My Flowerbed

Spring is in the air

Which means I have been waiting for the weather to be nice enough for me to do some gardening. The kids took all my potted plants out to the patio for me Saturday, and after weeding around the hydrangeas, Bo treated me to some new flowers for my flower bed.

I also decided to redo the border and used some river rocks Bo had down by the pond to make the new border. I used perennials in the flowerbed I planted Butterfly Blue Pincushion Flower , Snow Hill Meadow Sage, and Blue Hill Salvia. All of these attract hummingbirds and butterflies, so I hope to see some soon. They also bloom all the way into fall so I should get to enjoy them for a long time. I also got an annual for my picnic table. I have no idea what it is so if anyone does please let me know so I will know how to take care of it. It looks like some sort of violet.

Rocks

 

 

Sean got a rock tumbler for Christmas. Of course we had to wait for Bo to build the shop before we could use it, and then we had to wait for him to get electricity to the shop, so it was February before we got a chance to start a batch of rocks. Our first batch of rocks will be done today, Wednesday, March 8th. It looks like we are going to have some real keepers in this batch. Our next step will be to identify the rocks we don't know.

 

Hopefully we will be able to get started on our second batch of rocks sometime this coming week.

Pompeii Party

The PEAK Pompeii Party Friday, March 3rd, was a huge success. Everyone seemed to have a good time, and educational opportunities abounded from viewing the kids projects to tasting authentic Roman foods.
Our next stop is Egypt...............................

Did You Know Evolution Is A Pagan Religion?

Most creationist don't seem to be playing with a full deck, but Dr. Kent Hovind of Pensacola, Florida, takes the cake. For all you REAL scientist out there the good news is Dr. Hovind has a long standing offer of $250,000 for anyone with empirical evidence (scientific proof) for evolution.

If you are interested in hearing Dr. Hovind speak he will be at Southeastern Baptist College (located at 4229 Highway 15 North in Laurel, Mississippi) where he will take part in a free seminar from 6:00-9:00 pm on Tuesday, March 28, 2006. For more info Call 601-426-6346 or email joharris@comcast.net. The public is invited.

Maybe someone should explain to Dr. Hovind the difference between religion and science. There are many Christians who believe the scientific theory of evolution. Our GOD is powerful enough to create the world anyway he saw fit, including using evolution.

Delaine Eastin: A Bad Choice For Homeschoolers

Mark Twain said, "First God made idiots for practice. Then he created school boards."

Delaine Eastin takes the cake. She served as Superintendent of Public Instruction for California from 1994 to 2002. During which time she seemed to support racism, by nominating Lomitas Elementary School as a "National Blue Ribbon School", even though she was fully aware of the discrimination that was occurring at Lomitas Elementary School

http://www.edethics.org/cdeeastinltr.htm

A scandal involving funds for adult education and citizenship classes took place on her watch. Many of the "'community-based organizations"' that were receiving this money, more than $20 million all told, failed to meet the qualifications. In some cases the funds were going to buy jewelry and luxury automobiles. One of the schools turned out to be an empty field. When this was brought to Ms. Eastin's attention she punished the whistle blowers not the wrong doers.

http://www.pacificresearch.org/pub/con/2003/con_03-01.html

During her dictatorship, acrimony between the homeschooling community and Ms. Eastin was at an all time high.

http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/hslda/200411/200411171.asp

At this time Delaine Eastin is the executive director of the nonprofit National Institute for School Leadership. Where she is again attempting to cause trouble for homeschoolers. In a recent article in the Akron Beacon Journal Ms. Eastin is quoted as saying, "We're making such a fuss about accountability for some and no accountability for others, shouldn't we pay some attention to the homeschoolers?"

Ms Eastin, first you need to work on cleaning up the mess in the public schools; Discrimination, Racism, Corruption etc.
Homeschools have gotten along just fine without your "help" and I assure you we will continue to get along fine without any interference from you.

Another Must Read

The latest Eoin Colfer book Artemis Fowl - The Opal Deception.

http://www.artemisfowl.com/

Great Backyard Bird Count

Every year we try to take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count. This is our journal for the 2006 Birdcount

Friday, Feb17th

Overcast all day with a light mist. It was in the 70's earlier in the day, but a cool front moved thru and now it's in the 60's. Walked down to the pond. Saw 4 Cackling Geese 3 males and 1 female http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Cackling_Goose_dtl.html

Put some feed in the birdfeeder, we should see some birds at the feeder tomorrow. They were out there earlier in the week before the feeder ran out of food.

Feb 18th-19th

The weather wasn't really great for birdwatching, Saturday, Feb 18th it misted rain most of the day.
Sunday, Feb. 19th I saw a few birds. Sparrows, Cardinals, and Mourning Doves.

Evolution Wins Again

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/nation/13896398.htm

New research is unraveling the very riddles that proponents of ID said couldn't be solved, while ID advocates lack any way of using hard evidence to test their theories.

How Annoying

A recent article http://nbc15.madison.com/news/headlines/2298846.html headlined WI School District Offers Virtual High School Online claims it makes homeschooling easier. I can either blame it on shoddy reporting, or wonder if public schools are so envious of homeschoolers they are now trying to co-op our name, which ever one it is I am annoyed. Attending a virtual public school doesn't make you a homeschooler. You are still a public school student, you just happen to be taking your classes at home. So to all you virtual schoolers or e-schoolers STOP using our name. You aren't homeschooling, and you are doing us a disservice by confusing the general public, who wonders why their tax money is going to homeschoolers.

Give Me Back My Book

Have you ever sat down with a good book, really started getting into it and had to get up to answer the phone, cook supper, or one of the million other things Mom's have to do, only to discover your teenage son has made off with your book??????

It happens all the time around my house. I really have to find a way to put a stop to it. But in Sean's defense Elizabeth Peter's latest book in the Amelia Peabody series is well worth fighting over.

http://www.ameliapeabody.com/

For those unfamiliar with the series, here is a cast of characters (by no means complete)

Amelia Peabody Emerson - her journals are the basis for the books. As she is a very proper Victorian lady you don't have to worry about the kiddies reading something they shouldn't.

Radcliff Emerson - prefers to be called Emerson, aka as the Father of Curses. The pre-eminent archaeologist of his time according to his wife. Stays pretty busy rescuing "Peabody" as he affectionately calls Amelia, but does get some archaeological work done.

Ramses - their son, aka The Brother of Demons, he is a handful as a kid, makes a terrific spy during WWI, seems to have inherited Amelia's talent for getting into trouble and his Uncle's (and I don't mean Walter whom he is named after) talent for getting out of it.

Sethos- aka The Master Criminal.................seems to plague the Emersons every season. Has a crush on Amelia much to Emerson's cringe.

Since space is limited other characters include

Peabody's family

Walter Emerson's family (Walter is Radcliff's brother)

and last, but by no means least the family of their Egyptian reis Abdullah

If you enjoy a good mystery, have any interest in Egypt or archaeology do give this series a try. Besides being entertaining they are educational. What more could you ask for.

What's the Problem with VPS????

Susan Ohanian ask "Should the Public Pay for William Bennett's Version of a Home School?"

http://www.susanohanian.org/atrocity_fetch.php?id=1931

My answer would be NO. Although I do respect the rights of those who have chosen to avail themselves of VPS. And if it works for your family then by all means use it.

My problem is with VPS being equated with Independent Homeschoolers. It's not that I think my family is superior to a family that uses a school at home approach, but their insistence on calling themselves homeschoolers while taking advantage of public funds leads to confusion among the general public, many of whom have never embraced the concept of homeschooling in the first place. They start demanding to know why homeschoolers are receiving public funds at the expense of traditional schools. They want to know why testing is required of some homeschoolers and not all. And with these questions comes legislation that HURTS independent homeschoolers.

So if you want to take advantage of VPS, by all means do so. But do homeschoolers a favor and call yourselves something else, that reflects your schooling choice; Virtual Schoolers or E-schoolers might be a good selection. You'll be more then welcome to participate in our homeschooling groups and we can be more supportive of your choice knowing that the general public will not confuse Virtual Public Schoolers with Homeschoolers.

For futher reading http://home.kc.rr.com/milhmschlhq/general_public_schooling_at_home.htm

Why I Stand For Homeschooling

Terri Willingham http://www.nhen.org/issues/default.asp?id=502 says in her post "I have no fear of the government -- I AM the government, and so is everyone else, if only everyone would remember that and act accordingly". Apparently she hasn't has much experience with the government. I do fear the government and with good reason. My life was going great. My kids attended a decent public school, they had wonderful teachers. Then some snobby parent who had friends on the school board decided that just dressing her kids in preppy clothes wasn't good enough, she had to be able to force her families preferred style of dress on her children's classmates and thus Mandatory School Uniforms with NO opt-out in the Jackson County Public Schools were born. The School Board didn't even bother to research the issue until after the fact when they were involved in a law suit with parents who opposed the uniforms. So forgive me if I don't have much faith in a government that will take away my parental right to dress my children as I see fit on a whim. Not to mention the inherent unfairness of telling me what color clothing I have to spend my money on in order for my kids to attend a public school my tax money goes to support. So when the government tries to co-opt homeschooling, my response is No way, I'll fight tooth and nail.

I sympathize with public school parents who are unhappy with their schools and can't afford a private school and aren't ready or able to homeschool. But I don't want my homeschooling freedoms curtailed by charter/virtual schools. It needs to be clearly understood that charter/virtual schools are PUBLIC SCHOOLS, their students are public school students and the government is still in charge of the students education. They are not homeschoolers even if they are located at home. The rules and regulations that apply to charter/virtual schools should not apply to true homeschoolers. What is homeschooling?

My definition of homeschooling. Homeschooling - parental control of the education of their children. The parents choose the method to use in teaching their children, pick out the curriculum, and judge the child's progress in learning the material without government help or interference.

So I will sign the We Stand For Homeschooling Resolution. If you want to sign click on the link http://westandforhomeschooling.org/res/index.php

Inheritance Series

I have enjoyed the first two books Eragon and Eldest in the series immensely and can't wait for the next book in the series to come out.

The author Christopher Paolini's pretty impressive himself http://www.alagaesia.com/christopherpaolini.htm
He started writing Eragon after graduating from high school at 15, and was a New York Times bestselling author by age 19. This is one homeschooler that should be an inspiration to us all.

Home School Laws

There are several homeschool laws that MS Home~Schoolers should be concerned about. Check out http://nataliesnexus.blogspot.com/

Ramblings, Rants and Remedies for a New Perspective on the SB 2514

Mississippi Bills (SB 2514 and HB 310)
SB 2514: "The State Board of Education may establish student testing proficiency standards for promotion to grade levels for students in home instruction programs which are equivalent to requirements applicable to public school students."History: Introduced by Sen. Sampson Jackson and sent to Senate Education Committee on 1/12/06Status: In committee

HB 310: Seeks "To clarify that any child who attains the age of 17 during the school year shall be required to attend school for the remainder of the school term, and to delete the provision allowing a parent or guardian to disenroll a child from kindergarten;" Note: Currently, compulsory attendance begins at six years old.History: Introduced by Rep. Cecil Brown, Chair of the House Education Committee, on 1/06/06 and referred to House Education CommitteeStatus: In committee

Apparently the ID V Evolution debate is still ongoing in the Meridian Star
http://www.meridianstar.com/opinions/letters_to_editor/

Alawine: Scrutinizing intelligent design
By BO ALAWINE

OCEAN SPRINGS - A recent columnist, contributing his thoughts on the debate concerning intelligent design vs. evolution, stated, “I still can't bring myself to believe that an amoeba suddenly grew legs and decided to walk on land.”Apparently, many supporters of I.D. do not understand the basic tenets of evolution through natural selection. Organisms do not “decide” to grow limbs, nor does the development of complex biological structures take place in such a generally short time. Also, his assertion that “the notion that natural selection could produce new organs or wings or tails is simply unsupported by any observable evidence that would withstand the scientific method” would harvest quite a few objections from those who work in the life sciences. I myself would be interested in knowing how well I.D. stands up to the scientific method. But I digress.

Setting aside the debate of whether I.D. is a scientific theory on par with the theory of evolution through natural selection, several issues should concern the open-minded individual following this controversy.

First, many proponents insist on “teaching the controversy” - i.e., present both sides of this issue and allow students to decide for themselves that which is true. As a man of both science and, I hope, of common sense as well as being a parent, this approach alarms me greatly.Would these I.D. advocates be as willing to have other controversial subjects (such as abstinence vs. safe sex) be presented so young minds could decide for themselves? Methinks not. The responsibility of science educators is to mold young minds with the latest accepted, peer-reviewed scientific knowledge, not to confuse them with sociopolitical controversies.

Secondly, the whole concept of I.D. seems to smell just slightly of intellectual dishonesty. Intelligent design rests on the foundation that an Intelligent Designer exists or existed. If an Intelligent Designer exists/existed, He/She/It must have designed or created all that is. This sounds remarkably like creationism, something the courts of this nation have prohibited being taught in our public schools. Proponents of I.D. would gain more respect for their position if they admitted I.D. is repackaged creationism rather than to push I.D. as if it were something new and not tied to one particular religion.This “repackaging” causes one to speculate as to the true motives of I.D. proponents, but that's not a subject I'm prepared to discuss in this forum at this time.

Lastly, I would like to point out certain practical considerations have yet to be addressed by those pushing to introduce I.D. into the classroom. I.D. requires the presence of an Intelligent Designer, a Creator. If all the facts are to be presented to students, who is to be the Intelligent Designer? What is to be His/Her/Its purpose for designing all life? What predictions can we make as to the future actions of an Intelligent Designer?There are numerous religions in this word, all which have their own cosmogony: Judeo-Christian, Islamic, aboriginal, pagan, etc. (My personal favorite is Flying Spaghetti Monsterism.) Other religions, such as Hinduism, view time as cyclical. Also to be included would be theories in which aliens introduced life to this planet (I.D. = E.T.?).From a truly objective I.D. viewpoint, all of these scenarios must be presented as each is just as valid as the other. Are proponents of I.D. willing to travel that road? Again, methinks not.

I suspect proponents of I.D. are interested in only the Designer of one particular religion.The concept of creatio ex nihilo (creation out of nothing) is the starting point for both the theories of evolution/natural selection and intelligent design. While my personal beliefs allow me to accept evolution through natural selection as perhaps the vehicle by which a Creator brought life as it is to be, I refuse to be dogmatic about it. The search for truth begins with the simple statement: “I do not know.”Science tells us how. Religion tells us why. The two are complementary. To attempt to supplant one with the other benefits no one.As Albert Einstein said, “Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.

Bo Alawine, a Meridian native and 1983 graduate of Clarkdale Attendance Center who currently lives in Ocean Springs, is a computer programmer/systems engineer for a defense contractor.

Religion is NOT Science

I have never understood why some religious fanatics insist on teaching Creationism, Intelligent Design or whatever "pretty name" they come up with in their efforts to bully their way into science classrooms. I wonder how they would react IF scientist demanded the right to teach Evolution in Sunday School Classrooms?

Religion is based on faith.

Science on the other hand is based on facts. First a scientist comes up with a hypothesis (an idea to explain a natural occurrence - in the case of evolution how life on Earth came into being). Then he comes up with ways to PROVE his hypothesis. If the data supports his hypothesis it becomes a Theory or Law.

But for some reason some people have trouble accepting this Scientific Truth.

The Short Proof of Evolution by Ian Johnston

http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/essays/courtenay1.htm

"Curiously enough, there is one major scientific truth which vast numbers of people refuse to accept (by some news accounts a majority of people in North America)--the fact of evolution. Yet it is as plain as plain can be that the scientific truth of evolution is so overwhelmingly established, that it is virtually impossible to refute within the bounds of reason. No major scientific truth, in fact, is easier to present, explain, and defend"

I suppose some of it is the general populations ignorance of what the definition of a scientific theory is. I had one woman tell me Evolution was nothing more the some devil worshippers crackpot idea about how the world began. Her statement is full of holes. Darwin wasn't a devil worshipper http://www.aboutdarwin.com/ he was a scientist. And the definition of a scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena; "theories can incorporate facts and laws and tested hypotheses"; "true in fact and theory".

Anyway to make a long blog short the judge ruled against teaching ID in the science classroom. You will find a very well written article on his decision here http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4516

One can only wish the so called Christian School Board members hadn't felt it necessary to resort to lying and intolerance to push their religious agenda. And maybe we should all stop and think, if religion is going to be taught in public schools, whose religion are we going to teach? And maybe it's time the religious fanatics understand that science is not religion, and religion is not science. They are two different things. Religious beliefs have no place in science textbooks. But hey if we are going to teach religious beliefs as science, teachers get out your pirate suites and get ready to teach the Theory of the Flying Spaghetti Monster http://www.venganza.org/

For those of you teaching the Theory of Evolution this site looks promising http://evolution.berkeley.edu/

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like.......................................

Christmas

The tree is up (kinda, I put it up myself so I expect it to fall over any time now), it's decorated mostly (there are still some ornaments in the box to put on it, if anyone feels like it), and the presents are wrapped (yeah). So Saint Nick can come anytime he feels like it.

Oh wait, we have to have Sean's birthday first. My baby will be 15, December 19th............

Anyway Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to Everyone ~ The Alawine's

Renaissance Fair

December 6th, we went to the Renaissance Fair in Hammond, LA., with Gwyn & Mikaela. The picture is of Gwyn playing a musical instrument from that time period.
http://la-renfest.com/education/school.asp

If you haven't been, I encourage you to go, especially if you are studying Medieval England.

After the festival we stopped for a late lunch in Slidell and discovered a wonderful Lebanese Restaurant called Zaynati's.

One Homeschool Association to Rule Them All....................................

Ok, maybe it's not that bad. But the military has decided that they need to define homeschooling in order to meet their needs.

http://www.cobranchi.com/archives/005869.html

http://hr3753.blogspot.com/

http://www.odonnellweb.com/mtarchives/001923.php

http://www.homeedmag.com/blogs/newscomm/?p=189

http://www.vahomeschoolers.org/

Apparently there was a goverment funded study http://www.cna.org/documents/D0009351.A2.pdf (don't you just love the things they spend taxpayer money on??). Anyway the study found that most home schooled males choose to go to college rather then enlist in the military unlike their public school counter parts. Personally I want my kids (both boys) to go to college so to me that is a Good thing. They also found that the home school population in the military did not represent the home school population over all. Most of those classified as "homeschooled" had dependents (in other words they were married{and/or} had kids). What they were mainly concerned about was that those enlisted classified as Home schooled did not complete their enlistment period and did not re-enlist as often as their public school counter parts.

I am concerned about this bill for several reasons.

• 1. Could all homeschoolers be forced to join HSLDA (or another National Home School Organization) in order to "prove" they were homeschoolers and provide a central data base for the military.
• 2. Would we have to "teach" courses that the military deemed necessary for them to meet their goals.
• 3. Would we have to allow the military to come into our homes in order to recruit our children.

There seems to be a lot of "unknowns" here. The biggest how does the military intend to define homeschooled.

I intend to work to defeat this bill.

If you agree please contact your U. S. Representatives NOW and let them know you oppose section 522 of H.R. 1815, The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal year 2006. Otherwise Section 522 will slip through hidden in this huge bill when Congress approves the Defense Authorization for fiscal year 2006.
Here are links to contact information for both the House and SenateArmed Forces committees.

Senate: http://armed-services.senate.gov/members.htm

House: http://armedservices.house.gov/about/members.html

Here is a link to sign a petition http://www.petitiononline.com/hr1815/petition.html

I just signed and there were 700 signatures.