Triumphal Entry of Jesus in JerusalemJohn 12
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Spring Has Sprung ...
... and so we have a new color scheme. I just love the bright green hues of early springtime.
Nature Study Using Bird Feeders
Photo 1: Brown-headed Cowbird. (Molothrus ater)
Photo 2: Red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
Photo 2: Red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
We have two bird feeders just outside our school room windows. And we have one feeder hanging from the Holly tree in the back of our house, and another hanging from the giant Hackberry tree in the front yard. We love watching the birds ! Throughout this past year, on rainy or cold days when the weather was not nice enough for nature walks, we have watched our bird feeders for our Nature Studies. Of course, we can also all say that we have spent a fair amount of time watching the feeders "just because" too.
Lately, we have seen more than a few "new" birds visiting our bird feeders ... birds we have not seen since late last summer or late last fall. Cardinals, Blue Jays, Robins, and more. And in the last week or two, we have been seeing plenty of Blue Birds (they are actually building nests in 3 of our birdhouses - HOORAY !!), Robins, Swallows, Chickadees, Titmouses, and the list goes on and on ....
But this morning we spied two "new" friends taking turns perching on the feeder ... friends whom we had not seen on our feeders before (but we had seen each of them down by the pond last summer) .... one is medium sized, mostly dark colored, with a very bright striking "swoosh" of red and yellow on the top part of the wings .... and the other is a dark brown-black all over with a brownish head that is almost chocolate colored.
So .... out came the Identification Guides and the Field Books ...
The one with the red and yellow "swoosh" on it's wing is a:
Red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) .
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Red-winged_Blackbird.html
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Red-winged_Blackbird.html
And the dark colored one with the chocoate colored head is the infamous cowbird. This species we spotted is the Brown-headed Cowbird. (Molothrus ater) There were several of these fellas hanging out with several redwinged blackbirds that were in the yard today eating lots of birdseed. We saw only male cowbirds, we think. My guess is the females are around here somewhere dropping thier eggs in the nests of the other birds. The lady cowbirds have other birds raise their young - it is because of this they are considered a parasitic species of bird. This is difficult on the smaller birds and usually they end up sacrificing some of their own. Because cowbirds are a large bird so the smaller (mother) birds work very hard to feed the larger babies sometimes to the neglect of their own.
Brown-headed Cowbird. (Molothrus ater)
Friday, March 14, 2008
HSLDA: Update -- Defending Homeschool Freedom In California
Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:
The following is an update on the developing situation in California from Michael Farris, Chairman, Home School Legal Defense Association.
State Superintendent Supports Homeschooling
On Tuesday, March 11, Jack O'Connell, California Superintendent of Public Instruction, announced that he believed that homeschooling is still legal in California. O'Connell's statement is welcome news. To read it visit http://hslda.org/elink.asp?ID=4893 . Some might conclude that the statement ends the controversy. However, it is not the end of the matter; it is just an important step along the way.
His clarifying statement was probably the result of the massive public outcry against the February 28 decision of the California Court of Appeal which effectively ruled that homeschooling is illegal in California unless conducted by a credentialed teacher and that parents have no constitutional right to homeschool.
O'Connell's statement is helpful, but the courts will undoubtedly take the position that their determination of the meaning of state law is final even though they should give serious deference to the position of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
It should also be remembered that local school districts make the decision about when to initiate prosecutions for truancy, and they are not officially controlled by the state agency on these matters.
However, many local officials may be influenced by O'Connell's positive statement.
Did the February 28 Ruling Intend to Affect All Homeschooling Families?
Some have contended that the decision of the Court of Appeal in In Re Rachel L. only affects that particular family. While a court order can only direct one family to stop homeschooling, the case clearly sets a legal precedent that will be binding against all other families if this case is not reversed. (Technically, the decision is binding only in the Second District which consists of Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties. However, other appellate districts will normally treat it as persuasive precedent. If ratified by the Supreme Court of California, it formally binds all California counties.)
There are two basic issues in the case:
1. Does state law allow parents to homeschool without a state teaching credential?
2. If not, is this law unconstitutional?
Below are three short quotations from the case which give the clear answer:
"It is clear to us that enrollment and attendance in a public full-time day school is required by California law for minor children unless (1) the child is enrolled in a private full-time day school and actually attends that private school, (2) the child is tutored by a person holding a valid state teaching credential for the grade being taught."
"California courts have held that under provisions in the Education Code, parents do not have a constitutional right to school their children in their own home."
"We agree with the Shinn court's statement that 'the educational program of the State of California was designed to promote the general welfare of all the people and was not designed to accommodate the personal ideas of any individual in the field of education."
In the first quote the court makes it clear that it believes that parents may not operate their own private schools. In the second they deny that a parent has a constitutional right to homeschool, and in the third they concur that California law does not accommodate parents pursuing their own education program for their children.
As you can see, the decision is categorical and was not written to be limited to just the facts of this case.
Due to the scope of the court decision, HSLDA is pleased to be working with other self-identified pro-homeschooling organizations, including Christian Home Educators Association of California (CHEA), Homeschool Association of California (HSC), California Homeschool Network (CHN), and Family Protection Ministries (FPM) in order to oppose this ruling.
We are all in this one together.
What is HSLDA's Immediate Plan of Action?
We plan to:
1. Support the family's petition for review to the California Supreme Court.
2. File an amicus brief on behalf of all our members, and others we represent, if the California Supreme Court accepts the case for review.
What Can California Homeschoolers Expect in the Short Run?
We believe that it is highly unlikely that local officials will begin proceedings against homeschool families until this present case is resolved.
This ruling has obviously caused great concern among California homeschoolers. We want to remind all California homeschoolers that you should stay calm in the face of this decision. Please continue to operate your homeschool, because we believe that our interpretation of the law is correct and will ultimately prevail in the court system.
We must remain vigilant, however. If you are a member of HSLDA, and you are contacted by a school district, please contact HSLDA immediately.
Long-Range Solution
On another front, later today I am meeting with a half-dozen congressmen to plan a strategy to push for a constitutional amendment on parental rights. We have been receiving numerous calls from members of Congress wanting to respond to this decision. See
http://hslda.org/elink.asp?ID=4891 for more information.
Final Thoughts/Conclusion:
The way the homeschool law has worked in California for the past two decades has been successful for all homeschoolers. If we can keep what we have today that would be a significant victory for homeschool freedom.
We also understand that the current situation has caused much stress for California homeschool families. We are praying, and we encourage you to pray, that the threat we face will be swiftly removed and that homeschool freedom in California will be preserved.
We have seen God's hand of protection on the homeschooling movement for the 25 years we have been working together for this cause. There is no reason to begin to doubt God now.
Michael Farris
Chairman, Home School Legal Defense Association
The following is an update on the developing situation in California from Michael Farris, Chairman, Home School Legal Defense Association.
State Superintendent Supports Homeschooling
On Tuesday, March 11, Jack O'Connell, California Superintendent of Public Instruction, announced that he believed that homeschooling is still legal in California. O'Connell's statement is welcome news. To read it visit http://hslda.org/elink.asp?ID=4893 . Some might conclude that the statement ends the controversy. However, it is not the end of the matter; it is just an important step along the way.
His clarifying statement was probably the result of the massive public outcry against the February 28 decision of the California Court of Appeal which effectively ruled that homeschooling is illegal in California unless conducted by a credentialed teacher and that parents have no constitutional right to homeschool.
O'Connell's statement is helpful, but the courts will undoubtedly take the position that their determination of the meaning of state law is final even though they should give serious deference to the position of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
It should also be remembered that local school districts make the decision about when to initiate prosecutions for truancy, and they are not officially controlled by the state agency on these matters.
However, many local officials may be influenced by O'Connell's positive statement.
Did the February 28 Ruling Intend to Affect All Homeschooling Families?
Some have contended that the decision of the Court of Appeal in In Re Rachel L. only affects that particular family. While a court order can only direct one family to stop homeschooling, the case clearly sets a legal precedent that will be binding against all other families if this case is not reversed. (Technically, the decision is binding only in the Second District which consists of Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties. However, other appellate districts will normally treat it as persuasive precedent. If ratified by the Supreme Court of California, it formally binds all California counties.)
There are two basic issues in the case:
1. Does state law allow parents to homeschool without a state teaching credential?
2. If not, is this law unconstitutional?
Below are three short quotations from the case which give the clear answer:
"It is clear to us that enrollment and attendance in a public full-time day school is required by California law for minor children unless (1) the child is enrolled in a private full-time day school and actually attends that private school, (2) the child is tutored by a person holding a valid state teaching credential for the grade being taught."
"California courts have held that under provisions in the Education Code, parents do not have a constitutional right to school their children in their own home."
"We agree with the Shinn court's statement that 'the educational program of the State of California was designed to promote the general welfare of all the people and was not designed to accommodate the personal ideas of any individual in the field of education."
In the first quote the court makes it clear that it believes that parents may not operate their own private schools. In the second they deny that a parent has a constitutional right to homeschool, and in the third they concur that California law does not accommodate parents pursuing their own education program for their children.
As you can see, the decision is categorical and was not written to be limited to just the facts of this case.
Due to the scope of the court decision, HSLDA is pleased to be working with other self-identified pro-homeschooling organizations, including Christian Home Educators Association of California (CHEA), Homeschool Association of California (HSC), California Homeschool Network (CHN), and Family Protection Ministries (FPM) in order to oppose this ruling.
We are all in this one together.
What is HSLDA's Immediate Plan of Action?
We plan to:
1. Support the family's petition for review to the California Supreme Court.
2. File an amicus brief on behalf of all our members, and others we represent, if the California Supreme Court accepts the case for review.
What Can California Homeschoolers Expect in the Short Run?
We believe that it is highly unlikely that local officials will begin proceedings against homeschool families until this present case is resolved.
This ruling has obviously caused great concern among California homeschoolers. We want to remind all California homeschoolers that you should stay calm in the face of this decision. Please continue to operate your homeschool, because we believe that our interpretation of the law is correct and will ultimately prevail in the court system.
We must remain vigilant, however. If you are a member of HSLDA, and you are contacted by a school district, please contact HSLDA immediately.
Long-Range Solution
On another front, later today I am meeting with a half-dozen congressmen to plan a strategy to push for a constitutional amendment on parental rights. We have been receiving numerous calls from members of Congress wanting to respond to this decision. See
http://hslda.org/elink.asp?ID=4891 for more information.
Final Thoughts/Conclusion:
The way the homeschool law has worked in California for the past two decades has been successful for all homeschoolers. If we can keep what we have today that would be a significant victory for homeschool freedom.
We also understand that the current situation has caused much stress for California homeschool families. We are praying, and we encourage you to pray, that the threat we face will be swiftly removed and that homeschool freedom in California will be preserved.
We have seen God's hand of protection on the homeschooling movement for the 25 years we have been working together for this cause. There is no reason to begin to doubt God now.
Michael Farris
Chairman, Home School Legal Defense Association
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Family Watch Dog
www.FamilyWatchDog.us
When you visit this site you can enter your address and a map will pop up with your house as a small icon of a house. There will be red, blue and green dots surrounding your entire neighborhood. When you click on these dots a picture of a criminal will appear with his or her home address and the description of the crime he or she has committed.
The best thing is that you can show your children these pictures and see how close these people live to your home or school.
This site was developed by John Walsh from Americas Most Wanted. This is another tool we can use to help us keep our kids safe.
**Thanks O-Mom for sending this to me.
When you visit this site you can enter your address and a map will pop up with your house as a small icon of a house. There will be red, blue and green dots surrounding your entire neighborhood. When you click on these dots a picture of a criminal will appear with his or her home address and the description of the crime he or she has committed.
The best thing is that you can show your children these pictures and see how close these people live to your home or school.
This site was developed by John Walsh from Americas Most Wanted. This is another tool we can use to help us keep our kids safe.
**Thanks O-Mom for sending this to me.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Signs Of Spring
One of the unique features of a Charlotte Mason style education is the keeping of a Nature Journal. And one of the unique features of being a child now is the availability of a wide variety of technology that is available in most households.
So, to combine the two this afternoon, I sent the children outside with the digital camera. They were instructed to FIND SOME SIGNS OF SPRING. Afterwards we downloaded their photos on the laptop, and then worked to identify each one (almost). We are planning to print the photos and put them into our Nature Journals with their correct labels.
Here are some of the many photographs they took on their FIND SPRING NATURE WALK.
The Redbuds have buds galore ...
I am not sure what this little weed is called, but it has a lot of teeny-tiny purple flowers right now ....
The Butterfly bushes have baby leaves that are growing more each day ....
The Lilac -- the buds are beginning to open, slowly but surely. It won't be long now ...... (This is MY personal favorite plant - I can hardly wait for it to bloom !!)
Our Rose bushes have lots of shiney reddish green new growth.
Pansies (which survived the snow last Saturday)
A few Periwinkle blooms are beginning to open.
So, to combine the two this afternoon, I sent the children outside with the digital camera. They were instructed to FIND SOME SIGNS OF SPRING. Afterwards we downloaded their photos on the laptop, and then worked to identify each one (almost). We are planning to print the photos and put them into our Nature Journals with their correct labels.
Here are some of the many photographs they took on their FIND SPRING NATURE WALK.
The Redbuds have buds galore ...
I am not sure what this little weed is called, but it has a lot of teeny-tiny purple flowers right now ....
The Butterfly bushes have baby leaves that are growing more each day ....
The Lilac -- the buds are beginning to open, slowly but surely. It won't be long now ...... (This is MY personal favorite plant - I can hardly wait for it to bloom !!)
Our Rose bushes have lots of shiney reddish green new growth.
Pansies (which survived the snow last Saturday)
A few Periwinkle blooms are beginning to open.
We have a lot of this plant growing "wild" in one particular flower bed. I am not sure what it is called, and have yet to find it in a book. It has spread throughout the entire flowerbed, seems to enjoy full sun and dry soil, and it blooms spring to fall. (We would love to know what this is, if someone else knows ... please just post it to the comments.)
A daffodil that should be opening soon.
A tulip beginning to open.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The Gift
We have been anxiously watching some slender green leaves get taller and taller in our flower beds for the last few weeks ... and then, a week ago or so, we saw the buds but they were still closed tightly. We have all been waiting for the first bloom of the season ... the lovely daffodills.
Cherub 5 went to get the mail early this morning during school .... and as she walked she saw something yellow in the flowerbeds. She said nothing to anyone until much later ....
Just after our morning "together" lessons, I returned to my desk to retrieve a book, and I found this .... (above)
The first bloom of the season.
Isn't it lovely ?!?!? (And isn't she sweet !! She said she wanted it to be a surprise because she knew it would make me smile, so she picked it and put it on my desk when no one was looking. Awwwwww ........)
Cherub 5 went to get the mail early this morning during school .... and as she walked she saw something yellow in the flowerbeds. She said nothing to anyone until much later ....
Just after our morning "together" lessons, I returned to my desk to retrieve a book, and I found this .... (above)The first bloom of the season.
Isn't it lovely ?!?!? (And isn't she sweet !! She said she wanted it to be a surprise because she knew it would make me smile, so she picked it and put it on my desk when no one was looking. Awwwwww ........)
Being Sick AND Creative
(Above) A Space Station
( Above) A Pretty Flower
A Space Station
A Scorpion
A FortWhile we were all taking turns being sick with the flu, the children were still busy (when they were not napping) ... one of the favorite "quiet" activities was building really unique creations with the Legos and other blocks.
Monday, March 10, 2008
It Happened One Year Ago Today
Above: Our new house (the old farm house)Below: The Little House In The Woods
We had lived in a cute little rental house in the woods for 3 years, and were in the last stages of closing on our mortgage. We loved the little house, and were so much looking foward to it being "ours".
On Friday, March 9th, we got word that the final appraisal would be done the following Thursday. We called that very day and ordered a dumptruck of mulch to be delivered. A house in the woods does not have much curbside appeal at the end of winter. So, in an effort to make it look really nice for the final appraisal, we planned to get up early on Saturday morning (March 10th) to work in the yard. Our mulch would be delivered at 8am, and we would spend all day clearing the yard of winter debris (branches, fall leaves, etc), and mulching the flower beds.
So - one year ago today - DadToCherubs had worked all of the night before, so he was sound asleep in bed. The children and I got up at 6am and had a big breakfast together. Then we donned our work clothes, gathered our tools, and headed outside. It was a lovely day - clean air, warm sunshine ... a perfect "outside" day. We picked up lots of branches and raked piles of leaves .... putting it all into our compost pile. We swept the sidewalks and the concrete driveway pad. At 8am the dumptruck arrived and dumped a HUGE pile of hardwood mulch .... and the REAL work began. All of the children (except Cherub 1 who was on a campout with our church) worked all day with wagons and wheelbarrows, and Cherub 6 with his Tonka dumptruck .... we moved almost half of the mulch and spread it over our flower beds while straightening the rockwall edges of every bed. It looked lovely.
Finally, at 430pm we were completely exhausted and just could not keep going, so we headed inside. We would finish tomorrow. I put a tray of pre-made lasagna into the oven, and the children and I sat down in the living room to watch the news while we waited (half asleep from sheer exhaustion) for dinner to be ready .... we chatted about hot baths, comfy PJs, and our early-to-bed plan. And we planned to wake DadToCherubs jsut as the lasagna was ready ... in 45 minutes.
Just before 5pm a friend's daughter (Pris) came with her younger brother (Luke) to retrieve shoes he had left during a visit a few days before. While she was there, we went out to see her new car ..... and as Cherub 3 passed through the garage to see the car he saw a FLASH in the corner of our basement garage ....
The housefire sparked .... we now know that it was electrical (the chest freezer foot was on the cord when it had been installed) .... and the fire had spread from the basement garage to the attic in minutes, going up through the walls.
By midnight, everything we owned was gone ... including our cute little home in the woods. No one was hurt, which was a tremendous blessing !! However, most of us escaped without even having shoes on our feet, and everything was gone.
We spent that first night with the Birdie family next door, who owned the house we had rented and were in the process of buying. It was a longggggg night ....
Now it is March 10, 2008 .... a year later. With the help of our community and many wonderful friends, we have recovered. We are living in a lovely old farmhouse and have replaced almost everything that could be replaced. There are still those things that can never be replaced, like our family photos and personal items (quilts my grandmother made, projects made my DadToCherub's mother before her death 10 years ago, etc) ... it will take a bit more time for us to get past the loss of those things.
Today in 2007, around 5pm, our lives were forever changed. And today, with the memories of that day still so fresh, we are a bit tearful and are still very sad .... remembering what was .... remembering the house, the room, the contents, the plans, the memories ....
In the days and weeks that followed our housefire, our faith in God and prayer were our only strength .... and it was the blessing of dear friends (esp MamaLion of Shadybrook Acres and her family) who handled most everything for us (from solicitation of donations, accepting donations, figuring out what we needed and when we needed it, and so much more) that got us through those very difficult times.
To those who prayed, to those who gave, and to those who held our hands ....
we say THANK YOU.
On Friday, March 9th, we got word that the final appraisal would be done the following Thursday. We called that very day and ordered a dumptruck of mulch to be delivered. A house in the woods does not have much curbside appeal at the end of winter. So, in an effort to make it look really nice for the final appraisal, we planned to get up early on Saturday morning (March 10th) to work in the yard. Our mulch would be delivered at 8am, and we would spend all day clearing the yard of winter debris (branches, fall leaves, etc), and mulching the flower beds.
So - one year ago today - DadToCherubs had worked all of the night before, so he was sound asleep in bed. The children and I got up at 6am and had a big breakfast together. Then we donned our work clothes, gathered our tools, and headed outside. It was a lovely day - clean air, warm sunshine ... a perfect "outside" day. We picked up lots of branches and raked piles of leaves .... putting it all into our compost pile. We swept the sidewalks and the concrete driveway pad. At 8am the dumptruck arrived and dumped a HUGE pile of hardwood mulch .... and the REAL work began. All of the children (except Cherub 1 who was on a campout with our church) worked all day with wagons and wheelbarrows, and Cherub 6 with his Tonka dumptruck .... we moved almost half of the mulch and spread it over our flower beds while straightening the rockwall edges of every bed. It looked lovely.
Finally, at 430pm we were completely exhausted and just could not keep going, so we headed inside. We would finish tomorrow. I put a tray of pre-made lasagna into the oven, and the children and I sat down in the living room to watch the news while we waited (half asleep from sheer exhaustion) for dinner to be ready .... we chatted about hot baths, comfy PJs, and our early-to-bed plan. And we planned to wake DadToCherubs jsut as the lasagna was ready ... in 45 minutes.
Just before 5pm a friend's daughter (Pris) came with her younger brother (Luke) to retrieve shoes he had left during a visit a few days before. While she was there, we went out to see her new car ..... and as Cherub 3 passed through the garage to see the car he saw a FLASH in the corner of our basement garage ....
The housefire sparked .... we now know that it was electrical (the chest freezer foot was on the cord when it had been installed) .... and the fire had spread from the basement garage to the attic in minutes, going up through the walls.
By midnight, everything we owned was gone ... including our cute little home in the woods. No one was hurt, which was a tremendous blessing !! However, most of us escaped without even having shoes on our feet, and everything was gone.
We spent that first night with the Birdie family next door, who owned the house we had rented and were in the process of buying. It was a longggggg night ....
Now it is March 10, 2008 .... a year later. With the help of our community and many wonderful friends, we have recovered. We are living in a lovely old farmhouse and have replaced almost everything that could be replaced. There are still those things that can never be replaced, like our family photos and personal items (quilts my grandmother made, projects made my DadToCherub's mother before her death 10 years ago, etc) ... it will take a bit more time for us to get past the loss of those things.
Today in 2007, around 5pm, our lives were forever changed. And today, with the memories of that day still so fresh, we are a bit tearful and are still very sad .... remembering what was .... remembering the house, the room, the contents, the plans, the memories ....
In the days and weeks that followed our housefire, our faith in God and prayer were our only strength .... and it was the blessing of dear friends (esp MamaLion of Shadybrook Acres and her family) who handled most everything for us (from solicitation of donations, accepting donations, figuring out what we needed and when we needed it, and so much more) that got us through those very difficult times.
To those who prayed, to those who gave, and to those who held our hands ....
we say THANK YOU.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Project BudBurst
Project BudBurst is very similar to the Great Backyard Bird Count ... but it's focus is spring leaves and flowers. First there is a sign-up process on the website, and then the recording of first flowers, first leaves, and other such information. This is a great project for homeschoolers, and citizen scientists everywhere. Enjoy !! Saturday, March 08, 2008
Don't Forget .....
.... to set your clocks FORWARD 1-hour before you go to bed tonight (Saturday). It's Daylight Savings Time again ... Spring Forward, Fall Back.
The official "change" takes place at 2am Sunday morning, but for us it is best to set the clocks before going to bed Saturday night so we are not late for church.
Just As The Weatherman Said ...
Our local radar showing we are IN the "Snow Zone" ....
And sure enough ... when we woke up this morning, this is what we found ....
Snow ... and it is STILL coming down. We are supposed to get an inch or a little more .... our Snow Crate (rubbermaid crate containing ski gloves, ski hats, snow pants, snow boots, etc) is by the front door, as are our sleds ....
Today will be a GRAND day to play in the snow !!
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Carnival & Beck's Bounty Flu Update
The "Spring is Coming Edition" of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival is up at Heart of Harmony.
And here at Beck's Bounty we are still fighting the Plague (aka the FLU) .... high high 102-104 fevers, deep coughing, scratchy throat, chest and head congestion, sneezing, ear aches, and general misery are the symptoms. Our family started getting sick LAST Sunday (2/24), and we are 1 1/2 weeks into it and are still fighting these dread germs. Cherub 1 was the first to get it, and is now over it except a slight cough .... Cherub 2 got it second, but is still very ill (going to see the doctor tomorrow - we suspect a secondary infection that was a complication of the original Flu) .... Cherub 3, Cherub 4, Cherub 5, and Cherub 6 got it early last week and are now on-the-mend (24 fever free hours - HOORAY !) .... MomToCherubs is officially on-the-mend (24 fever-free hours - YEAH !!) .... and DadToCherubs just started showing symptoms yesterday.
WEDNESDAY UPDATE (3/5): Everyone is almost back to normal (no fevers or symptoms except a lingering cough) ... except DadToCherubs and Cherub 2. DadToCherubs just started with his Flu-turn on Sunday, so he is having his worst day so far (and he even called in sick to work last night - for the first time in 4 years !). We suspected Cherub 2 had a secondary infection, so she went to the doctor's this morning. She was diagnosed with a sinus infection and an infection in her right ear, so she will be on antibiotics for the next 10days. It appears that the PLAGUE is finally beginning to pass, and that perhaps we will all be healthy again in a few more days. HOORAY !!
And here at Beck's Bounty we are still fighting the Plague (aka the FLU) .... high high 102-104 fevers, deep coughing, scratchy throat, chest and head congestion, sneezing, ear aches, and general misery are the symptoms. Our family started getting sick LAST Sunday (2/24), and we are 1 1/2 weeks into it and are still fighting these dread germs. Cherub 1 was the first to get it, and is now over it except a slight cough .... Cherub 2 got it second, but is still very ill (going to see the doctor tomorrow - we suspect a secondary infection that was a complication of the original Flu) .... Cherub 3, Cherub 4, Cherub 5, and Cherub 6 got it early last week and are now on-the-mend (24 fever free hours - HOORAY !) .... MomToCherubs is officially on-the-mend (24 fever-free hours - YEAH !!) .... and DadToCherubs just started showing symptoms yesterday.
WEDNESDAY UPDATE (3/5): Everyone is almost back to normal (no fevers or symptoms except a lingering cough) ... except DadToCherubs and Cherub 2. DadToCherubs just started with his Flu-turn on Sunday, so he is having his worst day so far (and he even called in sick to work last night - for the first time in 4 years !). We suspected Cherub 2 had a secondary infection, so she went to the doctor's this morning. She was diagnosed with a sinus infection and an infection in her right ear, so she will be on antibiotics for the next 10days. It appears that the PLAGUE is finally beginning to pass, and that perhaps we will all be healthy again in a few more days. HOORAY !!
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Guess Who Has A Birthday TODAY ?
Do you need a hint ??
Well, do you know who this guy is ?? (The photo IS the hint).
Well, today is his birthday.
It's the birthday of the children's book author who wrote under the name Dr. Seuss, born Theodor Geisel, in Springfield, Massachusetts (1904). He was the son of German immigrants. His mother was an accomplished high diver, and his father was a target shooter who held the world record for marksmanship at 200 yards.
He studied literature and planned on becoming an English professor. But a woman in one of his classes noticed the drawings he doodled in the margin of his notebook during a lecture on Milton, and she told him he should become a cartoonist. He took her advice and also decided to marry her.
Seuss made a living selling cartoons to magazines, and he also drew cartoons for advertisements. The Standard Oil Company hired him to create monsters that live in the car, and he created the Moto-raspus, the Moto-munchus, and the Karbo-nockus. He published his first book for children, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, in 1937.
He went on to publish a series of fairly successful books for older children, and then, in 1955, an educational specialist asked him if he would write a book to help children learn how to read. Seuss was given a list of 300 words that most first-graders know, and he had to write the book using only those words. Seuss wasn't sure he could do it, but as he looked over the list, two words jumped out at him: "cat" and "hat."
Seuss spent the next nine months writing what would become The Cat in the Hat (1957). That book is 1,702 words long, but it uses only 220 different words. Parents and teachers immediately began using it to teach children to read, and within the first year of its publication it was selling 12,000 copies a month.
A few years later, Seuss's publisher bet him $50 that he could not write a book using only 50 different words. Seuss won the bet with his book Green Eggs and Ham (1960), which uses exactly 50 different words, and only one of those words has more than one syllable: the word "anywhere." It became the fourth best-selling children's hardcover book of all time.
**info quoted directly from Writers Almanac
Well, do you know who this guy is ?? (The photo IS the hint).
Well, today is his birthday.
It's the birthday of the children's book author who wrote under the name Dr. Seuss, born Theodor Geisel, in Springfield, Massachusetts (1904). He was the son of German immigrants. His mother was an accomplished high diver, and his father was a target shooter who held the world record for marksmanship at 200 yards.
He studied literature and planned on becoming an English professor. But a woman in one of his classes noticed the drawings he doodled in the margin of his notebook during a lecture on Milton, and she told him he should become a cartoonist. He took her advice and also decided to marry her.
Seuss made a living selling cartoons to magazines, and he also drew cartoons for advertisements. The Standard Oil Company hired him to create monsters that live in the car, and he created the Moto-raspus, the Moto-munchus, and the Karbo-nockus. He published his first book for children, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, in 1937.
He went on to publish a series of fairly successful books for older children, and then, in 1955, an educational specialist asked him if he would write a book to help children learn how to read. Seuss was given a list of 300 words that most first-graders know, and he had to write the book using only those words. Seuss wasn't sure he could do it, but as he looked over the list, two words jumped out at him: "cat" and "hat."
Seuss spent the next nine months writing what would become The Cat in the Hat (1957). That book is 1,702 words long, but it uses only 220 different words. Parents and teachers immediately began using it to teach children to read, and within the first year of its publication it was selling 12,000 copies a month.
A few years later, Seuss's publisher bet him $50 that he could not write a book using only 50 different words. Seuss won the bet with his book Green Eggs and Ham (1960), which uses exactly 50 different words, and only one of those words has more than one syllable: the word "anywhere." It became the fourth best-selling children's hardcover book of all time.
**info quoted directly from Writers Almanac
Saturday, March 01, 2008
A Not-So Happy Birthday ....
... it was only NOT-SO-HAPPY because for his birthday he got ... the FLU. Early early this morning he woke up with a severe headache, 103 fever, hurting ears, sore throat, cough .... the works. He had some OJ for breakfast, chicken broth for lunch, and beef vegetable soup for dinner .... and some strawberry icecream (his favorite - but it made his cough worse).
It seems hard to believe that Cherub 3 is 11yo today .... he was just a baby when we moved to Tennessee .... that was a longgggggg time ago .... and yet only yesterday ....
Always a ham .... here he is iceskating in Maryland.
It seems hard to believe that Cherub 3 is 11yo today .... he was just a baby when we moved to Tennessee .... that was a longgggggg time ago .... and yet only yesterday ....
Always a ham .... here he is iceskating in Maryland.
And sledding .... he LOVED playing in the snow ...
This photo was taken just before Christmas 2005.
This was his Christmas 2006 photo. How handsome !! I only wish I had some photos of him wearing the bow ties he once loved so much .....
And still a ham ... he took this photo of himself just a week ago. (We get lots of these SELF-taken photos from him, mostly with crazy faces. HA !!)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHERUB 3
(who gets a re-do on his whole birthday once he is feeling better again)
This is TOO funny !!
**Found this online, not sure where it is from originally.
But it was too funny not to share. HA !! **
Friday, February 29, 2008
It's Leap Day !
Today is Leap Day, the extra day that we tack on to February every four years to keep the calendar in time with the seasons. We do this because the Earth does not orbit the sun in a nice round 365 days, but rather in 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds.Ancient peoples based their calendars on many things, from the movements of the stars to the activities of plants and animals. The Greek poet Hesiod told farmers to begin the harvest when the constellation Pleiades was rising and to begin plowing when it was setting, and to sharpen their farming tools when snails began climbing up plants. Most early calendars were based on the stages of the moon, with lunar months of about 29 days each. But the problem with the lunar calendar is that it's about 11 days short of the actual year, so instead of having to add a leap day every few years, you have to add a leap month. The Egyptians were one of the first civilizations to develop a calendar with 12 months and 365 days. When Julius Caesar rose to power, the Romans were using a calendar that was so faulty they often had to add an extra 80 days to the year. In 46 B.C., after his affair with Cleopatra, Caesar chose to adopt the superior Egyptian calendar, and this became known as the Julian calendar. In the first version of the Julian calendar, February had 29 days most years and 30 days in leap years. Caesar named the month of July after himself, so when Augustus came to power, he decided he needed a month too. He named August after himself, but he had to steal a day from February in order to make August as long as July.
The Julian calendar worked well for a while, but in the 13 century, a sick old friar named Roger Bacon sent a letter to the Pope. He had calculated the actual length of the solar year as slightly less than 365.25 days, and he pointed out that the Julian calendar was adding one leap day too many for every 125 years. The result was that Christians were celebrating holy days on the wrong dates. Bacon wrote, "The calendar is intolerable to all wisdom, the horror of astronomy, and a laughing-stock from a mathematician's point of view." Bacon was eventually imprisoned for implying that the pope had been fallible, and his writings were censored. It wasn't until 1582 that Pope Gregory XIII hired a group of Jesuits to fix the calendar, and they came up with the complicated system of omitting the leap day at the beginning of each century, except for those centuries divisible by 400. When Pope Gregory made the change, the calendar was about 10 days off, so Gregory deleted 10 days from the year. People went to sleep on Thursday, Oct. 4 and woke up on Friday, Oct. 15.
At first, the Gregorian calendar was only accepted in Catholic countries, and even there people were uncomfortable about losing 10 days of their lives. It led to protests and financial uncertainty, since people weren't sure how to calculate interest or taxes or rent for a 21-day month. Protestant countries didn't adopt the new calendar until much later, and this meant that for a long time, if you crossed the border of certain European countries, you had to set your clock back or forward by at least 10 days. When Great Britain finally accepted the Gregorian calendar in 1751, 11 days had to be deleted from the year. The change led to antipapal riots, because people believed the pope had shortened their lives. Mobs gathered in the streets, chanting, "Give us back our 11 days!" When the British colonies in America made the change the following year, Ben Franklin wrote in an editorial, "Be not astonished, nor look with scorn, dear reader, at ... the loss of so much time. ... What an indulgence is here, for those who love their pillow, to lie down in peace on the second [day] of this month and not awake till the morning of the fourteenth."
The Gregorian calendar has since been accepted everywhere as the standard. It is so accurate that we will have to wait until the year 4909 before our dates become out of step with the Earth's orbit by a full day.
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