madameblogalot

I just finished reading Tom Sawyer today. I have been having my daughter do some writing activities over the novel, which she finished reading about two weeks ago. So I thought I’d better finish it. She said she did not enjoy it that much. She went on to say that she doesn’t like any book I make her read for school. That both this book and Tuck Everlasting would probably have been more enjoyable if it was not “required” reading.

I guess I know how she feels. I did not really enjoy most of the things we were required to read in school. The only one I remember enjoying is To Kill A Mockingbird. And I think Tom Sawyer was a little different than anything she has read before. I know it is good for her to stretch herself, even if she doesn’t realize it now!

No, this is not a post about differing political parties! This last Sunday, my husband brought up some facts about “left brained” people and “right brained” people. He started with a little experiment. He said to clasp our hands together. Then we were to look down and see which thumb was on top. Which ever was on top, the opposite side of our brain is the one we tended to use more. Then he read a list of traits exhibited by the “lefties” and the “righties”. The right brains tend to have great ideas, tend to see the big picture, also get distracted and drop the ball on these great ideas. They seem less organized. They can be perceived by the lefties as being less smart. There were many others that he read, but I knew as he read that he was describing himself. The leftties are the opposite. Like lists, can’t come up with creative ideas, but can take a righties idea and follow through with it. Not as easily distracted. Seen as more organized, etc. The lady next to me asked my husband if he knew what I am. Based on the lists, he knew he is a rightie and I am a leftie. The thumb experiment did not really work for every one, but based on the lists, it was easier to tell which side of the brain one tends to rely on more often.

This weekend I am taking my son to the play Frost vs. Nixon. It is a reenactment of the televised interview between David Frost and Richard Nixon. I am looking forward to it for a few reasons. I don’t know much about the Watergate scandal; it’s something I’ve never really understood too well. My son loves history and I think this will be the kind of show he will like. And of course, spending time with my son is good.

But in preparing to see this show, I think I missed a great opportunity. There is a study guide available. I read through it when I first ordered the tickets, but decided I just would not have time to go through it with my son since he now attends public school, though we would both enjoy the study. I did think about printing it out and letting him read through it before and/or after the show. I think it will help answer some questions and help to understand that era better.

But I had the perfect opportunity to use this guide and to spend the time studying with my son while he was out of school for two and a half weeks due to Hurricane Ike. I did have him do some studying every day he was home, but this would have been the perfect study for him. It would not have required a lot of time each day and would have set up the performance perfectly. It would have been the kind of thing we did when he was being homeschooled. What kind of a homeschool mom am I that I would let such an opportunity go to waste??!! I do regret that I did not think about/remeber it at the time! I did print out the study guide today for him to read through, but it would have been just right to have him do the assignments while he was home for those 12 days! I am lamenting the missed opportunity to have homeschooled with him again, if only for a couple of weeks!!

A few posts back you see where I talked about my daughter reading Tuck Everlasting. One of her assignments was to post a review on Amazon.com. You can find her review of the book here . Although she did not really review the book outside of saying “good book” and filling in four stars, I do like how she summed up the story.

My daughter started a new book today, Tuck Everlasting. I really like this book (more so than the movie.) I hope she enjoys it as well. I think she will. It raises the question of “What would it be like to live forever? What would it really be like?” Now I just need to get her activity packet together. The way she reads, she’ll be done in a day or two!

I got this in an email today. It is written by a group of homeschooled students.

IKE

Tall waves warning doom
Ikes unexpected mercy
chaotic echoes….

- written by the Clear Lake Literary Club

School starts tomorrow. I am not really ready. I mean, I have lesson plans ready for my daughter. But I am not really ready.

I don’t really understand why so many parents go around saying they can’t wait for school to start, their kids are driving them crazy! I mean, ok, my kids drive me crazy too. But I cannot stand the thought of sending my son back into that artificial world of public school. I don’t like the demands the peers and sports put on him. I don’t like the values that are taught. I don’t like the required reading. And yet, I am letting him choose to go back. No, in that sense, I am not ready for school to start.

As for my daughter, it will be just me and her this year. I have her lessons ready. As usual, I think there will be some fun things for her to learn (us to learn together.) I am actually reusing the Texas history unit we did three years ago. She agreed to it, but now is balking at it! She will also start off with an Agatha Christie unit study with the book And Then There Were None. She is also starting a formal science curriculum-which she says she is not looking forward to!

Things will be different this year, I guess that is usual for us! But no, I am not ready for school to start…

When I read something that is written for the public, it bothers me to see typos and misspelled words. I understand that we all make mistakes and that errors happen very easily. What I don’t understand is the lack for an editing process. If a work is being presented for others, wouldn’t it be best to gain their trust in you as the author/provider of service?

Here is an example I encountered just today. I found a website which buys and resells homeschool textbooks and curriculum. I like this and think it is a very good service, one which is needed and used within the homeschool community. But on the Home page of the site, I notice a “typo”. Then I went to another page. Another “typo”. By now I am thinking it may not just be a “typo”. When I checked it out on my word processor, I actually found another misspelled word, one not so easily caught because most of us mispronounce it! So now I am wondering if it wasn’t one or more of the students who are actually putting together this website. That is great. I think it’s good experience for them and probably lets them deal with an area of expertise that mom and dad may not have or have time for. All good. But, shouldn’t the site be edited before posting? At least run it through a spell checker!

So, should I email this company to alert them of their editing problems? I have done this for friends whom I think would want to have things correct on their websites. But I have never dealt with this company at all before. I know that I would be more likely to use their service if they had proper spelling on their business website! Or am I just being picky?