Subway Boycott - Let's get real

First of all, my feathers didn't get all in a ruffle over the Subway contest. The top prize is for playground equipment that we really don't have any use for. Of course we could use the $100 gift card, but it's not available to us at this time. I'd also like a 1978 Corvette, but that's not available to me either.
Subway is being raked over the coals for exercising free enterprise. Have you heard of "Free Enterprise"? It's an American ideal. It says that Subway can choose what kind of contest it wants to run and they can set the rules. To make sure everyone is included and not offended would be communism, wouldn't it? Aren't there activities that we participate in that excludes those who attend public schools and private schools? What about our co-ops? Do we exclude cyber schoolers because they are considered public school? We have that right, right? PrairieFrog Blog makes a good point when she says, "It would be entirely different if they were refusing service to paying homeschooling patrons, or seating homeschoolers in a separate section, but we've become so petty we get up in arms if even gifts and donations aren't all inclusive." She goes on to explain her point and I encourage you to visit her blog so I won't have to repeat it all here.
To lighten things up a little - Of course Subway doesn't want to include homeschoolers. They don't want us to dominate yet another academic competition. We already have the National Spelling Bee and the National Geography Bee.
2006 National Spelling Bee
2007 National Spelling Bee
2005 National Geography Bee
2007 Geography Bee - This is the first girl in 17 years and she was a homeschooler
2008 National Geography Bee Finalists - Check out Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, and Montana.
Instead of putting our energy to boycotting Subway, why not put our energy into doing the best we can in the competitions that are open to homeschoolers?

Greek Festival

We attended a Greek Festival in Camp Hill, Pa today and we had a blast. It took us about an hour to drive there, but it was worth it. There was lots of food, Greek dancing, music, art and a tour of the church which included a history of the orthodox church dating back to 25 A.D. It was fascinating.

The food was amazing. They had an "A La Carte" section where we ordered. We put all of the food on the table like a little buffet and everyone got to taste everything. I didn't try anything I didn't like. Did I say the food was amazing? Oh yes, and they had desserts, too. Just amazing. I even tried a Greek coffee. It got a little gritty toward the bottom of the cup, but it was very good. I guess I drank it around 4:30. Right now it's close to midnight and I think I'm still feeling a little buzz.

The traditional dancing left me a little envious. My mother's family is Serbian Orthodox and all of my cousins had the opportunity to learn the traditional Serbian dances while we were growing up. If I lived closer to Pittsburgh, my kids would learn those dances as well. As it stands, we live in a cultural wasteland where zoning denies any culture from infiltrating into our area unless you count tattoo parlors as art. (Ooh, did I say that out loud?)Anyway, we had a great time and I highly recommend this festival as a field trip.

So much going on....

Chicken update - The chickens now reside outside instead of in our basement. We had them in a huge rubbermaid container and one morning I walked into the basement and one was perched on the edge of the container. That night, they were outside.

Tadpoles - A good friend called one afternoon to tell me that she found tadpoles at our local park. I was thrilled. The first chance we had, we went over and scooped some up for a nature study. I was thrilled that even my 3 year old wanted to make a page for his nature journal.

Homeschool Evaluations - Evaluation season is starting here in Pennsylvania. I really enjoy this time of year when I get the opportuntiy to do evaluations. I really look forward to this time of year for this reason. It's fun to see all the creative projects and field trips that families have participated in.

Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival - Today, we went on a field trip to Maryland's Sheep & Wool Festival. It was a blast. We watched a demonstration of sheep dogs herding sheep. We also saw some unique art, listened to music that was fun and music that was beautiful and I was able to get a funnel cake (one of my favorite parts of any summertime festival).

The weeks ahead - May is a very busy month. Tomorrow evening I will be hosting a Portfolio Share at my house. This will be an opportunity for those new to homeschooling in Pennsylvania to see what goes into a portfolio. On May 12, I will be giving a seminar on what a Charlotte Mason education is and how to do it and still comply with Pa homeschool law. I am really looking forward to that evening. At the end of the month, we will be taking 4 days to go camping in a cabin at a state park that is about an hour away. I am really looking forward to that annual family event as well.
Somewhere in there, we will be continuing to work on Ancient Greece and all that goes with it. Over the summer, I plan to have the kids do a math page out of their Math-U-See books each day except weekends. I am also planning lots of trips and other fun activities, but dont' tell the kids they might learn from it, because then they might resist.

Building Shelves

We are making another attempt at putting our house on the market. I know, I know... this is the worst housing market in recorded history. Nontheless, we are hopeful to get a bigger piece of property in the area where we currently live.
Anyway, as part of this, we decided to clean up our house so the realtor would take us seriously. We felt that all the clutter in our house might be a deterent for a potential buyer.
I managed to fill 4 large garbage cans and took 2 loads to Goodwill. That has helped tremendously. I also got cubic shelving units for the kids' rooms. That turned into an impromptu homeschool project in which all the kids participated.
Now I'm working on where to put this in our portfolio. Pa homeschool law doesn't list "life skills" as a mandatory subject. Hmmmm....Let's see.......Language Arts? They had to read and follow the directions. Math? Count out the correct amount of nails. Consumer mathematics? If the house is tidy, we might get a better offer. Art? Building a useful shelf to make our rooms neater and prettier. This was a very "hands-on" activity and has value and there must be some place to put it.


Below are pictures that tell the story better than I can.

Using real tools

DS's room Before

DS's room after

Dd's room before

Dd's room after

Chickens!

We are turning into a regular farm here. Have I mentioned that we live on a fifth of an acre in town? Yes, one fifth of an acre.

The borough says that we can have any type of animal here but pigs. So now we have three chickens. I felt it would be a good experience for the kids to watch them grow and take care of them. They can keep track of them in their nature journals. We are going to use Anna Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study to guide us in this little adventure.


Here are a couple of pictures....



This used to be a happy little playhouse. Is it our new barn?



The chicks seem happy here!




A closer look.




A farmer boy in the making.

20 Great Reasons You Homeschool by Jim Erskine

For a printable version, click here.

National Aquarium in Baltimore

Our homeschool group raised money through various fundraisers to get a bus to take us to Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Once there, each family could do their own thing according to their homeschooling goals and objectives. At the Inner Harbor you can find The National Aquarium in Baltimore, The Maryland Science Center, USS Constellation, USS Torsk (submarine) , Baltimore's World Trade Center.

What a day! Being a homeschool family, we are a little spoiled with when we have to get up in the morning. This morning, I had to get the kids up at 6:30 (about 2 - 3 hours earlier than usual). We met our homeschool group at 8am and we were off. It was a pleasant ride and it was very exciting when we got to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. It's been a couple of years since I have been to the aquarium and they had a whole new section that was built and had an Australian exhibit in it to include a habitat complete with flying foxes (giant bats). It was very cool.

All three of my kids were fascinated by the rays and the sharks. It was cool to be up close to the glass and have a shark swim by so we could get a good look at all those teeth.

We had a great time "Finding Nemo". We also spotted Dorey there.

The trip was well worth it. Although Baltimore is only about an hour and a half drive from where we live, getting the bus was worth it. I wasn't stressed when we got there because I didn't have to navigate city traffic or find a parking space AND I had a chance to talk to friends during the trip.

The giant Barnes & Noble bookstore right next to the aquarium was a huge temptation to me. It took all there was in me not to go there. My kids even commented that I should stop staring at the bookstore and get into the aquarium fast. Oh well, maybe next time.

Did I mention that our trip was on a bus with a bathroom? Once my little man learned this, he had to go to the bathroom an awful lot! The picture above is about his 5th trip to the bathroom in about 20 minutes.