Chris is currently reading to the children the Childhood of Famous American's biography of Stephen Foster. It's a wonderful book!
Tonight he read that someone was wearing a "snood" and we were all like, "What in the world is a snood?!?" We envisioned it being something like the creatures in a Dr. Seuss book, but it was obvious it was a hair covering, not a little animal of some sort.
I looked it up online and found out that it is the net-like covering that women wear over their hair. We commonly see them in restaurants holding the hair of cooks. Here is a link to a photo of a snood: http://www.moonstruckoriginals.com/snood.JPG
Anyway, I love learning new words and thought some others of you might like to learn this word as well. And if you haven't read the Childhood of Famous American's books, I would definitely recommend them! They are absolutely fabulous. Children enjoy them, too, and don't even realize that they are learning. These are great to teach biographical and historical information more informally, yet more in depth than what students would get from a textbook.
Sonya Haskins
Homeschooling for the Rest of Us will be available in three weeks!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Capitalism is alive and well in the Haskins' household!
I'm currently finishing a curriculum for the Heritage Foundation to go with their book, The Heritage Guide to the Constitution. As usual, when I'm finishing a project, the children are left to do more learning on their own - basically "unschooling" for a few weeks.
Our eight-year-old, Daniel, wants to be a writer like me. He frequently writes stories, makes little books, and tells stories to his younger sister and older siblings. I guess he has decided that it's about time to make some money from all his hard work and creativity as yesterday I heard him telling Hannah that he wouldn't tell her any more stories unless she gave him all her money.
Hannah initially agreed and went to get her money. I could see her in the bathroom counting it and I think she must have quickly figured out that she wouldn't have any money left if she gave it all to him for one story.
She came back into the kitchen and told Daniel that she would not give him all her money, but she would be willing to pay him one penny for each story. Daniel said that wasn't enough and he wanted ten cents. Hannah said that was too much and offered two. He asked for five. Finally, they settled on three cents per story.
All afternoon, I watched Daniel tell Hannah stories and, true to her word, she paid him three cents for each story he told her. (She had a large collection of pennies.)
Last night after Chris came home from work, Daniel and Hannah were sitting on our bed and he was still making up stories for her. When I explained to Chris what was going on, he said he wasn't sure if he should want to punish Daniel or be proud of him for his ingenuity. "At least they are learning how the free market system works," he said at last, finally settled on being proud.
So the next time you need to take some time off your "official" homeschool work, don't fret over the fact that your children's brain cells are going to die. Give them a chance to surprise you! They might just come up with some activities you never would have thought of ... like telling each other stories, practicing counting money, and even spending time together enjoying one another's company.
Sonya Haskins
www.thehomeschooladvocate.com
Our eight-year-old, Daniel, wants to be a writer like me. He frequently writes stories, makes little books, and tells stories to his younger sister and older siblings. I guess he has decided that it's about time to make some money from all his hard work and creativity as yesterday I heard him telling Hannah that he wouldn't tell her any more stories unless she gave him all her money.
Hannah initially agreed and went to get her money. I could see her in the bathroom counting it and I think she must have quickly figured out that she wouldn't have any money left if she gave it all to him for one story.
She came back into the kitchen and told Daniel that she would not give him all her money, but she would be willing to pay him one penny for each story. Daniel said that wasn't enough and he wanted ten cents. Hannah said that was too much and offered two. He asked for five. Finally, they settled on three cents per story.
All afternoon, I watched Daniel tell Hannah stories and, true to her word, she paid him three cents for each story he told her. (She had a large collection of pennies.)
Last night after Chris came home from work, Daniel and Hannah were sitting on our bed and he was still making up stories for her. When I explained to Chris what was going on, he said he wasn't sure if he should want to punish Daniel or be proud of him for his ingenuity. "At least they are learning how the free market system works," he said at last, finally settled on being proud.
So the next time you need to take some time off your "official" homeschool work, don't fret over the fact that your children's brain cells are going to die. Give them a chance to surprise you! They might just come up with some activities you never would have thought of ... like telling each other stories, practicing counting money, and even spending time together enjoying one another's company.
Sonya Haskins
www.thehomeschooladvocate.com
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Two Tri-Cities area homeschool families lose mothers to tragic accident
I am pasting below information about two ladies who died in a tragic accident this week in the Tri-Cities. These women were homeschool moms and they had a total of 17 children between the two of them. I can't imagine the sadness for those little ones and their spouses as they deal with this horrible loss. That's a lot of little ones to wake up without a Mommy and a husband to wake up without his wife....
Please keep these families in your prayers.
Sonya
Please keep these families in your prayers.
Sonya
| Sudden and Powerful Storm Takes Lives of Two Bristol, Virginia Women, Members of St. Peter Presbyterian Church |
| Written by Don Clements |
| Friday, 04 December 2009 14:17 |
| Two women, both members of St. Peter Presbyterian Church in Mendoata, Va., were killed in an accident caused by powerful storm this past Wednesday night, December 2. The accident happened when a massive tree fell and crashed on a rural highway in southwest Virginia near the town of Mendota, located about a half-hour’s drive north of Bristol, Va. Stories like this happen many times a day throughout the U.S., but seldom do they have such a deep impact on one church. The two women were driving in a Ford F-350 multi-passenger van along State Route 622. The Highway Patrol report indicates that 39-year-old Theresa Bullen and 44-year-old Deaun Brockmyre died instantly in the freak accident where a huge and sudden downdraft totally uprooted a large tree which came down directly on the van. Bullen was driving northbound when the tree, at least 70 feet tall and two feet in diameter, fell directly across the front of their van. Brockmyre was in the passenger seat. No one else was in the vehicle, and no other vehicles were involved. The ladies were returning home to Mendota from a shopping trip. Mrs. Bullen leaves behind a husband and nine children; Mrs. Brockmyre a husband and eight children. Both ladies were members of St. Peter Presbyterian Church, a Confederation of Reformed and Evangelical Churches (CREC) congregation in Mendota, one of a couple of related churches in the area. The Reverend R. C. Sproul, Jr., Director of the nearby HighlandStudyCenter, serves as pastor of one of the churches. On Thursday, pastors and members of the church were already coming together to help both families cope with their loss. “We are committed to helping these families in any possible way we can and I know both of these families have been a part of our church for a long time and they are confident that they can count on us,“ said Pastor Sproul. Obituary notices for Mrs. Brockmyre is below, but details for Mrs. Bullen, who will be buried next Tuesday, are still pending. More details will be posted as they are received. (Please note that the Eric Dye shown as a brother to Mrs. Brockmyre is NOT the PCA minister by the same name.) Deaun Ruth Dye Brockmyre: We mourn the loss of our treasured daughter, wife, mother and friend but give thanks in the assurance that our beloved, Deaun is rejoicing with her Lord and Savior. Deaun Ruth Dye Brockmyre, age 44, went to Heaven on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009, following an automobile accident. Deaun was loved by many for her sweet gentle spirit and generous heart. She was born in Richmond, Va., and had worked as a nurse and case manager at BristolRegionalMedicalCenter before devoting her time to raising and home schooling her children. She was a member of St. Peter Presbyterian Church and a shining example of faith and devotion. She is survived by her husband, Dr. Andrew Brockmyre, MD; five daughters, Heather Bailey and husband Ryan of Lexington, Va., Isabel, Bliss, Maeve and Ellianna Brockmyre; three sons, Calvin, Christopher and Benjamin Brockmyre; her parents, Dr. Daniel and Phyllis Compton Dye of Bristol Tennessee; one brother, Eric Daniel Dye and wife Mandy Mink Dye of Knoxville, Tenn.; and several nieces and nephews. The funeral service will be conducted at 2 p.m.Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009, at FirstBaptistChurch, BristolVirginia, with R.C. Sproul Jr., Laurence Windham, Wayne Hays and Mark Dewey officiating. The committal service and interment will be at 4 p.m. Sunday in RussellMemorialCemetery in Lebanon, Va. The family will receive friends from 6 8 p.m. Saturday at Akard Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Samaritan's Purse, P.O. Box 3000, Boone, NC28607 E-mail condolences may be sent to the family at akardfh@akardfuneralhome.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Akard Funeral Home, 1912 W. State St., Bristol, TN (423) 989-4800, is serving the family of Mrs. Brockmyre. |
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Ballistics gel dolls
Yesterday as I was driving the children to church, they were talking about how popular Legos are. We were discussing how long they've been around and how there have been other companies who have tried to imitate Legos throughout the years (Tyco, Mega Blocks, etc.), but we don't like those as well as true Legos.
Christopher said if he could, he would build a machine that would copy the best Lego sets and their instructions so that he could have as many as he wanted, but Micah said that would be copyright infringement. (We have talked a lot about this since we live in an age where it is very easy to steal someone else's ideas. We want the children to know that copyright infringement, plagiarizing, and other forms of illegal copying are bad . Too many people think it's ok to copy other people's ideas, but it isn't.)
After a discussion about the differences between a copyright and a patent, we talked about how the most successful, long-lasting toys throughout the years have been building-type toys. The things that come and go are the fast-paced toys that kids get bored with after a few weeks. They also seem to break more easily and end up increasing our land fills by millions of pounds each year, I'm sure. On the other hand, Blocks, Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, Legos and other building toys have held their interest for generations. I encouraged the children to think of some type of building toy that they could create and market one day.
They were very thoughtful for a bit and finally Daniel said, "We could make a doll." I was immediately thinking... "Oh, great. I can't wait to see where this goes. How are they going to make a doll into a building toy?"
All at once, everyone was talking...
- "Yeah, and it could have removable parts - arms, legs, hair, and everything."
- "And we could change it's head to different faces!"
- "And it could have different clothes, too."
After a few minutes, Christopher (the future doctor) said, "And we could even make little organs to go inside its body. We could have a liver, kidneys, a stomach, a heart, and other body parts and then we could take those out of the abdomen and study them. Then it would be a toy that would count as schoolwork, too!"
I just KNEW it would come to this...
So then Micah (the future scientist) said, "Yeah, and we could make the whole thing out of ballistics gel and then people could shoot the doll and study what happens to all the organs after you shoot it!"
Of course Hannah (the future Mommy who now loves dolls at age six) was going crazy at this point... "NO! You can't make a doll that you'll shoot. And I don't think you should take its organs out to study them, either!..."
Now I assure you that my children are not sociopaths. They are just very creative children with active imaginations. And I did ask them to think of a toy so I guess it was my own fault, after all. Fortunately, it's not a long drive to our church and we arrived just in time to end the conversation so that the children could go in and converse about something other than ballistics gel dolls, I'm sure.
Sonya Haskins
www.thehomeschooladvocate.com
Christopher said if he could, he would build a machine that would copy the best Lego sets and their instructions so that he could have as many as he wanted, but Micah said that would be copyright infringement. (We have talked a lot about this since we live in an age where it is very easy to steal someone else's ideas. We want the children to know that copyright infringement, plagiarizing, and other forms of illegal copying are bad . Too many people think it's ok to copy other people's ideas, but it isn't.)
After a discussion about the differences between a copyright and a patent, we talked about how the most successful, long-lasting toys throughout the years have been building-type toys. The things that come and go are the fast-paced toys that kids get bored with after a few weeks. They also seem to break more easily and end up increasing our land fills by millions of pounds each year, I'm sure. On the other hand, Blocks, Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, Legos and other building toys have held their interest for generations. I encouraged the children to think of some type of building toy that they could create and market one day.
They were very thoughtful for a bit and finally Daniel said, "We could make a doll." I was immediately thinking... "Oh, great. I can't wait to see where this goes. How are they going to make a doll into a building toy?"
All at once, everyone was talking...
- "Yeah, and it could have removable parts - arms, legs, hair, and everything."
- "And we could change it's head to different faces!"
- "And it could have different clothes, too."
After a few minutes, Christopher (the future doctor) said, "And we could even make little organs to go inside its body. We could have a liver, kidneys, a stomach, a heart, and other body parts and then we could take those out of the abdomen and study them. Then it would be a toy that would count as schoolwork, too!"
I just KNEW it would come to this...
So then Micah (the future scientist) said, "Yeah, and we could make the whole thing out of ballistics gel and then people could shoot the doll and study what happens to all the organs after you shoot it!"
Of course Hannah (the future Mommy who now loves dolls at age six) was going crazy at this point... "NO! You can't make a doll that you'll shoot. And I don't think you should take its organs out to study them, either!..."
Now I assure you that my children are not sociopaths. They are just very creative children with active imaginations. And I did ask them to think of a toy so I guess it was my own fault, after all. Fortunately, it's not a long drive to our church and we arrived just in time to end the conversation so that the children could go in and converse about something other than ballistics gel dolls, I'm sure.
Sonya Haskins
www.thehomeschooladvocate.com
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
National Ammo Day - November 19
I just thought this was interesting. : )
From www.ammoday.com....
From www.ammoday.com....
A brief explanation - What is National Ammo Day?
November 19 is National Ammo Day.
It is a nationwide BUYcott of ammunition. You buy ammunition. 100 Rounds a person.
The goals of Ammo Day:
The goal of National Ammo Day is to empty the ammunition from the shelves of your local gun store, sporting goods, or hardware store and put that ammunition in the hands of law-abiding citizens. Make your support of the Second Amendment known--by voting with your dollars!
There are an estimated 75 MILLION gun owners in the United States of America. If each gun owner or Second Amendment supporter buys 100 rounds of ammunition, that’s 7.5 BILLION rounds in the hands of law-abiding citizens!
The gun/ammunition manufacturers have been taking the brunt of all the frivolous lawsuits, trying to put these folks out of business. Well, not if we can help it! And we CAN help it by buying ammunition on November 19!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
The flu has come... with horrible lower back pain
I left the house around 11:30 on Friday feeling fine. My husband and I only have lunch about once every two months so we had arranged to eat lunch together, then I was going to pay bills and then work on my new book for a few hours. During lunch, the tea tasted way too strong so I didn't drink it and despite my delicious food, I started feeling nauseous so I couldn't eat. I had also started developing a headache so we requested a to-go box. Chris headed back to work and I headed out to pay bills.
Within the hour, I started feeling much worse. A LOT worse!
I quickly paid a few bills and then came home and went straight to bed. It was about 3:00. By the time Chris came home from work at 5:30, I was freezing, every part of my body hurt, I had a horrible headache, and I had developed diarrhea. We checked my temperature and it was 102.5. I had gone from feeling fine to feeling like I might die in just a few short hours. Due to my chronic health condition and lowered immune system, Chris called my doctor and he gave me some Tamiflu - antivirals. I think I would be much sicker now if I hadn't had those.
Friday night I spent the whole night freezing to death while Chris tried to comfort me. My whole body ached and my lower back was absolutely killing me. He tried to rub it, but every time he touched me it hurt.
Yesterday, last night and all day today I've remained miserable so I've been in bed most of the day. Since we're 99.9% certain that I have the flu (as certain as you can be without the official test), I expected the sudden onset, aches and chills, headache, etc., but I never anticipated the horrible pain in my lower back. I didn't know that was associated with influenza so this evening I've felt well enough to stay up a little while and I have found a few other bloggers who have said that one of their main symptoms was lower back pain. Interesting. Anyway, I just thought anyone else who is experiencing this might want to know that yes, it is possible to have horrible lower back pain with the flu. Other than the aches and chills, one of my other main symptoms has been absolutely excruciating stomach pain - like little gnomes are in my whole abdomen dancing with little knife-shaped shoes and poking up into the air with little knife-fingered gloves!
Well, my energy is sapped. I have to rest again. I hope to feel better in a few days, but meanwhile I'm thankful that at least tonight I don't think I'm going to die anymore like I did yesterday and even earlier this morning!
Sonya
Within the hour, I started feeling much worse. A LOT worse!
I quickly paid a few bills and then came home and went straight to bed. It was about 3:00. By the time Chris came home from work at 5:30, I was freezing, every part of my body hurt, I had a horrible headache, and I had developed diarrhea. We checked my temperature and it was 102.5. I had gone from feeling fine to feeling like I might die in just a few short hours. Due to my chronic health condition and lowered immune system, Chris called my doctor and he gave me some Tamiflu - antivirals. I think I would be much sicker now if I hadn't had those.
Friday night I spent the whole night freezing to death while Chris tried to comfort me. My whole body ached and my lower back was absolutely killing me. He tried to rub it, but every time he touched me it hurt.
Yesterday, last night and all day today I've remained miserable so I've been in bed most of the day. Since we're 99.9% certain that I have the flu (as certain as you can be without the official test), I expected the sudden onset, aches and chills, headache, etc., but I never anticipated the horrible pain in my lower back. I didn't know that was associated with influenza so this evening I've felt well enough to stay up a little while and I have found a few other bloggers who have said that one of their main symptoms was lower back pain. Interesting. Anyway, I just thought anyone else who is experiencing this might want to know that yes, it is possible to have horrible lower back pain with the flu. Other than the aches and chills, one of my other main symptoms has been absolutely excruciating stomach pain - like little gnomes are in my whole abdomen dancing with little knife-shaped shoes and poking up into the air with little knife-fingered gloves!
Well, my energy is sapped. I have to rest again. I hope to feel better in a few days, but meanwhile I'm thankful that at least tonight I don't think I'm going to die anymore like I did yesterday and even earlier this morning!
Sonya
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