Continuing my theme from yesterday...
Unity '08 is a grassroots movement you might have heard about, if you watch political talk shows. Their goal is to draft a bipartisan presidential ticket for '08, via a web convention. It seems that political dialog has become so divisive that there is no longer room for intelligent debate of the issues: eg- if you disagree with Pres. Bush you must be a flaming liberal, unAmerican, or pro-terrorist... What happened to legitimate discussion of the issues and the demand that all citizens play an active role in their government? Doesn't Democracy presuppose that the people represented stand up and be heard? I believe it is time we take the government back from an administration that has removed our civil liberties while we have blandly looked on. There are so many important things to be debated and problems to be addressed!
I thought Unity '08 was a creative solution to a serious problem in this country: the corrupting influence of $$, corporations and lobbyists on our political system. I give them credit for attempting to do something!
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
Cross Roads
It is one of those weeks- choices to make and things to be decided on...
here at the mook house we are taking steps to lessen our carbon "footprint"- changing light bulbs is the first step, chris is adding an overhang to cut down on the massive influx of heat to the back of the house which should help with our a/c usage and we are in the beginning stages of talking about growing some of our own veggies, because we were floored at how difficult it was to find produce grown in the US at the local Sam's Club...(don't even get me started on my hatred of Wal-Mart and Sam's Club- sometimes a girl has to defer to her husband for the sake of the marriage!)
in the world of education, one year begins before one ends...it is time to start making decisions about the 2007-08 school year. will i go back full-time?? tough choice- and trust me, i am glad I have the luxury of making a choice. It just seems odd to be talking about Sept in March. One way or the other, it'll be 3rd grade, or part-time and Carolyn will be well cared for...I'll miss teaming with janine- it has been really smooth and satisfying and great for our students...and fabulous for US- she's the best...
conferences are this week-some to look forward to and some to use as an opportunity to guide parents in making the correct decisions for their child. If you have ever wondered about parent-teacher conferences from the teacher's POV- I look at is as a dialog, come with questions and be open to the answers, don't make excuses for your child and don't look to lay blame- let's work together to solve the problem at hand...
things to look forward to this week : Kathleen's b-day, AJ and Nat's party, lunch with my mom, Mom's, Chris' and Dad's birthdays, getting my hair colored and hopefully in two or three weeks another new family member!
It is one of those weeks- choices to make and things to be decided on...
here at the mook house we are taking steps to lessen our carbon "footprint"- changing light bulbs is the first step, chris is adding an overhang to cut down on the massive influx of heat to the back of the house which should help with our a/c usage and we are in the beginning stages of talking about growing some of our own veggies, because we were floored at how difficult it was to find produce grown in the US at the local Sam's Club...(don't even get me started on my hatred of Wal-Mart and Sam's Club- sometimes a girl has to defer to her husband for the sake of the marriage!)
in the world of education, one year begins before one ends...it is time to start making decisions about the 2007-08 school year. will i go back full-time?? tough choice- and trust me, i am glad I have the luxury of making a choice. It just seems odd to be talking about Sept in March. One way or the other, it'll be 3rd grade, or part-time and Carolyn will be well cared for...I'll miss teaming with janine- it has been really smooth and satisfying and great for our students...and fabulous for US- she's the best...
conferences are this week-some to look forward to and some to use as an opportunity to guide parents in making the correct decisions for their child. If you have ever wondered about parent-teacher conferences from the teacher's POV- I look at is as a dialog, come with questions and be open to the answers, don't make excuses for your child and don't look to lay blame- let's work together to solve the problem at hand...
things to look forward to this week : Kathleen's b-day, AJ and Nat's party, lunch with my mom, Mom's, Chris' and Dad's birthdays, getting my hair colored and hopefully in two or three weeks another new family member!
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Monday, March 05, 2007
Seven Months!
Here she is, with her hair done, no less...she is doing great: she sits up, scoots, says "Hi" to us, BUT she does not sleep all night, yet. Oh well, I am pretty sure she won't start kinder without sleeping all night!
On another front:Joe is beginning to plan his Freshman year- He is gearing up for a challenging year: honors English, honors Physics, honors Latin, Algebra II,Jazz band, and PE + summer school. We are tremendously proud of him for being willing to take it on and for showing the initiative...some of our rants must be sinking in!
Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe
The Last, Great Dance on Earth
We decided to take on the remainder of the Josephine B. trilogy for book club. Can't wait! Josephine's story is so satisfying and intruiging. It has been fun discussing the role of destiny and fate in one's life- especially in light of having viewed the video "The Secret"... Also great discussions on how little knowledge we had of the French Revolution and Josephine, herself. Ms. Gulland's writing draws the reader into another time and place. She makes you feel as though you are privy to the actual diaries of this (in)famous woman.
Since we are taking on two books- we'll meet again in April!
Enjoy!!
Monday, February 26, 2007
Life is Good...
Even though we seem to have caught every "bug" out there this year, with the birth of Little Lucy we are again reminded how joyous life is! We are thankful that the sweet girl arrived safe and sound. She is such a smart soul to have picked Adam and Amy as her parents...(Also thrilled that she shares her special day with our John!)
The 3rd grade teachers continue to prepare for the La Jolla Half/5K, depending on which one of us you are talking about. I really appreciate how we go out of our way to share our triumphs and struggles and cheer each other on- can't wait to take the show on the road. Great idea, Sarah!
Now that all three older kids are double digits, a bitter sweet moment for Mama, they headed out to fly John's birthday kite. It is so fun to see them do things together. It is especially great when they take a break from sniping about each other and just enjoy...
Graded some papers this weekend and was struck with how much growth our little ones have shown this year- they are really mastering math and grammar- two things that will serve them well as they go on to bigger and better things.
In order to document some of our science learning this year, I am going to try my hand at movie making- we'll see how it goes and I'll keep you posted!
Even though we seem to have caught every "bug" out there this year, with the birth of Little Lucy we are again reminded how joyous life is! We are thankful that the sweet girl arrived safe and sound. She is such a smart soul to have picked Adam and Amy as her parents...(Also thrilled that she shares her special day with our John!)
The 3rd grade teachers continue to prepare for the La Jolla Half/5K, depending on which one of us you are talking about. I really appreciate how we go out of our way to share our triumphs and struggles and cheer each other on- can't wait to take the show on the road. Great idea, Sarah!
Now that all three older kids are double digits, a bitter sweet moment for Mama, they headed out to fly John's birthday kite. It is so fun to see them do things together. It is especially great when they take a break from sniping about each other and just enjoy...
Graded some papers this weekend and was struck with how much growth our little ones have shown this year- they are really mastering math and grammar- two things that will serve them well as they go on to bigger and better things.
In order to document some of our science learning this year, I am going to try my hand at movie making- we'll see how it goes and I'll keep you posted!
