Monday, February 25, 2008




This last one isn't a great picture, but I like because I was just noticing how small Gavin looks in that picture on the wall. He was about 18mo old and now he's just turned 3. We always say he still looks like our baby, but looking back I can see he's grown up so much. So I kind of like the whole idea of this picture showing the change, although it's a little hard to see him in the framed picture.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

some thoughts on homeschooling

Here are some comments people made about homeschooling on APP.com.

- After homeschooling my three sons for the past 13 years, I have to say a classroom setting gives children the opportunity to learn to socialize with age mates but homeschooling gives the opportunity to socialize with all ages.
My three teenage boys interact wonderfully with senior citizens and babies, as well as with their peers. They experience the world and how to survive in it by being in it and learning from it.
I don't think most people realize there are many homeschool groups across the state that provide sports activities, trips, lectures, language lessons and social activities including teen dances and parties. We don't sit in our houses all day and shut the rest of the world out.

-I am a public schoolteacher who has worked with students who were homeschooled. Not all students who are homeschooled lack social skills or are behind in the curriculum. I know many well adjusted, intelligent homeschoolers.
I also know many who have no social skills and have learned nothing. It depends on the effort parents are willing to put into their child's education. But this holds just as true for any parent of a child who attends public or private school.
I can't tell you how many times I have contacted parents about their child's missing homework, not doing well on tests or poor behavior, and the parents just blame me. I didn't raise these children to have lack of respect for me or any of their other teachers, and I can't make them do their homework or study at home. The lack of support from the parents and community is the reason so many say public schools are failing.

- My favorite arguments against homeschooling is the socialization one. I went to public school and got to socialize with drug dealers, s--ts, incompetent teachers and principals, and lots of bullies. Just think of what the homeschooled kids are missing.

- {sarcastic} I don't know who these parents think they are. You would think they might leave the shaping of their children's minds, careers and futures to trained professionals, but they insist on interfering in their offsprings' lives every step of the way.
As if these children were actually their responsibility from birth to adulthood. Don't they realize these are the people's children, the state's responsibility. As such, they must be molded by the state and educated in accordance with state requirements — no more and no less.
They must be taught to accept the same values approved and encouraged by the state. They must be taught that all are equal, regardless of ability, intelligence or talent, and therefore, all must be rewarded equally, regardless of merit, just like the public schoolteachers.
They must be taught their self esteem is more important than anything they can contribute to society. They must be taught that acting in the best interest of the collective is more important than individual liberty.
They must be taught the role of the state is to protect the individual from his own inherent stupidity, because the individual is incapable of making intelligent decisions for himself, and therefore cannot be held responsible for his actions. The state must act as parent, Big Brother, nanny.
I understand the public teachers' union has the children's best interest in mind. These parents have a lot of nerve, refusing to conform.


It may be long, but I like some of the thoughts in there.
Happy Sunday!

Romans 13:8 (New American Standard Bible)
Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.


Click on my flickr badge to the right for some of my recent pics from my new camera. <3

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Separation Anxiety

Gavin is having some serious issues with seperation from me especially, but sometimes Ethan and Perry, too. It's been almost two weeks that he has been doing this and previously he would run off without even saying goodbye, he didn't care. Now all of a sudden he doesn't want me to leave him anywhere. Yesterday, he had a chance to go to his grandparents on his own without Ethan (which rarely happens). Well at about 7:15, our doorbell rings (which also rarely happens, lol). Of course, Grandma, Papa and Gavin are standing on the porch. On their way to Chuck E Cheese (1 hr away) he whined almost the whole time about seeing mommy and Ethan. He said he didn't want to go to Chuck E Cheese (he usually loves it there). He whined and cried all the way home after supper and playing. So they brought him home. Perry started getting him ready for bed, Ethan hadn't fallen asleep yet so he came out to see everyone. Ethan eventually said that he wanted to go, and then Gavin said he would go if Ethan did. I haven't heard from them yet this morning- so hopefully he was ok!
I feel so badly when I leave him somewhere and he acts like that. It's just so strange how it happened so quickly, I hope it doesn't last to long!

Friday, February 22, 2008

lots of pics...

Before Ethan went to school, we got out some boxes and did some different counting and sorting activites with them. Then we covered them with wrapping paper (white side out) and painted them. We are going to cut out some squares and rectangles for windows and doors and make buildings for a city.



Gavin and I went to the mall after Ethan went school. I had to pick up Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons- I had ordered it last week for Ethan. The stores weren't open when we got there so we went to the coffee shop and got some drinks. After that we went to the library for an hour. Gavin always wants to cut with scissors when we go there. So he did that first and then he worked on a bunch of puzzles. We came home and had some soup for lunch and an hour nap. When he got up we read a couple of his library books and then Grandma called and said she was going to come and pick him up and take him for the night and that they were going to go to Chuck E Cheese. He was pretty excited! I walked over with Desi to pick Ethan up at school. He is colouring right now and we are going to do some fun things tonight.
Here are some pics I took of the kids watching TV a few weeks ago, I thought it ws funny that they switched spots in the middle and Ethan did the same thing with his hands that Gavin had done.





Here are some pics from Gavins little birthday party, I had forgotten to post them.







And some silly ones of Gavin:

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Awesome video

Animal School
You need to see this if you have/ will have children, so true!

Friday, February 15, 2008

I Took His Hand and Followed

by Mrs. Roy L. Peifer

My dishes went unwashed today,
I didn't make the bed,
I took his hand and followed
Where his eager footsteps led.

Oh yes, we went adventuring,
My little son and I...
Exploring all the great outdoors
Beneath the summer sky

We waded in a crystal stream,
We wandered through a wood...
My kitchen wasn't swept today
But life was gay and good.

We found a cool, sun-dappled glade
And now my small son knows
How Mother Bunny hides her nest,
Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.

We watched a robin feed her young,
We climbed a sunlit hill...
Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,
We plucked a daffodil.

That my house was neglected,
That I didn't brush the stairs,
In twenty years, no one on earth
Will know, or even care.

But that I've helped my little boy
To noble manhood grow,
In twenty years, the whole wide world
May look and see and know

teaching?

I am still thinking about homeschooling...
I thought I had decided and was ok with not homeschooling, but I just can't forget about it and I just don't feel like school is for us. Ethan is in JK right now, but I am thinking that I may not send him back. But I don't know... This is such a major and hard decision. Anyway, this past week we have been doing homeschool type activities at home and I think my plan right now is to see if we (I) can do it now and into the summer and make a decision then. If it doesn't work, nothing's lost, if it does, we'll take Ethan out of kindergarten and Gavin wasn't set to go next year anyway. And then if it isn't working Ethan will have only missed senior kindergarten, which is not a requirement anyway.
Last week at school, Ethan was learning about dinosaurs and loved it. I decided to use dinosaurs as the first thing we would look at. On Wednesday, we went to the library and got some books about dinosaurs. We went through some of the names of different dinosaurs and sang some dinosaur songs. Yesterday, was a busy day, so we didn't do much. Ethan was in school and Gavin and I went to Sarnia, then they had swimming, supper and bed. Today, we made dinosaur boxes and a dinosaur 'collage' type craft. The kids had a bath with some dinosaur shaped foam pieces and we sorted all the different kinds and counted how of each there were and went over the names. If I get right to it in the morning it doesn't seem to bad. It's if I keep doing other things and then don't have much time for stuff that it would be harder. And Perry usually naps in the afternoon, so it makes it hard to do things in the house then. We'll see how it goes...
wish me luck.

Ethan dictated this story to me this morning:
Dinosaurs never ate trees. They jumped in the tree and never ate a crayon. And he saw a little Tyrannosaurus Rex and it was a baby one. Then a little man came tumbling and he didn't know why he had a snowman and it was springtome and he didn't know why it was snowing and the number ten was out. And he didn't know why there was a bat out. There was a shirt outside hanging on the clothesline at his new house and he didn't like it. And he wrote a dinosaur poem. He had a bat in the springtime. Why did he know that he had a dinosaur poem in his house? He had a shirt hanging out on his bedroom door. He never had a crayon in his little life, too.

:)

Monday, February 11, 2008

I'm in love...

My new camera is soooo amazing! I don't really know what I'm doing yet, but I'm trying to get it. I've taken over 100 pictures in 2 days! Here are some of my favourites, they may not be technically perfect, but what a differnce from my point and shoot (which I used to think did a pretty good job).









Saturday, February 9, 2008

sooo excited!

First- I got a new camera!!!!!! We bought a REbel XTi yesterday, but it had a problem with the memory card slot, and when we took it back they were all gone :( So, I got a Rebel XT. I am soo excited!! I can't wait to figure out how to use it!
Second- we are taking the kids to Niagara Falls next weekend. We will be going to the Fallsview Indoor Waterpark! They are going to have so much fun! Originally we thought that Perry and I would like to get away for a while ourselves but then we decided to do something with the kids since it was 'Family Day' anyway and that's the reason Perry gets an extra day off.
Here are some shots with my new camera, nothing special, just figuring out some settings...