Taking Back America

These are great short videos done by a motivational speaker named Bob Bosso playing Thomas Paine.  I thought homeschool students would enjoy them and create some great conversation topics and learning opportunities.

Some possibilities:

• American Revolution
• Declaration of Independence
• Thomas Paine
• Common Sense
• America today

Here is the link to more of his Thomas Paine videos at Fun Bob Bosso.

“Stop Cleaning the Kitchen and Read a Book”

This is a really great little article.  A while back I posted a resource of magazines that might be useful to you in your homeschooling journey.

This article was in The Classical Teacher, printed by Memoria Press.  It’s a free publication.

Articles From The Classical Teacher

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Stop cleaning the kitchen and read a book
For homeschool mothers, educating themselves is a revolutionary act.

By Susan Wise Bauer

As homeschoolers, we rely too much on experts; this is true not just for homeschoolers, but for the American culture at large. We rely on experts to teach us what to do, how to do it, and sometimes even how to think. In many cases, there is a good reason to rely on expert advice. In part, we tend to listen to experts because in the twenty-fi rst century there is so much information available. We really do need someone to winnow it down for us; otherwise we’d never be able to get through all
of the data with which we are confronted. But there is a deeper reason, which has to do with the almost pathological need we have for reassurance, for confi rmation, and for validation. In the homeschool community, I find this to be particularly acute.

I think many of us, in large part, don’t trust our own ability to think through diffi cult issues, to understand hard ideas, and to make up our own minds. There are (at least) two reasons for this. The fi rst is that a large proportion of American adults feel undereducated. They didn’t graduate from high school with a good grasp of logic, a sense of the flow of history, and a basic understanding of the great ideas. In fact, most of us don’t graduate from college with that. We graduate feeling like we got bits and pieces that were never really linked together into a coherent whole.

But there is a deeper reason for our reliance on experts. We are a “classroom” society. Our culture tells us that in order to know something, in order to be an expert, in order to learn something, we have to be taught. Our model for modern education is simple: if we want to learn something, we take a class, or go to a seminar, or listen to a lecture. Read more

Teaching the Elderly

I teach a Bible Class at a local Nursing Home. When I started I had the erroneous idea that I’d have no problems preparing lessons for the elderly. So what could be so difficult about it? I am an experienced teacher. I wanted my lesson to be exciting, so I prepared a demonstration like I do with any lesson. Where was my brain–some cannot see well, most do not hear well, and few were able to understand what I was doing. UUM! Back to the drawing board again and again and again. I am still tweaking my lessons because my audience keeps changing and one new person changes the whole atmosphere of the group.

Often someone with Alzheimer’s walks  through –some fall asleep–some don’t seem to be aware of what is  happening–many look forward to it. Yes, it is a very different teaching experience. But one that is so rewarding because the beautiful people in my class are always glad to see me.

My lessons at this time are basically one to two Bible verses printed on colorful  paper in 24 pt font—-I open and close with a prayer–read the verse(s) discuss  what I think it means–I use verses that remind them that God is in control and  that He loves them. I remind them that we are all still alive because God has  something for us to do. When we have completed our jobs God will take us home to  Glory– I admit that I am not ready to go today but cringe at the thought of  living hundreds of years like some in the old Testament did.

A recent lesson was Romans 14:19

“Let Us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.”

I printed the verse on cardstock, cut the paper and bent part of it so that the verse would stand on a table. I added a few flowers for color and just for fun.

I teach about 15  minutes–we are in the dining room and they have been served coffee, juice and  cookies. I come early and help pass out refreshments. After my lesson I sit and chat with the group. Death is part of their lives and we chat  about it very casually. I am 67 and a spring chicken to my friends in the  nursing home. But we relate– we have all lived long enough to experience  hardships–some more than others. We discuss that–Our chats are always enveloped with fun and laughter. We hold firmly to God’s Word and believe every word.

I love Job–  There is a chapter where God is asking Job if he can make the Sun rise in the  morning—the bottom line is that He is the potter and we are the clay.

More Later, Janice

Joining a New Homeschool Group

Article borrowed from 2006 HEM magazine

It’s a new homeschool park day and my kids–all four of them–are clinging to me. It’s a big park with lots of kids, lots of kids they don’t know. I don’t know many of the mothers, either, and they’re all gabbing away with the people they do know well.

My oldest son is nine and we’ve been attending homeschool functions since he was three. For years, I’ve heard the complaints after a homeschooler’s less-than-successful introduction to a new group: “I went to this park day but never really felt comfortable.” “It seemed like everyone already knew each other.” “No one made me feel welcome.” At this park day, I’m getting a bit of that feeling myself.

I’ll admit I’m a recovering shy person. Groups of people sitting together and laughing dredge up my insecurities, probably stemming from my own school years. Like so many homeschoolers, I’m intellectually independent, and I’m aware that one of the reasons I haven’t done all that well in group situations over the years is because I don’t necessarily like being a part of a group. When I was a child and a teenager and “fitting in” often meant acting in a way I considered, well, stupid, my group-aversion was even more intense. Despite, or maybe because of, my public school education, I was lousy at socialization.

But as a grown-up, I’ve enjoyed finding my niche in the workplace and in various organized groups, and I’ve had no trouble making friends and thriving among many different kinds of people. With homeschooling, as with new motherhood, I think having a group can make or break your experience. The breadth of ideas that others bring to homeschool groups invariably inspires me with my own children.

I’ve found, though, that whether or not I’m going to fit in with a homeschool group is largely in my hands.

About a year ago, within days of moving to Los Angeles, I joined the closest homeschool support group. My littlest one was nine days old, and I was in that new-mother fog, but my other children were sick of staying in the house. As I was caring for a newborn, I was also dealing with unhappy older children who missed their old friends and desperately wanted new ones.

So we started going to the weekly park day.

Admittedly, it was easier for me to make friends than it was for my children. I had a newborn in my sling–and that’s a definite conversation starter, especially with homeschooling mothers who were eager to share their own birth and breastfeeding experiences.

For the first few weeks, the two older children played with each other. The two-year-old stayed with the baby and me most of the time. But soon, all three of them were mixing it up with the other children and looking forward to Mondays.

Looking back, I realize that there are certain things I’ve done that have helped my children and me feel a part of new groups more easily. And, so, with great fanfare, I pass on my “Rules for Enjoying Park Day.”

My rules are probably remedial instructions; a naturally gregarious person might not need to follow them. But for those of us who are a little more reserved, I consider them crucial for “breaking in” to a new group. Here are the rules:

Come every week.

The most cliquish group of people won’t be able to ignore you if you’re there all the time. After more than a year of regular attendance, I’m not good friends with everyone, but I have plenty of good friends. Plus, there’s something comforting about the routine of knowing it’s Monday, and we’re going to park day. Park day is sacred on our schedule. The rest of the week, we’re pretty flexible. Park day we can’t miss.

We go if it looks overcast or if it’s sprinkling or if it’s windy or if it’s hot. (We don’t go if the rain is pouring down.) We go if I have a lot of work to do, or if we’ve had “one of those mornings.” Sometimes we’re late, but we always go. There’s a reason for that.

I used to attend a park day in our previous city, but we started missing one here and there and then three or four in a row and, then, before we knew it, we really weren’t regulars anymore. The group had evolved in a way we didn’t recognize and weren’t particularly fond of. If we had continued going regularly, we might have been more comfortable with the changes. Or, we might’ve abandoned the group sooner, recognizing a poor fit.

My kids were younger then, and it was more my own scheduling conflicts that kept us from park day. Now, I can’t imagine scheduling anything during park day time.

When you’re new, come early, before the children have established their games.

It’s easier for children to make friends with new kids when they don’t have a choice of playing with anyone else. It also makes it easier on the mom, as it’s as hard to approach a whole group of adults who are talking with each other, as it is to jump in on some new kids game. The first couple of times we came, we did have to walk up to a big group of people who were already meeting. I did OK, but my kids struggled a bit because of it. The third time we came we were the first ones there, and I would mark that as the beginning of our acceptance into the group.

Participate in as many group activities as possible.

There’s nothing like showing that you’re a committed, if new, member of a group than to participate in the other activities. We strive to attend most side events. I’m not talking about every field trip, but things like recitals, science fairs and other themed events. We’re not necessarily participating, but we usually come to show support for the children who are. I also organize field trips myself–although less often now than when I had fewer children.

When there’s a group effort to help someone out, I’m one of the first in line. Not only because it’s the right thing to do, but it also establishes my family as part of the community. Early on, I could’ve said, “I barely know this woman” when there was a request to bring meals to a mother with a new baby. Which was true. I definitely know the needs of a new mother, though, and helping one out just felt right. That first new mother is one of my family’s closest friends at the park.

I also became somewhat active on the local homeschooling email lists. I tend to read more than I post, but I post often enough that I have somewhat of a presence. I’m not exclusively a lurker, and I think it helps to have your name familiar to all, especially those who are more peripheral park day attendees.

Don’t let the fact that the group doesn’t fit perfectly dissuade you.

Where I live in Southern California, there’s such a high concentration of people that many people get in the bad habit of needing to associate only with people who are making this-or-that specific choice. I’ve seen women refuse to advance friendships over different diapering choices. That’s so limiting. Yes, it’s nice to find like-minded people, but it ultimately expands your mind more to learn from many different kinds. The worst friendship break-ups I’ve witnessed involved people who bonded intensely and quickly over relatively shallow issues. As their children grew, equally shallow issues blew up their friendships.

I’m not saying homeschoolers should befriend anyone and everyone who homeschools. I do think my associations with people who are different from me have, while occasionally making life uncomfortable, added enjoyment to my life and helped solidify my own values.

That’s it. Those are my rules. I know some people might balk at the tenaciousness required or be uncomfortable with the responsibility placed on the new person joining the group. My rules take into account what is realistic to expect of people. Maybe people should be welcoming to newcomers, but the reality is they’re not always that focused on them or they’re not as welcoming as the newcomer wants or their version of welcoming is different from the newcomer’s.

I try to join a new group looking for the good I can find in it. If a group really is nasty and cliquish at its core, I don’t think my rules would work. So far, when I’ve made the effort, my four-point plan for becoming a member of a new homeschool group has worked 100 percent of the time.

© 2006, Kathleen McKernan

Million, Billion, Trillion…

My husband works with numbers a lot in his line of business and has demonstrated for me many times the difference between a million, a billion, and a trillion with the following example which I find fascinating.  With these types of numbers flying all over the news lately I thought it would be a good resource to put these numbers in a way you can wrap your mind around.

Million, Billion, Trillion

1,000,000 seconds
11.57 days
00.31 years

1,000,000,000 seconds
11,474.07 days
31.71 years

1,000,000,000,000 seconds
11,574,074.07 days
31,709.79 years

Take a moment to consider the difference between a billion seconds and a trillion seconds.  31 years versus 31 THOUSAND years.

He has recently found the following example on this site that will give your mind a great visual:

What does one TRILLION dollars look like?

All this talk about “stimulus packages” and “bailouts”…

A billion dollars…

A hundred billion dollars…

Eight hundred billion dollars…

One TRILLION dollars…

What does that look like? I mean, these various numbers are tossed around like so many doggie treats, so I thought I’d take Google Sketchup out for a test drive and try to get a sense of what exactly a trillion dollars looks like.

We’ll start with a $100 dollar bill. Currently the largest U.S. denomination in general circulation. Most everyone has seen them, slighty fewer have owned them. Guaranteed to make friends wherever they go.

A packet of one hundred $100 bills is less than 1/2″ thick and contains $10,000. Fits in your pocket easily and is more than enough for week or two of shamefully decadent fun.

Believe it or not, this next little pile is $1 million dollars (100 packets of $10,000). You could stuff that into a grocery bag and walk around with it.

While a measly $1 million looked a little unimpressive, $100 million is a little more respectable. It fits neatly on a standard pallet…

And $1 BILLION dollars… now we’re really getting somewhere…

Next we’ll look at ONE TRILLION dollars. This is that number we’ve been hearing so much about. What is a trillion dollars? Well, it’s a million million. It’s a thousand billion. It’s a one followed by 12 zeros.

You ready for this?

It’s pretty surprising.

Go ahead…

Scroll down…

Ladies and gentlemen… I give you $1 trillion dollars…

Notice those pallets are double stacked.
…and remember those are $100 bills. (also notice how small that man has become)

So the next time you hear someone toss around the phrase “trillion dollars”… that’s what they’re talking about.

SOURCE

Happy St. Patricks Day

Did you know that in Irish tradition the Shamrock or Three Leaf Clover represents the Holy Trinity: one leaf for the Father, one leaf for the Son and one for the Holy Spirit.  When a Shamrock is found with a fourth leaf , it represents God’s Grace!

“You tell us that there are three gods and yet one,” the puzzled Irish said when St. Patrick was preaching the gospel to them in the 5th century AD. “How can that be?” The saint bent down and plucked a shamrock. “Do you not see,” he said, “how in this wildflower three leaves are united on one stalk, and will you not then believe that there are indeed three persons and yet one God?”

Four Leaf Clover Poem

I know a place where the sun is like gold,
And the cherry blooms burst with snow,
And down underneath is the loveliest nook,
Where the four-leaf clovers grow.

One leaf is for HOPE, and one is for FAITH,
And one is for LOVE, you know,
And GOD put another in for LUCK –
If you search, you will find where they grow.

But you must have HOPE, and you must have FAITH,
You must LOVE and be strong — and so –
If you work, if you wait, you will find the place
Where the four-leaf clovers grow.

~Ella Higginson

Harmonious Earth

“…And the water below gives a gift to the sky
And the clouds give back every time they cry
And make the grass grow green beneath my toes…”

These are a few lines from the lyrics of a Jack Johnson song called “Talk of the Town”.  You might recognize it from the movie Curious George.  This makes me think of the wonders of God’s creation and how beautifully and harmoniously it all works together.  Have a great day!

Christmas Spending