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November 30, 2005
Avast!
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!
Posted by lynx at 11:40 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 29, 2005
Unschooling
No, really, none of you missed anything. That last comment I made about unschooling really did come out of the blue, onto the blog.
I've had some "encounters" with unschoolers in the last couple of weeks, and they usually raise my blood pressure just a tetch.
For the couple of you who read my blog and are not familiar with the term, "unschooling" refers to letting the child decide what, how, and when to learn. It involves supporting the child's interest and facilitating their learning. The theory behind unschooling is that we learn best when we are interested, and when we teach ourselves (or seek out the teacher). Additionally, it's assumed that children will learn the skills they need in life, because through living they will find those skills useful. They'll want to learn to read, write and do basic math because it will be obvious that they need those tools to do anything successfully. They might not choose to learn algebra, or formal grammar ... but if they ever decide they want to go into a career or an avocation that needs those things, they can learn them then.
When a child is set free to learn as his interest dictates, the argument goes, he is passionate about learning. He is creative. He is interested.
I'm fine with all of that. Really.
My problem comes with the flip side of the coin, the belief that if all of the above is true, it must follow that "imposed learning" is stifling, impractical, and wastes the child's time. And that's the nice way to put it. Unschooling, like homeschooling, and attachment parenting, has its fanatics, and fanatics drive me Up. The. Wall.
They drive me up the wall because what they really mean, when they use the term "unschooling," is full-time unschooling. They mean unschooling not so much as an educational method, but as a commitment to a philosophy.
Full-time unschooling can and does work. Throughout time it has produced exceptional people. I've seen it work, and work well. Unschoolers, I am in your corner. Honestly.
However, we are not full-time unschoolers because I don't think that's the best education I can provide for my family. I firmly believe that there are certain skills and areas of knowledge which my kids will be better off learning, whether they will or no. I firmly believe that my kids can only benefit from my experience and knowledge of the world, in guiding them towards subjects they would not have chosen for themselves. (I had to be dragged into that modern art class in college. Who knew I'd love it, and discover a whole new world?) I am convinced that there is value in requiring a child to learn to work hard and well at something that is both difficult and not of his choosing.
I know that many of you don't believe these things. You can argue with me if you feel like it, but frankly I've been through all the arguments.
With those beliefs firmly in mind, we have structured, mom-imposed school. And this lasts for ... three hours a day, on average. Not counting time spent reading.
What happens the rest of the day? Well, mostly, they're free to, er, follow their own interests. Which I encourage and facilitate.
See? We do unschool - not as a commitment to a philosophy, but as a part of real life. The vast majority of people unschool. No, we don't do it full-time, except in short bursts when we need a change, a break, or when life gets in the way of plans. But we do it. (Oddly enough, I also call this process of encouraging/facilitating their own interests "parenting.")
Watch the unschoolers, though. They get twitchy when I say that. Steam starts to come out of their ears. They give me the spiel about how imposing learning on my kids is not unschooling. It disqualifies me. (I once had a woman tell me that she thought limiting my kids' TV time was "too curriculum.") This is followed closely by the spiel about how my imposed learning is sucking the joy of life out of my children, it's coercive, it creates a dependency, it's presumptuous, it wastes their time, and it doesn't work, anyway.
All of those arguments about structured schooling are right some of the time. It's presumptuous and ridiculous to assume they're all happening in three hours a day in my house. Really. My kid may not love Latin, but I can assure you he's not being emotionally or mentally scarred by being subjected to it for 20 minutes a day. And he knows the meanings behind all the spells in Harry Potter. Not to mention the name jokes. (I won't go on here to enumerate the tried and true benefits of a little imposed schooling.)
I hate the ongoing tension between structured school types, and unschoolers. I think it's silly. We all, parents included, spend some part of the day pursuing our own interests, learning what we want to learn or what we choose to learn. We all unschool. Just because I don't do it 24 hours a day does not mean my kids do not benefit from pursuing their own interests, learning how to learn, or exercising their own freedom and creativity.
My previous entry came after yet another run-in in which I was assured that bluebirds would sing, the sun would rise, and everyone would be happy if I just let go of the ridiculous idea that it's of value to coerce any child to learn Latin, and my presumption that I know what's best for my children. The nerve of me. And I guess I'm bitter; I'm very supportive of full-time unschoolers. I think it's a wonderful way of life, and I think a kid can get a fine education that way. It's not for us. I wish that more committed unschoolers could converse with me by admitting that what I do is not for them, but leaving out the fanaticism and evangelism.
Posted by lynx at 12:01 AM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
November 25, 2005
It's not Turkey, but ...
Here's a cool site we found that provides animations, along with explanatory text, that take you into a black hole. We discovered it last night around midnight. You see, we got home from Thanksgiving dinner around 11 pm. As we got out of the car I pointed out constellations and planets, as I often do. Last night, though, I caught their interest and they asked questions. They wondered why Sirius is so much brighter than Alpha Centauri, if Alpha Centauri is closer? The marveled at the idea that, if we weren't so close to Ft. Worth, they'd be able to see an actual galaxy with their actual eyes. We ended up mucking about with pulsars and quasars, and so on to the link.
Remember, though, that we structure and control our children's learning, which stifles the curiosity right out of them. Don't forget that. It's not like we unschool, or anything. Not that I'm bitter over certain types of unschoolers, or anything. Nah.
Posted by lynx at 11:53 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
November 22, 2005
Bashing my head against the wall.
Just some short tidbits before I go to sleep. Think of yourself as my pensieve.
1. Harry Potter has nothing to do with Wicca, except that some Wiccans use wands. Disappointingly, these wands fail to do anything useful, such as the dishes.
2. Harry Potter is unlikely to turn your kids towards Wicca. If they get suckered in by the cool spells, they are going to be seriously disappointed with Wicca. They will also discover that there are not any cool Wiccan boarding schools. Nor can they actually transfigure their enemies, no matter how hard I ... uh, they ... work at it. Interestingly, Wiccans seem to live in the same physical reality as the rest of you.
3. It blows my mind that there are Christians who will not read "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" because it contains a witch. Blows. My. Mind.
4. Yes, as a non-Christian, I do let my kids read LWW - heck I even encourage it - even with the Christian allegory. Gosh darn it, they're just some books I like.
5. "Grammar" does not contain an "e." Neither does "lightning."
6. "Definitely" does not contain an "a."
That is all. For now.
Posted by lynx at 12:19 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
November 21, 2005
Goblet of Fire
I honestly don't think I've enjoyed a Harry Potter movie as much as this one. (For the record I thought the first was okay, I hated the second, I liked the third but did not get to see it in the theater.)
They cut the parts that needed cutting to tell the story that needed telling. Ron was not whiny. There were no wholly unnecessary special effects. I was sad when Cedric died, nervous when zee grindylows attacked, disturbed by Moody's demonstration of the unforgivable curses, and by Voldemort. And I laughed many times inbetween. Nicely done.
Go see this one.
Posted by lynx at 10:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 20, 2005
It's Christmas Time - Time to Make That Extra Effort to Consider the Safety of our Loved Ones
We parents know that danger lurks behind every corner. Every step our children take could end in injury. Every toy they play with is fraught with potential hidden dangers. Thankfully, trained experts work hard to find these dangers before we do, and alert us in time to avert disaster.
Posted by lynx at 12:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 18, 2005
I can't say I'm surprised.
 | You scored as Batman, the Dark Knight. As the Dark Knight of Gotham, Batman is a vigilante who deals out his own brand of justice to the criminals and corrupt of the city. He follows his own code and is often misunderstood. He has few friends or allies, but finds comfort in his cause.
Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0 created with QuizFarm.com |
I knew where those questions about scary costumes and dark leather were leading. And secret hideouts.
Posted by lynx at 8:38 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
November 16, 2005
I am an Idiot
This year, I've worried about Connor and math. It took his entire third grade year to go through Singapore 3A. I was so relieved when we finally made it to Singapore 4 in his fourth grade year. I felt like we had "caught back up" to grade level.
We've been looking at the Robinson Curriculum lately. They recommend Saxon. I've never liked Saxon, though Jeff does. So just for fun I had Connor take the Saxon placement test this morning.
He tested into Saxon 76. In Saxonspeak, that's the book for average 7th graders, and advanced 6th graders.
The next time I worry about their progress, just smack me, okay?
Posted by lynx at 10:44 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
November 12, 2005
Greased Peugot
I don't know what to say ... so I'll cut and paste this:
CHIRAC/VILLEPIN
When you’re a Frog you’re a Frog all the way, from your first cigarette to your last beaujolais!
TOUGHS
Mohhhhh- OH! – rocco! Where the wind comes sweeping down the dunes! Where the sand can fly straight in your eye, but they don’t have these French buffoons!
Pantomime sissy knife fight
(No, I'm not doing any serious blogging about France. Jeff is, though. I've got nothing to say, except that I'm worried ....)
Posted by lynx at 11:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Fudge
Here it is, the fudge recipe I could not find last year. If you're trying to lose weight, don't bother. This stuff is too good to leave alone.
Triple Chocolate Fudge
6 cups sugar
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 cup stick butter
1 t up (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 jar (13 oz) marshmallow crème or 1 package (10 oz) mini marshmallows
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 package vanilla chips (11 ounces)
1/2 package (half of 11 oz bag) milk chocolate chips
2 packages (6 ounces each) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips, or chopped bittwersweet chocolate
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1. Grease bottom and sides of rectangular pan 13x9x2 with butter, or line with aluminum foil.
2. Heat sugar, milk, butter and cheese to boiling in 6-quard Dutch oven over medium-high heat 6 to 8 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Reduce heat to medium. Cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, to 225 degrees on candy thermometer; remove from heat.
4. QUICKLY stir in marshmallow crème and vanilla. Pour 4 cups hot marshmallow mixture over vanilla chips in large bowl; stir to mix. Stir chocolate chips, bittersweet or semisweet chocolate and cocoa into remaining marshmallow mixture.
5. Pour one-third of the white mixture into pan, spreading evenly. QUICKLY pour one-third of the chocolate mixture over the top, spreading evenly. Repeat twice. Pull and swirl knife greased with butter through mixtures for marbled design. Cool until set. Refrigerate uncovered about 3 hours or until set. Cut into 1 1/2 inch squares with knife greased with butter.
Hmmm. I forgot the vanilla tonight. I knew it was not quite right.
Aidan is getting fairly adept at making cookies. He does everything, on his own, except the actual baking. He's still learning about measuring, though. Today he attempted his own creation of chocolate chip snickerdoodles. Great idea ... if only he hadn't confused 1/4 teaspoon with 1/4 cup when he added the salt.
There. I've just ensured that you'll all be nice and nervous when you eat our cookies.
Posted by lynx at 11:18 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
November 9, 2005
Teetering On the Edge
This is the worst time of year for homeschooling.
Halloween gets us off-kilter, and sugared up. We struggle, we finally get back on track, only to be derailed by Thanksgiving. And, well, really, after Thanksgiving, what's the point?
We're finally back into our groove, so I'll run with it for one more week. That's it, then. After that it will be all Solstice decorations and holiday stuff.
But that's one of the (many) nice bits to homeschooling. We can do that. We've made good progress in Latin this year. We're on track in math. They're reading. Their writing is coming along. If we take a couple of months off, they'll still be fine. (Though to be honest, we rarely take that much time completely "off." If nothing else, we do math and read.)
I keep hoping we can squeeze out some time to trek down to San Antonio for a visit to the Alamo. You'd think it wouldn't be that hard, just five hours away ...
Posted by lynx at 11:18 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
November 8, 2005
Oh, that's right ... this is Texas
I voted. All we had to vote on today were constitutional amendments, most of which I voted to shoot down. Including the marriage amendment.
Oh, well.
It'll be interesting to see how this will hold up in practice. How will it work when one state defines marriage in a particular way, but another does not?
Posted by lynx at 11:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 7, 2005
Looking Up
Feeling a bit better today ... mood-wise, not health-wise.
For Jo, here's what's going on. I had what they call an anaphylactic reaction to eating a nut. "Anaphylactic" is a highly technical term meaning "you're doomed." Okay, what it really means is an immune system-mediated response to a substance, involving two or more body systems. My reaction was, obviously, not fatal ... as anaphylaxis goes, it wasn't even bad, really.
But here's the kicker. Once you've had one, you can assume you'll have another if you encounter that same allergen. And very often the reactions get progressively worse, which is why I get to carry the handy-dandy epinepherine injector. A "worse" reaction would be one where my airway "swells," causing me to stop "breathing." Or it could be one where my "blood pressure" drops precipitously leaving me in "shock." In which case, the epi injector would be used to save my life. Literally.
So, yes, I'm having a wee bit of difficulty in adjusting to the fact that if I eat the wrong food, I'll end up in the ER.
Then there's the guessing game. So I reacted to a nut. It was in a can of mixed nuts. So did I react to that nut? Or another? We think we know, but are we sure? Shall I test it out by eating various nuts? Umm ... no, no thanks - that ER thing and all.
Peanuts were in the can. We're guessing I'm not allergic to the peanuts. We're GUESSING.
Now let's play "How Allergic Am I?" Some people react to tiny traces of nuts ... say, if they eat a food that does not actually contain nuts, but was manufactured on equipment that also manufactured something that did contain nuts. Or something that touched a nut. Some people react to breathing the air around someone eating nuts.
Do I? I don't know. I'm new at this. It's going to be a game of finding the comfort zone. For now at least, I'm choosing to just avoid all nuts. That means reading every label and not accepting food made outside my home.
Often, people who develop these kinds of reactions as adults become allergic to more foods as time goes on. So ... what's next?
Really, though, I'm calmer about it today than yesterday. All I have to do is never ever eat a nut, or anything made with nuts (no more pecan pie!) ... but if I ever accidentally get slipped one I just jab this needle in my leg. (Cue the maniacal laughter.)
I assume the weight loss phase of this is over, as I've figured out which chocolate is safe. And, as e pointed out, there's always beer ... and wine for Susie ... tequila ... oh, heck, what is Bailey's made out of?
On a related note, I did the scratch testing today for environmental allergies. It's official, I'm allergic to Texas. I reacted to 27 of the things they tested me for. What's scary is that that's far better than I thought it was going to be. Now if they could just figure out exactly what it is that's causing me to feel like I can't breathe, life will be much better.
Dad - I wasn't allergic to nuts before. See what living with you people has done to me?
Posted by lynx at 8:57 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
November 5, 2005
Not Dead Yet
Some of you have accused me of being too quiet, and want to know what's up?
The secret is that when I'm depressed, I don't blog. Y'all don't want to hear me being depressed.
The allergy thing has thrown me for a loop. I spend most of my time worrying about it. On the, er, plus side, I've lost 10 pounds. Apparently the secret to successful dieting is to be terrified of your food. Who knew? Do you think this is a marketable idea?
"Guaranteed weight loss - we scare, because we care!"
"Terror - the hidden weight loss friend!"
Maybe not?
Posted by lynx at 9:10 AM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
November 2, 2005
The Crew
And an extra shot of that darned cute, fully-clothed, Sheriff.
Posted by lynx at 8:17 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack