I was going to blog earlier about how funny drivers around here are. People were rescheduling gymnastics classes where my daughter attends although I couldn't figure out why. The roads were wet, I grant, and a little snow actually stuck to the yards. Then my husband had to drive an hour away to hook someone up to the computer network that couldn't make it into the office because of snow. (It's end of month and those reports which she was responsible for were due). I guess I'm showing my Utah roots because I don't understand that! I drove an hour following two tire tracks in the snow many times because you didn't call in sick/vacation just because it snowed! You didn't get that much vacation!
However, it is snowing again. Since it's later in the day and more will probably accumulate, I expect the roads might be worse in the morning. Enough so that I could understand that individual not coming to work tomorrow morning. Snow here is awfully wet (translating to ice). I'm still shaking my head over today though.
Evening: My prediction was accurate. The snow is sticking and could very well be making for a miserable commute tomorrow! I discovered I need an ice scraper! My hand was freezing by the time I got my windows cleared---where are my gloves? There are few cars on the road now!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Brrr! It's cold!
This morning, I woke up to a frozen world! Even though we turn down the thermostat at night, the furnace blew bravely most of the night to seemingly no effect. Then I read my sister-in-law's post about snow, snow, and more snow and got almost physically ill. Not really, but a teensy bit jealous anyway. If you have to be cold, make it worth being cold! Not icy wind, not icy snow, but soft stuff you can play in! (We don't get much of the stuff---can you tell?)
I thought I saw someone with snowmobiles turn out on the road ahead of me the other day and wondered at their insanity for buying such equipment here in the land of cold but little snow. Then I recognized the implements. Water toys! Now that makes far more economical sense. (Not in terms of cheap but in terms of amount of use.) Lots of lakes here although I'm still not sure why the owner had them out in January. Hmmmm.
I'm off to fix breakfast and cram in some History before the boys go to taekwondo! Have a great day!
I thought I saw someone with snowmobiles turn out on the road ahead of me the other day and wondered at their insanity for buying such equipment here in the land of cold but little snow. Then I recognized the implements. Water toys! Now that makes far more economical sense. (Not in terms of cheap but in terms of amount of use.) Lots of lakes here although I'm still not sure why the owner had them out in January. Hmmmm.
I'm off to fix breakfast and cram in some History before the boys go to taekwondo! Have a great day!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Defensive about homeschooling?
Interesting discussion here about homeschooling vs. public schooling and women attacking each other's choices! I'm a homeschooling mother---have been since my first 2 completed Kindergarten. I tried to do the double duty---do the school day and then work with them the other half of the day but found they needed outside play time. So much for time to work with them. Sometimes it would be nice if I could send two to school and one home, rotating weeks so I always got one-on-one time with each one.
It has been educational, maybe more for me than them although I think they have flourished. I have more respect for teachers and more gratitude that I don't teach that many at once! And tons of gratitude that I don't have to send my kids to school.
Do I get defensive about what we are doing? You bet I do. I don't have the same measuring stick as the public schoolers, and I can't explain it because it's a touchy-feely thing. Public schoolers would probably think I'm attacking their choice, leaving me wondering if they are secure in their choice. Sometimes wondering if I am attacking their choice because I question how well I'm doing teaching my own kids.
Do I worry how my kids would cope in a public school setting now? Yes. I hope they would do fine, but I know there would be adjustments. There would be subjects that they would definitely be hurting in---subjects we have struggled in almost since day one. On the other hand, they would thoroughly miss the history lessons. And readings. Plenty of time to read, play, act out what they're reading, all without having to make The Grade.
Do I get jealous of moms who can just send their kids off to school and take a day off without feeling g-u-i-l-t-y? A resounding yes! Can I just tell you that there are many times I wish for that!
Do I understand these moms who knock themselves out to be help out at their kids' classes and chaperone field trips, etc.? Yes . . . and no. Yes, because we did it. No, because I never felt a part of it. Maybe I should have tried harder. Either Jim or I always went on the field trips or to the class parties. Jim enjoyed them more than I did. On the other hand, I was always worried about leaving my baby daughter with someone else while I was gone. Maybe that took the edge off for me. Homeschooling didn't force that choice.
Do I get jealous that other families can get all those wonderful programs like band and choir and intramural sports without having to shell out the bucks? Yes. Do I get sick and tired of paying school taxes and then not being able to write off the bit that I spend? Yes!
Do I fear being judged by what my children do or don't do well? Yes. Their strengths are not so obvious, their weaknesses are. How many people really notice when kids know all about the various wars and different time periods in history? How often does it come up? And yet it all helps their understanding of the world we live in today.
Some people might say my children aren't as "mature". I say they are, but they don't let that hamper their ability to enjoy simple, imaginative play. I remember a Cubmaster once saying, "I can't imagine a Bear Cub Scout actually enjoying playing like an astronaut with a mask." I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying, "I'm so sorry!" My boys still do! They haven't lost their childlike love of life and it shows in everything they do!
On the other hand, I don't think anyone would say my kids are social misfits. They're actually fairly popular. I think homeschooling actually lends a mysterious aura to them because they aren't subjected to the daily study and ridicule so prevalent in today's world.
Something that seems to be raising its head more lately . . . or have I just noticed it more . . . is the argument that there are no standards for homeschooling. Interesting isn't it, that no one points out that lack of standards from state to state is also a problem. School to school in the same county is also a problem. As a teen, I jumped states, from one side of the country to the other right before 9th grade, and occasionally had some bumps when I didn't know state history very well. My overall history was fine---dad's strong point, English had no hiccups---mom's strong point, Utah history decently good because of my pioneer heritage but lacking in some specifics because I didn't study Utah history in 7th grade. I studied Maryland. Interestingly, I got no black history in Maryland---maybe because we were in the throes of desegregation. Maybe you don't really want to teach about racial riots when they are everyday occurrences in the hall between classes and in front of the neighboring post office after school. I later found out my county had a place in history because it went through that in the 70s, not 50s.
So . . . now that I have written too much, do I think homeschooling is the way to go? My answer would be a guarded yes and no. I think the ideal would be something in between. Is it hard to homeschool? Yes. Is it time consuming? Yes. Is it expensive? Can be. Is it heart wrenching? Yes. Is it difficult not to be defined by homeschooling? Yes. Do we homeschooling moms care a little too much about public perceptions? Probably. They're our own children, after all. Not somebody elses that we can send home at the end of the day or shuffle off to the next teacher next hour. (Remembering my student teaching, here!) Or blame the student's lack on their parents (as a Kindergarten teacher did to me---on not reading enough to them! Now that's funny!) Now it is anyway. Not then. Do we all need to grab some chocolate and chow? Yes! Together.
It has been educational, maybe more for me than them although I think they have flourished. I have more respect for teachers and more gratitude that I don't teach that many at once! And tons of gratitude that I don't have to send my kids to school.
Do I get defensive about what we are doing? You bet I do. I don't have the same measuring stick as the public schoolers, and I can't explain it because it's a touchy-feely thing. Public schoolers would probably think I'm attacking their choice, leaving me wondering if they are secure in their choice. Sometimes wondering if I am attacking their choice because I question how well I'm doing teaching my own kids.
Do I worry how my kids would cope in a public school setting now? Yes. I hope they would do fine, but I know there would be adjustments. There would be subjects that they would definitely be hurting in---subjects we have struggled in almost since day one. On the other hand, they would thoroughly miss the history lessons. And readings. Plenty of time to read, play, act out what they're reading, all without having to make The Grade.
Do I get jealous of moms who can just send their kids off to school and take a day off without feeling g-u-i-l-t-y? A resounding yes! Can I just tell you that there are many times I wish for that!
Do I understand these moms who knock themselves out to be help out at their kids' classes and chaperone field trips, etc.? Yes . . . and no. Yes, because we did it. No, because I never felt a part of it. Maybe I should have tried harder. Either Jim or I always went on the field trips or to the class parties. Jim enjoyed them more than I did. On the other hand, I was always worried about leaving my baby daughter with someone else while I was gone. Maybe that took the edge off for me. Homeschooling didn't force that choice.
Do I get jealous that other families can get all those wonderful programs like band and choir and intramural sports without having to shell out the bucks? Yes. Do I get sick and tired of paying school taxes and then not being able to write off the bit that I spend? Yes!
Do I fear being judged by what my children do or don't do well? Yes. Their strengths are not so obvious, their weaknesses are. How many people really notice when kids know all about the various wars and different time periods in history? How often does it come up? And yet it all helps their understanding of the world we live in today.
Some people might say my children aren't as "mature". I say they are, but they don't let that hamper their ability to enjoy simple, imaginative play. I remember a Cubmaster once saying, "I can't imagine a Bear Cub Scout actually enjoying playing like an astronaut with a mask." I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying, "I'm so sorry!" My boys still do! They haven't lost their childlike love of life and it shows in everything they do!
On the other hand, I don't think anyone would say my kids are social misfits. They're actually fairly popular. I think homeschooling actually lends a mysterious aura to them because they aren't subjected to the daily study and ridicule so prevalent in today's world.
Something that seems to be raising its head more lately . . . or have I just noticed it more . . . is the argument that there are no standards for homeschooling. Interesting isn't it, that no one points out that lack of standards from state to state is also a problem. School to school in the same county is also a problem. As a teen, I jumped states, from one side of the country to the other right before 9th grade, and occasionally had some bumps when I didn't know state history very well. My overall history was fine---dad's strong point, English had no hiccups---mom's strong point, Utah history decently good because of my pioneer heritage but lacking in some specifics because I didn't study Utah history in 7th grade. I studied Maryland. Interestingly, I got no black history in Maryland---maybe because we were in the throes of desegregation. Maybe you don't really want to teach about racial riots when they are everyday occurrences in the hall between classes and in front of the neighboring post office after school. I later found out my county had a place in history because it went through that in the 70s, not 50s.
So . . . now that I have written too much, do I think homeschooling is the way to go? My answer would be a guarded yes and no. I think the ideal would be something in between. Is it hard to homeschool? Yes. Is it time consuming? Yes. Is it expensive? Can be. Is it heart wrenching? Yes. Is it difficult not to be defined by homeschooling? Yes. Do we homeschooling moms care a little too much about public perceptions? Probably. They're our own children, after all. Not somebody elses that we can send home at the end of the day or shuffle off to the next teacher next hour. (Remembering my student teaching, here!) Or blame the student's lack on their parents (as a Kindergarten teacher did to me---on not reading enough to them! Now that's funny!) Now it is anyway. Not then. Do we all need to grab some chocolate and chow? Yes! Together.
Monday, January 7, 2008
New year
Here we are, 7 days into the new year, and I haven't posted since mid-December! We have had guests since before Christmas and loving it! My parents arrived in time for my daughter's birthday and Christmas and then my in-laws came in time for her baptism. (She is 8 years old.) It makes me appreciate the familial support that we often take for granted.
Tonight made me appreciate calm weather again. We had a series of 4 severe storms roll through in about 3 hours with tornado warnings. Some touchdowns too, but none around us! Friends were on the road trying to get home to their children and dodging fallen trees and fire crews all over! They arrived safely though as another storm rolled through. They lost power due to a touchdown, but that's all. Makes one appreciate all the Lord's tender mercies!
As far as weather goes, it has been an odd year. A week ago I hung out our laundry because there was a reasonable wind blowing, and I brought in frozen clothing that afternoon. I literally had to wrench some of the clothes off the line because it had frozen solidly around the rope! Then today we were in the 70s with tornadoes threatening! We continue to be protected, for which I am grateful.
Tonight made me appreciate calm weather again. We had a series of 4 severe storms roll through in about 3 hours with tornado warnings. Some touchdowns too, but none around us! Friends were on the road trying to get home to their children and dodging fallen trees and fire crews all over! They arrived safely though as another storm rolled through. They lost power due to a touchdown, but that's all. Makes one appreciate all the Lord's tender mercies!
As far as weather goes, it has been an odd year. A week ago I hung out our laundry because there was a reasonable wind blowing, and I brought in frozen clothing that afternoon. I literally had to wrench some of the clothes off the line because it had frozen solidly around the rope! Then today we were in the 70s with tornadoes threatening! We continue to be protected, for which I am grateful.
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