Happy Halloween!!!

What do you get when you combine Boba Fet, Super Girl, a Black Cat, and a Lady Bug?

A REALLY fun Halloween! 

Last year, we were all in different stages of h1n1 on Halloween, and Megan had been released from the hospital the day before, and I found out I was pregnant.  So, only Matt, RJ and Emily went last year and they were only out for about an hour and a half.  Needless to say, this year was WAY better!!!

Homeschool Art Project: Fingerpainting Jack O' Lanterns

The cool slippery paint smooshing through their fingers...

What kid wouldn't love fingerpainting?  One of my favorite memories from my childhood is fingerpainting jack 'o lanterns, so I passed on that fun to my kids today.  When I told them they could paint with their fingers, they looked at me like I was going crazy.  Then they really got into it! 

Check out the fun!

I HATE Forwards, Chain Mail and Phishing Email!

It seems like every single time I open my Inbox there is some kind of mindless, annoying email waiting to be deleted. I don't understand how a person has the time to read all these emails and then forward them to every single person they've ever met, but they don't have time to sit down and write and actual, personal note to me. Do I forward? Sure, I forward...Once in a blue moon when I find something to be VERY funny or interesting, and even then its not to every single person I've ever met.

It's gotten really bad on Facebook too:  the rumors just spread like wildfire.  But, if its on Facebook again and again and again, it must be true.  Right?

It only takes about 90 seconds to verify the information before passing it on.  Snopes.com is a great website for this!

Forward this message to 15 people within 60 seconds and you'll have a pleasant surprise at 2:38 tomorrow afternoon. What if the recipient has dial-up internet and it takes more than 60 seconds for the stupid email to load? Aren't you just cursing your friends at that point? What if they're a slow reader? What if, at the precise second the message loaded the dog throws up and the cat gets out and the kid spills glue everywhere? Do you take care of the email first to get your prize?

If you believe in God, you'd better forward this email to everyone you know. I believe in God. I don't believe that he really wants me sending chain emails to everyone. How about doing actual good deeds and sharing the Word with people in person?

Poor Sally Sue is living in Timbuktu. She has a terrible illness that nobody has ever heard of. Please reply with your name, social security number, bank account number, etc....and make a donation to help little Sally Sue. Seriously? Why would anyone send their personal information to anyone via email? STUPID!

Mr. Smith, a wealthy man who lives in Belgium just died and wants to give you his money. Please reply with your name, social security number, bank account number, etc...and we'll make sure you get your share. Again...Seriously? Why would anyone send their personal information to anyone via email? STUPID!

Microsoft has a new email tracking program. You will earn alot of money when you send this to everyone you know. And you know this is true, since someone knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone else who made $20,000 from doing this.

Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: fwd: FWD: Fwd: PPPPLLLLEEEEAAAASSSSEEE RRRREEEEAAAADDD!!!! With well over 100 email adresses to scroll through before the ever-so-important message even begins. You're such a great friend for violating everyone else's privacy with your stupid forwarded messages! Ever hear of BCC? Use it!

You want to know the truth?

How about tips on doing it right?


STOP THE INSANITY!

More About Socialization

I truly feel that my kids get along better now more than ever.  They behave age appropriately in most situations and they're really enjoying having school tailored to them and our family!

This is also from Simple Homeschool :

Socialization: The “S” Word

by Helena on October 22, 2010

in inspiration

The following is a guest post written by Helena of Loving to Learn.

One of the things I panicked about when we started homeschooling was this loaded word:
Socialization.
I’d heard that homeschooled kids didn’t get enough of it, didn’t know how to do it, were deprived of it, couldn’t assimilate back into school because of a lack of it, and suffered in general because of not doing it properly. It sounded drastic, dreadful, dire.
Our first week of homeschool (with just my daughter at the time) saw me enrolling my girl in Scouts and searching frantically for a homeschooling playgroup. I knew I wanted and needed to homeschool my daughter, but I couldn’t figure out how we wouldn’t be lonely. It was quite terrifying, this concept of isolation I had―my girl stuck in a friendless world with just me for company.
Well, we got lucky. We found a homeschooling group in the second week. The kids (and parents too!) were lovely people―intelligent, thoughtful, considerate, amusing, independent, engaging, articulate, lively, unique people. How fantastic. (And kind of unexpected―weren’t they all supposed to stare at the ground and mumble?)

Photo by Peter & Joyce Grace

At first I would ask these experienced homeschoolers how they dealt with the S-word―and they’d say, “Truly, it’s nothing. It’s a non-issue. You’ll see.”
We began to meet homeschooling families often–we were invited over for tea, to get to know each other better. They introduced us to other people who introduced us to more people. We were welcomed with kindness and generosity.
When my son joined our homeschool, a term later, the embrace was just as warm. The first family of homeschoolers we ever met are now our great friends. The second family, great friends. Family after family, awesome kid after awesome kid―friends. How lucky we are! (And blessed, which I’ve said before and won’t stop saying until someone comes and hits me on the head with a thesaurus).
The kids are busy outside Homeschool Land as well. They see their old school friends often. They have discovered the activities they love, and let go of those they don’t.
My daughter does art class, because she adores art. My son plays in a band and jazz combo, because he loves music. The kids take tennis lessons, because the teacher is fun and friends come too. Once upon a time I would have said, “Here, look! Good, solid examples of socialization!”

Photo by Jinx!

Now I think, “Wow. I love how my kids are having fun.”
And you can be sure the kids aren’t gazing around with satisfaction and saying, “Oh look! We’re socializing!”
To them, they are just playing, and being, and being true to themselves.
I’ve noticed something else as well, something important.
Sometimes we have become too busy.
Sometimes we feel full of seeing people, and actually want to stay home―hang out, just family, together.
We have rainchecked invitations, and not gone on some excursions. We have sometimes chosen each other’s company first, and not seen other people for days.
We love those days at home. We love having hours to finish a project. The kids are best friends and truly almost never argue. We have fun together. We delight in each other. We talk. Just us. It gives us serenity. Those days feel like a gift.
I have seen my children become social, empowered, independent people, outside of the schoolyard. I have seen them like themselves more and more, every day that passes. That is wonderful.
We socialize without caring we’re socializing. In fact, socialization is a complete non-issue, just as my friends told me it was over a year ago.
I actually think socialization (or lack thereof―and all the stigmas and judgements attached) is the greatest fallacy about homeschooling there is. When people use that word to argue against homeschooling now, I think, “Ah, but you don’t know what I know. You haven’t seen what I’ve seen. How I wish you had.”
How satisfying it is, to figure this out. And how lovely, to find we aren’t lonely at all.

Answering the Questions about Socialization

This article is from Simple Homeschool:

Homeschooling and Socialization: How to Answer the Socialization Question

by Jena on September 1, 2010

Written by contributor Jena Borah of Yarns of the Heart
We’ve all been there.
A well-meaning friend, relative or neighbor nods, smiles–then here it comes: “Homeschooling sounds great, but what about socialization?”
In my article, The Socialization Question, I dive deeply into the subject, but for now, I want to give you some  practical advice on how I’ve learned to answer the inevitable questions.

1. Find the common ground.

“I’m concerned about it too because socialization is teaching kids how to function well in society.”

2. List the characteristics of a well-socialized person.

“I want my kids to be kind and respectful, hard working, confident, self-motivated, and competent to meet any challenge that comes their way.”

3. Suggest there is more than one way to socialize a child.

“I don’t think spending all day with 30 other kids and one adult is necessarily the best way to accomplish those goals.”

4. Offer examples of how your child is being positively socialized.

“My child enjoys talking to people of all ages.” Classrooms are age-segregated.
“They are learning how to deal with conflict because I am always right there, helping them work through things. A teacher is over-extended and can’t see everything that goes on.”
“My kids are independent thinkers and problem-solvers. They don’t need an adult to tell them how to do everything.”
Classrooms are set up to keep kids quiet, in place, and dependant on the teacher. This one hit home when one of my children was helping life-long public schoolers paint a room. The other kids (ages 15-17) couldn’t spread plastic sheeting without getting detailed instructions from the teacher.
“They are learning to stand up for themselves and not be afraid to express their opinions.” Have an example of something that happened recently.
“They have friends from various backgrounds and are learning how to value those differences.” Mention relationships in the neighborhood, at church, clubs, park district classes, sports teams, etc.

5. The most important thing to say:

“I think the foundation of a well socialized person is a positive self-image. Without that, it is nearly impossible to value others or learn from them. Keeping my kids out of the classroom and all the cruelty dished out by other kids can only help them develop a solid self-esteem.” Few people can argue with this.
I also like to say, “Instead of learning life from other eight-year-olds, my child has an attentive adult (me) available to answer questions and offer feedback 24/7–sort of like a live-in Life Coach.”
What will your friend say to all this?
Let’s hope she has a new appreciation for you and your homeschooling journey.  If not, that’s OK. You’ve stated your case calmly and intelligently, and here’s your chance to model good socialization yourself.

Emily and Megan Art

The 'Middles' were hanging out with Grandma last week while Matt was working and I took RJ to soccer and Scouts last week.  She ended up taking them out for dinner.  Here's some of the artwork that they brought home!

Emily's page

I'm amazed at how Megan's (2 1/2 yrs) coloring is already changing from scribbling to focusing on staying in the lines all on her own, with no prompting from us!

Homeschool Art Project: Scarecrow Puppets

On Wednesday mornings, I have a Bible study that I go to, so Matt does some art or other fun enrichment type activity with the kids.  It's really great for everyone because I get a break and get to have some time with other adults; he gets to be involved with the school process; RJ and Emily get a break from the same ol' routine; and Megan gets to participate more fully with those sessions. 

A few weeks ago, we made a scarecrow for our yard at the Rockford Harvest Festival, so this was a really neat tie-in for them to go along with that.  Here are the scarecrow puppets!

How We're Becoming More Financially Fit and Environmentally Aware

It happened almost by accident a few years ago, right after my Megan was born. I used to say that I cared about the earth. I recycled pop cans (10¢ per can is very motivating) , made my deposit in the Paper Gator at church, didn't litter. I KNEW I wasn't frugal. I also KNEW that my wonderful husband and I needed to change our spending habits if we were ever going to be able to survive on one income.

We started making some small changes, but I didn't really know what to do that would have the most impact on our budget.  Then I read 2 books about frugality: Miserly Moms, which is pretty good; and The Complete Tightwad Gazette, which is a little old (pretty much ignore anything she says about computers, the rest is like gold), but VERY good. That's when I started to realize how I wasteful I really was. I realized that anything that you use only once - dryer sheets, napkins, paper plates and cups, plastic silverware, paper towels, diapers, wipes, etc. - and throw away is like throwing away money. It is also SO bad for the environment. These things are taking up space in landfills and they take so many natural resources to produce:

• The average family washes about 8 loads of laundry per week. Dryer sheets cost $3 per box of 80, average. Yeah, that's only $14 per year, but chances are, you'll be doing laundry for the better part of at least 50 years. That's $700 that you're throwing away in your adult lifetime!
• The average family uses about 40 paper napkins per week. Napkins cost $3 per pack of 120, average. Yeah, that's only $50 per year, but chances are, you'll be eating for the better part of at least 50 years. That's $2,500 that you're throwing away in your adult lifetime!
• The average baby uses about 6,000 disposable diapers from birth to age 3. Disposables cost 32¢ per diaper, average. That's $1,920 in diapers for 1 kid! You can get into cloth diapers and wipes for $300, for the basics, to $800, for all the cutsies and extras. I spent $500 to get my baby into cloth and my toddler into trainers.

It is cheaper and healthier to make almost any convenience food that you can find:

• Love those baby-cut carrots and other pre-cut veggies and fruits? They cost 1.5 to 2 times as much (or more!) than if you buy them and cut them yourself!
• Lunchable can be as cheap as $2. You can make your own for less than half the cost. You can also control the quality and nutrition when you make your own.
• Baby food is another convenience food trap. You think that you NEED it to feed your baby. Doesn't it make you a little nervous that baby food has a 2 year shelf life?
• What about all the extra packaging that you are paying for and using when you buy those 100 calorie packs? Pre-made baby bottles? Individual pudding, applesauce and jello? Water bottles? Where does that go?
• Dinner-in-a-box meals are typically very high in sodium and preservatives.  Plus they usually need some tweaking so they don't taste like cardboard anyways.
• Like boxed dessert mixes?  You only have to put an average of 2 more ingredients in when you're baking from scratch than when you bake from the box.  Baking from scratch tastes so much better!

The thing we all need to realize is what and where 'away' is. When we throw stuff 'away' it doesn't just disappear. It goes to the landfills, and .those landfills are getting full. I watched the Bonnie Hunt Show this week with 2 guys who made a raft from 15,000 plastic water bottles and sailed from California to Hawaii to raise awareness about the harm plastic is causing in our environment. Check out this website and see what you can do to reduce or eliminate the amount of plastics YOU use.

"The earth is our ship, an ark for everything that lives. It is the only vessel available to carry humans through the ocean of space, and it is rapidly becoming unseaworthy." ~ Serve God, Save the Planet, J. Matthew Sleeth, MD

Homeschool Art Project: Foliage Friends

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not very creative.  I can follow directions, but I don't do well when it comes to coming up with new project ideas.  This website has tons of great ideas for seasons and holidays. 

This is our first art project! We went outside and collected leaves.  The next day, we glued them to paper and drew pictures that incorporated the leaves. 

Three kids, hard at work!

My demo piece.

 

Finished masterpieces!