Simple Plans a review and reminiscense

Listening to an old CD is like going into the way back machine.   When I pull out Billy Crockett's Simple Plans

I'm transported back to 1999 when it came out.  It  was released on August 31, 1999, just a few days prior to my oldest daughter's release.  So back in my newlywed apartment days I first heard this album.  I have it both on c.d. and cassette, so I probably first heard it on cassette and then picked it up in a cd bargain bin sometime after that.  I am glad I did ,as we no longer have a functioning cassette player in the house.  I found this out much to my chagrin earlier this week when trying to listen to Crockett's  earlier Red Bird Blue Sky, which I have only on cassette.  Don't even get me started on vinyl.

There is much to love about Simple Plans,  from it's delightful cover art to the fact that it's dedicated to Habitat for Humanity,  the fact that the music is evocative of so many styles of music while maintaining its own distinct sound. One of the things I like most about the album is that the music is so reminiscent of the work of so many of my  favorite Christian artists, particularly, the late Rich Mullins,  Allen Levi and Noel Paul Stookey, best known as the Paul from Peter , Paul and Mary and also Bob Bennet. Michael  Kelly Blanchard and Michael Card.

I just started  playing the album and will give you a few reflections as I listen.

For the shaping of a shelter, where everybody can come home 

Simple plans, the title song ,starts things off.  It catches the ministry of Habitat for Humanity in a musical nutshell .  It is soothing musically and also spiritually energizing.  This song reminds me of Spider Droid and my trip to Joplin Missouri a few years ago where we helped with construction and clean up after the tornado.

Oh remember the fish and the loaves,  how love has a math of it's own 

The very catchy "what you got" is a reminder that we are just pieces in God's redemptive puzzle.  It is a perfect tie in again to ministries like Habitat for Humanity that rely on volunteer efforts.  We may think that we have relatively little to bring to the table, but by a "just bring what you got" mentality we can see God do so much beyond our own meager efforts.

You may live on borrowed time, broken heart and troubled mind, God thinks your the keeping kind

My friend Don Brorsen and I used to call songs like no strings on love, what's your point songs back when we were deejaying together in college,  We called them this because they repeat the moral of the story lyric so many times.  We sometimes meant this term derisively, however the repetition works nicely on no strings on love.  Don, like all of us, lived on borrowed time , dying of cancer earlier this year.  He also was familiar with broken hearts and troubled minds, I am not sure if he ever heard this song  but confident it would have ministered to him if he had. This song is the most Stookeyesque of the set.  It is fast paced, but deep , thoughtful and provocative.

I will remember the hands of Christ, touching the broken, the scandalized.

If No Strings on Love is the most Stookeysque of the tracks on Simple Plans, Love The World is hands down the most Mullinsesque. Crockett performed BGV's for Rich Mullins self titled debut Album in 1986 and also played guitar and toured with Mullins in later efforts.  Just a few years after Mullins untimely death, Mullins presence  is palpable on Simple Plans and most evident on this track as well as the cover artwork.

What  I see in you is shining in your eyes written on your face ... and I will be the lucky one for all I see in you.

All I See in You seems to be an intimate song about a friendship that I would love to know the whole story about.  It reminds me of the power that encouragement brings and how well placed words can have a lifetime of benefit.  I remember when I was engaged to Amy, I was briefly unemployed and felt bad as I had no job. When I shared that concern with her, she said I'm not worried, you always work.  That confidence in me has helped me many times in retrospect when difficulties have come.  Knowing that Amy is in my corner, has been enough to keep on punching through.

What have you learned that means a difference to you? 

Billy Crockett and Allen Levi are the only 2 artists I know who have the consistent ability to be simultaneously irreverent, silly , poignant and thought provoking.  There songs are like  poetic lasagna with many layers weaved throughout.  Tap on Your Shoulder from the fast pace to the Stookyesques "Tap Tap" is the most fun song on a very fun album. 

All of my children will be who they will be and I will be there with them to the end.  

While there may be too much hoe down in All of My Children for my wife's liking, I like the simple message that God made us special and loves us very much.  It's a very Big Idea.

I find my guitar and I walk to the light and I vow to be the man I'm made to be tonight. 

Following Hammer Thumb , a brief instrumental interlude that shows off Crockett's mammoth guitar abilities ,  Mark and Sammy is the one song on the album that has not aged well.  This is mainly due to the fact that Crockett uses the home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa from 1998 to sing about doing your best and playing at a high level.  Unfortunately how could Crockett know that McGwire and Sosa's achievements would be tainted by allegations and admissions of steroid use?  It is my sincere hope that Crockett did not use PED's or fill his guitar with cork to complete this album.

It all turns doesn't it turn, daylight to darkness and daylight back again 

It All Turns is a modern lullaby, a soothing song about the beautiful cyclical nature of life.  It is like the book of Ecclesiastes from a glass half full perspective.  

Nobody wants to be the last in line.

Jesus mixes things up.  He took the hierarchy of his day and stood it on his ear.  In his vivid descriptions of what it means in our society to be last, Crockett shows how powerful Christ's contention that in the kingdom of heaven the last will be first, really is.

The problem with many records is that they are  not produced to have one cohesive message.  The songs are not laid out in any order and are usually a hodge podge thematically.  I do not feel that way about this album.  The overall message I get from Simple Plans is that of a modern epistle about God's role in our lives, and ours in His mission.  Like most epistles, Crockett ends his with a benediction called Traveling Mercies.  

My favorite lines from the song are ...

Go in peace
live in grace
trust in the arms that will hold you
go in peace
live in grace trust God's love

That is a message suitable for 1999 , now and the future.  

Christmas traditions

When I was  a stay at home dad and home educator, Christmas was a 2  week break in the action.  My wife would be off her job  and we would have plenty of time to spend as a family for the holidays.   Now that I am working full time, and my wife has taken over the schooling portion of our lives everyone else in our family still gets a two week break ,except me.   I get Sunday's and Monday's off per usual but still have to work my regular Tuesday through Saturday with the exception of Christmas and New years day off. Sure we get to leave 90 minutes early on Christmas and New Year's Eve ,  but must make those 90 minutes up in the week we take them off, which is not exactly like getting them off.  I don,t say this to complain, I am very thankful to have a job.  I just say it as a point of contrast to what I am used to.

Getting so little time off, means there are some traditions at Christmas that I don't get to participate in and others that I do.  This past Saturday, Amy went with the kids to her sister.s house for the second annual family baking day.  While I worked and later while I OD'd on Netflix at home, they worked hard making multiple Christmas treats for later consumption.

After a regular day at Church yesterday,  and then helping out at  a local soup kitchen we did one of my favorite Christmas traditions, watching Its A Wonderful Life as a family.  Usually we watch it on a videocassette that predates my marriage by 10 years.  I have been married almost seventeen years ,so the videocassette is more than a quarter century old and not exactly a pleasure to watch.  Earlier this year I bought a DVD copy of my all time favorite film, and it made quite the difference in the quality of the product.

Today, we are spending the entire day out and about and doing some holiday related events. Last year we volunteered  several times at the Northern Illinois. Food Bank, Last Christmas, we invited some relatives to volunteer with us.  I was unable to go because of work.  This year we scheduled it on the Monday b4 Christmas so I could attend as well.  With another group of volunteers we assembled food to fill fill 20000 backpacks for a school backpack program which provides about 12000 meals.  Jesus gave so much to us by coming as a baby and then dying for our sins.  Giving love through volunteering and meeting the needs of others is a great way to celebrate Jesus.  After the Food Bank and after eating at one of Bunny Girls favorite restaurants, we went to one of our favorite libraries which is where I am typing this post. About twice each year we embark on what we call Library week.  Because of my work schedule, I am not always able to attend anymore.  A few hours doing what Rollers do best Librarizing , is fun and festive no matter the season.  In a few hours we are off to start what may become a tradition or just a warm holiday memory.  Amy's older brother has invited his relatives with children to a indoor fun center (roller rink, bowling alley, laser tag, bumper cars, and arcade.)  We took my side of the family there last summer for Cousins Day when in addition to the things I mentioned, there was also outdoor activities such as mini golf, bumper boats and batting cages.  It was a blast then, and should be more than 64000 ounces of fun which would make it tons of fun.

 Traditions and memories are important at Christmas time.  I hope your holiday traditions, new and old, help you experience family, fellowship and the true meaning of Christmas 

.  

This week at COH

The Carnival of Homesdhooling is at momSCHOOL this week. I hopr you all enjoy the Ages and Stages Edition.

Bunny girls birthday!

Bunny Girl is 15 today!

We are spending day at libraries and bookstores

Which means she is all ....

SMILES!!!!!!

Re-booting This Crazy Life: Too Young to Die

A friend from college died last Monday.  He had cancer.  I was on a trip when he succumbed and I did not notice until Friday, the day of his funeral, that he had passed away.  He was 4 or 5 years younger than myself and it is very possible that I may have thought that he was too young to die. Today his father shared a link on FB to a post my friend wrote on his blog this past  February.


Re-booting This Crazy Life: Too Young to Die

My friend made very good points.  I think death is one of the biggest Monday Morning Quarterback issues we have with God, sickness is another.  My friends wife shared in her blog  few months before her husband died  how his cancer led to their eventual reconciliation and remarriage to each other (they had previously been divorced from each other.)  Who expects God to use cancer like that?

I had not seen my friend for over 20 years.  He had been planning a trip back to our home state and I would have loved an opportunity to see him again.  I would also have been very happy if he had not passed while I was on a trip of a lifetime with my son.  I also wish that I had one last chance to say goodbye even if was just on FB.  However my friend was right, God controls our destinies; He doesn't do it in a way we can fathom, but in a way that is best for us.

My wife,  oldest daughter, and myself were some of the last people to see one of my grandmothers before she died.  We and my son were one of the last to spend time with my other grandmother at her home before she spent her last few weeks dying in a hospital.  My son and I were among  the last family members to see my younger brother before he died 5 years ago. If I didn't question God's timing when he allowed me opportunities to connect with family prior to their relatively sudden passings, why should I question him when He does not allow me those opportunities?

Most of all, I miss my friend and am glad for  the time we spent together in person 2 decades ago for the  past 5 years we spent together electronically.

I owe you a packet of Ramen, Don.  I don't think I can bring it to heaven, so I will eat it myself in your memory.

Carnival of Homeschooling at Living Life and Learning

The Current COH is up at Living, Life and Learning.  Please enjoy the  So you're thinking of homeschooling edition by clicking here.  My first post of the reboot, I Am Back, was included in the edition, for which I am grateful.

Galena Day I

On July 13th  this year I went on vacation to Galena, Illinois with my family and my sister-in-law's family. We stayed in a time share that my parents graciously shared with us.  We arrived on Sunday and returned home Thursday. Three adults and five children ranging in age from 8 to 14 drove from suburban Chicago to the
tri-state area of northwestern Illinois, southwestern Wisconsin and Northeastern Iowa.  This is our story.

Day One

Since Galena is just a few hours away from us, we were able to attend church on the day we left.  Our interim pastor was taking a few weeks of well deserved vacation.  At church I saw Ben Calhoun from the Christian band Citizen Way. His band has played at our church before, but that is not why he was there. His father was giving the sermon for our vacationing pastor.

After church, we had a quick lunch and drove to Sycamore, IL where my SIL lives.  We reorganized the vehicles by gender and drove to Galena.  Galena is the part of Illinois that is not flat and I enjoyed the scenery as my son and nephew chattered on about all things Mine-craft.  The trip took about 2 hours.  I may have considered throwing myself off one of the rolling hills with all the Mine-craft discussions, had we not had radio contact with the other car  provided by the walkie talkies we brought along for the ride.

We got to our hotel and scouted the place out.  My SIL and her kids were in one suite and we were in another.  Ours had 2 balconies,2 fire places , 3 TVs,  2 bedrooms, a main room, a kitchen, 2 bathrooms, one with a hot tub, and a laundry room.  In other words, it was a dump.  For the rest of the day,we went swimming and talked on the walkie talkies, and after dinner all watched the movie Field of Dreams. Galena is an hour from the place where it was filmed, and planned to visit there later in the week.  The vacation got off to a terrific start!

Next Episode: Returning the favor.

Hall of Fame Part 1

My son and I were at Cooperstown over the weekend. We went to see Frank Thomas, Greg Maddux and Tony LaRussa and the rest of the 2014 class be inducted.

Over the next few posts I will share clips to the speeches and some pictures of the players inducted.  Let's start with good old #35 Frank Thomas.

Here is a link to his very impressive and moving induction speech.

What the Reboot will be like

Hello.  It's been a  while since my last post.  (Why do I start  so many posts like I'm in the confessional booth?  Haven't been in one of those since the year I gave up Catholicism for lent.  Once lent was over, I never took up Catholicism again, as I was  no longer Catholic, and as such not  doing the old giving up for lent thing.)  I was on vacation.  As I alluded to in my last post, I wanted to spend this post discussing what the HSD reboot will look like.

Content:  This will still be a bit of hodge podge.  The focus will be on my activities, thoughts and concerns as well as family stuff.  Since I am no longer the ft home educator, I will not be posting as much on the day to day activities of our school. I am still our families co-op teacher and will be posting about that from time to time.

Activity:  In the old days, I would post 5 times a week or more.  I will try to post twice a week , but there will be weeks, like this past one when I don't post at all.  There may be some occasion when I post more often but 8 to ten times a month sounds about right to me.

Involvement:  In the past, I was a regular contributor in several MEMES and CARNIVALS.  (I am not shouting, I am just using all caps, I am actually not talking at all.) I also  hosted the COH (Carnival of  Homeschooling) on many occasions.  It was something I loved doing, but was also very time consuming.  I imagine that as the spirit leads, I will become an irregular contributor to carnivals and memes (I am not whispering, I am just using a smaller font size.  Again, I am not talking at all.).  I do not plan to resume my hosting duties at the COH.   I will promote the Carnival, as my time permits.

Craziness:  I am still reality challenged.  As my parenthetical comments aptly illustrate.  Just because I will appeared here less, does not mean I will appear less crazy.

Metablogging (blogging about blogging):  While that, essentially is what this post is, I plan to do very little of it.

That is what I expect you can expect from this blog.  (If you are reading this and happen to be expecting; you can also expect a baby.)

Next Episode: Galena Day 1

The Next Generation of Roller Family Bloggers

Yesterday Amy was talking with the kids about what the homeschooling  schedule will look like this Fall.  She was explaining that a chunk of time when the kids were supposed to work on typing and computer assignments could also be used on working on their blogs.
has
The big kids each started blogging when I  blogging.  Each of them had a few different  incarnations as one of the platforms we used subsequently went out of business.Their  blogs went into hiatus two years ago, about the same time that I was working a full time job and teaching the kids full time.

Last Fall W, our youngest went to 2nd grade at a local public school.  She was told in advance that this would be a 1 year only situation (The public schooling and the 2nd grade).  She decided to chronicle the occasion by starting a blog called Wolfina's Secrets.  She calls her posts howls and produced  42 howls during the school year such as  How was your first day?, My first substoot and The plusses and minuses of going to school.

So yesterday, each kid decided on their own to produce new material for their blogs.  BG started a new blog with the same title as a previous blog of hers Bookworms and Bunnies which describes her passions to a T.  SD has decided to go back to his old blog, Homeschool Jedi Apprentice.    It promises to be as Minecraft intensive as he is.  Each of their initial posts was only about a paragraph long, but each entry was student initiated.


You can link to any of our family blogs below.

Next Episode: What the reboot will be like.

I am Back

Hello all.  It has been quite a while since I last posted.  I have decided to reboot this blog.  A lot has changed since I began the blog in 2009 . . .

• In  January 2009 I had just started being the stay at home home schooling Dad , the semester before.  
• My Wife was working full time and I was not employed at all.
• We had 3 children ranging in age from 3 to 9  they were all home schooled

My homeschooling the children was supposed to be a 2-3 year thing and tan longer than that.  I worked some summers starting in 2010 and worked full time in 2012 for 6 months and homeschooled the kids full time as well.

In the Summer of 2013 I landed a full time job and we enrolled our youngest 2 children in public school so we could both work full time for 1 year.

In that year, we paid off nearly 15,000 in debt and once we became debt free (except for our mortgage) my wife went from full time to part time at work allowing  her  to begin home schooling all 3 kids again come the Fall. I now work Saturdays so I teach on Mondays which is our co-op day.   

Our kids will turn 9, 13 and 15 during the Fall Semester.

So, I have decided to come back to this blog in a limited capacity.  I will now take up the more traditional role of principal  of the Izola Becker Homeschool.  So, the blog will have a different feel, then it did in it's first carnation.  For instance, I used to have to cut these posts short because I had to teach in the morning. Now, it's because I have to go to work.

To go back to the Carnival of Homeschooling click here.

Next Episode: The Next Generation of Roller Family Bloggers 

My Hall of Fame Voting

I have not written on this blog for about 18 months.  Tomorrow the results of the  Baseball hall of fame voting for the class of 2014 come out.  Each voter can vote for up to 10 players.  I am not a member of that association but each year I pretend to be and say who I would vote for If I had 10 votes 9 votes and down until we get to one,  I also say what my actual ballot would look like.

This year there are 36 names on the ballot 19 for the first time,   any of these players  who get 75% of the vote or more we'll be elected into the hall of fame.  Any players who get less than 5% of he vote will be removed from next years ballot.  Anyone who gets between 5% and 75% will return 5 % the ballot until they a) receive 75 % or more of the vote, b) receive less than 5% of the vote or c) go 15 years on the ballot without being voted in.  This year Jack Morris is on the ballot for the 15th year.  From 2007 to 2013 his % of vote has increased each year.  Last year he received.67.7 % of the vote 2nd only to Craig Biggio in his first year on the ballot.  He received 68.2% of the vote last year.  Joining Morris on the ballot for the third time or more are:

Don Mattingly 14th year on ballot 13.2%  in 2013 highest %  28.2 in 2001 (1st year)

Alan Trammell 13th year on ballot 33.6% in 2013 highest % 36.8 in 2012 (11th year)

Lee Smith 12th year on ballot 47.8% in 2013 highest % 50.6 in 2012 (10th year)

Mark McGwire 8th year on ballot 16.9% in 2013 highest % 23.7 in 2010 (4th year)

Tim Raines 7th year on ballot 52.2% in 2013 is highest %

Edgar Martinez 5th year on ballot 35.9% in 2013 highest % 36.5 in 2012 (3rd year)

Fred McGriff 5th year on ballot 20.7% in 2013 highest % 23.9 in 2012 (3rd year)

Jeff Bagwell 4th year on ballot 59.6% in 2013 is highest %

Larry Walker 4th year on ballot 21.6% in 2013 highest % 22.9 in 2012 (2nd year)

Rafael Palmeiro 4th year on ballot 8.8% in 2013 highest % 12.6 in 2012 (2nd year)

Players, beside Biggio in their 2nd year of eligibility are:

Mike Piazza 57.8%, Curt Schilling 38.8%, Roger Clemens 37.6%, Barry Bonds 36.2% and Sammy Sosa 12.5%

On the ballot for the first time in 2014 are (in alphabetical order): Moises Alou, Armando Benitez, Sean Casey, Ray Durham, Eric Gagne, Tom Glavine, Luis Gonzalez, Jacque Jones,  Todd Jones, Jeff Kent,  Paul LoDuca, Greg Maddux, Mike Mussina, Hideo Nomo, Kenny Rogers, Richie Sexson, J.T. Snow, Frank Thomas,  and Mike Timlin.

Before I go into my 10 votes I want to say short words for two people one who won't be on the ballot next year and one for someone who should still be on the ballot.

1st Harold Baines -  In 2011 in his 5th year on the ballot Baines received 4.8% of the vote and was removed from the ballot.  I think that the 5% rule should be for the first 3 years and if you make less 5% after that you need to do so in consecutive years to be removed or a total of 3 years in non cpnsecutive years.  I don't make the rules but Baines would be no less than my 4th vote on this years ballot if he was still elgible.

2nd Jack Morris - As I mentioned earlier this is his last year on the ballot, and if the ballot wasnt so stacked this year he'd have a good chance of getting in.  I think last year was his best  to make it and he fell short.  He never did make it on my top 10.  But since Bert Blyleven.  If I did have 12 votes this year and Baines was still on the ballot I would go ahead and make a vote for Morris.

Here is how I would vote based on the 36 names on the ballot.

If I could vote for 10 players, my 10th vote would go to Larry Walker.

If I could vote for 9 players, my 9th vote would go to Fred McGriff.

If I could vote for 8 players, my 8th vote would go to Mike Piazza

I think if I had an official ballot I would vote for 7 or 8 playes. I am kind of wavering on Piazza so for now lets imagineHOF ballot had 7 places.

My 7th vote would go toJeff  Bagwell

Limited to 6 my 6th vote would go to Lee Smith but when compared to my 5th vote Tom Glavine I could easily switch those 2 around.

My 4th vote would go to Craig Biggio

My 3rd vote would go to Tim Raines.  3 years ago Raines got my top vote so that says something about the two players ahead of him.

If I could only vote for who I thought were the 2 most HOF worthy players on this years ballot my 2nd vote wouldo go to Greg Maddux.

If I could only vote for 1 player from this years ballot, I would surely vote for Frank Thomas.

At this time I usually pick who I think will make the Hall.  With so many worthy candidates it is hard to say.  I know Maddux will make it and think 2 of the 5 following will join him: Biggio, Thomas, Glavine , Piazza and Bagwell for a total of 3 elected.  4 will not surprise me, nor would it totally surprise me if Morris squeaked in.
.
If my top 3 Top 3 Thomas, Maddux and Raines were the only ones to make it this year I'd be equally shocked as delighted.  I don't generally see eye to eye with the HOF voters, but I'd be very glad if this year was an exception

BILL WATTERSON: A cartoonist’s advice from Zen Pencils

I recently became aware of this Bill Watterson style cartoon at Zen Pencils, drawn to go with words to a 1990 commencement speech Watterson gave his Alma Mater, Kenyon College during the time he was producing Calvin and Hobbes cartoons.

I can really relate to this strip, as I have always followed the road less travelled  in my "professional" career.  I think this has led many people to not "get me" over the years including family members. This was actually before I "stopped working" altogether and taught my children at home.  After that, people really didn't know what to do with me.

Watterson's sage advice paired with these wonderful drawings really encouraged me that even though I am ending my 5 year journey as a happy SAHD, that  my path on the  road less travelled will continue to make all the difference.

Next Time: Being Paid to watch Saturday Night Live

Stop The Clock.

In the movie "City Slickers" Billy Crystal's character starts to talk about the death of the trail boss, Curly and his friend announces "Stop the clock." checks his watch and notes how long it took him to comment on the subject.  It seems Crystal's character, Mitch is so obsessed with death that his friends can conduct a pool to see how quickly he will talk about it.

Our family has a way of adapting movie lines in to our every day activities.  We use this above referenced line when it comes to crying, particularly mine. I am the family crier. I am an emotional guy.  I cry at movies all the time.  I cry when I listen to the radio.  I cry while I am reading books to the family.  I will sometimes even read the books ahead to avoid crying, and I'll cry any way.

I am a pretty astute t.v and movie watcher. This goes for books as well.   I can usually figure out the unwinding of even the best constructed plots long before that unwinding takes place.  The ability to travel well ahead of the pace of the plot and even make fun of the poorer contrived ones does not curb my propensity to bawl when the conclusion is  presented.  When I ultimately do succumb, myself or another family member will utter, "stop the clock."

Sending our 2 youngest to public school this year has been an emotionally verklempt time for Amy and me.  Even though we sense God's hand in the decision and hope this is just a 1 year detour off their home schooling path,  (Spider Droid refers to his middle school teachers as substitutes.) it still sometimes feels more like a trial than a blessing.  For the most part I had  been able to get through their having a commute farther from their bedroom to the dining room table without tearing up. I was, that is until the 2nd day of school.

On the 2nd day of school I walked Wolfina to  her school, which is about 3 minutes walk from our house.  We were running a little late so her class was already walking into the building when we got there.  I put her in the line, and her teacher (who had been Bunny Girl's kindergarten teacher 9 years ago, the last time any of our kids attended public school) went up to me, took me aside, and said, beaming with pride, "you have raised a wonderful daughter."

I said thank you to the teacher, and goodbye to W and started walking home.  But it was time to stop the clock.  I cried so much, I could have swum back to the house.  I was an emotional wreck, but  in a good way.In that moment, I knew that time we spent home educating our kids had made an impact.  She had spent 1 day with our daughter and was commenting on the difference we had made.  We will continue to try and make that difference every day with all of our kids, and that is one of the things that motivates me to make it possible to get Amy back home next year, to continue to build character into our kids.

Next Time: My 2nd job

Carnival of Homeschooling #399. My reflections on being a Home School Dad.

Hello and welcome in to the Carnival of Homeschooling #399.  This year is a kind of Home School sabbatical for our family.  I am starting a full time job next month, and my wife will continue to work outside the house for what we hope is one more year.  Our 6th grader and 2nd grader will be attending public school this year, and our 9th grader will continue her studies at home through an on-line curriculum.  I have hosted this carnival 1/2 dozen or so times over the last 5 years and have been a regular contributor and reader of the carnival as well.  In between posts today, I plan to share some thoughts on my time as a Home School Dad.

Before I begin I'd like to thank all of those participating in today's carnival, especially those who sent encouraging notes to me with their submissions. I'd like to thank 4 contributors by name for their special encouragement. I will do so by kicking off this carnival with their submissions.

Andrea Hermitt of Notes from a Homeschooled Mom wrote her post especially for my final carnival.  I hope you all enjoy her piece, When Homeschooling Ends, as much as I did.

Cristina Ramos-Payne of Home School Juggling has been a friend of my blog since the beginning. She actually gave me the choice of two of her fine posts for this edition.  I chose In Every Life, A Little Chaos Must Reign.

I'd also like to thank Susan Gaissert of The Expanding Life, who while no longer blogging, offered me to raid the pantry of her archives.  I hope you enjoy The Difference Between Knowing and Learning.

No list of shout outs is complete without including the fabulous Henry Cate.  Why Homeschool
and the work he does behind the scenes at COH have made my time in the homeschooling blog-o-sphere that much more rewarding.  This week he checks in with his second daughters perspective, From the trenches - the last year of homeschooling.

Our family has been home schooling for somewhere between 9 and 14 years depending on what the meaning of the word is is.  Just kidding, with the Clinton reference. Sometimes I count our home schooling experience from when Bunny Girl went to  1/2 day Kindergarten and Amy taught her and Spider Droid when she got home.  This is often when Amy reminds me that she started homeschooling BG  when she was 2 and said you two (Amy and me) are always reading, and I want to read too.  So they started "playing school" every day, while I was at work.  This is usually when I remind Amy that the Homeschooloing probably started in earnest prenatally, when I started reading Chronicles of Narnia to BG in the womb.

Whichever  number you want to choose as a starting point, we have been at it a while. The following 3 posts all have a number in their title . . .

Kris of Weird Unsocialized Home Schoolers presents 10 Clues That You Might Be a Homeschool Kid.

Janet Golovine presents 25 Blogs with Preschool Lessons You Can Teach at Home posted at Become A Nanny.

Julie Gilbert of Homeschooling Ideas shares 5 Things to stop doing in your homeschool. She says
it is time to take note of those things and cross them off your list.

I started actively participating in homeschooling, when I went to a 4 day 10 hour week at work.  I was basically the field trip and errand guy while Amy was working a part time job.  But I did some of the teaching even though thc kids were much younger.  A few years later in 2008, I lost my job about  a month before school was supposed to start.  We had already picked out the curriculum.  Amy  and I decided to both look for work and see who could get hired faster.  I got let go on a Friday, and Amy was hired the next Monday before I even started looking.  We decided that I would home school for a few years, and then we would switch.  The few years turned out to be five. 

Elena talks about The Ordinary Homeschooler at My Domestic Church.

Deana, at the Frugal Homeschooling Mom, is collecting reviews of affordable field trip locations nationwide.  Here is an example of her section Frugal Field Trips.    She is looking for guest posters.

Speaking of travelling, Jodi Whisenhunt presents Disneyland Paris: Big Thunder Mountain posted at Magical Mouse Schoolhouse.

Homeschooling my kids as a Dad, put me in a unique position even among homeschoolers who are in a unique position already. When you tell someone you are a home schooling Dad, that usually tells people what your wife's occupation is, not yours.  It was kind of hard for people to wrap their mind around a teaching Dad.  

Annie Kate talks about the joys of having time to learn along with her children in What Are You Learning This Year? 6 Tips for Moms at Tea Time with Annie Kate.

Laura Grace Weldon dispels six common fallacies about home education in Homeschool Worries: Erased With Research & Experience.  

Amber of Large Family Learning shares her  families school plans from preschool to 8th grade in 2013-2014 curriculum choices.e


While it was not an ideal situation, or even a job I excelled at, it was a job I loved.  In  the past 5 years,  I have spent the majority of almost every day with my children.  When I compare that to when I last worked outside the house working shifts, where my kids would be asleep before I left and asleep when I got home. I realize how blessed I was.    Also with my wife working in a school district we have had 8-10 weeks each Summer where we were for the most part together.  

Like our family, Happy Elf Mom of Homeschool and Etc. will have some children in public school this year and some homeschooled.  Her is her post on Homeschooling Kindergarten.

Celeste presents Second Grade in Our Home - An Overview posted at Joyous Lessons.

The opposite of second grade in our home is our experience with our youngest.  Tomorrow (I am writing this on Monday) she starts 2nd grade at the public school across the street from us.  Today she started her own blog to write about her school experience.  I have made my other 2 start blogs, but this was her idea.  Here is Wolfina of Wolfina's Secrets with My Teacher.

One of the things I have enjoyed most during my tenure as the teacher and something that I plan to continue is reading books to the children chapters at a time, usually at lunch or dinner.  Sometimes after finishing the book we will check out a movie version from the library.   This Summer we read Louisa May Alcott's Little Men and are 3 chapters into Jo's Boys.  Teaching my younger children to read was a much less enjoyable, but ultimately rewarding task.  We are a family of bibliophiles and watching any of our brood enjoying a good book makes the time and energies expended worthwhile.

Speaking of reading, Sharon of Reading-Writing-Learning describes what we have to be able to do in order to learn to read in Ever Wondered What Reading Actually Entails?.

The reading on reading continues with Gearing up and Slowing Down in No Fighting No Biting.

Christine of Our Curious Home tells a story of nature, nurture, and nuthatches in Caratunk during the flute lesson.  

Like all teachers, I discovered that I had strengths and weaknesses in what types of classes I could teach. This is why I really enjoyed my involvement in our home school co-op.  My children were  able to take classes that suited their interest but did not always suit my abilities.  I taught classes on blogging, literature and writing, and math while my kids learned crocheting, robotics, street drumming and the list goes on.  My son's robotics team advanced to the state championships and was featured in a national magazine.  Also, our family built strong relationships with other  home schooling families in the area.  

Speaking of robotics,ChristineMM of The Thinking Mother mentions them while sharing why she thinks academic competitions of different types are goo:d for homeschoolers in Why Do Academic Competitions.

Susan of Corn and Oil presents Springfield letter: Illinois Home School Standards Needed.

Homeschooling Choice is the topic at Alasandra's Homeschool Blog.

 Hosting this carnival was always a highlight for me.  I loved being behind the scenes watching how this weekly link fest got produced.  If you have never hosted before, you may not realize how many submissions to the carnival have little, or nothing to do with home education.  Each time I host, I usually have to leave out 2 or more of these kind of posts.  As a glimpse behind the scenes sorts I offer you This week's Carnival of Homeschooling Outtakes at a new post HSD blog of mine, YBD: Your Basic Dave.

I also went in the way back machine to HSD 2009 to present Strawberry Picking with Bunny Girl.

The Coming School Year is Chris Shaw's focus at Home School Vs. Public School.

Rebecca Taberski of Down A Rabbit Trail sums up this carnival quite nicely by saying, "My post is about finding the homeschooling path that works for your individual family...and enjoying the journey!" 

I have certainly enjoyed the journey of being the teaching member of our  school family.  Thank you for letting me share some of that journey with you.


While this may be the last time I host from the perspective of a fulltime educator, it won't be my last time contributing or reading the Carnival.  Next Week  is Carnival # 400.  I already have my contribution ready. Click  here for info on how to submit yours.

Next Time: Having it your way at work.

Status Updates

The new school year is upon us, and I want to  share  what's new for each  member of our clan.

Dave 

I have been offered a job at a firm I used to work at before the whole homeschooling thing. It is entry level , and in order to bring Amy home(see Amy), I am going to need more than entry level money.  So I plan to wow them and get on the inside track as quickly as possible.  I also am pursuing freelance blogging and opening a content based blogging business as alternate income streams.

Amy and Bunny Girl

Amy started back at her school this week.  This is the start of her  3rd year at her current school, and the 6th since she returned to her  job as  a school psychologist.  Our hope is to get her back at home next year home schooling the kids as she did before I took over.

Bunny Girl starts school next week with the online Monarch program.  She volunteered at the library this summer and quite enjoyed it.  She is still a reading machine.

Spider Droid

Spider Droid is jumping in the deep end of middle school this year.  Since Amy and I will both be working this year, we have enrolled our 2 youngest children in public school for what we think will be one year.  It was a tough decision, and we are all still making our peace with it.  SD has been going to Camp Sixth Grade this week to get ready for the school year.  He did a lot of swimming and biking this summer along with a lot of reading and Minecraft.  He is not quite sure what to expect with the big change, but  we know he is up for the challenge.  

Wolfina

Wolfina isn't exactly having a cow about going to public school this year, but it is definitely outside the old comfort zone.  Inside the old comfort zone are howling, swimming, reading, howling, biking, writing letters, howling, drawing, cooking, and howling.  She was in her first theatrical production this summer and loved dancing,  singing,  and howling.

Next Time: COH

My First Job

It has been hammered into me repeatedly that the best way to land a job these days is put yourself in front  of decision makers. This is so you can become what is called,  the known candidate, when a job opening comes along.  This may seem  like a strange and foreign alternative to posting your resumes on job boards and sending out more to every company in your industry and sit back and wait for the interviews and job offers to start (not)  pouring in.  However, when I think back on many of my previous work experiences, they definitely followed the known candidate pattern than the post and see method that most people employ, when they are trying to be employed.

It has also been suggested to me that everyone should keep a resume that they will never use, one that has listed each work related experience that have ever had.  This will help the job seeker and future job seeker alike have a living document of all their abilities at their finger tips in case the perfect job comes knocking.  To that end, I have decided to write about each job I have ever had, both paid and voluntary.  I will talk about how I got it, what I did, and mostly what I learned from it.  Today we start at the beginning:   folding newspapers on my kitchen table.


My first job started with a murder and had property damage and grand theft auto in between.   In May of 1976, a grisly murder occurred in the the suburb I grew up in.  It actually occurred on the street where I lived.  A young woman and her boyfriend brutally killed her parents and brother.  One way the police became aware that some thing might be amiss was that the family's newspapers started piling up on their porch.

Shortly after the murders, my sister's friend, who delivered the papers on that route, offered her route to my sister.  I am not sure if the murder prompted her decision or not.  The route turned out to be a little more than my sister bargained for.  She lasted less than a week and sought to give the job to someone else.  That is how I became the known candidate.  I spent most of the next 4 years delivering papers.

LESSONS LEARNED

You have to walk before you can bike.

When I first started the route, there was quite a learning curve.  I would sometimes have to use 2 or 3 rubber bands before I could wrap a paper without snapping the rubber band.  I started out biking my route.  I found that I could usually not hit the porch while sitting on my bike and balance other newspapers in my bag.  So, I had to get off my bike at every house, (and almost every house on our 2 block route got a paper) deliver the paper, and then get back on my bike.  I quickly found I could do the route faster walking than I could on my bike.  This was especially easier in the hard winters of the mid to late seventies. Each spring I would try biking again and found with all the practice of delivering on foot, that I could now deliver from my bike with only the occasional missed porch.

Brothers make "interesting" business partners.

I have a brother who is 18 months younger than me.  Over the years we worked newspaper routes together and also separately. One fateful morning, my brother and I were quarreling up a storm.  I was chasing him around the house.  He said something, I threw a paper at him for what I think was the first and I'm sure was the last time.   You see he ducked, but my mom's glass plated curio cabinet didn't.  Ka-rash.  The new glass came from our earnings.

In the winter my dad would sometimes drive us on our route before heading off to work.  My dad was in a car pool so even though we only had 1 vehicle at the time it was usually parked in the garage.  One time my brother who was probably 11 at the time started taking the car on the route.  I wanted nothing to do with it and would rather just walk my route and leave him and his friends to their criminal activities. I did get bullied into going with him on occasion but never drove.  This went on for a few weeks and strangely enough, no one ever reported the activity to my parents.  I think this was because my dad was still driving us some days and people just assumed there was an adult in the station wagon.  One morning my brother got the car stuck in a snow drift and he had to wake my sleeping mother and make her aware of his activities.  The car keys were not readily accessible at our house for a long time after that.

 Reading is Fundamental

I earned quite a bit of money (at least from a pre-teen and early teen perspective)  on my newspaper routes and only had to spend a small percentage of paying for my outbursts of anger.  I  remember buying a fishing reel and a new bike with some of my earnings.  The biggest benefit from being a newsboy was that I became a newspaper man.  Not a newspaper man in the journalistic sense, although I have done that.  A newspaper reader and lover.  I had always been an avid reader.  But delivering turned me into a newspaper reader.  I delivered 3 different papers at one point and was allowed to keep the extras when there were some.  I ended  up reading almost every paper I delivered in that 4 year period from cover to cover.  I learned how to proofread just by spotting mistakes in the papers I delivered.

The traditional role of the youth delivering papers on his/her bike has all but vanished in the 30+ e years since I had my route.  It now seems to live on in only in t.v. and movies.  When I look back on my first job, I am glad I was paper trained.

Next Time: Status Update