Ghosts!

We started decorating our schoolroom for Halloween with some tissue-paper ghosts. The kids had a great time making them. Sometimes the simplest ideas seem to be the ones that are the best.

We had so much fun that the kids wanted to make more when Daddy got home.

Land of the free, home of the brave

So Al Gore wins the Nobel Peace prize, eh? I feel somehow...vindicated...secretly smug and sticking my tongue out at every person who supported George Bush and wrote Gore off as an overweight has-been crying in his spilled milk. Feh!!

I don't think I've ever been so angry as when the bought & sold Supreme Court elected George Bush as Commander in Chief. I lost all faith in our country, in our system of government that I truly had believed was superior than any other. Checks and balances would prevent any branch from having too much power and usurping the federal government, or so I thought. But what do you know, some very power hungry, smart, rich men propped up an idiot and wrapped him in the flag and forever changed our world.

And what has our country gotten for its effort? A steady erosion of the rights that made our country so unique in the world, the cost of living increasing steadily, young soldiers being blown to bits in another Vietnam, hate, hate, and more hate.

Sometimes I despair of raising my children in this country. I can't honestly talk about the "land of the brave, home of the free" because we are no longer free in this country. The government is so corrupted that all of those values I held so dear no longer exist. Separation of church and state? Nope. Freedom from instrusive searches? Negative. Balance of powers? Sorry.

I think about my grandfather, who sacrificed everything to come to this country and worked so hard to give his children a better life. His son, my dad, is a PhD and raised 4 daughters successfully, all college educated American citizens. But what does this country think about immigrants today under this race-baiting administration? The racism and xenophobia is palpable. Immigrants are portrayed as lazy, selfish, greedy people who only want to take and don't contribute anything to society. How very sad.

Okay, rant over. But seriously, what does it mean to be an American? I guess I have to mull that over before my kids ask me....

Mellow Mornings

I just realized this morning how lucky we are to have such freedom in the morning. This morning we all woke up around 8:00 (about an hour later than usual) we hung around in bed for awhile, got up, the kids played in their pajamas while I had some coffee. We ate breakfast together around 9:00 (hearty oatmeal!) and were dressed around 9:30.

I can't imagine having to get the kids dressed, fed, organized and out the door by 8:00 or earlier!

Nature's Bounty

Here's an example of how homeschooling doesn't have to be expensive. Three days ago we went on a nature walk and collected 149 acorns. How do I know it was 149? We counted them!

First we divided them into three piles: acorns with caps, caps, and "bald" acorns. We then counted each pile and added them together. Then we subtracted the caps and "baldies" from the acorns with caps to see if we were correct. Cha-ching! Free math lesson!

Yesterday I put little pieces of paper with numbers on them in the bottom portion of an egg carton. C. had to put the correct number of acorns in each one. Then I switched the papers and she had to change the original number to the new number, either adding or subtracting the correct number of acorns. Each time we wrote out the equation on a piece of paper. Free math lesson #2! Thank you Mother Nature!

What to call it?

So we haven't come up with a name for the room yet, but C. and G. get very excited everytime we do something there! They really enjoy the "special" space that we are creating together. We finished the walls and painted a large blackboard on one wall that C. "christened" with a self-portrait.

So what do we call it? Schoolroom isn't appropriate because we aren't at school, and I certainly am not trying to replicate it at home. Learning Center sounds too stuffy and formal, and classroom seems sort of silly. So I am stuck trying to decide what to call it, and I guess it doesn't really matter anyway. I just want the kids to enjoy being there.

Classroom? Learning Center? What is it?

I wasn't able to get the pictures up because I was out of batteries for my camera but here are some pics of us turning "mantown" into "schooltown"!

The kids had a lot of fun painting - C. even painted some interesting pictures on the wall!

My goal is to turn the room into a peaceful place, a place where we can relax, learn some fun things, paint, do crafts, and display seasonal items. I want it to have a "homey" feel.