Mom & Pop Home School

Mystery solved! Today the whole family has sniffles, so that explains the bickery attitudes the last couple of days. They continue today, though not as intensely, and I now have hope that they will pass with the head cold. Yay!

This evening we went to Cornbelly’s Corn Maze for family fun. In the car on the way there, the kids were picking at each other a little and had been told multiple times to please keep their hands to themselves and stop making whatever obnoxious noises were “BOOOooothering” the other occupant of the backseat. There was quiet for a few minutes, followed by a click from the right, a blood curdling scream from the left, a snicker from the right, and a shriek of “MOOOOM! He unBUUUCKLED!” from the left.

So I say, “Cricket, buckle your seatbelt.”

“It is buckled,” Cricket replies.

“Buckle your sister’s seatbelt.”

“It IS buckled!”

“Oh. Who is unbuckled?”

“Nobody. I just unbuckled the middle seatbelt.”

“But MOOOOOM!” wails Sunshine. “My invisible Strawberry Shortcake was sitting there! Cricket threw her in the trunk!!!”

“Well,” grumps Cricket, “I don’t WANT to sit by Strawberry Shortcake. She’ll be more comfortable in the trunk.”

“She’s scared in the trunk!”

“I am NOT sitting by Strawberry Shortcake.”

Up in the front seat, Pop and I are chuckling like chickens. Poor invisible Strawberry Shortcake, chucked in the trunk like a sack of laundry and only a screeching four-year-old to defend her. You’ve gotta love invisible friends. (Sunshine’s usual invisible friend is named “Somebody” and sleeps on the crib mattress on Sunshine’s bedroom floor. She’s six years old, which is REALLY old, so she can DO stuff that four-year-olds are “too little” to do.)

What’s that you say? Us? Nooooo. We’re NORMAL. Really. Why are you smirking like that?

( A good time was had by all at Cornbelly’s–Sunshine learned that when you’re lost in the middle of a really big field of corn and your Mommy doesn’t know the way out it’s OK to “go pee pee outside wike a animal” but you can’t discuss that fact at the top of your lungs for fifteen minutes afterward–and the trip home was much more peaceful. )

Today my normally (reasonably) well-behaved children spent the ENTIRE day just picking and picking at each other. Cricket’s waffle was bigger than Sunshine’s. But Sunshine had more syrup. Neener neener. Sunshine kept singing while Cricket was doing his social studies assignment. Cricket was making the “wrong” sound effects while Sunshine was playing ponies. During our music class, Cricket could NOT stand the fact that Sunshine was holding her recorder backwards and when she said she was playing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” it was all the same note. She intelligently countered his evidently unwarranted criticism with the classic argument, “I am NOT!” And both of them had to argue with everything I said. Everything. But that’s okay, because after all, it was not their fault. Just ask ‘em. On days like today I think the old Dutch clock and the Chinese plate definitely did the right thing by staying out of it. And God definitely knew what He was doing when He created tomorrows. 

 

The Duel
(The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat)
by Eugene Field 

 

The gingham dog and the calico cat
Side by side on the table sat;
‘Twas half-past twelve, and (what do you think!)
Nor one nor t’other had slept a wink!
     The old Dutch clock and the Chinese plate
     Appeared to know as sure as fate
There was going to be a terrible spat.
          (I wasn’t there; I simply state
          What was told to me by the Chinese plate!)  

 

The gingham dog went ” Bow-wow-wow!”
And the calico cat replied “Me-ow!”
The air was littered,an hour or so,
With bits of gingham and calico,
     While the old Dutch clock in the chimney place
     Up with it hands before its face,
For it always dreaded a family row!
          (Now mind: I’m only telling you
          What the old Dutch clock declares is true!) 

 

The Chinese plate looked very blue,
And wailed,”Oh dear! What shall we do!”
But the gingham dog and the calico cat
Wallowed this way and tumbled that,
     Employing every tooth and claw
     In the awfullest way you ever saw-
And oh! how the gingham and calico flew!
          (Don’t fancy I exaggerate!
          I got my news from the Chinese plate!) 

 

Next morning where the two had sat
They found no trace of dog or cat;
And some folks think unto this day
That burglars stole the pair away!
     But the truth about the cat and pup
     Is this: they ate each other up!
Now what do you really think of that!
          (The old Dutch clock, it told me so,
          And that is how I came to know.) 

On a happier note, however, when I went upstairs this afternoon to announce that the most recent round of “you WILL stay in your rooms and away from each other” had ended, I found Cricket deeply engrossed in Tales of Ancient Egypt. We read this over the summer as part of social studies and he liked it so much he wanted to read it again. Maybe I’m doing an ok job at this whole teaching thing after all. 

Dear friends and family,

I’m sure you will all be pleased to find out that in spite of our abysmal track record in the realm of correspondence, we have not actually fallen off the face of the earth. We have not been victims of some horrific accidental explosion, nor have we moved to Outer Mongolia (in spite of rumor to the contrary). We’re still here, we’re all still alive, and yes, we do still think of you often. Unfortunately we’re just not that great at translating thinking of you into actually writing to you or picking up the telephone. For this we humbly apologize. It has for many years been Mom’s dream to write a letter at the end of each year detailing the intriguing developments in our lives, and send it to each of you with cheerful holiday wishes–and hey while we’re dreaming here, let’s throw in homemade baked goods, shall we? But Mom has recently had to sit herself down, look in the mirror, and admit to herself that this is just not going to happen. I (Mom) am just not that kind of person, I guess. So instead, I have decided to enter the modern age and begin this blog.

Some of you already know about the recent major developments in our lives (Did I mention we have a new nephew? Congrats to D., S., and little L!!). Others of you have not heard from us probably for years and didn’t even know we had kids…lol. There may even be some out there who have no idea who we are in real life, but who have met us online or just stumbled in here while looking for something else. (If that’s the case, please pull up a seat and hang out a while! We’re always glad for more friends. Everyone is welcome here, we just ask that when you comment you do so in a courteous manner.) So to catch everyone up, here’s the general rundown on what we’re up to these days:

(Note: For the sake of preserving some level of privacy, we will be using pseudonyms for our family on this site. Those we mention in posts who are not in our immediate family will be identified by their first initial. We would appreciate it if those of you who do know us in real life would use the same system of identification in your comments. Thanks!)

Pop owns and operates his own business. He designs websites (occasionally) and develops online interactive projects and games (mostly) for a number of clients (for example, The Boy Scouts of America, The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Frito Lay, Phantom Fireworks, and others). He has busy times and not so busy times, and because he is his own boss, he gets to work at home most of the time. We love having him here. Pop is also an MMORPG enthusiast, and is actively engaged in various church leadership responsibilities. He previously taught animation at the college level, and some of you may know him from then (hi!).

Mom is the primary poster at this blog. Pop might add something now and then, but mostly you’ll be hearing from me. I’m a full-time stay at home wife and mother (best profession in the world!). I also dabble in artistic pursuits from time to time, including nit-picking–ahem…I mean consulting–Pop’s design work, occasionally utilizing my BFA in illustration by cranking out some graphics for some of Pop’s projects (when I have time and he doesn’t), and in art quilts (fabric is an excellent medium when you have small children around–it doesn’t dry in the brush or poison the kids when they chew on it). The past two years my work has been included in a major juried annual quilt show at a local art museum; it hasn’t won any awards yet, but I’ve had lots of encouraging comments from the judges and this year a very nice lady asked the museum staff to have me contact her so she could tell me how much my work had touched her heart. That’s better than an award to me. This year I have also begun the exciting adventure of homeschooling our oldest child. As you may have gathered from the title, much of what I have to say here will be related to homeschooling in one way or another. Experienced homeschoolers will tell you that homeschooling is not something you “do”, it’s a way of life. We are certainly finding this to be true. This blog will also include various random musings on whatever strikes my fancy–because that’s just the way I am. I am also working on a website that will function largely as a place for me to store ideas and resources for homeschooling. They will be what works for us, or what I would like to use if only there were enough time and money, but which someone else might find useful as supplementary materials if they’re using similar curriculum. If this is of interest to you, please bear with me. I am learning about web site creation as I go along, and it will be a while before it’s really up and functional.

“Cricket” is nine years old and very smart. He loves all creatures great and small–especially the creepy crawly kind. Video and computer games are another hobby, and he has been beta-testing Pop’s games since he was three years old. Cricket was having a hard time in a regular school classroom due to some challenges he has which stem from his unusual neurology. When Cricket was five years old he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. Although Cricket has always been advanced academically in most areas, sensory integration problems, delays in social development, and a communication disorder have made being in the regular classroom very stressful for him. At the end of third grade last year we decided that the stress had escalated to the point of being a real threat to Cricket’s health, so we decided to have a “trial period” of homeschool through the summer and see how that went. It was such a positive experience that we’ve decided to continue through the school year, and probably for at least several years to come. At this time, Cricket still receives special education services through the school, which may enter the conversation here from time to time.

“Sunshine” is our VERY enthusiastic four-year-old daughter. She loves all things pink and purple but is especially enthralled with My Little Ponies and The Littlest Petshop toys right now. Sunshine has been a happy, loving child since she was born. She always has a smile, a cuddle, and a kind word. (Except that since four-ness has entered the picture, she occasionally morphs into a screaming banshee–but we are confident she will grow out of that…..eventually.) Sunshine is particularly enthusiastic about playing school with us. She loves to sit at the table with a workbook, coloring page, sorting beads, and so forth. I had not originally intended to do much in the way of “school” with her, but she cheerully insisted on being included. She so enjoys taking turns, raising her hand, standing in line, and doing her “homework”. She also CRAVES social interaction, and what with two boring grown-ups and a socially awkward brother at home (whom she adores and immitates) we feel it will be best for her to attend public school next year for kindergarten. But for now, she is at home with us, doing school TOOO!

And basically, dear family and friends, that’s us. We are all muddling imperfectly along in life, and find ourselves quietly content most of the time. So many of you have kindly expressed an interest in how things are going, especially since we started home school, and I’m so terribly bad at any kind of regular correspondence that I decided this might be a good way to let you all know the shape of things in our little world at home. Thanks so much, all of you for your loving support. I’ll try to post regularly here, and I would love to hear from all of you with any comments or suggestions you might have. Thanks again!

Mom