tink so

This heavy eyed sweet boy woke up sounding like Kathleen Turner. I asked him if he has a cold and he told me, "tink so". He's at that very fun toddler stage where he's picking up figures of speech. For the past couple of days, the answer to every question has been either "tink so" or "probly not". He makes me wonder if I use these expressions too much. Eh, probably not.

Metabolic Syndrome Is Tied to Diet Soda

Oh for crying out loud. I've stayed away from diet soda since I got pregnant with Adam. Artificial sweeteners make me nervous. Lately, though, I've been putting Splenda in my coffee and tea while doing the Curves 6 week diet.

Now, it looks like I'll be ending that promptly when the diet is done. See article here.

Weiner Poopie

This is just too funny.

KEYE Field Trip

This is from a field trip to a local news station, KEYE, that we took with our Camp Fire Club. The photo is crummy because it was taken from my phone. We all forgot our cameras and I was desperate for a photo.

I've been messing around with Picasa and I thought I'd put it up even though you can't see much and it is a few months old.

Reasons to Homeschool

Trail Mix is a homeschool blog that I stumbled across today. The author is making a long list of reasons to homeschool. I totally agree with most of the reasons. I wish that it was referenced, though. Below are my favorite reasons from the list for those of you who don't have time to go read all 60ish.

7 - The teaching parent has instant feedback. If the child does not grasp long division, for instance, this is apparent immediately, not days and weeks later. The child will not be pushed along into more advanced topics “because everyone else is moving on” when the basics are not fully understood.

19 - Tutorial style teaching requires 30-90 minutes in order to cover what would require an entire day in an elementary classroom. (Older students tend to work more independently and the required time varies greatly from student to student)...

26 - ...Studies consistently show that children develop confidence and independent thinking when they are removed from peer-dependent groups and spend more time with their parents. In most cases, adults know more about how to get along well with other people than do children, and can do a better job of teaching social interaction skills. A common myth of our society is that children need to be other children for extended periods of time to be properly socialized, but this is the exact opposite of the truth. Much time in a peer culture is damaging to children. People gain social experience and skills by interacting with a diverse group of people of all ages. Socialization is one of the BEST reasons to home school.

32 - Grade-based expectations can become meaningless in home education. These expectations are crucial when trying to manage a classroom full of children, but they are not necessary in a home based schooled. However, for the record, home educated children tend to test far above their expected grade level within three years at home. This is not to say that all the children perform well in all levels - children all have different gifts and abilities, and a child who is linguistically gifted may lag several years behind in math skills. The difference is that he can be allowed to work on “grade two” Math and “grade six” English, while all other subjects correspond to a grade four level.

40 - Children can learn woodworking from Grandfather, sewing from Grandmother, and can enjoy private lessons during times when other children are busy in school.

47 - Home schooling can be done with an open mind, a commitment to your children’s education, and a library card. And the library card is optional.

Well, in my house the library card is most definitely NOT optional. Adam got at least a dozen chapter books today. I have no doubt that they'll be read by this time next week.

Adam the Thespian

Come see Adam in his starring role as Hasty Hare in EASY Theatre's original production, Tortoise vs. Hare.

Friday February 1 at 6 p.m. and
Saturday February 2 at 2 p.m.
Dougherty Arts Center
1110 Barton Springs Road
$5 at the door

Leave me a note in comments if you plan to attend! See more photos here.

P.S. I have a supporting role, so come get fodder for my embarrassment!

Am I a Bitter Homeschooler?

I agree with every point in The Bitter Homeschooler's Wish List published in the new magazine Secular Homeschooling. Am I'm bitter or just tired of the misconceptions?  If I'm already bitter, I don't even want to think about what will I be 16 years from now when Blondie graduates.