tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190416842018-06-04T05:17:29.035-04:00You'll find a little bit about homeschooling/unschooling, family, gardening, raising chickens, nature, and libertarian issues here so hold on!Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.comBlogger994125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-75469436972011201902012-06-22T08:33:00.001-04:002012-06-22T08:33:55.909-04:00

Statement from Helen E. Dragas to the University Community Rector, University of Virginia June 21, 2012 In my statement to the Board on Monday, I conveyed my heartfelt apologies for the pain, anger and confusion that has swept the Grounds over the last 10 days, and said that the UVA family deserved better from your Board. I also indicated that this University was entitled to a fuller

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-54904692217275447072012-06-18T11:58:00.002-04:002012-06-22T08:34:56.384-04:00

Statement of Faculty Senate Executive Council Concerning Meeting with Rector Dragas June 18, 2012 This morning, the Faculty Senate Executive Council met with Rector Dragas to discuss the recent resignation of President Sullivan.  We invited the Vice Rector, but he did not attend. The purpose of the meeting was to allow the Council to ask questions raised by the University faculty

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-13456234360141512192012-02-20T11:44:00.002-05:002012-02-20T11:47:37.918-05:00

I just finished reading Dave Ramsey's book The Total Money Makeover last week, and I'm considering buying his Foundations in Personal Finance - Home School program for the kids to play around with. We're going through the Baby Steps ourselves, and it seems like this would be a great program for our kids to try. Anyone have experience with the Foundations program?

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-33079048426892451352011-06-28T10:21:00.006-04:002011-06-28T10:51:07.140-04:00

I realized I haven't posted anything about what we've all been up to in quite a long time now. Almost two years ago, my husband went back to school to get an AAS at Piedmont Virginia Community College, studying electronics and computer technology. This is where his interests have always lain, and I'm so excited for him to be able to learn more and then also work in his field of interest and his

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-77996062878350974762010-12-09T07:37:00.000-05:002010-12-09T07:37:52.009-05:00

I really enjoyed this blog post by Heather at Swiss Army Wife: The Secret to My Patience"No… that’s not it at all. I haven’t been blessed with some magical patience gene. In actuality, I hate waiting and I like instant gratification. Impatience, isn’t one of my better qualities, but as I get older and gain more experience, I learn to cope and try not to negatively affect others with my eager

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-32737903016436821202010-07-27T09:47:00.002-04:002010-07-27T09:50:49.046-04:00

This is a really fun-to-read, inspiring bunch of blog posts. Ronnie has most of them linked in the comments at her post at Blog of the Zombie Princess.Inspired by Flo's delicious post here. It's an impromptu blog carnival! Join in!I'm that mom who drives 500 miles because her kids want to see their friends, because her kids don't feel like riding the train again, because her kids want to go

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-1518335170396485412010-07-09T11:18:00.006-04:002010-07-09T11:28:41.137-04:00

My brother and his wife and adorable kids are in town visiting. We went bowling one day--We've got bluebird babies about ready to fledge. The parents are waiting to feed them.And we've always got something interesting happening down at the chicken coop.This poor little hen was attacked by a fox but I think I disturbed it and ran it off before it could kill her. She had a huge bruise on her neck/

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-53973998476512686812010-07-01T08:37:00.001-04:002010-07-01T08:40:21.891-04:00

This month's carnival by Enjoy Life Unschooling is about Night Life:JULY 2010 THEME – SLEEPLESSNESS For July the topic for our blog carnival is: burning the midnight oil, unschooling sleep and sleeplessness. Posts from seasoned and new unschoolers are welcome. If you like to work from writing prompts here are some questions to get you going: What are some of your favorite late night

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-89907689021631313782010-06-12T09:35:00.002-04:002010-06-12T09:37:43.219-04:00

Camp Whispering WoodsKids loving Summer!Camp Whispering Woods is a small overnight/Day coed Adventure Camp located in western Hanover County, VA , 20 minutes northwest Of Richmond. Our dream of providing kids ages 8-16 with a summer experience like no other will leave our campers wanting to return year after year. We pride ourselves in creating a structured yet relaxed atmosphere in which

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-90602438659378841952010-06-09T09:31:00.001-04:002010-06-09T09:32:50.566-04:00

Unschooling Rules: Off-Topic: A Gravity Composter for the Lazy GardenersI love composting, but have hated all of the steps that have traditionally gone with it. I did not want to shovel or sift or spin or even think about which composter was currently in use.So, I put together a composting system that works really well. I thought I would share it here, as it epitomizes how I like to think

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-47619260257668510382010-06-03T16:56:00.001-04:002010-06-03T16:57:45.489-04:00

But What About Math? – A Guest Post by TJ PhillipsOff the top of your head, what is the value of X if: y=7.5 and z=3 “How will my child ever learn how to do Algebra like this? You’re telling me he’s just going to learn this on his own, while having fun? No friggin way! How will my child learn this when I don’t know how to do it, I suck at math!”Awesomely well-written!

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-32291985729425072272010-05-21T08:43:00.001-04:002010-05-21T08:44:27.119-04:00

The most valuable learning is not about memorizing facts and figures.It is not about higher grade point averages and accumulating degrees.It is about life itself, and its impact is on the heart.- Rodney Smith, "Lessons From the Dying

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-65974442374352740722010-04-22T08:16:00.003-04:002010-04-22T08:34:48.116-04:00

There has been so much happening so quickly since Christine Yablonski and Phil Biegler and their two children appeared on Good Morning America on Monday! And there have been so many responses to the recent media attention concerning radical unschooling it's been hard to keep track of it all.Here's an article I enjoyed reading: Unschooling and Unjournalism. (Posted using ShareThis).And this blog

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-11204649995221753772010-04-21T09:29:00.001-04:002010-04-21T09:30:27.855-04:00

Great list! Especially in light of the misinformation out there and misunderstanding by the general public after the GMA shows.serendipity: 23 Facts about UnschoolingThe Unschooling world has been turned on its head since the airing of a (poorly edited and disgustingly biased) segment on Good Morning America. Visit here for more responses.*******************************************************

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-42683723817577379722010-04-18T10:17:00.001-04:002010-04-18T10:18:41.273-04:00

This is a fun one to read . . .Unschooling Rules: How would schools act if they were voracious corporations bent on unfettered monopolistic growth?Here's a fun game to play. We all know that schools, unlike Wall Street banks, are organizations that are inherently benign, with loving teachers and caring administrators dedicated to selflessly making the world a better place by taking on the

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-52213209500802405862010-04-14T18:44:00.005-04:002010-04-14T18:53:08.573-04:00

I'm linking to this great article I read today:Your children are not obligated to repay you.Recently, I had a discussion with my friend Liz. Her brother Marc and his wife Tammy had adopted Tammy’s nephew after his mother died and his father wound up in prison. Tammy’s nephew, Paul, had been living with them for three years now, and had “come a long way”. Seems he’d been something of a bad

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-14297143423791023002010-04-05T08:50:00.003-04:002010-04-05T08:59:46.337-04:00

Be in the first Virginia Track & Field Homeschool Championships!Nothing like being in the 1st ever Virginia Homeschooling Track & Field Championships - you cannot repeat a 1st!When: May 15Who: Ages 5-18Address:Highland Springs High School15 South Oak AvenueHighland Springs, VAFeesOn Time Registration---$25 due on 5/2/09 $30 with tshirt due on 5/02/09LATE Reg.---$35-5/08For tshirt-$40 is due 5/

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-63043987545190122412010-04-04T13:46:00.004-04:002010-04-04T14:06:32.887-04:00

Springtime just gets me all revved up for fun outdoor experiments!I've got several of Janice VanCleave's science experiment books, and one I'm reading right now is called, "Earth Science for Every Kid." Her experiments are simple and some look really fun. But, I find that there is very little in the books to put things into context. This book in particular is aimed at the younger

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-23029180016815297702010-04-04T12:44:00.002-04:002010-04-04T12:53:09.469-04:00

I neglected to post pictures from our trip to Highland County, Virginia! Here is a slideshow of my pictures. When I get a chance to download my mother's pictures, I'll post them, too.

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-27276314427129740762010-03-24T12:07:00.001-04:002010-03-24T12:07:59.350-04:00

We just had to get a video clip of our dog, Nute, with his teeth chattering. He started doing this a few months ago, while watching us eat our dinner. Last night he did it again, and I grabbed my camera. My husband took a small clip of him chattering away, while watching me eat my steak. Such an amusing dog. :)

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-50410659193949319132010-03-18T12:39:00.003-04:002010-03-18T12:43:14.611-04:00

Two links:"Meep" Banned at High Schooland a related link:Meep by Theodora Michaels, attorney at lawApparently this happened last November, and I only just came across it in a FB link from a friend. I'll have to look into it later and see what ended up happening.

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-30590835725646850462010-03-17T10:47:00.004-04:002010-03-17T10:51:31.677-04:00

One of our roosters--Will, a Jersey Giant--and a henStar Magnolia buds

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-24870708739608372312010-03-14T10:30:00.005-04:002010-03-14T10:50:30.195-04:00

"You know it's weird, when you wake up that morning and realize that your entire adult life was based on a decision made by a teenager . . . A stoned teenager." ~StewSo funny and sad and probably true for lots of us, with or without the stoned part. :)Eddie happened to catch the rock musical Passing Strange on PBS a few weeks ago. He then put it in the Netflix queue, and we got that the other day

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-7749468447706161582010-03-10T11:26:00.004-05:002010-03-10T11:35:03.232-05:00

We started up our Netflix service again back in December. We're on the 1-DVD-at-a-time plan, but we've managed to see quite a few already. The shipping times have improved greatly since we last used Netflix about a year before.Here's the list of what we've seen so far:MythBusters: Collection 1: Disc 1Ghost RiderSpy Kids 3-D: Game OverDragon Ball: Season 1: Disc 1Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19041684.post-35677619204571928982010-03-09T08:44:00.002-05:002010-03-09T08:48:09.780-05:00

I just read this great blog article at Swiss Army Wife and wanted to repost it here: Did You Use Your Manners? Just a teaser from the article:Consider this, a child says “Mom, can I have some milk?”. Like a broken record in my mind I can hear a parent saying, “What’s the magic word?”. The child says “pweeeeez” and he gets some milk. Please is *not* a magic word. It’s no more a magic word

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0