Reasons to Homeschool: Time With Grandparents

OK, I admit this was taken in the summer, but it could be in the spring or fall or winter. It's a photo of my dad pushing a few of the kids I brought on the merry-go-round at the park by his house. To me, it's cool to be able to hang out with my dad during the week. We have plans to go to the nature centers by his house, and to me that counts as a field trip, only less noisy and crazy and with zero permission slips to be signed and no nasty school busses.

We also like to chill with my mom, although now that she's working we don't get to as much. On her day off during the week she likes to work on her tan with her friend. Once cooler weather hits, though, we'll be alternating weeks at each other's home ... heading to Mickey D's playland for lunch, maybe to the pet store, maybe just sitting around watching movies and playing games and talking.

We also get to have my MIL come over every other week. She is retired now and likes to help out ... somehow I always end up relegating her to my nasty kitchen. I know she's coming, so I let the dishwasher run and let dishes pile up in the sink and have her make Koolaid and cook meat for dinner and such when she arrives. She also cleans my fridge. She is a Godsend!

Then there is my FIL ... who sometimes takes Joel to our local food bank to volunteer with him.

Let's not forget my step-parents ... Nana who will be an amazing resource for quilting and cooking advice and how is nice to just chill out with. She makes the most beautiful quilts for the kids! And Papa Dave, who scares the crap out of the kids by chasing them around the house and the yard with water and a scary voice.

What a great set of parents. A reason to homeschool AND a reason to never move away!

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!