Schwarzenegger/Shriver/Alimony and the Media

So I'm hearing about how Schwarzenegger doesn't want to pay "spousal support" to Shriver, right? But I'm confused already. I mean, it doesn't sound like he is trying to get out of giving her the 50% she is "due" per California law. It sounds like he doesn't want to give her ALIMONY.

Didn't alimony go out with the 80s, when women needed the extra cash to buy their cocaine and globs of makeup and hairspray?

Seriously, though, I get annoyed with the media sometimes. They spin crap with no problem whatsoever. It's easy to spin Arnold because he screwed up. He made a baby with another woman and didn't tell his wife for TEN YEARS. That is messed up. But let's put that aside for a second ...

I ask you, doesn't Maria Shriver have like loads of her OWN money? I mean, the feminists say we better damn well be able to take care of ourselves, and she sure can. She probably has inheritance money since her poor relatives die all the time. She probably has money from when she was a big-time working professional and author. She can make another million in the next year without even trying. She's AMAZING.

So the media likes to get us all worked up about stuff. We are stupid. We believe what they want us to. Arnold is bad. Maria is good. Give her mo money. That will make her feel better, at least, right?

NOW ... if this were a REAL couple, like say my hubs and I (which it ain't gonna happen, so don't get any ideas here ... I'm just illustrating) ... I would have to throw the kids in daycare and school and get a J.O.B. Alimony would be a huge laugh! Alimony is for those with loaded husbands. (Child support is a totally separate issue, folks, and I would go after my man for loads of that so I could perhaps attempt to keep homeschooling and work from home, BUT a judge would probably not let me get away with it and just tell me to get a job.)

Or ... is alimony for the women because they are taking care of the kids and want to be stay-at-home moms? Is alimony like payment to them for watching the kids? That's sweet if you can afford it. But Maria's kids are grown and in school.

Does the media ever get you riled up and then you find out later the story was totally different. I'm trying to learn to suspend my disbelief ... and belief.

Homeschool Elementary Grammar With a Big Family ... Cheap

So when my oldest was in 2nd grade, I bought "Language of God for Little Folks Level A" by Nancy Nicholson, which is through Catholic Heritage Curricula and was a great basic grammar resource. I realize it's not for everyone, as some of the sentences to correct are religious (specifically, Catholic). The thing is Joel went through it really fast, and it was going to be $13 plus shipping for me to buy one every other year for each of my homeschooling kids, not to mention the price goes up for each year you need it for.

While I do love this resource and recommend it, I just can't afford a standard curriculum and so I use resources like "What Your X Grader Needs To Know", Evan-Moor workbooks, Basic Skills workbooks, etc. I also RE-USE stuff.

So I came across "Language of God" in the basement ... trying to clear out old homeschool stuff because I save every piece of paper my kids touch! I realized I could re-use it ... not as a workbook but as a basic resource. It takes a little bit of time to type of my own sentences, etc., but I save them on the computer and they are ready for the next kid.

Also, I use the used workbook as a guide. Like instead of having my kid spend time working on something they have probably already learned through basic common sense, I verbally quiz them based on the workbook questions. Like I'll say, "Where would we use a capital letter?" instead of having them do countless workbook pages. If they can answer, I leave them alone. If not, we do some pages and revisit with a verbal quiz later.

How do you save money homeschooling a tribe?

Teach Your Kids to Detach from Stuff ... But How?!

I have been fortunate enough to be invited to come with my mom to a restaurant every now and then to hang out with her and her high school friends. They are the neatest bunch of 60-year-old chicks out there, and I love being able to go meet with them. I was able to get away recently thanks to Jordan (Aron was working on our wooden fence that's falling down, so I needed my daughtersitter). I got to spend an hour and a half with 5 cool women, including my own mom, AND eat the best pizza out there AND drink iced tea AND eat a big old slice of white cake. Don't tell my husband about the bad diet (never mind, he reads the blog, so the jig is up).

One topic that came up was junk we have in our homes. One woman has cool crap that her kids are going to want someday, but that's because she has traveled the world and has unique crap. The rest of us, though, decided long ago that if we don't want our parents' crap, why would our kids want OUR crap?

Crap (aka material items, some that have emotional meeting and most that do not) can make us depressed, it can take over our lives, it can make cleaning our home seem almost impossible. Little kids love their crap because they are just starting to collect it and everything is special to them (ah, the rocks!).

How do you teach your kids to detach from crap? I know my kids see me getting rid of more and more stuff over the last few years and not accepting new stuff. Recently my dad gave me a bunch of framed photos of my from when I was a kid and I'm thinking, "What am I going to do with these? I'm not going to put them up all over the house because (1) it's narcissistic and (2) I don't have the room!" So they are in the basement because I am stuck and don't know what to do with them and don't want to hurt Dad's feelings. (I think I'll just take the pics out, see if he wants the frames and if he does not, I'll donate them and just file the pics away).

I know this is a topic that could span many a blog post and this is just the tip of the iceberg, right (I have lots of posts under the label down the right side of the blog under CLEANING where I talk about getting rid of crap, storing crap, etc.)

What are your ideas? And by the way, happy birthday to my dad, who is one cool guy and grandpa to 8 kids (I have 2 step-nieces and 1 brand new step-nephew!).

Homeschool Science Experiment: Diving Raisins

Check out this wicked cool science experiment we recently did. It's called Bobbing Raisins or Diving Raisins. You put about 2 T. of baking soda in a tall, clear glass. Then you SLOWLY pour in white vinegar. You can pour it in fast and get that volcano effect and amaze the little tots; just put a towel under it. When it's as full as you want it to be, pop in a bunch of raisins and watch them sink. Then come to the top. Then sink again. It's cool. Something about releasing gas and then going back to the bottom. I told the boys it's like the raisins swim to the top to fart, then sink to the bottom to get more gas. Hey, when you're dealing with boys and small tots, you have to be creative! Have fun!

Bust Summertime Boredom (Guest Post)

Happy 3-year Blogging Anniversary to me (actually it was on Saturday, but I totally forgot)! I started this blog in Phoenix when we had driven across the country with 4 kids in a minivan to be with my husband for 3 weeks. Instead of sending countless emails about our adventures, I started a blog and never looked back.  Here's my maiden post. 

Bust Summertime Boredom with 10 Wallet-Friendly Ideas from Primrose Schools

By: Kathleen Thomas, Primrose Child Care

What could be worse than a rainy summer day, when your children are cooped up inside and you have nothing planned? For parents, even sunny days that seem filled with endless opportunities, still yield the inevitable “I’m bored!” Undoubtedly, your children will utter those words at least once during the upcoming summer months.

Studies show that without stimulation, children can lose up to 60 percent of what they learned during the school year. Primrose Schools, a family of 200 accredited private preschools, suggests the key to overcoming summertime boredom and the “brain drain” effect is to encourage imaginative play and have a plan in place to keep children engaged during the summer months.

“It’s important to keep children’s minds active during the summer, but it doesn’t take an expensive activity or big vacation to capture their attention,” said Dr. Mary Zurn, Vice President of Education for Primrose. “After all, imagination is free.”

Summer is a great time to encourage children to let their imaginations soar.  School schedules can sometimes be demanding and time for less structured, imaginative activities is often scarce. The freedom of summer gives children large blocks of uninterrupted time to create projects of their own choosing that can last several days or even longer.

Here are 10 ideas parents can use to keep young minds active during the summer months:

                                                                                                                                                                            

1. Beat the Boredom Jar: At the beginning of the summer, sit down with your family and brainstorm a list of activities that can be done alone or that you can enjoy doing together. Encourage your children to share their own ideas and help you decorate and label a simple jar as the family “Boredom Buster Jar.”  They’ll feel more involved in the project and more likely to think this is a “neat” idea, if they participate in the creation and idea generation. Next, write everyone’s ideas down on slips of paper and as a group decide which ones should go in the jar. Anyone in the family can pull any idea out of the jar to fight the summertime boredom blues.

2. Stories Alive: It sounds too simple, but reading is one of the most important ways to keep young minds engaged during the summer. Make reading even more fun by finding ways to bring the stories to life. For example, in the book Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran, children create a make-believe town in the desert out of rocks, boxes, and their imaginations. Read the book with your children and then challenge them to create their own town with materials they find in the backyard.

3. Art Treasure Chest: You’ll need to gather basic art supplies–child safe scissors, glue, markers, tape, and construction paper. Put them in a special box along with empty oatmeal boxes and paper towel rolls, colorful magazines, and bits of aluminum foil. Occasionally add a special surprise like chalk, stickers, or stamp pads so there’s always something new for the children to find. Even if you normally have these supplies around the house, it‘s fun for children to know that the Art Treasure Chest is just for them. They’ll probably have some good ideas of other household items that can be recycled to fuel their creative energies.

4. Family Performances: Break out old clothes or costumes and encourage children to make up characters and create a play to act out.  They are the directors, actors, and producers.  They can also make musical instruments out of pots/pans, wooden spoons, empty canisters and have a parade; or everyone can play along to your family’s favorite songs. Record or video the performances, and enjoy the replay.  You’ll also be capturing a bit of family history everyone will enjoy for years to come.

5. Fort Building: Children love to build all kinds of structures--from small towns to large towers. Constructing forts or tents is an activity that can keep children focused and problem solving for hours. All the items you need can be found around the house–some chairs, cushions, blankets… and of course adult supervision.

6. Cookbook Fun: Have you ever shared your favorite cookbook with your children?  Take it out and ask your children to choose a recipe to try. Measuring can be a fun and easy way to keep math skills fresh.

7. Summer Scrapbook: All you need for this project is a spiral notebook. Encourage everyone in the family to draw pictures of favorite activities and collect mementos from special events throughout the summer.   Children love to go back through scrapbooks and albums and tell about what happened at each occasion.  They will also be building their storytelling skills at the same time.

8. Listening Game: Lie down in the backyard, in the den or at the park and listen.  What do you hear? Do you hear what I hear? Can you imitate the sound? This is similar to watching the clouds and naming the shapes, and it encourages everyone to slow down and focus on listening.

9. Camping Out: Pretend to campout in the backyard. Plan a meal, pack a backpack and set up a campsite.  You might even decide to spend the night!

10. Scavenger Hunt: Make a list or picture cards of common household items and have your children find the items on the list. Invite friends or neighbors to join in the fun to make it a competition.

Parents can use this list of ideas as a starting point for summer activities that offer a balance between the freedom of child-initiated play time and more structured activities.

“Keeping children engaged with open-ended activities that stretch their imaginations during the summer months helps them develop their independence, creativity, and thinking,” said Dr. Zurn. “We want to help parents keep the “brain drain” at bay while their children play.”

When preparing for a brain-drain-free summer, remember to suggest or provide age appropriate activities.  Many times, children say they are bored because the activity they were doing was either too simple or too advanced to keep them occupied for long.  Activities should be fun and challenge what they know, but should keep in line with the interests and developmental levels of your children. 

Ultimately, we know every child is different, with different interests and learning styles so having a variety of ideas is a great way to be prepared during the summer months. Involving children in the planning of ideas gives them an opportunity to express their individuality and creativity.

So with these tips in mind, sit down with your family and make a plan for an engaging, imaginative and fun summer.