Help Needed With Unwanted Nannies

How do you handle it when church members and friends take Alex’s side- all the time? I can tell Alex something as simple as to ask before attacking their candy dish and right in front of him they say, “Oh, he’s fine.” When I explain that I’m trying to teach him manners they usually say something like, “Don’t worry so much,” or “don’t get onto my baby.” This of course does not escape Alex’s attention and he repeatedly forgets to ask, probably because he knows they will stick up for him. This happens frequently even when Alex does something wrong.

Marie-Anne

Kumon First Steps Workbooks

My sister-in-law, Elexa gave Alex two of these wonderful workbooks for his birthday. I am so glad she did! Alex is almost done with his fourth book. He’s done Let’s Color, Let’s Sticker and Paste, More Let’s Sticker and Paste, and he’s working on Let’s Cut Paper. Since he’s almost done with it and he’s so excited about using scissors I already bought More Let’s Cut Paper. Alex asks for these workbooks. He has been more excited about each one than with any other workbook.

At the end of each workbook is a very nice certificate of achievement which I put into Alex’s scrapbook with examples from each workbook.

I also flipped through the Kumon workbooks for older kids and I will continue to use them as Alex grows. They have a lot of subjects. They are sold at book stores and at Target. Check it out at http://www.kumonbooks.com/catalog/catalog_firststeps.aspx

Marie-Anne

Saving Change

I have two water jugs that I save change in. In one I keep pennies and nickels. In the other I keep dimes and quarters. I am saving the pennies and nickels for Alex. When it gets full I’m going to put it in a savings account for him. The quarters and dimes can be used at any time for any thing. We’ve used it for anything from washing the car to going out to eat. Yes, I also pick up change. In one day just around our apartment complex I found $ 0.85. The only work I did was bending over to pick it up.

Marie-Anne

Out of the mouths of Babes

I was reading the David C. Cook Children’s Bible Story Book story Isaac’s Neighbors Pick a Fight to Alex. “When Isaac found out what happened, his neighbors said, “Go away from us. You are too successful, and we don’t like you.” His neighbors weren’t very nice!” Alex interrupted, “I know why his neighbors weren’t nice. They didn’t love.”

The next night I read the story Jacob Tricks His FatherI . I asked Alex what the story was about. Alex’s reply was, “Esau is stupid.” That about sums it up.

Marie-Anne

Homeschooling a 3 year old

I use a combination of workbooks, DVD’s, Leap Pad, the internet, library, field trips, Hooked on Phonics, and Alex’s interests to teach. We go to the library at least weekly and get a combination of about 20 fiction and non-fiction books for Alex. We don’t have a set time for lessons, but I am working on making it a little more structured. Our lessons are generally short unless his interest lasts a long time.

Today Alex watched some educational DVD’s, and then we worked on telling time. I have a magnetic clock and use flash cards with it. After that I read 10 Henry and Mudge books. Alex worked on puzzles and listened to a CD of kid’s songs while I typed this and did some housework. Alex played with play dough and practiced using a butter knife to cut it up. While waiting for Frank to get off work we played a game running in the empty parking lot to the numbered parking spaces. I’d call out, “Where’s number 12,” then we'd race to it. I read several Bible stories to Alex. We also read the first chapter of Bill Nye the Science Guy’s Big Blue Ocean, though we didn’t have the materials needed for the experiment. We used the Hooked on Phonics CD to teach him letter sounds, (it would have been easier to teach it at the same time he learned letters.) Of course Alex also had plenty of time for play. Alex also watched part of a documentary on Japan with Frank and me, (he fell asleep about half-way through it).

If you don’t know any homeschoolers you may wonder about socialization. Alex is very social. He goes with us when we go visiting for the church so Alex is perfectly at ease talking to adults. Every time we go to the park or McDonalds’ Playland Alex makes friends with the other kids. I also take him to the library’s story time and to a play group so he can be around a lot of the same kids from week to week.

Marie-Anne

Homeschooling unconstitutional?

“California parents without teaching credentials cannot legally home school their children, according to a recent state appellate court ruling.”Parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children," Justice H. Walter Croskey wrote in a Feb. 28 opinion for the 2nd District Court of Appeal. Noncompliance could lead to criminal complaints against the parents, Croskey said.” CNN

When I saw this on the news I was outraged. Public schools are failing to teach the kids, failing to prepare kids for the “real world,” and failing to protect them from abuse both from other students and staff, yet parents who cannot afford private school are going to be forced to send their kids to these schools. You read in the news how public schools hire teachers that aren’t qualified, but in order to home school, parents are going to be required to be more certified than teachers. It doesn’t make sense.

I understand that there may be concern that uneducated parents have difficulty teaching certain subjects. With co-ops, the internet, library, and home school programs parents have all the available materials to teach their own kids. Not only that but in some states since parents of homeschoolers still pay school taxes they are entitled to take advantage of certain public school resources.

This will be appealed and I pray that the ruling will be changed. If not, I can’t help but wonder if other states will follow California’s lead. I certainly hope not, but won’t be too surprised if they do.

Marie-Anne

Ma and Pa Rendla in Town

On the weekend of the 17th of Feb we got the pleasure of spending time with my parents. It was a blessing. They brought Marie a birthday present of a flower pressing kit, Alex a puzzle and Dad drew a cool picture for Alex's scrapbook.
On the following Tuesday we all travelled to Bullhead City, Arizona to celebrate grandma Donna's 80th birthday. Bullhead City is known for it's view of Laughlin, Neveda just across the Colorado river. All and all is was a pleasure visit.

Christian Duty

I find it sad the number of people who are amazed that a pastor and his wife go door-to-door inviting people to church. People are amazed when we visit them in the hospital or give them a ride to church. Isn’t that our reasonable service? Isn’t that just obeying the Great Commission? And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:15 Why then are people amazed? What do they think a pastor and his wife should be doing? Don’t they realize that the Great Commission isn’t just to pastors, it is to every Christian?

Marie-Anne