Wish List Item #12

12. If my kid's only six and you ask me with a straight face how I can possibly teach him what he'd learn in school, please understand that you're calling me an idiot. Don't act shocked if I decide to respond in kind.

I was sitting at East End Arts Council this afternoon waiting for my oldest daughter to finish her Art class. My 4yo was sitting with me reading a library book...yes, actually reading a book. An early reader, but still reading. As people were coming and going they were quite amazed, which was a little astonishing to me. And while I would love to take credit for having produced such an "advanced" child, I really had little to do with her progress. Sure, we talk about letter sounds, and I read to the kids, but she did most of the work all on her own.

Now, I also have a 6.5yo who is not reading, and shows very little interest. He has recently been inspired by the See More Readers written by Seymour Simon, but even that is sporadic at best. However, this child retains nearly everything that is read to him, and has a wide knowledge base. He remembers King Sargon from his sister's Story of the World lessons when he was only 4! And has since found considerable commonality between Sargon and Moses...who would have thought?

Homeschooling allows us the ability to let our kids be kids in their own time and in their own way. Oh how I wish my two little ones were on the same page and I could teach them both the same lessons at the same time, but that just isn't so. They learn completely differently, and I am blessed to have the freedom to nurture each of them, right where they are.

Horse Crazy

I grew up in the middle of Lancaster County amid vast expanses of farmland. My family had the same dairy farm for dozens of generations until me. I was an active member of FFA and have done my share of cow milking... and tipping but that is another story.

I have been extremely blessed by my friend Barbara. Not only is she a wonderful friend to me, she is a horse person and has taught my children a love and respect for horses that I am not sure i could have imparted in them. I also have in-laws that are horse people, and are wonderfully encouraging to the children.

So now my daughter is at the point in her life where she wants a horse of her own. Partial lease of someone else's horse is no longer acceptable to her. I, of course, preached the virtues of being grateful for what you have, but to little avail. She is not ready for a horse, I am not ready for a horse, we do not need a horse.

Should you pass me in the store, or call to say hello, please take a mintue to tell me that we do not need a horse! Remind me that I have 3 children, 2 fish, a tortoise and a really big dog...all of which poop and need to be fed. Remind me that my darling husband, who does not really want me working at all, has asked me to work another day during the busy season. Remind me that we live on an island full of beaches and beach activities, and that I may like to visit them once in awhile. Remind me that I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, look forward to taking a decadently long vacation to Florida in the fall... where I spend 2 weeks taking care of 3 kids, 4 dogs, 8 horses and my husband's 95 year old Grandpa.... Oh, nevermind.

MLM Rant

I am not opposed to people making money off a new product. The multi-level-marketing craze is making a comeback of Amway proportion. And I admit, I have a few obsessions myself. However, it makes no sense to me to pay someone for the privilege of selling their product for them!

There are 2 products I love and use, Sensaria Skin Care and Longaberger baskets. I certainly use both of these products enough to reap benefits from becomming a distributor. However, both companies charge you an annual fee to remain as a consultant! This is ludicrous to me.

I have a new addiction, Monavie. I have been listening to the acai berry claims for years. There have been write ups in the catalogs I recieve from our natural food buying club. Oprah uses Monavie, so does Matt Lauer and a host of other celebrities. I have seen the brochures in doctor's offices, nail salons and bookstores. A few months ago the girl with whom I share an office began taking it and says it has "cured" her arthritis. Then, a few weeks ago, my friend Bridgett started taking it. She is someone I know well, someone I speak to daily, several times in fact. She sang it's praises and so I decided it was time to jump on board.

Unfortunately, I had already researched the company, and am pretty disgusted with their distribution plan. It it set up like a true pyramid scheme and that disturbs me. However, the product is AMAZING. It is a blend of 19 fruits from all over the globe plus glucosamine. I have more energy, I am not snacking and I am much more active. None of my joints hurt, I have no soreness in my knees and ankles after walking and I just generally feel better. Kenny has been taking it too, and he has reluctantly admitted that he feels better also. My mother and her husband have started taking it in addition to my sister and her husband. It's a really great product.

So, here is my concession. I have not signed on as a distributor, but Bridgett has. The cheapest way to get the product is to order 12 cases at a time; 4 bottles to a case, 1 bottle lasts 2 people a week. If you would like to try the product, but don't want to get sucked in to MLM debacle, please let me know. As long as we can get 12 cases you will pay the same price we pay, NO MARKUP!!!! For me, the most unethical part of the whole pyramid scheme is making money off of your friends and family. This is why, by the way, my Tastefully Simple business has not made me independently wealthy!

I am not a salesperson by nature, but I do love to share; abundancy and generosity are wonderful principles, and if you put them into practice in your life the blessings rain down.

Wish List Item #11

11. Please stop questioning my competency and demanding to see my credentials. I didn't have to complete a course in catering to successfully cook dinner for my family; I don't need a degree in teaching to educate my children. If spending at least twelve years in the kind of chew-it-up-and-spit-it-out educational facility we call public school left me with so little information in my memory banks that I can't teach the basics of an elementary education to my nearest and dearest, maybe there's a reason I'm so reluctant to send my child to school.

It amazes me how irritated some people get when they learn that you homeschool. I actually had someone tell me that requiring homeschool parents to have a teaching degree would be a comfort to her. Are you kidding me? How are my educational choices of any consequence to a total stranger? Of course I asked her! She said she didn't want her life being governed by a "bunch of people who never went to school and only had their moms to teach them." Really? Are you freaking kidding me? Newsflash folks, your life already is governed by a whole slew of "those people".
That little thing called the US Constitution? Thank some homeschoolers. Do you enjoy electricity? The telephone? Flying? Do you enjoy having a female doctor? Thank some homeschoolers.

I do not believe that public education is a horrific torture chamber to be avoided at all cost. I do think it is a flawed system that does not allow children to grow at their own pace and I think kids are pushed into certain concepts too early. For example, boys do not gain the fine motor skills necessary to read and write comfortably until they are closer to 7 than 5. I do not believe that every child who is not reading and writing in Kindergarten is in need of special services. That same kids may not learn to read until 8, and can still go on to be a voracious, well read student. I also don't believe in requiring children to produce something every time they learn something. At young ages it is enough for them to learn, and perhaps do a narrative. Projects and book reports create frustration. If a kid can't read without having to produce something, they won't read! Honestly, how much of your kids' projects are completed by your kids? And how much say do the kids get in their projects? Do these projects enhance the lessons they learned in their reading? Will they remember the book or the aggravation of the project?

The higher grades offer more diversity, the kids have a wider vocabulary to express their needs and wants and the teachers are more apt to consider their opinion. Of course I am assuming the teachers are caring, the kids are motivated and the parents are involved. With those three factors a kids can get a wonderful education nearly anywhere! If there are not religious constraints there are lots of wonderful private schools, and scholarships are available. But here in our area, the cost of private school rivals college tuition! And even with a scholarship for tuition there are all those added costs like uniforms and materials. And I don't really want my child spending hours a day commuting to school.

Homeschooling is not for everyone, nor do I think every child who is not homeschooled is receiving a sub-par education. I do not question your educational choices for your children, I certainly do not appreciate strangers questioning mine.

November

Nathan Lane is hysterically funny. Last Sunday afternoon dh and I went into the city to see November with Nathan Lane in the starring role as President who's time is up. He has no money for a reelection campaign and his supporters have all left him. He is joined on stage by Dylan Baker as his attorney and advisor, and Laurie Metcalf as his speech writer. All three of them work together beautifully and the whole play is funny from start to finish.

If you get a chance, I highly recommend seeing this while Nathan Lane is still part of the cast. i don't think you will be disappointed.