File this under: Plan ahead. Human Growth and Development team member Cheri Mastel left a comment reminding us of these upcoming HGD meetings. Since I don't want any interested parents or residents to miss this opportunity, I am posting portions of her comments here:

Soon we [team members] will give of time, effort, and talent to the HGD parent advisory committee again.  

Three 2-hour meetings are scheduled FOR ALL PARENTS AND INTERESTED PARTIES TO REVIEW THE ENTIRE K-12 CURRICULUM, OR ANY PORTIONS THEREOF.  Personally, I do not believe 6 hours is sufficient to review the entire k-12 curriculum including videos, DVDs, printed materials, etc, for this would imply 1/2 hour of instructional materials per grade level. Even viewing one video or DVD may use most or all of the time alloted.  More time has been requested of the district.  

The district has also been asked to provide copies of the not-yet-approved high-level-outcomes as a check-off-list for matching each of the instructional materials to their proposed outcomes during the review.

Meeting dates and times will undoubtedly be announced by the district but if you'd like as much advance notice as possible, and not risk overlooking a tiny notice on an obscure page, here is the info board members and HGD parent advisory committee members have received:

Tuesday, Dec. 9th 4:30–6:30PM, Friday, Dec,12th 1–3PM, and Tuesday, Jan. 6th 8:30–10:30AM

Again, many parents may be working at these times. The second meeting may be especially difficult to attend as it also coincides with school dismissal. Special arrangements may need to be made in advance, juggling schedules to attend.  I hope many will find it to be worth the effort.

I am glad there are a variety of times offered. I interested parents and residents should be at least able to attend one review meeting.

If I had a child in the district, I would want to know ahead of time what information my child would be given in class. You might be surprised by what is taught in the early grades.

Human Growth & Development (Sex Ed.) is a very personal issue. Opting out is always an option, but at what grade level do you need to start that? (For me, it would be K5, the school district's world view does not match mine.) The HG&D review should help you decide.

Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.

Links: 

The movie, FIREPROOF opens today at 2 area theaters. From the previews, it sounds like a must see for any married couple, and probably would set a good foundation for anyone getting married too."FIREPROOF is the third feature film from Sherwood Pictures--the creators of FACING THE GIANTS and FLYWHEEL."

This is a low-budget film, but the story looks good. Kirk Cameron stars as a firefighter whose marriage is in serious trouble. His father challenges him to the "love dare" for 40 days. A firefighter friend encourages Kirk to work to save his marriage saying you go into a burning building to rescue a total stranger but you won't try to rescue your own marriage? After all, a firefighter's motto is that you never leave your partner behind.

I heard about the movie from a homeschool friend of mine that is going into full time service with Family Life ministry, an organization set up to help strengthen marriages and families. 

Interestingly, the Pope issued a statement today about troubled marriages too. With the help of God, marriage crises can be overcome

Vatican City, Sep 26, 2008 / 10:24 am (CNA).- Meeting with participants of the Retrouvaille Association, Pope Benedict XVI explained that when a marriage is suffering, the spouses are facing an opportunity that "will help them to grow." Guided by Mary* and with the help of the Lord, their love will be purified, deepened and strengthened.

Is your marriage FIREPROOF? The movie opens at the Ridge in New Berlin and the Menomonee Falls 18 today.

What do you have to lose? 

*Although I am not Catholic, I do agree with the Pope that the Lord will help those seeking to improve their marriage.

Don't forget, the Civil War weekend at the Wade House  

Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.

Links: 

My posting on Dr. Gibson flirts with 4K again to cure Elmbrook budget woes sparked a bit of a controversy regarding Elmbrook's 5K enrollment requirements in the comment section.

MikeyD stated a startling bit of information in his/her comment, inferring that 4K was necessary: (My emphasis throughout. You can read all of the comments by clicking the above link.)

"...But I was very surprised that when entering 5K, children in Elmbrook are Expected to be able to read and write!  I was pretty astonished. Did any of you know that a 5K kindergartener is expected to be reading and writing? When I found this out, and in light of the very successful pilot program, I was all for 4K. Even if it only helps in the short term. Elmbrook has very high standards, a good thing, but if they expect this much from a 4.5 year old, they should have the means to make sure all students are at this level at the start of 5K, which would make 4K more than just a luxury and certainly not daycare.  They will be learning to read and write, doing math, it isn't all crackers and naps.

Then Kathryn relayed her experience: (Again, her entire comment is under the original posting.)

"MikeyD, I wonder if there was a miscommunication when this was discussed.  I too was startled when my non-reader brought home a book to "read."  Turns out it was more about getting going than presumed ability.  Certainly some children do enter kindergarten already reading and writing; in that sense  it is "expected."  Many other children enter unable to read and write, and that too is "expected." 

Which is it? Are children expected to be able to read and write to enter 5K, or is it just that some can?

So, I contacted Elmbrook Schools.

From:>>> "Kyle Prast"  8/25/2008 8:53 PM >>>

Could you please tell me what requirements or expectations there are for
enrolling a child in 5K? I would be interested in both the academic skills
necessary and social/emotional maturity level that you expect.

Thank you,
Kyle Prast

This was my reply on Sept. 9, 2008: 

The only requirement for enrolling a child in 5 year old kindergarten is that the child is 5 on or before September 1 of the enrolling year.  There are no academic or social-emotional benchmarks that the student needs to meet for entrance in to kindergarten.  

If you have further questions, please feel free to contact me.

Mary

Last week, I watched The Journey of Natty Gann while making some muffins and cleaning up the kitchen. If you have never seen the movie, it is a period piece, set in the early 1930s, during the depression. An out of work widower must choose between staying with his daughter in Chicago, or going out to Washington state for a rare chance to work. He has little choice but to leave the daughter in the care of a floozy of a landlady. Natty, the daughter (14 years old?), runs away from the bad landlady and rides the rails all the way out to Washington. (Many adventures along the way. It ends happily.)

What struck me about the movie was the utter poverty and hopelessness of the great depression and the terrible choices people had to make back then.

While watching, I realized that my dad would have been around the same age as Natty during that difficult time.

Like so many other children, my dad had to quit school (8th grade) to go to work. My dad really loved to play baseball, but couldn't join his brothers and the neighborhood guys in a game after dinner because he had to go to bed early. You see, dad was fortunate to get a job in a bakery. Being a baker meant very early to bed and very early to rise in order to get the baking finished by the time the shop opened.

The wages were low, I think he earned around $1.15 a week, but the job had a big perk: he could take home all the day-old bakery he wanted. With 7 mouths to feed in the family, 2 parents and 4 siblings, that was a blessing.

His dad, my grandfather, had to wake my dad up in the wee hours of the morning to go to work. I think it nearly killed my grandfather to do so, because he himself was out of work. He knew my dad should have been allowed the few pleasures a poor kid could have--playing with his neighborhood buddies. But my dad had to shoulder the responsibilities of an adult at age 13 and go to work. Come payday, my dad gave his earnings to his family.

His situation was not as dire as some; he knew he was blessed to be in an intact family that had a roof over their heads.

Whenever I heard my father tell that story, I never heard any bitterness or anger in his voice in the telling. There always was an attitude of gratitude in the fact that he had a job that paid money and had the benefit of the extra food. 

Later he joined the CCC, and even though he could have had a deferment, he joined the Marines. (Photo is dad in his Marine days; he was an aircraft mechanic.)

After WWII, he married, had a family, and continued working hard until 1982, when he retired.

The poor guy, he barely cashed his first Social Security check when my husband and I purchased a rental property in the Riverwest area. It was a BIG old flat that needed painting. My husband and I worked on it, and a host of other things that needed doing there, but seemed to get nowhere fast.

Seeing our need, my dad offered to help. The irony was, he had his own large townhouse sided so he would never have to paint again! But there he was at our rental, climbing ladders with brushes and paint bucket in hand. Not one to sit back in his retirement, he saw a need, filled it, and remained cheerful until the job was finished.

My dad worked hard all of his life. Maybe that is why he was able to stay independent in his own home for so long. Even at age 88, when we had that huge snow in November of 2007, he was still helping snow blowing the neighbors out!

Being always ready to lend a hand, that characterized my dad. "Can't complain" characterized his attitude in all things. 

I think the people of his generation experienced so much hardship in the great depression and WWII, that it forever shaped them into people of great strength. Sometimes that can make people bitter and hard, but not my dad. He always put his trust in the Lord. Dad, like Job in the Bible, always had the attitude of, "The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." Job 1:21 Or, put another way, he would say, "You've got to roll with the punches."

Even now, with halting speech and gait, if you ask him how he is, he still manages to look at you with his blue eyes and say say, "Can't complain."

Happy Father's Day, Dads. Don't ever think you are not leaving your mark on your world.

(I am still learning Job 1:21 and to be like my dad.)

Past post: My Favorite Marine

Links:

McDonald's has been showing it's true rainbow colors as of late, and I'm not lovin it. What next? Ronald McDonald coming out of the closet? (Ooh, not ready for that!)

On April 2, 2008, I received an Action Alert from American Family Association, a conservative Christian group. It informed that "McDonald's has signed on to a nationwide effort to promote 'gay' and 'lesbian' business ventures."  

Less than a week later, AFA sent out McDonald's rebuttal to the AFA's accusation that they are "aggressively promoting the homosexual agenda." AFA addressed McDonald's rebuttal: (McDonald's remarks are in bold, AFA's are in normal type.)

 “While one McDonald’s employee is affiliated with the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), McDonald’s is in no way ‘aggressively promoting the homosexual agenda’ as suggested in the newsletter.”

To refer to Richard Ellis, who is the vice president of communications for McDonald’s, as “one McDonald’s employee,” as if he is a teenager flipping hamburgers, is disingenuous at best.

While “aggressively” is admittedly a subjective term, AFA believes that giving money to and partnering with a homosexual lobby organization is certainly an enthusiastic promotion of the homosexual agenda.


“The NGLCC is a non-profit organization dedicated to support economic opportunities for the gay and lesbian business community.”

It is quite clear from the NGLCC Web site that that organization not only supports “economic opportunities” for homosexuals, it also lobbies Congress on a wide range of issues related to the gay agenda.

This is the press release from the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce about McDonald's Vice President of Communications, Richard Ellis, being added to the NGLCC board. It also mentions Ellis is an active member on the Board of Directors for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.

Today I received another Action Alert. It stated that McDonald's is still saying they are not a member of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. McDonald's Vice-President Jack Daly stated that although they gave the NGLCC $20,000, "Richard Ellis was elected to the NGLCC board as a private citizen and not a representative of McDonald's." 

Watch the ad and decide for yourself if Richard Ellis is acting as a private citizen. (If he is, why is McDonald's name used and logo evident?) "So dedicated to promoting gay activities on public streets, McDonald's sponsored the 2007 San Francisco Gay Pride parade with a television commercial. In the ad, McDonald’s brags that it is 'a company that actively demonstrates its commitment to the gay and lesbian community.'”

According to a OneNewsNow* poll, 83.64% of those surveyed answered, Yes, to the question, "Is the decision by McDonald's to help fund homosexual activism enough for you and your family to start eating at another fast-food restaurant?" Granted, the survey might have been from a conservative pool of people, but can any corporation afford to alienate that large of a customer group?

That article cited a similar incident with Wal-Mart a few years ago: "...two years ago, Wal-Mart joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. But after AFA representatives discussed the matter with Wal-Mart officials, the company allowed their position on the Chamber's board to expire -- and according to Wildmon, Wal-Mart is no longer a member of the NGLCC."

If this is an important issue to you, send McDonald's an email (link is to pre-written email--use as is or write your own) or give their president, Andrew McKenna a call: Phone: 1-800-244-6227 or: 630-623-3000, E-Mail: Andrew J. McKenna, Since McDonald's are franchised, speak to your individual store manager and let them know how you feel about this affiliation.  

*OneNewsNow is part of the American Family News Network.  

Past Posts: Strength in numbers translates to policy changes or When people/money talk, companies listen

Links:

(Be sure to contact our state legislators today about budget!)

Elmbrook's Human Growth and Development team (sex education) and the school board are meeting tonight for a work session.

Anyone can attend these sessions, though attendees are not allowed to address the board.

Agenda:

6:00      1.  Review Human Growth and Development Policy Revisions
                 as Recommended by Advisory Committee

6:45      2.  Review Process Questions
                 • Process for Review of Curriculum Outcomes
                 • Process for Selection of Materials to Deliver Outcomes

6:55      3.  Adjournment

It seems that although the state statutes emphasizes an abstinence first approach and prohibits directing a student to abortion only solutions to an unplanned pregnancy, the curriculum does not necessarily reflect the state's priorities.

I plan on attending; hope you will too.

April 8, 2008  HG&D Advisory Committee Recommendations 

Previous posts: Updated: So What Happened with HG&D and School Board? 

HG&D "Outcomes" on School Board Agenda Tuesday 

Links:

My mom was an amazing woman. Her priorities were God, Dad, us, others, then herself. She was kind, generous, and a whiz at managing money. Since the economy is in the news so much these days, I will focus on her money management talents.

To use an expression I once heard, she could pinch a nickel so hard the Indian was riding the buffalo! That is no longer politically correct, but thankfully the nickels have changed now too. The updated version would be she pinched a nickel so hard Jefferson was riding the buffalo! I am sure if she had been sent to Washington, she could have balanced the budget.

I grew up in a blue collar household located in a gold coast suburb (Shorewood), yet my parents never argued about money. Mom elevated frugality to an art form. She used coupons and stuck to her budget. (She used an envelope system ala Dave Ramsey.)

Most mothers back then still cooked meals, and she was no different.  We ate up leftovers and did not waste food as many do today. Sundays we splurged and had lunch out at a modest restaurant after church and munched on popcorn for dinner. She would joke that it was against her religion to cook on Sunday! (I follow that same practice.)

Her philosophy of money management was to skimp on things that don't matter so you could splurge once in a while on something that would greatly improve your quality of life. That is how we ended up with a dishwasher back in the 1950s and a color TV in the mid 1960s. You may snicker at those two items being a luxury, but trust me, they were not the norm--even in Shorewood.

One of the items we saved money on were clothes. Mom sewed her clothes and most of my sister's and mine. She taught me to sew and I made my first dress in 3rd grade.

Another other area of savings were vacations. I think we started camping in 1958. Even though mom was not really the camping type, she saw that it was a relatively inexpensive way to see the U.S.A. We would pack up our huge cabin tent and head out to Mt.Rushmore, the Badlands, Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, etc. Those are fond memories.

I had some girlfriends who were from much wealthier families than mine. There wasn't jealousy or envy about that fact; that was just how life was. One in particular has been my friend since the 1st grade. Her parents owned a popular resort up north that was frequented by Green Bay Packers and other local celebrities. She spent each summer up there.

Her mom took her to Chicago each year to purchase all new school clothes. Because I was always interested in fashion, that was a wondrous thing to me. They also had a housekeeper who did all of their cooking. My friend seemed to have the ideal life at the time.

Recently my 1st grade friend mentioned how she thought I was the privileged one when we were growing up. She wished her mom sewed her clothes, made oatmeal cookies, and above all, she wished she could have traveled like we did on our camping trips!

In looking back at my life, I have to agree. I was privileged. I still am. So much of who I am and what I value was influenced by my Godly mother. If she were here today, I would rise up and call her blessed. She left a pair of large shoes to fill.

If your mom is still here, be sure to tell her all that is in your heart this Mother's Day.

Links:

UPDATE: Two world-wise, twenty-something young women today and I were talking about the Miley picture. Their reaction surprised me because they did not seem all that conservative. They both thought the picture was in inappropriate. Good, I thought, there is hope for today's youth. They then went on to tell me of another picture from that shoot that they both deemed "creepy". It was of Billy Ray with Miley draped over his leg--hardly a father daughter pose. This photo will be harder for Billy Ray to claim, I would not have allowed that pose had I been there. Obviously, he was!

I had not seen the picture of Miley Cyrus until this morning, but I did hear plenty about it on the radio yesterday. The photo looks pretty much as I expected it to look. It was not the amount of skin--she could have been wearing a halter swim suit at the beach--it was the context.

Actually, I am glad the public is shocked to see "Hannah Montana" portrayed as a sexy woman. It shows at least some concern for the loss of innocence in our children. 

Possibly it was because of the juxtaposition of the squeaky clean Hannah image with the sultry photo of Miley Cyrus that the reaction has been so pronounced. Maybe it will serve as a wake up call to parents of girls in particular that allowing our little girls and minor teens to look like sex objects is sending the wrong signal.

Miley's parents, in my opinion, are ultimately responsible for this photo shoot.  A young girl is not going to tell a famous photographer no--especially since young girls are often anxious to look older than their years. The famous photographer Leibovtiz is only after taking another controversial picture featuring a lot of skin. I would have thought that Disney would have been more protective of Hannah's image though.

How could a parent sit by and watch this happen to their daughter? (A comment on Fairly Conservative stated that according to ET, the parents were not there for the actual shoot, but Mercury News indicated otherwise.) 

Whether dad was there or not, may I suggest that in the world of theater and dance, artists have a very casual attitude about their bodies. Modesty is pretty rare.  It is not unusual to see a stark naked actor or dancer sitting at their makeup table or even having a conversation with a wardrobe person as if nothing was odd. I don't know if this was the case with Miley, but she and her dad obviously did not seem to think draping her naked self in a satin sheet was odd.

Sometimes like the frog in the pot being desensitized to rising temperatures, we are desensitized to the increased sexing up of our children. It is only when caught in the stark light of public scrutiny that the Cyrus family seemed to realize how inappropriate this picture and image was.

But before we start pointing our fingers just at the Cyruses, I have seen lots of teen girls in public with their parents dressed in a very trampy way. Ads in the Sunday paper for teen clothing make many of them look like they are looking for night work. Parents often want to keep their girls from looking like that, but when met with resistance they just give in and say, what can we do about it?

It is up to parents to protect their children from losing their innocence. That means not allowing them to be vulnerable to inappropriate situations, not allowing just any PG-13 movie to be viewed--some are very inappropriate, not allowing unlimited access to the internet in remote areas of the home, not allowing access to any TV show, and not allowing the school district to decide what is appropriate information for your child to learn about Human Growth and Development.

Protecting our children's innocence is our responsibility. We must take the time to investigate, filter, and shield.  Hopefully Miley's photo will jolt parents to say, what is going on here?

Links: Upcoming events in Brookfield

4th Annual Weed Out, May 3rd, Mary Knoll Park

When my son was young, we dyed eggs for Easter. Oh my, what chaos! But he had so much fun, how could I say no? My sister would come over and join in the festivities (and mess). Our favorite dyes were those oily swirl type paints.

Some of the eggs turned out so pretty, it was a real shame to destroy and eat them later. So we decided to dye either hollowed out real eggs or use the plastic type that split apart--that allowed us to keep them indefinitely.

Martha Stewart online has some great egg decorating ideas this month.

I decided that an egg tree would be the perfect place to display our works of art. The tree was easy to make. All I did was go into my yard and prune off a young scrubby tree. I think I use part of a dogwood bush. A young buckthorn would also work well. (Heaven knows there are plenty of those around!) You can purchase ready made trees too.

After you trim the little tree to a pleasing shape, spray with white spray paint and let dry. You will want to leave the lower trunk a little longer so it can fit into your "stand". (The trunk might need a little whittling to fit it into the stand.)

For the stand, I just used a plastic tub, like the kind Cedar-Crest ice cream comes in. I also took a short piece of metal conduit (make sure your tree trunk fits into it, but any tubular material would work: plastic, PVC, round toothbrush case, etc.) and held it perpendicular in the center of the tub and then poured some mortar mix in around it. I then let it cure overnight. Plaster of Paris would work too, I think.

I put the tree into the conduit tube in the stand (a few Popsicle sticks can take up the extra space and keep the tree straight.) 

The stand goes in a basket with some "grass" on top. I used some natural packing material that came in a food gift basket. You could use that shredded crinkle paper you get from a craft store too. If you do not have a basket, you could use a large circle of pretty fabric and gather it over the whole base and tie with a ribbon or even use wrapping paper.

My tree stand in the basket then goes onto a serving platter that I put more of that "grass" in.

Pick out the prettiest eggs you dyed and glue a narrow ribbon loop on top. I used the blow hole to poke the ribbon ends into and Tacky glue. A small silk flower can cover the hole if it got too large.

You may want to leave some eggs with longer, separate ribbons so you can tie them onto the branches that a loop won't slip over.

Now you are ready to decorate the tree! 

If the eggs are plastic, heat up a metal skewer or nail  in a candle (you can use a pliers to hold the nail so you don't get burned) and melt a hole in the end.  I then made a ribbon loop and knotted it through a bead so I could slip it through the hole to hang.

Here are some countdown ideas:

We hung the real eggs on the tree, but I left 1 to 2 dozen of the plastic ones for the basket top and serving platter.

I placed inside each plastic egg a jelly bean, malted milk ball egg, etc. and a Bible verse pertaining to Easter. If you were really ambitious, you could add a number to the egg, 1-24 and then put the Bible verses inside in chronological order: verses about needing a Savior, Palm Sunday, the arrest, Good Friday, and finally the resurrection. (I never got my act that together.)

I wrote the verses onto card stock and then cut with a pinking sheers. These days there are really fun scissors available--I'm sure children would enjoy making the verse strips. We put a sticker on each strip, but a rubber stamp would work too. You could use the computer and a printer to do this too.

Each day, the child picks an egg, reads the verse (we put the verse back in the egg), eats the treat, and hangs the egg on the tree!

By the time it is Easter, the whole tree is bedecked.

If you have more than one child participating, the eggs could be separated and stored in maybe half of one of those prettier white foam cartons or clear cartons. Or one child maybe has all blue and green eggs, the other pink and yellow, or one has the odd numbers, one the even. You will sort it out.  

Some people place something pertaining to Easter or the verse in each egg if they don't want to use candy: i.e. A cotton ball for Isaiah 1:18 Though you sins be as scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they be red like crimson, They shall be as wool. Other items might be a heavy horseshoe type nail, a small lamb, a thorn, a small palm branch etc. I believe you can purchase a dozen of these eggs with the small item in them at Family Christian Stores .  

 





You can display your treasures in a basket too.

Brown eggs can be quite interesting.

So let the egg-citement begin!

(Sorry, I couldn't resist.) 

I store the bare tree upside down from a basement rafter when not in use--just twist a long wire loop around the trunk and hang from a nail.

Links: Betterbrookfield,  Vicki Mckenna 

One week down, 51 more to go in 2008. Already I am thinking, where did the first week go? (I started the new year out a little under the weather, so that may account for feeling I missed out on something.)

The end of the past year and start of the new naturally lends itself to being a time of reassessment. Being one of those Christmas letter people helps me sum up our highs and lows of the year. 

I get a pretty good look at our finances when I make our one time, year end donations to various causes rather than monthly donations (it just seems simpler to do it once).  I also render to Caesar by bringing my property tax payment to City Hall prior to year's end.

Some people clear out their Christmas decorations immediately after Christmas--they can't stand the clutter. Me, I leave my tree up until at least the end of January. I figure it takes me so long to put the thing up (if you saw it, you would understand) that I at least like to bask in its glow a bit before taking it down. Plus the decorations help chase the winter blahs away.  

Organizing seems to be a common theme of the new year. You can see it in the big box store ads. All sorts of organizational bins and boxes are on sale to get your stuff in order. 

New Year's resolutions are popular, but by now, some are already broken. I much prefer setting goals--something to strive for. The acronym J.O.Y. helps me keep my priorities straight. It stands for Jesus, Others, You. 

Setting a goal for the J, for example, might mean spending more time reading the Bible and praying every day. But make it a reasonable goal--maybe one chapter a day and 15 minutes of praying. (Keeping a prayer list really helps me.)

O for others could include your family. Maybe this is the year you will make family time and family meals a priority? Others also includes neighbors, community, school, volunteering, politics, charities, etc.

Finally You!  Getting/keeping fit and healthy living goals are always popular here. Again, don't start with something unreasonable like walking 5 miles a day. How about walking 3 times a week for 1/2 hour? (That is my goal this year. I know my dog will be happy about it too.) Saying you will never eat sugar again won't work, but designating a small sweet treat to once a day is something that could work for a lifetime. You also means taking a little time to do what you enjoy--maybe your You goal is to learn something new or go visit a place you always wanted to see. It might be as simple as saying you will make time to meet with a good friend once a week.

Well, it is time for me to get on with my day--must go ORGANIZE something!

Hope you reach your goals for 2008.

My dog just received a Christmas card! He is a popular dog with our local dog sitter. (She was kind enough to also include us.)

When we got our dog in 2001 we were faced with that common problem of what do you do with them while on vacation?

Through word of mouth we found out about a local woman who dog sits in her home. It has proven to be a very nice arrangement for both our dog and us. 

I am sure there are very nice kennels out there, but we really like leaving Zipper, our 13# Maltese mutt, with the neighborhood sitter, who we affectionately refer to as "Grandma". Our pooch has a blast at her house when we are on vacation, which helps us to enjoy ours as well. (It is like doggy camp for him.)

Entrepreneurship is one of the things that makes our country great. I like to support local businesses and entrepreneurs as much as possible. Often they provide a better level of services and do it with a more personal touch--like sending customers personal notes. 

Zipper, by the way, was obtained from the Wisconsin Humane Society. We put in a request for a small, no-shed dog and a few months later received a call that "Walter" was available. (That was the temporary name given him.)

One look was pretty much all it took. He came home with us that day and has been a wonderful addition to our family ever since.

The Wisconsin Humane Society is a very good place to adopt dogs from. They do extensive personality testing to make sure the dog does not have aggression issues.

Just one month before Zipper, we had a very bad experience with the Waukesha Humane Society adopting an older dog. That dog had to be put down for biting. We later found out he was surrendered for aggression reasons. A pretty traumatic experience for the whole family. (He was our first dog.)
 

Warning: DO NOT go to a Humane Society just to look! That is how it all starts. We really had no intention of getting a pet until we went to the Wisconsin Humane Society on a homeschool field trip. The rest, as they say, is history!

This is Buddy, I believe one of the dogs rescued from a puppy mill by the Elmbrook Humane Society. Buddy now brightens the days of residents of Fairview Senior Homes. (This picture does not do Buddy justice.)

I know many parents of 4 year olds and preschoolers are upset that the Elmbrook School District failed to implement a permanent 4K program. I do believe the parents who communicated with the board were sincere in their enthusiasm for the program.

But there was a common thread to their comments that saddened me: many acted as if 4K was the only way their child could learn, achieve, mature, and flourish at this young age.

From Rose Moylan’s quote in the paper, "It [4K] stimulates and challenges (my son) in ways that I simply cannot do at home," to Katie, who spoke at the board meeting, They [4K teachers] can pull out an energy and excitement of learning [that I cannot], their attitude is that public school 4K is the only way this can be accomplished.

What a sad commentary on parenting today.

Since when have parents become so hesitant to nurture their own children? So insecure that they think they are not up to the task of teaching 4K skills at home?

I suppose this reluctance or feeling of inadequacy shouldn’t have surprised me. I heard it all the time in people’s voices when they found out I homeschooled my son K–12. Whether it was during the elementary years or high school years or even now that my son is in technical college, people’s reactions were and are always the same: I could never do that!

Some people I knew better than to try to persuade otherwise—their minds were made up. Others, I would encourage with, “Yes, you can--if you really want to.”

Parents are a child’s primary teacher. We teach them how to eat, talk, walk, use the bathroom, etc. But somehow, when it comes to schooling, some very intelligent parents suddenly feel ill-equipped.

HSLDA, Home School Legal Defense Association (naturally, a pro parents can be teachers stance) compiled some very interesting data that illustrates that anyone can teach their own children from a 1997 study.

Pay particular attention to the comparison between the mother’s educational levels and the basic battery test scores on page 2. The mother’s who did not even finish high school scored higher (83) than those who did graduate (80) and just one point away from the mother’s who had some higher education after High School! (84)

If you compare these test score averages to the public school sector on page 1, you see that even the drop out mom’s kids scored 33 points higher than the average public school students.

Another interesting graph shows the test score differences between homeschool parents who had teacher certification and those that did not. Surprisingly, the average scores were equal at the 4th grade level and 1 point higher in 8th grade if the parent had no educational certification!

Now this posting is not about the virtues of homeschooling vs. public education. There are many factors which contribute to those higher test scores of homeschooled students. Mainly that the child receives so much more one on one time and that the parent knows if the child is “getting it” or not. (When a child has to answer each and every question asked by the teacher, there is no faking it!)

Also, just by virtue of a child being at home and being part of the running of a household, there is much more life skills education taking place. Plus, homeschool families usually eat their meals together.*

Homeschooling parents tend to never turn off the teaching either. Everything is a teaching moment. (Many parents do this too, not just homeschoolers.)

I use this homeschool comparison information only to illustrate that if an uneducated parent can teach and guide their child to outperform the public school student, even in upper grades, certainly any parent can teach their child 4 year old kindergarten skills.

If a parent feels compelled to do a 4K program at home, there are a host of curriculum ideas, materials, and plans available. Rainbow Resource is one online source of all manner of materials. But please, don’t overload your children.

Personally, I do not think this is at all necessary. Just being with your child and involving them in your life: grocery shopping (colors, counting, sizes, etc.), meal preparation (measuring, counting, basic fractions, addition, subtraction), reading to your child (if they have a favorite book, point to the words as you read, when you come to a repetitive fun word, stop and let them say it—that is how my son learned to read), singing, art projects, nature study, pretend play (playing store is great—use real money!), going to the park or other special places, etc. Basically, you just take advantage of the teachable moments throughout the day--not in a tiresome, heavy handed way--make it fun.

PAMELAMUNCH left a comment regarding the importance of family time on my blog. Here is an excerpt:

I feel so many people want a 4k so they have some place to put their child for free (no tuition) so they can work. Why not promote less material gain and more importance on the value of our children at home with mom and family meals etc. I agree w/ LISAMCL and TESTOSTERONE that time with our families is our greatest gain.

Instead of your child telling you how they learned their left from their right hand, you teach it to them! (By the way, you can remind them that if they hold up their index finger, like they are pointing to the sky, and their thumb, out at a right angle, it forms the letter L if it is their left hand. Wish I would have known that when I was a kid!)

You are qualified to teach your own child. Don’t be afraid of it, be a part of it.

*Coming up next: Family Time and Family Meals—more important than we think

If any of you are thinking of homeschooling your children and would like some information, please don’t hesitate to contact me.