Today was tough. I knew it was going to be rough – Katie would be tired from four days of over doing. I had plenty to do workwise and I thought I had set aside a few things to keep Katie busy. I was going to push it – our consultant said to take things … More Hard Day: Missing Friends and the Weird Guy at the Park
Tonight our home school hosted a bonfire at the beach and it was great. We brought marshmallows and a roasting stick and pigged down lots of toasty roasted marshmallows. We made some new friends and watched the pelicans and seagulls chase a school of fish up the coast.Then the sailboats started coming in as the … More Outing: Home School Bonfire at Twin Lakes
Today was a first for Katie. She had her first babysitting job. Okay – not really baby-sitting – it was “mommy’s helper” – but she was responsible for keeping Roark happy, engaged and safe while his mom and I worked. We used the babysitting as a home school opportunity and studied up on child care, … More A First! A Chance to Babysit! Awesome!
I had to spend the whole day at my client’s office today – from 9am to 7:30pm – and so I planned ahead. I asked mom if she’d take Katie on a field trip to the Rosicrucian Museum in San Jose as a follow on to King Tut on Monday. Mom agreed, I printed out … More Field Trip: Gramma, Katie, GPS and the Rosicrucian Museum
Today was kind of the “first day of school” if there is such a thing for home school. We went over to the school for orientation – to figure out how things work, to get our personal “consultant” and to meet new families. Katie had a mind meld with one of the consultants and I … More Home School Orientation: So That’s Where All the Smart Women Went!
I had to get a lot of work done today. I had meetings and writing to get done, so Katie had her first show-some-initiative, do it yourself “work day” for home school. She started out working on her one page journal entry based on the visit to King Tut, but that rapidly degenerated into organizing … More First Home “Work Day”: Meaning Both of Us Worked!
Today was our first home school field trip. It was awesome. We did a lot of studying ahead – we rented a number of movies from Netflix (see list below) and it really helped us prepare for the event. We also spent time learning more about the culture from the book, Ancient Egypt Revealed. It … More Field Trip: King Tut at the De Young in San Francisco
Katie does not want to do home school. She is convinced she’s not going to have any friends and that spending time with me is going to totally suck. It’s been a long summer dealing with her anxiety about home school. Because we don’t know what to expect, she’s dreading it. Thank goodness, this week … More The Experiment Begins
Now that the elections in the U.S. are over, I am inspired by the culmination of what was a tedious, arduous, sometimes aggravating process. I am inspired because in the end, my daughter, who is nine, became engaged, excited and encouraged about the process and the result. In California, we had a number of important … More When Kids Rock the Vote: Tech Educates, Unifies
Have you watched The Baby Borrowers yet? I am not a big one for reality TV, I don’t even watch American Idol. But I had read about the impact this show had when it was done in the UK and I was anxious to see if American television would somehow mess it up. Good news: … More Baby Borrowers: TV You Can Watch with the Family
If you are a parent of younger children, this blog will depress you. If you are a parent of younger children, you need to read this blog. I just finished reading a long, intense article in Fast Company about the relationship between China and Africa. At first blush, you might wonder what it has to … More If You Care About Your Child’s Future, You Must Read This Blog
I live in California and I am served by Pacific Gas & Electric for my utilities. Last month, as I proceeded to review my online bill, I saw an interesting ad for ClimateSmart. I was being offered to businesses, but as a student of Jim Rockford*, I have learned that just because your name isn’t … More Green You Can Do: Offsetting Your Google Footprint
A of couple weeks ago I was talking with a business associate who surprised me with some bad news. Happens all the time right – except I got emotional and realized it would benefit our business relationship if I got the heck off the phone and stopped talking. So I begged off to get my … More Why I Hate Spam (Filters)
Today’s blog is strictly personal. Last weekend, we made a mistake. We accidentally forgot to open the door to our chicken roost so the chickens had to sleep in the coop without the protection of the roost. Around 3am, I heard a horrible noise. I cannot say enough about how horrible that noise was. I … More Chicken Little: The Night the Sky Fell
I had no idea what I was getting into. Sure I wanted to try the new Wii Fit. It sounded great. Only I blew it. I didn’t preorder it – what was I thinking – and no matter how I tried, I couldn’t find it locally. And then it happened. Kismet. Chance. Divine intervention. I … More Family Feud: Three Generations Compete on the Wii Fit!