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Archive for May, 2009

My Latest Obsessions…

Monday, May 25th, 2009

…are Impressionist art and the Peloponnesian War.

Don’t ask.  I could tell you but I don’t feel like doing that much writing just now.  Suffice it to say that both of them were “birthed” from what I’ve been teaching Punksin.  This is one of the things I love about teaching her – I am learning so much myself.  Some of it I think I must have learned somewhere back there in my youth but there’s so much I’ve forgotten or never knew, or never understood quite the way I do now.

Learning.  It never gets old.

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Posted in The Mind | No Comments »

Zombie Ants

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

Every year I know spring has arrived when the parade of ants makes its annual trip to Mecca, i.e. my house.  Since ants do not disturb me in quite the same way that roaches or mice do, they’re only a minor nuisance.  To me, anyhow.

Today, one happened to be crawling across the rug in the playroom.  Pudding thought it was worth taking a swipe at, an activity I left him fully engrossed in when I went to do… something or other.

Shortly thereafter, Punksin rushed up to me all out of breath to announce that “we did an accident.”

(Aside: I love the innocence of this statement. She’s not clever enough yet to deflect culpability by merely saying that there was an accident.  One day…but not yet.)

Anyhow, I asked for more information.

She told me that:

Pudding was hitting the ant and he took off its head!!

Not knowing quite how to respond, I said something incredibly stupid along the lines of that the ant would “be okay.”  (DUH)

Clearly smarter than I am, she replied:

No he won’t! Now he’ll have to live the rest of his life dead!!!

Now, that sucks.

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Posted in The Fam, The Laughs | 1 Comment »

Unique Homeschool Materials For Sale?

Friday, May 15th, 2009

If you didn’t know, I homeschool my kids.

No, I am not any kind of fundamentalist.  I pay my taxes and am not trying to create my own nation.  I do not own a gun.  I homeschool my kids because Punksin is too smart to continue pre-K and, in the town where I live, the school system is not up to the level that I would desire.  I want her to have fun learning, to be respected for her intelligence, and in most of the nearby places where this would happen, I would have to go back to work just to pay her tuition.  Therefore, I have taken on the task of teaching her myself.

At this time of year, many homeschooling families dump whatever materials they’ve been using to make room for next year’s stuff.  On various homeschooling groups I’m seeing For Sale posts, people selling math manipulatives, textbooks, workbooks, resources they no longer need.

Well, today, let me tell you.  My kids have been in such a rare state of behavior that the only thing I’m considering selling is them.

Of course, the glass of wine I am currently imbibing may soften that emotion somewhat.  That or bedtime, when they once again return to that angelic state also known as unconsciousness.

Today, it cannot come fast enough.

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Posted in The Fam | No Comments »

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…are Impressionist art and the Peloponnesian War.

Don’t ask.  I could tell you but I don’t feel like doing that much writing just now.  Suffice it to say that both of them were “birthed” from what I’ve been teaching Punksin.  This is one of the things I love about teaching her – I am learning so much myself.  Some of it I think I must have learned somewhere back there in my youth but there’s so much I’ve forgotten or never knew, or never understood quite the way I do now.

Learning.  It never gets old.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in The Mind | No Comments »

Zombie Ants

May 21st, 2009

Every year I know spring has arrived when the parade of ants makes its annual trip to Mecca, i.e. my house.  Since ants do not disturb me in quite the same way that roaches or mice do, they’re only a minor nuisance.  To me, anyhow.

Today, one happened to be crawling across the rug in the playroom.  Pudding thought it was worth taking a swipe at, an activity I left him fully engrossed in when I went to do… something or other.

Shortly thereafter, Punksin rushed up to me all out of breath to announce that “we did an accident.”

(Aside: I love the innocence of this statement. She’s not clever enough yet to deflect culpability by merely saying that there was an accident.  One day…but not yet.)

Anyhow, I asked for more information.

She told me that:

Pudding was hitting the ant and he took off its head!!

Not knowing quite how to respond, I said something incredibly stupid along the lines of that the ant would “be okay.”  (DUH)

Clearly smarter than I am, she replied:

No he won’t! Now he’ll have to live the rest of his life dead!!!

Now, that sucks.

Tags: ,
Posted in The Fam, The Laughs | 1 Comment »

Unique Homeschool Materials For Sale?

May 15th, 2009

If you didn’t know, I homeschool my kids.

No, I am not any kind of fundamentalist.  I pay my taxes and am not trying to create my own nation.  I do not own a gun.  I homeschool my kids because Punksin is too smart to continue pre-K and, in the town where I live, the school system is not up to the level that I would desire.  I want her to have fun learning, to be respected for her intelligence, and in most of the nearby places where this would happen, I would have to go back to work just to pay her tuition.  Therefore, I have taken on the task of teaching her myself.

At this time of year, many homeschooling families dump whatever materials they’ve been using to make room for next year’s stuff.  On various homeschooling groups I’m seeing For Sale posts, people selling math manipulatives, textbooks, workbooks, resources they no longer need.

Well, today, let me tell you.  My kids have been in such a rare state of behavior that the only thing I’m considering selling is them.

Of course, the glass of wine I am currently imbibing may soften that emotion somewhat.  That or bedtime, when they once again return to that angelic state also known as unconsciousness.

Today, it cannot come fast enough.

Tags: , ,
Posted in The Fam | No Comments »

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