I’m not a big TV watcher, but I will say that I am very excited to break out the Appletinis tonight and watch the season finale of Scrubs.
I love that show. And it’s a full hour tonight.
I even went out and bought two new martini glasses.
She’s Right, my live, call-in Channel 17 show, is on tomorrow at 5:25 PM. My guest will be former VT State Rep. Frank Mazur.
We made a really cool project for my mother for Mother’s Day.
The D went out and got some cherry blossoms from the tree outside and pressed then between two pieces of wax paper in a book overnight.
The next day, the kids sharpened crayons and sprinkled the wax around the flowers on the wax paper. I covered it with the top sheet of wax paper, and a sheet of printer paper, and ironed it lightly to melt the wax.
While I let it cool, I took two pieces of blue card stock and made a frame by drawing a straight line on each side a ruler-width from the edge, then cutting the center out with a craft knife and straight edge or ruler.
I trimmed the wax paper/crayon/flower creation to fit the frame and hot glued the frame on each side of the picture.
On the top of the frame, I glued a string to the two corners, in between the two layers of frame, to be used for hanging.
Here is a picture of our creation hanging in the window where the sunlight shines through.
As usual, at least until I get a better camera, or learn to use mine better, the photo does not do it justice. And, yes, those are Christmas lights on my porch. I bring new meaning to the term slacker.
I was reading this story this morning, which is “the second in a five-part series examining home schooling in northeast Kansas.” It talks about socialization.
There are extensive quotes from Bridget Biggs, an assistant professor in Kansas University’s clinical child psychology program.
She concedes:
that children who are bullied, rejected and continuously victimized can develop a negative self-concept, anxiety and even depression. There’s also evidence to suggest that peers can influence behaviors related to sexuality, drug and alcohol use, and delinquency.
But then she goes on to claim that children get “support and validation for who they are” from their same-aged peers.
I disagree. School-aged children do very little validating and a lot of cruel singling out, especially in a group setting like school.
Sure, when a child forms a good friendship, there is a lot of support there, but my homeschooled kids have good friendships with other children, too. What they don’t have is the unfortunate experience of being stuck in the same classroom all year with a bully who makes their lives miserable, peer pressure to like and dislike what everyone else does, or pressure to get into adult activities before they are mature enough.
Biggs also claims that children learn to think critically in peer groups, for example, when negotiating playground rules, and such critical thinking would not be developed in a parent-child situation where what the parent says goes.
I am not sure how such interactions could be completely avoided in a homeschool setting. Even in homes where outside socialization is not practiced, there are usually siblings. And even with parents, who are the final authority in many homes, there are still situations where the child is encouraged to work through things.
I just get so tired of this debate. There is really no ideal situation where we can guarantee that every child will have the perfect experience that will result in a well-adjusted, outgoing, socially adept person with positive, but not too positive, self-image.
All we can do is try to provide the best we can for our children, according to what we, as parents, know to be best for their individual needs.
The operative word here being “parents,” of course.
When I first became a Christian, I was all about not becoming one of *those* Christians. You know, the ones who are weird, different, almost sheltered in the way that they stay away from pop culture and all things normal.
So, I carried on with one foot in Christ and one foot in the ways of the world because I thought it made me relevant.
Well, it doesn’t make me relevant. It makes me a hypocrite. I am now beginning to realize that there are actually two ways that I can be a Christian hypocrite.
There is the way that was obvious to me all along, that I could work so hard at acting holy that I forget that I am still a sinner in need of daily forgiveness, and as a result, look down upon anyone who I think doesn’t measure up.
There is also the way that I was not so aware of, and have actually been guilty of, that I could take God’s grace so for granted that I forget that, though I am a sinner, I still need to follow Christ. I have come to realize that it is really not enough to be sorry for falling short and ask for forgiveness, I also need to walk the walk, which means often rejecting the ways of the world.
I really can’t continue on with one foot in each world and not be a hypocrite. Keeping one foot in the ways of the world requires me to do, see, and think things that are not compatible with what I am told in scripture, what I know is right living, what I profess to follow.
I was listening to the song “Tonight,” by Jeremy Camp, one day (video below) and I heard the lines:
Tonight, I will take my cross
Tonight, I will count this cost
I realized that I have never really counted the cost of being a disciple.
Sure, I have given up things, I have made sacrifices, but they were mostly material things that I didn’t really care that much about.
When it comes to the big things, the things I care about, like my image, my reputation, my delicate ego, I hadn’t counted the cost. I didn’t think I needed to. I thought I could carry on with one foot in the world.
But, I do. If I want to live the way I have been called to, to do the things I have been called to do, I need to count the cost because it will cost me.
“Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.” Luke 14:27-30
Technorati tags: Jeremy Camp, Christianity
The Carnival of Principled Government is up at Principled Discovery.
This week’s Carnival of Homeschooling is hosted at Palm Tree Pundit. Take a look at the beautiful pictures of the flowers from her backyard!
Hopefully this week’s carnival will avoid the controversy of last week. Be forewarned, there are a lot of anti-Christian comments, with plenty of stereotypical bias, in some of the posts related to said controversy.
In celebration of Mother’s Day, I want to tell you about a way to win prizes for sharing about your days as a mother.
It’s this thing called In the Motherhood. Leah Remini stars in a series of webisodes about the trials and tribulations of being a mother. The cool thing is that real mothers submit their real life stories to be used for the scripts.
You can join in and read the stories submitted by mothers and vote on your favorite. If your story is included in the final script, you win a fantastic prize pack.
I am going to have an ad for it in the sidebar, if you want to check it out.
Here’s the scoop:
I am anxious to get this blog going with posts on a regular basis, but this week , as I mentioned in a previous post, the older boys have been staying with my mother. I cannot believe how clingy Little E has been. He literally follows me around holding the back of my shirt.
I think he is scared to be in the apartment without anyone else here, but us. When he goes to throw something in the garbage, which is by the front door, he runs back really fast.
Last night, after three nights of sleeping alone in the room he and Big E share, he cried at bedtime that he was afraid to be there with out Big E. He did end up sleeping in there, though.
I haven’t really minded, though, because it has been wonderful to spend so much time with him, without two other children competing for my attention. He’s a very bright and joyful child. I have enjoyed him very much.
The blog will have to wait.
I do hope to get into a regular routine of posting more useful information about the things I do - homeschooling, cooking, cleaning, crafting, parenting - the good stuff. 
Today, my husband took the day off because we are going to see my sister in a dance performance at her college, which is out of town. Incidentally, my mother lives near the college, so she and the boys are going, too.
Afterward, Little E will finally get his night at Grandma’s before they all come home tomorrow. He has been literally counting down the days all week!
Have a good weekend and thanks for reading!
