My friend, Mrs. Hanigan, is a liar. Did you see her post for today? She says she is "off" at 5pm. No way sister! I've been to your house. There is always something or someone needing your attention. Wait, that isn't entirely true. When we were there blogging, all of the kiddos were outside or downstairs having a good time. Okay, so maybe you are off at 5pm. What did you do, send the kids outside for the night?
If you haven't explored Mrs. Hanigans blog yet, you really need to. That woman amazes me. She is creative, lovely and doesn't yell at her kids nearly as much as she leads you to believe. OR...maybe she just has the wool pulled over my eyes. :-) No, this is one of those women that seems to do a kazillion things and yet has time to pause to watch her daughter & friends "perform their song." Of course the song lasted about 10 seconds because one of the children ran off in the middle of the beginning and it all kind of fell apart. What did Mrs. Hanigan do? She proudly proclaims, "Bravo, good job!" or some such thing. Even though the whole thing fell apart, her daughter beamed with pride because mommy noticed. Then we ran back inside to our laptops. It only took a moment but I bet when that child grows up, she'll remember that mommy took time for her.
When I grow up, I want to be just like you Mrs. Hanigan. The problem is I'm older than her. What am I to do?
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Declaration of Intent to Homeschool form
If you are going to homeschool in the state of Washington, you must fill out the Declaration of Intent to Provide Home-Based Instruction form if your child is anywhere from 8 to 18 years old. Just head on down to your local district's registration office and tell them you want to fill it out. If your local district's form is in compliance with state law, it is really simple to fill out. All you need to fill out is your child's name, birthdate, your signature, address and IF you are qualifying to homeschool by being supervised by a person who is certified in Washington State (according to RCW 28A.410) then you need to check that spot on the form. That's it. No more information is required by state law.
What some of you may need to know is that not all school districts in the state have their forms in compliance with the law. Some forms require a ridiculous amount of information, some even requesting your "education plan". Well, H E L L O! According to Washington State Law, homeschoolers are not required to submit anything like that. It doesn't matter what is on the form other than what is required by law because you don't have to fill the other parts out. I always like to be a bit bold and circle the out of compliant parts (usually ten times or so to make it obvious) and then write "Out of compliance with WA State Law. See RCW 28A.200.010." in big bold letters. It makes me feel proactive. I also like the district to know that even if they don't, I know the law regarding homeschooling. Knowledge is power, right? If you are okay with giving the district all kinds of information, then that is up to you. Personally, I only give what the law requires. Men and women fought hard to get the wonderful homeschool law that we have and I get rather irritated at the fact that some districts think they are "giving us permission" to homeschool when we fill out the Intent form. The district isn't giving us anything. We have the right to educate our own children by law. The Intent form simply does two things.
When you go in to fill out the Intent to Provide Home-Based Instruction form, some districts might ask if you want to look at their "homeschool program". They may even entice you with promises of free books, supplies and even computers. Okay, first of all, you don't have to look at their program. Second of all, if you choose to participate in their program, you are no longer under homeschool law. Technically those programs are Alternative Education Programs. They don't like to call them that because that brings up icky feelings. The first Alt Ed programs were for those kids that dropped out of school for drugs, pregnancy or because they "didn't fit in". With the rise of Virtual Schools, more and more local districts are creating their own "homeschool programs" to draw homeschoolers back into the system. Don't be deceived folks. Those programs are paid with tax payers' dollars. The school district gets thousands of dollars when your child is enrolled in the program. Now, if you think that is the best choice for your child, I'm not going to stomp on your toes or anything. I just want you to know that the district can call it what it wants but don't think you are covered by homeschool law. You can still be considered a homeschooler if you are participating in a virtual school part time. So if you think you want to go with the district's program, the key question to ask is, "Will my student be enrolled full time or part time?" If they say full time, your child will be a public school student and will be required to fulfill all the same requirements as any other public school child.
Okay that was a lot of info and not all of it related to the Intent form but it all tied in together, right? The only other thing I will say regarding the Intent form for now is if you put you child into school for Kindergarten and then decided you wanted to homeschool, you must unenroll your child and fill out the Intent form even though your child is not yet 8 years old. Once a child is in the system, they will be considered truant if they should quit coming to school even though the compulsory age is 8 years old.
As Porky Pig would say, "That's all folks!"...until the next Technical Tuesday!
What some of you may need to know is that not all school districts in the state have their forms in compliance with the law. Some forms require a ridiculous amount of information, some even requesting your "education plan". Well, H E L L O! According to Washington State Law, homeschoolers are not required to submit anything like that. It doesn't matter what is on the form other than what is required by law because you don't have to fill the other parts out. I always like to be a bit bold and circle the out of compliant parts (usually ten times or so to make it obvious) and then write "Out of compliance with WA State Law. See RCW 28A.200.010." in big bold letters. It makes me feel proactive. I also like the district to know that even if they don't, I know the law regarding homeschooling. Knowledge is power, right? If you are okay with giving the district all kinds of information, then that is up to you. Personally, I only give what the law requires. Men and women fought hard to get the wonderful homeschool law that we have and I get rather irritated at the fact that some districts think they are "giving us permission" to homeschool when we fill out the Intent form. The district isn't giving us anything. We have the right to educate our own children by law. The Intent form simply does two things.
- 1. It protects the district by letting them know they are off the hook for educating your child and
- 2. It protects the parent because your child can not be considered truant.
When you go in to fill out the Intent to Provide Home-Based Instruction form, some districts might ask if you want to look at their "homeschool program". They may even entice you with promises of free books, supplies and even computers. Okay, first of all, you don't have to look at their program. Second of all, if you choose to participate in their program, you are no longer under homeschool law. Technically those programs are Alternative Education Programs. They don't like to call them that because that brings up icky feelings. The first Alt Ed programs were for those kids that dropped out of school for drugs, pregnancy or because they "didn't fit in". With the rise of Virtual Schools, more and more local districts are creating their own "homeschool programs" to draw homeschoolers back into the system. Don't be deceived folks. Those programs are paid with tax payers' dollars. The school district gets thousands of dollars when your child is enrolled in the program. Now, if you think that is the best choice for your child, I'm not going to stomp on your toes or anything. I just want you to know that the district can call it what it wants but don't think you are covered by homeschool law. You can still be considered a homeschooler if you are participating in a virtual school part time. So if you think you want to go with the district's program, the key question to ask is, "Will my student be enrolled full time or part time?" If they say full time, your child will be a public school student and will be required to fulfill all the same requirements as any other public school child.
Okay that was a lot of info and not all of it related to the Intent form but it all tied in together, right? The only other thing I will say regarding the Intent form for now is if you put you child into school for Kindergarten and then decided you wanted to homeschool, you must unenroll your child and fill out the Intent form even though your child is not yet 8 years old. Once a child is in the system, they will be considered truant if they should quit coming to school even though the compulsory age is 8 years old.
As Porky Pig would say, "That's all folks!"...until the next Technical Tuesday!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Addiction
I'll just do it this one time. Yeh. That's how most addictions start. It seems innocent enough. Only one time and never again. And as soon as you give in, you almost instantly regret it. That's how it started with me too.
Actually I blame a local grocery store. If it weren't for their "really great" cereal sale, I wouldn't be dealing with this now. They were selling boxes ofadditive and preservative laden really tasty cereal for only $1.79. What a deal! Do you know how much those boxes are normally? Like four bucks. Geesh.
Now if you have only known me for a short time, you might be saying, "So what's the big deal?" If you knew me...say four years ago...you might be saying, "Who are you and what did you do with Mrs. P?!" Because four years ago I was the mostly raw foodist who would never have let such atrocities cross my children's lips, much less my own. So WHAT HAPPENED?!
I don't know. All I know is that when I gave birth to Edmund, all of my will power came out with him. Actually that kid is the epitome of "will power". Well, in all fairness, I have seen worse children but compared to the first two, the more I had, the more ornery they got. Maybe that's why Mr. P said four was enough...actually he said two was enough but I somehow got two more out of the deal.
So with that being said, someone please help me with this addiction. I'm cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!...but I can't take it anymore and neither can my hips. Feel free to comment with any tips you have. I know, I know, the first and most important tip is to not bring it into your house. Don't worry. I'm not buying any more of this stuff. After all, they only have this cereal sale once a year.
Actually I blame a local grocery store. If it weren't for their "really great" cereal sale, I wouldn't be dealing with this now. They were selling boxes of
Now if you have only known me for a short time, you might be saying, "So what's the big deal?" If you knew me...say four years ago...you might be saying, "Who are you and what did you do with Mrs. P?!" Because four years ago I was the mostly raw foodist who would never have let such atrocities cross my children's lips, much less my own. So WHAT HAPPENED?!
I don't know. All I know is that when I gave birth to Edmund, all of my will power came out with him. Actually that kid is the epitome of "will power". Well, in all fairness, I have seen worse children but compared to the first two, the more I had, the more ornery they got. Maybe that's why Mr. P said four was enough...actually he said two was enough but I somehow got two more out of the deal.
So with that being said, someone please help me with this addiction. I'm cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!...but I can't take it anymore and neither can my hips. Feel free to comment with any tips you have. I know, I know, the first and most important tip is to not bring it into your house. Don't worry. I'm not buying any more of this stuff. After all, they only have this cereal sale once a year.
Slacker
I am a slacker.
Oh wait, NO...I meant to say, "I get distracted" because calling myself a "slacker" would be like taking personal responsibility for my actions and according to my June 8th post...no one in the US of A does that. Therefore, I get distracted.
I truly meant to post regularly about WA state homeschooling law but then life got crazy and I barely managed to post anything. If I have limited posting time, it's going to be on something simple to post. My personal opinion on something is ALWAYS simple to post so that will win hands down every time. Of course if you get into a fight with Mother Earth, that gives you something to post about too.
So all of that to say, I am going to get back on task. Every Tuesday will be "Technical Tuesday" so I will post on stuff about homeschooling, starting with finishing up the Homeschooling Law in Washington State stuff I began way back on May 6th.
Oh wait, NO...I meant to say, "I get distracted" because calling myself a "slacker" would be like taking personal responsibility for my actions and according to my June 8th post...no one in the US of A does that. Therefore, I get distracted.
I truly meant to post regularly about WA state homeschooling law but then life got crazy and I barely managed to post anything. If I have limited posting time, it's going to be on something simple to post. My personal opinion on something is ALWAYS simple to post so that will win hands down every time. Of course if you get into a fight with Mother Earth, that gives you something to post about too.
So all of that to say, I am going to get back on task. Every Tuesday will be "Technical Tuesday" so I will post on stuff about homeschooling, starting with finishing up the Homeschooling Law in Washington State stuff I began way back on May 6th.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
50 Years!
(I'm trying to play catch up. I typed this up while at Sunriver but am only just posting it.)
That is a long time. Well, I suppose not on the scale of the big picture but now days, that is definitely a reason to celebrate if you are talking years of marriage. Mr. P's parents celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary yesterday and they still seem to like each other. They are actually down right sweet. No, they don't always agree with each other but they don't sit and argue their point...well, at least not too much anyway. Perhaps I should take some pointers from them (see my husband vigorously nodding his head here?).
That is a long time. Well, I suppose not on the scale of the big picture but now days, that is definitely a reason to celebrate if you are talking years of marriage. Mr. P's parents celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary yesterday and they still seem to like each other. They are actually down right sweet. No, they don't always agree with each other but they don't sit and argue their point...well, at least not too much anyway. Perhaps I should take some pointers from them (see my husband vigorously nodding his head here?).
Mom and Dad Pevensie decided they wanted to have their two children and their families come to Sun River, Oregon to celebrate the anniversary with them. It's a beautiful place. As a matter of fact this is where my dh and I spent our honeymoon. The house Mom & Dad P rented is fabulous. I just love our room and wish Mr. P and I could use it more but this is after all supposed to be a family vacation. Thought I would post a picture so you could be jealous. Or maybe your house already looks like this so it's no big deal. I think it is wondie!
I have yet to ask Mom and Pops what their secret is for a long lasting marriage. It might have to wait until tomorrow though. Today we are celebrating Lucy's birthday. Whatever the secret, if it gets us a nice family vacation, I'll take it...well, that and it would be nice to be celebrating our 50th in 33 years!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Oh P U L E E Z E !
I decided to visit my friend Jenny-Fair's blog to see what was new with her. I read the post about the 8 year old who ate a whole bunch of Magnetix toys. The parents are now launching a campaign to get those toys pulled off of the shelves.
H E L L O, parents, get a clue! If your child has some sort of disorder that would cause her to eat such toys, don't buy them for her! That girl has to have some sort of disorder. My 3 year old knows better than to eat toys. Maybe they don't feed her so she just had to eat something. I really want to know. Why do my children have to suffer because of the stupidity of other children? Oh yeh, I forget. We live in the good ol' US of A where there is no personal responsibility. Did you forget as well?
H E L L O, parents, get a clue! If your child has some sort of disorder that would cause her to eat such toys, don't buy them for her! That girl has to have some sort of disorder. My 3 year old knows better than to eat toys. Maybe they don't feed her so she just had to eat something. I really want to know. Why do my children have to suffer because of the stupidity of other children? Oh yeh, I forget. We live in the good ol' US of A where there is no personal responsibility. Did you forget as well?
Remember, this is the place where you can order hot coffee and then sue the fast food restaurant for serving you hot coffee. Um, didn't you know coffee is served hot? Sometimes my friend wants to bring me a latte and sometimes the barrista tells her she is only supposed to make it (some temp I can't remember) degrees when my friend asks for it "really hot". She wants to make sure it is still hot by the time I get it. Isn't she nice? But sometimes the barrista is nervous about making it so hot. She could, after all, get sued.
Come on people! Wake up and start taking some responsibility for your own actions or that of your children if they are too young for taking the responsibility. Actually, unless that 8yo has some sort of disorder, she is perfectly old enough for being held responsible for her actions. Let's not go ruining it for everyone because she's foolish enough to eat her toys. And please, someone feed her. She must be hungry.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Just don't do it.
"Idiot!" This is what I was thinking as the white car flies by me on the freeway. He had to be going 100 mph or more. It's funny how fast it all happens. As I'm thinking the word "idiot", I glance into the rear view mirror to see three or so patrol cars coming up fast with their lights flashing and about this time I hear the sirens. I pull over so fast (which I'm glad I did) and as I'm pulling over the idiot in the white car is cutting across the lanes, cutting right in front of me (I was JUST taking the exit and pulled over at the "mouth" of the exit). My friend in the car behind me told me I was lucky he didn't hit me. It all happens so stinking fast, it's hard to tell. I was just thankful to be out of the way. Now what you need to know is that this exit is not very long before you encounter a stop light. No one going 100+ mph is going to stop in time without causing a problem. This guy slams on the brakes, smoke from the tires is flying and I see his car spin out of control. What I didn't see (because there is a curve and a hill) is that the idiot was planning on coming back down the exit ramp. The first patrol car in pursuit rammed him to stop him. I know we shouldn't take pleasure in other people's pains but I was happy to see this guys face all cut up when I finally got to drive on. Today in the paper I see he has several felony warrants. Okay, like attempting to outrun the police is going to help you with that? Do you know what the statistics are for attempting to outrun the police? Oh wait, I forgot you are an idiot so of course you don't know what the statistics are. They are not in your favor dude! And another thing, Mr. Idiot, you are darn lucky you didn't hit me because if you had and I survived, you would have had a very angry woman to deal with. I just got screwed up on my bike race and adding this problem to it wouldn't have been good. I guess that means you got off easy after all Mr. Idiot.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Don't quit.
Some times things just don't go as planned. Of course I know that because I certainly didn't plan crashing on the mountain bike last Monday. Saturday (yesterday) was race day. My husband's advice was to "go fast but slow". He then changed that to "fast but cautious". I went to my exchange area rather early because I just get nervous hanging around the starting line. I knew our fjeld runner (2 mile run) wouldn't be fast but I went early anyway. This gal deserves tremendous praise (the fjeld runner, not me). She is overweight and she has only been running for 2 months (lost 5 pounds doing it) but wanted to participate. Bless her heart. That run was more difficult than she thought. It is on rough, uneven ground, a cross-country type of course...but not as nice. To make a long story at least a smidgy shorter, my fjeld runner did come in last and a full 15 minutes after the second to last person. You know when you run, 15 minutes is a lot but she didn't quit. We did have to remind her that many people didn't even think about signing up for this event and she finished her part!
Now starting out 15 minutes after everyone else was long gone was a bit intimidating so I just had to tell myself "just me and the clock". As soon as I was off road and hitting the hill, I had troubles. Nothing dramatic, just not performing as I should. One of those "swearing under your breath" moments (but I didn't really swear Mom, really). Things just seemed to get worse from there. No one was around. People are supposed to be posted along the trail periodically. I saw one volunteer at the start of the hill. I finally get to the bridge where I ended up after my crash. As I get close I ask the guy in the bright orange vest which way to go. He points and says up the hill. I question him, "Up the hill?"
"Yes," he says, so up the hill I go. After I'm nearly to the top of the hill, I figure out that there was no way this was right. I'm supposed to ride down this hill. After talking to "flat tire guy" (he was coming down the hill), I turn around and ride all of the way back and now I'm not happy. Actually, before I got back to the bridge, I came across a sheriff on a motorcycle. He was checking for anyone with a problem. He had no clue where I was supposed to go either of course. I end up back at the bridge asking orange vest guy to call someone and the guy he calls (who is on top of the hill) doesn't know either. Finally I say, "Last year I went East along the canal and up the fence line." Since no one knows, they advise I go that way. Now I'm mad. I start 15 minutes later than the last person and now I'm an additional 25 minutes off track because that dude didn't know the course and misdirected me. Why did I listen to him? Grrrr! Then to top it all off, there were several places the path split and no marker, no volunteer to direct me, just me and my memory. At this point I'm mad enough that I think about quitting. I know a way back to the point where I'm supposed to end and I seriously think about quitting. Then I think of "L", my fjeld runner. She finished. It was hard for her and she finished. My new mantra became "My team will finish!" I was going to do it for "L" if for no other reason. Then I remembered my friend, our team captain, said this was supposed to be fun. I wasn't exactly having fun but I shouldn't quit because of all of the problems. I was going to finish and you couldn't pay me to quit (well, maybe if the price was right). I did eventually finish. The water station was long gone. I supposed they packed it up long ago. Sheesh.
At this point the most interesting thing was the reaction of my friend who had come to wait for me and "L", my fjeld runner who drove The Beast (aka my dh's truck) there. Apparently they were a bit frantic because earlier someone had rode through on their bike saying they thought someone had wrecked or was throwing up because they heard moaning. This was reported and no one bothered to check it out. Nice. So for quite some time, my dear friends were waiting, worried that I had crashed and burned again. Nice. Finally they asked the official that was there, if he could get someone to check on me. I'm sure they had visions of me laying in the middle of a pile of tumbleweeds, moaning in pain, just waiting for help. I'm wondering if that sheriff (who was in a car) that passed me was the one sent to check out the possible crash victim. I'm not sure what good he would do once he got to the trail. It's not exactly a place a car could go.
When I get back to the main race area, I find out several mountain bikers had complained about problems on the trail. Still, I felt it was my duty to let the race director know how I felt. Don't get any bad ideas, I did it nicely. Here's the thing...some woman that lives up among the hills where the course was, saw all of those nice markers with the arrows on which way to go and she took them away. Yeh, you read that right. She thought someone was having a kegger and all of the markers were pointing the way so she got rid of them. Okay, this is the 24th year of this particular race. As my sister said, "What, was she from Pluto or something?" I don't know if she moved here this past year or if she is just plain stupid but I do know she cause a lot of people to be swearing that day (not me though Mom). I still wonder where the volunteers were though. They could have come in handy in this situation.
Okay, if you are nice enough to have read this far, you get "the kicker". After all of this, our team still came in second place. Of course the only person around to get the medals was our team captain. I had just left the award area because I figured Edmund needed to get home for a nap. We were tired and sunburned (apparently the sun screen only works if you get it out of the bottle and on to your skin). I certainly knew we didn't place after that fiasco. What I didn't count on was...
Now, what would have happened if I had quit? We would have been disqualified. No medals. "L"'s painful run would have been in vain. That's a long story just to tell you that you should never quit. But there it is. Tomorrow, I'll tell you about the lunatic who was attempting to evade the law as we were driving back to the main race area. It was an interesting day after all.
Now starting out 15 minutes after everyone else was long gone was a bit intimidating so I just had to tell myself "just me and the clock". As soon as I was off road and hitting the hill, I had troubles. Nothing dramatic, just not performing as I should. One of those "swearing under your breath" moments (but I didn't really swear Mom, really). Things just seemed to get worse from there. No one was around. People are supposed to be posted along the trail periodically. I saw one volunteer at the start of the hill. I finally get to the bridge where I ended up after my crash. As I get close I ask the guy in the bright orange vest which way to go. He points and says up the hill. I question him, "Up the hill?"
"Yes," he says, so up the hill I go. After I'm nearly to the top of the hill, I figure out that there was no way this was right. I'm supposed to ride down this hill. After talking to "flat tire guy" (he was coming down the hill), I turn around and ride all of the way back and now I'm not happy. Actually, before I got back to the bridge, I came across a sheriff on a motorcycle. He was checking for anyone with a problem. He had no clue where I was supposed to go either of course. I end up back at the bridge asking orange vest guy to call someone and the guy he calls (who is on top of the hill) doesn't know either. Finally I say, "Last year I went East along the canal and up the fence line." Since no one knows, they advise I go that way. Now I'm mad. I start 15 minutes later than the last person and now I'm an additional 25 minutes off track because that dude didn't know the course and misdirected me. Why did I listen to him? Grrrr! Then to top it all off, there were several places the path split and no marker, no volunteer to direct me, just me and my memory. At this point I'm mad enough that I think about quitting. I know a way back to the point where I'm supposed to end and I seriously think about quitting. Then I think of "L", my fjeld runner. She finished. It was hard for her and she finished. My new mantra became "My team will finish!" I was going to do it for "L" if for no other reason. Then I remembered my friend, our team captain, said this was supposed to be fun. I wasn't exactly having fun but I shouldn't quit because of all of the problems. I was going to finish and you couldn't pay me to quit (well, maybe if the price was right). I did eventually finish. The water station was long gone. I supposed they packed it up long ago. Sheesh.
At this point the most interesting thing was the reaction of my friend who had come to wait for me and "L", my fjeld runner who drove The Beast (aka my dh's truck) there. Apparently they were a bit frantic because earlier someone had rode through on their bike saying they thought someone had wrecked or was throwing up because they heard moaning. This was reported and no one bothered to check it out. Nice. So for quite some time, my dear friends were waiting, worried that I had crashed and burned again. Nice. Finally they asked the official that was there, if he could get someone to check on me. I'm sure they had visions of me laying in the middle of a pile of tumbleweeds, moaning in pain, just waiting for help. I'm wondering if that sheriff (who was in a car) that passed me was the one sent to check out the possible crash victim. I'm not sure what good he would do once he got to the trail. It's not exactly a place a car could go.
When I get back to the main race area, I find out several mountain bikers had complained about problems on the trail. Still, I felt it was my duty to let the race director know how I felt. Don't get any bad ideas, I did it nicely. Here's the thing...some woman that lives up among the hills where the course was, saw all of those nice markers with the arrows on which way to go and she took them away. Yeh, you read that right. She thought someone was having a kegger and all of the markers were pointing the way so she got rid of them. Okay, this is the 24th year of this particular race. As my sister said, "What, was she from Pluto or something?" I don't know if she moved here this past year or if she is just plain stupid but I do know she cause a lot of people to be swearing that day (not me though Mom). I still wonder where the volunteers were though. They could have come in handy in this situation.
Okay, if you are nice enough to have read this far, you get "the kicker". After all of this, our team still came in second place. Of course the only person around to get the medals was our team captain. I had just left the award area because I figured Edmund needed to get home for a nap. We were tired and sunburned (apparently the sun screen only works if you get it out of the bottle and on to your skin). I certainly knew we didn't place after that fiasco. What I didn't count on was...
- ALL of the mountain bikers had a terrible time. As a matter of fact, some did quit.
- Our road cyclist did awesome and our final runner did awesome. (Our inline skater may have as well, I never did find out)
Now, what would have happened if I had quit? We would have been disqualified. No medals. "L"'s painful run would have been in vain. That's a long story just to tell you that you should never quit. But there it is. Tomorrow, I'll tell you about the lunatic who was attempting to evade the law as we were driving back to the main race area. It was an interesting day after all.
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