or long.  Mr Wonderful ALWAYS makes #3 wear a suit to church, and since #3 only owns 1 suit, it’s always the olive green tweed.  No surprises there!

The girls are watching as I type, all privacy is gone, so I’m outta here.

I Remember

The story of the widow whose oil jars were filled. “You should have begged your neighbors for more jars”, the man of God told her.

My co-worker Joe, who ignored a nudge from God to collect used clothing for a homeless shelter in Orlando.  A week later, another co-worker collected 2 tons of clothing.  The shelter clothed the people, sold the extra, and repaired their roof.

I wish I had brought both coolers to my friends’ house when they were getting ready to move.  But God isn’t done with me yet.

Olympics Lite

Since we don’t do TV (who has time, with 53 hours of homeschooling per day?), we’re keeping up with the Summer Games in 3 small ways:  Yahoo (where my email account is) lists the top medal-earning countries.  PackRat (on Facebook) has a set of Summer Game trading cards.  And we have vainly tried to YouTube the opening ceremonies.

I’m thankful I live in a country that is so free.  I’m thankful I live in a country where I don’t have to worry about foreign tanks and bombs coming in; where my kids wake up safely healthy; where I’m free to teach them my values. 

However, it’s clear that the USA is not the country it once was.  A lot of folks rejoice about changes that I find disturbing.  Own opinion, not today’s subject, and all that. 

I’m wondering this morning whether, since China has consistently led the world in gold medals (and today also leads in number of overall medals), if our (USA) perception of ourselves will go down a notch.  Will we become Avis (“We try harder”)?  Sink into obscurity?  Follow Rome’s fall?

I’m wondering if China will be inundated with emigrants, if Mandarin will become the trade language, if Chinese fashions will influence everyday clothing choices.  In effect, if China will become the world’s standard of “best”.

I hope not.  Things I knew about China before the Olympic glitter are still true:  their human rights policies stink.

Home School Blues

I’m in tears.  They’re in tears.  I’ve screamed, cajoled, lost my temper, explained, sung, pointed, used manipulatives, used sarcasm, re-explained using a different method, spanked, waited, and it still takes FOUR HOURS just. to. do. math.  

Our third day of 180 and I’m crying and getting angry and being sarcastic with my beloved children.  Not one of them has retained ANYTHING from the science or history we did 6 weeks ago.  At 6th, 5th and 3rd grade, not one of them can write an entire paragraph independently, pass standardized end-of-year tests, do a book report or a science experiment. 

Tell me again how this is a better way for them to get their education.  Yeah, I know they won’t have to do a book report or science experiment for the 60+ years after high school.

#2 is fine, by the way- done in a flash, all scores in the 90s.  Now, if she could just shut up for a couple of hours so I could go over (and over, and over, and over) #3 and #1’s stuff.

So, #2 basically gets punished and put in solitary for doing excellent work.

Tell me again this is better than putting them in a private school and working to pay the tuition. 

Oh, and by the way, when does #3 get his Asperger’s therapy?  Or do I count smacking him on the cheek to get him to focus on his math (after an hour of math already) training in staying on task?  (It worked, by the way- he finished the rest of the page with complete focus.)

Yes, I’ve told Mr W I’m losing it and they’re not learning what they need to learn.  “Just do language arts and math”, he says.  Oh. Ignore the state requirements for science and history.  Well, that’ll solve the no-retention problem. 

Gosh, what a nice-sounding solution.  So now, if we do science or history, I’m rebelling against the head of the household.  Thanks for the solution, Mr W- wonder why I don’t feel all sparkly and happy now?