Favorites From the Holocron
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“You and the Naboo form a symbiont circle. What happens to one of you will affect the other. You must understand this.” – Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
There are so many wonderful homeschooling moms that I rely on for homeschooling ideas, crazy kid commiserating, humor, and the occasionally much-needed kick in the pants reality check. I want to give a big and public thank you out to all the homeschoolers and homeschooling supporters that have helped to smooth the way along this sometimes Belgium Block bumpy road that Padawan Learner, Dad Windu and I are traveling.
Sometimes you just need to know that there are others out there that have been there, done that, and lived to tell about it – people that you can call on (or type at) when you’re most feeling like you’re a) on the brink of tossing it all in; b) about to make either the best or worst decision of your life; or c) absolutely over-joyed at the complete un-spectacular-ness of the day. I know some of your faces, many of your names, and even a couple of your kitchens. You mean the world to me.
Moff Jerjerrod: ”Lord Vader, this is an unexpected pleasure. We are honored by your presence…”
Darth Vader: “You may dispense with the pleasantries, Commander. I’m here to put you back on schedule.”
Moff Jerjerrod: ”I assure you, Lord Vader. My men are working as fast as they can.”
Darth Vader: ”Perhaps I can find new ways to motivate them.”
Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi
Yeah, that’s pretty much me right now. I’m going to be done dispensing with the pleasantries in about 3 more seconds.
Padawan Learner has a facebook ‘friend’ that’s really laying the “I’m the one that’s been chosen to SAVE you from your wretched life of disbelief” crap on mighty thick these past couple of months. She’s even begun using Dad Windu’s recent lay-off and our possible need to move if DW finds work out of the area (something she knows PL is dreading) as her “lead in”. He’s asked, and then told, her to back off about the religious stuff, and she has point blank said that she has no intention of doing so NOR does she have any intention of apologizing if she has been shoving her religious beliefs in his face against his wishes and offended him. I’m trying my hardest to stay out of it, to continue to let PL find a way to deal with it, but… it won’t be much longer if it doesn’t stop. Immediately.
He and I both know the difference between someone who holds strong religious beliefs and someone that is being a religious bully. We know lots of people who hold strong religious beliefs. We know that this is not acceptable or normal to the majority of people with strong religious beliefs. As I told PL, “She’s not being a friend; she’s being a bitch.” There’s a big, big difference between the two. And yes, that is the word I used.
Now I’m off to find 50 cents for C-3PO’s cussing jar.
PS – Yes, I know this is a rather crabby post. Feel free to disregard as needed.
“The death toll is catastrophic. We must bow to their wishes. … You must contact me.” - Governor Sio Bibble, Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
Well, I’ve done it again. I’m back on Twitter. Don’t ask me why. You can find me (and my infrequent tweets) listed as (what else?) obimomkenobi.
It would be way easier, though, if I had an iPhone. A beautiful, lovely iPhone. A sleek, app-happy iPhone. I’m not generally a “stuff-focused” person. Seriously. And yet I long for an iPhone – and electric boogaloo’s giant rubberized shit shield app. I definitely want that, too.
“It’s very dangerous, putting them together. I don’t think the boy can handle it. I don’t trust him.” – Mace Windu, Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith
Padawan Learner and his loyal neighborhood buddy, Chewbacca, hit the neighborhood garage sales this morning with a vengeance. It took all he had to get through his piano lesson before hitting the streets. They scootered from one house to another picking up other people’s crap undiscovered treasure for pennies on the pound. Put an Abe Lincoln in your pocket and the garage sale world is your oyster.
About once an hour, he and she would come back and show off their treasures before heading back out for rounds 2-4. The highlight of PL’s day was finding a tiki lamp; don’t ask me why. The lowlight was the complete and total lack of broken electronic equipment for dismantling. Seems our neighbors don’t save and then attempt to sell or give away broken items. Oooh, aren’t we hoity-toity.
Isn’t there some kind of unwritten garage sale law that requires all broken motors, yard machines and consumer electronics to be stored in an old cardboard box until the next garage sale date? How’s a boy supposed to learn how stuff works if he can’t take stuff apart?
“Yoda spoke of another.” – Luke, Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi
Or should I say, “Yoda spoke to another” – another newbie homeschooler, that is. They’re so cute. My good buddy Yoda invited a newbie homeschooler to our mom’s group last night. *wipes tears of remembrance away* Remember those days?
Obi-Wan Kenobi: ”Your clones are very impressive. You must be very proud.”
Jango Fett: “Do you like your army?”
Obi-Wan Kenobi: ”I look forward to seeing them in action.”
Jango Fett: ”They’ll do their job well. I’ll guarantee that.”
Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones
Here’s a question for all you parents of early teenagers or parents of former early teenagers: What do your kids do to earn a little extra spending money before Uncle Sam allows them to join the work force?
Padawan Learner is jonesing for some paid work, but not necessarily the kinds of work I have available (e.g., spring cleaning-ish house and yard tasks). He was mighty put out to learn that 13 year olds are not legally allowed to hold the more mainstream jobs in the community such as at the local pizza place or coffee shop. I think part of what he’s really looking for is a “real” job, aka not for mom, where he can stretch his independence-loving wings a little, meet some new people, prove to himself that he’s growing up, and earn $7.40 or more an hour. Allowances are just so pre-teen.
You’re a clever and creative bunch, what are some of your ideas?
Echo Base Officer: “Your Tauntaun will freeze before you reach the first marker!”
Han Solo: ”Then I’ll see you in Hell!”
Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back
I just shoveled snow on my little city driveway and sidewalks for 2.5 hours. I’m going to go pass out now. We’ve been promised a one day reprieve before the snows return on Sunday.
Update: After a lovely half-hour nap, Dad Windu and I went out for another hour and a half, to help dig out a couple of the neighbors after they got home from work. This is what I love best about this neighborhood. Everyone pulls together to help each other out. After she cleaned out her driveway, the lady across the street let our neighbors use her snowblower. Another neighbor parked in our driveway while he cleaned out his drive, and then he cleaned out the elderly lady’s drive next door to him. Padawan Learner, Dad Windu, several neighbors and I have been pushing cars out of the no-pass zone at the end of our street for most of the afternoon and early evening. The plows haven’t been through yet and our road is a complete mess of roughly 15 inches of snow. I hope they can get to it tonight.
Now I’m really tired, but in that good, work-induced way. I remember often feeling like this as a kid, after working in the barn all day. I’ll sleep well tonight.
“Anakin, escort the Senator back to her planet of Naboo. She’ll be safer there. And don’t use registered transport. Travel as refugees.” – Mace Windu, Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones
Sheesh. Travel. Don’t even get me started…
Well, you just had to get me going didn’t you. I hope you’re proud of yourself.
OK. This past Saturday, Dad Windu’s company had the annual charter bus trip to Chicago. The company pays for a charter bus and driver to show up in the company parking lot at 6:30 a.m., our cruise director loads it up with doughnuts, bagels, coffee, juice and water, and Mr. Bus Driver Man rolls out at 7 a.m.
For the first couple of hours, the bus is quiet as everyone sleeps or reads or listens to music or talks, but when we’re about an hour outside of Chicago two things happen. First, there’s a raffle. The pot begins at $60 and tickets are sold at $1 each or 6 for $5. The pot got up to over $300 and was split two ways. We, alas, did not win. Second, our cruise director begins the mettle-testing, present-stealing, White Elephant game. The week before, she hits the town looking for enough small gifts as there are seats on the bus. After handing out a playing card to each person (kids included), she begins to pull cards from another deck and when it’s your turn, you can either pick a wrapped present or steal someone else’s present (and then they get to pick which of the two options to do again). The hot items this year were gift cards to Victoria’s Secret and Starbucks. I got a box of Good and Plenty and a puzzle book. Dad Windu got a gift card to a pretzel place at the mall. Padawan Learner got a can of Monster energy drink. Seriously. I, being a BadMom made him wait to try it until the next day at home. Nothing like tempting a migraine when you’re hours and hours from home and have a several hour bus trip ahead of you. He tried just a little on Sunday and didn’t like the taste it – too intense. Can we all say, “Whew!”
We spent most of our afternoon at the Field Museum and spent a little bit of time walking the Magnificent Mile (yawn), ducking into stores when the cold, cold wind got to be too much. After dinner, we hustled back over to the bus stop where we waited for a while in the cold until the bus driver could muscle his way through traffic to pick us up.
Our poor Mr. Bus Driver Man earned his pay on this trip. Because of white-outs, snow-covered roads and black ice, the trip took 2.5 hours longer to get there than expected and 2.5 hours longer to get back. We slowly proceeded passed cars that had slid off the road and rolled over, semi-trucks that had skidded and jack-knifed, and were passed by people driving far.too.fast.for.the.conditions. The lights from assorted police cruisers, fire trucks and ambulances – especially on the dark return trip – made for a distorted carnival atmosphere.
Ooh, the pretties. Oh, I hope all those people are alright. Ah, the danger of travel in the Great Frozen Midwest.
[flying across the deserts of Tatooine]
Han Solo: “I think my eyes are getting better. Instead of a big dark blur, I see a big bright blur.”
Luke: ”There’s nothing to see. I used to live here, you know.”
Han Solo: “You’re gonna die here, you know. Convenient.”
Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi
I was listening to the songs on my computer this evening, letting them shuffle through the entire catalog and Sweet Home Alabama, by Lynyrd Skynyrd, came on. Frankly, even as a rather unemotional and detached mid-western woman, I must admit that I love that song and feel just a wee bit Southern (with a big S) whenever I hear this song. I have been known to belt it out with gusto when alone in the car or at home.
I wish I felt this way about my hometown. I try to make myself look past the the ugly bits – the monotony, the grime, the poverty, but that is all I come up with. I moved away the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of high school and, despite knowing these kids for 10+ years, couldn’t maintain those friendships. Those 35 miles seemed an impossible distance to we 15 year olds. It took less than 4 months before they and I had moved onto different tracks. One’s high school can seem so self-contained.
My mom also grew up there, even went to the same high school as me, and couldn’t wait to move back a few years ago. She loves the place, even while acknowledging the area’s rather severe socio-economic problems. But then, it’s still full of people that she grew up with and who have been her friends with for most of her life.
How do you feel about your hometown? or do you feel you moved too much to have one?
Han Solo: ”We don’t have time to discuss this as a committee.”
Princess Leia: ”I am not a committee.”
Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back
Vander Kitten has shown two of my favorite traits, the courage to ask questions and the courtesy to do it well. She writes:
What about discussion with other learners? I tend to learn most when interacting with others, and hearing the questions they come up with.
I hope you don’t think I’m jumping on this because I disapprove. You of course don’t need or seek my approval. Instead, I’m in such awe of what you and PL are doing, that I just want to learn all I can about it.
Did you see how she did that? She asked her question, giving it a personal touch, and then followed the question up with a softening clarifier, which shows that she’s all too aware of the risk that someone might misinterpret her tone as judgmental. Now, I know for a fact that Vander Kitten isn’t like that in any way, but it was still a mighty kind thing to do regardless.
First, I’m really sorry, Vander Kitten. I have been meaning to answer this for the last week, but just haven’t taken the time to do so.
Second, I agree. Discussion – even a heated discussion – is one of the greatest ways to learn something. I really have to talk things out to make sense of complex ideas. Dad Windu might say I have to talk things to death, but that’s a different issue.
So yes, we do a lot of discussing between the three of us – as we read, watch or hear about things we discuss them in varying degrees of detail, sometimes once and sometimes again and again. Obviously, a fair share of the discussions between PL and I have to do with our formal learning, but we also do a lot of just talking about “stuff”. Stuff meaning things we see on the Discovery or History Channel, movies that we watch, Science Friday on NPR, books on tape, family/friend conversations, and the assorted things that we wonder about that are just rolling around in our brains. I know that you were probably thinking of other students his age, but remember that I’m doing a lot of learning right along side of him, so we’re often discussing and debating what we think something means or has meant. We had a great talk a couple of weeks ago about why the verbs “to be”, “to have” and “to eat” are irregular in languages that conjugate verbs (such as the English, Dutch and Latin languages that we’re studying).
PL and I were talking yesterday afternoon about the different “histories” you get from a variety of biographies of the same person. He had just finished reading a couple of biographies about Mozart and said, “I think it’s really interesting that each of these books is about Mozart, but each author picked a different thing to focus on. So even though they’re all about the same man, you only see the parts of his life that each author thought was most interesting or important. Why do you think people pick one thing over another? How do they decide what to include and to exclude? What makes someone decide that someone else’s life is worth writing about anyway?” Now that’s a discussion! (It was excellent, by the way, and although it pushed one of my planned lessons completely aside, I didn’t mind in the least.)
More to your intent, PL and his friends talk about what they’ve been learning frequently, asking questions and bringing up points from their own learning in the same subject or related topics. I’ve been really pleased to see how they are willing to challenge each other’s assumptions, while also letting someone have the time necessary to draw his thoughts out. From some other hs’d kids down the road, he’s also learning to hear someone else’s (crazy) ideas and decide when to push a point and when to let it go. That’s a lesson that’s best learned early, in my opinion. 
He also goes to a monthly book club at B&N, where he discusses books (and ideas and games and movie adaptations) with anyone else that shows up. Our librarian, one of the hippest male librarians ever, is always pulling him aside to talk about new books that are in, or “Does this book sound interesting?”, or about what we’re studying and what topics PL wishes there was more info about.
So discussion, it’s a really big part of our lives and our learning.
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