We were registering my son’s pigs for the county fair. He has done it one year already (it’s one of my all-time favorite posts) and this year he was an ace at reporting the breed, class, weight, and ear notching. But when it came time to give his last name, he said, “Rodriguez.”
The woman said, “Can you spell it?”
He said, “Um. No. I don’t think so.”
I spelled it. Read more
Someone sent me a press release about “educational rap music.”
I knew right away the music would suck. People who write good music do not need to say that it’s educational. I mean, is Bach not educational? Is he just for idiots? What makes some music educational and some not?
Stuff that needs to be labeled educational in order to sell is stuff that is boring and stupid. It’s stuff that kids won’t ask for and instead needs to be force-fed by adults who do not trust kids to know good music when they hear it. Read more
Confession: I hate taking the kids to the doctor’s office. Probably, at some point when I was a brand new mom, I was great at going to the doctor’s office. But I soon realized that unless the kid is dying, the doctor will send you home with nothing but a piece of paper that explains why antibiotics are not effective against viruses. Or colic. Or whatever.
So I wait until I think there is something really serious. And then I try to send the nanny. I hate the waiting room, I hate the paperwork, and I hate having to keep the kids from touching the really sick kids. Read more
I started writing this blog to figure out if I should homeschool or not. It took me only about a month of blogging to realize that there is overwhelming agreement in the education reform movement that a customized education is best for kids. The issue with homeschooling is not whether it’s best for kids. The issue is whether or not parents can handle doing it.
I homeschool because it seemed to me that it was like breastfeeding: Of course it’s the best thing to do for the kids, it’s just difficult. So I told myself that even though I had no idea what I was doing, it’s clear to me that even starting with no idea what I’m doing is better than putting the kids in school. Read more