Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Did I just read that?

"Lawsuit: Woman claims man struck her with horse"

He struck her with a baseball bat or his fist or a horse. So sue him.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Did I just read that?

"Report: Women have rare egg-producing stem cells" http://www.9news.com/news/world/252255/347/Report-Women-have-rare-egg-producing-stem-cells

If all women have them, the cells hardly qualify as rare...

Did I just read that?

"La. chimpanzees get pregnant despite vasectomies"  http://www.9news.com/news/sidetracks/252288/337/La-chimpanzees-get-pregnant-despite-vasectomies-

Maybe that's because they were female?

Thursday, February 23, 2012

New culinary invention

Not sure this actually counts as culinary, but this was our new treat invention: milk chocolate covered fruit snacks.

I melted a bag of milk chocolate chips in the microwave. Then I opened 12 packets of fruit snacks into the melted chocolate. I added half a bag of mini marshmallows (fruity colors and shapes variety). Stirred them all up and spread the concoction on a sheet of wax paper to harden and cool.

The verdict?

Well, it's gone.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Did I just read that?

" "Perhaps this transaction was appropriate because Young happened to be the namesake of the school's grandson."  http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765552641/BYU-recovers-stolen-painting-from-Swiss-barons-estate.html?s_cid=rss-32

How a school has a grandson is something of a mystery....

Monday, February 20, 2012

Did I just read that?

"When rescuers arrived at the scene, Skyllberg was emancipated and barely speaking. He had no food or water with him, only cigarettes and comic books, the Daily Mail said. It was believed he had been eating snow."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/02/20/swedish-man-survives-two-months-in-sub-zero-temperatures-by-hibernating-in-car/#ixzz1mug3vs6J


EMACIATED.  The word is "emaciated."

Sheesh.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Did I just read that?

"The proposed fixes include making sure more information becomes public when children are abused or killed after coming into contact with social workers. " http://www.9news.com/moms/article/249704/499/Child-care-program-improving-after-43-children-die


So social workers are murdering kids? Great.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Homeschooling mantra

I walked past a box today full of papers and noticed one sticking out with my handwriting on it. So I pulled it out--it was a page of notes that I had written the day I decided I really could succeed at homeschooling without the help of a cyberschool or an established curriculum.

It is the set of rules I was to live by that would make homeschooling successful. A mantra, if you will. It says:

#1 -- Learning Is Fun
#2 -- I can do it better
#3 -- Exposure to Everything Good
#4 -- The truth (and Resources) are out there
#5 -- (K-6) They're gonna do it again--no stress
#6 -- Reductionism -- Concepts before details

On another page I found,
"1. Learning Is Active
2. Experience-based education
3. We aren't in a hurry"

So there you have it--a mixture of my own reassurances and my own educational philosophies when I was getting started.

And you know what? I CAN do schooling better than the public schools can. Learning actually IS fun. And the resources were truly out there (and free).

It's a lot of work to make my own curricula, but it's fun, and hopefully it will make homeschooling LESS work for other families.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Did I just read that?

From an official email from Longmont City today: "Water Board Vacancy"

Anyone want to apply to be tortured?

Sunday, February 05, 2012

Did I just read that?

" It appears as if the vehicle went off of an adjacent road. The Sherriff's office has launched a large-scale repelling operation and are calling in helicopter supports to check on the scene."  http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=19131781&title=police-may-have-found-vehicle-of-missing-colorado-men-&s_cid=featured-1

Does a repelling operation consist of trying to force two giant magnets' south ends together? Producing smells that are noxious? Putting up repulsive billboards?

Or did they mean rappelling?

Saturday, February 04, 2012

I finished Kindergarten

After 6 months of work, I finished Kindergarten.

Making an online Kindergarten, that is.  It covers math, language arts (literature, spelling, reading, grammar, handwriting, composition), social studies, history, art, music, and science.

And it's really good.

Have a peek: https://sites.google.com/site/learninglynxclassroom/awakeningwoods

Or use it for Kindergarten. It's ready to go, complete, and 100% FREE. Yes, free.

Friday, February 03, 2012

Interesting phenomenon

Normally, in Colorado, December is relatively mild and then January and February are freezing and below freezing. Normally, in January and February we see snow and more snow, and single-digit temperatures for several weeks straight.

This year, we had snow in October, and then more snow in December, and single-digit temperatures in December. And then January was in the 60s most days, and plenty warm.

The result? Both the kids and the trees felt like it was spring. Me, too, actually. I could take the trash out at midnight barefoot most nights and not be uncomfortable in the least. In January!

About 3 days ago, the maple and cottonwood trees in our yard put out their buds. Naturally, today a blizzard rolled in and is dumping dumping dumping snow. But I digress.

When Anda and I walked outside and noticed the buds on the cottonwood tree, we also noticed an interesting thing: there were buds coming out on all the broken off branches, too. Even the twigs that came down in October in that unusual storm now had buds--it was like all those branches, downed in the middle of the fall by snow, had no idea they were no longer on the tree. So we had buds all over the yard!

We wondered if there was a way to stimulate root growth?

But now it's a moot point, what with all the snow. Now I'm wondering if trees bud in January, and then freeze in February, will they bud again in April, or will the trees die?