7 Quick Takes Friday

1.
Soccer has begun in earnest now. All three boys are playing. My senior is the captain for the varsity squad at the local high school (not bad for a homeschooler!), my 10 year old and 7 year old play on teams for the local Catholic school (which has been very welcoming towards us homeschoolers). It's fun, exciting, rewarding and exhausting. I try to bring work with me, as I sit through practices on the sidelines, but it's pretty difficult to balance my checkbook while I'm visiting with the other moms:P

2.
The 4 year old princess will be starting ballet classes next week. She has been talking about it all summer. Apparently last spring, I told her that I would sign her up for ballet in the fall. Now she tells everyone that she is going to take "ballet in the fall". I think she thinks the class is called "ballet in the fall":)

3.

My 17 year old son, though homeschooled, is taking 2 classes this semester at the local high school, where his classmates think he is brilliant! Now, being his mom and teacher (and completely impartial:), I know he is bright, but brilliant?? I am gathering, from what my son tells me, that the education these kids have received in the public school, is quite narrow. So narrow, in fact, that no one but my son got the answer to an extra credit trivia question: "Who is the New Jersey-born singer who had a single called, "Born to Run"? Come on! These teens don't know "The Boss"??

From my son's anecdotes, it seems to me that these kids, who are good, smart kids, some even at the top of their class, have had very limited (or no) exposure to classic literature, art or music or really anything outside of their "teen culture". Apparently, Bruce Springsteen was part of my teen culture, not theirs. Too bad for them.
My goal in homeschooling has always been to teach my kids to think. I do not want them to regurgitate facts back at me. Facts can be found in books or on the internet. I want them to be able to think about what they see, hear or read, and be able to discern properly if they agree or disagree with the opinions or actions presented in movies, literature, or in real life (!) in light of the moral instruction they have been (hopefully) grounded in. This means they need a broad understanding of the world, what has gone before, the cause and effect of events, what others have said about it and most importantly, what God says about it, and what they think they will do in light of their understanding.
I think we do a grave injustice to our children if we do not prepare them to be able to think, understand and discern what is going on around them--socially, politically, religiously and personally.
During the last presidential election our local high school had both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama visit. Many of these kids had NO IDEA there was a republican candidate! Just from my own observations it appears that our schools have taken the approach of telling kids what to believe (or leading them in one direction), but not giving them the tools to think and make informed decisions of their own. Not only does this handicap these kids, who deserve better, but this will handicap our society in the long term.

4.
What is the responsible, humane thing to do with a 13 year old cat who is extremely skittish, perhaps emotionally unbalanced, and who has NEVER (never in 13 years!) consistently used the litter box? When we moved to this house 3 years ago, this cat was so nervous and freaked out that it escaped and lived "in the wild" for 6 weeks before we could finally coax him into the house. I thought he was a goner then. We have an almost 2 year old dog who torments our cats. She has not calmed down in her harrassing of them as I had hoped she would as she got older, so I think the best thing to do for the cats is to find new homes for them when we move to our new house in a couple of months. I should be able to find a home for one cat, who is fine and healthy and uses the litter box correctly. But, who is going to want an old nervous cat who poops all over the house? I am not sure he will even survive the move, if he freaks out like he did last time. What to do?

5.
College girl is feeling overwhelmed with her studies. She's taking a very heavy load right now and is trying to decide whether to drop a class, but she doesn't want to be a "quitter". She is handling it maturely and responsibly, though, and I am proud of her. She is staying close to God in the sacraments and praying for His guidance. She could use a prayer or two, though.

6.
College girl will turn 20 next week. At college. Without me or the rest of her family. Sigh. On a positive note, eveytime lately that I tell someone my oldest is 20, they look at me in surprise and say I don't look old enough to have children that age. Perhaps it is the 4 year old I have in tow that gives the illusion of youth. Perhaps it is the extra weight I am carrying that "plumps" up the wrinkles. Another sigh.
I am torn between being flattered and wanting to explain that I was 24 when I had her and not 15, which I expect they may be thinking. My foolish pride will nt allow me to enjoy a compliment. One more sigh....

7.
The house project is coming along, slowly but steadily. Hubby has been working on the driveway and it looks great. I got "laid off" from working at the site just in time for soccer season to start. I won't be needed up there for a while, since it is mostly machine work now. Although he may need me to offer suggestions about how I would like the lot to look.
Strangely enough, hubby doesn't agree:)

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at Conversion Diary