Becky is homeschooling Teigan and Conner. Sometimes homeschooling is about religion, or curriculum disagreements, but that’s not the reason for this homeschooling. There isn’t any disagreement and the school is supportive. In fact, the school is so supportive that they asked Conner to come back and participate in their spelling bee. He placed first in the 4th grade. There was a rules problem for Conner, moving from the class level to the school level, because he’s homeschooled. The school took it upon themselves to find a different sponsorship which would allow Conner to compete at that level. Now, if he does well at school level, he can go on to District. It’s just that these two kids didn’t seem to be thriving in public school. Teigan is in 7th grade, Conner in 4th. The three of them (Teigan, Conner, and Becky) agreed to give public school a break and homeschool for a while. Becky has found an active on-line parent support group with lots of good ideas to share. She has the lesson plans all worked out. She was able to answer my burning question as well: “When you homeschool, is there homework?” Turns out the answer is no. With this much direct attention, you get everything you need to cover taken care of in class. So Teigan finished an assignment. Of Mice and Men. She read the book, marched over to the refrigerator, and put it in the freezer. That sounded a little odd to us; putting a book in the freezer. Turns out, that’s a family tradition at their house. When the kids finish a sad or scary book, they pop it in the freezer so it can’t get them. It stays there until they have a chance to get over it. I don’t know how long Mice and Men will have to stay in the freezer. I didn’t read it until I was an adult, but I would certainly have popped it in the freezer if I’d know that trick then.
A day at the beach
Boca Chica Beach. Right on the border; south of Padre Island.
The view from the back of the van: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZSmTk_cE50&feature=youtu.be A short drive north ends at the Jetty for the Port of Brownsville channel. A short drive south ends at the mouth of the Rio Grande, looking across into Mexico.
We found the rare bird that has been there for a week or so; the Glaucous Gull.
It’s a natural beach on the Gulf of Mexico. Anything can wash up. A short walk into the dunes…
…reveals things that used to be something, but they’re not anymore.
Now they’re something else.
The view from the back of the van: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZSmTk_cE50&feature=youtu.be A short drive north ends at the Jetty for the Port of Brownsville channel. A short drive south ends at the mouth of the Rio Grande, looking across into Mexico. We found the rare bird that has been there for a week or so; the Glaucous Gull. It’s a natural beach on the Gulf of Mexico. Anything can wash up. A short walk into the dunes… …reveals things that used to be something, but they’re not anymore. Now they’re something else. Football
Well, that Superbowl was more fun for some than for others. Nice game, Seattle. That’ll give the Broncos something to think about all off-season.
My brother Bill is in the Far East
He’s wandering around Thailand helping orphanages. I’m wandering around wondering about regional perspective. The Far East. The Middle East. The West. It’s all so Eurocentric; everything described in terms of their position relative to Europe. What about other perspectives? To Asia, we in the U.S. would be the East. The Middle East is their west. In the Middle East, we would be the Far West. Why does Europe get to name everything? I like the way the Aussies look at it:
Happy Birthday Annie
January 31, 2000. She’s 14 years old today.
She’s been lots of places.
Done a lot of things.
And been Miss December in the Cockapoo calendar.
Tonight she got extra cookies.
She’s been lots of places. Done a lot of things. And been Miss December in the Cockapoo calendar. Tonight she got extra cookies.