The Thomas Institute

The Field Guide to Homeschoolers

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:04:20 PDT

Dana is hosting this week's Carnival of Homeschooling
<http://principleddiscovery.com/2009/06/09/field-guide-homeschoolers/>
at Principled Discovery <http://principleddiscovery.com/>. She did an
excellent job--go and check it out!

Half Price Books Summer Reading

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Fri, 29 May 2009 07:16:10 PDT

How kids 12 and under can participate:
Download Reading Log1. Get a Feed Your Brain Reading Log
<http://www.halfpricebooks.com/pdf/FYB09/generic-log-C.pdf> at Half
Price Books.
2. Check off each day for five days that they read for 15 minutes or more.
3. Fill out a reading log, and have a parent or guardian sign it.
4. Bring the completed and signed log to Half Price Books.
5. Get a Feed Your Brain Reading Reward: $3 Shopping Card at Half Price
Books.
6. Repeat steps 1 through 5 every week through Friday, July 31, 2009.

B & N Summer Reading

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 28 May 2009 22:02:34 PDT

I was in Barnes & Noble earlier today and got information on their
summer reading club. Elementary school aged kids read any eight books,
fill out a form and get a free book. They can do that twice. The form
requires a sentence on what they liked best about the book and the list
of free books is limited, but broadly appealing.

Mu Eta Sigma National Math Honor Society is Born

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:16:41 PST

/From my email inbox:/
...Setting out to find an organization that would recognize our mathematically accomplished homeschooled high schoolers, we contacted the most prominent national math honor society available to high school students. The organization subsequently replied that it was limited to only those students that were associated with a high school or a 2 year college. Rather than become frustrated that there was no place for homeschooled students to go, Mu Eta Sigma was born. As parents of home schooled high school students, we now have a National Math Honor Society, specifically for those students that deserve mathematical merit.

The Road Less Traveled

It would have been easy to become discouraged when we found no option to join the most well known national math honor society. But as homeschoolers experience every day, cutting a new path is more rewarding. We hope by sharing our newest endeavor with you, that you will check out www.mathhonorsociety.com and consider membership for your mathematically inclined student. When we band together as homeschoolers to acknowledge the skills God has given us, and go into the
community to serve others with these skills as well, we will all be better for it....

Pinewood Derby Results

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:45:18 PST

I had my Pinewood Derby yesterday, and I won third place in the Bears, for fastest! And I won a ribbon for participating in the race. Here's a picture of my Pinewood Derby car. I called it the Running Dinosaur because, well, it has pictures of running dinosaurs on the side. And another reason why, is because, after the race I was confident in that name because the Running Dinosaur won first place in some of the Bear races, two times in a row. That's how I was able to make third place for fastest in all the Bears. And I'm proud of that!
Dictated by Thomas.

Note from Me: All the boys in our Cub Scout den won an award of some kind! I love it when that happens!

101 ways to add spice to your homeschooling

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:32:40 PST

Maria Miller, the author of the Math Mammoth series, sends out a free newsletter. The most recent one links to Mosaic, a free curriculum.

Perusing the site, I came across a list of 101 ways to spice up your homeschooling.

Thomas' Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:49:44 PST

Last night was the annual Cake Bake pack meeting, where the Cub Scouts are to make and decorate their own cakes. The theme was "Down on the Farm" and everything has to be edible. Thomas chose a picture that he had taken at an old tractor meet. Then we went to Kroger and had their cake decorator print the photo out on edible paper, with edible ink. He took it home and put it on the cake and added the other decoration. It drew a lot of attention, but didn't win anything.

Thomas just wanted to get it home to have a piece!

Obama Bumper Stickers

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 08:25:03 PDT

These are the bumper stickers on my car. I have to say, I'm pretty
proud of them (I did write them myself).
And the best part is, the car hasn't been keyed yet!

Don't forget: Vote early, vote often!
Karen

Taxes, Explained

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 20:19:29 PDT

/Suppose that every day, the same ten men go out for beer and the bill
for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our
taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.

The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the
arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are
all such good customers,' he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your
daily beer by $20.' Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the
first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But
what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they
divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'
They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted
that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would
each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested
that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same
amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% saving s).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued
to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to
compare their savings.

'I only got a dollar out of the $20,' declared the sixth man. He pointed
to the tenth man, 'but he got $10'.

'Yeah, that's right, exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar,
too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I got'

'That's true' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when
I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'

'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get
anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. (Or they call in
President Obama's tax plan to beat him up--added by Karen.)

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks so the nine sat
down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill,
they discovered something important - they didn't have enough money
between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is
how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the
most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for
being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they
might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

>From http://weekendpundit.org/2008/09/how-our-tax-system-works.html
by way of
http://whyhomeschool.blogspot.com/2008/10/how-to-explain-current-us-tax-system-to.html

Wondering about the Bail Out and the Crisis?

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 08:50:36 PDT

Dear Friends and Family,
If you read or listen to the experts you will certianly be confused
about the current economic crisis--whether it is one or not, and what to
do about it if it is.
Recently, I came across a graph that shows that it will be 2011 before
all of the ARM loans reset
<http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2007/10/distressing_pic_1.html>--which
means that we will continue to have very high rates of defaults and
foreclosures--which is at the core of the crisis. So, why is Congress
talking about giving billions to the banks, while slipping in as many
pork barrel projects as they think they can get away with? Why isn't
Congress instead talking about simple, understandable ways to prevent
the defaults?
Please go here and look at Dave Ramsey's very simple 3 step plan
<http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/fed_bailout/3_steps_to_change_the_nations_future_10928.htmlc?ictid=sml>
that would help solve this crisis without being a Wall Street bailout.
If you agree, there are links to email your Congressmen and women.
Sincerely,
Karen

Our PA Vacation Digs

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:32:24 PDT

We stayed at a campground called Countryside Family Campground that was the kind of place that people from New Jersey have been coming to over Labor Day weekend for decades. One night there was a flashlight candy hunt, another there was karaoke.
The first picture is of the 5th wheel that we stayed in. Beautiful, wooded surroundings.

The second shows the "living room" of the 5th wheel.

The third show Rudy, Gerry, the owner, and Thomas all fishing in the pond for the flashlight that Thomas dropped into it just as we were to leave.

Our PA Vacation--Part 3, Con't

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:10:22 PDT

We only had a short time to see the museum, then we got on a steam train for a short excursion to the town of Moscow. Gerry and I had ridden this same excursion ten years ago on our honeymoon.
"Phoebe Snow" and entourage was also on the train with us (first picture) as were Gerry's parents.

That's three generations of Stuteville boys in the second picture.

After the excursion ride was Thomas' big moment--he was one of the last handful of people let into the Big Boy's cab (third picture). We found out later that you don't normally get to do that. But we had planned our trip for Railfest and this was one of their special events for that.

Our PA Vacation--Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:06:25 PDT

On Saturday, we went into Scranton to Steamtown, a train museum. This was the day Thomas had been waiting for, for months now--you see, there is a Big Boy at Steamtown.

Our PA Vacation--Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:04:20 PDT

On Friday, we drove from Columbus, Ohio up to Cleveland and then east across PA to the Scranton area, where we were staying. Interstate 80 across the middle of PA is very rural. I had this stereotype of the NE being so much more densely popluated than I saw traveling this route. I found it amusing to note how even highway off-ramps are named after people in PA.
This picture is, I believe, of the Ohio River.

Our PA Vacation--part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:01:22 PDT

We had such a great vacation I thought I'd share an overview and some highlights.

On Wednesday, Gerry worked most of the day, but we left home about 5 and drove to Little Rock, Ark. On Thursday, we drove from Little Rock to Columbus, Ohio. On the way, we stopped at a tourist info center in Tennessee that housed the West Tenn Cotton Museum and the sharecropper's shack that was home to the Blues artist Sleepy John Estes.

A Really Good Movie

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 08:08:47 PDT

Recently, I watched the film "Mr. Magorium's Magic Emporium," which
stars Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, and Jason Bateman. It was the
best movie I have seen in years! It's rated G and there's lots of
reasons for kids to enjoy it, but adults will love it, too. Dustin
Hoffman is just perfect in it. The little boy is absolutely perfect.
The message is lovely--about the magic that happens when you believe in
yourself--and, oh joy!, there's no parent/family bashing!
Thomas's review of the movie: it was "hilarious and tragic."
Show Hollyweird there's a market for movies that are not full of sex and
violence. Watch this movie. Buy this movie. You'll be glad you did.

Popular Draw Write Now is Half Off

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:03:55 PDT

Draw Write Now Boxed Set

Save money by purchasing the Draw Write Now series as a boxed set. You'll receive all eight award-winning books with 168 drawing lessons in a beautifully illustrated, sturdy library case. This boxed set is a wonderful addition to your family or classroom library. It`s a great gift item, too!

This is a limited time offer! Be sure to act now so you don't miss this one-time opportunity.

Special Offer $48.00 - Save 50% Retail Price $95.99

Click here to order.

Book Peddler Has Draw Write Now Half Off!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:41:26 PDT

Draw Write Now Boxed Set

This is a limited time offer! Be sure to act now so you don't miss this one-time opportunity.

Special Offer $48.00 - Save 50% Retail Price $95.99

Click here to order.

Congratulate Us!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:30:44 PST

I'm a grandma and Thomas is an uncle!

American Revolution Heroines

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:07:04 PDT

I thought those of you with daughters might be interested in this--it's
a site called "Heroines of the Past."
Check out the current newsletter at http://amypuetz.com/hotpJune08.html
for stories of brave girls and women from the American Revolution.

Father's Day Blogging Giving Away

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:52:26 PDT

Jen, at Diary of 1, is hosting a free giveaway just in time for Father's
Day. If a special father in your life loves sports, check out her
giveaway or check out her business and support a fellow homeschooling mom!

http://www.diaryof1.com/2008/06/01/june-random-stuff-blogging-ranching-giving-away/
http://www.teammascot.com/

One new homeschool resource every day--FREE

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Tue, 27 May 2008 08:37:53 PDT

http://homeschoolfreebie.wholesomechildhood.com/
This site is by the same people that do the weekly free radio shows at

http://www.homeschoolradioshows.com/
HTH,
Karen

Warning: This Post is a Rant/Vent!, or, Why You Should Have a Will

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Wed, 21 May 2008 20:31:08 PDT

I have not been posting because I got so busy and something had to go. Everything's finished for the school year now, so I have some time.

About six weeks ago, my mother's husband died. His son, D, has retained an attorney and is evidently going to sue my mother for what he perceives as his share of the estate. This upsets me for many reasons. In no particular order:

he called up my mother this past weekend to small talk and he had already hired the lawyer. So he didn't have the respect enough to say something to her, adult to adult.
the fact that he hired a lawyer without speaking to her about any kind of settlement of the estate implies that he thinks she intends to cheat him.
his father was a miserable, mean, demanding bast**d on his best days, and during his illness at the end, everyone, including his son, marvelled and wondered at my mother's staying with him. He could not have found anyone at any price to stay with his father if my mother had left.
D's young son is, shall we say, difficult. My mother loved him like her own flesh and blood grandson. I loved him like my own flesh and blood nephew. Evidently, though, keeping people in his son's life who willingly spend time with him isn't that important.
when my mother and D's father got married, my mother had financial assets and he had only debts. Due to my mother's untrained financial genius and the assets that she brought to the marriage, the amount of the estate today is a large sum. Texas law says that the son should get half of what was his father's. But his father didn't have anything on his own, and what he had with my mother was due to my mother's seed money. My mother has hired an attorney of her own, and I think he's a good one, but some of the paperwork required to prove the above is no longer extant. The bank, for instance, doesn't have check copies that far back.
no, there's no will. Anytime my mother brought it up, it caused a scene (see number three above) because he was "going to get better."
my mother is very generous and before she knew that D had hired a lawyer, had mentioned to me an amount of money that she was going to settle on D just because she wanted to and thought it would be right. It was enough money that, I hate to admit, I had several moments of jealousy over. Of course, now that she's been stabbed in the back, she's not feeling so generous. If she's able to find all the documentation, he'll wind up with nothing, or next to it. Even if she can't find all the documentation, she's already found enough to put his "share" below what she was going to give him.

There are a few other details that will make it grossly unfair if D gets very much of my mother's money, but I don't want to go any further. I think I've spewed enough bitter resentment for one day. I feel better getting it out. I've been on the verge of writing up a version of this to send to D--I want him to feel shame!--but I would hate to somehow give him any kind of ammunition.

And just because when it rains it pours; yesterday the water heater went out and today the air conditioner went out.

When 7 Year Olds Talk Politics...

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 19:33:01 PDT

I was taking Thomas and another boy to a Cub Scout event last night. When we got in the car the radio came on automatically--set to conservative talk radio. The boys picked up on the names of the presidential candidates, which was the topic of discussion. I had to lean over and turn the radio off so that I could hear the following conversation.

Thomas: My mom's a Republican.
J: So's my mom. She's voting for this guy, I don't remember his name, but he's going to lose.
Thomas: My mom voted for John McCain. Lots of people voted for Mike Huckabee (Thomas just likes to say his name! LOL!).
J: My mom voted for (garbled pronunciation of Barack Obama).
Thomas: Well, we're Republicans because it's not the government's job to take money from people to give it to other people.
J: Why are we talking about this?

Bad Firefox, Bad!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 19:46:48 PDT

Uuuurrrggghhh!!!!!!!!
Firefox downloaded an update overnight and when I got online this morning found that this so-called "important" update involved wiping out all of my bookmarks and username/password information!
Makes me so mad! If one of those smart guys who wrote the blinking update were sitting here, I'd punch him!

Update: Somehow, even though Firefox had told me it was done with the install, it evidently wasn't. When I went to explain what had happened to Gerry after work, everything was back to normal.

So--nevermind.