10/28/08

Norm Coleman and Tim Pawlenty

We took a field trip today. We went to see Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman speak. It was packed! We got there somewhat early, but all the seats were still taken. We took a seat on the floor. When they got there, Tim Pawlenty introduced norm Coleman, and then came over and stood next to us while Norm Coleman spoke. Every time he would make a great comment, everyone would would clap. Princess M thought this was great fun and grinned from ear to ear and clapped as loud as she could. I was amazed at how well behaved Princess M and Princess L were. After Coleman was done talking, he started circling the room. Pawlenty spoke with us briefly and Pat Garofalo, the Farmington State Rep, took our picture with him. Then we headed for the Coleman line. I started talking to a friend who had also brought her kids, and didn't notice that Princesses S and E had pushed their way through to the front. Princess S had a question all written out on a note card to ask him. The question was, "John McCain said he supports vouchers. How do you feel about these and what effect will they have on our homeschool family?" I think he thought she wanted an autograph, because before she could ask him the question, he grabbed the card. Then he saw there was writing and read it. He answered by saying he supports homeschooling, that in fact his niece was homeschooled, and that it was a great alternative for a well-rounded education. He didn't really say anything about vouchers. Oh Well. He did ask her if he could keep the card for reference. All in all it was a fun time, and a great experience.

The rest of these photos are of our cookie dough map of the Indus River Valley (India and part of Pakistan) that we made last week. We plan to do one of China later this week.



Blessings.

10/23/08

What Obama Supports

Take a look at these articles. Really think about what this means for you and your family.

The first. Notice Obama's position on homeschooling. The second. This is also a reflection of his feelings on PARENTAL RIGHTS! Obama is pro-United Nations and will put into action the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This horrible document gives "The State" the right to come into homes, evaluate it, and remove children if *they* deem necessary!!! It also lists the age of children going into the military at 15 years of age!

Don't vote ignorantly!

10/21/08

TOG Y1r U2 W10

We’re back at it after a two week break. I don’t know who needed the break more, the girls or me. But, we started back in with Year 1 Redesigned Unit Two. We will start out this unit in the ancient Indus Valley and learn briefly about Buddhism and Hinduism. We will then move to ancient China and the Americas to learn about Confuscius, Taoism, the Inuits, the Mound Builders and the Mayans. Then we go back across the ocean for two weeks with the early Greeks, then four weeks on the Old Testament Joshua through David, and the Phoenicians. It should be fun and bring us up to our four week break at Christmas time.

Princess E (UG)
Growing with Grammar: 1.13-1.16
Math U See: Gamma Lesson 9
Writing: Compare/Contrast writing
Reading: Life in the Ancient Indus Valley, The Indus Valley, Buddhism Stories, Becoming Buddha
TOG hands on: cookie dough map of ancient India, make Pachesi game board

Princess S (LG)
Climbing to Good English: pg 129-131
Math U See: Beta Lesson 14
Writing: Descriptive writing – using a describing wheel and sensory wheel
Reading: Life in the Ancient Indus Valley, The Indus Valley, The Story of Little Babaji, Becoming Buddha
TOG hands on: cookie dough map of ancient India, make Pachesi game board

Princess L (PreK)
Reviewing letters A-I

10/13/08

My Other Blog

I put a few posts on my other blog that I think need to be read. Here's the first one. Here's the second one.

Blessings.

Sarah Palin's Pro-Life Speech in PA

10/10/08

The Death of Democracy

I'm totally copying this quote from my friend's site because it is so true and scary. This is where we are people.

Alexander Tyler, (in his 1770 book, Cycle of Democracy):

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising them the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over a louse fiscal responsibility, always followed by a dictatorship. The average of the world’s great civilizations before they decline has been 200 years. These nations have progressed in this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependency; from dependency back again to bondage.”

10/4/08

Two Week Break

Well, we've officially finished our first unit. We will take a 2 week break from our schooling. The two older princesses will be expected to do one extra section in their Awana books each week, and will be assigned an extra song in their piano lessons. I plan to try to catch up with Princess L in her school. We've been working on an alphabet lapbook, as well as a notebook with her Letter of the Week stuff. But, we've been unable to work on them this past week as we had a glue stick mishap the week before and I kept forgetting to buy some new ones. So we'll get that up to date this week. I hope to be able to have one kid swap play day with their friends who are also on a two week break from the charter school they attend. And, if we can swing it, I hope to make it to the zoo one day as well.

The princesses worked most of the weekend on a deep clean of their bedrooms. Their toy boxes still need to be gone through, but their rooms look a lot better. Princess L needs help with this, however, and we hope to get hers done this week as well. I plan to finish planning out unit two and getting supplies for hands on activities.

Blessings.