Going Online

As you can imagine we put a lot of thought into learning and schoolwork, and I can't shake the feeling that we're never really doing enough. Chalk it up to my 14 years of going to school, but I, like most people, equate more work with better education, even if it's just busy work that will never be retained. I look at kids in school and talk to parents and everyone seems to think that a school that gives more homework is doing a better job.

I have since revised my opinion of this, for which I will spare you my pontification on the matter. Suffice it to say that we are continually searching for a better way to learn the necessary material, and in certain areas we got it covered, namely the basics: math, english, writing, art, and reading. The challenges arise with history, social studies, and specific areas that might interest them.

Enter the internet. There are a lot of resources to cover all subjects online, especially when they're related to computer stuff like programming and gaming. I don't think it's a perfect solution, but where do perfect solutions ever exist? One thing I've noticed is that the kids like doing things on the computer, including math and social studies, so that's not necessarily a bad thing. It definitely makes them more self-motivated, but I'm guessing there's a fun component in there, as well.

The search continues, but for now, the internet is a good resource. Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to tct10e for the pic. 

Eyes on the Future

As soon as the market ends, we can turn our energies to other areas, mainly hockey and other life pursuits. I think I have managed to get a more balanced view of hockey and realize that there are other things in life, though not many. It's hard not to get caught up in the fanaticism of the game, but now I can look back on how some of these parents behave and it's interesting, if not a little shocking. For the record, I've been there, done that, and now I'm done... yeah, right.

It helps that the kids have other interests to give us all a little balance. Hockey is still a big part of our winter, but we will make more of an effort to other things. Last year we got a fair amount of skiing in, and I think this year we'll do even more. A has really taken off with her music and N has become a mountain biking machine. With these other interests come other needs, and for that, I am planning for the future. N needs a new mountain bike, and I am in the process of researching this prospect. I think the one he has is marginally adequate, bearing in mind that we got it free from a friend. It's more of a recreational bike, and I think he would benefit from something built for riding on trails. For A, she is pining for an electric guitar. Her buddy's mom told me that whenever she comes over, she always picks up her husbands electric guitar and plays it. A's teacher has given me some affordable possibilities, and says he can teach her. Electric guitar definitely has a big cool factor.

They both could use some new hockey skates (hockey is hard to avoid). Hockey has pretty much arrived, so that will have to be addressed sooner than later. N's bike won't be an issue until spring, and A's guitar has no time frame, though if you ask her, the time has come. Christmas is on the horizon, so you never know.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Jill Erickson for the pic.

Game Theory

The kids enjoy being on the computer, like every kid on the planet, and while I have issues with ones who spend their entire lives in front of the screen (gaining weight and frying their brains), the reality is, computers are an indisputable part of modern life. You can choose to ignore their significance at your own peril. I would prefer for our kids to be computer literate, which for the record they are, but as we all know, the tech world is continually evolving, and it doesn't take long for things to change considerably. For a dinosaur like me, it's like speaking a foreign language, a fact my kids get a huge kick out of.

With this in mind, I think it's good for the kids to know how to navigate computers, but even better, to know them well. Maybe even know how to program them. Deep in the back of my mind, I wouldn't even mind if they knew how to hack computers, but of course never in an illegal way. I have been encouraging them to dabble in computer language and to be at least minimally familiar with programming, for which they have been more than happy to oblige. I'm still researching what languages are best, but for now, they are working with Javascript and HTML. There are numerous resources out there, so all it takes is a little legwork and experimentation. So far they have been working with digital animation and graphic design, as well as game design. It's pretty cool, and they really love it.

It's all fine and well as long as they don't spend too much time on it, but that's where mom and dad come in, right?

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Brian Biggs for the pic.  

Interesting Chat with Our Neighbors

I had an interesting conversation with our good friends and neighbors the other day, and I have to confess to being a little surprised. They have adult children but she works in the local school district as a teacher, and they are awesome people that I really respect and admire. In fact, I always thought they'd be great people for my in-laws to meet as a plug to live in this area, but that's another story.

The other day we were chatting and they mentioned that they thought it was great that we were homeschooling our kids. They have a baby granddaughter and they wished that their kids could homeschool her or at least send her to a good private school, i.e., avoid the local public school. Now I was a little surprised by this revelation because as I mentioned, she's a dedicated teacher, but maybe that's what gives her opinion credibility - she's in the trenches and sees what goes on firsthand. They felt that there were so many problems with the public schools with the students and parents, and with all the testing and new standards. I have to say, they are not alone, I hear parents grumbling all the time.

In the end, it's very interesting, especially coming from them, but one thing I've learned after years of homeschooling is that you can't do it to impress other people, or for that matter, seek out validation and approval, but that missed the whole point. It is an uphill battle, no doubt, because you are swimming against the tide, but on the whole, if you believe in something, then you have to go with it. So far, I think it's been a good fit. Not perfect, but when is life ever a perfect?

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Lindell Dillon for the pic.

Pitching My Ideas

I finally worked up the huevos to pitch a story idea to the local paper, and even though I think it ended up in the slush pile, at least I finally did it. I think the story idea is a good one but the timing wasn't perfect. It's more of a summer story, so I could have waited, but timing is an issue when pitching an idea because there is a lag time between pitch and story and I'm still trying to figure that one out. There are multiple other options to try this one on.

The key is that I wrote a query, sent it in, and even got a response. The editor said he would forward it to the proper department, after which I didn't hear anything, but at least he responded. That's a plus, don't you think?

In the meantime, now that I'm feeling so empowered, I can start cranking out more queries and getting my timing down... yeah, right. Time will tell, the ball is in my court.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Peter Miller for the pic.

Best Market Ever

If you can believe this, we had our best market ever two weeks ago, and in the face of heavy competition. As I mentioned, we have a new neighbor, Samosa Man, who is a nice guy but is a bit of a charmer and a quintessential salesman. He pours it on hard trying to get people to stop and eat his stuff, and he's a fairly established businessman who has a restaurant somewhere up north. He used to have a place in Montpelier that place closed down, but I'm pretty sure he has a business somewhere else. Whatever be the case, he's the real deal, and he has name recognition.

We had mixed feelings about having him next to us because obviously he takes customers away, but it's also good for the overall health of the market to have good offerings to the public. One thing that does make it challenging is that he jumps on people as they walk by, and on the one hand it works, but on the other I'm sure it turns some people off. It reminds me of being in NYC when you walk by a restaurant and the host jumps out and tells you to eat at their place. My first impulse is to immediately walk away.

Either way, even though this guy is aggressive, we still did okay, so I can't complain. The market was busy, probably because it was a beautiful day, and people came in full force for our falafels despite the fact that we don't promote them. We like to think they sell themselves. I could never see myself as a salesman, though I could probably pull it off if I had to.

It should be interesting to see how the next few weeks turn out. Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to auntneecey for the pic.

Word From Our Logger

We finally heard from our logger and from past experience I know that that's good enough for now. I tend to be a bit of a pest, but at least that lodges me into his psyche and reminds him that I'm a regular customer who still needs wood. I'm learning that this is a good thing because wood is getting hard to come by these days for various reasons, and a lot of people are either getting shut out or having to pay top dollar for wood.

Usually with us, I contact our logger, TB, early in the spring and inform him that we will need a load, but it's not urgent. He never calls me back, so I have to keep pestering him until I finally speak to him and tell him we still need wood, but we can wait until summer/fall, whereby he tells me to call him in the fall. Good enough for me. This fall, however, the news was out that everyone was having a hard time getting wood. I had been trying to reach TB for weeks and no word. Finally I left a message, and I do this every year, asking him to just tell me whether getting wood was a possibility or not. At that point he'll finally call and we'll talk.

This year he said the situation was rough, mirroring what I've been reading. He said he could get it for me, but that the market was tight. Plus, he was raising his price. This, of course, is a total bummer, but at least we have some wood in the pipeline. I think it's good that we have a regular guy because I'm reading that loggers are turning away new customers and even telling their old customers that they're out of luck. At least we're regulars with TB, and have been buying from him for years. No telling what the future will hold, but thus far it's paid to be persistent and loyal, not unlike a lot of things in life.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Dennis Raper for the pic.