Thursday, September 30, 2010

{this moment}



{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Following the suggestion of SouleMama at http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/

Friday, September 24, 2010

{this moment} Art Lesson



{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Following the suggestion of SouleMama at http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

President's message...

Today, we watched the President's message to school children. Here's the take-away...

Reeves: I learned that you need to just keep on trying and don't be scared to ask for help. You can control your destiny. I've decided that I will try harder and not give up on guitar lessons.

Embree: You should never give up on your dreams. Don't bug your teachers because they are doing it for you and not themselves. You get back what you put into the world, so be nice and help others reach their dreams. 

And our new school motto:
Be the best version of yourself that you can possibly be.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Family Matters: Socialization

If you homeschool, you've heard this question.
If you do not, perhaps you have asked it...

What about socialization?

It is the inevitable question or concern voiced by just about anyone who has never homeschooled when they find out we do.

This question has been asked by my kids' teachers when we took them out of public school, by family members, by strangers at the park, by colleagues at work.

People who would never challenge me if I were to spank my child, or smoke in the house, or work 60 hours a week and leaving them in daycare until bedtime each night, find it perfectly acceptable to tell me we are depriving our children of some magical socialization experience by taking them out of public school.

Do I rest easy every night knowing all of our educational decisions are correct?
Heck NO!!
I have three degrees, including a doctoral degree, in education. I AT LEAST as qualified as any teacher my kids ever had in public school. Yet, the academic part of their home education is what keeps me awake at night. It's what I spend hours researching. It's what I tweak on a daily basis to make sure they are getting the information they need in the way they best learn it. 

Do I rest easy every night knowing this decision is correct in regard to socialization? 
YOU BETCHA! 

What is socialization exactly? Merriam Webster says…to make social; to fit into or train for a social environment

Our kids are learning…
·        to stand in line to check out library books
·        to share spare change or a hot meal with a homeless person
·        to have thoughtful conversations with college students, with community leaders, with older and younger kids, with peers, with anyone willing to have a thoughtful conversation with them
·        to serve others by visiting a nursing home, picking up trash, delivering candy to community helpers who have to work on holidays, rescuing strays, or bringing in groceries without being asked
·        to navigate a large group of fifty kids in gym class
·        to value the joy of a few really close friends who accept them without conditions…and to be a friend without conditions
·        to be on time to field trips and appointments, even when there are no consequences for being late
·        to follow rules and laws but use the proper procedures to question or change those that are not just or with which they do not agree

I could go one, but I’ll stop there.

The point is, they are being socialized by taking part in real-life society. There is only one place in society my kids are missing out on because they are homeschooled…public school. They get a lot more actual, constructive, social time with people of all ages and situations of all kinds than they would by spending six hours a day in a classroom. 

So, yes…I am confident that my children will learn to navigate their world with grace, thoughtfulness, empathy, and confidence.

Thanks for asking!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Invitation to a New Blog!


Hello Dear Readers!

Many of you follow us for news about our family adventures. You have indulged me, of late, in my writing endeavors and I thank you.

Beginning tomorrow, I will be focusing more on my personal writing, spiritual exploration, photography, and assimilation of life into words. Some of this writing and photography, I will be sharing on a NEW BLOG called Lessons from the Backroad. This is a new place for me, but I welcome and encourage your participation. Join me in discussions, storytelling, sharing!

If you are a follower of this blog, you will not be automatically subscribed to the new one. If you'd like to take part, simply visit the new blog by clicking the link above. Then look in the left-hand margin for the spot to subscribe via email, or across the top to subscribe through an RSS feed.

Stay with us on our family journey.
See you on the backroad!

Namaste,
Jeannie

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Georgia O'Keefe

This week in our art curriculum, we are studying Georgia O'Keefe. I am so excited. She has been my favorite artist as long as I can remember. 


I don't know if it is the movement, the scale, the color...I know I admire her sense of adventure and her love for the landscapes of the southwestern United States. When people ask with whom, living or dead, I would like to have dinner...it is this woman. I am knowingly romanticizing her, I am, but there is something about her.

This is my favorite O'Keefe painting. 
It is titled Pond in the Woods

And her flowers...
Two Calla Lilies on Pink


Oriental Poppies

Her flowers have always inspired my own photography...








Even the scale I like when photographing people...


With the help of a photo editor...










...I can pretend.
Thanks, Ms O', for your power, beauty, and inspiration.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Hair...



Hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair
Flow it, show it
Long as God can grow it
My hair

I want it long, straight, curly, fuzzy
Snaggy, shaggy, ratty, matty
Oily, greasy, fleecy
Shining, gleaming, streaming
Flaxen, waxen
Knotted, polka-dotted
Twisted, beaded, braided
Powdered, flowered, and confettied
Bangled, tangled, spangled, and spaghettied!

Oh say can you see
My eyes if you can
Then my hair's too short


lyrics from the musical HAIR


My boy has very definite ideas about his hair. He likes it long most of the time. Hair's just hair, and a safe and reversible way for him to express himself. So, he decides.



This week, he started guitar lessons. He has an electric guitar and a band in his future...so he says. But, his hair got in the way of seeing the strings so he decided to have it cut today.



But it'll only stay short until he no longer has to watch the strings to play...



...and he says the bangs will be long enough shortly to fly around when he does a little head bangin' while he's playing. :)