Update on Something that Irks Me

It is gone! We drove past the intersection the other day where that very offensive radio station advertised on a billboard & it has been replaced by a local grocery store ad. Unfortunately, I never did get around to sending my letter of complaint but hopefully someone else had & that is the reason it is gone. Next time, I will be a lot quicker on voicing my opinion!

Peace, munchesmom

Field Trip!

Took the munchkins on a field trip yesterday to our local art museum. We met my sister & three of her four boys there. All the kids had a great time. There was on exhibit featuring a local artist. In her 3D work, she used buttons, clothespins, patterned ties, & all kinds of other neat stuff. I had the kids look closely to see how many different household items she used. It was really neat.

In the European Art section, The Prophet kept wanting to know what the painting titles were. I had told him to ask at any time if he wanted to know. There was one about Christ's triumph of good over evil. When I told The Prophet the title, he said he thought that was Jesus.

We spent about an hour & a half exploring both floors of the museum. The kids enjoyed the kids section where they could actually touch things. There was a series of stations for children to draw, trace, stamp, etc. I think we spent most of our time there. Once we got to the photography section, I ran through it first to make sure there were no pictures to disturb the kids. It was a series of B&W photos showing life in a poor country & some of the photos would have bothered a couple of the kids. Both my sister & I have at least one child who gets scared / worried easily.

Overall, we had a really nice time & the kids were quite good for their first visit to an art museum. We also found out that teachers get in free. I called the museum later in the day to ask if Homeshcooling mothers counted & was told yes!

Peace, munchesmom

Something That Really Irks Me

One of our local radio stations (hard rock) has purchased advertising space on a billboard near an intersection I frequently go through. It is a close-up picture of a woman's ample chest & she is wearing an extremely tight white tank top. Their slogan is "Listen to ***FM & Pray for Rain!" Why, I ask, WHY is this allowed to be in a prominent location? I understand that people have a right to advertise, but this is something that I can't shield my children's eyes from when we go by it. We have a choice to listen to the radio stations we want & to avoid the ones that we don't, but I don't have a choice in avoiding this billboard. I am going to write to the radio station & complain, but can one little voice have any effect against the media? Probably not, but it's definitely worth trying.

Homeschool Update

Well, I guess it has been a while since I've blogged. I have not forgotten you, my dear readers! We've been busy lately with school & work.

School is going much better now. Sure, we still have our bad days, but don't we all? Reading has been going so well & I am very proud of The Prophet. We stopped using The Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading for a while. He did great with the first 35 lessons or so, but then got himself so frustrated & worked up. It was such a fight to get him to read. Now, he's picking up so much between his spelling book & the Little Stories for Little Folks from Catholic Heritage Curricula. It is a set of 45 individual readers & he loves them. We usually work on two at a time - one that he knows fairly well & one that he's just learning. Once he does the first one perfectly it's time to move on to the next book.

This week in History, we've been talking about Abraham & his family. The second part of the chapter was the story of Joseph being sold by his brothers & ending up working for the Pharoah. Tomorrow's craft project is to make Joseph's Coat of Many Colors. I bought a men's large button-down shirt at Walmart last week. He's going to paint it w/ fabric paints. He's really looking forward to it.

He's gotten to the second poem for memorization in his language text. Once again, he amazed me & gotten most of it down on the first day after hearing it only 3 times. Why doesn't he remember the things I've asked him to do as well as he memorizes his poems?!?! Hmmmmm!

Peace,
munchesmom

Our First Official Week of School

Well, last week was our first official week - instead of just Science & History, we're doing it all! It did not go as well as I had hoped. The Prophet really enjoyed all of his school subjects except when we got to reading. As soon as I pulled out The Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading, he started complaining that he hates reading. This is the same book we used last year & even though he picked up on reading quickly, he still balked then too. I thought this year might be different. After many frustrations on both sides & a stressed out email to my sister, she suggested we put the book aside & just concentrate on reading regular books together. He also likes to do worksheets, so I found some phonics ones on various websites. So, for now, that is what we are doing & things have been a bit more peaceful.

The other tough part of our official week was keeping The Archangel & The Princess occupied while I worked w/ The Prophet. I would give The Archangel some worksheets to do on his own, but the problem is that he seems to need affirmation after each page. I just couldn't get him to realized that I needed to work w/ his brother for a bit. I'm working on putting together a box of toys & activities for them to do just during school time. Hopefully, that will keep them busy, at least for a few minutes!

So that is where we are at the moment. Sorry it's been a while since I've posted. Last week just wasn't a great week. We're off to a good start this week, though.

Peace, munchesmom