We are on a constant quest to declutter and so far we have to sell: Power Station Charger: http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/ele/1589249092.html Wireless Phone Jacks: http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/ele/1589253121.html Cordless Phone: http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/ele/1589261303.html Briggs & Riley Laptop bag Canon ZR700 Video Camera: http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rds/ele/1567091606.html

If you are interested, let me know.

The research I've been reading on homeschooling has helped my define an answer to the question my Dad asked me: "why do I want to do it?"

Here are the reasons that are starting to stack up in the case FOR it:

1. I want my daughters to have choice and control in their learning
2. I want them to learn at their own pace, not have information forced upon them before they are ready or to be held back if they are ahead - subject by subject
3. If I could design a school program for my girls from K, it would include learning French (but I didn't want French immersion from K), lots of arts (but I didn't want to drive them to the fine arts school everyday and that's if I had dialled at just the right moment) and lots of learning through play and imagination...oh wait! I CAN design this program.
4. I want to spend as much time with them while they are small as I possibly can. They are growing so fast! I want to watch the whole thing!
5. I want them to learn how they learn best: however that is - exploring, reading, hands-on, playing, listening, watching. We'll see!

I've been doing lots of research. There isn't much out there that points to damage done by homeschooling - including the socialization. All research seems to show that homeschooled kids are just as social as those in the public school with equal self esteem.

But I realize you can make stats say whatever you want so....

I'm looking for someone to show me evidence that it's actually bad to homeschool as I'm starting to get a very rosy picture of it!

Also, thanks for the vote of confidence. A number of people have told me they think I would be great at homeschooling. My friend Tasha, who initially thought the idea was not so good as the only people she knows who were homeschooled were socially awkward, said that it would be difficult to do well but if anyone could do it, it would be me.

Still waiting to meet with our preschool teacher, whose opinion I value greatly as she knows Elise from an educational setting and my sister Jackie, who is against it at this age, has yet to weigh in.

This is the cold that never ends It just goes on and on my friends Somebody started coughin' and we knew not what it was And now we keep on coughin' every day and it's because

this is the cold that never ends....

I tried to make homemade baked beans the other day. I had planned on a recipe that used ketchup and intended to make my own ketchup as I have been planning for weeks now. I soaked the beans over night, cooked them for two hours in water and opened the cans of tomatoes. When I looked at the ketchup recipe, I discovered that it was going to take 2 and a half hours. Ok so no worries but I didn’t want to use a cup and a half of Heinz (have you seen the salt content of ketchup!?) so I looked for another recipe for beans that didn’t call for ketchup. I decided on one that used maple syrup and set about gather the ingredients. No maple syrup. grrrr. So I settled on another recipe that was to take a couple of hours to bake. After the two hours was up, the beans were nowhere near cooked. I left them in the oven. They cooked and cooked and didn’t cook. hmmm. No beans for supper that night. I popped them in the slow cooker for another 4 hours. Put them in the fridge overnight and when I took them out to serve them at dinner, guess what…not fully cooked. grrrrr.

sigh.

Meanwhile, yesterday I decided to make the ketchup. I cooked, pushed through a sieve, cooked, reduced, cooked some more and after the 2 hours had the ketchup. Decided to boil a jar to store it in and by this time I was in the throes of cooking supper. Forgot to put the ketchup in the jar and went to teach bootcamp. Came home and discovered that my sweet hubby Erin, thought that the ketchup was leftover sauce from the failed baked beans and had cleaned the pot.

I just laughed and laughed.

sigh.

I guess some things are not meant to be.

Putting a chicken in my slow cooker today. Should be interesting.