PARENTING FREEDOM

carol | June 26, 2008

My new camera dumps pictures in files by date, so I don’t always notice all of them unless they were taken on the day I transfer them.

Here are C6 and L3 helping Derek wash the car earlier in the spring.

Category: Children, Homemaking, Journal 2008 | No Comments »
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carol | June 26, 2008

I found another picture I forgot to post. Here are the children helping me construct the new bookcases (here and here.)  I mentioned before that they helped me stain them as well.

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carol | June 26, 2008

Low Incomes, High Standards
Can private schools make a difference for low income families?
http://www.fraserinstitute.org/commerce.web/product_files/LowIncomesHighStandardsChildrenFirst2008.pdf

Inexpensive Private Schools Better than Public Schools: The Fraser Institute
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jun/08062505.html

“‘The parents surveyed reported lower incidences of bullying, fighting, drug use, and racism in inexpensive private schools compared to public schools. They also found their children did better academically and had improved social skills.’”

“The families with children in private schools reported that their children’s academic performance improved and behavioural problems decreased, while a large proportion of families with children at public schools reported that the child’s academic performance, social skills and behaviour had worsened.”

“‘We were astounded to see that small independent schools make such a difference for disadvantaged children, particularly considering that these schools cost, on average, 45 per cent less than public schools.’”

“‘The survey results strongly show that parents of limited income who make the sacrifice to send their children to independent schools, whether or not they do so through a Children First grant, are much more satisfied with the academic and social environment of their children’s school than the parents whose children attend public schools.’”

“Similar results were found with the problems of bullying, fighting, drugs, cheating, racism, and stealing.”

“Three times as many parents with children in public schools said these behavioural problems were serious issues in their schools, with bullying being the most reported issue, compared to parents with children attending private schools.”

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carol | June 26, 2008

Saudi marriage advice: Try waiting a few years before deflowering your infant child bride
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/06/25/saudi-marriage-advice-try-waiting-a-few-years-before-deflowering-your-infant-child-bride/

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carol | June 24, 2008

If Dan Quayle or George Bush made these mistakes, they would be all over the news. I hadn’t heard the breathalyzer one before. LOL

Edited (on September 10, 2008) to add :
Lipstick
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZd_Y_D-RaA
As a woman, I was offended by Obama’s lipstick comment. Obama’s campaign staff must have been ready to hog-tie him.

Quote from Rush Limbaugh:

“Obama makes the ‘lipstick on a pig’ joke, and his crowd is out there chanting, ‘No more pit bull!’ So it is very obvious that his crowd knew. They laughed and applauded. They didn’t think it was just a standard political cliché overused by politicians of all stripes. His audience laughed, and this is his problem.” (Hat Tip)

I found this Freudian? slip hilarious:
(Freudian – a slip of the tongue that is motivated by and reveals some unconscious aspect of the mind)
Obama: “My Muslim Faith”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKGdkqfBICw

Looking for GOOD change, NOT Obad change

Edited (September 16, 2008) to add another great Obama gaffe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4HkuktwjnY

Edited (October 21, 2008) to add this political satire:
http://www.obamawantsyou.com/politicalsatire.html

Edited (November 3, 2008):
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/11/obama-booed-gaffemaster-mistakes.html

Category: Politics Barack Obama, Politics Sarah Palin | No Comments »
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carol | June 24, 2008

“I used to get up in the morning and go to an office. Now I get up and go to a plane. My kids still don’t care where I am. They just know both parents work in their household, and as long as we’re back for bedtime, they could care less.” Michelle Obama

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carol | June 24, 2008

I have been having a hard time even mentioning this guy. I feel like I shouldn’t even be talking about “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named”.

10 Concerns about Barack Obama
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MzQ4YTY4YjQyMzRjYjA5MGZlNDBiZTkwYmEyODg5NTc=&w=MA==

9. Barack Obama is to the left of Hillary Clinton and NARAL on the issue of life. As a state senator in Illinois, Barack Obama voted against the Induced Infant Liability Act, a law that would have protected babies if they survived an attempted abortion and were delivered alive.

10. Barack Obama is actually to the left of every member of the U.S. Senate. According to the National Journal, “Sen. Barack Obama…was the most liberal senator in 2007.”

Whom will a man this far left appoint to the Supreme Court?

Barack Obama Is Not a Christian
http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/06/02/barack-obama-is-not-a-christian/

Obama is the Most Pro-Abortion Candidate Ever
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TerenceJeffrey/2008/01/09/obama_is_the_most_pro-abortion_candidate_ever

Jill Stanek, who was a nurse at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Ill., testified in the U.S. Congress in 2000 and 2001 about how “induced labor abortions” were handled at her hospital.

“One night,” she said in testimony entered into the Congressional Record, “a nursing co-worker was taking an aborted Down’s Syndrome baby who was born alive to our Soiled Utility Room because his parents did not want to hold him, and she did not have the time to hold him. I couldn’t bear the thought of this suffering child lying alone in a Soiled Utility Room, so I cradled and rocked him for the 45 minutes that he lived.”

Stanek testified about these bills in the Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee, where Obama served. She told me this week he was “unfazed” by her story of holding the baby who survived an induced labor abortion.

On the Illinois Senate floor, Obama was the only senator to speak against the baby-protecting bills.

Category: Abortion, Harry Potter, Politics Barack Obama | No Comments »
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carol | June 23, 2008

Freedom – narrated by Sen. Fred Thompson
http://www.youtube.com/v/issg3oUACz4&hl=en

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carol | June 23, 2008

I love to organize. I love to organize books the most. I have been collecting homeschool materials for the past twelve years, and I have always wished to have nice bookcases. My dream has come true this past spring.

We have a fairly large homeschool library with literature, curriculum, and material that covers pre-school through grade ten+. We also have a few children homeschooling at different levels. Here are some things I do to make the books more organized.

I group most books according to subject in my bookcases. For example, I have shelves for science, history, Bible, Canadian history, writing, grammar, art, Latin, Greek, French, health, poetry, music, etc. Each of those areas is generally arranged in order of difficulty.

1st column Science / 2nd History / 3rd Bible / poster storage

1st bookcase
Logic, Omnibus, Law, Physics
Saxon Math
ABeka Math

2nd bookcase
Geography, Art, Poetry, Health
Writing, Creative Writing
Vocabulary, Spelling, Grammar/Language
(Behind doors – French, Greek, Latin)

3rd bookcase
Canadian History
Conservative Studies
Music
Large Children’s Books

I also have some bookcases full of “just reading books” which are arranged in order from beginners through grade ten+. This is where several of the shelves are layered with a second row in behind. There are also shelves for Tolkien books, all the J.K. Rowling books (which include two raggedy sets of all the HP books), and many other series that can be read in a variety of grades. 

Literature – Pre-School through Grade Ten+

The smaller bookcase below is for beginner reader books like Bobbsey Twins, Boxcar Children, Magic Treehouse, and Great Illustrated Classics.

Beginner Reader Books

At the beginning of each school year, I prepare a bookcase for each child that holds the material for every subject that is expected to be covered during that grade.

B’s books (last year, grade four)

N’s books (last year, grade nine)

When I purchase a new book, I try to put a small little sticker on the binding that shows the grade(s) in which it is likely to be read. When this is begun with the oldest child, it makes things more efficient when I collect the books for the other children. It may seem time-consuming, but it prevents me from feeling overwhelmed by looking at tons of books and not having a clue what grade might be appropriate.

Each of the children is pleased to let me know when he or she finishes reading a book. We then write his or her first initial and grade on the inside of the back cover of that book. (That task is not always done that very minute, but we set them aside so we won’t forget.) For example, this past year, my nine-year-old would write B-4 because his names starts with B, and he was in grade four. (All our children’s names begin with a different letter.)

We write the inital and grade for a few reasons. It tells us if the child read the book (it is possible to forget) and the grade(s) in which it was read. It is helpful when collecting books for the next child. For good or bad reasons, it also creates a competitiveness for the younger children which may not be common in many homeschools. C6 began reading chapter books younger than her older brothers (math is another story), so when she looked at the back of a book and saw a B-2 or an N-3, she was pretty pleased to write C-1. (Meaning her brothers read it in grade two and three, and she read it in grade one.)

N read this book in both grade two and three.
(He has always tended to read books over and over.)
B read it in grade two.
C read it in grade one.

N read this in both grades four and nine.
B read it in grade four.

We usually stack the “just finished” books next to the computer. Each time a book is read, (in addition to the initial/grade in the back), I add the title to a list showing books that particular child read in that particular grade. (I usually have a little stack before I do this.) It serves as a helpful portfolio and a guide for the next children.

Since I am talking organization, here are the insides of four storage cabinets in the same room.

Little Kids Books (has doors with childproof lock)
Toys for Girls
My Little Ponies, Polly Pockets, dolls, stuffed animals
(More toys in behind)

I got rid of a lot of our little kid books and bought a big wicker rectangular basket that we keep in the living room for library books. We borrow at least 50 picture/story books every few weeks or so and store them in the basket. Since our home books are generally kept upstairs, they are less likely to get mixed up with the library books that are in the living room.

Toys for Boys (has doors with childproof lock)
Small Army Guys, Big Army Guys, Assorted
(More toys in behind)
(There is an identical cabinet for Lego and K’Nex in B9′s room.)

Little Kids Toy Cabinet (has doors with childproof lock)
Blocks, big Lego, play animals
Medium Lego, Little Tikes Toys, Fisher-Price Toys
(more toys in behind)

Craft Cupboard (has doors with childproof lock)
Balls and marbles, rock collection, tiny toys (pieces), shells, paints
Puzzles, base ten blocks, magic kit
Art bin, math bin, marble game, clay, play-dough, crafts
(more in behind)

Anyway, there are tons of things I am lousy at, but I won’t list them today. Organizing is not one of them. *grin*

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carol | June 23, 2008

The story and family pictures are in a private post. Register in the far right sidebar.

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carol | June 23, 2008

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carol | June 20, 2008

Just now, we, along with Nana and Papa, watched this big fellow for a while in the back field. He kept lying down and then disappeared.

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carol | June 20, 2008

Woman sat dead in front of TV for 42 years
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/2008/05/16/woman-sat-dead-in-front-of-tv-for-42-years-86908-20419070/

Edited on December 16, 2009 to add:

N.C. Woman Lay Dead in Bed for 8 Months Despite Daily Visits
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,580364,00.html?test=latestnews

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carol | June 20, 2008

I gave B9 the go-ahead to begin reading his new grade five books as soon as he finished grade four. Big mistake. He read four books in the past day and a half. I am tempted to hide his new books, but I also want him to read as much as he likes. It is really difficult to supply the demand for literature around here.

Our two local libraries are VERY limited and inter-library loan gets complicated if you get more than a couple books, so that is why I have to buy a lot of books for our homeschool. Fortunately, books make wonderful hand-me-downs.

These are the books B9 just finished. C6 is reading the second book in the series.

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carol | June 20, 2008

Grade 10
Last Of The Mohicans ~ Richard Slotkin
Complete Poems ~ Walt Whitman
Legend Of Sleepy Hollow And Other Stories ~ William Hedges
Picture Of Dorian Gray ~ Oscar Wilde
Heart Of Darkness ~ Joseph Conrad
Red Badge Of Courage ~ Gary Scharnhorst
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era ~ James M. McPherson
The Guns of August ~ Barbara W. Tuchman
Atlas Shrugged ~ Ayn Rand
The Sun Also Rises ~ Ernest Hemingway

Grade 5
Gentle Ben ~ Walt Morey
The Black Pearl ~ Scott O’Dell
The Book of Pirates ~ Howard Pyle
Prince And The Pauper ~ Jerry Griswold
Traitor The Case Of Benedict Arnold ~ Jean Fritz
Yankee Doodle Boy: A Young Soldier’s Adventures in the American Revolution ~ Joseph Plumb Martin
Swallows and Amazons ~ Arthur Ransome
Hero Tales from American History ~ Theodore, IV Roosevelt
Seaman: The Dog Who Explored The West With Lewis And Clark ~ Karwoski Gail
Guns of Thunder ~ Douglas Bond

Grade 2
Math 1-2 Deluxe Ed Ages 6-8
Math 1 On-Track CD-Rom
Math On-Track CD-Rom Gr 2
Addition & Subtraction Book Set W/CD
Einstein Math Tutor #1 DVD

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carol | June 19, 2008

C6 (and L3 for that matter) has learned to skip count with this CD:

One Hundred Sheep: Skip Counting Songs from the Gospels CD

Now, she is (kind of) trying to learn her multiplication facts. She seems to understand the 4 groups, 3 in each group line of thought, but she has a long way to go in memorizing the facts. (She is only six.) We found this website yesterday, and it was the first time she “loved” doing math facts.

http://www.multiplication.com/flashgames/FairyFun.htm

Here is the main site:

http://www.multiplication.com/interactive_games.htm

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carol | June 19, 2008

Books N14 read this past year in grade nine.

Veritas Press Omnibus III: Reformation to the Present
Semester 1 ~ Primary (5 days/week)
The Westminster Confession of Faith (Weeks 1,2)
The Pilgrim’s Progress ~ John Bunyan (Weeks 3-5)
Of Plymouth Plantation ~ William Bradford (Weeks 6-8 )
The Social Contract ~ Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Weeks 9,10)
Foundational American Documents (Weeks 11-13)
Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers (Weeks 14,15)
A Tale of Two Cities ~ Charles Dickens (Weeks 16-18)

Veritas Press Omnibus III: Reformation to the Present
Semester 1 ~ Secondary (3 days/week)
The New Foxe’s Book of Martyrs (Weeks 1,2)
Frankenstein ~ Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (Weeks 3,4)
Pride and Prejudice ~ Jane Austen (Weeks 5-7)
Gulliver’s Travels ~ Jonathan Swift (Weeks 8-10)
Autobiography of B Franklin (Weeks 11-12)
Autobiography of Charles G. Finney (Weeks 13-14)
The Pit and the Pendulum (Week 15)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ~ Mark Twain (Weeks 16-18)

Veritas Press Omnibus III: Reformation to the Present
Semester 2 ~ Primary
Reflections on the Revolution in France ~ Edmund Burke (Weeks 1,2)
Uncle Tom’s Cabin ~ Harriet Beecher Stowe (Weeks 3,4)
L’s Speeches (Week 5)
Slave Narratives (Week 6)
The Communist Manifesto ~ Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (Week 7)
The Treaty of Versailles (Week 8 )
The Great Gatsby ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald (Weeks 9,10)
Mein Kampf ~ Adolf Hitler (Week 11)
Philemon (Week 12)
The Epistles of John (Week 13)
The Epistles of Peter and Jude (Week 14)
Nineteen Eighty-Four ~ George Orwell (Weeks 15,16)

Veritas Press Omnibus III: Reformation to the Present
Semester 2 ~ Secondary
Little Women ~ Louisa May Alcott (Weeks 1,2)
The Killer Angels ~ Michael Shaara (Weeks 3-5)
Christianity and Liberalism ~ J. Gresham Machen (Weeks 6-8 )
The Old Man and the Sea ~ Ernest Hemingway (Weeks 9)
Animal Farm ~ George Orwell (Weeks 10,11)
Death of a Salesman ~ Arthur Miller (Week 12)
Postmodern Times ~ Gene Edward Veith (Weeks 13-15)
How Should We Then Live? ~ Francis Schaeffer (Weeks 15,16)

Other Literature Read in Grade Nine

The Scarlet Pimpernel ~ Baroness Orczy
Les Miserables ~ Victor Hugo
The Count of Monte Cristo ~ Alexandre Dumas
Sackett’s Land ~ Louis L’Amour
The Princess and the Goblin ~ George MacDonald
The Nine Tailors ~ Dorothy L. Sayers
Animal Farm ~ George Orwell
The Bartimaeus Trilogy:
The Amulet of Samarkand ~ Jonathan Stroud
The Golem’s Eye ~ Jonathan Stroud
Ptolemy’s Gate ~ Jonathan Stroud
The Divine Comedy II: Purgatory ~ Dante
The Divine Comedy III: Paradise ~ Dante
Ascent to Love ~ Peter J. Leithart
Why America Doesn’t Work ~ Chuck Colson, Jack Eckerd
To Kill a Mockingbird ~ Harper Lee
Whose Body? ~ Dorothy L. Sayers
Watership Down ~ Richard Adams
The Man Who Was Thursday ~ G.K. Chesterton
The White Company ~ Arthur Conan Doyle
Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained ~ John Milton
Hornblower Beat to Quarters ~ C.S. Forester
The Deerslayer ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Knowing God ~ J.I. Packer
Waiting for His Coming ~ Lewis Neilson
The Sovereignty of God ~ Arthur W. Pink
The Great Divorce ~ C.S. Lewis
The Problem of Pain ~ C.S. Lewis
How Should I Live in this World? ~ R.C. Sproul
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God ~ Jonathan Edwards
Everlasting Man ~ G.K. Chesterton

Exploring Creation with Biology
Scientists of Faith ~ Dan Grave

The Motley Fool Investment Guide for Teens ~ David and Tom Gardner

The Lively Art of Writing ~ Lucile Vaughan Payne
Story ~ Robert McKee

Professor Van Dusen The Thinking Machine ~ Jacques Futrelle

Saxon Advanced Math

French flashcards

Latin flashcards

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carol | June 19, 2008

The Philosopher’s Stone was published in Canada in 2000. The evening before it was released, we were in a Chapters bookstore in a nearby city. We had never heard of Harry Potter. Derek, N (who was 6), and I (wearing B) happened to walk by a table which appeared to hold secret books hidden under a large table cloth. A news reporter and photographer were hanging around and quickly approached us to borrow N for a picture. They explained a bit about the book, and for some reason, I consented. N pretended to peek under the table cloth while the photographer took the picture. N was wearing a Tilley hat. The photo made the front page of the city newspaper – in color. It was a couple more years before N actually read the book. We were soon addicted to the books and the movies, even to the point of waiting in the midnight line for the last two books and the last movie.

Category: Books, Movies, Television, Harry Potter, Homeschooling Controversy | No Comments »
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