Reezle's Farm

My sweet little Reezle turns 9 in a few days. It's hard for me to wrap my head around it.

Lately, she's been talking endlessly about the farm she wants to have when she's grown.  "I have a dream for when I'm older, and I plan to follow it," she told me earlier tonight.  "I'll have some cows. I'll only take my share of milk, not what the babies need. There will be plenty." She went on to say that she might like to have a couple of pigs, too, but that she doesn't want to raise anything for meat.

 "I want a really big farm and piece of land. I'm going to grow fruit trees, vegetables, and raise animals. I'll feed my cows non-Monsanto feed. Everything will be natural.  We already get so many delicious things just from our small garden, can you imagine a farm!?"

"I want to make my own honey, but I don't want to hurt the bees. If I want to all these things, I'm going to have to figure out a way I can work, too.  I'm going to get a Master's Degree in something.  Maybe a Doctorate, so I could be a doctor farmer.  If my animals get sick, I can figure out what it is and help them."

"I really want 3 or 4 kids, but I worry that I'll end up not being able to care for my farm. Hmm. I'm going to need a house.  How much is all of this going to cost?  The house, the farm, the animals, and all of those seeds.  Workers to build things.  All of these questions are coming into my mind!  What will I need to wear?  I think I'm worrying too much about my farm."

Indeed, my sweet girl.  But I'm so glad she has big plans for herself, and the confidence to make them.  Whatever she does, I'm sure she'll be amazing at it.
 

State Testing: An Education Super Fail

It's 4:16 AM.  Instead of sleeping, I'm here drinking coffee and blogging.  Why?  Because today was absolute utter hell in my home, and my daughter just got to sleep about two hours ago.  I'm still running on pure adrenaline and righteous anger.

Let me back up a bit.

Last year, I began homeschooling my children.  The reasons are many, but it mostly comes down to my belief that education is not one size fits all.  My children are both diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, and my son additionally has a diagnosis of expressive/receptive speech disorder.  Both of them also have sensory processing disorder.  Mostly, in everyday life, this means little.  They have coping skills, they are really great kids, and they deal with the things that pose challenges like a couple of champs.  We realize, though, that it is having the freedom to be who they are in a supportive and loving environment which allows them to really shine like they do.  A public bricks and mortar school was not that environment.

K12 seemed to be a perfect fit for us.  I loved the curriculum.  Yes, I am using past tense words here, because I am beginning to realize that K12 is susceptible to the very same pitfalls, in terms of actual education, that any other public school suffers.  Perhaps it hit me extra hard this year because the language arts curriculum reading materials were severely slashed in terms of quantity, while at the same time we received a pile of test preparation materials which seemed more than a bit over the top.  The only reason I can think of to remove so much of the reading materials is that kids struggled with the amount of it, and spending additional time working through it would mean less time spent on test preparedness.  It also affects the kids' grades, and thus the school's reputation.  Now, I'm not blaming K12 for this at all; the state regulates their schools just like any other public school.  If anything, I think K12 is fucntioning exceptionally well given the circumstances and all of the red tape.

I wondered to myself, what would a curriculum look like if the schools were not being judged and the children were not being dragged through this nightmare known as state testing?

Today, I sat beside my daughter as she worked through a math Scantron assessment, her eyes welling up with tears, shaking with frustration, rocking back and forth.  She is good at math, but she hates it.  Her mind is definitely geared more toward right-brain activities than the logic-based, left-brain activities involved in math.  She hates math that is typical for her grade level, but this is the type of problem she had to work on:

Forgive me, since it's been quite some time since this was first introduced to me, but isn't this something you'd expect 7th-9th grade students to be working on?  I know a lot of adults who would struggle with this.  I almost wonder if they gave her the wrong assessment or something, because the problems were almost all at this level of difficulty and this was complete and utter torture for a 3rd grade child who detests math to begin with.

I have no idea what is in store on the actual state testing, but if it's anything like this, I have no idea at all what the goal is.  This is ridiculous.

I hope I feel better about things at some point, but right now I've had a rough day and I'm not feeling very warm or fuzzy about any of this.  Kids should not have to go through what my daughter went through today.  And you know, I'm quite sure that these state tests and district scores won't mean a damn thing in 100 years, but the contributions these children make to the world because of actual knowledge and experiential learning (read: not from tests for pretests for pretests to prepare for the pretest for the actual test) will.  Einstein, Tesla, George Washington, Hippocrates, and Galileo did just fine without all of this state testing crap.

Alrighty, then.

In Which I Get Depressing

My kiddos have been using some of their free time to watch older television shows on Netflix.  I love this option, even if it's Spongebob, because they're not being mentally flooded with a bunch of lies and deceit (i.e. "Whether it's corn sugar or cane sugar, your body can't tell the difference!" - The Corn Refiners Assoc.) or McDonald's telling them that joy if a gift you can find in a Happy Meal box.  But it turns out they may be getting something unintended from their viewing indulgences.

Reezle commented the other day about how someone learned a lesson of some kind in each episode of Dinosaurs.  "Earl learned that his family was more important than TV," she said.  And while this should be common sense, it is far from the message kids are receiving today - to the point it really stood out for my daughter.  The lesson learned in earlier family television shows were part of the feel-good aspect of those that I grew up with.  Sure, real problems don't work themselves out in 30 minutes and conclude with the entire family collectively vomiting glitter and sunshine (a common criticism of family sitcoms back in the day), but somehow it did provide a sense that hope was not misplaced and eventually things would work out.

These days we have a bit too much "reality" on television.  I realize people tune in largely for the shock value and out of morbid curiosity; after all, it's often like watching a train wreck in slow motion.  But it seems this is not a sideshow or a fleeting glimpse into the lives we all should be glad we're not living; it has become acceptable, even admirable, to live for oneself and flaunt abuses of excess and material possessions as if these things could somehow ever compensate for what these individuals lack in substance and character.  From the Bachelor to Housewives, I wonder endlessly why anyone cares about the smallest details of a person's dating life or how spoiled, entitled women spend their husbands' fortunes to the point of bankruptcy.  I'd like there to be a reality show about the benefits of making good financial decisions, saving money, and preparing to put your kids through college.

Children's shows have eroded into nothing more than screaming, whining stupidity, completely devoid of any value whatsoever.  What happened to shows that had a moral to their stories?  Where are the shows emphasizing the importance of family and friends, regardless of what form those come in?  They're relics of the past, apparently, replaced by a world that is obsessed to the point of isolation with creating virtual existences behind the screens of laptops, cell phones, game consoles, and other electronic devices.  Even when we do interact with others, it's through some device much more often than not.

Our whole existence is fake.  Our lives are on a screen, our images are filtered and Photoshopped, our language is abbreviated, we eat food-like substances instead of actual food, and kids today want to grow up and get their own reality TV show instead of being a doctor, firefighter, or astronaut.  How can we stress the importance of not engaging in stupid behavior when talentless celebrities are made famous for doing exactly what we're warning against?  What happened to wanting a good future, an interesting career, and a family?  When I was growing up, having money meant you wanted financial security.  Now it means you feel entitled to more in that paycheck because your husband's salary, which should be sufficient for a family of 6 to live comfortably in a reasonably-sized home with a couple of reasonable family cars, isn't enough to pay for the Escalade and a $500,000 house you feel you damn well deserve because, hey, everyone else is doing it and being harassed by these creditors isn't any fun!

What has happened to our society?  It's like human beings are no longer evolving; we reached a point where our technology far surpasses our intellect and ability to use it appropriately, and now we're circling the drain.

Happy Autumn

Soon, the leaves will begin to change and Miss Reezle and I will be searching for more foliage shots like the one above. After their season's grand finale, the trees will grow more bare with each of the typical windy, chilly nights we expect this time of year. As for us, we will be doing more cooking and baking now that days and nights are cooler. Chili, hot cocoa, and holidays are on our minds more often than popsicles and hooping in the sun, now. We love this time of year, the perfect blend of warm days and chilly nights, shorts and hoodies, pleasant weather and howling winds. Pumpkins are showing up everywhere and we have our Halloween decorations up.

 Welcome, Fall.

Data Entry

My complaints tend to be minor and few when it comes to K12 and the curriculum.  However, I'm not a fan of the changes they've made to Language Arts (I think it is a scattered, disorganized, diluted version of the previous one), and I absolutely loathe the answer entry forms that I must do after my kids do math (and some other) assessments.  Assessments are printed from an online document, or are in the workbooks provided in the curriculum materials.  The kiddos complete them, and I enter the results in an online form when they're finished.  Instead of making a simple form where we click Yes or No the entire way through, or enter their answer in a box for each item, it goes more like this:

1. Did the student answer correctly?  Yes No
2. Part 1: one point.  Part 2: one point.  Enter the number of points the student earned.
3. 465 - 200 = ____________
4. 76 - 20 = __________
5. Did the student answer correctly?  Yes  No
6. Part 1: one point.  Part 2: two points.  Enter the number of points the student earned.
6. 98 - 45 = ___________

I mean, really?  I can't recall how many times my children have arrived at the correct answer, and I've entered the wrong one, clicked the wrong circle, put the correct answer in the wrong box, etc.  I basically feel like I am doing the assessment after they do the assessment with all of the trick data entry stuff going on.  Very annoying, time-consuming, distracting, and completely unnecessary.  Not to mention the fact that my son is prone to melting into a pouting puddle when I enter something wrong that he got right.  Ugh.  #parentfail

3rd Grade, K12, Teachers, and Learning Coaches

Miss Reezle had an opportunity to meet with the 3rd grade K12 teacher via internet/phone conference today, and for the first time ever, actually expressed an interest in doing math.  I was impressed.  I'm not sure what changed, and I kind of wonder if it is the attention her little brother gets for being brilliant at it, but I'll take it.  Math has been a struggle when it comes time for lessons, and not because she finds it difficult; Reezle simply doesn't like math.  Well, until today.

The conference went well; Reezle enjoyed it, talking about her hobbies (photography and hooping, a girl after my own heart) and excitedly announcing that she was going to send her teacher an e-mail weekly.  Oy.  After reading a few passages and word lists, the teacher asked Reezle if she read a lot.  When Miss Bookworm announced with great enthusiasm that she does, the teacher told her that she'd just been reading a list of 5th grade words.  Reezle grinned proudly from ear to ear.

People are sometimes confused when I mention my children's teachers.  "Aren't you their teacher?" they ask.  Well, yes and no.  They're independent learners, and I do present material to them and explain it in various ways to meet their unique learning styles.  I answer questions when they have them, supplement material that is relevant to our lives and in areas where they need additional enrichment or a better understanding, and basically do the things a teacher does.  K12 calls me a "learning coach".  I don't like the term; I'm not merely standing on the sidelines cheering my kids along.  All parents are teachers.

Each child is assigned a teacher (or teachers, depending on grade) by K12 for their grade level.  This person is the child's primary school contact, does assessments, holds online connect sessions like reading and math groups and other fun and educational events, and helps keep the kiddos on track.  Contact, for us, is minimal, as my children are typically pursuing their own interests and learning well beyond the assigned school day.  We might put in an hour a day of Spanish for attendance, for example, but we're speaking it and going over the words right up until bedtime.  Our learning never really stops, and the kiddos are always walking around with workbooks, notebooks, and pencils in hand.  They love to learn, and my husband and I love to teach them.  It is not uncommon for the kids to be snuggled up in the recliner with Daddy when he gets home, going over binary code or fractions, playing some strategy game like chess or Solitaire, or playing Sudoku puzzles.

Those are a couple of G's illustrations depicting fractions.  And, of course, they read so much and so fast that I can barely keep up with their books!  Not that I'm complaining...

Special Needs Kids

From a blog called Bringing The Sunshine, I felt compelled to share the following quote:

"When you’re a mom of a kid with special needs, people tend to put you on a pedestal. They admire you from afar and say things like, “God only gives special children to special people,” while simultaneously thanking their lucky stars that they aren’t you, because they “couldn’t handle it.” We aren’t worthy of the pedestal, and we handle it not because we’re strong, but because it’s the hand we’ve been dealt."

I had an almost identical conversation with my grandmother last week, and several times previous since deciding to homeschool my children.  Others have said similar things to me about how "amazing" it is that I "am able" to handle raising, let alone teaching, a child with autism and a speech disorder.  The universe must have chosen me for this, because surely there was no other parent that could handle this exact child.

I don't believe any of that.  We rise to the occasion as parents.  There are a lot of families out there raising children with various special needs, from autism to down syndrome, premature birth to traumatic brain injuries, and even gifted children who present their own surprising challenges.  We don't belong on pedestals, and we don't want to be on them.  We're not any different from you, we just do things based on the unique needs of our unique families, which is really no different than what anyone else does.  We don't need to be told how difficult our lives are, because most of us believe that the rewards are equal to the extra effort; and while understanding is the message most people intend to convey, it often comes across as pity.  With the exception of a rough day here or there, we don't feel sorry for ourselves.  Now, I realize there are exceptions to this rule, but the majority of special needs parents I've spoken to share similar viewpoints on this.

Sure, raising a child with special needs can be challenging, but raising any child is challenging at times!

Book Reviews: Sticking With It and Worrying Too Much

One thing we can all agree on in our family is that we love to read!  My husband and I enjoy fantasy books, like Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series.  We also enjoy various historical, self-improvement, and humorous reads, among others.  Reezle has a penchant for animal books, from birding to caring for cats, and other non-fiction.  And Little G can't get enough of his children's human body and science books, when he isn't toting around his favorite math workbook.

Since reading is a well-received way of learning new information for my kiddos, I like to get them books that help them through various things they may be struggling with.  Recently, I bought my daughter a workbook on anxiety.  While her brother is the type to shrug off most things, she tends to worry, worry, worry about the smallest things.  And since worries tend to grow over time, I thought it would be wise to address it now and provide her with tools to manage the feelings of stress.  Among those tools is What To Do When You Worry Too Much: A Kid's Guide to Overcoming Anxiety by Dawn Huebner, Ph.D.  It's full of brilliant metaphor and exercises to help children understand and manage their fears.  I would give it 5 stars and would absolutely recommend it to anyone who wants to help a child who may be prone to worry.  Recommended reading level: age 6 or grade 1 and up.  Mama Bonn's thoughts: I think this is a suitable workbook for children through elementary school.

Little G, our easily-frustrated kiddo, often has little to no patience with himself any time he doesn't already know how to do something.  Learning, though not difficult for him, causes frustration because the little dude feels like he should know it already.  My goal with him is to help him realize that making mistakes is part of the process of learning, and actually helps us retain our knowledge better if we don't allow the frustration to be the focus.  My mantra with him has been everyone makes mistakes, and that is perfectly okay!  He doesn't seem to be convinced, so I looked around for, of course, a book. I found a winner!  Try And Stick With It by Cheri J. Meiners, M. Ed. discusses the very issues Little G is struggling with and offers useful suggestions.  We have several of Cheri J. Meiners' books, and they're all wonderful so far.  They even have a section in the back of the book with information on how parents (grandparents, teachers, etc.) can discuss various sections of the book in more depth.  Again, a 5 star book that I would highly recommend.  Recommended reading level: Reading level states 4 years and up.  Mama Bonn's thoughts: For independent readers, I would say it's a great book for 1st graders, so the age range on this is probably preschool through grade 2 or 3, generally speaking.

Aimsweb Scores: Little G

I like how they included his Fall, Winter, and Spring scores from Kindergarten.  It seems, by the chart here, that they expect the kids to lose some of what they learned the previous year.  Little G didn't, but then, he was rarely without a book or workbook all summer long.  I'm so proud of him.

Learning On The Go

Today, we took PE class to the beach.  Little G is waist hooping like it's his job, and my sweet Reezle is just behind him practicing her halos.  I'm really impressed with their skills, and glad they enjoy hooping so much.  It's wonderful exercise, and I've noticed a difference in G's motor skills since he's begun hooping almost daily.

We grabbed a local map (Little G has been absolutely obsessed with the K12 map Reezle received with her 3rd grade curriculum because it's much more detailed than the K-2 maps), and took History and Geography on the road.  The kiddos read road signs and told me where they thought I should be going.  I won't be letting them navigate just yet, but it was fun anyway.  It gets them familiar with what signs are for and what the various different ones mean.  Social studies?  Anyway...

We did math at the mall, where we made a quick stop to get a "special treat" (candy from a local chocolatier) and check out the Halloween decorations.  The kiddos used division to figure out how many pieces of candy we would each be able to have if we all got equal portions.  They also used addition to estimate the cost of the Halloween decorations mommy, um, kind of splurged on.  What can I say?  We all love Halloween.  A lot.

We even worked in some OT. Little man was doing some great work with balancing. Too bad he wasn't quite as coordinated with running; he took a flying dive into a pile of gravel and got a stone embedded in his palm. He's got a nice hole to show for it, but he didn't shed a tear. Tough guy! I'm not ashamed to admit I probably would have cried! Ha!

Miss Reezle, as we were leaving one of our stops, said, "I sure wish I could use the camera and take some pictures."  I had two options; I could hand over my cell phone and let her take some low-quality snaps that would be heavily blurred once I started driving, or I could ::gulp:: hand over my Rebel and let her click to her heart's content.  Her interest seemed very genuine, and she's mentioned taking photos a lot lately, so I let her use my baby, er, camera. Ha!  She handled it with great care and took some really great pictures!  The one of her sparkly shoes wasn't exactly the most brilliant of all, but it was fun and cute, and something about it made me smile.  Maybe it was just the ability to see from her perspective, if just one little thing and only for a moment.

Based on her interest and some of the really good shots she captured today, I think it might be time to give her my SX20 to tote around when she goes out. Maybe I'll even try to find a fun little padded case so she can carry it safely around. Her birthday is coming right up!

As for me, I'm exhausted.  Sleepy time!

The New Blogger Interface

I'm not diggin' it.  At all.  I'm really trying to give it a chance, though.

Remembering 9/11

I found this worth-a-thousand-words photo online today.  I do not know where it originated, as it has been reposted numerous times, so I can't give proper credit.  It isn't mine, but it really speaks to me.  I will never forget that morning, those towers falling, the fear and horror I felt, or that we lost so many precious lives that day.

Peace to all of the survivors, and all of those lost on 9/11.

Today is Suicide Prevention Day.  No matter how bad things are, no matter how difficult life is, you have hope as long as you continue to live.

Wrapping Up Week Two

As we wrap up our second week of this new school year, two things are absolutely certain; Little G still loves his math, and Reezle can't seem to get enough Spanish! She chatters her newly-learned words at every opportunity, and she seems to have a really good understanding and comprehension of the material.  Some words we are currently working on include: planta/plant, cara/face, hoja/leaf, formas/shapes, círculo/circle, triángulo/triangle, cuadrado/square, maleza/weeds, hermano y hermana/brother and sister, nosotros/we, ¿Por qué?/why, jugar/play, jardin/garden, ve/see.  Again, not a complete list, but ones we are becoming more familiar with in addition to the previous words.


 Despite being good at math, it remains Reezle's least favorite subject. Getting through the lessons can feel like I'm dragging her through the entire way. I wish she would realize that attitude is everything. Well, 98%, anyway. She makes it more difficult than it needs to be by creating her own distractions, those being her mood and behavior. I have no idea where she gets this trait from. At all. Ahem.

 

On the bright side, Reezle is an absolute delight to work with in every other subject. She's a smiling, interested, and enthusiastic learner, and that makes my part a lot more enjoyable. She also eagerly helps her brother when he runs into any issues, though honestly, this is very rare. Perhaps that is part of the allure! When she was in a traditional public school, she had many opportunities to help her classmates and really enjoyed being able to do so. Interestingly, she seems to be at such a similar academic place with her brother that they probably require each other's help about equally as often. I love it that they ask each other questions, and both enjoy helping the other figure something out.

We're going to do some work this weekend, in hopes of being able to escape to the larger "classroom" of the world sometime this coming week for a field trip.  The nice weather is calling, and fall is in the air.

Happy Friday!

Little G: Fall Benchmark Assessment

Little G just had his fall benchmark assessment.

He is 6 years old and in 1st grade (but taking 2nd grade curriculum, soon to be 3rd grade math). I asked if he could be assessed for reading fluency, which they typically do not assess as part of the fall benchmark for 1st graders. His teacher (all K12 students are assigned teachers through their state's school) was super about it and had the assessment up and ready in less than 5 minutes. She's great.


Little G read 115 words per minute. For perspective, Little G reads within average WCPM expectations for 4-6th graders in fall. Crazy. It's a little scary having a 6 year-old who is smarter than you, trust me on this. Ha!

For our next assessment, Mrs. C. has asked Little G to have a book to share with her. He is currently running back and forth from his room with various books, asking, "Mom? Do you think she would like this book? What about this book? Do you think she wants to hear about anatomy? What about cats?" He has two months to decide, hopefully that will be enough time. Heh.

Stuff People Say to Speech Parents

When my son was just 2 years old, he was referred for a speech evaluation by the doctors who diagnosed him with autism. At age 2, Little G had the speech of a 12-15 month-old. Speech therapy was unavailable for various reasons, and we were expected to play the waiting game. Thing is, I wasn't having any of it. I started researching various options and found Baby Signing Time. I cannot even begin to express what an asset those DVDs were. We bought a few and borrowed many through the inter-library loan program, which brings materials from libraries throughout the county to those who request them. It prepared Little G well for speech therapy when we eventually did obtain services for him; prior to learning sign language, he had resorted to massive meltdowns any time he wanted or needed something because the stress of what it took for him to communicate was utterly overwhelming.

Now, as his 7th birthday approaches, he still struggles with speech but has come a very long way. His official diagnosis is "expressive-receptive speech disorder", which basically means that he has two-way communication deficits; there is difficulty processing what goes into his brain and what his brain can do in terms of speech production. It is a disorder, not a delay, and it will likely be lifelong.

Early on, when I shared with others that my son had a speech disorder and was in therapy for it, I heard a lot of trite statements regurgitated almost verbatim. I never realized that just about everyone, for example, has a family member who didn't say a word until age 4, at which point they spoke a complete and very witty sentence and never stopped talking for more than five minutes in the 40 years since. Also abundant are younger siblings who just never bothered to speak because their older sibling(s) did it for them. Another standard response was, "He'll talk when he's ready/when he wants to."

None of these things are helpful or reassuring, unless your point is to reassure me that you are completely clueless about my son's diagnosis. These all imply also that I need some sort of coddling or reassurance that my son will someday be "normal" by your definition, or that we have something to feel bad about. He's already normal by my definition and always has been, and frankly, I don't really care about your definition. Everyone has their challenges, this is one of his, and it's not a big deal. It is frustrating for him, and sometimes for us, due to the nature of the challenges posed by a two-way communication disorder. But it can be dealt with, just like people deal with any other challenge in life.

You may be wondering how, then, to respond to a friend or family member whose child has just been diagnosed with a speech disorder. First, don't go repeating some tripe you've heard regurgitated ad nauseum by others. You don't know the child's projected trajectory, and you may not have ever personally encountered a child with the same disorder, so you end up coming across as offensive and sounding like an ass. Personally, I am open to questions. When people ask questions, it tells me they are interested in understanding rather than just pretending they understand. If you have experience with a speech success story, feel free to share it. If you have experience with any speech disorder, feel free to share it. We probably just need you to listen, and if you feel the need to offer something but don't know what, simply letting us know that you have confidence in how we're handling it is nice to hear.

Our Tuesday

Day 6 of the new school year, and 6 year-old Little G has completed 23% of 2nd grade math. He keeps me busy. The great thing about this is that getting to the math portion of his studies is an incentive to get through the less desirable portions of his day. And speaking of less desirable...


The changes to the curriculum aren't, in my opinion, positive ones. I'm as stunned as anyone could be that I have anything less than glowing to say about K12, but this splitting of the language arts into multiple categories is confusing, time-consuming, and annoying. It makes it appear like a lot more work when it really isn't. It doesn't streamline anything; the new format is kind of like a jar of marbles being dropped on a hard floor - it's all over the place and it's an effort to go looking for everything.

They also took a very my-kid-friendly version of language arts (i.e. lots of books and lessons about comprehension) and replaced it with a bunch of rote memory tasks, far fewer books, and these lessons where my speech-impaired son has to record himself reading passages. Even with the mic turned all the way up, and my little guy practically yelling, the recordings still need to be redone five times because they are deemed "too quiet" by the system. After language arts today, Little G was exhausted and didn't want to speak at all. He also decided to forego his typical reading time, which he usually does while Reezle is doing the portions of her lessons which require me to be present. I don't like this trajectory. At this rate, his love of reading and language arts is going to be kaput by the end of the month.

On a more positive note, Reezle loves Spanish. This language course seems to be to her what math is to Little G; I can get her to complete just about any school task without complaint as long as she gets to do extra Spanish. Win! A few of our current words are:

so/bear, rata/rat, tigre/tiger, amigos/friends, uno/one, dos/two, hueco/hole, pelota/ball, zapatos/shoes, ropa/clothing, sucia/dirty, jardin/garden, con/with (con mis amigos - with my friends), roca/rock.


This isn't a complete list, it's just what I recall off the top of my head. I've been practicing them repeatedly with the kiddos, in addition to some various words they already know, and trying to build from there. I really like how the course is set up, from what we've done thus far.

Like the English language arts courses, Reezle also has recordable portions. She likes them, though, and they are neither challenging nor the lengthy passages G is required to read aloud. And on that note, it is time to get back at it.

Happy homeschooling!

Heading Into Week Two

We spent the weekend working ahead on some of our school subjects and getting familiarized with Reezle's Spanish course. I had been waiting on her teacher to explain how to log in to the course, but I hadn't heard back. As it turns out, simply logging in using Reezle's user info did the trick. She completed the first 3 units, and the course looks great! Little G is even following along.

Reezle spent a good amount of time enjoying some books and her favorite Poptropica computer game, while Little G worked on Math almost non-stop from the moment he woke up each day until he went to bed. It is rare to see the little guy without his math workbook. He encountered a bit of frustration when doing math problems which required him to borrow more than once, especially when zeros were involved. He is an extreme perfectionist and has absolutely no patience for his own mistakes. It took me a bit of time to convince him that it is a perfectly acceptable part of learning to make mistakes, and that these can even help us to learn better. He wasn't having it at first, but he eventually calmed down and accepted it. He did a retake on his assessment, and scored 100% the second time. He was fine after that, of course.

We also did some writing, vocabulary, analogies, and spelling, but typing out all of our spelling words for each unit - especially at the rate at which my kids are currently burning through them - is tedious and probably not enjoyable to read anyhow. Suffice it to say they are tackling some pretty challenging words and doing an exceptional job. I'm very proud of both of them.

Much like last year, we are continuing our hoopdance practice and doing mostly that and running for our physical education. We did a lot of it over the past week. I incorporate nutrition and information about how physical activity benefits the body into our PE curriculum. It seems there is a huge overlap between our health and PE material, so I kind of wing it with how much individual time we're giving to each. We probably do a lot more physical activity than I log for PE, all of it educational, but I was actually told to stop logging it last year due to the amount of hours. Heh. Better a bit more than needed than not enough, in my opinion.

On the agenda for tomorrow is Study Island, in addition to our typical studies. They changed the format and wow, what a positive change. Little G has his first Aimsweb assessment of the year later this week, and we're also planning a family field trip in the very near future. I love getting back into a routine again!

Hoopdance

One of the questions I often get from people about homeschooling is, surprisingly, about gym class (i.e. physical education). People are curious if we are required to do it at all, and if we are, how we go about it. While there are a lot of ways to fulfill this part of our curriculum, one of our year-round favorites is hoopdance! I started about 2 years ago.

It didn't take long for both of my children to become interested as well. My husband and I started making hoops, and the kids each have their own custom-sized hoops. They are really quick at picking up new skills, and they have so much fun!

And it's super adorable. And great exercise. And it builds strength, promotes flexibility, and helps them with balance and coordination. And...well, I could praise hooping all day long. Mostly, it's just something we really love to do.

The best part about doing PE this way? We can hoop at home in the living room, out in the yard, at the beach, on road trips when we stop for a break, at the park, and so many more places that we probably couldn't come up with a comprehensive list if we tried. We're not confined to any particular space, and we love that!

The kiddos also have fun decorating their own hoops. Heck, even I enjoy making pretty hoops. My only problem? I want to keep them all! Heh.

PS: It's September already? Whew. What happened to August!?

Bird Logic

G: Sweet, sweet, I'm so sweet. That's the call of Yellow Warblers.

Reezle: Yellow Warblers don't use contractions.

G: Like Androids?

Reezle: Yep.

G: So they're Androids!? Woah. Cats eat Androids!?

Time Out

Me: So, G, why are you in time-out?

G: Because I was harassinating the cat.

Our First Day of Homeschool 2012-13

Today was our first official day of school! In continuing tradition, we celebrated in our pajamas.

Little G writing 575 in expanded form

I was a little concerned about how Little G would handle a full load of courses this year, affording him less time to do the things he enjoys independently. I expected boredom and frustration on his first day, but there was none! He handled his first day as a 1st/2nd grader like a pro.

Miss Reezle worked on math, language arts, history, and health. She also spent roughly 45 minutes playing Poptropica, which is surprisingly educational. She did great on her first day as a 3rd grader! Her spelling list for this unit is:

objects, insects, facts, products, plants, trucks, napkins, hundreds, numbers, gashes, boxes, foxes, riches, sandwiches, inches, bosses, dresses, *systems, *pencils, *presidents

The red one we need to work on. Mostly, she does fabulous with the root words; she just has a bit of difficulty with some of the suffixes. This morning, there were a lot more red words in that list. Once she reviewed them, she did great. I shared some tips I hope will be helpful for knowing and remembering which suffixes fit. She seems to have caught on very quickly, so we'll go through the spelling words list tomorrow and find out if it sticks.

Mr. G's spelling words list for Unit 4 was:

spot, stop, sled, brush, speck, swim, crib, drum, crab, splash, trot, grin, prop, slip, fled, brick, crush, grab, frog, crash, won, and busy, with bonus words travel, dragon, and crunch.

He got them all correct, easily, so we moved on to the unit review and wrapped things up.

As a little surprise for the kiddos, I downloaded several children's books to my iPad. Today we read Pete The Cat: I Love My White Shoes. This story was awesome. Both kids are well beyond the book in terms of reading level, but the message was fun and useful. Basically, no matter what happens, keep a positive attitude.

That's a message even I could learn something from. And Sticky, too, apparently, because she joined right in the reading break with us! What other school offers a furry friend to snuggle and pet while you're going through the day? We love our (home) school!

Perfect Little Spellers

This morning and afternoon, Little G worked on some more spelling. He seems to really be enjoying it this year, which I attribute to the difference in presentation with the curriculum change. Well, that and the fact that he earns warm and fuzzies for getting them correct! We have some pretty sweet trades in the trade bucket right now, so he has some good incentive.

On his first try, he spelled all of the words correctly, including the challenge words, without even a moment of hesitation. I went ahead and had him take the Checkpoints for Units 2 and 3, and he got 100% on both.

Unit 2 spelling words:

then, mush, when, rush, such, much, them, dash, shut, check, neck, tuck, luck, chap, peck, sham, duck, puck, chum, hush, what, said

Challenge words:

sandwich, checkers, sharpen

Unit 3 spelling words:

hand, gift, bump, pond, soft, bent, milk, belt, tent, fond, pond, land, pump, lift, silk, jump, hunt, find, felt, loft, send, says, front

Challenge words:

defend, adrift, shrimp

Little man is feeling pretty stoked, having finished three units of spelling before school even started officially. I'm very proud of him. Since we are working with consonant blends, I first asked him if he remembered what a vowel is. "Yes, it's A, E, I, O, and U." I was impressed, and asked if he knew, then, what a consonant was. "Yes, anything that's not a vowel." Daddy asked if he knew which consonant was sometimes a vowel, and Little G immediately answered, "Yes, Y."

Miss Reezle also completed a unit of spelling! I was surprised how quickly she mastered her spelling list, since she didn't seem very into it today.

Spelling words:

next, until, happen, sudden, rabbit, magnet, ticket, pocket, finish, publish, public, contest, himself, problem, establish, fantastic, may, have, say, hard, *difficult, *exact, *children

She also scored 100% on her spelling test! I can only assume that their avid reading is the reason they do so well in language arts. Grade 3, Unit 1 of spelling is complete! Warm & fuzzies for all!

The Happy Third Grade Blanket

A couple of years ago, my daughter asked me if I would make her a blanket. "Not just a little one, I mean like a big blanket," she said. I agreed, finding it sweet that she wanted something I'd made. We went to the craft store and she chose some pink and white yarns; I bought two huge bags full of them, and I got busy working on her blanket that very night.

Then, life happened. I started her blanket before she even started Kindergarten, things came up, I got distracted, and my crochet projects sat lonely for a long time. My now third-grader has been asking quite a bit over the summer about her blanket, and I'd really been wanting to work on a project anyhow. I decided to buckle down and just get it done. After all, I have another two bags full of yarn for my son's blanket, and I haven't even begun working on that one!

Well, I'm really happy to say that I've finally finished Reezle's blanket. She's absolutely delighted. I'm pretty stoked, too, since this is the biggest project I've ever completed. I'm more of a scarves kind of gal, which has nothing to do with preference and everything to with patience!

A wonderful and unintended benefit of this blanket it is that it is quite heavy, and actually an adequate therapeutic weight to work like a weighted blanket - without the fillers and hefty price tag. I'm loving this, because both of my children really benefit from the calming effect of light pressure. For that matter, it is quite beneficial even for me. Typically, they bury themselves in a pile of beloved stuffed animals when seeking out that sort of sensory input. I think this is a better alternative - stuffed animals still welcome, of course.

Gearing Up for the 2012-13 School Year

School starts for us on Monday, officially. We're very excited, all ready to go, and doing a little work in the online school now to get back into the groove of learning. My Reezle girl is a bit grumpy today, so we will probably work with her either later on or tomorrow. Little G did some spelling. His words were:

lock, dish, back, than, chin, shop, that, this, whip, wish, with, which, dock, chop, cash, ship, mash, mock, math, bath, from, does

His challenge words were:

thermal, within, relish

Since he is exceptionally good at spelling and was helping Reezle master the trickier words last year (which are his words this year, being that he's taking 2nd grade math and language arts), I'm just going ahead and asking him to spell them before we do anything with the lessons to find out what he knows. He spelled all of them correctly except thermal (he substituted an "o" for the "a"), so we wrapped up the unit and went right on to the Unit Checkpoint. He scored 100% with ease. I asked him after the Checkpoint if he could spell thermal again for me, and this time he got it correct.

The little guy also completed word set 1 of 3 in his first unit of vocabulary. He did great with the concept of prefixes; it required virtually no explanation on my part at all. I think he likes the idea of root words, prefixes, and suffixes because it is, in a sense, somewhat like addition and subtraction.

The language arts portion of the curriculum is different this year, and so far I think I like it more. The kids both like it more because it includes more workbooks, and they love their workbooks. We do have fewer books for reading this year, and we were all a bit disappointed about that. However, we have plenty of our own books and my Kindle, so we'll more than make up for that with leisure reading. The material is excellent, and will be less overwhelming for kids who are not avid readers.

And, of course, a school day for Little G would not be complete without some math. He completed the first four lessons, putting him about 1/4 of the way through Unit 1. I strongly suspect he will be moving into 3rd grade math with his sister before very long. While I had some reservations about my 6 year-old possibly getting a bit ahead of himself, I now feel this would probably benefit both of my children. Little G is a very adept and patient tutor, and he masters new concepts quickly; the kiddos will probably do very well learning the same material together.

We are so ready for this school year! The weather is still gorgeous, so we're looking forward to some enjoyable study days outdoors this beautiful season. Hooray for fall!

Summer Wrap Up

I have no idea where the summer went, but the beginning of the new school year is less than a week away now. I feel at peace about that, and I'm looking forward to a year of new opportunities, experiences, and challenges. Little G can't stop talking about his Math Orange workbook, and it's been very difficult to keep him from starting (and finishing) it before school even starts. I suspect he will be joining his sister in Math Purple (3rd grade) before long. Reezle is certainly capable of working at grade level, and Little G is helping her understand things she gets stuck on.

Little G's K12 teacher called yesterday, and we had a chance to discuss the upcoming school year and G's various diagnoses. She seems very nice, and I think G is finally accepting the fact that his teacher from last year cannot be his teacher this year. He doesn't like change. Mama understands.

I have not spoken to Reezle's new teacher yet, but that should be happening soon. I don't think my little girl is quite as excited as her brother is to start the new school year, but she much prefers K12 to her former school experiences. Once we start planning trips to the museums and other various places, I know she will be more enthusiastic.

Autumn is fast approaching, and it's so nice to have cool evenings instead of 80-degree temperatures through the nights. Mornings come later, the sun sets earlier, and there is a distinct chill in the air after the sun sets each night. I love this time of year, remembering the fun we had over the summer, looking forward to costumes and trick-or-treating, watching leaves turn, and celebrating the kids' birthdays. Before long, we'll be planning our holiday dinners and cooking and baking more. Reezle talks endlessly about the things she wants to bake when the weather is cool enough to use the oven more frequently. She has a real interest in cooking, so I hope she inherited her Daddy's talents and not my, er, lack thereof. Ha!

For now, I am off to enjoy this lovely quiet morning with a cup of coffee and a determination to finish the blanket I'm crocheting for my daughter's birthday. I have all the yarn I need and plenty of free time in the mornings; no excuses!

Clamshell Packaging

I am not a fan.

The irony here is that I got cut on the knife as a direct result of having to struggle with the clamshell packaging that was designed to, yes, prevent me from cutting myself on the knife. On the bright side, it appears to be just as sharp as advertised.

With the holiday season approaching, I will undoubtedly be facing this nemesis again, so I have to ask: is there any safe way to open this menacing stuff?

Hooray For August

August is here! For the first two years of my daughter's elementary education, I dreaded this month because it meant there were mere days remaining before I had to put her on a bus five mornings a week and not see her again until evening. I hated that. It didn't feel right. But now August brings excitement and anticipation of all the cool things we'll be learning and doing this school year! The kiddos are literally counting the days until their lessons appear in the OLS (online school) and are looking through their materials eagerly awaiting the day they can start using them.

I love this. I'm so grateful that we have this option, and that our first year of homeschooling was such a success that they look forward with such enthusiasm to this new year and all that it will bring. If homeschooling is in your heart, but you're worried about whether you can do it, I really urge you to look into K12. No, I'm not encouraged to say nice things or compensated for my opinion in any way - I just genuinely love this program and how much flexibility and support there is. Most of all, I love how happy my kiddos are and how they genuinely want to learn.

Scouts

I don't know how I feel about Girl Scouts. I've been debating getting my daughter involved in Scouts for a couple of years now, a consideration which has been more at the forefront of my mind since we began homeschooling last year. I want my children to have as many opportunities to socialize in a healthy environment as they can/want.

I emphasize healthy social opportunities. With this in mind, my feelings on Boy Scouts are much more clear; I don't want my son being part of an organization that openly discriminates against the LGBT community and bans people from leadership positions within the organization based on their orientation. I find it extremely sad that if same-gender couple had a son in Boy Scouts, neither of them could contribute in a leadership role for their son's troop. This goes against the values we are teaching our children (love, acceptance), so I'm not comfortable with his participation in such an organization.

Boy Scouts also takes a firm position on requiring that its participants to follow a religion:

"The Boy Scouts of America maintains that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God. In the first part of the Scout Oath or Promise the member declares, ‘On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law.’ The recognition of God as the ruling and leading power in the universe and the grateful acknowledgment of His favors and blessings are necessary to the best type of citizenship and are wholesome precepts in the education of the growing members."

This bothers me as well. We are not religious people in the traditional sense. I consider myself an Agnostic with Buddhist leanings, but this is more a way of life than a "religion", so to speak. The Boy Scouts of America statement is really offensive to me, because it implies that my children, my husband, and I are not capable of being among the best citizens no matter who we are outside of our beliefs. I have no problem at all with what anyone else believes, but I have a very big problem with others telling me what I or my children must believe, or making judgements about my character based on whether or not I share their faith - or one they approve of.

Girl Scouts does appear to be far more inclusive with their policies. They even allowed transgender member Bobby Montoya to participate. Girl Scouts of Colorado spoke out through GLAAD and released the following statement on transgender youth participating in Girl Scouts:

"If a child identifies as a girl and the child's family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout."

I was super impressed with this. It made me want to run out and buy a box of Girl Scout cookies. If only the Boy Scouts of America could step out of the stone ages and follow suit. It's 2012, folks.

I'm still on the fence as to whether I want my daughter to participate in Girl Scouts. I've heard there are troops with very religious leanings, and those which tend to be very secular. I'm not sure about the local troop, though I do know that they hold meetings in a church and plaster photos of the girls all over a very public Facebook page. I'm not so comfortable with that, so it seems unlikely. Fortunately, K12 offers opportunities for social interaction. We also have soccer, classes through our community arts centers, and various other ways to stay connected. My kids burn out on socializing fairly quickly anyhow, being on the spectrum, so our needs are less than average to begin with.

Cursive Handwriting

It seems a lot of schools are doing away with cursive handwriting. I don't understand why that is. Okay, I do; they think that it's a dinosaur now that we use computers and type everything from our research papers to our social interactions. But there are benefits to learning cursive handwriting, and I believe it's still a good skill to have.

Miss Reezle has some beautiful handwriting, doesn't she? Little G has been practicing a little with some worksheets I've found for him online, and will be learning more this year as a 1st/2nd grader. I remember being in my early elementary years, seeing the cursive letters and feeling like it was some special thing that only the older, cooler kids got to do. Being able to write cursive was like being in an exclusive club or something. Heh. I think my kids feel the same way, and it's fun how being a mom brings back all of those memories from my own childhood.

The Aurora Shooting: Why?

In the wake of the tragedy in Aurora, CO, people around the country are up in arms, debating the reasons why something like this would happen. The first wave came from the anti-gun folks who believe that banning guns would prevent mass murders. I disagree; people who are bent on destruction and large-scale acts of violence and terrorism will not be deterred by the absence of one form of weapon. After all, 9/11 claimed 3,000 lives, and no guns were required. People can be very creative, and unfortunately, that creativity can be used for awful things as well as positive things.

The second wave came from people who believe that violence in movies and video games is to blame for our violence-prone culture. I don't believe this, either.



Canada has the same video games, movies, and music we do, and they also have one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the world; yet, the rates of homicide are significantly lower there than in the United States (above image from Wikipedia). What, then, could the difference be between our country and other developed countries? Why are Americans so violent?

One statistic that is higher in the U.S. than in any other country in the world is the rate of children and adolescents on psychotropic medication.

While mental disorders can be associated with higher rates of crime, examining the issue further reveals that the drugs used to treat certain psychiatric conditions can actually cause brain damage in children and adolescents, and can increase suicidal and violent behavior. Over-medicating children could very well be causing some of the issues leading to violent acts. In fact, many of the school shooters are known to have been taking antidepressant medications at the time they committed their violent acts.

The other issue is the entitlement factor Americans have. We are a country built on consumption and excess. We are inundated with advertisements on television, on the internet, in our e-mail inboxes, on billboards, on the radio, and even over our phones telling us to buy. We replace things out of desire, not due to need. In an unrelenting stream of messages that imply, and sometimes state outright that we can buy happiness, it is no wonder that Americans spend themselves into ridiculous amounts of debt in a futile effort to finally reach the point where they have "enough".

As a result, people are struggling to pay for homes they cannot afford, eating themselves to obesity and disease, dying of completely preventable diseases directly tied to over-consumption, and finding themselves wondering why "having it all" doesn't equate to good feelings. I am firmly convinced that a lot of our supposed mental illness is often a direct result of this.

We're "supposed to be" happy, financially stable, healthy, and free to have fun as often as we like. We believe things should be handed to us. We take so much for granted, and experience suffering and feelings of slight when we go without things that people in some countries have never been able to experience. We have celebrities living in homes costing millions of dollars with more space than any human being could ever possibly need while children starve in the streets of the same cities, and society lifts these selfish, shallow creatures up to god-like status. When reality happens and this fairytale does not, most people handle it - if disappointedly. Others, unable to cope with the disparity between what we're told should happen and what actually does happen, lose it. What 'losing it' means will vary by person, but the results can be pretty awful. Can't we change this?

While evolution has brought us more in sync with our humanity and fellow souls on this planet, our technology and obsession with having stuff is removing us from it. Our competitive culture, the growing disparity between rich and poor, and a lesser degree of obvious interdependence are a destructive combination. Improving the situation in our country isn't going to happen by way of gun control, restricting movie content, or having the condition of childhood medicated out of every kid so they're "perfect" little robots. Nothing improves by taking away rights and crippling free speech. We need to start respecting one another more, especially our children. We need to stop talking and start listening. We need to open our wallets less and open our hearts and minds more. We need to focus on really teaching our children things that are worthwhile instead of cramming information into their heads like containers so they can make schools look good on paper; such practices are meaningless and destructive to the spirit and our society, because no one will care about test scores 100 years from now.

The greatest, most respected people in history were not the kind of people who fit neatly into predetermined little packages of what society wanted of them. They also didn't go shooting up schools and theaters. Einstein, Galileo, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Nicola Tesla, Abraham Lincoln, Isaac Newton, His Holiness The Dalai Lama, Eleanor Roosevelt, Ghandi; none of these people were/are traditional, sit down and obey, go with the flow followers. Encouraging conformity, submission, fear, and obedience is not the answer, for it will stifle potential and cripple society further. Restoring our humanity is the answer, and shifting our focus away from this plastic, money-worshipping culture of greed and selfishness that can only foster envy and bring out the worst in people, that is what we need to do.

I wish to extend my sincerest condolences to those affected by the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado. Peace be with you all.

You and Me Time

Last night, just before bedtime, Little G wrote me a note on his drawing board.


He was a bit bothered by the fact that his sister gets to stay up a little later than he does, and that it means we don't get a lot of time where it's just him and me. It's interesting how his personality changes at those moments; he becomes so talkative and just loves to share his ideas and thoughts with me.

Obviously, I couldn't resist his request, and we talked a little last night and again tonight before bedtime. He was adorable, mostly sharing his excitement about K12 and his new workbooks. "I want to do homeschool until I go to college," he said. He also told me he can hardly wait until summer is over because he's looking forward to the fall weather and working in his workbooks every day. While I won't go so far as to wish away the summer, I'm excited about this fall, too.

Bones

My Little G sure does love bones. He studies his human body book like it's his job, is fascinated with my skeletal anatomy app on my iPad, owns a whole bunch of books on the skeletal system and wears lots of "skully" clothes. He also enjoys drawing bones.

He tells me he is going to be an Anatomist or a doctor when he grows up, and randomly shares all kinds of facts about bones with me. "Did you know that babies are born with more bones than adults have? Do you know why? Did you know that bones are the frame of your body, and they also have something inside them called marrow?" Heh. I love his dedication to his interests.

School Supplies Have Arrived!

I'm actually a little late on this; our school supplies arrived last week! A new school year is just a mere month away, and the excitement in our home is similar to that which precedes a major holiday. "It feels like waiting for Santa!" Reezle announced as I dragged the huge boxes of school supplies in the front door. Little G literally jumped up and down, yelling, "Yay!"

We unpacked our boxes and looked over this year's materials. Much of it was very similar; K12's K-2 science, music, and art materials don't vary much, and Little G is a grade level ahead of himself so we're doing our second year in a row of 2nd grade math and language arts. He is so excited to have the same Math Orange materials as he envied all of last year. Of course, now that Reezle has Math Purple, I'm sure he will want that as soon as the novelty of Orange wears off.

We have far fewer books this year, which is, admittedly, disappointing. However, we read plenty on our own and this just means I'll be hitting the library and bookstores more often. No complaints there.

Reezle and I got her personal learning space set up. Little G will share it for now, since we only have one functioning laptop despite buying two brand new Dell N5110s not very long ago. There should be a second one in G's learning space, but thanks to Dell, there is not. The one we purchased specifically for homeschooling, in November 2011, failed just weeks out of the box. It currently functions as a paperweight and nothing more. Despite numerous calls to Dell to rectify this, I've gotten nowhere. That was actually our third Dell to experience some catastrophic failure, so I'm now a Mac user. Forever. My personal advice to you, regardless of whether you are a PC or Mac user, would be never to buy from Dell. I digress.

Our living room book shelf is now home to some of our new school materials, while the kids elected to keep their favorite, and likely to be most frequently-used workbooks on the bookshelves in their own rooms. Little G is so jazzed about school starting that he says he wishes summer was over. (For the record, I don't wish summer was over...but I am excited about school, too.)

Our art, math, and science cabinet looks basically the same as it did last year, with a few minor additions. Seeds, paints, chalks, a graduated cylinder, math manipulatives, goggles, and various extras occupy this cabinet. I try to keep things near where we typically use them for quick access.

Reezle (and G, by default) will be taking Spanish this year. I've already begun getting them familiarized with it by asking each day, "¿Que día es hoy?" and having them reply with, "Hoy es jueves," or whichever day it happens to be. It's good practice, I think. I took Spanish in college, and it's coming back quickly for me, which is kinda cool. They already know their primary colors and numbers 1-20, so that's also a benefit. I think it's going to be a lot of fun.

Star Trek and The Best Snack Ever

One of the really cool memories I have from childhood involves Stark Trek (the original series - the only real one, in my humble opinion) and this snack my dad made of Saltine crackers, Muenster cheese, and a pool of Frank's Red Hot sauce on top.

Even cooler? It turns out that Reezle loves this little snack, too, and she's a total original series Trekkie. I couldn't be more proud. Ha!

Sure, it's neither healthy nor organic, but sometimes you have to make exceptions for nostalgia and awesomeness.

Summer Reading

Over the summer, I've heard so many parents discussing difficulties they're facing with summer reading lists and keeping their children interested in books. I truly believe it is the way reading and literature are presented to children in schools. Most people don't dislike reading; they dislike being required to read. I think most people would develop an aversion to eating cake if they were made to do it, and required to answer 10 questions about the taste, texture, and content. Schools require reading for content, so there is a sadly large number of children who don't even understand the concept of reading for enjoyment.

If the summer reading is driving you nuts, there are a few things you can do. A lot of local libraries offer summer reading incentive programs. After reading a certain number of books, the kiddos get a prize! Book It! has a summer reading program. What kiddo doesn't love earning a pizza? Barnes & Noble and Chuck E. Cheese's both offer reading incentives as well. And if your kids have a particular interest (space, karate, cars, etc.) you can buy them a book or two on their topic of interest to get them interested. It's all about taking the focus off of reading as a chore and reminding them that there is so much to enjoy about reading. Finding a fun series will also keep a lot of kids tuned in. My daughter is always looking for the latest cool book series since she started on Junie B. Jones in 1st grade! The Judy Moody books are great, too, and I just discovered they have a related series featuring her brother, Stink. (Yes, classy, I know - ha!)

I remember when I realized that reading could be fun. I was 9 years old, and I'd just discovered The Babysitters Club. I couldn't put the books down. Now my daughter is reading them on my Kindle, and I love it!


We hear no complaints from Sticky. She loves the attention from her non-furry siblings, and I think she even enjoys the stories when they take turns reading aloud to one another. As soon as she sees them curled up with a book, she snuggles herself beside them to take advantage of this relaxing, cozy time.

Ah, summer. We're loving it. Lots of time to read books on topics from volcanoes to birds, and everything in between. Reezle will be taking Spanish this fall, so I downloaded the Kindle version of Spanish for Dummies for her. As for me, I'm waiting for Brandon Sanderson to release the remainder of my beloved Wheel of Time series!

Happy reading!

My Epic Soy Post

This topic came up several places recently, so I felt the urge to share my own thoughts here on my blog. Soy. One of the first things people might think of when considering making the switch from a diet that includes animal products to one that is plant-based is soy. We hear a lot of things about soy, and soy has made its way into just about everything processed that we eat. It is often touted as being healthy, with claims that it can protect against certain diseases. This is perhaps the best example I can think of where a very small piece of truth has been expanded, warped, and taken almost completely out of context.

First, let's take a look at where these claims come from. Asian diets, which include fermented soy products like soy sauce and tempeh, have been linked to lower incidences of certain diseases. The soy that is touted as healthy here in the United States is not the fermented variety and does not offer the same health benefits. In fact, unfermented soy can actually be quite detrimental to our health.

Unfermented soy, the kind which is found in soy milk, soy-based ingredients in processed foods, and other soy substitutes, contains phytochemicals and can disrupt the normal functions in your body to the point of ill health by mimicking naturally-occurring estrogens in the body (among other things). Our bodies, for optimal health, need to maintain a balance of the right hormones. A disruption in this balance can lead to estrogen dominance, which can lead to a whole host of symptoms, diseases, and disorders. This can be especially problematic for children and people who already suffer from certain symptoms and diseases.

In addition to the health concerns soy poses all on its own, there is the additional issue that biotech corporation Monsanto controls more than 90% of the soybeans in the United States, and you really don't want to consume anything that Monsanto has their hands in at all. I strongly encourage you to Google Monsanto, or better yet - watch Food, Inc., for there is far too much for me to cover here but much you need to know. You can check out a soy-related clip from the documentary here.

That said, I have personal experience with the deleterious health effects of consuming soy products, which is why I feel so compelled to share my thoughts on soy with others. A few years ago, I decided that I wanted to eat healthier. I planned to move toward a more plant-based diet and eliminate all, or nearly all, animal products from my diet. Soy seemed the common-sense choice. I had not researched it, and at the time I still relied heavily on what appeared to be "common knowledge" about things like soy. So I went to the supermarket, bought myself a bunch of soy milk, soy protein bars, and other soy substitutes. I truly believed, based on advertising about this wonderful, amazing soy that was in everything, that I was doing something really good for myself and my family.

It wasn't long before I started to feel like my body was going crazy. I kept with the dietary changes, including lots of soy, thinking that maybe I was just detoxing from my previous diet or adjusting or something; but I only got worse. So I did what we all do: I Googled my symptoms, of course! One of the first things that came up was dietary soy intake, as it apparently mimics estrogen in the body. Woah.

I immediately stopped consuming soy and started checking labels for it. It took a couple of months for my body to get back to normal, but it did. Meanwhile, I was utterly astounded at how many products contain soy! It's not easy to avoid for those who eat a lot of processed foods. I'm hoping that soy will get the kind of attention that trans fat and HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup) have received so that manufacturers will start scaling back on its use in their food products. I also really wish that advertising would be more honest, but I guess that's not going to happen anytime soon.

Be well!