Critical Thinking

Last summer my friend Erin brought up the problem she has with teaching her kids to think critically about the subjects they were studying. We talked a bit about how it's a slow process, and how she's doing all the right things to help the kids begin to see things from the right perspective ... as opposed to absorbing whatever line the textbook company throws at them.

This weekend I realized something else: if they absorb The Party Line when they're little, it's not going to do them major harm -- especially if Mom and Dad are helping them learn to evaluate in small doses, or asking thought-provoking questions. What hurts is when students are still unquestioningly absorbing the PC spin in their mid- to late teens.

Andrew and I are listening to an audiobook on the Revolutionary War right now. In conjunction with that, we borrowed Liberty's Kids for Maggie (and possibly for solidifying names, dates, places for Andrew and me). I knew the video would be from the perspective that the Founding Fathers were flawless heroes. I was a little uneasy with that, but finally decided that first we need to learn the facts stories, and then we can evaluate what the different sides believed.



Turns out that I was not impressed with Liberty's Kids. I know it works great for some families. For our purposes, with the ages of our kids, there wasn't enough information to bother with the time spent watching the show. I wasn't surprised by the winner-writes-the-history perspective, and wasn't surprised by the number of women and minorities in the stories. But I was very surprised at how peripheral the Boston Tea Party was to the episode on the Boston Tea Party. Thinking it might be a fluke, we watched the next episode. But the only thing we learned about the Coercive Acts was that British soldiers were quartered in colonists' homes; the other 95% of the show was irrelevant for our purposes.

Today's Laugh

Right now, I'm having amnesia and deja-vu at the same time. I think I've forgotten this before.

Egg-Roll Guts

Upon Glenda's request, I shall share one of our favorite things to do with cabbage. It's not much of a recipe. Basically, what I do is make the inside of eggrolls, but I don't put the stir-fry into the [refined] wrappers and deep-fry them.


a little sausage (optional)
oil for stir-frying
an egg or two
some mushroom (optional)
some carrot
some onion
lots of cabbage
ginger, salt, pepper, minced garlic (fresh or dried)
pinch of sugar (optional)
some soy sauce


Stir-fry together some onions and carrots. Usually I slice the onions thinly and then quarter the round slices. I usually matchstick-cut the carrots. But chopped would work. Grated would work. If you've got fresh mushrooms, it's great to add several of them, finely chopped or thinly sliced or grated. I thawed some bulk pork sausage yesterday for a recipe I didn't prepare, so I fried about 3-4 ounces of that in the skillet with the onions.

While stir-frying the onions, beat an egg or two in a small bowl, then pour it into a small skillet and fry it like you were making scrambled eggs, but don't stir them up. Let them cook solid and flat. When cooked through, flip your pancake-shaped egg onto the cutting board. Cut it into slivers, and add it to the veggies when you're adding the spices. (The egg is optional. Lots of times I make it vegetarian.)

After a few minutes of sauteeing the onions, I add slivered (or chopped or grated) cabbage to the big pan. There should a lot more cabbage than onion and carrot. Today I'm using two onions, four carrots, and a medium head of cabbage.

When the veggies are cooked to your satisfaction (which will only take a couple of minutes if you grated them, or maybe 10-15 if they're in larger slices), season with a pinch of ginger, a pinch of black pepper, several pinches of garlic, a touch of red pepper flakes if you want some heat, and some soy sauce. If it tastes like it needs more salt, add some or increase the amount of soy sauce.

Today's Laugh

After spending nearly half a day enduring the long lines, surly clerks, and insane regulations at the Department of Motor Vehicles, a lady stops at a toy store to pick up a baseball bat as a gift for her son.

"Cash or charge?" the clerk asks.

"Cash," the customer snaps. Then, apologizing for her rudeness, she explains, "I’ve spent the afternoon at the DMV. I am way past sane."

"Shall I gift-wrap the bat?" the clerk asks sweetly, "or are you going back there?"

Classical Lutheran Unschooling

Is "classical Lutheran unschooling" an oxymoron?
Or not?

According to most proponents of classical education,
academic subjects should be integrated into a whole body of knowledge instead of separate topics,
wisdom and virtue are to be cultivated in the student,
critical thinking is necessary,
learning is done in certain steps -- grammar, logic, rhetoric,
history provides education's framework,
and there are certain things everyone should know (even though not everyone agrees upon what those things are).

Amazingly enough, most of the Lutheran unschoolers I know teach this way. Some of us have been teaching this way since before "classical" became popular in the last 10-15 years. And yet, most classical educators say that unschooling and classical education are antithetical. Unschooling is usually imagined to be the epitome of what classical education is trying to avoid.

I've been thinking about this. For years.

What do unschooled kids want to learn? There are a gazillion specific answers. But I've been thinking about what guides their interests, what guides their desires. To some extent, unschooling works because of the mentors. Someone (whether in real life, or in a book or other media) provides guidance and information and helps keep the love of learning alive.

Few of the kids in my house have been interested in motors and mechanics; that's partly because my husband and I have little interest or skill; neither did we have the resources to obtain a mentor when a child showed a little interest in the subject. Most of my kids are interested in reading and cooking and Shakespeare and theology and music and writing and frugality; those are subjects that they see as part of normal family life around here; it's what grown-ups DO. So they become interested too. Furthermore, one child's passion will spread so that the others, even if not particularly interested themselves, will learn something about the topic.

If the homeschooling parents are critical thinkers and place a high value on teaching their kids to think critically,
if the parents are interested in participating in the Great Conversation,
if the parents love history and teach the kids to organize their view of the world around the progression of world history,
if the parents present truth, beauty, and goodness to their children,
then the children are inclined to follow.

Then, when the children are allowed to do "whatever they want" in school, it's going to look "classical."

And sometimes I wonder if that's what classical Christian education is actually striving for.






For more on this topic, see
what Jane wrote last August.

Today's Laugh

In arithmetic class one day, the teacher says to one little fellow, "If you had a quarter, and you asked your father for another dollar and fifty cents, how much money would you have?"

"One quarter," the little boys says.

"You don"t know your arithmetic," says the teacher, shaking her head.

The little boy shakes his head too. "You don't know my father."

Today

I enjoy reading friends' posts about what they did all day. So I thought I'd give it a whirl too.


Looked at email and blogs. Showered. Chapel. Always a day-brightener to chat with Kara afterwards, even if only a minute or two; would we buy tennies with flashing lights in the heels if they made them for grown-ups? Carol had second-day Panera's (third day?) so we took some bagels. Drank in the perfume of the recently-mowed lawn at church. Home. Kids showered. I went for exercise walk. Bagels alongside some schoolwork. New step in Greek translations with Andrew; he joked about "accoutrements" in the wake of mistaking "man" as a neuter noun. Washed all the bed linens and hung them on the line. Some dusting and cleaning because kids were working mostly on their own for a while. Paid bills. We played online geography game. Hummus and leftovers for lunch while watching episode of Muppet Show. Maggie to choir at church. While waiting, Andrew and I listened to US at War. Borrowed Mrs Hughes' map. Andrew ate more Panera's. Deposit at bank. Why is it cookie day there? Home again. Arranged dentist appointment for Paul during his Christmas break. Grammar and other short lessons with Mag. Grab the sheets off the line before sunset and dew-fall. Philip called to vent about a problem at work. Fetched the CSA box. Didn't feel up to cooking supper, so it was just mac-&-cheese, stir-fried egg-roll guts, and corn on the cob. Watched another episode of Muppets. Read more schoolwork, including Iliad. Running the dishwasher tonight instead of doing them by hand. Need to put the sheets back on the bed and climb in and snooze.

My Homeschooling Expectations

For high-school:
45 minutes daily -- math
60 minutes daily -- science
60 minutes daily -- writing, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, etc
90 minutes daily -- history, political science, economics
30 minutes daily -- music practice
60 minutes daily -- chores
60 minutes daily -- literature
60 minutes daily -- foreign language
30 minutes daily -- exercise
60 minutes daily -- prayers, theology, Bible
15 minutes daily -- current events

That's not what I think is actually a proper amount of time, but a bare minimum. And that list doesn't even touch on cooking, art, fieldtrips, life skills, employment, volunteering, time with friends, goof-off down-time, and sufficient sleep.

And that list is 9.5 hours! Good grief! No wonder I never feel like I'm doing enough with the kids. We're nowhere close to that "bare minimum" and never will be.

I do believe my gut should quit making goals that my head knows to be unreasonable.

Today's Laugh

Autumn is a season for big decisions — like whether or not it's too late to start spring cleaning.

There IS Something Besides Classical

There is much good to say about some aspects of classical education. I question, however, the assertion that it is the only way to provide a truly Lutheran education. (Not many people are blunt enough to state this, though.)

When new homeschoolers join a Lutheran email list, they will usually introduce themselves and may say a bit about their homeschooling style or philosophy. I've noticed that the new classical-ed folks assume that the others onlist will be into classical ed too. I've noticed that the experts who speak or write on the topic of Lutheran classical education expect that Lutheran homeschoolers will be implementing a classical-education model. They seem surprised to discover that not everyone is attempting to be classical. When people meet me and learn that I've homeschooled all my kids, they assume that we've done all the classical ed things; people are surprised to find that we have not taught Latin, and that we don't teach formal grammar until high school.

Folks with other educational philosophies and models (unschoolers, unit-studiers, traditional textbook users, etc) do not expect to find that all other Lutheran homeschoolers share their viewpoint. Although not all classical-ed folks assume other homeschoolers will share their perspective, that assumption does seem to be confined to those who consider themselves classical. I wonder why that is?

Today's Laugh

Don't anybody tell the President what comes after a trillion.


(stolen from Stacie)

Naughtiness

Loud. Can't sit still. Talks too much. Active, boisterous, and energetic. Curious and getting into things, even breaking things sometimes. Too many questions.

It may be annoying when a kid is all those things. It may be an awful lot of work to harness that energy and keep the child safe and the contents of the house from ruin. But is this a bad child?

I've noticed several times in the last week that "naughtiness" is equated with something like a toddler's climbing, or a 10-yr-old's high decibel-level, or preschooler's precociousness and unrelenting chatter, or a baby's crying from colic. It seems to me that naughtiness has more to do with stubborn willfulness, deliberate disobedience, or taking delight in hurting others. I'm wondering why so many people will think of naughtiness primarily as a child's actions that are inconvenient or unpleasant for the adults ... as opposed to naughtiness being attitudes and behaviors that are outright sin.

Today's Laugh

Lily Tomlin said:

I worry that the person who thought up Muzak may be thinking up something else.

Humility

"Humility" and "being humble" are virtues that we are encouraged to cultivate. "Being humiliated" is something that everybody wants to avoid.

Funny how "humble" and "being humiliated" are two different forms of the exact same word.


(With the Beatitudes for Sunday's gospel, it got me to thinking about what Pr Eckardt wrote last year about Moses' being the most humble man on earth.)

Environmentally Friendly Lightbulbs

They're supposed to use less electricity. I suppose that's probably true.

They're supposed to be environmentally friendly. Except you have to dispose of them as hazardous waste because of the mercury that's toxic.

They're supposed to be frugal. They tell us the bulbs last 8-15 times as long as an incandescent. If they cost 10 times as much, but last 10 times as long, then the simple purchase of them is a wash financially, and the energy savings is where you can be frugal.

The problem is, they don't last 8-15 times as long. We installed several CFL bulbs this summer, and they're already burned out. They didn't last as long as an el-cheapo 20-cent incandescent bulb.

So it's costing me more. And now I have a toxic substance to dispose of. And I'm wondering where the up-side of this is.

Why do I suspect that the people who are lying about pushing these things must be the ones who own the patent ... or the factory that makes them?

Today's Laugh

One day at a busy airport, the passengers on a commercial airline are seated, waiting for the cockpit crew to show up so they can get underway. The pilot and the copilot finally appear in the rear of the plane and begin walking up to the cockpit through the center aisle. Both appear to be blind. The pilot is using a white cane, bumping into passengers left and right as he stumbles down the aisle, and the copilot is using a guide dog. Both have their eyes covered with huge sunglasses. At first the passengers do not react, thinking that it must be some sort of practical joke. However, after a few minutes, the engines start revving and the airplane starts moving down the runway.

The passengers look at each other with some uneasiness, whispering among themselves and looking at the stewardesses for reassurance. Then the plane starts accelerating rapidly and people begin panicking. Some passengers are praying, and as the plane gets closer to the end of the runway the voices are getting more and more hysterical. Finally, when the plane has less than 20 feet of runway left, there is a sudden change in the pitch of the shouts as everyone screams at once, and at the very last moment the airplane lifts off and is airborne.

Up in the cockpit, the copilot breathes a sigh of relief and turns to the pilot, "You know, one of these days the passengers aren’t going to scream, and we are going to get killed!"

Merry Christmas

On the way to church yesterday, I saw a Christmas tree in a neighbor's living room. On the way to town this afternoon, I saw a large nativity set erected on someone's lawn. Wow.

Holy Hill

Last Tuesday, on a rare day of sunshine!, the kids and I headed to Holy Hill. It has been nearly 30 years since I last visited the place, and I've been meaning to take "the kids" to visit since before Andrew and Maggie were born. (My apologies to the four kids who haven't yet made the pilgrimage there.)

St Michael:

An autumn view from the top of the tower:

Susan and Maggie on our way down the tower:

The main church. It's full of beautiful artistry. Sad, though, that the focus on the Virgin Mary overwhelms attention to Christ. As we were "reading" the stories in the stained glass, it was particularly sad that there were windows about the conception of the Theotokos and her crowning in heaven while there was nothing about Jesus' ministry; the stories skipped from Jesus' young childhood to Pentecost.

Today's Laugh

Bumper stickers:

Ax me about Ebonics.

Honk if you've never seen a Uzi fired from a car window.

Don't be sexist; broads hate that.

If you lived in your car, you'd be home by now.

You're a feminist? Isn't that cute?

Teasing or Threatening?

Several years ago, a nice kid in a neighboring town got into trouble. He was from a nice family. He'd never done anything wrong. He was a little slow and quite naive, reasonably honest and helpful and kind. Some trouble-makers began to include him in their group and take advantage of his naivety. One night the bad guys decided to rob someone, and ended up killing the victim in the process. The nice kid was along for the ride in the car, observed the robbery with fear, and ended up accused as an accomplice to murder.

That story made a huge impression on me. Innocence of wrong-doing isn't enough; even being duped into an association with trouble-makers can get a kid into trouble.






Some kids were playing cards the other day. When one child had to leave the group for a couple of hours, he told the others, "Don't touch my pile of chips or I'll have to hurt you when I get back." I don't think he intended it to be a threat; it was just something he says to try to get people to take seriously that he really really doesn't want anybody to mess with his stuff.

But Maggie was somewhat intimidated by it. I don't think (???) she actually thought that she was in physical danger. But she complied with his request. Knowing that the child would not be returning to the game, I had divided up his chips among the other players. The kids were uncomfortable with that: "but he'll get really mad." They accepted the fact that I was the adult, and that I had made the decision to divvy up the chips, and that it was always possible to re-include the kid later should he happen to return.

But in spite of what I'd said, Maggie took it upon herself to set aside "his" chips. She didn't want to arouse his ire. And this makes me wonder what would happen if she were in public school, or out in the workplace where people could take advantage of her. Can she distinguish between a real threat and "big talk" which uses the same verbiage as a threat? How do you teach a child to discern whether a threat is actually a threat or is just tough-talk "teasing"? How do you teach a child to be kind and helpful and accommodating, while still making sure they are never accommodating of evil? How do you teach them not to tattle, while still ensuring that they know to go to the authorities (parents or teachers or cops) for help when it's necessary? I think most kids grow into figuring out these things without specific lessons on it. But how do you teach these things to kids who need more explicit instruction in these matters?

Today's Laugh

Mark Twain said:

Suppose you were an idiot...
And suppose you were a member of Congress...
But I repeat myself.

Today's Laugh

As firefighters, we are required to wear our full bunker gear on all safety calls, even to advise homeowners of a county ordinance against burning leaves after dark. Last Halloween, two co-workers waited on the porch of one such offending household, helmets in hand, until a woman finally opened the door. Promptly dropping a candy bar into each helmet, she remarked, "You boys are a little old for this sort of thing, aren't you?" and closed the door.

Today's Laugh

What is a vampire's favorite fast food?

A guy with very high blood pressure.


- - - - - - - - - - - - -



Do zombies eat popcorn with their fingers?

No! They eat the fingers separately.


- - - - - - - - - - - - -


What do you get when you drop a pumpkin?

Squash.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - -



Why do ghosts shiver and moan?

It's drafty under that sheet.

Indulgences

We visited Holy Hill the other day to see the beautiful art work, to see the beautiful countryside, to climb the tower, and to be outside in the sun. While there, we ran across the "apostolic penitentiary decree." It tells us that the pope has established this year as a special Year for Priests.

As I read over the decree, I see that I have earned a plenary indulgence. In other words, according to the pope, I don't have to go to purgatory. Gee, without even trying to check off the items on the list, I just happened to have done the things for the Go-Straight-To-Heaven indulgence. How 'bout that?

Actually, if you believe that you can do things to merit heaven, if you accept the idea of indulgences, this seems a lot better than what Tetzel was doing when he crassly sold indulgences for cash. After all, the pope is asking that Christians be repentant, that they go to the Lord's Supper, that they go to confession, and that they pray for the priests' faithful ministry and faithful lives. Those are good things. We certainly join them in their prayers:

(TLH page 112)
To preserve Your pastors and ministers in the true knowledge and understanding of Your word, and in holiness of life, we beseech You to hear us, good Lord.

(TLH 485)
The servants Thou hast called
and to Thy Church art giving
preserve in doctrine pure
and holiness of living.
Thy Spirit fill their hearts,
endue their tongues with power:
what they should boldly speak,
oh, give them in that hour!

(TLH 493)
Oh, may Thy pastors faithful be,
not laboring for themselves, but Thee!
Give grace to feed with wholesome food
the sheep and lambs bought by Thy blood,
to tend Thy flock, and thus to prove
how dearly they the Shepherd love.

Today's Laugh

It was Halloween night when a driver called our road-service dispatch office complaining that he was locked out of his car. I forwarded the information to a locksmith, along with one more detail: the car was parked at a nudist colony. Of course, the locksmith arrived in record time. But when he called in later, he wasn't amused. "Figures," he said. "I finally get to go to a nudist colony, and they're having a costume party!"

"I Can Read" books

Sam the Minuteman (Revolutionary War, colonists' side)
George the Drummer Boy (Revolutionary War, British side)
The Boston Coffee Party (Revolutionary War)

Chang's Paper Pony (CA gold rush)
Josephina and the Story Quilt (1850, emigrating to CA)
Follow the Drinking Gourd (underground railroad)
Buffalo Bill and the Pony Express (1860)
Long Way to a New Land (1868, Swedish immigrants)
Long Way Westward (1869)

First Flight (1903)
One Bad Thing about Father (Teddy Roosevelt)
Clara and the Bookwagon (1905)
Dust for Dinner (1930s)
Hill of Fire (Mexican volcano, date ?)


Millicent Selsam's
Let's Get Turtles
Plenty of Fish
Greg's Microscope
Seeds and More Seeds

Today's Laugh

A few days into retirement, his wife asked him, "So what are you going to do today?"

The man answered, "Nothing."

"But you did nothing yesterday," said the wife.

"True. But I'm not finished yet."

Lasagna Pan

I've been looking for a lasagna pan for years. Today I found a set of Anchor-Hocking bakeware at Aldi. A three-pan set (8x11", 9x13", and 11x15") for ten bucks. The large dish alone is worth more than $10 to me. If you need a 5-quart baking pan, hurry to Aldi this week.

Today's Laugh

Two blondes are walking along the beach together. One gasps and says, "Look at that dead bird!" The other looks up and asks, "Where?"

Militant Peace

Sounds rather oxymoronic, doesn't it?

The concluding petitions to this week's collect are that the heavenly Father would defend us against all enemies of the Word and would bestow upon Christ's Church Militant His saving peace.

Peace. What kind of militancy exudes peace, anyway???

I guess that would be the "militancy" of a church that is beaten up and ridiculed and mocked ... and which finds her peace not in what she sees or experiences but in the promises of her Lord.

White Bread

All those bagels made of white bread a couple of weeks ago, in addition to non-whole-wheat noodles, gunked me up in my head and throat. Finally got back to normal. Then Saturday morning we had French toast with the last of the white bread, and Saturday evening we ate buns that were only 1/3 whole wheat and the rest white. And then last night at a potluck I ate enough brownies to compensate for the political discussion around the table. Now I'm coughing and stuffy.

Dang it. I think I'm slowly learning the lesson that I simply cannot do white flour anymore. It stinks getting old. Good-bye, donuts. Farewell, yummy cookies. Boo-hoo and whine-whine.

Today's Laugh

Seen on a bumper sticker:

If you can read this,
my caravan's fallen off.

More Pictures from August

Alia locked up in her carseat on the move to Texas:

A very fuzzy picture of Katie and Alia at the gas station where the beer distributor gave me free Bud Lime:

At that same gas station, Alia was greatly enjoying driving the play racecar. I thought it would be fun for her if we put quarters in the machine and gave her a ride. I was wrong. She was not pleased.

At the hotel -- a toilet to flush and toilet paper to unroll. Ahhhhh, heaven!

Their new place is the first floor, the left half of the picture:

The immediate neighborhood:

The family in a farewell picture at the airport:

Depression

It was interesting to me to notice Psalm 31:
My eye wastes away with grief,
yes, my soul and my body.
For my life is spent with grief,
and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my iniquity,
and my bones waste away.


And then in Psalm 25 we read:
Look on my affliction and my pain
and forgive all my sins.


This is reflected in many other scripture passages. For some reason, though, these jumped out at me recently. It's almost like the psalmist admits that sin has physical consequences, and that the absolution is God's response even when the problem is physical or temporal ... almost like forgiveness is what's most important to Him.

Today's Laugh

My son, objecting to the "demotion" of Pluto so that we are no longer supposed to call it a planet:

Don't you dare say Pluto is not a planet. Dwarf people are still people. So a dwarf planet is still a planet.

History or Current Events?

Andrew and I sat down to listen to our current tape in the US at War series. We're studying the time leading up to the Revolutionary War. It seems that the Sugar Act (an attempt by Britain to increase taxes collected from the colonies) was imposed at a time when the colonies were already experiencing recession/depression. And guess what? When they increased taxes during a depression, it destroyed the economy that was left, knocking some businesses out of business, which then had ripple effects on other businesses.

Now, who would ever have guessed that increasing taxes during hard economic times would do that???

Do you suppose the governor and the president and the leaders of congress would like to gather round my kitchen table and listen to some of our history tapes??



PS: We also had to laugh at the colonists' insistence that they shouldn't have to pay "involuntary taxes." Now, think about that phrase: involuntary taxes. Is that not a redundancy?

Today's Laugh

An Arab diplomat visiting the U.S. for the first time was being wined and dined by the State Department. The Grand Emir was unused to the salt in American foods (french fries, cheeses, salami, anchovies, etc) and was constantly sending his manservant Abdul to fetch him a glass of water. Time and again, Abdul would scamper off and return with a glass of water, but then came the time when he returned empty-handed.

"Abdul, you son of an ugly camel, where is my water?" demanded the Grand Emir.

"A thousand pardons, O Illustrious One," stammered the wretched Abdul, "infidel sit on well."

Static Electricity for Experiments

If you're a homeschool mom like me, you may not have balloons in the house when you need them for science experiments. "What do you mean -- you thought it was okay to play with the balloons like they were toys? Don't you realize that I need them on rare occasion and don't want to have to make a trip to the store? Playing with toys? What will you children think of next???"

When Dr Wile tells your kid to make static electricity for a science project and there is no balloon to be found, see if there's styrofoam in the house. If you take a styrofoam plate and rub it vigorously against your hair (as you would do with a balloon to build up a charge), it works. The styrofoam doesn't have as much oomph as a balloon; you can't use the static charge to hang the plate on the ceiling. But it works well enough to pull the electrons in a piece of foil or a very thin trickle of water.

Today's Laugh

On a transatlantic flight, a plane passes through a severe storm. The turbulence is awful, and things go from bad to worse when one wing is struck by lightning. One woman in particular loses it.

Screaming, she stands up in the front of the plane. "I'm too young to die," she wails.

Then she yells, "Well, if I'm going to die, I want my last minutes on earth to be memorable! Is there anyone on this plane who can make me feel like a WOMAN?"

For a moment there is silence. Everyone has forgotten their own peril. They all stare, riveted, at the desperate woman in the front of the plane.

Then a cowboy from Montana stands up in the rear of the plane. He is handsome: tall, well built, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He starts to walk slowly up the aisle, unbuttoning his shirt ...

one button at a time ...


No one moves...


He removes his shirt...


Muscles ripple across his chest...


She gasps...


He whispers, "Iron this. Then get me a beer."

Today's Laugh

In light of the rising frequency of human/grizzly bear confrontations, the Montana Department of Fish and Game is advising hikers, hunters, and fishermen to take extra precautions and be alert for bears while in the field:

"We advise that outdoorsmen wear small bells on their clothing so as not to startle bears that aren’t expecting them, and to carry pepper spray with them in case of an encounter....

"It is also a good idea to watch out for fresh signs of bear activity. Outdoorsmen should recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear droppings. Black bear droppings are smaller and contain lots of berries and fur. Grizzly bear droppings have little bells in it and smell like pepper."

Caramel Dip for Apples

This isn't as runny as the caramel dips you find in the produce section or at the apple orchard, but it's healthier. The taste isn't quite the same, but it's just as good.


Cream together equal parts of:
brown sugar
cream cheese
peanut butter.


A bowlful of this with a plate of Honeycrisp slices makes a mighty yummy lunch!

Today's Laugh

France -- the only country with reverse gear and backup lights on their tanks.

AUNTHOOD

Oh boy!
My sister and her husband are having a baby next spring!!!!!

Socialization

A few weeks ago, a friend commented on her daughter's behavior after an afternoon at a homeschool co-op with all the other kids. I told her how our kids had had the ugly habit of misbehaving after time with friends. So often they would elbow each other in the car on the way home from play-days. Or they would tattle and whine. The day after an all-day homeschool event was torturous for the mom as the kids were impossibly cranky and impatient with each other. So many times I said, "You know what you're teaching me, don't you? 'If you take us to see our friends, we will be nasty at home afterwards.' So obviously the lesson I will learn is not to take my children to see their friends." In time, they learned to bite their tongues and keep their elbows to themselves after a day with friends. In time, they learned that they'd better feign niceness-to-siblings if they ever wanted to see anybody outside the family.

It is well known among homeschoolers that there is a "re-entry time" for the family after some or all of the family members have been away. People who send their kids to school and say, "I could never homeschool," often feel that way because they go through the re-entry time nearly every day. That re-entry time is nasty, whether it happens a couple of times a year or every day. It takes real work for kids to stifle the impulses to snap at siblings after they've been with their buddies. A sustained period of time away from buddies usually makes for a more pleasant home life.


Different subject:
Pastor talks about how we are made in the image of the God who loved sacrificially and gave of Himself. He talks about how we chase after happiness and satisfaction, never to find fulfillment in what we thought we wanted. He talks about how joy and peace and fulfillment actually can come only as we pour out ourselves for the neighbor. Even though it hurts us to sacrifice ourselves for another, it is paradoxically the only place happiness and satisfaction can be found.


Different subject:
I remember Barbara writing a blogpost quite a while ago about how she spent so much time with her children and found a great deal of pleasure in their company. She wrote about the moms who are not with their children so much, or who see homeschooling as a duty to be endured, and who then do not enjoy their children. I wish I could find that article; she said it so much better than my poor summary here.


Putting all three of those together:
I sense that there is less delight for homeschooling mommies than there was a decade or more ago. Because there are more homeschoolers than 15-20 years ago, it's easier to find like-minded homeschoolers. Because homeschooling is more mainstream, it's easier to find others who share our lifestyle and interests. It is therefore easier for moms to find support groups, attend co-ops, and spend time online with other moms. I'm wondering if mommies develop the same kind of peer dependency that kids sometimes do. If we mommies are with our friends more, does that make us cranky when we go back to spending time with our families?

I'm not saying that moms shouldn't associate with other moms online, at retreats, for play-days, and at other times. But I find, for myself, that I'm more cheerful and content working with the kids when I reduce the time spent with my peers.

Today's Laugh

I went to my doctor and said "Doc, I can't remember ever being this sick before! Can you help me?"

He said, "Sure!" and wrote me a prescription for ginkgo biloba.

Site Meter

We all cracked up over the xkcd comic strip about people ignoring the very-real prize advertised on the site to the 100-millionth visitor. You should really go read the comic.

At 8:36 this evening, I had my 100,000th visitor to my blog. And I don't know who it was -- someone from an unknown continent, unknown country, unknown latitude and longitude, unknown ISP. All I know is that the person was using Firefox on a WinXP machine and came directly to my blog instead of being referred from another URL. It's odd; usually I can make a good guess as to who a visitor is, or at least know what kind of information they were googling when they found my site.

I don't have a prize. Instead, I only have a picture of the tree that has brightened our days. Literally brightened. But, oh, the picture's not even flashing as prizes are supposed to....

Last year, the tree across the street, that I can see out our bedroom window, was utterly gorgeous. I figured it had to do with the weather. But this year it is just as beautiful. It is SO vivid and bright that, on all those deeply cloudy & dark days we've been having, you almost get a sense that the sun is shining on that tree. In the midst of the gloom, it feels like the sun has broken through the clouds if we look out that one particular window.
(The picture doesn't do it justice...)

Today's Laugh

Did you hear the one about the paranoid dyslexic?
He always thought he was following someone...

How "Narrow" Is the Cross?

The other day in Bible class, a wise woman brought up some questions about the "knowledge of God." An interesting discussion ensued, with cross-references to many passages besides the Hosea one which instigated the topic. She had good things to say; Pastor had helpful points to add. But there was one little thing that bothered me: we were discussing whether it's too narrow to define the 'knowledge of God' as the cross of Jesus and His blood-bought forgiveness.

No, it's not too narrow. That's the right definition. To know God is to know and trust and rely upon that atonement.

But ... "narrow"?

I kept wondering whether the cross of Jesus can in any way be considered a narrow definition of anything. It is everything. The cross of Jesus is why Pharaoh's armies were drowned in the Red Sea. The cross of Jesus is why all those thousands (millions?) of lambs were sacrificed in the tabernacle and temple for centuries upon centuries. The cross of Jesus is why the universe holds together and the earth continues to produce fruit (Col 1:14-21). The cross of Jesus is our justification and our sanctification, our wisdom, our life and salvation.

Do you know what the TARDIS is? Doctor Who's home/spaceship looks like a telephone booth on the outside, but it's humongous on the inside.

Or think of the Weasleys' tent when they went camping at the World Quidditch Cup. It was bigger on the inside than on the outside. Hermione's bag in Deathly Hallows was the same way.

How much equipment is in that narrow police box known as the TARDIS? How much clothing and books and stuff could Hermione carry around in her bag? How many rooms and how much furniture fit into the Weasleys' tiny little tent?

Isn't Jesus' cross like that? Only more so? And real!

Today's Laugh

A friend and I were sitting at Starbucks when a noisy car alarm interrupted our conversation.

"What good are car alarms when no one pays any attention to them?" I wondered aloud.

"Some are quite effective," my friend corrected me. "Last summer, my teenager spent a lot of time at the neighbors'. Whenever I wanted him home, I'd go out to the driveway and kick his car."

Not Applying for the Job

Every Wednesday and every Saturday I look at the ad papers, in case a Just-Right Job should appear in the want ads. This week I thought I saw it. A local restaurant (only four miles from the house) needs a cook, Monday to Thursday lunches, 11-2:00. It's nearby. It's few enough hours. The schedule doesn't interfere with chapel or choir or Gary's evenings/weekends home. It's cooking! At a perfect time! Nearby!

I feel like such a wuss, but I finally decided not to apply. I'm finally beginning to get a handle on life. Things are not spiraling crazily out-of-control. I'm doing what I should be doing with the kids and their schoolwork (well, at least, to some extent). I'm getting a grip on a schedule that recognizes [ta da!] that we eat supper every day. I want to get settled & firm in this before I try to extend myself. I really don't need challenges right now. It bugs me that I feel guilty for being able to cope with life as it stands; if I can handle what I've got on my plate, doesn't that mean I should be taking on more? (My reasonable mind knows the answer to that question, but my gut hollers a different answer.)

So now I have to decide whether I'm going to keep reading the ad-papers. It has crossed my mind that if the job were preparing food I'd want to eat, food for health and superb taste, I'd've been far more likely to apply. But somehow, the idea of heating pre-made soup, grilling burgers, deep-frying cheese curds and mushrooms and french fries and chicken nuggets, etc, just isn't enough to entice me into making the sacrifices I'd need to make for the paycheck. At least, not yet. Now, if I could really cook for people.... hmmm.

Chilly

Furnace has been on for two weeks. Last year we didn't flip the switch until the last week of October or early November.

We've had frost nearly every night for a few weeks. We've only had a few days where the high temperature has gone above 50. It's normal now to look out the window at the thermometer in the morning and see a number between 30 and 35. Last year Gary was outdoors, working on finishing the deck, until mid October. This year we can't seem to kick ourselves outdoors to do that final lawn-mowing job of the year -- it's too cold.

Last year, on November 5, Katie and I were sitting outdoors, sunbathing ourselves and sunning newborn Alia to kill off spare bilirubin cells. I am highly skeptical as to whether there will be Indian summer this year showing up before the blankets of snow.

Would you please buy an SUV and drive it on all sorts of unnecessary errands so that we can get some global warming happenin' around here?

Today's Laugh

One day, little Johnny visited a doctor for a vaccination. After the doctor gave him an injection, he tried to bandage Johnny's arm.

"I think you'd better bandage the other arm", said Johnny.

"But, why? I'm supposed to bandage the injected part of your arm to let your friends know not to touch it."

"Doc, you really don't have a clue about how my friends behave!"

The True Temple

As we have been traveling through the David stories recently, Pastor has been pointing out all these ways that David looks like Jesus ... but not quite. And all these ways Solomon looks like Jesus ... but not quite. And in the last few days, all these ways the temple looked like Jesus ... but not quite.

Today's story (from 1 Kings 9) is God's response to Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple. God promises to be faithful to His covenant. He also promises that the line of David will continue as long as they do not go after other gods. But if they turn from following the Lord
the house which I have consecrated for My name will be cast out of My sight.... And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished by it and will hiss and say, "Why has the Lord done thus to this land and this house?" Then they will answer, "Because they forsook the Lord their God...."

Jesus, the true temple of the Lord, was destroyed because of the sin of the people. As He hung on the cross, people passed by and mocked. And why did it happen? Because God's people forsook the Lord their God and embraced other gods. Also, as a type of the true Temple, the temple in Jerusalem was raised up again after it had been destroyed.



From the Good Friday Old Testament reading: My Servant shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. Just as many were astonished at you so His visage was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men.

Zoo Trip

Okay, so I'm very very slow. Pictures from early August ...


The man with Gary is Randy, one of the bosses at Gary's work, and the guy has done so much to teach Andrew to sing bass! (Andrew was seated next to Randy last year in choir, and it helped him immeasurably just to be able to follow the lead of the strong singer next to him.)


Petting a chicken. (My mom is not jealous of Alia!)


Petting a snake. Now, does James agree with what Pastor said in Bible class a week or two ago, about our natural inclination to be to recoil from snakes?


She liked the baby chicks.


Rainy day. Typical kid -- just as enchanted by the umbrella as she was by the animals.


Tuckered.


All the kids but Nathan made it that day:

Today's Laugh

The company psychiatrist was interviewing Nancy. As she sat in the chair, the psychiatrist asked a series of questions to determine if she was emotionally suitable for the company.

Things were not going well for Nancy. The psychiatrist decided to try a new approach, to give Nancy one last chance. He asked, "If you could have a conversation with someone, living or dead, who would it be?"

Nancy quickly responded, "The living one."

The Answer to Prayer

Our story today was from the end of 1 Kings 8: Solomon's prayer upon the dedication of the temple. Over and over, Solomon prayed that God would hear and forgive. When there was famine and the people realized their sin and repented, God should hear and forgive. When God brought war upon them, He should hear and forgive their prayers when they repent. When there is pestilence. When they are taken into captivity by their enemies. When there is plague and sickness. When there is drought.

The calamity brings the people to realize their sin and their need. The calamity causes them to say, "We have sinned." And God will be faithful to forgive. The solution to the problem is not just that God would send rain or send victory or send health. The solution is forgiveness.

Cause of Depression

I have heard it said over and over again that we must realize clinical depression to be a physiological problem and not a spiritual problem. It's medical, people say. We don't want to make it sound like people should just be able to get their act together and do a better job of trusting God. They need help from doctors and therapists. We are told that we need doctors to help with broken legs or cardiovascular disease, and depression is no different.

And I agree. Kind of.

I have some cysts. Sometimes they get bigger and give me pain I'd rather not deal with. The flare-ups are linked to stress and worry. It's not like an hour's worth of stress (or a day's worth) will result in pain. But months of greater-than-normal stress will cause a physiological problem.

High blood pressure is frequently caused by stress and worry. Not always, but often.

Acid-reflux is frequently caused by stress and worry. If it is true that worry is a sin against the first commandment, then wouldn't it follow that acid-reflux is often a symptom or an outgrowth of a spiritual problem?

Of course, people still need their medical doctors for cysts and cardio-vascular problems and acid-reflux. Of course, they still need medicine and treatment. Of course, they cannot be expected to "do a better job of trusting" so that they can "overcome" their physical problems through some me-centered attempt at Increased Faith. But that doesn't negate the fact that the physical problems resulted from worry (aka, sin).

So why would it be any different if the illness were clinical depression?

Today's Laugh

Brain cells come and brain cells go, but...
fat cells live forever.

The Sin of Worry

I would have thought it was something we would all agree upon: worry is sin.

But we don't. When I have talked about my sinful worrying, sometimes friends will object. "It's not a sin to worry. We all worry. We can't help worrying. It's just part of human nature."

Yeah.
So?
What does any of that have to do with whether it's a sin?


How can we say that worry is not sin? Worry is the result of saying that circumstances of life are not what they should be. God is screwing up. He's not taking care of things in the way I deem appropriate, so I need to resolve the problem. And if I can't fix it myself, then I reserve the right to fret and stew over what's coming down the pike. Worry is what happens when I value something "under the sun" more than I value Jesus and His forgiveness. Worry is what happens when we do not "leave all things to God's direction" (LSB 719) but decide that we know better and that we should be gods for ourselves.

Worry is sin against the first commandment.

Even in the Beichtafel (pg 1460 in Treasury of Daily Prayer or pg 658 in Pastoral Care Companion or pg 38 of Lutheran Catechesis) we read, "Do I see my worry and fretting as sin against trusting God?" and "Do I expect only good from God in every situation, or do I worry, doubt, complain, or feel unfairly treated when things go wrong?"


Why do we chafe so much against admitting that our worry is sin? I think it's because we have this deep-seated belief that it's up to us to solve our problem of sin. Even while we believe in the mercy of God, even while we trust Christ's blood-bought forgiveness, we remain sinful unbelievers who want to be able to do something to make ourselves better Christians. So we think we must find a way to stop worrying. "Buck up and do a better job of trusting, you lout," we scold ourselves. But that law will not make us better. The solution to our problem of sin lies only and always and ever in the merits of Christ alone.

So I admit it. I worry. I ought not. But knowing that I ought not doesn't stop me. Trying to stop worrying has no effect. I say with Paul (in Romans 7), The good that I would, that I do not do... But we also confess that the Gospel is bigger than our sin. Jesus Christ sets us free from this body of death. There is therefore now no condemnation in Him.

Today's Laugh

"I'm sorry," said the clerk in flower shop, "we don't have potted geraniums. Could you use African violets instead?"

The customer answered sadly, "No, it was geraniums my wife told me to water while she was gone."

Long Day

Last time we bought a side of beef, I wasn't happy with the quality of either the cow or the packer. So we went back to Country Pride Meats in Clinton and bought half a cow from the same people we've been buying beef from for many many years. That meant a bit of a drive today.

Andrew and I started listening to US at War series. I love it. It's balanced. It draws heavily on primary sources. It encourages critical thinking. The kids hate it; they say George C Scott has a droning voice that puts them to sleep. Andrew drove home from the butcher, solely motivated by a desire to avoid note-taking on the history audio-book. While he drove, I read All-of-a-Kind Family to Maggie, and hit a few chapters of our kiddie version of the Odyssey.

On our way home, we were dropping off 1/4 of the meat with the family who went in with us to buy the side. We missed a turn, and so took a route that was just a wee bit longer. It happened to go right past Old World Wisconsin, a place that Maggie's been longing to visit, if only to hit the gift shop. We decided to run in and purchase that $2 fan she's been desiring. Oh my goodness! Four bus-loads of kids. About 60-80 grade-schoolers in a tiny gift shop, all wanting to spend money. What a madhouse! It took us about 20 minutes to make that one little purchase. At least they were relatively well-behaved kids.

While down near our old stomping grounds, we stopped at our eye doctor's office and had our glasses adjusted. Mine were so crooked that I'm having a hard time getting used to the "empty spot" where the corrective lenses no longer sit. It may be weird for a few days of adjustment, but it should make reading out of books easier -- keep those near-sightedness lenses out of the way where I need the far-sightedness lenses. I keep inching closer to admitting that I need bifocals. But not yet....

Freezer has been emptied, scraped free of frost build-up, repacked with the new meat, and organized. It's so nice to go hunt in the freezer and know where to find certain food items.

Four days of white bread and white pasta has wreaked havoc on my allergies. It also seems to have caused joint pain. Shoot. I'm old. Hopefully getting back to a better diet will help. But it also scares me about traveling and being away from my kitchen for more than a day at a time. I'm old.

Two Steve Martin movies arrived from our Netflix queue today. Ah, tonight we will sit and laugh! Andrew needs to see The Jerk so that he can understand the choir director's frequent references to the movie.

Today's Laugh

Two gas-company servicemen, a senior training supervisor and a young trainee, were out checking meters in a suburban neighborhood. They parked their truck at the end of the alley and worked their way to the other end. At the last house a woman looking out her kitchen window watched the two men as they checked her gas meter.

Finishing the meter check, the supervisor challenged his coworker to a foot race down back to the truck. As they came running up to the truck, they realized the lady from that last house was huffing and puffing right behind them. They stopped and asked her what was wrong.

Gasping for breath, she replied, "When I see two gas men running as hard as you two were, I figured I'd better run too!"

Today's Laugh

A minister was planning a wedding at the close of the Sunday morning service. After the benediction he had planned to call the couple down to be married for a brief ceremony before the congregation. For the life of him, he couldn't think of the names of those who were to be married.

"Will those wanting to get married please come to the front?" he requested.

Immediately, nine single ladies, six widows, and two single men stepped to the front.

Not Getting What You Pray For

On Thursday before Bible class, as a bunch of us hung around the coffee pot and cookie trays, one of the women brought up a question. Her neighbors have concluded that God must not like them much, since they're having some difficulties and He's not giving them the solutions that they're praying for. She wondered how to respond. Discussion ensued about praying "Thy will be done," about asking for a Rolls Royce, about the theology of the cross, etc.

Pretty soon, Pastor wandered over. She asked him. Before having heard the background to the question, his initial response was, "Prayer is the voice of faith. Are they asking for what faith desires?" He had some other brief comments and questions too, but that one line really says it all. What does faith pray for anyway? God does not indulge our Old Adam in its idolatry and unbelief, but rather gives us what the New Man prays for.

Today's Laugh

On still another diet, Sue had lost a few pounds and a lot of her usual sunny disposition. After making a snappish remark to her husband, she apologized and reminded him that he was supposed to stick by her through thick and thin.

"I know," he said, dryly, "but thick was a lot easier."

Teaching Kids to Pick Up Their Rooms

In a recent conversation about messy rooms, mommas wondered whether to fight the battle, whether to keep nagging, whether to shut the bedroom door and just not look, or what.

I have found that telling a kid to clean a room may not work well. "But it's already clean, Mom." Sometimes it helps to ask the kid, "What do you see that is out of place?" Maybe they'll notice the dirty cup on the dresser that should be in the kitchen sink. Maybe they won't. It's very possible that the child will answer that he doesn't see anything out of place. And the mom is thinking, "Do we need to take you to the eye doctor? Are your eyes open? Do you have on a blindfold???"

Amazingly enough, one little twist on the question has proven to make a big difference in my house. NOT "What do you see that needs to be put away?" Instead, "What am I going to tell you shouldn't be where it is? If I were to sit here and point out what you need to put away next, what would it be?"

Flurries

Growing up, I expected some snow before Thanksgiving. When we moved north, it was not shocking if there were snow or flurries before my son Paul's birthday. Then we spent a long time living on the IL/WI border, and we were not surprised if we had a few flurries prior to Halloween.

But good grief: it's October 10! It's snowing outside. (Better than snowing inside, I always say....)

I think Al Gore owes us reparations.

Today's Laugh

Ricky, Jimmy, and Stu were on the bus home from elementary school when a fire engine zoomed past their bus with blaring sirens.

The three kids noticed a Dalmatian on the front seat of the fire engine. Ricky said, "They use that dog to keep crowds back."

"No," said Jimmy, "he's just for good luck."

But Stu knew better. "No, the dog's job is to find the nearest fire hydrant."

What Was Solomon's Wisdom

The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. And to depart from evil is understanding. (Job 28)

When Solomon became king, God told him to ask for whatever he wanted (1 Kings 3). Solomon requested a heart of understanding to discern justice, that he might rule God's people well. Solomon's name is now synonymous with wisdom, and we hear (1 Kings 4) how he knew all sorts of botany and zoology and art. And yet, it is the fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom; it is faith in Christ-crucified which makes one wise (1 Cor 1).

So we hear the well-known story about the two women who came to Solomon, fighting over the one live baby, each claiming the baby to be her own and the dead baby to be the son of the other woman. Like most people, I had always thought that Solomon was smart, intelligent, a good thinker, to be able to figure out what to do to reveal which woman was the actual mother.

But Pastor pointed out something in chapel yesterday. It wasn't so much smarts that enabled Solomon to determine the identity of the true mother. It was his Faith. It was his knowledge of mercy. Why did the one woman relinquish her claim on the baby? Because true love will sacrifice of itself for the sake of the beloved. True love seeks the welfare of the other, even when it means suffering and loss for oneself. This is the love of God; this is the love seen in the cross, the love which gives us life. And when real love is seen amongst us humans, it looks like God's self-sacrificing love. Solomon's knowledge of mercy and his faith in mercy --not his smarts-- was what enabled the wise king to recognize the mother of the baby for who she really was.

Bagel Jackpot

Panera's gives away their bread each evening rather than throwing it in the trash. One of the women at church lives at a place that sometimes has an overabundance of Panera's goodies. The elderly people who live there take all they want, and then the rest eventually goes into the trash. Since she hates to see the waste, she will rescue the bread and bagels before they hit the garbage can, so that those who are struggling financially can benefit. Today there was plenty! I felt greedy taking so much, but this is just a portion of what was there for the taking. Maggie has been begging me to buy bagels for weeks, and now she certainly has bagels!!

Why do I so often question whether God can "give us this day our daily bread"?

Today's Laugh

Sign in a cafeteria:

"Shoes are required to eat in the cafeteria."

And hand-written underneath: "Sandals can eat any place they want."

Those Post-Michaelmas Days

Praise for the first of martyrs
who saw You ready stand
to help in time of torment,
to plead at God's right hand.
Like You, our suffering Savior,
his enemies he blessed,
With "Lord, receive my spirit,"
his faith, by death, confessed.



O may Thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold,
fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
and win with them the victor's crown of gold.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
O blest communion, fellowship divine,
we feebly struggle, they in glory shine.
Yet all are one in Thee for all are Thine.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Follow Me, Boys

A great feel-good movie from the old Disney: Follow Me, Boys. I don't know if somebody recommended this to us or if Netflix did because they decided it fits our style. Wherever it came from, we're glad to have seen it. As one reviewer wrote, it's got every corny movie-cliche it can have, and yet people love it.

Fred MacMurray settles down in a small town, takes up with the pretty young gal, works with the boys to build a character-building Boy Scout troop, and endears himself to the community as he sets down roots there. The story is set from 1930 to 1950. Andrew commented on the store clerk's reaching into the penny-candy case and picking up candy with his bare hands to sell to the customers. Gary and I commented on how old the characters in their early 50s appeared to be: "Wait a minute, soon I'll be as old as this guy in the bathrobe who's being forced to slow his pace of life and settle down for old age??" Beyond that reminder of impending old age (as if I needed help remembering that?) the movie was wholesome and sweet and enjoyable, something for the whole family.

Today's Laugh

A large two-engine train was crossing the country. After they had gone some distance, one of the engines broke down. "No problem," the engineer thought and carried on at half power.

Farther on down the line, the other engine broke down and the train came to a standstill. The engineer decided he should inform the passengers why the train had stopped, so he made the following announcement:

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that both engines have failed, and we will be stuck here for some time. The good news is that you're not in an airplane."

Sweet Potatoes

My friend Susan asked for a report on the sweet potato crop we grew this summer. The seed catalog said they'd grow this far north. They did. They didn't produce too well. Of course, it was an exceptionally cold growing season, and the frost came in September already and nipped their leaves. In between all the rain showers recently, we managed to dig the potatoes. It's harder to dig up the sweet potatoes than the regular potatoes: the tubers spread further and they break more easily. (Maybe the potatoes would have been thicker and not quite so prone to snapping in half if we'd had a little warmth this year?)

Some of the potatoes turned out to be "real" sized, like the ones you buy in a store. Some of them are pencil-sized. A whole lot of them are about the size of your standard carrot. We harvested about three gallons of sweet potatoes, thus making it a slight financial gain and not a loss! But I suspect it's an experiment that maybe we ought not try again unless we move South ... unless Al Gore turns out to be right and we actually do get a little global warming someday.

Not Enough Time for Thinking

As Maggie and I were working on Building Thinking Skills today, we came across a problem with an unusual-for-the-book answer. We checked again and again, and I know that we're right (in spite of not having an answer key). I was curious, though, as to what the book thought the answer ought to be. In hunting for an answer key online, I discovered this sentence:

How can you afford to spend time focusing on teaching students to think critically when you have so much content to cover?


ARGH! [Okay. Breathing deeply now.] Granted, the publishers of the book answered the question. But I am still stunned that the question could even be asked. And yet, aren't "But we don't have time for that in the curriculum" and "But that won't increase the students' scores on their standardized tests" typical for teachers and school board members when considering changes to the curriculum?

Great Series of Chapter Books

Freddy the Pig, by Walter R Brooks,
starting with
Freddy Goes to Florida
Freddy Goes to the North Pole
Freddy the Detective
The Story of Freginald
Clockwork Twin
Freddy the Politician
and twenty more.



Betsy-Tacy, by Maud Hart Lovelace,
followed by
Betsy-Tacy and Tib
Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill
Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown
[and for older kids, the rest of the series]



All-of-a-Kind Family, by Sydney Taylor,
followed by
All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown
More All-of-a-Kind Family
All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown




The Moffats, by Eleanor Estes,
followed by
The Middle Moffat
Rufus M
Ginger Pye
Pinky Pye


Assorted horse stories by Marguerite Henry
including:
Misty of Chincoteague
Stormy, Misty's Foal
Sea Star
Justin Morgan Had a Horse
King of the Wind
Born to Trot
Brighty of the Grand Canyon



Little House, by Laura Ingalls Wilder:
Little House in the Big Woods
Little House on the Prairie
Farmer Boy
On the Banks of Plum Creek
By the Shores of Silver Lake
The Long Winter
Little Town on the Prairie
These Happy Golden Years



The Chronicles of Narnia, by C S Lewis,
and yes, the order matters:
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Horse and His Boy
The Silver Chair
The Magician's Nephew
The Last Battle




The Great Brain, by John Fitzgerald,
followed by
More Adventures of the Great Brain
Me and My Little Brain
The Great Brain At The Academy
The Great Brain Reforms
The Return of the Great Brain
The Great Brain Does It Again
The Great Brain Is Back



Swallows and Amazons, by Arthur Ransome,
followed by
Swallowdale
Peter Duck
Winter Holiday
Coot Club
Pigeon Post
We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea
Secret Water
Big Six
Missee Lee
Picts and the Martyrs
Great Northern?



Caddie Woodlawn, by Carol Ryrie Brink,
followed by Magical Melons



Little Britches, by Ralph Moody,
followed by
The Man of the Family
Home Ranch
Mary Emma and Company
Fields of Home
Shaking the Nickel Bush
The Dry Divide
Horse of a Different Color



Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery,
followed by
Anne of Avonlea
Anne of the Island
Anne of Windy Poplars
Anne's House of Dreams
Anne of Ingleside
Rainbow Valley
Rilla of Ingleside




Redwall, by Brian Jacques,
followed by
Mossflower
Mattimeo
Mariel of Redwall
Salamandistron
Martin the Warrior
and others



Harry Potter, by J K Rowling:
Philosopher's Stone
Chamber of Secrets
Prisoner of Azkaban
Goblet of Fire
Order of the Phoenix
Half-Blood Prince
Deathly Hallows



Lord of the Rings, by J R R Tolkien:
Hobbit
Fellowship of the Ring
Two Towers
Return of the King








And I've been told that these should be on my list too, but I haven't read them myself yet.
The Black Stallion, by Walter Farley.
Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott.
Five Little Peppers, by Margaret Sidney.

Today's Laugh

Bernie's mom admitted to being a less than fastidious housekeeper. One evening dad returned home from work, walked into the kitchen and said, "You know, dear, I can write my name in the dust on the mantel."

Mom turned to him and sweetly replied, "Well, darling, that's a pretty good start! I'm sure with some patient practicing you could even learn to dust it!"

Hamburger Buns

Or hot dog buns. A dozen of whichever you prefer.
I love this recipe which came from Mary Schultz. It's relatively fast for a bread recipe, and the buns have a lovely texture and taste.



1 egg
1 cup warm water
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar

3 cups flour [I use 1 cup ww and 2 cups white]
1 Tbsp yeast

Place ingredients in the order listed above into your bread machine on the dough cycle, adjusting the flour/water as needed. Or combine in mixing bowl and knead. Let rise, shape into buns (flattened circles). Place on greased cookie sheet and let rise for about 30-45 minutes. Bake at 350 until golden, maybe 20 minutes.

Magic Tree House Chronologically

We read our first Magic Tree House book Sunday. I think the fiction stories are meant for younger kids to read on their own; the one Maggie and I read didn't go over well as a read-aloud.

As I tried to sort through which books have a non-fiction companion and what topics are covered, I could not find anyplace online that lists the books chronologically. There are story arcs that continue from one book to the next, so they probably should be read in the order in which they were written. But some of us prefer to study history in the order in which it occurred, so then it's important to know the order of where the Magic Tree House books fit into a history timeline. I gathered the following information for myself from various web-pages, including the Wiki site for the series. I've rearranged it to fit my needs, and it's posted here in case anyone else may be in need of the list.

The list is roughly in chronological order. When a pair of books is listed, the first is the fiction, and the second is the non-fiction.


History

Mummies in the Morning (ancient Egypt)
Mummies and Pyramids

Hour of the Olympics (ancient Greece)
Ancient Greece and the Olympics

Day of the Dragon King (Japan 2000 years ago)

Vacation under the Volcano (Pompeii)
Ancient Rome and Pompeii

Viking Ships at Sunrise (Vikings)

Knight at Dawn (medieval knights)
Knights and Castles

Night of the Ninjas (samurai)

Stage Fright on a Summer Night (Elizabethan England)

Thanksgiving on Thursday (1621)
Pilgrims

Pirates Past Noon (Caribbean pirates)
Pirates

Revolutionary War on Sunday (1770s)
American Revolution

Civil War on Sunday (War Between the States)

Buffalo Before Breakfast (American old west -- Lakota)

Twister on Tuesday (1870 American pioneers)
Twisters and Other Terrible Storms

Ghost Town at Sundown (American old west)

Earthquake in the Early Morning (1906)

Tonight on the Titanic (1912)
Titanic




Geography

Tigers at Twilight (Indian jungles)

Afternoon on the Amazon (jungle)
Rainforests

Dolphins at Daybreak (Pacific ocean)
Dolphins and Sharks

Lions at Lunchtime (African savannah)

Polar Bears Past Bedtime (north pole)
Polar Bears and the Arctic

Good Morning Gorillas (Congo jungle)

High Tide in Hawaii (tsunami)
Tsunamis and Other Natural Disasters

Dingoes at Dinnertime (ancient Australia)

Today's Laugh

Brenda's 6-year-old was explaining to the other kids what "extinct" meant:

"Well," she said in all seriousness, "it means that the dinosaurs are all dead and have been dead so long they don't stink anymore; that's why they call them exstinkt."

Sounds of Greek Vowels

During September I spent nine days proofreading a friend's doctoral thesis. The project was to gather in one place all the textual criticism, notes, variations, etc, for the first half of the book of Job. It was the hardest thing I ever proofread. But the project had the felicitous, unintended consequence of teaching me something about Greek vowel sounds.

This year I am tutoring Greek for one of the kids' friends. Leah's mom had purchased a Greek program a few years ago, but they didn't go very far with it. Now I'm teaching her with those same materials. My problem is that the pronunciation I learned from my Greek prof is not the same pronunciation used by our Greek program. The situation is not unlike the pronunciation differences between ecclesiastical Latin and the way Wheelock's teaches the sounds.

As I proofread the dissertation's decisions on textual criticism in Job, I kept noticing the word itacism. I'd never heard the word before. I learned that itacism is the cause for variations in spelling: one sound can be spelled in different ways. For example, there is Cathy versus Kathy. There is hear versus here, or there and their and they're. Or maybe a better example would be spelling your fizzy barley&hops German beverage b-e-a-r because "ear" and "hear" have the same vowel sound as "-ee-."

Same thing happens in Greek. The scribes would hear a word and accidentally write down one vowel-sound (that sounded right) instead of the other spelling for that sound. Amazingly enough, some of those spelled-differently sounds revealed that I am pronouncing two different vowels with the same sound, exactly as the scribes were doing ... and not as our Greek program's CD pronunciation-guide demonstrates. It makes me think that there's probably as much flexibility in the "proper" pronunciation of classical Greek or Koine Greek as there is in that dead Latin language.

And thus I have an excuse for my funky way to pronounce Greek words. Yes, I do. I just hope that it doesn't mess up the students when/if they listen to the CD for homework help.

Great Picture Books

Books that are not to be missed:

Margaret Wise Brown - Color Kittens.
Virginia Lee Burton - The Little House.
Virginia Lee Burton - Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel.
Marjorie Flack - The Story of Ping.
H H Swift and Lynd Ward - The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge.
Robert McCloskey - Make Way for Ducklings.
Robert McCloskey - Blueberries for Sal.
Robert McCloskey - One Morning in Maine.
Watty Piper - The Little Engine That Could.
Beatrix Potter - Peter Rabbit.
Richard Scarry - Storybook Dictionary.
Richard Scarry - Please and Thank You Book.
Assorted Dr Seuss.

and for the very young:
Goodnight Moon
Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?

Today's Laugh

Two men were talking. "My son asked me what I did during the Sexual Revolution," said one.

"I told him I was captured early and spent the duration doing the dishes."

How Little Is Accomplished

Kids were gone from yesterday morning at 9:30 until they arrived home from church today. Gary and I were here alone. Think of all we could do! Think of all the jobs that could be accomplished!

I seriously underestimate how long tasks take.

I made granola, hotdog buns, corn relish ala Nourishing Traditions, kombucha, stewed and picked a chicken, and cooked for Saturday and today's dinners. I finished nearly all the paperwork for bills and schoolwork. I blogged a little. I didn't clean. I didn't do yardwork. I didn't begin the project for church that I hoped to start. I didn't sit on the couch and cuddle with Gary and watch a movie. I didn't take a nap. I didn't play piano.

Doing school in a schooly way sure does interfere with real life. There just isn't time on the weekend to catch up.