Do I really care?

On one of my homeschooling groups, there is a buzz about an upcoming Dr. Phil show where he slams unschooling/homeschooling. I don't usually watch Dr. Phil and I probably won't watch his show on unschooling. Yesterday though, I did watch a few minutes while on the treadmill. He has this "Dr. Phil house" and he chose the following people to live together; a white supremist, a black woman who hates white people, a thin person who hates fat people, a fat man who hates thin people, a gay person who hates straights, a straight who hates gays, etc. The camera follows their every move. Its so unethical its not funny. Dr. Phil watches the footage and makes comments about the people's behavior. It creates such an unhealthy environment for these people, I can't see how any healing can take place. Dr. Phil obviously wanted to exploit these people. You probably watch more Dr. Phil than I do, but I've seen enough. I'm sure his anti-homeschooling show will be more biased BS.

The truth is I don't care what other people think of my family's lifestyle. I know my children are learning and growing wonderfully. One day they will go out into the world and they will demonstrate their strengths.

I'm so proud of my cub!

I know unschooling is working. DS11 has been enjoying an online game and last night he had a devastating defeat. He had his low moment, taking time to feel and express his disappointment. This morning he got back up on the horse. He began researching online to solve his dilema. Then he developed a plan to test his solution, taking care to protect his assets. It's important for him to know his solution will work and be the best for the situation. He has demonstrated how to use curiosity with caution. I know he has become a problem solver. He overcame a tragic event in his eyes, and decided not to give up. And all of this I learned from watching him play an online virtual role playing game.

The weekend can't come soon enough.

Yesterday we spent all afternoon away from home, enjoying a homeschool gym class and art time with some friends. I introduced the group to Artist Trading Cards and it seemed like everyone liked the idea. After art class is was time for me to run to work, so needless to say, my house isn't getting much attention. Today I was going to catch up, but the only thing that got cleaned was the van, and I wasn't responsible for that. The boys did that for me. I woke up with a touch of something intestinal. I'll spare you the details, but I'm feeling weak and drained. I have to work again tonight so I'm trying to rest up. The boys are keeping busy playing Legos,chess and wiping their noses. (They have colds.) I hope tomorrow we'll all wake up feeling better and kick things into high gear. Maybe the sun will come out too. Hmm, time to find one of my favorite Beatles Songs. I think that will pick me up.

An unschooly day

I love autumn and I love being home to enjoy it. Today we chose to play chess, and carve virtual pumpkins in preparation for carving the real ones closer to Halloween. We also read the first several chapters of THE END, the 13th and final book in the series of Unfortunate Events. DS11 made movies with his video camera, and we watched his old movies and marveled at how big Yumi has gotten. We called grandma to tell her about our weekend. We did crack a textbook, but the two math lessons seemed like common sense to DS11. We just looked them over while eating noodles for lunch. I actually love Mondays. We don't have to leave the house unless we want to. Its so important to take these days to follow our passions.

Questions

As a homeschooler/unschooler, I've always encouraged the boys to ask
questions. Asking questions leads to understanding. Questioning things can also bring needed changes. I've always told them, there is no bad question, but some do seem better than others. For example, yesterday these goodies were asked;

"Mom, how many colors are there?" My answer- "Infinite, I think. When you think about the many different shades you can make. Of course there are colors we can't see as well." I bought watercolor paint so we can practice mixing colors and on our
list goes the book about how our eyes see light waves.

"Mom, how much is a hundred googles?" My answer- "A lot. Actually, if you really want to know, a google is a 1 with one hundred zeros behind it. Now put two zeros behind that."

"Mom,what are the Killing Fields?" My thought- why did I leave the history channel on!! My answer- "Well, the Killing Fields were a genocide, a dark time when thousands of people were killed."

Of course often I'll answer questions with another question. I also like to keep
index cards around so we can write down the questions we don't have answers for right away.

"Mom, why does the top of Wisconsin actually belong to Michigan?" This index card question will remind me to pick up a book on Wisconsin or Michigan history.

I survived the Sleep Over!

My oldest just turned 11 and per his request, we threw a sleep over party. We've done these in the past, and after each one I swear I'm not having another. These parties usually mean 8 boys, in the basement, jacked up on cake and ice cream, playing video games all night long. The first time I tried to get them to settle into their sleeping bags, it was 10:30. I don't know what I was thinking. I sent down my husband at midnight and he rechecked them at 1:30. They were still all going strong. I couldn't make it and I passed out. My husband last checked them at 3:30am and then gave up himself. Although they were all chipper when I fed them cinnamin rolls for breakfast, I'm sure they went home and had crabby afternoons. Thankfully, I didn't receive any angry phone calls from parents. I've told myself, its just once a year.

Chewing more than I can bite

I've started another blog on Yahoo 360. I know I haven't really done too much with this blog. Why start another one? Ask DaVinci. He knew all about starting projects before others were finished. Geniuses tend to do this, don't you think?

We had a gorgeous day out in the fall sunshine. We created a Letterbox event for our homeschool friends at our local park. I just love cool, crisp fall air in my
lungs. I hated coming home to a house that still needs my attention.
The dishes, and laundry will wait right?! The Harvest Moon will be out
tonight!

Here's something else to pick you up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4

Bear Hugs out to You!!

Morons

I've read this morning that Republican Rep. Frank Lasee wants to arm teachers in schools with guns. I feel like I'm living in the Twilight Zone! How do these morons get elected? I know they are voted into office by fellow moronians. I just forget, now and then, how many morons I have to coexist with. I really don't understand how people can think this is a good idea. Teachers want to teach. They don't want to be prison guards. Its just another reason why I'm so thankful we homeschool.

2 times 7

"I know what 2, 7 times is mom. Its 14." DS7 announced this fact to me while I was paying for orange juice in lane 3. He was sitting on the
bench,waiting patiently. I asked him how he figured this out. He told
me he counted every other lane all the way down to lane 14. Don't you
love when they figure this stuff out like that!

No one would believe me if I told them

My son is reading the dictionary, his own choice. I was finishing up my
chocolate fix when I looked over and saw him curled up on the couch,
nose in the middle of the dictionary. I know he prefers to read
non-fiction, but the dictionary? Of course I said nothing to him and
left him to his own enjoyment. I'm sure if I had asked him to look up a
definition, he would have bawked. I'm confident taking the unschooling approach of leaving the dictionary stratgically out on the end table was the better way to go.