Not Another Homeschool Blog

Update: Sept 2016.  Better. The main person that seemed to be sending employees over to specifically police me is gone. The still do things like act like the customer being there is keeping them from getting their jobs done... but the harassment has waned. I left a yelp review today.  Not something I do very often.  It is for: Park Avenue Thrift Outlet 134 S Clayton St Lawrenceville, GA 30046 Here it is.  They really made me lose my cool this weekend.  They suck.  I shop here regularly because I make costumes for a not-for-profit. I usually donate the costumes I create. This store gives me the best bang for my buck, and I tend to find interesting pieces. However, the staff makes me not want to come back.  I feel like they see customers as a hinderance to doing their job. They are busy forcing as many items onto the rack as possible and if you are flipping through a rack, they will just push by you and close the little opening you h...

I tend to be very quiet when I don't have control of my life... and I don't have control. It looks like our NYC experiment is almost over.  The timing is wrong to continue... but it all hinges on someone else deciding to hire hubby and him accepting.  We've been in this limbo for a couple of weeks. After apartment hunting and getting rejected for some sketchy reasons (a conversation for later), I found a nice place to move to, but it is on hold until the decision is cemented. As I emotionally separate from NYC, I also begin to realize that there are a lot of things I don't like... that are quite troubling indeed... also another conversation. In the meanwhile, my kids are pretty much all grown up, and repopulating the nest.  It dawns on my that big son won't be leaving for college in the fall... and as he re-arranges and cleans the basement, the realization that he will be around for a couple of years sets in. The little woman is also planning to take over ...

I haven't blogged.  I haven't written my favorite penpal.  I haven't even had a good tub soak! In NYC were about to move to a new apartment... It's been nearly a year. In ATL the business is going well and I'm preparing to design costumes for Children of Eden. And that's what is going on in my life. Things that have made me sad:   Prince Died. Trump is still running for President.  Things that made my happy: The kids will be home soon... my son until he decides he's ready to move out, and  my daughter for the summer.  I'm costuming Children of Eden.   And that's my update.  XOXO

I have a partial view for the WTC from my apartment Yes, NYC is a blast. But it is also stressful. And it is also hard. And I love it. And I don't like it so much. I thought I was going to blog about it a lot, but I don't like to be negative, and honestly, there are things that have been a strain. Living apart. Financial strain... it costs so much more than you'd think. Juggling being available for the kids. Taking care of the house. The way things are going right, now, we are probably in it for at least another year... But... we are starting the apartment hunt right now, as our current lease is up in May. We had no problem paying for rent insurance, the first time because if we were new tenants and also own a house, and they want to make sure you won't cut and run... but if you have been a perfect tenant for a year, and financially, you exceed the requirements, then why would you get a letter stating you need to renew this insurance, that amou...

This TED talk, and I love TED talks talks about applying the concept of Mastery in Public schools... but we homeschoolers already knew this. http://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve?utm_campaign=social&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_content=talk&utm_term=social-science

free learning games for grade 3 For early elementary school kids, I favor unschooling as a method of teaching, but not the kind of unschooling where the kids vegetate and don't want to do much of anything, so you leave them alone, kind of unschooling... instead the kind of unschooling where you don't really let them know you are teaching them, but you are.  Apps like the kind I mentioned in my last post would go a long way in doing that, but so would all the same games we played as children, counting games, calling our car colors, watching school house rock, and lots of reading and storytelling. Something I came across today would also fit into this, but it is for older kids.  Playing battleship using the periodic table. I wish I'd had this as a kid. Check it out!

I was watching a commercial this morning on ABC Mouse reading program and I heard the mention that the parent had tons of learning apps.  The word APPSCHOOLING  popped into my brain. Eureka! I thought, I just came up with a new homeschooling term. NOPE. I googled it and it already exists. Here are some links for you to enjoy. The Wired Homeschool Ben and Me appschooling (on pinterest) If I had another kid to homeschool, I would definitely take advantage of this way of homeschooling!  I would probably mount an iPad to the wall and load it up with educational apps and let the kid "play all day".  I think this would work great up until about 4th grade when kids start needing more structured instruction (in my opinion).