Homeschooling 101 and This N That boycott, discrimination, homeschool, Subway Sandwich Shops 1:52 pm
Subway Sandwich Shops (and Scholastic Books) are sponsoring a writing contest for children which explicitly excludes home schools. Please contact Subway and let them know what you think. Perhaps a few weeks of boycotting Subway would bring them around. Looks like they could use a few homeschoolers on their editorial staff!
Family Life Mother's Day, Story-teller figure 6:50 pm
25 years ago, my husband and I gave this Story-teller figure to my parents the year they were presented with their 10th grandchild.
Yesterday, I reminded myself of this figure when we took Mother’s Day pictures. I don’t have 10 here on earth, but I have some waiting in Heaven interceding for all of us. God is good!
Classical Education and Family Movies and Inspirations and This N That Estonia, Singing Revolution 1:03 pm
I will be speaking about the idea of beauty at an upcoming conference, and have been considering beauty as expressed in different media. One medium that affects us all is music, which has the power to move people to tears, to move them to war, to move them to destruction, or to move them to revolution.
We went to see a documentary film called The Singing Revolution yesterday in Denver. This film tells the story of how music was used to overthrow decades of Soviet oppression in the little Baltic nation of Estonia. Without raising a weapon, thousands of people succeeded in bringing down their slavemasters through their music.
Don’t let the term “documentary” scare you off. Please try to see it. You will be drawn in by the story and the beautiful music. Imagine 24,000 people singing in tune skillfully following a conductor while the Soviet army stands helplessly by. This film is a “must-see,” but like so many good movies in the last few years (The Passion of the Christ, Bella, etc.) it won’t come to a theater near you unless you request it. Please take a few moments to check out the website and then call your local theaters and ask them to bring this wonderful film to your city. Then, encourage your family and friends to go see it. It is a bit of history about which few are aware and it is presented in a way that will lift your spirits. Your young teens and older will enjoy the movie. The music which brought about this revolution was set to a national poem and was banned by the Soviets, but the people managed to sing it anyway and by doing so, kept hope for freedom alive in their hearts.
One of the lessons I took away from the movie is the importance of love of country in the survival of a people and a culture. Unfortunately, often people do not realize how good their own country is until they lose their freedoms and suffer oppression for decades as millions did under Soviet domination.
Family Life homeschooling, Mother's Day 8:01 am
This is probably the most difficult Mother’s Day for me to anticipate, because it is the first for me without my own dear mother who died last year. My Mom was just a little over a month short of 93 years of age. Mom was born in Tumacacori, Arizona, not far from the Mexican border in a little house which still stands by the highway. She grew up in that area, went to school and was then homeschooled by her own mother, learning Latin and reading Homer and Plato. She married my Dad in 1939 and together they had seven children. Mom dedicated her life to taking care of my Dad and the family. She moved all over the country because my Dad’s work took us all over the country. She was a gracious hostess and entertained people from all over the world in that capacity. There was no finer cook–I can still taste the simple pleasures of caldo, tamale pie and her refried beans. I learned a lot from my wonderful Mom–most importantly to trust in God ( I can still hear her say “con el favor de Dios“) and to love family. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom, and all you Moms out there.
Family Life and Prayers and Family Life Birthdays 5:58 am
Today my Dad would be 93 years old. He was born in Tubac, Arizona, on a little homestead in 1915. He went to school and was the first in his family to go to college. His father, born in Mexico, told his children to learn English and get an education. My Dad did so, and that enabled him to build a career which provided well for my Mom, Aggie, and seven children. Though my grandparents were citizens, they were born in Mexico, and my dad was a first-generation-born-in-the-US-citizen. He learned the value of hard work, and he lived the Faith which was handed down to him by his parents and which sustained him into his old age. Dad loved God, he loved my Mom, he loved all of his children and grandchildren, and he loved people in general. He was a conservationist (not to be confused with modern environmentalist). Dad died after the turn of the new millenium on March 14, surrounded by Mom and his children. He is sorely missed.
My sister Marie was the first of 7 children born to my parents. She is many things to many people, but to me she is my big sis and dear confidant. Marie and I have shared many moments and memories throughout the years, both in good times and in bad. Today she will be celebrated by family and friends in Tucson. Wish I could be there to celebrate the “Matriarch” of our family, who inherited the title at the passing of our mother last July.
This N That From the mouths of babes 1:15 pm
I went to work the other day taking my purple gym bag so I could go to the Y later in the day. My nine-year-old granddaughter wanted to carry it for me.
When she entered the store, our customer service manager said, “Oh, Lucy, what a pretty purple bag. I like that.”
Lucy responded, “You’re not supposed to covet!”
