End of the week, finally

The week is winding down with a giant blah...lol. As always with payday I ran around like a chicken with its head cut off. Sage to the vet, grocery shopping and bill paying. I am tired but wide awake of course so I figured I would get a bit of writing done.

The coming week is gonna be interesting. Rhiannon is fully into her school work, the dog should get her stitches out and I plan to start painting the boys room. He loves the chalk bored paint I did on his door. once his room is red and blue his will really love it. I plan to get everything cleaned up and moved around then pain while he and his dad are gone for the weekend. Thats another HUGE thing! I convinced Donovan to take him to visit his great grandma.The old lady is dying and has never seen him so its my good karma for some one who I have no love loss with.

   Rhiannon and I are looking forward to a nice relaxing male free holiday weekend. We plan to watch movies, eat stuff we normally wouldnt get and paint. It should be really fun. I think we may even lite a fire in the fire pit and roast marshmellows.

So once more into the sun....

     I have been working on uploading more of the stuff off my phone. I REALLY need to replace the USB cord, it would be so much easier and less time consuming than e-mail stuff to myself...lol. I thought this is just a great picture of Grandpa Bill and Gareth. Bill took Rhiannon to her first day of school til we pulled her out of publice schools so it was a huge deal that he was here for Gareths first day of school. Definatly a picture I need to print up and frame for Gareths room.

   The weather has been gorgeous today again. Rhiannon and I have been working around the house. I am on I guess you would say a fall clean up and clean out, Most of it is working towards our goal of doing a green christmas, but I will blog more about that as we get a better idea of what we are doing.

Goofing off and random stuff

Gareth is having a BLAST at Kindergarden! He has been going to bed with little to no issue, getting up and getting around and out the door...just generally having a blast. He packs his lunch every night and is so proud to show his teacher every day. Ms.Justice is apparently the best teacher ever...lol. Today I think he threw her off when he asked if he can bring his snake to school.

We had to explain that Fluffy is acctually his sisters snake. Maybe once the kids have some time in class under their belts we will bring him up for show and tell. Gareth is totally jelous of his sister over the Boa, he wants one so bad now too.

Frasure family values(cue addams family theme song here)

  As much as irritates me at times we do live in a very conservative state. I accept this and try to work around the parts I find wrong. The true injustice of this is when I try to work within the structure and find in balking at its own ideals.

   How many times have we heard politicians drone on and on about a return to traditional family values? This seems to be the call of every election time and really is it possible? I would have to say in the 1950's sense no. However in the sense of valuing my children and sacrificing some material gain in order to better their live yes it is completely possible. So why is it when parents such as myself attempt to stay home and educate our kids in the virtual system are we treated as suspect?

    I could be working full time, sending my kids to school with little thought to what is really going on, but I think more of the future and of them than to just blindly accept that the school will take care of their needs.  Yes for the kids who wouldnt have otherwise eaten a free breakfast may be great....however what effect does that sugar and carb laden meal have on most kids? And they wonder why kids have issues sitting still? Sugar coated cereals and sugar coated cinnoman toast in the morning and then lunches heavy on potatoes and corn products produce energy that isnt getting used. Yet recess and physical education are becoming things of the past.
  
   So what are your typical 5th and 6th graders doing for the begining of their school years?  First and for most reviewing the last years material they have likely forgotten over the summer, where as while we lightened the load we never quit learning and working. The scariest thing I have seen is the shear amount of school supplies middle and high school students are expected to purchase this year. Things like entire rheems of copier paper.....and they can loose grades over these things. How is this legal?  GPA can mean the complete difference in some of these kids futures and they could loose out due to not being able to afford supplies? Just when I thought my opinion of the education system couldnt get any lower. Wow, and yet the superintendants of OKC and Tulsa school districts make over 150k a year and the state super makes in the range of a quarter of a million dollars a year. Yet we are told there is all this budget crisis in our schools? The only thing I see is a group of over paid people who have failed kids for years while blaming others and casting doubt on any hope or change that might benifit anyone other than themselves.


     Okay That was the rant for the day I added to the daily Oklahoman. Whatever happened to people being able to think for themselves??  As a whole people dont question what they are told, blindly follow the status quo and are little better than sheep. (sheeple) I was offended at the blind stupidity I have seen from the people who because a state official says something it simply must be true.

   Today around here has been pretty relaxing. I got up and made blueberry pancakes for everyone. The kids thought they had died and gone to heaven...lol.  They even had home made blue berry syrup to go with them. I have been in the mood to cook the last couple of days. We had meatloaf with mashed yukon golds with roasted garlic last night. Like I said, major mood to cook.  I have been sitting here contimplating what to make for a late lunch/early supper. Gareth is asleep so I guess it can wait for now

Randomly some what important first post

Okay, so here it goes and I have broken down and started a blog..... mostly to doccument and chronicle our virtual/home schooling experience.


    As some may already know Rhiannon and I joined in Epic Charter Schools law suit against the state of Oklahoma. This has been both good and bad in that we did win a victory for students in our state but bad in that we may be not able to start with Epic until next year and left to home school for the year on our own. Thankfully we were prepared for a fight and the possibility of all of this.

   Gareth started Kindergarden in LPS today. Alot of people think its odd I chose to enroll him in a traditional brick and mortar school when I have been fighting so hard for virtual schools. I dont see it as anything but the statement I have made from the start of all of this, education should be determined by the child not by lumping all of them together. What has worked for Rhiannon likely wont work for Gareth and why wouldnt I do what in the best interest of each of my kids.

   This coming week Rhiannon and I will begin a Lit. unit on Shakespeare. We are reading The Taming of the Shrew as a starter. I figured it was an easier place to start with the comedies.  The history surrounding the globe and a spelling list to go with it are in the works as well. With Gareth having school I am hoping we can move more smoothly through the more advanced subjects this year, including pre-algebra.