Friday, August 09, 2013

Time to catch up

Been a while so:

Beginning to think all of our colds and flus for the last couple of years are allergies. I have been watching the pollen count on an app on my tablet and notice that "colds" come and go with the tree pollen. Now that tree pollen is down and  weed pollen is up, symptoms have changed.

Now what? I don't want my dc on perminant meds, but I don't want them misrable either. The number one "natural" cure for allergies is raw, unfiltered, local honey. I do have a source (the man who butchers our animals for us), but since he is just getting started, he doesn't have enough for us. I need to check some other sources out, though expect they will be expensive.

Mom has 10 radiation treatments left. Yeah! Almost done with this.

Dad is looking much better. I was quite worried about him for a while. It turns out his teeth have been bothering him. Mom has been buying softer cuts of meat and chopping his veggies finer and he is eating more, his color is good, and he has more days with energy.

Coupons are discouraging. Yet, I do see a tiny bit of difference. Due to planned camping trips this month I need to keep the grocery bill very low (and still, somehow, buy the more expensive food for camping). I know I won't have to spend any money on toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, or a few other things during this time because coupons+sales have allowed me to stock up my cupboards (stocking up is an essential part of couponing, disaster preparedness, and tin foil hat conspiracies). I guess that is a benefit, though too small for my impatient self.

Got my brother married off- twice. They came up here in June and had a small wedding since mom and dad simply weren't up to going down south in July, when they had a big wedding. They just got back from their honeymoon and are gearing up for the school year (He's a high school special ed teacher).

The unemployed ladies in our church found jobs. Now we just have to get the men working...

Nearly every street in our neighborhood has at least two houses for sale/empty. Recovery? Where?

I have come to the conclusion that no homeschool method is perfect. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. So I need to switch around every couple of years to get my children the best, right?

Ok, I'll admit it. I get bored and need a change every so often.

This time I think we'll try the Robinson Curriculum. Dr Robinson and his wife decided to homeschool for religious reasons, moved to 100 acres in Oregon, set up his lab (he's a chemist, she was also a scientist and his lab assistant), and had six kids. Becasue she didn't know if they would always have enough money for curriculum she assembled everything they would ever need to teach all their dc all the way through 12th grade.

Then she died.

With 6dc, 1 1/2-12 years old, a science business, a home and a farm to run, Dr Robinson couldn't do what most of us hs moms do and sit with our dc holding their hands every step of their education. He began by having them do a math lesson a day and worked from there. Eventually he and his children scanned all those books into a computer, produced a 22 cd set which they now sell as the "Robinson Curriculum." For $195 you get all you need (except math books) to educate an infinit number of children k-12. Good deal!

I have read their whole website, "liked" them on facebook, and joined a couple of yahoo groups. I understand now how the whole system works. I was also able to get a list of the books on the cd's.


Know what? I don't like them.



Oh, some of them I do. I've read them to my own children. But the list is obviously what a woman living rural Oregon in the 1990's had available to her right then. We have so much more available now! (My oldest was born in 92 so I am quite familiar with what was available then compared to now.)


So I'm making my own list. It is made up mostly of what I have at my house, my parent's house and our church library. Oh, and Kindle. I threw in some books from "real book" type reading lists in the areas my list might be a bit weak.

So far the list is 8 pages, two columns, 14pt areil font.

Guess I had better cut that down some.

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