this is where you’ll find me, now!
I’M JUST ABOUT READY TO MAKE THE ANNOUNCEMENT…THE BIG EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT…. THE ONE YOU’VE BEEN WONDERING ABOUT ALL DAY, AND WILL PROBABLY LIE AWAKE WONDERING ABOUT, TONIGHT AS YOU DRIFT OFF INTO THE LAND OF NOD.
I PROMISE… I WILL BE MAKING THE ANNOUNCMENT SOMETIME TOMORROW (TUESDAY!),
IN THE MEANTIME, WHY DON’T YOU SIGN UP TO RECEIVE TWO FREE COOKBOOKS FROM GOOSEBERRY PATCH? THE SIGN-UP IS QUICK AND PAINLESS. NO SURVEY’S, NO NONSENSE…JUST A BASIC NAME AND ADDRESS FORM… CLICK HERE:
WHILE YOU’RE AT IT, MAIL ONE TO YOUR MOTHER, SISTER OR FRIEND, OR MOTHER-IN-LAW!
smile, wink, nod!
I HAVE A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT COMING UP…. STAY TUNED!
I’D LOVE TO TELL YOU THAT OUR HOMESCHOOL DAY, YESTERDAY WAS PERFECTLY JOYOUS! THAT TOMMIE DUG RIGHT IN TO HIS LESSONS, NEVER POUTED, NEVER TALKED BACK AND ANSWERED, YES MAM’M AND NO MAM’M, RIGHT ON CUE. I’D ALSO LOVE TO TELL YOU THAT, HE ACES EVERYTHING… NEVER THINKS "HE’S" THE ONLY ONE WHO’S RIGHT IN THE HOUSEHOLD… AND, LEARNS A TON, I MEAN RETAINS A BIG TON OF INFO, OFF OF THOSE BLACK-LINE, FILL IN THE BLANKS, WORKBOOKS!
NONE OF THIS IS TRUE!
WHAT SEPERATES THE HOMESCHOOL WORLD FROM THE REST OF THE SCHOOL WORLD IS, THAT WE, AS HOMESCHOOL PARENTS, ARE THE CAPTAIN OF OUR OWN SHIPS! HOW LUCKY WE REALLY, REALLY ARE, TO BE ABLE TO RE-DIRECT OUR SAILS AND FIND A ROUTE THAT TAKES US TO OUR DESTINATION… OR MORE IMPORTANTLY… ALLOWS US AND OUR CHILDREN TO SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE RIDE! IT DOESN’T MATTER IF SOME OF US JOURNEY IN OUR CANOE OR ON A YACHT. BUT, I HAVE A HUNCH… YOU’LL BE MORE FULFILLED IN A CANOE. smile, wink, nod.
I REALLY DON’T KNOW WHAT I WAS THINKING YESTERDAY, WHEN I PULLED OUT HIS READING COMPREHENSION WORKBOOK… PERHAPS I DID IT OUT OF CONVIENIENCE? I INSTRUCTED HIM TO READ A SHORT STORY ABOUT THE PANAMA CANAL AND THEN FILL OUT THE QUESTION & ANSWER PAGE.
IN HIS WORKBOOK, THE STORY…THE COMPLETE STORY OF WHERE, WHEN, WHY AND THE HOW’S OF THE PANAMA CANAL, INCLUDING THE PEACE TREATY, WERE SUMMED UP IN FOUR, LARGE FONT PARAGRAPHS. SEE WHERE I’M GOING WITH THIS?
IT DID HOWEVER, SPARK TOMMIE’S CURIOSITY…. AND, UP UNTIL HE HAD TO FILL IN THE BLANKS… HE WAS THIRSTING TO KNOW MORE! MY PUBLIC SCHOOL MENTALITY, INSTRUCTED HIM TO GET BACK TO WORK..FILLING IN THE MASS-PRODUCED WORKBOOK PAGES. HE POUTED. HE TURNED PALE. HE WHINED. HE COMPLAINED. HE WAS YAWNING. HE WAS BEING A ROYAL PAIN. HE COMPLAINED SOME MORE. HE WAS STARTING TO GIVE ME A HEADACHE. I GUESS ITS SAFE TO SAY, BEING EDUCATED AND RAISED ON LIVING BOOKS, SORT OF SPOILS A PERSON.
IT SUDDENLY OCCURED TO ME THAT, I WAS SQUASHING AND STOMPING OUT HIS DESIRE TO LEARN MORE…HE THOUROUGHLY ENJOYED READING ABOUT IT–EVEN ASKING ME TO PULL UP PICTURES ON THE INTERNET AND DISCUSSING IT… BUT WHEN IT CAME TIME TO CIRCLING THE CORRECT ANSWER AND REWRITING THE ANSWERS TO FIT IN THE BLANKS… HE DESIRE DIMINISHED. YOU COULD SEE HIM FADING LIKE A BALLOON! FALLING LIKE A CARD-HOUSE!
THAT’S IT.
I TOLD HIM HE COULD WRAP IT UP… AND START HIS SILENT READING OF SQUANTO. HE WAS CONFUSED BUT WILLING.
WHILE HE WAS READING, I SEARCHED THE INTERNET… I HAD A LIGHTBULB MOMENT, AND DECIDED TO QUICKLY WRITE UP A "PANAMA CANAL INTERNET SCAVENGER HUNT!"…WHICH INCLUDED MY "OWN-HOMEMADE" QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS!
THIS IS THE SITE I USED:
http://www.canalmuseum.com/canalphotos/index.htm
AT THIS SITE, YOU’LL DISCOVER THE PANAMA CANAL WILDLIFE, JOBS PEOPLE DO, BRIDGES, THE LOCKS, PANAMA CITY, TUGBOATS, AND EVEN EQUIPMENT THEY USE… AND SO MUCH MORE!
ONE OF THE SCAVENGER HUNT QUESTIONS WAS: GO TO THE VISITORS CENTER… WHAT ANIMAL COULD YOU LEARN ABOUT AT THE CENTER? ( A PELICAN), THEN CLICK ON THE PICTURE OF THE PELICAN AND I’D HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION FOR HIM TO ANSWER.
THIS WENT ON AND ON! IT’S REALLY ENDLESS…ONCE YOU GET INTO IT.
HE WAS REALLY PUMPED UP! SO MUCH IN FACT, HE WAS STANDING UP AT THE COMPUTER. HIS VOICE WAS SO MUCH HAPPIER, HIS COLOR CAME BACK INTO HIS FACE AND HIS EYES WERE WIDE OPEN!!! HE WAS TELLING ME EVERYTHING HE WAS SEEING AND LEARNING! I WAS SMILING, MY HEADACHE FADED. HE WORKED RIGHT THROUGH LUNCH… AND WAS QUIZZING HIS DAD AND SHARING INFORMATION AND PICTURES, OF WHAT HE LEARNED, THAT AFTERNOON!
IN RETROSPECT, MAYBE WE DID NEED THAT DRY, OLD WORKBOOK TO CATAPULT US INTO NEW ROUTES? AND, THE STUDY IS NOT DONE YET… I FOUND THIS SITE TO CENTER OUR HOMESCHOOL AROUND ON MONDAY:
http://encarta.msn.com/media_461517735_761559188_-1_1/Panama_Canal.html
DON’T FORGET…. YOU’RE THE CAPTAIN OF YOUR HOMESCHOOL SHIP… NOT A MASS-PRODUCED CURRICULUM! BRING BACK THE JOY OF LEARNING!
SMILE, WINK, NOD!
BUYING A BAG OF BIRDSEED IN OUR NECK OF THE WOODS THESE DAYS, IS PRETTY FRIGHTENING… IN SOME STORES, I’VE NOTICED THE BAGS HAVE TRIPLED IN PRICE! I HAVE A HARD TIME SPENDING $23. BEFORE TAX, ON A BAG THAT WILL LAST A WEEK AND HAS A LOT OF UNMEANINGFUL FILLERS MIXED IN!
YOU SEE, BIRD WATCHING, HAS BEEN A HUGE PART OF OUR LIVES FOR SO LONG… I SEE OUR NUTHATCHES AND TITMOUSES ARE AROUND… SNOOPING, LOOKING, WONDERING… AND THEN THEY FLY AWAY, SEEING THAT OUR FEEDERS ARE EMPTY!
LAST CHRISTMAS, MY MOM PICKED UP A VERY SWEET LITTLE "HOMEMADE BIRD FEED" BOOK, TITLED, "RECIPE BOOK FOR FEEDING WILD BIRDS," BY DEANA JAGER… THUMBING THROUGH IT, I REALIZED I COULD MAKE OUR OWN TREATS FOR THE BIRDS…AT A VERY MINIMAL COST! smile, wink, nod! AND, IT’S A LOT OF FUN! IN FACT, IT MADE ME SORT OF EXHALE AND SMILE, THINKING I WAS DOING SOMETHING REALLY GOOD! KIND OF LIKE THE FEELING YOU GET WHEN YOU RECYCLE!
BELOW, I POSTED THE RECIPE… I HOPE YOU CAN MAKE IT OUT OKAY. YOU JUST BOIL THE WATER AND BUTTER (OR LARD),, REMOVE FROM HEAT AND LET COOL DOWN, THEN ADD THE PEANUT BUTTER AND FRUIT, AND THEN THE DRY CEREAL… (I WAS ABLE TO CLEAN MY CUPBOARDS- USING UP LEFTOVER CRACKERS, OLD STALE CEREAL, ETC.) THEN, I SPRAYED A CUPCAKE PAN, AND POURED THE MIXTURE (VERY SOUPY) INTO THE TINS… STUCK IT IN THE FREEZER, THEN POPPED THEM OUT, WHEN THEY WERE FROZE. I’M STORING THEM IN A ZIPLOCK BAG IN THE REFRIDGERATOR. THE RECIPE IS HUGE!!! NOT ONLY DID I MAKE THE CUPCAKES, BUT FILLED FOUR OTHER LARGER CONTAINERS, FROM THE RECYCLE BIN IN OUR BASEMENT!
YOU CAN IMAGINE OUR SUPRISE, WHEN WE FOUND OUR DOG LUCY, ON TOP OF THE KITCHEN TABLE, SITTING ON TOMMIE’S MATH PAPERS! NO!!!!! WE WOULD NEVER ALLOW ANY ANIMAL ON OUR KITCHEN TABLE!!!! AND YES, I DID WINDEX IT REAL GOOD, AFTERWARDS! WE ARE NOT QUITE SURE WHAT GOT INTO HER THAT MORNING…BUT, WE SURE DO LOVE LUCY! AND, YOU WOULD, TOO!
"Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses." -Alphonse Karr-
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