These proverbs are carved on the walls of the Temple of Luxor. They are profound, and often over the heads of many adults. Probably they would be best for upper elementary students and older, but it can't hurt to go on and expose younger children to the concepts. I have edited the language slightly to make it easier for young children. Sometimes I had to edit the language quite a bit as some of these proverbs are tough even for adults to understand, but I tried to capture the essence.
Like all the Ancient Proverbs posts, this one will be added to the list under Ancient Pagan Proverbs for Young Children in the sidebar.
Here's a great article on Ancient Egyptian temples, including Luxor, that's written at a lower elementary level.
When the student is ready, the Teacher will appear.
The kingdom of Heaven is already within you; if you understand yourself you shall find it.
The best and shortest road towards knowledge of truth is Nature.
For every joy there is a price to be paid.
If his heart rules him, his conscience will keep him out of trouble.
What you are doing does not matter so much as what you are learning from doing it. It is better admit how little you know than to lie and claim to understand something when you don't.
If you search for the laws of harmony, you will find knowledge.
If you are searching for the gods, observe Nature!
Excitement over something is a good incentive to action, but true understanding only comes from carefully thinking it through.
The greatest Teacher can not learn one single thing for her student, the student must learn if for himself. Therefore the student can only learn something when he is mature enough to understand it.
The body is the house of the Gods. That is why it is said, "Man know thyself."
True teaching is not an accumulation of knowledge; it is an awaking of understanding which goes through many stages.
The man who teaches one of his brothers what he knows may one day be saved by that very brother.
People bring about their own undoing through their tongues.
If one tries to navigate unknown waters one runs the risk of shipwreck.
Leave him in error who loves his error.
Every man is rich in excuses to safeguard his prejudices, his instincts, and his opinions.
To know means to record in one's memory; but to understand means to blend with the thing and to take it into yourself.
There are two kinds of error: blind faith and piecemeal criticism. Never believe a word without putting its truth to the test; discernment does not grow in laziness; and this faculty of discernment is indispensable to the Seeker. Sound skepticism is the necessary condition for good discernment; but piecemeal criticism is an error.
Love is one thing, knowledge is another.
True sages are those who give what they have, without meanness and without secret!
An answer brings no understanding unless the question has matured to a point where it gives rise to it's own answer. Therefore learn how to ask a question.
What reveals itself to me ceases to be mysterious—for me alone. If I explain it to anyone else, he hears only words which betray the living sense. Profanation, but never revelation.
The first concerning the 'secrets': all understanding comes from inside. We are therefore initiated only by ourselves, but the Teacher gives the keys.
The second concerning the 'way': the seeker has need of a Teacher to guide him and lift him up when he falls, to lead him back to the right way when he strays.
Understanding develops by degrees.
As to deserving, know that the gift of Heaven is free; this gift of Knowledge is so great that no effort whatever could hope to 'deserve' it.
If the Teacher teaches what is error, the student's submission is slavery; if he teaches truth, this submission is ennoblement.
There grows no wheat where there is no grain.
The only thing that is humiliating is helplessness.
An answer if profitable in proportion to the intensity of the quest.
Listen to your conviction, even if they seem absurd to your reason.
Know the world in yourself. Never look for yourself in the world, for this would be to project your illusion
To teach one must know the nature of those whom one is teaching.
In every vital activity it is the path that matters.
The way of knowledge is narrow.
Each truth you learn will be, for you, as new as if it had never been written.
The only active force that arises out of possession is fear of losing the object of possession.
If you defy an enemy by doubting his courage you double it.
The nut doesn't reveal the tree it contains.
Peace is an indispensable condition of learning knowledge.
The first thing necessary in teaching is a teacher; the second is a pupil capable of carrying on the tradition.
Peace is the fruit of activity, not of sleep.
Envious greed must govern to possess and ambition must possess to govern.
When the governing class isn't chosen for quality it is chosen for material wealth. This always means decadence, the lowest stage a society can reach.
Two tendencies govern human choice and effort, the search after quantity and the search after quality. They classify mankind. Some follow Truth, others seek the way of animal instinct.
One's moral qualities are measured by one's deeds.
One foot isn't enough to walk with.
Our senses serve to affirm, not to know.
We mustn't confuse mastery with mimicry, knowledge with superstitious ignorance.
Paying attention is indispensable for the achievement of knowledge.
A man can't be judge of his neighbor' intelligence. His own vital experience is never his neighbor's.
No discussion can throw light if it wanders from the real point.
Your body is the temple of knowledge.
Experience will show you, a Teacher can only point the way.
A house has the character of the man who lives in it.
All organs work together in the functioning of the whole.
A man's heart is his own Divine Principle.
A pupil may show you by his own efforts how much he deserves to learn from you.
Routine and prejudice distort vision. Each man thinks his own horizon is the limit of the world.
You will free yourself when you learn to be calm and follow the instructions of your heart without letting things disturb you. This is the way of Truth.
Judge by cause, not by effect.
Wisdom doesn't depend on the intellect or its possibilities but on the intensity of the inner urge.
Every man must act in the rhythm of his time ... such is wisdom.
Men need images. Lacking them they invent idols. Better to base the images on realities that lead the true seeker to the source.
Truth links humans and the Gods. It can't be found by logic alone.
Have the wisdom to abandon the trappings of a time that has passed and pick out what will be needed in the future. An environment must be suited to the age and men to their environment.
Everyone finds himself in the world where he belongs. The essential thing is to have a fixed point from which to check its reality now and then.
Always watch and follow Nature.
Everything always arises from the interaction of complementaries. If you want something look for the complement that will elicit it. Set causes Horus. Horus redeems Set.
All seed answer light, but the color is different.
The plant reveals what is in the seed.
Popular beliefs on essential matters must be examined in order to discover the original thought.
It is the passive resistance from the helm that steers the boat.
The key to all problems is the problem of understanding.
Everything you do will have it's consequences. You must increase your sense ofresponsibilityy
If you would build something solid, don't work with wind. Always look for a fixed point, something you know that is stable ... yourself.
If you would know yourself, take yourself as starting point and go back to its source; your beginning will disclose your end.
Images are nearer reality than cold definitions.
Seek peacefully and you will find what you seek.
Organization is impossible unless those who know the laws of harmony lay the foundation.
It is no use whatever preaching Wisdom to men: you must inject it into their blood.
Knowledge is the understanding of reality. Reality is the sum of the laws that govern nature and of the causes from which they flow.
Social good is what brings peace to family and society.
Knowledge is not necessarily wisdom.
By knowing one reaches belief. By doing one gains conviction. When you know, dare.
Unselfish behavior is the mark of a superior person.
All is within yourself. Know your most inward self and look for what corresponds with it in nature.
The seed cannot sprout upwards without simultaneously sending roots into the ground.
The seed includes all the possibilities of the tree. ... The seed will develop these possibilities, however, only if it receives proper nourishment.
Grain must return to the earth, die, and decompose for new growth to begin.
Man, know yourself ... and you shall know the Gods.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Friday, April 14, 2006
Brighteyes just left for a sleepover with her aunt. Before she left we reviewed the rules of her behavior: no hitting, no kicking, no screaming, no shouting, only one movie, don't wander from your table in restaurants, and so on.
"That's so many rules. I have trouble remembering them."
"Yes but most of the rules can be summed up in one rule: don't do things to other people that you don't want them to do to you. You don't like people hitting you? Then don't hit other people. You don't like people screaming at you? Then don't scream at other people."
"Oh! That's easy to remember! And it does cover most of the rules."
"That's right. You can also talk it over with your aunt if you have any questions about it."
As long as she doesn't get too tired and forget, I don' t think we have anything to worry about.
"That's so many rules. I have trouble remembering them."
"Yes but most of the rules can be summed up in one rule: don't do things to other people that you don't want them to do to you. You don't like people hitting you? Then don't hit other people. You don't like people screaming at you? Then don't scream at other people."
"Oh! That's easy to remember! And it does cover most of the rules."
"That's right. You can also talk it over with your aunt if you have any questions about it."
As long as she doesn't get too tired and forget, I don' t think we have anything to worry about.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
This Is Where Hitting Children Leads
Once you think it's all right -- even holy! -- to hit your own beloved children, your own flesh and blood, what do you do to other people's children? If you're willing to beat your own children with plumbing line, what do you do to the children of your "enemy"? You torture them. You rape them. Because if the children you are supposed to love deserve beatings, the children of your enemies must deserve so much worse.
Stop it. Now. No excuses.
Stop it. Now. No excuses.
I always said this place looks like the Serengeti
The local countryside is full of rolling pastures dotted by the occasional orchard tree. While the types of plants are different, the layout looks a lot like the plains of Africa.
Now it looks a lot more like Africa.
When Katrina hit the Coast, lots of refugees came here, bringing their livestock and pets with them. Local pastures were made available for displaced horses and other animals who needed it. Turns out some of the pets were a little more exotic then others. Someone brought up a menagerie that included lions and stored them in the next county. Some of the lions escaped. There is at least one mated pair missing, possibly others. (For some reason, the owners are rather reticent on that subject.) Lion tracks have been spotted near our house, and last night the the news reported that lions attacked and killed three goats in a pasture five miles from us.
We have small dogs in our backyard. And big piles of sand that overlook the neighbor's pasture full of newborn calves. And little girls, lets not forget them.
Wonderful.
Now it looks a lot more like Africa.
When Katrina hit the Coast, lots of refugees came here, bringing their livestock and pets with them. Local pastures were made available for displaced horses and other animals who needed it. Turns out some of the pets were a little more exotic then others. Someone brought up a menagerie that included lions and stored them in the next county. Some of the lions escaped. There is at least one mated pair missing, possibly others. (For some reason, the owners are rather reticent on that subject.) Lion tracks have been spotted near our house, and last night the the news reported that lions attacked and killed three goats in a pasture five miles from us.
We have small dogs in our backyard. And big piles of sand that overlook the neighbor's pasture full of newborn calves. And little girls, lets not forget them.
Wonderful.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Yesterday we had a picnic at the playhouse, and I finished the first sundress. Today I meant to start the next sundresses, but Brighteyes had cut her heel and wanted to be babied. She's finally showing an interest in Girl Genius, so I read the girls the Secret Blueprints, Volume 1, Volume 2, and the start of Volume 3. Tomorrow I'll finish Volume 3 and start reading her the story off the internet. I'd better not let her find out there's a new page late ever Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday night; or I'll never get her to bed on time again.
Meanwhile, it's only a few minutes until tonight's new page....
Meanwhile, it's only a few minutes until tonight's new page....
Monday, April 10, 2006
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Building Better Geeks Part 2: The Deeper Problem
In Part 1 we established that geek children often appear out-of-step with their age-mates due to "asynchronous learning" when forced into age-segregated environments. But why is it that geek adults often appear confused by and out-of-step with the mainstream? What's with the science fiction, the role-playing games, the comic books, the Ren Faires? Why are they so different from other people?
The truth is that not every geek likes science fiction, role-playing games, comic books, and/or Ren Faires. But there are times when we all feel confused by the dominant culture.
Geeks are not confused about the dominant culture because of where they did or did not go to school. I've met geeks who attended every type of school structure you can imagine, and their confusion cuts across the spectrum. Geeks are often confused about the dominant culture because the internal architecture of their heads does not allow them to see the world the same way other people do, and they miss the connotations that everyone else "knows" to be true.
When I was younger, my geek friends and I would wonder where this seemingly rock-solid certainty our age-mates had about the world came from. We were in class with these kids every day, and we couldn't figure it out. What did they know that we didn't? And who had told them? One guy even wondered if the rest of the school had gone to some secret assembly and been taught all these subjects on some day when he was home sick. But no. It turned out the truth was both simpler and more depressing.
My husband and I had hints over the years, but we got hit over the head with it when I was pregnant with Brighteyes. One day we passed a hand-lettered poster that said "Midwife Conference". We pulled over to see what was going on. We hadn't found any local midwives, and were driving 3 hours each way for appointments at The Farm. The Farm Clinic is the oldest freestanding midwives' clinic and the U.S., and has an unbeaten track record for health and safety. Our experience with them has always been entirely positive, except for that long drive. If there was a closer midwife, we'd like to know about her.
Unfortunately the "conference" turned out to be a recruiting scam put on by an extreme Far-Right Christian group that we later found out was being watched for cult activity. We were shocked but intrigued. What could we learn about how these groups operated? We decided to stay and watch.
It went fine at first. I was obviously in my third trimester and looked like good recruit material at first, so they talked up their group extensively to us. After about an hour and a half though, I slipped up and made a mistake. They were talking about having the only midwife in the area, and I mentioned The Farm Midwives in Summertown.
"Oh, you don't want to go there."
"Why?" I asked without thinking.
Instant silence. Everyone turned to look at me with shocked expressions on their faces, and several people actually took a step away from us. They could not have been more horrified if I had turned green, grown horns and hooves, and started spewing blood. In fact, they would have definitely found that transformation easier to understand.
In that same instant, I knew what the dividing line was between geeks and non-geeks. It was as plain as day, and it had nothing to do with science fiction or Ren Faires. It was this fact: geeks ask questions. Questions about anything and everything. We can't help it. It's hardwired into our brains. And it's a behavior pattern that is not only inexplicable but often frightening to those who don't share it.
(Of course, once you ask questions you begin to look for answers. Sometimes those answers involve science fiction and Ren Faires. Sometimes not.)
For the rest of the "conference" members of the group stayed far away from us. They whispered stories behind our backs about demons who came to Church disguised as humans, sat in the back pews, and subtly corrupted "the magic of the Service" with their foul presence. It was one of the most disturbing experiences of my life.
(I know all Christians aren't like these folks. I did say they were extremists.)
Nonetheless, our fortitude was rewarded by a wealth of insights. One of them was that people who can't or won't ask questions and people who can and will ask questions are often going to find the other group's behavior "weird", confusing, uncomfortable, and somewhat frightening. Years later, I still don't know what to do about this situation. All I know is this: when I see my own wonderful daughters asking questions at the seeming rate of 90/minute, I don't want anyone convincing them that behavior is bad. I don't want to see hoods go down over the lights in their bright, sunny eyes. And that is the ultimate reason I homeschool.
The truth is that not every geek likes science fiction, role-playing games, comic books, and/or Ren Faires. But there are times when we all feel confused by the dominant culture.
Geeks are not confused about the dominant culture because of where they did or did not go to school. I've met geeks who attended every type of school structure you can imagine, and their confusion cuts across the spectrum. Geeks are often confused about the dominant culture because the internal architecture of their heads does not allow them to see the world the same way other people do, and they miss the connotations that everyone else "knows" to be true.
When I was younger, my geek friends and I would wonder where this seemingly rock-solid certainty our age-mates had about the world came from. We were in class with these kids every day, and we couldn't figure it out. What did they know that we didn't? And who had told them? One guy even wondered if the rest of the school had gone to some secret assembly and been taught all these subjects on some day when he was home sick. But no. It turned out the truth was both simpler and more depressing.
My husband and I had hints over the years, but we got hit over the head with it when I was pregnant with Brighteyes. One day we passed a hand-lettered poster that said "Midwife Conference". We pulled over to see what was going on. We hadn't found any local midwives, and were driving 3 hours each way for appointments at The Farm. The Farm Clinic is the oldest freestanding midwives' clinic and the U.S., and has an unbeaten track record for health and safety. Our experience with them has always been entirely positive, except for that long drive. If there was a closer midwife, we'd like to know about her.
Unfortunately the "conference" turned out to be a recruiting scam put on by an extreme Far-Right Christian group that we later found out was being watched for cult activity. We were shocked but intrigued. What could we learn about how these groups operated? We decided to stay and watch.
It went fine at first. I was obviously in my third trimester and looked like good recruit material at first, so they talked up their group extensively to us. After about an hour and a half though, I slipped up and made a mistake. They were talking about having the only midwife in the area, and I mentioned The Farm Midwives in Summertown.
"Oh, you don't want to go there."
"Why?" I asked without thinking.
Instant silence. Everyone turned to look at me with shocked expressions on their faces, and several people actually took a step away from us. They could not have been more horrified if I had turned green, grown horns and hooves, and started spewing blood. In fact, they would have definitely found that transformation easier to understand.
In that same instant, I knew what the dividing line was between geeks and non-geeks. It was as plain as day, and it had nothing to do with science fiction or Ren Faires. It was this fact: geeks ask questions. Questions about anything and everything. We can't help it. It's hardwired into our brains. And it's a behavior pattern that is not only inexplicable but often frightening to those who don't share it.
(Of course, once you ask questions you begin to look for answers. Sometimes those answers involve science fiction and Ren Faires. Sometimes not.)
For the rest of the "conference" members of the group stayed far away from us. They whispered stories behind our backs about demons who came to Church disguised as humans, sat in the back pews, and subtly corrupted "the magic of the Service" with their foul presence. It was one of the most disturbing experiences of my life.
(I know all Christians aren't like these folks. I did say they were extremists.)
Nonetheless, our fortitude was rewarded by a wealth of insights. One of them was that people who can't or won't ask questions and people who can and will ask questions are often going to find the other group's behavior "weird", confusing, uncomfortable, and somewhat frightening. Years later, I still don't know what to do about this situation. All I know is this: when I see my own wonderful daughters asking questions at the seeming rate of 90/minute, I don't want anyone convincing them that behavior is bad. I don't want to see hoods go down over the lights in their bright, sunny eyes. And that is the ultimate reason I homeschool.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Among the things you can't find with Google...
...is instructions for designing and sewing growth tucks.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
J.K. Rowling Tackles Anorexia Obsession
J.K. Rowling rants about Western culture's obsession with unhealthy underweight women; her fears of what effect this obsession has on girls, including her daughters; and about acquaintances who see her after a long time and can only say, "You've lost weight!" after she's produced three children, and six internationally bestselling novels that have been turned into four major motion pictures. Hello! What's wrong with this picture? Can JKR possibly have accomplished anything more important in this world than watching her weight? Can any woman? And what does that say about the world that asks such a question?
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Guardian UK's Special Report on Modernism
Britain's Guardian UK has an excellent series up on Modern Art that really helps explain where a movement so bizarre came from. Modernism is a philosophy so counter-intuitive that it's proponents have equated decoration with crime. Hardly. A quarter million years ago our ancestors moved out of the trees and into caves, and do you know what the first thing they said was? "Honey, we've got to do something about these bare walls. We could paint a herd a buffalo here and some deer there, and carve a vagina over the entrance to the back cave. What do you think?" The impulse to decorate is what makes us human, not what makes us criminal. Only a hardcore monotheistic Fundamentalist would equate humanity with sin. Any cultural movement that tries to fight a quarter million years of human evolution, history, and conditioning is doomed.
The Value of a Classical Education: What I Learned From The Trojan Horse
My 6 year-old daughter and I recently finished studying a Dorling-Kindersley children's version of The Iliad called The Trojan Horse. What did we learn from this book? We learned that if you're going to start a war in the Middle East, even if you think the other party deserves it, you better plan it out carefully. If you attack with superior fighters but don't think beforehand and you don't listen to your wisest advisors until after those superior fighters have committed war atrocities, then you're going to end up mired down in a bloody, costly war that will take at least ten years to win. Hmm.... Who could have benefited from knowing this? Maybe we should send a copy of The Trojan Horse to President Bush and every member of his Administration. It's written at a fourth grade level and has pretty pictures on ever page. Maybe it wouldn't be beyond their reading comprehension level. What do you think?
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Epistle to the Fundamentalists
AOB tries to tell some basic, fundamental truths to those who preach Christianity without practicing it. Good luck, kid.
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Spring Break
It's finally warm and dry enough to declare Spring Break. We'll be off lessons for the next week or two, until it gets too hot or too rainy for the girls to want to play outside. At least Brighteyes will be off lessons, Sunshine says she wants to continue hers. Her lessons only last around 20 minutes, and include games.
Spring and Fall Breaks are when we switch over the wardrobes. This Spring I finally confirmed something I've suspected for a while, Brighteyes is not going to fit in ready-to-wear gracefully any longer. Her widths are Sizes 4 and 6, her lengths are Sizes 7, 8, and 11??(eek!) Sunshine may well stretch out the same way in a few years. I'm going to have to do some serious pattern alteration, and then sew like mad so they'll have clothes that fit. It looks like we're going to have to institute a new size in this house: B7, what Brighteyes was wearing when she turned 7.
Ah, well. It could be worse. In a few years she'll have breasts to alter for in addition to everything else.
Spring and Fall Breaks are when we switch over the wardrobes. This Spring I finally confirmed something I've suspected for a while, Brighteyes is not going to fit in ready-to-wear gracefully any longer. Her widths are Sizes 4 and 6, her lengths are Sizes 7, 8, and 11??(eek!) Sunshine may well stretch out the same way in a few years. I'm going to have to do some serious pattern alteration, and then sew like mad so they'll have clothes that fit. It looks like we're going to have to institute a new size in this house: B7, what Brighteyes was wearing when she turned 7.
Ah, well. It could be worse. In a few years she'll have breasts to alter for in addition to everything else.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
This is Not Feminism
I hope the article linked above is an April Fool's Day joke.
Feminism is the belief that women are equal to men in the social, political and economic spheres. It means women get to choose what they want to do in those spheres. Feminism = choice.
Most people understand this, but every once in a great while I run into someone who thinks that "feminism" simply means "women working what the Victorians had considered men's jobs." They would force women into stereotypical "breadwinner" roles just as surely as male chauvinists would force women into stereotypical "housewife" roles. Neither set of bigots can wrap their brain around the concept of "feminism = choice."
It appears that Holland also has at least one of those bigots who call themselves "feminists" but who would deny other women real choice in their lives. What an idiot.
Feminism is the belief that women are equal to men in the social, political and economic spheres. It means women get to choose what they want to do in those spheres. Feminism = choice.
Most people understand this, but every once in a great while I run into someone who thinks that "feminism" simply means "women working what the Victorians had considered men's jobs." They would force women into stereotypical "breadwinner" roles just as surely as male chauvinists would force women into stereotypical "housewife" roles. Neither set of bigots can wrap their brain around the concept of "feminism = choice."
It appears that Holland also has at least one of those bigots who call themselves "feminists" but who would deny other women real choice in their lives. What an idiot.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Why the School System Won't Be After My Kids
Many homeschoolers are terrified the school system is going to hunt them down and force them to send their kids to school. This fear is completely out of place in our school system. There's not enough teachers to take care of the students they've already got. Every school year for the past decade the state has started out hundreds of teachers short. Most teachers are already over retirement age, and some are nearing their second retirement. Today we found out that half the teachers at the local elementary school have put in for their retirement at the end of the year. That's an almost unimaginable crisis. Come after homeschoolers? I don't think so. They've got enough trouble on their plate already.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
It's a pretty day, and Brighteyes wants to play outside. I insist we do three lessons first: Math, Latin, and Literature. The others can wait for another day.
Brighteyes is having trouble with double-digit addition. When I ask her to double-check an answer, she slams her pencil down and says, "I can't do anything with you glowering at me!"
I laugh and give her a delighted hug. "Congratulations, honey! I don't know any other 6 year-olds who even know the word "glowering", let alone can use it in a sentence."
She relaxes. Five minutes later Math is done.
I think it's called "discipline", yes?
Brighteyes is having trouble with double-digit addition. When I ask her to double-check an answer, she slams her pencil down and says, "I can't do anything with you glowering at me!"
I laugh and give her a delighted hug. "Congratulations, honey! I don't know any other 6 year-olds who even know the word "glowering", let alone can use it in a sentence."
She relaxes. Five minutes later Math is done.
I think it's called "discipline", yes?
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Minimus Worksheet Template, Chapter 2, Part 2
New Nouns: cheese, bedroom, sir
New Verbs: sit down (singular), get up, silent (plural), smiles (singular)
Adverbs: now, once upon a time, of course, especially
Noun Bank: mother, father, daughter, son, small child, cat, mouse, sister, soul, birthday, gift, house, garden, dress, soldier, cloak, wasp, whale, dolphin, horse, rabbit, pig, dinner, fish sauce, elephant, swan, peacock, parrot, fish, bull, dog, cow, hen, fox, cat, frog, badger, bird, cheese, bedroom, sir
Adjective Bank: famous, beautiful, dirty, messy, tired, excellent, fat, big, small, very big, very small, friendly, naughty, good, very good, clever, very clever, beautiful, lazy, energetic
Verb Bank: I am, we are, you are (singular), you are (plural), is, are, will be, I have, sit (plural), come (singular), sit down (singular), get up, silent (plural), smiles (singular)
Pronouns: I, we, everyone, my
Conjunctions: and, but
Greetings: Hello, Hello (plural), Goodbye, Dear (female), Dear (male), Dearest (female)
Exclamations: yeah!, oh dear
Negatives: not, don't
(Now/Of course) I am (Noun/Adjective).
(Now/Of course) you are (Noun/Adjective).
(Now/Of course) (Noun) is (Noun/Adjective).
(Plural Noun) (Plural Verb).
(Plural Noun) (Plural Verb) especially (Noun).
(Plural Noun) are (Plural Noun/ Plural Adjective) especially (Noun).
New Verbs: sit down (singular), get up, silent (plural), smiles (singular)
Adverbs: now, once upon a time, of course, especially
Noun Bank: mother, father, daughter, son, small child, cat, mouse, sister, soul, birthday, gift, house, garden, dress, soldier, cloak, wasp, whale, dolphin, horse, rabbit, pig, dinner, fish sauce, elephant, swan, peacock, parrot, fish, bull, dog, cow, hen, fox, cat, frog, badger, bird, cheese, bedroom, sir
Adjective Bank: famous, beautiful, dirty, messy, tired, excellent, fat, big, small, very big, very small, friendly, naughty, good, very good, clever, very clever, beautiful, lazy, energetic
Verb Bank: I am, we are, you are (singular), you are (plural), is, are, will be, I have, sit (plural), come (singular), sit down (singular), get up, silent (plural), smiles (singular)
Pronouns: I, we, everyone, my
Conjunctions: and, but
Greetings: Hello, Hello (plural), Goodbye, Dear (female), Dear (male), Dearest (female)
Exclamations: yeah!, oh dear
Negatives: not, don't
(Now/Of course) I am (Noun/Adjective).
(Now/Of course) you are (Noun/Adjective).
(Now/Of course) (Noun) is (Noun/Adjective).
(Plural Noun) (Plural Verb).
(Plural Noun) (Plural Verb) especially (Noun).
(Plural Noun) are (Plural Noun/ Plural Adjective) especially (Noun).
Oh, for the Wife of Bryan
Myrtle has a new homeschool blog dedicated to the question, "Where are the philosophy books for homeschooled children?" I want to know that one too. Myrtle, could you pretty please put up some more links and a bio? Your blog is looking great so far.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Building Better Geeks Part 1: The Simple Problem
I don't hear many anti-homeschooling comments in person, but the other day I read a troll who stated that "homeschooling turns kids into geeks". I was amazed. Were there really people around who still used "geek" as a pejorative? How '80s could you get!
This is the 21st Century. By now we all know what happens to geeks once they get away from the artificial conformity of the age-segregated school system. Most of them discover others who value their gifts and end up as happy, healthy, creative adults. A few of them wind up stinking rich in the process.
Dictionaries define geek as either "an intellectual" or "socially inept". It's typically used to mean an intellectual who appears socially inept to people in the mainstream. Gee if I didn't want my children to be intellectuals, I shouldn't have married a man with a 185 IQ. Likewise he shouldn't have married me.
I don't think you can "turn" someone into an intellectual. It's a tendency you are born with, just like musical ability. Over the years I've met many young intellectuals who had yet to find anyone who could understand them. They were all miserably unhappy, and opened like seeds in the rain in the presence of other intellectuals.
Then there's the "socially inept" definition. Geeks mainly appear "socially inept" when forced into strict age-segregated environments where they are surrounded by people with whom they have nothing in common save species, geography, and proximity of birth dates. The greater the mix of individuals and the less the expectation of conformity, the better geeks perform. This is especially true of geek children. The solution is obvious, keep geek children away from age-segregated environments that enforce conformity. In other words, homeschool and let them spend their copious free time in non-age-segregated environments. Duh, people.
That said, it's true that geeks of all ages sometimes appear "socially inept" because they are out of step with the dominant culture. I'll discuss that in Building Better Geeks Part 2: The Deeper Problem.
This is the 21st Century. By now we all know what happens to geeks once they get away from the artificial conformity of the age-segregated school system. Most of them discover others who value their gifts and end up as happy, healthy, creative adults. A few of them wind up stinking rich in the process.
Dictionaries define geek as either "an intellectual" or "socially inept". It's typically used to mean an intellectual who appears socially inept to people in the mainstream. Gee if I didn't want my children to be intellectuals, I shouldn't have married a man with a 185 IQ. Likewise he shouldn't have married me.
I don't think you can "turn" someone into an intellectual. It's a tendency you are born with, just like musical ability. Over the years I've met many young intellectuals who had yet to find anyone who could understand them. They were all miserably unhappy, and opened like seeds in the rain in the presence of other intellectuals.
Then there's the "socially inept" definition. Geeks mainly appear "socially inept" when forced into strict age-segregated environments where they are surrounded by people with whom they have nothing in common save species, geography, and proximity of birth dates. The greater the mix of individuals and the less the expectation of conformity, the better geeks perform. This is especially true of geek children. The solution is obvious, keep geek children away from age-segregated environments that enforce conformity. In other words, homeschool and let them spend their copious free time in non-age-segregated environments. Duh, people.
That said, it's true that geeks of all ages sometimes appear "socially inept" because they are out of step with the dominant culture. I'll discuss that in Building Better Geeks Part 2: The Deeper Problem.
Goodbye American Democracy
Group sues to block budget law that never passed House
By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post
WASHINGTON - For anyone who took fifth-grade social studies, how legislation turns to law always seemed pretty simple: The House passes a bill, the Senate passes the same bill, and the president signs it.
But last month, Washington threw all that old-fashioned civics stuff into a tizzy when President Bush signed into law a bill that never passed the House. The bill -- in this case, a major budget-cutting measure that will affect millions of Americans -- became a law because it was ``certified'' by the leaders of the House and Senate.
After stewing for weeks, Public Citizen, a legislative watchdog group, sued Tuesday to block a law that aims to cut $40 billion over five years, charging that Bush and Republican leaders of Congress flagrantly violated the Constitution when the president signed it into law knowing that the version that cleared the House was $2 billion different from the Senate's version.
The issue is bizarre, with even constitutional scholars saying they could not think of any precedent for the journey the budget bill took to becoming a law. Republicans are evoking an obscure Supreme Court ruling from the 1890s to suggest that a bill does not actually have to pass both chambers of Congress to become law.
What are we supposed to teach our children for Civics now? "This is how our Government works, as long as its convenient for the Administration to play along"? I can't imagine a more definitive example of hubris than the Republican's failure to realize how this dangerous precedent could turn around and bite them in the ass in some future Administration.
UPDATE: Here is the original longer article.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
My daughter is an Unitarian.
There's an old joke that an Unitarian would rather go to a talk about Heaven than go to Heaven itself. This evening Brighteyes spotted the Lady and the Tramp dvd and asked if she could watch it. I said yes, after she and her sister got ready. She then stood there and told me about the Lady and the Tramp story in her Disney storybook instead of running off to get ready for the movie.
Break out the Laurel Wreathes!
Greek court allowed association of worshippers of ancient Greek deities to be set up, Radio Svoboda informs. At the moment Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Athens, Hermes, etc. are being worshipped by 100,000 Greeks. Until now Ministry of Culture banned them from conducting public worship at archeological sites and their gatherings were often secretive. Greek Orthodox Church is severely criticizing worship of ancient deities.
Friday, March 24, 2006
All Homeschooling is Faith-Based
There's a myth shared by non-homeschoolers and some newbie Fundamentalist Christian homeschoolers that all homeschoolers are "faith-based" i.e. Fundamentalist Christians. Nothing could be further from the truth. Homeschooling families span all religious faiths and no religious faith. But it is true that homeschooling is a "faith-based" activity. Homeschooling is based on a faith that we as parents can do a better job of educating our children than any other available alternative. We have faith in ourselves, faith in the homeschooling process, faith in our analysis of the other choices, but most of all we have faith in our children. That's a lot of faith to have out on display in today's cynical world, and there are a lot of people of all ideologies who do not share our faith. It is the nature of faith to be questioned by those who do not share it. But we have good reasons to believe in our faith and ultimately to believe in our children.
UPDATE: And people who have no faith in themselves and their children will never understand how we could find the nerve to do such a thing.
UPDATE: And people who have no faith in themselves and their children will never understand how we could find the nerve to do such a thing.
Excuses, excuses
Haven't had much chance to post lately. Two weeks ago was Spring Break. I spent all my time running around trying to facilitate for my husband on his vacation as well as homeschool my kids. Somehow I didn't find any time for myself.
The past week was dominated by the events in the post below. The children don't know the full details of course, but they've still been moody afterwards. Brighteyes has been up and down all week. One day was terrible, the next wonderful, the next the worse day yet. Yesterday we got in some Usborne puzzle books, and she seems to have settled down with those.
The weather has been a big part of the problem. We had one beautiful week, then it's been cold and rainy ever since. If they could just run around outside they would feel better, but the backyard's a mud hole right now.
I reevaluated Brighteyes' schedule this week. Since she's working well over a grade level ahead in both spelling and grammar we're going to do those only half a week each until she turns 7. We're not in any race, and she won't hurt from having more time to spend being a little girl.
Sunshine has rediscovered Starfall.com. She loves it and crawls into the lap of whomever is on the computer demanding "Starfall! Starfall!" whenever you sit down at the machine, which cuts into time to blog.
But I'd be lying if I said those were the only reasons I haven't been blogging. I also haven't figured out just I want to say about the death of Sean Paddock. How many ways can you "Stop!" at the top of your lungs?
For those of you who aren't in the homeschool blog community, Sean Paddock is a little boy who was killed by his adoptive mother while using sadistic discipline methods from a child-rearing book marketed to Evangelical Christians. Many homeschoolers have condemned the book's author, as you can see here and here. Many Evangelical Christian homeschoolers have closed ranks behind him, as you can see here and here. The result has been flame wars and a boycott.
So why haven't I put my .02 cents in yet? I'm waiting for the flashbacks to die down. I grew up among Fundamentalist Evangelical Christians, and I've seen and heard more stories like this over the years than I can count. Painful memories of other such incidences in the past are crowding into my head, and I'm trying to forge them into something coherent. Give me a few more days. I've got a post on geeks to finish, and by then I should be ready to start on that one.
The past week was dominated by the events in the post below. The children don't know the full details of course, but they've still been moody afterwards. Brighteyes has been up and down all week. One day was terrible, the next wonderful, the next the worse day yet. Yesterday we got in some Usborne puzzle books, and she seems to have settled down with those.
The weather has been a big part of the problem. We had one beautiful week, then it's been cold and rainy ever since. If they could just run around outside they would feel better, but the backyard's a mud hole right now.
I reevaluated Brighteyes' schedule this week. Since she's working well over a grade level ahead in both spelling and grammar we're going to do those only half a week each until she turns 7. We're not in any race, and she won't hurt from having more time to spend being a little girl.
Sunshine has rediscovered Starfall.com. She loves it and crawls into the lap of whomever is on the computer demanding "Starfall! Starfall!" whenever you sit down at the machine, which cuts into time to blog.
But I'd be lying if I said those were the only reasons I haven't been blogging. I also haven't figured out just I want to say about the death of Sean Paddock. How many ways can you "Stop!" at the top of your lungs?
For those of you who aren't in the homeschool blog community, Sean Paddock is a little boy who was killed by his adoptive mother while using sadistic discipline methods from a child-rearing book marketed to Evangelical Christians. Many homeschoolers have condemned the book's author, as you can see here and here. Many Evangelical Christian homeschoolers have closed ranks behind him, as you can see here and here. The result has been flame wars and a boycott.
So why haven't I put my .02 cents in yet? I'm waiting for the flashbacks to die down. I grew up among Fundamentalist Evangelical Christians, and I've seen and heard more stories like this over the years than I can count. Painful memories of other such incidences in the past are crowding into my head, and I'm trying to forge them into something coherent. Give me a few more days. I've got a post on geeks to finish, and by then I should be ready to start on that one.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Bruised
Unlike some people, I've only heard the anti-homeschool "socialization" argument brought up once. I discount it completely. I know all about the "socialization" that goes on in mass schools. It's taken me decades of work and thousands of dollars of therapy to recover from it. I swore before I turned 18 my future children would go through that nightmare over my dead body.
Studies have shown that homeschooled children are actually better socialized than mass schooled children because they have more time to devote to being with a greater range of people. Parents who care enough about their children to homeschool them in the first place are generally going to care enough about them to find them groups of people to socialize with. After a few years the homeschooled child is usually up to his or her neck in socialization opportunities. That said, the first few years can be rough until the family finds people for their children to socialize with, especially if the family lives in a rural area where resources for children are few and quite far between. This is the situation we are in.
The nearest town (pop. 3,000) has no playground, no dance classes, no Girl Scouts, and no Campfire Girls. The Big Town has a small inclusive homeschool group we take part in. They also have Christian homeschool groups, but they don't advertise their meetings because they don't want to risk "contamination". We've stumbled on two of these groups over the years. The people running them acted exactly like members of junior high cliques, including staring through strangers, not speaking when spoken to by newcomers, not playing with children they didn't know, incredibly strict but arbitrary standards of conduct, malicious gossip, and cutting down junior members. In my opinion, junior high school socialization is textbook "bad socialization" and the exact experience I want my children to avoid. I'm not going to rush out and embrace Fundamentalism just so I can relive Middle School Hell.
What a recruiting poster that would make: "Find the 'Real Jesus' and return to the glory days of Junior High conformity! Spend the rest of your life trying to get along with people who have the social maturity of 13 year-olds! Relax in the delightful company of Queen Bees and backstabbers! You may even become the Queen Bee yourself in 30 or 40 years!" I think not. I've been to churches like that before, so I'm not imagining them. I'm remembering them.
So my friend tells me of a wonderful group she takes part in that's started hosting children's activities. We go to the first one, and it's great. But the hosts aren't really fond of children, and each subsequent event gets less great until before long they stink.
My friend and I decide to revitalize the children's activities by bringing stuff from home. We spend hours coordinating on the phone, ransacking our houses, and running to the store. We show up with cookies, art activities, a boom box, music, show-and-tell, storybooks, childrens' game books and lots of determination to make this the greatest event ever! The kids love it.
At one point toward the end of the day I come back from taking a load of stuff back to my car to be told that my six year-old girl has upset a nine year-old girl by trying to kiss her. I tell the six year old to back off, that not everyone likes being kissed, and make a note to schedule a talk on boundaries.
Next morning I get this email:
My day melts into a pool of shock, outrage, horror, and disgust.
It's a few days later. Phone calls have been made, more emails have been sent, bridges have been burned, and nobody is happy. My inner voice of experience tells me, "It's better to find out that people are jerks sooner rather than later." I don't want to listen.
My friend and I are talking about using our new-found organization skills to do some stuff for our kids. The 4-H lady wants me to call her and find out about 4-H clubs in our area. I'll probably call her back in a few days. Right now though, I'm feeling a little bruised.
Studies have shown that homeschooled children are actually better socialized than mass schooled children because they have more time to devote to being with a greater range of people. Parents who care enough about their children to homeschool them in the first place are generally going to care enough about them to find them groups of people to socialize with. After a few years the homeschooled child is usually up to his or her neck in socialization opportunities. That said, the first few years can be rough until the family finds people for their children to socialize with, especially if the family lives in a rural area where resources for children are few and quite far between. This is the situation we are in.
The nearest town (pop. 3,000) has no playground, no dance classes, no Girl Scouts, and no Campfire Girls. The Big Town has a small inclusive homeschool group we take part in. They also have Christian homeschool groups, but they don't advertise their meetings because they don't want to risk "contamination". We've stumbled on two of these groups over the years. The people running them acted exactly like members of junior high cliques, including staring through strangers, not speaking when spoken to by newcomers, not playing with children they didn't know, incredibly strict but arbitrary standards of conduct, malicious gossip, and cutting down junior members. In my opinion, junior high school socialization is textbook "bad socialization" and the exact experience I want my children to avoid. I'm not going to rush out and embrace Fundamentalism just so I can relive Middle School Hell.
What a recruiting poster that would make: "Find the 'Real Jesus' and return to the glory days of Junior High conformity! Spend the rest of your life trying to get along with people who have the social maturity of 13 year-olds! Relax in the delightful company of Queen Bees and backstabbers! You may even become the Queen Bee yourself in 30 or 40 years!" I think not. I've been to churches like that before, so I'm not imagining them. I'm remembering them.
So my friend tells me of a wonderful group she takes part in that's started hosting children's activities. We go to the first one, and it's great. But the hosts aren't really fond of children, and each subsequent event gets less great until before long they stink.
My friend and I decide to revitalize the children's activities by bringing stuff from home. We spend hours coordinating on the phone, ransacking our houses, and running to the store. We show up with cookies, art activities, a boom box, music, show-and-tell, storybooks, childrens' game books and lots of determination to make this the greatest event ever! The kids love it.
At one point toward the end of the day I come back from taking a load of stuff back to my car to be told that my six year-old girl has upset a nine year-old girl by trying to kiss her. I tell the six year old to back off, that not everyone likes being kissed, and make a note to schedule a talk on boundaries.
Next morning I get this email:
Understand what? I couldn't make heads or tales out of it! I ask for clarification and was told that my six year-old had "sexually harassed" the nine year-old in ways my children don't even know about, and that my children must have been "sexually abused" to know about such things.Due to the unacceptable behavior of your oldest child towards another child last night at the ****, I have to inform you that you are no longer welcome at *****. We are not judgmental people. However, the safety and innocence of our children will be protected. As parents, I am sure you can understand this.
My day melts into a pool of shock, outrage, horror, and disgust.
It's a few days later. Phone calls have been made, more emails have been sent, bridges have been burned, and nobody is happy. My inner voice of experience tells me, "It's better to find out that people are jerks sooner rather than later." I don't want to listen.
My friend and I are talking about using our new-found organization skills to do some stuff for our kids. The 4-H lady wants me to call her and find out about 4-H clubs in our area. I'll probably call her back in a few days. Right now though, I'm feeling a little bruised.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Gifts and Curses
The link above leads to a thoughtful essay on the mixed nature of gifts and curses. The author wisely notes that all great gifts come with their own curse. I wish he or she had also noted that the great curses often come with their own gifts as well.
Monday, March 13, 2006
"Mommy, the whole backyard is a field of flowers!"
Spring is here. The sun is shining, the wind is blowing, and when the rain isn't pouring down it's really nice. We're taking more days off. Sunshine seems determined to pick the flowers off every weed in the backyard, and I'm not inclined to stop her.
If you're new to homeschooling, you might be surprised at the number of days we take off. We don't stop during the summer or when the weather is bad, we stop when the weather is good or when family matters intervene. I wonder what effect this will have on the future, when more formerly homeschooled adults are out in the workplace who know in their bones that good weather means "go outside and enjoy it"? I imagine it will have a good effect in the long run.
The homeschooling method we're using, the classical a la The Well-Trained Mind is very intense. The authors advise taking frequent breaks, such as one day off a week or one week off a month. Our breaks aren't as regularly scheduled as that, but we still take them.
In addition, both girls are working above their grade level so I'm not inclined to push them. Sunshine turns 5 this week, and she's already halfway through a kindergarten curriculum. Brighteyes has already completed at least one first grade curriculum in all subjects. She is working on the second grade level in most subjects and in some cases is working on her second sets of second grade curriculum. We've used two different sets of first and second grade curriculums with her. I suppose we could just let her race ahead to third and fourth grade curriculums after she finished the first set of first and second grade curriculums, but we felt she was at a very fragile age where it was more important to make sure she had a solid foundation of the basics under her than to race ahead as fast as she could. She tried the "racing ahead" bit last year. She got to the point where she was reading fourth grade material at five years of age and she could sort of understand it, but she didn't have the background to fully "get it." That dichotomy led to some major temper tantrums. Ever since then we've been studying at a slower but broader pace.
In yoga, at the end of every session you're supposed to lay down, relax, and give what you just learned time to "settle in" to your body. Sounds like a good rule to use in homeschooling as well, especially with younger children.
If you're new to homeschooling, you might be surprised at the number of days we take off. We don't stop during the summer or when the weather is bad, we stop when the weather is good or when family matters intervene. I wonder what effect this will have on the future, when more formerly homeschooled adults are out in the workplace who know in their bones that good weather means "go outside and enjoy it"? I imagine it will have a good effect in the long run.
The homeschooling method we're using, the classical a la The Well-Trained Mind is very intense. The authors advise taking frequent breaks, such as one day off a week or one week off a month. Our breaks aren't as regularly scheduled as that, but we still take them.
In addition, both girls are working above their grade level so I'm not inclined to push them. Sunshine turns 5 this week, and she's already halfway through a kindergarten curriculum. Brighteyes has already completed at least one first grade curriculum in all subjects. She is working on the second grade level in most subjects and in some cases is working on her second sets of second grade curriculum. We've used two different sets of first and second grade curriculums with her. I suppose we could just let her race ahead to third and fourth grade curriculums after she finished the first set of first and second grade curriculums, but we felt she was at a very fragile age where it was more important to make sure she had a solid foundation of the basics under her than to race ahead as fast as she could. She tried the "racing ahead" bit last year. She got to the point where she was reading fourth grade material at five years of age and she could sort of understand it, but she didn't have the background to fully "get it." That dichotomy led to some major temper tantrums. Ever since then we've been studying at a slower but broader pace.
In yoga, at the end of every session you're supposed to lay down, relax, and give what you just learned time to "settle in" to your body. Sounds like a good rule to use in homeschooling as well, especially with younger children.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Excellent Blog
I've found a truly wonderful blog lately, written by Goro Miyazaki. Goro Miyazaki is the son of the animation genius Hayao Miyazaki. Hayao Miyazaki is the greatest animator who ever lived, and his Studio Ghibli makes the most beautiful animated movies in the world.
As a young man, Goro Miyazaki never wanted to compete with his legendary father. He made a career in urban planning and administration. He designed the Ghibli Museum, a building so exquisitely referential and playful it even has uptight snobs like me squealing like fangirls. When Studio Ghibli began a program to develop new animation talent, their President, Mr. Suzuki, invited Goro Miyazaki to join. He's hard at work on his first movie, Tales of the Earthsea, an adaptation of part of LeGuin's Earthsea Cycle.
In order to step out from under his father's shadow, Goro Miyazaki has been blogging the production of his movie. Along the way he talks about entering a new field of work as a mature adult, his changing perceptions of art and life, nature, Japanese family life, and a host of other topics.
Mr. Miyazaki is an enjoyable essayist. I have no idea how good his movie will be, but the film blog will appeal to every animation fan.
As a young man, Goro Miyazaki never wanted to compete with his legendary father. He made a career in urban planning and administration. He designed the Ghibli Museum, a building so exquisitely referential and playful it even has uptight snobs like me squealing like fangirls. When Studio Ghibli began a program to develop new animation talent, their President, Mr. Suzuki, invited Goro Miyazaki to join. He's hard at work on his first movie, Tales of the Earthsea, an adaptation of part of LeGuin's Earthsea Cycle.
In order to step out from under his father's shadow, Goro Miyazaki has been blogging the production of his movie. Along the way he talks about entering a new field of work as a mature adult, his changing perceptions of art and life, nature, Japanese family life, and a host of other topics.
Mr. Miyazaki is an enjoyable essayist. I have no idea how good his movie will be, but the film blog will appeal to every animation fan.
Public School Reality Check
Yesterday another local homeschooler told me she was nervous that she might "fail" to teach her six year-old son how to read. I mentioned that we have a 16 year-old "mother's helper" (in-house babysitter) who comes over to play with our girls sometimes. She's not coming over much these days, as she's working hard to get a scholarship. She's near the top of her high school class.
I've heard her read to my girls, and seen Brighteyes take the book from the teen to read it herself. She's 16 and can't read as well as our six year-old can. I found out last week she's been telling this story in public too, bragging about our daughters for us.
When a 16 year-old who is near the top of her high school class can't read as well as a six year-old, even a gifted six year-old, the local school system has already failed the teenager several times over. As I told my friend, a homeschooling mother would have to really work at it to fail her child worse than that.
I've heard her read to my girls, and seen Brighteyes take the book from the teen to read it herself. She's 16 and can't read as well as our six year-old can. I found out last week she's been telling this story in public too, bragging about our daughters for us.
When a 16 year-old who is near the top of her high school class can't read as well as a six year-old, even a gifted six year-old, the local school system has already failed the teenager several times over. As I told my friend, a homeschooling mother would have to really work at it to fail her child worse than that.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Baking Day
Now that we're finally into the rhythm of doing something different on Fridays, we've started having a Baking Day one Friday a month. One of the arguments for mass schooling is that children need team sports to learn how to work together. I figure my children can learn how to work together in the kitchen just as well. For one day a month we put the lesson books down and get cooking lessons instead.
I've tried this before a couple of times in the past few months, and I think I've got the pattern worked out. The day before I wrote down the recipes and the ingredients we would be using and did what I could do beforehand. This morning we had breakfast, cleaned up and fed the dogs, washed hands really well and started to work.
First I cut up and steeped the dried apricots for our quick bread. Brighteyes and Sunshine made ham salad spread while I fixed up a pot roast in the crock pot. I had boiled the eggs last night. They peeled them (a major undertaking), smooshed them, and put them in the bowl. I opened the can of ham, Sunshine spooned the meat into the bowl while Brighteyes added the condiments. Then they mixed it up good and set it in the regrigerator. While they did all that, I had time to chop up half a crock pot full of vegetables and plunk the roast, seasonings, and tomatoes on top.
We cleaned up from the cooking and got ready to bake. We baked a double recipe of apricot-pecan bread. The girls were in charge of picking out the pans and greasing them while I got everything measured out and mixed up. We used muffin tins, which I find do better with quick breads than they do with either muffins or cupcakes. Then we cleaned up again and it was time for lunch. The girls got out the bread, cheese and spread and made up the sandwiches, with me helping spread. They were so proud of themselves! We got through before noon and nobody was tired, although by nighttime I felt wiped out. All in all a highly successful experiment.
The mail brought us Disney's latest round of Studio Ghibli releases: the re-dubbed My Neighbor Totoro, Whispers of the Heart, and Howl's Moving Castle. We watched Totoro tonight. We're going to hold off on Howl's Moving Castle until we read the book, which we started tonight, so the movie will be less scary. But I'm going to try to sneak up front and watch it tonight after the girls go to sleep. I'm so excited to finally get to see it!
I've tried this before a couple of times in the past few months, and I think I've got the pattern worked out. The day before I wrote down the recipes and the ingredients we would be using and did what I could do beforehand. This morning we had breakfast, cleaned up and fed the dogs, washed hands really well and started to work.
First I cut up and steeped the dried apricots for our quick bread. Brighteyes and Sunshine made ham salad spread while I fixed up a pot roast in the crock pot. I had boiled the eggs last night. They peeled them (a major undertaking), smooshed them, and put them in the bowl. I opened the can of ham, Sunshine spooned the meat into the bowl while Brighteyes added the condiments. Then they mixed it up good and set it in the regrigerator. While they did all that, I had time to chop up half a crock pot full of vegetables and plunk the roast, seasonings, and tomatoes on top.
We cleaned up from the cooking and got ready to bake. We baked a double recipe of apricot-pecan bread. The girls were in charge of picking out the pans and greasing them while I got everything measured out and mixed up. We used muffin tins, which I find do better with quick breads than they do with either muffins or cupcakes. Then we cleaned up again and it was time for lunch. The girls got out the bread, cheese and spread and made up the sandwiches, with me helping spread. They were so proud of themselves! We got through before noon and nobody was tired, although by nighttime I felt wiped out. All in all a highly successful experiment.
The mail brought us Disney's latest round of Studio Ghibli releases: the re-dubbed My Neighbor Totoro, Whispers of the Heart, and Howl's Moving Castle. We watched Totoro tonight. We're going to hold off on Howl's Moving Castle until we read the book, which we started tonight, so the movie will be less scary. But I'm going to try to sneak up front and watch it tonight after the girls go to sleep. I'm so excited to finally get to see it!
Ancient Pagan Proverbs for Young Children
Christian proverbs are easy to find, but what if you're looking for the wisdom sayings of other cultures? I'm blogging a collection of ancient Pagan proverbs in language suitable for the 6 - 9 year old set. I'll update this list as I add more to the blog.
Sumerian Proverbs for Young Children
Ancient Egyptian Proverbs for Young Children: Ptah-Hotup
Ancient Egyptian Proverbs for Young Children: Temple of Luxor
Ancient Egyptian Proverbs for Young Children: 10 Virtues Required of a Candidate for the Priesthood
Sumerian Proverbs for Young Children
Ancient Egyptian Proverbs for Young Children: Ptah-Hotup
Ancient Egyptian Proverbs for Young Children: Temple of Luxor
Ancient Egyptian Proverbs for Young Children: 10 Virtues Required of a Candidate for the Priesthood
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Press Finds Story 27 Years Late
The link above is to an article on a former Southern Baptist turned to Wicca. What's so unusual about that? In 1979 the Southern Baptist Convention went from being the second-most liberal church in America to die-hard Fundamentalist in an abrupt Takeover. In subsequent years the Southern Baptist seminaries became hardline bastions, and thousands of Southern Baptists women who had planned to enter the pulpit "left Christianity altogether" as it was reported by a Southern Baptist faculty member at the time. Thousands more Southern Baptist men and women left the church before they got to the seminary, including yours truly. The flight away from Fundamentalism to Paganism is one of the most under-reported stories of the late 20th Century.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Selfless Love Stories
I wasn't too keen on love stories when I was a child. I thought them terribly overused. You couldn't take a step for tripping over a "boy meets girl, has adventures, gets girl" story. I didn't object to the plot, but did every story have to go that way? Besides, all this concentration on your future co-parent was inherently selfish. When all was said and done, the protagonists seemed more interested in their long-term comfort and genetic succession than anything else.
I disliked doomed love stories even more. I wanted to slap Romeo and Juliet silly. If you were going to invest that much effort into lining up a future co-parent, a little more common sense would have paid off bigtime. If she's worth fighting your way back from the ends of the earth for, isn't she worth using a few brain cells to keep from getting into that much trouble in the first place?
I've grown a lot more tolerant of such tales as I've come to see just how much work even the best relationship needs. I've also discovered something I like better than both, the selfless love story, where one person loves the other enough to help them get something that won't benefit the giver at all. It's not something you see well done very much. Most writers can't pull it off. I'm delighted to find two examples of it in the past week.
The first example is over at Phil and Kaja Foglio's Girl Genius. The (drastically shortened) plot goes like this: boy meets girl, boy proposes to girl, girl's parents strenuously object, girl's parents are brutally attacked and left for dead, girl runs away and is apparently killed. Boy then devotes himself to saving the lives of the girl's parents and nursing them back to health, even though he has nothing to gain and a considerable amount to lose from this action.
Putting it like that, it sounds like a soap opera, but I was reminded of my former gifted-ed teacher. His daughter went on a first date with a young man when their car was hit by a drunk driver at a stop light. She was parallelism from the waist down and for six weeks they weren't even sure she would live. But every day that young man showed up at the hospital and stayed by her side until the staff made him leave. As soon as she could sit up they were married, even though it was months still before she could leave the hospital. Such people do exist, and the world would be a better place if they got more attention.
The second example is Terry Pratchett's Reaper Man. Death is laid off for starting to feel compassion for the souls he takes, and has a bittersweet romance with an elderly spinster who was left at the altar 60 years before. Pratchett is an amazing writer, able to mix wit, profound observations and slapstick humor better than any writer alive and most writers dead. Reaper Man is the most romantic of his stories that I've read, and I've read almost all of them. It made me cry even more than his Small Gods, and I thought nothing could top the aftermath of the hurricane scene in that book.
Oh yeah, both of these stories are fantasies. They have to be, don't they? Everyone knows selfless love only happens in fairy tales. Or maybe the people who read fairy tales are the only ones who notice it happening around them.
I disliked doomed love stories even more. I wanted to slap Romeo and Juliet silly. If you were going to invest that much effort into lining up a future co-parent, a little more common sense would have paid off bigtime. If she's worth fighting your way back from the ends of the earth for, isn't she worth using a few brain cells to keep from getting into that much trouble in the first place?
I've grown a lot more tolerant of such tales as I've come to see just how much work even the best relationship needs. I've also discovered something I like better than both, the selfless love story, where one person loves the other enough to help them get something that won't benefit the giver at all. It's not something you see well done very much. Most writers can't pull it off. I'm delighted to find two examples of it in the past week.
The first example is over at Phil and Kaja Foglio's Girl Genius. The (drastically shortened) plot goes like this: boy meets girl, boy proposes to girl, girl's parents strenuously object, girl's parents are brutally attacked and left for dead, girl runs away and is apparently killed. Boy then devotes himself to saving the lives of the girl's parents and nursing them back to health, even though he has nothing to gain and a considerable amount to lose from this action.
Putting it like that, it sounds like a soap opera, but I was reminded of my former gifted-ed teacher. His daughter went on a first date with a young man when their car was hit by a drunk driver at a stop light. She was parallelism from the waist down and for six weeks they weren't even sure she would live. But every day that young man showed up at the hospital and stayed by her side until the staff made him leave. As soon as she could sit up they were married, even though it was months still before she could leave the hospital. Such people do exist, and the world would be a better place if they got more attention.
The second example is Terry Pratchett's Reaper Man. Death is laid off for starting to feel compassion for the souls he takes, and has a bittersweet romance with an elderly spinster who was left at the altar 60 years before. Pratchett is an amazing writer, able to mix wit, profound observations and slapstick humor better than any writer alive and most writers dead. Reaper Man is the most romantic of his stories that I've read, and I've read almost all of them. It made me cry even more than his Small Gods, and I thought nothing could top the aftermath of the hurricane scene in that book.
Oh yeah, both of these stories are fantasies. They have to be, don't they? Everyone knows selfless love only happens in fairy tales. Or maybe the people who read fairy tales are the only ones who notice it happening around them.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
History outline
Last week I had a low grade flu and a high grade depression. I've had recurring bouts of chronic depression and PTSD since I was three years old. Nowadays the depression is no longer associated with my abusive childhood, but it's a wornout coping mechanism I haven't fully unplugged. It turns up whenever I get distracted.
When I'm depressed I pick a task to get completely absorbed in and work on it to the exclusion of most everything else, hence the proverbs and Latin worksheets. The other big project has been making a history outline.
For those of you who aren't familiar with the WTM method, World History forms the core of the curriculum, with everything else tied to it. You cover World History four times in four-year chunks. How you cover the material changes as the child's mind matures. Grades 1 - 4 are the "Wow, what neat stories!" years, Grades 5 - 8 are the "How did this happen?" years, and Grades 9 - 12 are the "Why did this happen?" years.
We've been doing "Wow!" history for nine months now, and I think I've got a feel for how it's going to do now. I sat down our first four-year history book, the Usborne Encyclopedia of World History and a stack of notebook paper. On the far left I made a column for the different sections, in the middle a column for "Activities" and on the far right a column for "Literature". I wrote down the names of all the lessons in the book, leaving a space between each one, then began scrounging around to see what I had that could go in the "Activities" and "Literature" columns for those rows. It took eleven pages and three hours. (I didn't make a spreadsheet. It wasn't my turn on the computer, I didn't want the job to take three days, and I like having access to it when the computer isn't available.) Now I have an idea of what activities and stories we'll need to go with what lessons. I can also see what holes I need to fill in.
One thing I deliberately left off was deadlines. I resent the element of pressure that brings into the equation. There are people who thrive under that sort of pressure, but I prefer not to add any more than life is already throwing at me.
Is this the final form our history lessons will take for the next four years? No. It's a road map, and it will doubtless turn out to be incomplete. I may even abandon it completely later on. But for now it gives me some idea of which way we're going to go.
When I'm depressed I pick a task to get completely absorbed in and work on it to the exclusion of most everything else, hence the proverbs and Latin worksheets. The other big project has been making a history outline.
For those of you who aren't familiar with the WTM method, World History forms the core of the curriculum, with everything else tied to it. You cover World History four times in four-year chunks. How you cover the material changes as the child's mind matures. Grades 1 - 4 are the "Wow, what neat stories!" years, Grades 5 - 8 are the "How did this happen?" years, and Grades 9 - 12 are the "Why did this happen?" years.
We've been doing "Wow!" history for nine months now, and I think I've got a feel for how it's going to do now. I sat down our first four-year history book, the Usborne Encyclopedia of World History and a stack of notebook paper. On the far left I made a column for the different sections, in the middle a column for "Activities" and on the far right a column for "Literature". I wrote down the names of all the lessons in the book, leaving a space between each one, then began scrounging around to see what I had that could go in the "Activities" and "Literature" columns for those rows. It took eleven pages and three hours. (I didn't make a spreadsheet. It wasn't my turn on the computer, I didn't want the job to take three days, and I like having access to it when the computer isn't available.) Now I have an idea of what activities and stories we'll need to go with what lessons. I can also see what holes I need to fill in.
One thing I deliberately left off was deadlines. I resent the element of pressure that brings into the equation. There are people who thrive under that sort of pressure, but I prefer not to add any more than life is already throwing at me.
Is this the final form our history lessons will take for the next four years? No. It's a road map, and it will doubtless turn out to be incomplete. I may even abandon it completely later on. But for now it gives me some idea of which way we're going to go.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
New Pretty-pretties up on our shop.
Here's some of the pieces we've done recently. There's also a bunch of under-$100 items we haven't had time to put up yet, meant to fill our cases at shows. We're still working on our show schedule, so if there's any show you'd love to see us attend, let us know.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Ancient Egyptian Proverbs for Young Children: Ptah-Hotup
Ptah-Hotup of Memphis lived around 4,000 BC. He seems to have been a Governer or Vizier of the Pharoah, and he wrote a book of proverbs for his son. Their wording has been edited slightly for young children.
Do not be proud because you are educated; but talk with the ignorant man as with the sage. Wisdom can be found anywhere.
There is no expert that knows everything.
Fair speech is more rare than an emerald found by slave-girls among the pebbles.
Do not speak evil of anyone.
Listen respectfully when wise people talk, even if you don't agree with them.
If you hear someone tell a lie, speak up and tell the truth.
Do not scorn a poor man simply because he is poor.
Leave a fool alone, he will only confuse himself.
Do not distract the attention of someone who is working.
When you speak, know that what you say can be used against you.
A leader should always be gracious, so that no one can easily find fault with him.
Always find out what conduct is expected.
Never forget those who helped you when you were poor.
Those who have bread need to share it with the hungry.
Rulers should aim to make their people prosperous.
The wise man is great through his own merits.
If you are a guest, accept what your host gives you, putting it to your lips. Don't stare at your host. Such stares trouble the soul. Do not speak till your host addresses you; you do not know what may be evil in his opinion.
If you are an sent as a messenger, give the message exactly as it was sent. Beware of causing anger by perverting the truth.
Do not repeat that which any man says in opening the heart; it will cost you everyone's trust.
If you have ploughed, gather your harvest in the field.
The woman who is a mother of children has less peace than another.
If you are poor, serve a wise man, that all your actions may be good.
If you know a man who was born poor but who has come up in the world, do not be rude to him on account of his humble birth; but honor him for what he has become.
Riches do not come by themselves. If someone bestir himself and collects them himself, the Gods shall make him prosperous.
If you are a leader, listen politely to the petitioner. Be not abrupt with him; that would trouble him.
If you are wise, look after your house; love your wife faithfully.
It is a wretched thing to injure a poor man.
Humble and lowly people must be treated with kindness. That is how people know you will act justly to everyone.
Listen with kindness for a clear explanation.
Keep your son from those that don't do what they are told, for it is they that make him rebellious.
A well taught heart listens readily.
If you want your actions to be good, save yourself from all malice.
If you want that your actions to be good, do not covet what belongs to another.
Covetousness causes fights among family members; it tears apart the wife and the husband. It gathers to itself all evils; it is the beginning of all wickedness.
The just man flourishes; he makes a habit of truthfulness, not of covetousness.
Do not be covet what belongs to your neighbor.
Do not repeat angry speech, nor listen to it; for it is the utterance of a body heated by wrath. When angry speech is repeated to you, do not listen well to it, and look to the ground.
If you are commanded to do a theft, arrange for the command to be taken off you.
If you would be a wise man, and one respected by his superior, apply your heart to perfection.
Silence can be more profitable to you than abundant speech.
Consider how you may be opposed by an expert.
If you are powerful, make yourself honored for knowledge and for gentleness. Speak with authority, but humbly.
Do not be silent, but beware of interruption and of answering words with heat. Put it far from you; control yourself. The angry heart speaks fiery words; it darts out at the man of peace that approaches, stopping his path.
One that reckons accounts all the day does not pass a happy moment. One that gladdens his heart all the day does not provide for his house.
Do not oppress the heart of him that is already sad.
Fairness is your goal. Speak without favoring one side. Turn your aim toward exact judgments.
Do not plunder the houses of tenants; nor steal the things of a friend.
Quarrelling in place of friendship is a foolish thing.
If you would seek out the nature of a friend, do not ask it of any companion of his; but pass a time with him alone.
Let your face be bright the time you live.
That which goes into the storehouse must come out from there; and bread is to be shared.
He that causes strife comes himself to sorrow. Do not take such a one for your companion.
It is a man's kindly acts that are remembered of him in the years after his life.
Know well your merchants, for the sake of your good reputation.
Set good proverbs in the mouths of the people. They make the pattern whereby folks speak well. Good proverbs instruct a man how he shall speak and excel in speaking. Thus, good fortune may befall him, he shall be gracious and contented. His knowledge shall be his guide into a place of security, wherein he shall prosper while on earth. The scholar who knows them shall be content in his knowledge.
A splendid thing is the obedience of an obedient son.
Obedience demands good-will.
Understanding is the basis of wisdom.
The fool regards good knowledge as ignorance and profitable things are hurtful things.
A fool does all kinds of errors; at chattering speech he marvels.
Let that which you speaks implant true and just things in the life of your children. Then sins shall depart.
Be wary of speech when a learned man listens carefully to you; desire to be established for good in the mouth of those that hear you speaking.
If you have entered as an expert, speak with precision.
Let your heart overflow; but restrain your mouth a bit.
Apply your heart, whatever time you speak, to saying things that are really noble and excellent for you or your reputation.
A good son is of the gift of the Gods; and he does more than is enjoined on him, he does right, and puts his heart into all his goings.
Do not be proud because you are educated; but talk with the ignorant man as with the sage. Wisdom can be found anywhere.
There is no expert that knows everything.
Fair speech is more rare than an emerald found by slave-girls among the pebbles.
Do not speak evil of anyone.
Listen respectfully when wise people talk, even if you don't agree with them.
If you hear someone tell a lie, speak up and tell the truth.
Do not scorn a poor man simply because he is poor.
Leave a fool alone, he will only confuse himself.
Do not distract the attention of someone who is working.
When you speak, know that what you say can be used against you.
A leader should always be gracious, so that no one can easily find fault with him.
Always find out what conduct is expected.
Never forget those who helped you when you were poor.
Those who have bread need to share it with the hungry.
Rulers should aim to make their people prosperous.
The wise man is great through his own merits.
If you are a guest, accept what your host gives you, putting it to your lips. Don't stare at your host. Such stares trouble the soul. Do not speak till your host addresses you; you do not know what may be evil in his opinion.
If you are an sent as a messenger, give the message exactly as it was sent. Beware of causing anger by perverting the truth.
Do not repeat that which any man says in opening the heart; it will cost you everyone's trust.
If you have ploughed, gather your harvest in the field.
The woman who is a mother of children has less peace than another.
If you are poor, serve a wise man, that all your actions may be good.
If you know a man who was born poor but who has come up in the world, do not be rude to him on account of his humble birth; but honor him for what he has become.
Riches do not come by themselves. If someone bestir himself and collects them himself, the Gods shall make him prosperous.
If you are a leader, listen politely to the petitioner. Be not abrupt with him; that would trouble him.
If you are wise, look after your house; love your wife faithfully.
It is a wretched thing to injure a poor man.
Humble and lowly people must be treated with kindness. That is how people know you will act justly to everyone.
Listen with kindness for a clear explanation.
Keep your son from those that don't do what they are told, for it is they that make him rebellious.
A well taught heart listens readily.
If you want your actions to be good, save yourself from all malice.
If you want that your actions to be good, do not covet what belongs to another.
Covetousness causes fights among family members; it tears apart the wife and the husband. It gathers to itself all evils; it is the beginning of all wickedness.
The just man flourishes; he makes a habit of truthfulness, not of covetousness.
Do not be covet what belongs to your neighbor.
Do not repeat angry speech, nor listen to it; for it is the utterance of a body heated by wrath. When angry speech is repeated to you, do not listen well to it, and look to the ground.
If you are commanded to do a theft, arrange for the command to be taken off you.
If you would be a wise man, and one respected by his superior, apply your heart to perfection.
Silence can be more profitable to you than abundant speech.
Consider how you may be opposed by an expert.
If you are powerful, make yourself honored for knowledge and for gentleness. Speak with authority, but humbly.
Do not be silent, but beware of interruption and of answering words with heat. Put it far from you; control yourself. The angry heart speaks fiery words; it darts out at the man of peace that approaches, stopping his path.
One that reckons accounts all the day does not pass a happy moment. One that gladdens his heart all the day does not provide for his house.
Do not oppress the heart of him that is already sad.
Fairness is your goal. Speak without favoring one side. Turn your aim toward exact judgments.
Do not plunder the houses of tenants; nor steal the things of a friend.
Quarrelling in place of friendship is a foolish thing.
If you would seek out the nature of a friend, do not ask it of any companion of his; but pass a time with him alone.
Let your face be bright the time you live.
That which goes into the storehouse must come out from there; and bread is to be shared.
He that causes strife comes himself to sorrow. Do not take such a one for your companion.
It is a man's kindly acts that are remembered of him in the years after his life.
Know well your merchants, for the sake of your good reputation.
Set good proverbs in the mouths of the people. They make the pattern whereby folks speak well. Good proverbs instruct a man how he shall speak and excel in speaking. Thus, good fortune may befall him, he shall be gracious and contented. His knowledge shall be his guide into a place of security, wherein he shall prosper while on earth. The scholar who knows them shall be content in his knowledge.
A splendid thing is the obedience of an obedient son.
Obedience demands good-will.
Understanding is the basis of wisdom.
The fool regards good knowledge as ignorance and profitable things are hurtful things.
A fool does all kinds of errors; at chattering speech he marvels.
Let that which you speaks implant true and just things in the life of your children. Then sins shall depart.
Be wary of speech when a learned man listens carefully to you; desire to be established for good in the mouth of those that hear you speaking.
If you have entered as an expert, speak with precision.
Let your heart overflow; but restrain your mouth a bit.
Apply your heart, whatever time you speak, to saying things that are really noble and excellent for you or your reputation.
A good son is of the gift of the Gods; and he does more than is enjoined on him, he does right, and puts his heart into all his goings.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Minimus Worksheet Template, Chapter 2 Part 1
Part 2a
Exclamations: Oh dear, hooray
New Nouns: house, garden, dress, soldier
New Adjectives: dirty, messy, tired, excellent, fat
New Verb: will be
Part 2b
New Nouns: wasp, whale, dolphin, horse, rabbit, pig, dinner, fish sauce
New Adjectives: big, small, very big, very small, friendly, naughty, good, very good, clever, very clever, beautiful, lazy, energetic
Adjective Bank: famous, beautiful, dirty, messy, tired, excellent, fat, big, small, very big, very small, friendly, naughty, good, very good, clever, very clever, beautiful, lazy, energetic
Verb Bank: I am, we are, you are (singular), you are (plural), is, are, will be, I have, sit (plural), come (singular)
Exclamations: Oh dear, hooray
New Nouns: house, garden, dress, soldier
New Adjectives: dirty, messy, tired, excellent, fat
New Verb: will be
Part 2b
New Nouns: wasp, whale, dolphin, horse, rabbit, pig, dinner, fish sauce
New Adjectives: big, small, very big, very small, friendly, naughty, good, very good, clever, very clever, beautiful, lazy, energetic
Part 2c
New Nouns: elephant, swan, peacock, parrot, fish, bull, dog, cow, hen, fox, cat, frog, badger, bird
Noun Bank: mother, father, daughter, son, small child, cat, mouse, sister, soul, birthday, gift, house, garden, dress, soldier, cloak, wasp, whale, dolphin, horse, rabbit, pig, dinner, fish sauce, elephant, swan, peacock, parrot, fish, bull, dog, cow, hen, fox, cat, frog, badger, birdAdjective Bank: famous, beautiful, dirty, messy, tired, excellent, fat, big, small, very big, very small, friendly, naughty, good, very good, clever, very clever, beautiful, lazy, energetic
Verb Bank: I am, we are, you are (singular), you are (plural), is, are, will be, I have, sit (plural), come (singular)
Pronouns: I, we, everyone, my
Conjunctions: and, but
Greetings: Hello, Hello (plural), Goodbye, Dear (female), Dear (male), Dearest (female)
Negatives: not
I am (adjective).
You are (adjective.)
(Noun) is (adjective.)Noun will be (noun/adjective.)
I am (noun/adjective) (and/but) I am (noun/adjective).
(Noun) is (noun/adjective) (and/but) (noun) is (noun/adjective).
I am (noun/adjective) (and/but) (noun) will be (noun/adjective).
(Noun) is (noun/adjective) (and/but) (noun) will be (noun/adjective).
(Noun) will be (noun/adjective) (and/but) (noun) will be (noun/adjective).
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Bonding Practice
In groups of social animals, the most important relationships aside from mother and child are those that form between newly sexually-mature (aka "adolescent") females. Males will come and males will go, but those bonds will form the glue that holds the group together for decades. Humans are not immune to these relationships as history and countless female-buddy books and movies have shown.
But what happens to these adolescent bonding experiences in an era where homosexuality or bisexuality is nothing to fear? Historically, adolescent lesbian experiences have been more common and more tolerated than most modern people would believe, only coming under fire in the early 20th Century. From the looks of this article such tolerance may once again be returning, and with more openness than ever before.
This alleged friend of the interviewees found the article to be exaggerated for publicity, and I have little trouble believing him (scroll down to gerbilfromhell.) Such behavior wasn't unknown in college in the 80s, where many people I and my future husband knew were part of a "cuddle puddle" I called "As the Sheets Turn."
Conservative essayists have been deriding this article as proof we're all going to Hell in a handbasket, but I've yet to see a logical argument for that position. Gerbilfromhell and many others have looked at it and said, "So what's the big deal about someone being queer or bi?" That's a valid point, but it's not what draws my attention. My question is, "What does this say about the power of adolescent female relationships? Will these bonds continue or wither, and what forms will they take in the future?"
The town we live in is the opposite of the New York in this article. New York is rich, urban and "metrosexual". Our town is poor, rural and rabidly heterosexual. A "cuddle puddle" would never be allowed to express itself in public. But my husband was commenting the other day that there has been a major change in how sexual relationships are started among the students. Now it's often not the boy or the girl who initiates the sexual experimentation, but the female friends of the boy and the girl who encourage both parties to have sex with each other. That's a profound shift and I have no idea where it will lead, but it's going to be interesting to see how it develops.
But what happens to these adolescent bonding experiences in an era where homosexuality or bisexuality is nothing to fear? Historically, adolescent lesbian experiences have been more common and more tolerated than most modern people would believe, only coming under fire in the early 20th Century. From the looks of this article such tolerance may once again be returning, and with more openness than ever before.
This alleged friend of the interviewees found the article to be exaggerated for publicity, and I have little trouble believing him (scroll down to gerbilfromhell.) Such behavior wasn't unknown in college in the 80s, where many people I and my future husband knew were part of a "cuddle puddle" I called "As the Sheets Turn."
Conservative essayists have been deriding this article as proof we're all going to Hell in a handbasket, but I've yet to see a logical argument for that position. Gerbilfromhell and many others have looked at it and said, "So what's the big deal about someone being queer or bi?" That's a valid point, but it's not what draws my attention. My question is, "What does this say about the power of adolescent female relationships? Will these bonds continue or wither, and what forms will they take in the future?"
The town we live in is the opposite of the New York in this article. New York is rich, urban and "metrosexual". Our town is poor, rural and rabidly heterosexual. A "cuddle puddle" would never be allowed to express itself in public. But my husband was commenting the other day that there has been a major change in how sexual relationships are started among the students. Now it's often not the boy or the girl who initiates the sexual experimentation, but the female friends of the boy and the girl who encourage both parties to have sex with each other. That's a profound shift and I have no idea where it will lead, but it's going to be interesting to see how it develops.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
We're mostly over being sick, but limp as wet noodles. I wanted to take the week off, but Sunshine is on fire about her "bunny workbook" and insisted we do some lessons every day.
Unfortunately this partial hiatus has left me with time to think about virtues. Not to think very well, in my semi-comatose state, but to think about them. You have been warned.
Unfortunately this partial hiatus has left me with time to think about virtues. Not to think very well, in my semi-comatose state, but to think about them. You have been warned.
Monday, February 13, 2006
We've had colds last week, so I haven't felt like doing an update for a while.
Sunshine is really taking off in math. I would show her how to do one page of Singapore Earlybird 1b, turn around to help Brighteyes, turn back around and Sunshine would have done the next 10 pages. She finished that workbook in under 2 weeks. We've started on Jumbo Jumpstart Kindergarten, and she's going through it almost as fast. Her writing is much clearer as well. The main problem is taking the workbook away from her before her hand gives out and her handwriting goes down the tubes.
We're starting out with the abacus workbook, on simple Montesori style sorting and recognition math games that Brighteyes and Sunshine can play together. I like them, but Sunshine sometimes enjoys playing them and sometimes doesn't. "Cooperative play" is a concept she's working on.
Brighteyes now has enough stamina to do Draw Write Now once a week without tiring out and spazzing out, so it is back on our Friday lineup.
We got some Teaching Company DVDs recently. I'll review them in a few days. I'm still worn out from the cold.
Sunshine is really taking off in math. I would show her how to do one page of Singapore Earlybird 1b, turn around to help Brighteyes, turn back around and Sunshine would have done the next 10 pages. She finished that workbook in under 2 weeks. We've started on Jumbo Jumpstart Kindergarten, and she's going through it almost as fast. Her writing is much clearer as well. The main problem is taking the workbook away from her before her hand gives out and her handwriting goes down the tubes.
We're starting out with the abacus workbook, on simple Montesori style sorting and recognition math games that Brighteyes and Sunshine can play together. I like them, but Sunshine sometimes enjoys playing them and sometimes doesn't. "Cooperative play" is a concept she's working on.
Brighteyes now has enough stamina to do Draw Write Now once a week without tiring out and spazzing out, so it is back on our Friday lineup.
We got some Teaching Company DVDs recently. I'll review them in a few days. I'm still worn out from the cold.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Sumerian Proverbs for Young Children
Copying proverbs and quotations is a big part of classical schooling. You can easily find proverbs from the Bible to copy, but what about other cultures? I'm compiling a list of suitable proverbs from Pagan sources. If you have any you would like me to add, please send them in.
If you lie and then tell the truth, the truth will be considered a lie.
He who walks with truth brings life.
A man who behaves like a damp reed towards his fellow men does not tell the truth either.
When a dishonest boat is sailing, it runs aground.
Wealth is hard to come by, but poverty is always at hand.
He acquires many things, he must keep close watch over them.
He who eats too much will not be able to sleep.
The fox could not build his own house, and so he came to the house of his friend as a building contractor.
All the households of the poor are not equally submissive.
In an open mouth, a fly enters.
Friendship lasts a day, family lasts forever.
"Though I still have bread left over, I will eat your bread!" Will this endear a man to the household of his friend?
What comes from the heart is known by the heart.
A heart never created hatred; speech created hatred.
Marry according to your choice. Have children to your heart's content.
Marrying is human. Having children is divine.
To be sick is acceptable; to be pregnant is painful; but to be pregnant and sick is just too much.
The poor man must always look to his next meal.
The poor man chews whatever he is given.
A scribe who does not know how to grasp the meaning -- from where will he produce a translation?
One does not marry a three-year-old wife, as a donkey does.
Two Akkadians lost a donkey. One went after it while the other wasted the day. The one who just sat around -- the fault was his.
In the city of the lame, the cripple is a messenger.
The house built by the upright man is destroyed by the treacherous man.
The mother of eight young men lies down exhausted.
If a household acquaintance has been exposed to harm, the matter is investigated.
Offerings are the glory of the gods.
He who insults is insulted. He who sneers is sneered at.
If the foreman does not know how to assign the work, his workers will not stop shaking their heads.
A man's personal god is a shepherd who finds pasturage for the man. Let him lead him like sheep to the food they can eat.
The sun never leaves my heart, which surpasses a garden.
When righteousness is cut off, injustice is increased.
What is placed in the fire has a valuable role to play but leaves nothing behind when it's gone.
Says the man lying on the roof to the man living in the house: "It is too bright up here!"
That which the thief has taken was made by an honest man.
The elephant said, "There is nothing like me among all the creatures of the world!" The wren answered, "But I, in my own small way, was created just as you were!"
The lion who lives a life of compassion will receive it.
Nine wolves having caught ten sheep, there was one too many and they did not know how to share out the portions. A fox came along and said: "Let me allocate the portions for you! The nine of you take one sheep. I by myself shall take nine -- this shall be my share!"
The shepherd cannot increase his flock where the wolf takes sheep.
A dog which is played with turns into a puppy.
Strength cannot keep pace with intelligence.
Ignoramuses are numerous in the palace.
Those who live near the water look into the mountains. They don't look in their own direction.
A loving heart builds houses. A hating heart destroys houses.
Don't choose a wife during a festival!
The dishonest man stole silver; the honest man will earn his pay.
A plant as sweet as a husband does not grow in the desert.
After becoming a thief, one becomes an outcast.
Whenever there is excess, an axe remedies it!
A man's waterskin is his life. A man's sandals are his eyes. A man's wife is his supervisor. A man's son is his protective shade. A man's daughter is his eager servant. A man's daughter-in-law is his policeman.
The litter was not apparent to the slave girl. To her mistress it just kept increasing.
I did not answer the curse uttered against me with a curse of my own. My answering a curse would be answered with another curse.
He who carries a light burden can dance.
To eat is good. When it comes up again, it is bad.
A troubled mind makes you sick.
The battle-club does not find out his name, it just finds his flesh.
Talking endlessly is what humankind has most on its mind.
The beloved true commander distributes the leadership.
To be wealthy and demand more is an insult to a god.
In the city with no dogs, the fox is boss.
A disgraced merchant becomes a con-man.
The dog understands: "Take it!" It does not understand: Put it down!
If you lie and then tell the truth, the truth will be considered a lie.
He who walks with truth brings life.
A man who behaves like a damp reed towards his fellow men does not tell the truth either.
When a dishonest boat is sailing, it runs aground.
Wealth is hard to come by, but poverty is always at hand.
He acquires many things, he must keep close watch over them.
He who eats too much will not be able to sleep.
The fox could not build his own house, and so he came to the house of his friend as a building contractor.
All the households of the poor are not equally submissive.
In an open mouth, a fly enters.
Friendship lasts a day, family lasts forever.
"Though I still have bread left over, I will eat your bread!" Will this endear a man to the household of his friend?
What comes from the heart is known by the heart.
A heart never created hatred; speech created hatred.
Marry according to your choice. Have children to your heart's content.
Marrying is human. Having children is divine.
To be sick is acceptable; to be pregnant is painful; but to be pregnant and sick is just too much.
The poor man must always look to his next meal.
The poor man chews whatever he is given.
A scribe who does not know how to grasp the meaning -- from where will he produce a translation?
One does not marry a three-year-old wife, as a donkey does.
Two Akkadians lost a donkey. One went after it while the other wasted the day. The one who just sat around -- the fault was his.
In the city of the lame, the cripple is a messenger.
The house built by the upright man is destroyed by the treacherous man.
The mother of eight young men lies down exhausted.
If a household acquaintance has been exposed to harm, the matter is investigated.
Offerings are the glory of the gods.
He who insults is insulted. He who sneers is sneered at.
If the foreman does not know how to assign the work, his workers will not stop shaking their heads.
A man's personal god is a shepherd who finds pasturage for the man. Let him lead him like sheep to the food they can eat.
The sun never leaves my heart, which surpasses a garden.
When righteousness is cut off, injustice is increased.
What is placed in the fire has a valuable role to play but leaves nothing behind when it's gone.
Says the man lying on the roof to the man living in the house: "It is too bright up here!"
That which the thief has taken was made by an honest man.
The elephant said, "There is nothing like me among all the creatures of the world!" The wren answered, "But I, in my own small way, was created just as you were!"
The lion who lives a life of compassion will receive it.
Nine wolves having caught ten sheep, there was one too many and they did not know how to share out the portions. A fox came along and said: "Let me allocate the portions for you! The nine of you take one sheep. I by myself shall take nine -- this shall be my share!"
The shepherd cannot increase his flock where the wolf takes sheep.
A dog which is played with turns into a puppy.
Strength cannot keep pace with intelligence.
Ignoramuses are numerous in the palace.
Those who live near the water look into the mountains. They don't look in their own direction.
A loving heart builds houses. A hating heart destroys houses.
Don't choose a wife during a festival!
The dishonest man stole silver; the honest man will earn his pay.
A plant as sweet as a husband does not grow in the desert.
After becoming a thief, one becomes an outcast.
Whenever there is excess, an axe remedies it!
A man's waterskin is his life. A man's sandals are his eyes. A man's wife is his supervisor. A man's son is his protective shade. A man's daughter is his eager servant. A man's daughter-in-law is his policeman.
The litter was not apparent to the slave girl. To her mistress it just kept increasing.
I did not answer the curse uttered against me with a curse of my own. My answering a curse would be answered with another curse.
He who carries a light burden can dance.
To eat is good. When it comes up again, it is bad.
A troubled mind makes you sick.
The battle-club does not find out his name, it just finds his flesh.
Talking endlessly is what humankind has most on its mind.
The beloved true commander distributes the leadership.
To be wealthy and demand more is an insult to a god.
In the city with no dogs, the fox is boss.
A disgraced merchant becomes a con-man.
The dog understands: "Take it!" It does not understand: Put it down!
Monday, February 06, 2006
Flashcards
I haven't had time to blog lately. That part of my day has been taken up with making Latin flashcards. The girls have some Imaginarium word blocks with the different parts of speech on different colored blocks: red nouns, blue verbs, green adjectives and yellow miscellaneous. I'm using the same system for the flashcards, with yellow prepositions, purple adverbs and white miscellaneous. Hey, they're six and four years old. I want them to think Latin is fun, not difficult.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
The Trouble with "Boys"?
I have a problem with this artice's assumption that only boys are high-energy. I have high-energy girls, and where do they fit in this article's equation? They don't belong in a "sit down and shut up" school either. I suspect no child does in reality.
The Ghost Moon
Thank Goddess January is over with. It's all SIDS and ghosts. Almost all the funerals I've been to took place then, with a new one this year. January is a major dent in the Wheel of my Year, bouncing the cart off the path and forcing everything around it to have to work around it's damage. I would do a more concise post about why I dislike January, but I'm just too exhausted. I'm glad we finally waded through it.
Friday, February 03, 2006
Well-Deserved Award
"Doonesbury" creator Garry Trudeau has been presented with the U.S. Department of the Army's Commander's Award for Public Service for his portrayal of B.D.'s struggles. It is well deserved.
B.D. was never one of my favorite charecters, but I've been glued to his journey home for months. Especially now, that he's trying to deal with PTSD. That hits home with me.
I was diagnosed with chronic depression stemming from child abuse as a teenager. For decades I struggled with various therapies and medications, some good and some bad, but something was always missing. A few years ago I was grousing about my troubles on an e-list when a Vietnam veteran told me I had just written the best description of PTSD he'd ever seen.
My jaw hit the floor. It had never occurred to me that I might have PTSD, although in hindsight my childhood home had been a tiny "war zone". The more I looked into it the better it fit. It appears the depression is merely a sympton of the other problem. Knowing that substantially changed my attempts to deal with my chronic illness.
So even though I've never been in combat and I don't drink, I can identify with B.D.'s battles with his demons. For someone with PTSD, it's always darkest after the dawn.
B.D. was never one of my favorite charecters, but I've been glued to his journey home for months. Especially now, that he's trying to deal with PTSD. That hits home with me.
I was diagnosed with chronic depression stemming from child abuse as a teenager. For decades I struggled with various therapies and medications, some good and some bad, but something was always missing. A few years ago I was grousing about my troubles on an e-list when a Vietnam veteran told me I had just written the best description of PTSD he'd ever seen.
My jaw hit the floor. It had never occurred to me that I might have PTSD, although in hindsight my childhood home had been a tiny "war zone". The more I looked into it the better it fit. It appears the depression is merely a sympton of the other problem. Knowing that substantially changed my attempts to deal with my chronic illness.
So even though I've never been in combat and I don't drink, I can identify with B.D.'s battles with his demons. For someone with PTSD, it's always darkest after the dawn.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Firefly Musings: Shindig
My husband and I finally got to see the second half of "Shindig" one night last week after the girls went to bed. Sunshine has finally decided she is old enough for Looney Tunes but not for Land of the Lost, so Firefly is still in her future. After it was over my husband said, "That was really good, but disappointing."
"How so? You loved the first half. "
"The first half was perfect. They nailed the poverty, the scrabble for business, the polyglot culture where everything was used and re-used, and the lust for material goods. But the duel was too predictable."
I squirmed. "An 'expert' duelist versus a hand-to-hand combat veteran? Hero or no hero, that's no contest. A duelist is used to things happening at sword's length. A combat veteran is trained to close in. If they had only gone to first blood it might have been an even fight, but there was no doubt who'd win a duel to the death. The only question was if they were going to do it Hollywood-style or do it realistic. They did it Hollywood-style. I would have preferred it realistic, but I can't fault the ending."
"Oh, everyone stayed in character; but it was too pat. I hated to see the actors and writers fall into a stereotype."
"What about the bit with River? That was different."
"That was great, especially the part where everyone was too dumbfounded by her diversion to do anything useful during it. But it was only a few minutes of mystery in amongst the generic fight setup. I'd rather see more of that at once than have it doled out a few minutes an episode. The part I really liked was when the old man drove off the queen bee, and the engineer ended up surrounded by all the beaus who were picking her brains about engines. That was believable and broke stereotype. I would have loved to see more with her and the beaus, and less with the duel. All in all, it reminded me of why we stopped watching TV in the first place. It's miles ahead of what was on ten years ago, but it's still so limited."
I'm in love with a man who'd rather watch a good flirtation than a fight. Ain't I lucky?
"How so? You loved the first half. "
"The first half was perfect. They nailed the poverty, the scrabble for business, the polyglot culture where everything was used and re-used, and the lust for material goods. But the duel was too predictable."
I squirmed. "An 'expert' duelist versus a hand-to-hand combat veteran? Hero or no hero, that's no contest. A duelist is used to things happening at sword's length. A combat veteran is trained to close in. If they had only gone to first blood it might have been an even fight, but there was no doubt who'd win a duel to the death. The only question was if they were going to do it Hollywood-style or do it realistic. They did it Hollywood-style. I would have preferred it realistic, but I can't fault the ending."
"Oh, everyone stayed in character; but it was too pat. I hated to see the actors and writers fall into a stereotype."
"What about the bit with River? That was different."
"That was great, especially the part where everyone was too dumbfounded by her diversion to do anything useful during it. But it was only a few minutes of mystery in amongst the generic fight setup. I'd rather see more of that at once than have it doled out a few minutes an episode. The part I really liked was when the old man drove off the queen bee, and the engineer ended up surrounded by all the beaus who were picking her brains about engines. That was believable and broke stereotype. I would have loved to see more with her and the beaus, and less with the duel. All in all, it reminded me of why we stopped watching TV in the first place. It's miles ahead of what was on ten years ago, but it's still so limited."
I'm in love with a man who'd rather watch a good flirtation than a fight. Ain't I lucky?
Thursday, January 26, 2006
A Cold Breeze Blows Through Hell
A major American bank refuses money on moral grounds.
(Also because they're obviously expecting the Supreme Court's "eminent domain" ruling to go down in flames and don't want to get caught in the blowback. But it still counts as taking a stand on a moral issue.)
(Also because they're obviously expecting the Supreme Court's "eminent domain" ruling to go down in flames and don't want to get caught in the blowback. But it still counts as taking a stand on a moral issue.)
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
The Gods are Trying to Tell Me Something
Let's see: we have a week that starts with a funeral and ends with important anniverseries that include funerals, and everyone is coming down with a cold. I don't need to be hit over the head with a tarot deck to read that message. "Take the week off."
Friday, January 20, 2006
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Sunshine finished the Jumpstart Jumbo Pre-K Workbook today. Put out by Scholastic, this is the only comprehensive curriculum we've seen that wasn't a complete waste of time and money. Since I've been mixing flavors on her whenever she got bored, she is also a day or so from completing Singapore Earlybird 1A. At this point she can write capital letters, but her numbers are still very shaky. We won't start Jumpstart Jumbo K Workbook until her numbers are better, because that starts with lower-case letters and she's not quite ready for that yet. We'll do Singapore Earlybird 2A, but that doesn't have much copywork, so we'll also practice writing a line of numbers and letters each day to work on her numbers. Something simple, like her phone number, or birthdays, or a line of an address. She is still very interested in drawing, and very frustrated at the inability of her hand to keep up with her brain. She'll be much happier when has the stamina to accomplish what she wants to do.
I also pulled out an abacus workbook I bought a year ago to see if she could get anything out of that. The first exercise called for photocopying on colored paper, cutting apart and double laminating 20 2" by 3" cards. With Brighteyes and Sunshine "helping". Without me blowing up at them. I know I racked up some brownie points somewhere for that one.
I also pulled out an abacus workbook I bought a year ago to see if she could get anything out of that. The first exercise called for photocopying on colored paper, cutting apart and double laminating 20 2" by 3" cards. With Brighteyes and Sunshine "helping". Without me blowing up at them. I know I racked up some brownie points somewhere for that one.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Dreary Day
Today was too wet for the girls to go out, and they went stir-crazy. When I husband got home I said, "Take the girls out to the woods, dump them there, and check their pockets for pebbles."
On the bright side, Sunshine is doing extremely well with matching and simple ordering. Brighteyes loves Latin and is slowly getting better at adding and subtracting in the 20-40 range.
On the stressful side, I gotta get these two out of the house before we all go nuts.
On the bright side, Sunshine is doing extremely well with matching and simple ordering. Brighteyes loves Latin and is slowly getting better at adding and subtracting in the 20-40 range.
On the stressful side, I gotta get these two out of the house before we all go nuts.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Fruits and Flowers
We're working on a commission for a client. As part of the design, the client wants to have a branch with both fruits and flowers on it. We've pointed out that this doesn't happen in real life. No plant of the type the client wants depicted bears both fruits and flowers at the same time. You occasionally see fruit and flowers of the same type in medieval Christian paintings and the still lifes by Dutch Old Masters where it was a recognized shorthand for Paradise. It conveyed to the viewer that the scene was Ideal and Mythical, not part of the humdrum Real world.
I kept thinking about those Mythical scenes of Paradise as I read the essays on the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's death and What Went Wrong. There were so many bitter denunciations of the tree for not bearing fruits and flowers at the same time.
On the one hand is my friend Natalie's post which lauds Dr. King's achievements and bitterly accuses modern African-American leaders of practicing racism by speaking out against economic injustice. I'm sorry Natalie, but addressing economic injustice is why Dr. King was in Memphis in the first part. The Memphis sanitation worker's strike was to be the opening move of Phase 2 in Dr. King's civil rights movement, the phase that concentrated on the very fight against economic injustices you denounce modern African-American leaders for taking up.
On the other hand is Cavalor Epthith's post which lauds Dr. King's achievements and spins out a scenario where Dr. King, if he had not been assassinated in 1968, would have become President in 1976 and led to an age of peace and prosperity where all the Liberal goals would have been fulfilled and Republicans would have become a despised fringe party. I'm sorry Cavalor, but there simply wasn't a broad enough base of support for Liberal ideas in the 1960s to push that through. In 1963 my adopted mother stood up and cheered when she heard that Kennedy had been assassinated on the radio, a story that she proudly told to people who agreed with her even back then. In 1965 the Southern Baptist Convention, the most liberal church in America after the Unitarian Universalists and a stalwart supporter of individual rights and keeping prayer out of public schools, ended it's youth program teaching children the importance of Liberal ideas and letting each individual make up his or her own mind about God and politics -- a decision which inevitably led to a young generation being reared with no understanding Liberal ideas voting for the Conservative takeover of 1979. During the 1930s the largest families in America were poor, white Southerners who couldn't find work in the South during the Great Depression and scattered throughout the nation so that by the late 1960s approximately 25% of white Americans outside the South had at least one grandparent from the South, so that the almost universal portrayal of Southern whites as ignorant hicks created a widespread slow-building backlash (a phenomenon we're sure to see repeated if the next generation decides to come down against the two current biggest breeders, Mormons and Hispanics.) And as Naomi Wolfe pointed out, there was no way all those attempts to bring the rest of America up to parity with white males could sit well with those white males who were less savy and who got Left Behind.
But all this bitter finger-pointing is right about one thing. Something has gone badly wrong. The tree of racial equality bears few fruits or flowers, but a lot of cankers.
Would things have been better if Dr. King had lived? Probably. But our image of the man who marched for freedom would have to include a man who also spoke up for higher wages.
Would things have been better if Kennedy had lived? Probably. But the unavoidable cultural turbulence of the 1960s would still have resulted in the resentment and the perceived loss of priviledge among lower class whites which inevitably fuels the bonfires of the Savonarolas of this world. And if he had brought home all those troops in the mid-1960s, how would America have handled such an influx of angry young men who would not have learned how to say "Sir, no sir"?
Things might well have been better, but they would not have been Ideal. The tree would still not have born fruits and flowers at the same time.
But maybe that is What Went Wrong. Maybe we were trying so hard for some Ideal we lost sight of the Real world, full of people honorable, despicable, and every shade in between, most just trying to get by. If that is the case, turning around and bashing other people over the head with our Ideals is only going to make things worse in the long run.
Ideals are wonderful when they inspire us, but let us not get so lost in our vision of an Ideal world we can't deal with all the Real people we have to share the planet with.
I kept thinking about those Mythical scenes of Paradise as I read the essays on the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's death and What Went Wrong. There were so many bitter denunciations of the tree for not bearing fruits and flowers at the same time.
On the one hand is my friend Natalie's post which lauds Dr. King's achievements and bitterly accuses modern African-American leaders of practicing racism by speaking out against economic injustice. I'm sorry Natalie, but addressing economic injustice is why Dr. King was in Memphis in the first part. The Memphis sanitation worker's strike was to be the opening move of Phase 2 in Dr. King's civil rights movement, the phase that concentrated on the very fight against economic injustices you denounce modern African-American leaders for taking up.
On the other hand is Cavalor Epthith's post which lauds Dr. King's achievements and spins out a scenario where Dr. King, if he had not been assassinated in 1968, would have become President in 1976 and led to an age of peace and prosperity where all the Liberal goals would have been fulfilled and Republicans would have become a despised fringe party. I'm sorry Cavalor, but there simply wasn't a broad enough base of support for Liberal ideas in the 1960s to push that through. In 1963 my adopted mother stood up and cheered when she heard that Kennedy had been assassinated on the radio, a story that she proudly told to people who agreed with her even back then. In 1965 the Southern Baptist Convention, the most liberal church in America after the Unitarian Universalists and a stalwart supporter of individual rights and keeping prayer out of public schools, ended it's youth program teaching children the importance of Liberal ideas and letting each individual make up his or her own mind about God and politics -- a decision which inevitably led to a young generation being reared with no understanding Liberal ideas voting for the Conservative takeover of 1979. During the 1930s the largest families in America were poor, white Southerners who couldn't find work in the South during the Great Depression and scattered throughout the nation so that by the late 1960s approximately 25% of white Americans outside the South had at least one grandparent from the South, so that the almost universal portrayal of Southern whites as ignorant hicks created a widespread slow-building backlash (a phenomenon we're sure to see repeated if the next generation decides to come down against the two current biggest breeders, Mormons and Hispanics.) And as Naomi Wolfe pointed out, there was no way all those attempts to bring the rest of America up to parity with white males could sit well with those white males who were less savy and who got Left Behind.
But all this bitter finger-pointing is right about one thing. Something has gone badly wrong. The tree of racial equality bears few fruits or flowers, but a lot of cankers.
Would things have been better if Dr. King had lived? Probably. But our image of the man who marched for freedom would have to include a man who also spoke up for higher wages.
Would things have been better if Kennedy had lived? Probably. But the unavoidable cultural turbulence of the 1960s would still have resulted in the resentment and the perceived loss of priviledge among lower class whites which inevitably fuels the bonfires of the Savonarolas of this world. And if he had brought home all those troops in the mid-1960s, how would America have handled such an influx of angry young men who would not have learned how to say "Sir, no sir"?
Things might well have been better, but they would not have been Ideal. The tree would still not have born fruits and flowers at the same time.
But maybe that is What Went Wrong. Maybe we were trying so hard for some Ideal we lost sight of the Real world, full of people honorable, despicable, and every shade in between, most just trying to get by. If that is the case, turning around and bashing other people over the head with our Ideals is only going to make things worse in the long run.
Ideals are wonderful when they inspire us, but let us not get so lost in our vision of an Ideal world we can't deal with all the Real people we have to share the planet with.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
BEM
Brighteyes told me that the moon was formed when an octopus the size of Mars crashed into the Earth.
Science fiction
Double feature,
Dr. X has
Built a creature....
Minimus Worksheet Template, Chapter 1 Part 2
I'm writing these down so I can keep track of them. If you spot any additions or corrections that need to be made, please let me know.
My husband suggests turning these into a card game. There's enough here you can start stringing sentences together into short paragraphs and conversations, either verbal or written -- I recommend both.
New Nouns: sister, soul, birthday
Noun Bank: mother, father, daughter, son, small child, cat, mouse, sister, soul, birthday, gift
Verbs: I am, we are, you are (singular), you are (plural), is, are, I have, sit (plural), come (singular)
Pronouns: I, we, everyone, my
Conjunctions: and, but
Greetings: Hello, Hello (plural), Goodbye, Dear (female), Dear (male), Dearest (female)
I am a [noun bank].
I have a [noun bank].
I have a [noun bank] for you.
You are a [noun bank].
I am a [noun bank] [and/but] you are a [noun bank].
I am a [noun bank] [and/but] [name] is a [noun bank].
You are a [noun bank] [and/but] [name] is a [noun bank].
I am a [noun bank] [and/but] [name] and [name] are slaves.
You are a [noun bank] [and/but] [name] and [name] are slaves.
[Name] is a [noun bank] [and/but] we are slaves.
You are (pl.) slaves [and/but] I am a [noun bank].
You are (pl.) slaves [and/but] [name] is a [noun bank].
[Name] is a [noun bank].
[Name] is a [noun bank] [and/but] [name] is a [noun bank].
[Name] and [name] are slaves.
[Name] is a [noun bank] [and/but] [name] and [name] are slaves.
[Name] and [name] are in Vindolanda.
[Name] is in [place name] [and/but] [name] is in [place name].
[Name] is in [place name] [and/but] [name] and [name] are in Vindolanda.
[Name] is in [place name] [and/but] we are in Vindolanda.
You are (pl.) in Vindolanda [and/but] I am in [place name].
You are (pl.) in Vindolanda [and/but] [name] is in [place name].
Everyone are slaves.
Everyone are in Vindolanda.
(I know the proper English is "Everyone is....". I'm not sure how to handle that yet.)
Hello [name]!
Hello [name] and [name]!
Hello everyone!
goodbye [name].
Come, [name].
Sit, everyone!
Sit, [name] and [name]!
Dear [male name or noun],
Dear [female name or noun],
Dearest [female name or noun],
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday [name]!
Happy Birthday, dear [male name]!
Happy Birthday, dear [female name]!
Happy Birthday, dearest [female name]!
My [noun bank],
My dear [female name or noun],
My dear [male name or noun],
I have my [noun bank].
You are my [noun bank].
[Name] is my [noun bank].
Who is this?
What is this?
Who is [name or noun bank]?
What is [noun bank]?
But who is this?
But what is this?
Who is this and who is [name or noun bank]?
Who is this and what is [noun bank]?
What is this and what is [noun bank]?
Who is [name or noun bank] and who is [name or noun bank]?
Who is [name or noun bank] and what is [noun bank]?
What is [noun bank] and what is [noun bank]?
Happy Birthday to you!
You are very welcome.
Thank you very much.
How beautiful.
Once upon a time
[female name or noun] is famous.
My husband suggests turning these into a card game. There's enough here you can start stringing sentences together into short paragraphs and conversations, either verbal or written -- I recommend both.
New Nouns: sister, soul, birthday
Noun Bank: mother, father, daughter, son, small child, cat, mouse, sister, soul, birthday, gift
Verbs: I am, we are, you are (singular), you are (plural), is, are, I have, sit (plural), come (singular)
Pronouns: I, we, everyone, my
Conjunctions: and, but
Greetings: Hello, Hello (plural), Goodbye, Dear (female), Dear (male), Dearest (female)
I am a [noun bank].
I have a [noun bank].
I have a [noun bank] for you.
You are a [noun bank].
I am a [noun bank] [and/but] you are a [noun bank].
I am a [noun bank] [and/but] [name] is a [noun bank].
You are a [noun bank] [and/but] [name] is a [noun bank].
I am a [noun bank] [and/but] [name] and [name] are slaves.
You are a [noun bank] [and/but] [name] and [name] are slaves.
[Name] is a [noun bank] [and/but] we are slaves.
You are (pl.) slaves [and/but] I am a [noun bank].
You are (pl.) slaves [and/but] [name] is a [noun bank].
[Name] is a [noun bank].
[Name] is a [noun bank] [and/but] [name] is a [noun bank].
[Name] and [name] are slaves.
[Name] is a [noun bank] [and/but] [name] and [name] are slaves.
[Name] and [name] are in Vindolanda.
[Name] is in [place name] [and/but] [name] is in [place name].
[Name] is in [place name] [and/but] [name] and [name] are in Vindolanda.
[Name] is in [place name] [and/but] we are in Vindolanda.
You are (pl.) in Vindolanda [and/but] I am in [place name].
You are (pl.) in Vindolanda [and/but] [name] is in [place name].
Everyone are slaves.
Everyone are in Vindolanda.
(I know the proper English is "Everyone is....". I'm not sure how to handle that yet.)
Hello [name]!
Hello [name] and [name]!
Hello everyone!
goodbye [name].
Come, [name].
Sit, everyone!
Sit, [name] and [name]!
Dear [male name or noun],
Dear [female name or noun],
Dearest [female name or noun],
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday [name]!
Happy Birthday, dear [male name]!
Happy Birthday, dear [female name]!
Happy Birthday, dearest [female name]!
My [noun bank],
My dear [female name or noun],
My dear [male name or noun],
I have my [noun bank].
You are my [noun bank].
[Name] is my [noun bank].
Who is this?
What is this?
Who is [name or noun bank]?
What is [noun bank]?
But who is this?
But what is this?
Who is this and who is [name or noun bank]?
Who is this and what is [noun bank]?
What is this and what is [noun bank]?
Who is [name or noun bank] and who is [name or noun bank]?
Who is [name or noun bank] and what is [noun bank]?
What is [noun bank] and what is [noun bank]?
Happy Birthday to you!
You are very welcome.
Thank you very much.
How beautiful.
Once upon a time
[female name or noun] is famous.
Friday, January 13, 2006
Minimus Worksheet Generator, Chapter 1 Part 1
The Minimus teacher's guide suggests you make your own worksheets for the students. This customization has it's benefits, but it takes time. Here are the possible sentences you can make with the vocabulary in the first section:
Who are you?
Who are you (plural)?
I am [name].
I am a [mother/father/daughter/son/small child/cat/mouse].
We are slaves.
I am in [place name].
We are in Vindolanda.
Mouse leaves.
[male or male noun] leaves.
Note well.
I don't know the rules for gendered nouns and verbs in Latin, but I think these are all safe. You can ask the child to translate a few of these into Latin, or you can give the child the Latin and ask for the English translation. I give Brighteyes a short list in English and the book and let her work it out for herself. That's enough written work for a six year old. She thinks its fun.
Who are you?
Who are you (plural)?
I am [name].
I am a [mother/father/daughter/son/small child/cat/mouse].
We are slaves.
I am in [place name].
We are in Vindolanda.
Mouse leaves.
[male or male noun] leaves.
Note well.
I don't know the rules for gendered nouns and verbs in Latin, but I think these are all safe. You can ask the child to translate a few of these into Latin, or you can give the child the Latin and ask for the English translation. I give Brighteyes a short list in English and the book and let her work it out for herself. That's enough written work for a six year old. She thinks its fun.
Muhaha!
My husband has finally started a science blog. Now he can astound and confound the whole internet as much as he does me.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Yesterday we went to look at new stationary. I showed Brighteyes the 5/8" and the 1/2" writing tablets and asked her if either of those interested her more than the 1" paper she was using or the lined notebook paper I use. She chose the 5/8" paper.
She also picked out a $1 address book. It's got pink flowers, and it has a line for birthdays. All last night and today she squealed over it, begged me to let her write in it, and copied out the addresses I wrote in it. I think we have a winner.
We stopped at the grocery store on the way home. The girls entertained the checkout line by singing "Happy Birthday" in Latin over and over again. I have no idea what folks thought.
Sunshine has been having trouble with the concepts of "more" and "less" and with writing her numbers. I backed off with both those things weeks ago, knowing that when her brain was ready for it she would show an interest. She's been looking at those pages this week. Today she took off with both skills and completed over a dozen math worksheets. I had to insist she stop when her hand tired out.
She also picked out a $1 address book. It's got pink flowers, and it has a line for birthdays. All last night and today she squealed over it, begged me to let her write in it, and copied out the addresses I wrote in it. I think we have a winner.
We stopped at the grocery store on the way home. The girls entertained the checkout line by singing "Happy Birthday" in Latin over and over again. I have no idea what folks thought.
Sunshine has been having trouble with the concepts of "more" and "less" and with writing her numbers. I backed off with both those things weeks ago, knowing that when her brain was ready for it she would show an interest. She's been looking at those pages this week. Today she took off with both skills and completed over a dozen math worksheets. I had to insist she stop when her hand tired out.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Caught with my mouth open.
6 1/2 yo Brighteyes has been extremely fussy lately. She tends to get that way right before a developmental leap. I try to hold my temper and wait it out, but living with a hair-trigger volcano can be hard on the nerves.
Yesterday my "I hate writing" child, who throws a tantrum over being asked to write a dozen words on a page, told me she didn't want to use the 1" first-grade paper. She wanted to try one of the sheets of lined notebook paper I use for their narrations. She then copied out the first ten lines of "The Three Little Kittens" on regular notebook paper, exclaiming how much fun it was. Her handwriting was very legible, and she had no trouble handling the thin lines.
This morning she copied out the next 7 lines, saying this was so much fun she must find more poems to copy out, before becoming stymied and throwing a tantrum over a line length problem.
My jaw is still on the floor somewhere. I haven't even recovered enough to look for it yet.
Yesterday my "I hate writing" child, who throws a tantrum over being asked to write a dozen words on a page, told me she didn't want to use the 1" first-grade paper. She wanted to try one of the sheets of lined notebook paper I use for their narrations. She then copied out the first ten lines of "The Three Little Kittens" on regular notebook paper, exclaiming how much fun it was. Her handwriting was very legible, and she had no trouble handling the thin lines.
This morning she copied out the next 7 lines, saying this was so much fun she must find more poems to copy out, before becoming stymied and throwing a tantrum over a line length problem.
My jaw is still on the floor somewhere. I haven't even recovered enough to look for it yet.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Stupid Mom Tricks
Brighteyes started writing pen pal letters this fall. I took one of the letterss she wrote and set it aside so I could put a stamp on it. I found it this weekend while looking for the penny stamps. My face is beet red.
So Lizzy, it's not her fault or your fault your letter is so late. Blame it on her stupid mother.
So Lizzy, it's not her fault or your fault your letter is so late. Blame it on her stupid mother.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Flashback 6/16/2003: Breakfast Q&A
I try for the Goldilocks approach to teaching: not too much, not too little. Sometimes I get it just right.
This morning over pancakes:
3yo Brighteyes: What's in those jars on the counter?
Daddy: That's something for Mommy and Daddy to cook with.
3yo Brighteyes: What is it?
Daddy: It's Texturized Soy Protein that's been flavored to taste like beef and chicken. It's --
3yo Brighteyes: What *is* it?
Mommy: Chicken-flavored beans and beef-flavored beans.
3yo: Oh.
This morning over pancakes:
3yo Brighteyes: What's in those jars on the counter?
Daddy: That's something for Mommy and Daddy to cook with.
3yo Brighteyes: What is it?
Daddy: It's Texturized Soy Protein that's been flavored to taste like beef and chicken. It's --
3yo Brighteyes: What *is* it?
Mommy: Chicken-flavored beans and beef-flavored beans.
3yo: Oh.
The New "Jews"
I thought there was a "mutton dressed as lamb" quality to Conservative hatemongering:
I fail to see how any rehash of "The Articles of Zion" can be considered "progress", no matter who the target is. Especially not when the target is me.
In a modest triumph of political re-packaging, crimes once held to be exclusively "Jewish" -- impiousness, disloyalty, cosmopolitanism, physical cowardice, sexual license, communism, etc. -- are now called "liberal." Maybe it's even progress of a kind, because liberalism's a voluntary state of mind, while the anti-Semitic undertones never go away.
I fail to see how any rehash of "The Articles of Zion" can be considered "progress", no matter who the target is. Especially not when the target is me.
Friday, January 06, 2006
First Friday
Our first Friday with a different schedule than the rest of the week was not a huge success. Try a crashing failure. Brighteyes says she loves Draw, Write, Now, but when we tried it she said it was too much work and threw such a temper tantrum it completely derailed the rest of the morning's lessons. That book gets put back up again. I'll try doing a relaxed Friday without it, but she might not be old enough for doing different lessons on different days. All in all, our "relaxed" Friday stressed us out totally.
Sunshine has spent most of her free time this week sitting down with Dover How to Draw books, especially How to Draw Dogs. Yesterday and today she brought them along to lessons and started working on drawing dogs. I gave her a piece of paper and let her at it. Signing her name and the date to each day's paper gave her practice writing her letters and numbers, and when her hand tired out from the drawing it was time for her reading lesson. Her dogs are getting more recognizable.
My husband thinks Sunshine will insist on a unit studies approach when she is older, so I'll have to see about adapting a classical to unit studies. I know other parents have done that as well.
Sunshine has spent most of her free time this week sitting down with Dover How to Draw books, especially How to Draw Dogs. Yesterday and today she brought them along to lessons and started working on drawing dogs. I gave her a piece of paper and let her at it. Signing her name and the date to each day's paper gave her practice writing her letters and numbers, and when her hand tired out from the drawing it was time for her reading lesson. Her dogs are getting more recognizable.
My husband thinks Sunshine will insist on a unit studies approach when she is older, so I'll have to see about adapting a classical to unit studies. I know other parents have done that as well.
Einstein's Obscured Collaberater
Technically, Einstein obscured all his collaberaters, but none so thoroughly as the collaberater he married. Whatever virtues he had, the man Did Not Play Well With Others.
Happy Birthday Son
Happy Birthday to my son, born on this day a few years ago with an unusual birth defect, with one of the worst hospitals in the nation looking after him, died three weeks later of a hospital-born infection. Ever since then January has been a black time for me. I'm not going to be at my best for the next month. Sorry.
If I ever find the strength of will to blog about my experiences with the American health care system, be warned. I have very, very seldom experienced a case where the words "good" and "doctor" belong in the same sentence.
If I ever find the strength of will to blog about my experiences with the American health care system, be warned. I have very, very seldom experienced a case where the words "good" and "doctor" belong in the same sentence.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
How about "American Mistress of Stone"?
My husband and I are now listed in the American Masters of Stone. Yay! But I didn't realize he'd sent in my "Hurricane Rita" picture. Arrgh! We were scheduled to do a demo in Jackson the day Hurricane Rita hit, so we sat around twiddling our thumbs all day. I gotta get that changed PDQ.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
What she said
Yule Heibel has a magnificent rant today (1/2/06) on gendered definitions of "big stuff" and "small stuff".
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