Time to Flip Over

I know I can't remain on the dark side forever. I'm trying to flip back to the Jedi I know I am inside. Help me Obi Wan!

Last night a dad told me his son had an accident on the carpet. I grabbed the cleaner and towels and reminded him we have locker rooms for changing. (Its easier to hose down a locker room floor.)  I no sooner put away the Simple Green when he's back. "I'm sorry but now my daughter has also had an accident."  I handed him the bottle and towels. If he refuses to change his children in the locker room he can clean up his own kids' piss!

I decided to make Mile High pancakes this morning. Since I used whole wheat flour though, they weren't "Mile High." They still tasted yummy.

We headed out to the library and I had a moment of unschooling mom dread. The librarian wanted DS9 to write his name on the computer use contract. He had already printed it, but frankly, the kid doesn't know cursive. I had to explain to DS9 that a printed signature wasn't what the librarian wanted. I wrote his name in cursive and asked him to copy it. We both walked away feeling a little frustrated for various reasons. (I should have told him to "write" an "X".)

I'm very tempted to pull out a cursive workbook we have packed away in the deep dark basement. I bought it years ago when DS12 said he wanted to learn to read cursive. He never really wanted to write with it, but he wanted to know how to read it. DS12 practiced the proper way to write cursive, but then ended up making his own signature, attaching the letters in his own way. (Don't we all end up doing this anyway?) His writing is legible and that's all that I care about. I believe keyboarding is more important for him anyway since he has no interest in calligraphy.

I asked DS9 if he wanted to learn cursive and he answered with a very unenthusiastic, "I guess so." I really don't believe in making him do a workbook if he doesn't want to, and I'm not even sure his dexterity is ready yet. He gets practice holding pencils. Believe me. I have lots of colored pencils that need sharpening right now.

It wasn't all negative at the library. We ended up with some interesting books.

DS12 asked the other day if the Nazi's won the war. I answered, "Nien!" I told him next time we're at the library find a book on World War II. So today he checked out World War II by Louis Snyder. He's already told me the war lasted 6 years, and the Germans started the "lighting war."

What? Lighting war? Ohh. "Blitzkrieg!"  He hasn't gotten that far in the book yet to see who wins. When he finishes I'll have to share with him how my grandmother was left on the farm alone with 4 small children when Grandpa enlisted to fight the Germans. She was furious because her parents were from Germany.

We also checked out 7X9 = Trouble by Claudia Mills. I thought this would be a good one since we are having flash card wars with multiplication lately. Both boys want to be the first to answer and the rivalry is getting intense.

They also had George's Secret Key To The Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking. This one looks really good!

I also couldn't resist checking out Schooled by Gordon Korman. Its about a homeschooled boy that has to attend school after his hippie grandma falls out of a tree. The inside jacket says, " Capricorn (Cap) Anderson has never watched television.He's never tasted a pizza. Never even heard of a wedgie. Since he was little, his only experience has been living on a farm commune and being homeschooled by his hippie grandmother, Rain."  Hmmm... Will this book be filled with homeschooling sterotypes? I can't wait to find out!