Here's a brief rundown of some highlights for the Hood family in 2007:
A - Alcatraz Island Tour in December, Awana Ministry (Andy & Westin are the Game Directors; Stephanie & Susie are theStore Managers).
B - Blogging for Stephanie, Bicycling for Andy, Bowling for Westin, Babysitting for Susie.
C - Cindy, our orange & black tortie cat.
D - Day 7, South Hills Community Church Youth Group.
E - Exercising more regularly at Right Stuff.
F - Families' Annual Snow Trip to Pinecrest in February with 10 other families.
G - Grandma & Grandpa Brown lived with us for 3 months while Grandma recovered from knee replacement surgery.
H - Homeschooling high schoolers! 4H Projects include Hiking, Scrapbooking, and Candy-Making.
I - IBM, Andy completed his tenth year as an IBM employee.
J - Jazmine the Light Brahma, our first hen, had to find a new home. She couldn't defend herself against the hen-pecking of our Barred Rock, Chloe.
K - Kansas, our Golden Seabright bantam hen, is practicing with Susie for the Hollister Poultry Show this Saturday.
L - Libraries, we love them!
M - Mount Madonna Camping Trip in August with friends, Math class co-op, Mystery Spot tour in January.
N - New chicks to raise and add to the coop in the backyard which Andy & the kids built during the summer.
O - October Trip to Disneyworld Florida. An exhausting week of total family fun and togetherness!
P - Piano lessons continue for Westin.
Q - Quinton and Michelle (Stephanie's bro & sis) spend Christmas Eve & Christmas Day with us.
R - Riflery 4H Project. Westin earns Junior Marksmanship pin. River Raft Float Trip with AWL Homeschooled teens group in June.
S - Shakespeare plays: Shady Shakes's Macbeth, SF Shake's Midsummer Nights Dream, Theatreworks's Twelfth Night.
T - Towncats Shelter, where Susie volunteers every Saturday for adoption day. She also cares for the cats 3 days per week at Petco who are awaiting a new home.
U - Using our resources, gifts, and talents to serve others.
V - Victory Sports League, a weekly homeschooled recreation co-op.
W - Westin turned 16; Susie turned 13.
X - Xmas presents included a Yamaha keyboard for Westin, a Yamaha guitar for Susie, Mythbusters DVDs for Andy, and a Farberware knifeset for me. My sister Michelle also gave me an ipod shuffle!
Y - Yellow Rock & Rollers is the Youth Square Dance club we dance with every Friday Night.
Z - Zucchini, green beans, peas, lettuce, spinach, and tomatoes from our garden...Yum!
Happy New Year Everyone!!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Laughing at ourselves
This year I have enjoyed video parodies. My favorite is Weird Al Yankovic's "White and Nerdy." I discovered Weird Al's musical parodies when I was in college 20 years ago. When I first
saw his recent video "White and Nerdy," I laughed so hard I cried, my ribs hurt, I immediately had to watch it 3 more times to catch all the white and nerdy references. In case you haven't seen it, or want to again, here's the YouTube link:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-xEzGIuY7kw
Another one I enjoyed was "Baby Got Book," created by Momentum Church, extols the virtues of oversized KJV Bibles, sung to the tune of a famous rap song, all tongue-in-cheek of course.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tTYr3JuueF4
Yesterday someone sent A Homeschool Family parody link to one of my YahooGroups. Sung to the tune of "The Addams Family," it plays up many stereotypes of homeschoolers in a creative and professional looking video.
http://www.doublesharpevideo.com/HomeSchool2/Homeschool2.html
Being a white (somewhat nerdy) Christian homeschooler, I can relate to the stereotypes in each of these videos. All these parodies were created by the "type" of person being teased. In other words, we are laughing at ourselves, not being malicious towards others. This kind of laughter is good medicine.
saw his recent video "White and Nerdy," I laughed so hard I cried, my ribs hurt, I immediately had to watch it 3 more times to catch all the white and nerdy references. In case you haven't seen it, or want to again, here's the YouTube link:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-xEzGIuY7kw
Another one I enjoyed was "Baby Got Book," created by Momentum Church, extols the virtues of oversized KJV Bibles, sung to the tune of a famous rap song, all tongue-in-cheek of course.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tTYr3JuueF4
Yesterday someone sent A Homeschool Family parody link to one of my YahooGroups. Sung to the tune of "The Addams Family," it plays up many stereotypes of homeschoolers in a creative and professional looking video.
http://www.doublesharpevideo.com/HomeSchool2/Homeschool2.html
Being a white (somewhat nerdy) Christian homeschooler, I can relate to the stereotypes in each of these videos. All these parodies were created by the "type" of person being teased. In other words, we are laughing at ourselves, not being malicious towards others. This kind of laughter is good medicine.
Little Heathens
I’m currently reading a memoir by Mildred Armstrong Kalish called Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression. During the height of the Depression in the 1930’s Mildred’s father left the family, and her mother took the children to live with the author’s stern but loving grandparents. The author vividly describes incidents from her rural childhood and reflects upon their significance in shaping the trajectory of her life. The picture on the back sleeve shows Mrs. Kalish, now in her eighties, standing next to a woodpile and leaning on an axe. I love this book which offers glimpses of the hard work and joys of childhood in a previous generation. One representative anecdote gives you a good idea of the book’s style and explains the title:
“The whole family worked all day in this manner until all of the hay from the field had been gathered…When dusk came, Mama would fetch a steaming kettle of water from the kitchen stove and bring it out to the porch where, during the summer months, we set up a washing station…She started with us girls, giving us a soaping from head to toe and sending us, towels and nightgowns in hand and naked as jaybirds, across the grassy lawn to the windmill. Once there, Sis and I pumped pails of refreshing cold water and doused each other all over until we fairly tingled…When Grandma learned of this audacious ceremony, she tore into us, using her favorite term ‘littleheathen.’ ‘A body’d think you had no upbringing,’ she proclaimed…Grandma’s displeasure merely reinforced our child-centered belief that all was as it should be. The exhausting labors of our day, the soothing soaping with warm water, the exquisite drenching with the cold fresh water, and the donning of the clean cotton nighties at the end of the ritual bonded us so completely to one another and to Mama that there was no room for such a critic.” P. 111
My own maternal grandmother was similarly raised on a Midwestern farm in the early decades of the last century, and I’m reading Little Heathens with her in mind; Mrs. Kalish’s vivid descriptions are filling in a piece of family history for me. In 1983 my grandma wrote down some of her own childhood memories, which could easily have been passages from Little Heathens:
“Then [my parents] moved to northwestern Kansas and settled on a farm. Here [dad] raised sheep and did some gardening. The place was on Beaver Creek, so there were trees, some wild fruits such as plums and grapes, etc… In 1902 when I, Susan Emily, was one year old, we moved to Goodland, county seat of Sherman County. We were now on the open prairies, away from creeks, rivers or lakes. To secure water deep wells needed to be drilled. My father hired a well driller to drill enough wells to furnish water for the extensive gardening. He made a large reservoir for storing the water and to let it out into ditches to water the garden. A windmill was set up, and that part of Kansas always has plenty of wind, but little rain. As soon as any of us children were old enough to be useful, we were put to hoe-weeding and picking beans and tomatoes. As a child I felt sorry for our neighbor’s children because they worked less hours than we did. I thought they just would not grow up to amount to as much as they would if they worked more now… My parents sold produce from door to door …they also sold cream, butter and eggs. Our table was always stocked well with a variety of vegetables, milk, eggs, home baked bread, and a smaller amount of meat. We were more fortunate than our neighbors as regards food variety, but were taught stringent economy in all things. Of course I would have been delighted had my parents furnished a stocking cap to wear to school instead of a bright colored woolen scarf, but I did not expect such a luxury and was satisfied to wrap my head with the warm scarf in cold weather.”
We Americans today know little of the self-sufficient frugality that was a part of life just a century ago. I consider myself a thrifty person, and by Silicon Valley standards we live simply. However, Little Heathens is giving me a great appreciation for what our ancestors went through, and teaching me humility.
“The whole family worked all day in this manner until all of the hay from the field had been gathered…When dusk came, Mama would fetch a steaming kettle of water from the kitchen stove and bring it out to the porch where, during the summer months, we set up a washing station…She started with us girls, giving us a soaping from head to toe and sending us, towels and nightgowns in hand and naked as jaybirds, across the grassy lawn to the windmill. Once there, Sis and I pumped pails of refreshing cold water and doused each other all over until we fairly tingled…When Grandma learned of this audacious ceremony, she tore into us, using her favorite term ‘littleheathen.’ ‘A body’d think you had no upbringing,’ she proclaimed…Grandma’s displeasure merely reinforced our child-centered belief that all was as it should be. The exhausting labors of our day, the soothing soaping with warm water, the exquisite drenching with the cold fresh water, and the donning of the clean cotton nighties at the end of the ritual bonded us so completely to one another and to Mama that there was no room for such a critic.” P. 111
My own maternal grandmother was similarly raised on a Midwestern farm in the early decades of the last century, and I’m reading Little Heathens with her in mind; Mrs. Kalish’s vivid descriptions are filling in a piece of family history for me. In 1983 my grandma wrote down some of her own childhood memories, which could easily have been passages from Little Heathens:
“Then [my parents] moved to northwestern Kansas and settled on a farm. Here [dad] raised sheep and did some gardening. The place was on Beaver Creek, so there were trees, some wild fruits such as plums and grapes, etc… In 1902 when I, Susan Emily, was one year old, we moved to Goodland, county seat of Sherman County. We were now on the open prairies, away from creeks, rivers or lakes. To secure water deep wells needed to be drilled. My father hired a well driller to drill enough wells to furnish water for the extensive gardening. He made a large reservoir for storing the water and to let it out into ditches to water the garden. A windmill was set up, and that part of Kansas always has plenty of wind, but little rain. As soon as any of us children were old enough to be useful, we were put to hoe-weeding and picking beans and tomatoes. As a child I felt sorry for our neighbor’s children because they worked less hours than we did. I thought they just would not grow up to amount to as much as they would if they worked more now… My parents sold produce from door to door …they also sold cream, butter and eggs. Our table was always stocked well with a variety of vegetables, milk, eggs, home baked bread, and a smaller amount of meat. We were more fortunate than our neighbors as regards food variety, but were taught stringent economy in all things. Of course I would have been delighted had my parents furnished a stocking cap to wear to school instead of a bright colored woolen scarf, but I did not expect such a luxury and was satisfied to wrap my head with the warm scarf in cold weather.”
We Americans today know little of the self-sufficient frugality that was a part of life just a century ago. I consider myself a thrifty person, and by Silicon Valley standards we live simply. However, Little Heathens is giving me a great appreciation for what our ancestors went through, and teaching me humility.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Homeschooling as a community effort
I want to thank Corin at Gifted Homeschoolers Forum for passing me this article from last Thursday's Boston Globe. In case anyone still fears for homeschoolers' isolation, please read the article and my preparatory comments.
The description of the many and varied opportunities for homeschoolers mentioned in the following article applies to our community here in Silicon Valley, California as well. This year I am teaching an Algebra 2 (Saxon) class to 9 high school level homeschooled students. We also attend a Wednesday morning Sports league with over 100 other kids & parents. For two years Susie attended a Writing Co-op led by a homeschooled mom. This year our family is involved in five 4H Projects, all led by homeschooled parents: hiking, scrapbooking, candy-making, riflery, poultry. Add to this list of socialization opportunities church Youth Group twice a week, piano lessons, Friday night Square Dancing, and 6 hours of volunteering at the animal shelter on Saturdays. Both my children, an introvert 16-year-old son and an extrovert almost 14-year-old daughter, have the flexibility to participate in more meaningful activities now than during their six years in public school.
Now on to the article...
.....................................................
Expanding the horizon for home-school students. Advocates cite wider range of shared outside activities as helpingfuel growth of practice once relegated to fringe
By Lisa KocianBoston Globe Staff / December 6, 2007
Eight-year-old Ben Shapiro's days are a blur of gymnastics, piano playing, and art history lessons. He can also be found doing fractions, reading a biography of Marco Polo, and, soon, delving into physics. But he's not at school. And he's not alone. He is part of a fast-evolving home-school movement that is traveling away from the stereotype of child and parent at the kitchen table. Shapiro does spend most of his day with his mother, but not alone. Instead, she shuttles him from one group activity to another.The home is no longer where all the action is in this new wave of homeschooling. Although some instruction takes place at home, parents now choose from an increasing number of options that allow their children to interact with and learn alongside other home-schooled peers. The opportunities for socialization are numerous - swim lessons at theYMCA, staging a play with like-minded friends found over the Internet, or any of myriad academic courses offered at cooperative schools in the area.%-----------
The rest of this article can be found athttp://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/12/06/expanding_the_horizon_for_home_school_students/
The description of the many and varied opportunities for homeschoolers mentioned in the following article applies to our community here in Silicon Valley, California as well. This year I am teaching an Algebra 2 (Saxon) class to 9 high school level homeschooled students. We also attend a Wednesday morning Sports league with over 100 other kids & parents. For two years Susie attended a Writing Co-op led by a homeschooled mom. This year our family is involved in five 4H Projects, all led by homeschooled parents: hiking, scrapbooking, candy-making, riflery, poultry. Add to this list of socialization opportunities church Youth Group twice a week, piano lessons, Friday night Square Dancing, and 6 hours of volunteering at the animal shelter on Saturdays. Both my children, an introvert 16-year-old son and an extrovert almost 14-year-old daughter, have the flexibility to participate in more meaningful activities now than during their six years in public school.
Now on to the article...
.....................................................
Expanding the horizon for home-school students. Advocates cite wider range of shared outside activities as helpingfuel growth of practice once relegated to fringe
By Lisa KocianBoston Globe Staff / December 6, 2007
Eight-year-old Ben Shapiro's days are a blur of gymnastics, piano playing, and art history lessons. He can also be found doing fractions, reading a biography of Marco Polo, and, soon, delving into physics. But he's not at school. And he's not alone. He is part of a fast-evolving home-school movement that is traveling away from the stereotype of child and parent at the kitchen table. Shapiro does spend most of his day with his mother, but not alone. Instead, she shuttles him from one group activity to another.The home is no longer where all the action is in this new wave of homeschooling. Although some instruction takes place at home, parents now choose from an increasing number of options that allow their children to interact with and learn alongside other home-schooled peers. The opportunities for socialization are numerous - swim lessons at theYMCA, staging a play with like-minded friends found over the Internet, or any of myriad academic courses offered at cooperative schools in the area.%-----------
The rest of this article can be found athttp://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/12/06/expanding_the_horizon_for_home_school_students/
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Irony & Metaphor
I love irony. I love the unexpected twist. Yesterday I worked in the morning proctoring for a national testing company. Once each month I supervise public school teachers as they take the exam(s) which will designate them as "highly qualified," a requirement for all teachers under the No Child Left Behind legislation. In case you don't know, I am a homeschooler. The examinees have no idea, of course. I find that ironic, and it makes me smile.
I also love metaphor. I enjoy comparing things, seeing how one image (vehicle) can be useful or poetic to describe another (tenor). In this case the tenor of the metaphor is family and the vehicle is square dance. But first I need to mention the recital. Friday night was Westin's annual Christmas piano rectial. This recital has become one of my favorite holiday traditions, since it includes over 30 students of all levels playing over 30 Christmas songs. It is a celebratory event for all the families, with a casual potluck dessert afterwards. This year Susie and Andy opted not to attend the recital because it would have forced them to miss our weekly square dance lesson. (Susie informed me that nine recitals were enough, and she got Westin's blessing to pass on it this year.) Square dancing is an apt metaphor for how a healthy family operates, I think. All members of the square work together to accomplish a goal. It's important to pay attention to others, and adjust your movements to theirs. Sometimes the 8 people in a square are involved in the same activity, like circle left, promenade, or do-si-do. At other times the couples separate into heads and sides, with the different groups performing different moves for a time. Even your partner can change, so you'll switch who you're dancing with for a time. But no matter what, your square always comes back together at the end. So it's appropriate that our family is taking square dancing lessons every Friday night, even though Westin & I weren't there this week. When we all reunited at home that evening, Susie & Andy danced us through the new moves so we'd be prepared for next week. Besides serving as a cool metaphor, it's good excercise and fun!
I also love metaphor. I enjoy comparing things, seeing how one image (vehicle) can be useful or poetic to describe another (tenor). In this case the tenor of the metaphor is family and the vehicle is square dance. But first I need to mention the recital. Friday night was Westin's annual Christmas piano rectial. This recital has become one of my favorite holiday traditions, since it includes over 30 students of all levels playing over 30 Christmas songs. It is a celebratory event for all the families, with a casual potluck dessert afterwards. This year Susie and Andy opted not to attend the recital because it would have forced them to miss our weekly square dance lesson. (Susie informed me that nine recitals were enough, and she got Westin's blessing to pass on it this year.) Square dancing is an apt metaphor for how a healthy family operates, I think. All members of the square work together to accomplish a goal. It's important to pay attention to others, and adjust your movements to theirs. Sometimes the 8 people in a square are involved in the same activity, like circle left, promenade, or do-si-do. At other times the couples separate into heads and sides, with the different groups performing different moves for a time. Even your partner can change, so you'll switch who you're dancing with for a time. But no matter what, your square always comes back together at the end. So it's appropriate that our family is taking square dancing lessons every Friday night, even though Westin & I weren't there this week. When we all reunited at home that evening, Susie & Andy danced us through the new moves so we'd be prepared for next week. Besides serving as a cool metaphor, it's good excercise and fun!
Friday, November 30, 2007
Despedidos Y Saludos (Farewells & Greetings)
On the way to our cars last night after Bible Study, my Argentine friend Silvia threw me a friendly “Adios, Senora.” Rather than respond with a friendly "Ciao," I was tongue-tied, caught off-guard by the Spanish (or Castillano) that used to come so easily for me. Although not my native language, as a young adult I had become somewhat fluent, having completed a minor in Spanish at SJSU. My favorite profesora had also been from Argentina; and when I first met Silvia, I recognized the accent and felt an immediate affinity for my new friend.
By the early 1980s I would even dream in Spanish. I was teaching Spanish at Valley Christian Junior High. I even served as group translator for short-term mission teams from our church who traveled to Mexico to hold Vacation Bible Schools; to Argentina to build a seminary for Harvest Evangelism; again to Argentina as part of a worship (singing) team for a week of citywide crusades; to Colombia with New Tribes Mission to build a teacher’s home and classrooms at a boarding school for the children of linguists working to transcribe the languages of indigenous peoples in the Amazon rainforests.
I had lofty plans that we would raise our kids to be fluent in both languages: I would speak Spanish to them; Andy would speak English. Once Westin was born, however, the demands of parenting a newborn overshadowed my bilingual ambition. I quickly reverted to my native English for daily conversation.
Our last trip to South America included one-year-old Westin, who snuggled contentedly in the baby backpack while we traveled to local schools and churches performing “Bullfrogs & Butterflies,” an evangelistic puppet show for kids and families. Our smiling toddler loved the musical puppets and the children’s attention after performances.
That was in 1992, and since then I’ve never been called upon to translate or to even think in my second language. Well, that’s not exactly true. In 1993 I taught a weekly Spanish class to four homeschooled kids. And before we began homeschooling 5 years ago, Westin & Susie attended a school where roughly 80% of the students came from Spanish-speaking homes. In order to converse with other moms, I was forced to pull out my by-then-rusty Spanish. However, the North American Spanish of my new friends was much more difficult to understand than the European or Argentine dialect I had used over a decade earlier.
Since we began homeschooling, my own kids (now 13 and 16) have dabbled in learning Spanish using a textbook, Standard Deviants DVDs, and Rosetta Stone CD-ROMs. But I am no longer the competent native speaker who can provide them that immersive experience in a foreign language. They’ve also completed a Beginning Sign Language Course on 16 VHS tapes, and taken a six-week American Sign Language class with other homeschoolers taught by a deaf instructor. Susie seems interested in continuing in ASL.
Bilingualism is a big plus living here in California where people whose grandparents spoke English are fast approaching the minority. Being able to speak more than one language opens up wider opportunities for employment and friendships. I do regret not having made more of an effort to pass on my love for and acquired skill in the Spanish language.
Silvia's casual comment, and my lack of response, got me thinking about how much has changed in my life. In college I majored in English. I loved to read. I wrote well and daydreamed of writing articles which would be read by people other than my professors. While the reading has continued as a hobby, I almost never write. Then I thought of Stephanie Iles and Tammy Takahashi, two homeschool moms I know who blog. So now I've decided to become one, too.
[Stephanie - did you notice my semicolons?]
By the early 1980s I would even dream in Spanish. I was teaching Spanish at Valley Christian Junior High. I even served as group translator for short-term mission teams from our church who traveled to Mexico to hold Vacation Bible Schools; to Argentina to build a seminary for Harvest Evangelism; again to Argentina as part of a worship (singing) team for a week of citywide crusades; to Colombia with New Tribes Mission to build a teacher’s home and classrooms at a boarding school for the children of linguists working to transcribe the languages of indigenous peoples in the Amazon rainforests.
I had lofty plans that we would raise our kids to be fluent in both languages: I would speak Spanish to them; Andy would speak English. Once Westin was born, however, the demands of parenting a newborn overshadowed my bilingual ambition. I quickly reverted to my native English for daily conversation.
Our last trip to South America included one-year-old Westin, who snuggled contentedly in the baby backpack while we traveled to local schools and churches performing “Bullfrogs & Butterflies,” an evangelistic puppet show for kids and families. Our smiling toddler loved the musical puppets and the children’s attention after performances.
That was in 1992, and since then I’ve never been called upon to translate or to even think in my second language. Well, that’s not exactly true. In 1993 I taught a weekly Spanish class to four homeschooled kids. And before we began homeschooling 5 years ago, Westin & Susie attended a school where roughly 80% of the students came from Spanish-speaking homes. In order to converse with other moms, I was forced to pull out my by-then-rusty Spanish. However, the North American Spanish of my new friends was much more difficult to understand than the European or Argentine dialect I had used over a decade earlier.Since we began homeschooling, my own kids (now 13 and 16) have dabbled in learning Spanish using a textbook, Standard Deviants DVDs, and Rosetta Stone CD-ROMs. But I am no longer the competent native speaker who can provide them that immersive experience in a foreign language. They’ve also completed a Beginning Sign Language Course on 16 VHS tapes, and taken a six-week American Sign Language class with other homeschoolers taught by a deaf instructor. Susie seems interested in continuing in ASL.
Bilingualism is a big plus living here in California where people whose grandparents spoke English are fast approaching the minority. Being able to speak more than one language opens up wider opportunities for employment and friendships. I do regret not having made more of an effort to pass on my love for and acquired skill in the Spanish language.
Silvia's casual comment, and my lack of response, got me thinking about how much has changed in my life. In college I majored in English. I loved to read. I wrote well and daydreamed of writing articles which would be read by people other than my professors. While the reading has continued as a hobby, I almost never write. Then I thought of Stephanie Iles and Tammy Takahashi, two homeschool moms I know who blog. So now I've decided to become one, too.
[Stephanie - did you notice my semicolons?]
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