Our Constitutional Rights

This topic is big for me. It always has been. This article is taken from Texas Home School Coalition on the recent California ruling that home schooling is illegal. This just wakes the giant in me...

"The cat is finally out of the bag. A California appellate court, ruling that parents have no constitutional right to homeschool their children, pinned its decision on this ominous quotation from a 47-year-old case, "A primary purpose of the educational system is to train schoolchildren in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of protecting the public welfare."

There you have it; a primary purpose of government schools is to train schoolchildren "in loyalty to the state." Somehow that protects "the public welfare" more than allowing parents to homeschool their children, even though homeschooled kids routinely outperform government-schooled kids academically. In 2006, homeschooled students had an average ACT composite score of 22.4. The national average was 21.1."
...
"It reminds me of what New York Judge Gideon Tucker said in the Nineteenth Century, "No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session."


This particular case is muddied by suspicions of child abuse, but as the Times said, the court improperly "used a single example of possible child abuse to throw the book at tens of thousands of home schoolers."

I think the state court is looking at the state Constitution upside down. The court finds no constitutional right to homeschool one's children. But in a free country, people are free to do anything not expressly prohibited by law. If the Constitution is silent about homeschooling, then the right is reserved to the people. That's how the Framers of the U.S. Constitution said things are supposed to work.


Last week, the appellate court surprised everyone by agreeing to rehear the case. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the judges "hinted at a re-evaluation of its entire Feb. 28 ruling by inviting written arguments from state and local education officials and teachers' unions".
On top of that, state Schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell says he thinks homeschooling is legal and favors choice in education.

That's reasonable news. But why is education the business of government? It's taken for granted that the state is every child's ultimate parent, but there's no justification for that in a free society. Parents may not be perfect -- some are pretty bad -- but a cold, faceless bureaucracy is no better.
Let's hope the court gets it right in June."

30+ FREE Things to Do

While walking this morning my mind began reeling on free things my family could do. Going along with the budget I thought it might help. Thus the list was born. I thought it would be fun to have everyone add to it on your own blog. Just add the fun, free things you love to do!
1. Read a book
2. Play a game
3. Talk to someone
4. Spend time outside
5. Work in the yard
6. Pray
7. Worship
8. Read your Bible
9. Go for a walk
10. Run
11. Jump rope
12. Play basketball
13. Play football
14. Play baseball
15. Play soccer
16. Go to the park
17. Clean your room
18. Clean the garage
19. Pick-up the living room
20. Do the dishes
21. Dust
22. Clean the study
23. Clean out toys
24. Give someone a hug
25. Smile at someone
26. Read a book to someone
27. Look at pictures
28. Play with someone
29. Call a friend
30. Write a letter

If Anything is Worth Doing, It's Worth Doing Badly

That phrase will make a perfectionist squirm, but it seems to sum up my life right now. What am I up to??? This year I have been focused on eating healthier and exercising. Every time I get in shape or at least started in that direction some kind of injury would stop me. Praise God this time He's allowed me to continue. Knees-check...Feet-check...just good. It feels so good to run and sweat, to have something to work towards. It's free. It doesn't have to be cleaned up. It doesn't whine. I love it.

I have a desire to eat soaked grains, to stop sugar, and to teach my kids the same. A desire. It hasn't gone anywhere beyond that. I still love that stinkin' Dr. Pepper! I have learned that if you don't buy all the junky stuff, the kids won't shrivel up & die as they are inclined to think. Our pantry is pretty bare. Not as bare as the post below, but bare. One day after deciding that potato chips were not going to magically appear on the pantry shelf, they resigned themselves to oatmeal, apples and oranges for a snack. I was impressed. I wouldn't have thought of that.

School. Hmmm. "Why am I doing this again?" has been a tune I've been hearing a lot lately. I try to take the thought captive. I have even tried going down that path of "what if they went to school, even a nice private school?". I mean if the thought keeps coming back sometimes you do wonder if God may be putting it there. After a few seconds I realize we can't even begin to afford private school. I could teach at summit, but really. I would miss them and cry every day. That would be ridiculously silly. I would then question THAT decision. I would be so tired from teaching every child in that school art (b/c that's the way they do it) that I would really never clean house or talk to my kids. This just isn't the answer. Not now anyway. And then they have so many friends. That would really tear them up. NO, I feel called to this and always have as long as I can remember. This is just a hard time. It's the end of the year. EVERYTHING in God's creation is due right now. And then I have to think about the summer.

I've discovered that rebecca loves to listen to a teacher. She clings to every word and knows it to be gospel truth...just how she heard it. Sometimes she doesn't get it just right. But she comes alive. I am seriously considering abeka dvds for her math curriculum next year. I think it would totally motivate her even in it's cheesiness. And I just need to get something off my plate. I so often wonder: wouldn't someone else be a better teacher for them? There are so many days I am unmotivated and just want to get the work DONE. Who cares if they learn anything or even like it. Just do it! Then there are the days when we sit down and read together and laugh and squawk over some awesome book we are reading. Or they come home from co-op and dissect a flower and know all the parts. I didn't even KNOW you could dissect a flower! Or we learn about bees. Or we FINALLY start dictation exercises, and they get better at it every day. Or they learn how to play "The Star Spangled Banner". Or they tell me I'm the best teacher they've ever had! And I think, wow. God did that. God carved out the time to learn that. He did it. They've asked to do school this summer. And we need to. Such an answer to prayer. I just hate it when we question, "God am I REALLY doing what you want me to be doing? Or am I kidding myself? Am I getting in Your way?" One thing's for sure. When it's all said and done, everything that any of us do is to the glory of God. It cannot be done unless HE wills it to be so. "Had it not been the Lord who was on our side, the waters would have engulfed us...we would have surely died."

Lastly, we've been budgetizing. I hate it. I can't sleep at night. Micah asked me several weeks ago to be in charge of it again. Not to make all the decisions, just keep track of our expenses. But something happens to me when I do that (which is why I stopped in the first place). I become obsessive. I can't help it. I have this thing in me...err perfectionism...cough...cough. I just have to do everything I do the very best I can. I immediately start thinking about every expense that needs to be cut. Problem is, certain people (we won't mention any names to protect the guilty) don't think these things need to be cut. They see them as necessities. And then I wonder why in the world we're going through all the trouble if we're never going to change anything! Oh my! So frustrating. We've been listening to Dave Ramsey. He is so incredibly awesome. He tells it like it is, and that is exactly what we need to hear. He has ten steps (surprise!) and we found out we're working on steps 6, 7, and 10 but haven't even done the first 5. Or we skip to step 2 but didn't complete number 1. No wonder we can't make anything work.

A Word About Sugar

An acquaintance of mine sent this article this week. I was shocked upon visiting their house to find a bureau in the breakfast area piled high with an assortment of mostly organic fruits, an empty fridge except for some kefir draining to make cream cheese, and an empty pantry except for one jar of raw honey. They had their raw milk outside in the garage fridge. Their counter tops were clear and uncluttered. They have 5 children. The wife suffers from pancreatic cancer and has fought it naturally for 5 years.

"It's crystal clear that Americans. . . are paying for junk food
addiction with their lives. The ones most devastated by the growth of
the processed food industry are the populations of the underdeveloped nations. In their insatiable lust for sales, the food monsters are
competing for overseas markets. They are pouring millions into Third
World advertising campaigns, trying to convince the poor Brazilian
farmer that "He Deserves a Break Today," and the starving child of Ghana that "Things Go Better with Coke" .... The food giants are certainly racking up a lot of victories in the Third World. Two noted food researchers, Frances Moore Lappe and Joseph Collins, have visited the tiny, rotting stores in the rural areas of poor countries and have found chewing gum sold by the stick, Ritz crackers sold one-by-one, and two-packs of Twinkies split so the awful things can be sold separately.
This demand for this poison has been generated by food conglomerate
advertising which is doing a great job of teaching people in poor lands
"that their traditional diets of beans, corn, millet and rice are
worthless as compared to what Americans eat." To the food conglomerates, poor people turning from native, whole foods to processed junk means profit; to the people themselves it means death." Paul Stitt Fighting
the Food Giants

What to do at 1 am???

If you're bored and have nothing better to do, try this:
1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): Missie Van

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME (fave ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe): Mint Chocolate Chip Sandal

3. YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (favorite color, favorite animal): Pink Butterfly
4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born): Charlene Houston

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name):Licta

6. SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Purple DrPepper

7. NASCAR NAME (the first names of your grandfathers): Charlie Hugo

8. STRIPPER NAME ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent,favorite candy): Rose Chocolate

9. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Fox Florence

10. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Christmas Morning Glory

11. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing rightnow): Blueberry Pajamas

12. HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Muffin Peach

That was great!