Do You Want Paper or Electronic with That Curriculum?

I am indebted to Blossom at North Laurel School for her meritorious efforts in cataloging all (or almost all) the Ambleside Online curricula that is available for use on the Kindle. At the turn of the year I always find myself re-evaluating our schooling and looking ahead to the next grade (I say singular "grade" because we are in this .02% of homeschool families with only one student). The thought of curriculum fairs--an excuse for shopping with the girls--fills my head and urges me onward through the dark days of winter (of which in truth I don't mind because they give me an excuse to go to bed earlier and sleep in later).
    Last year I had the notion, with that partly-Scottish blood kicking in, to do a side-by-side economic analysis of the cost of "paper" books vs. e-books to determine if I would be doing our budget a service by investing in a Kindle rather than obtaining curricula in the usual format. Alas, I could not justify it: too few books for AO Year 3 were downloadable. ("Tell Amazon you would like to see this book available for the Kindle!" the searches would always chirp.) It IS possible that my somewhat limited (zero) understanding of the Kindle's Wi-Fi capabilities, which would allow for accessing public domain books online from sources such as Project Gutenburg   , misled my calculations. Or whether that generation of Kindle had even been rolled out yet. It's hard to keep up. They change faster than hemlines on Paris runways.
    So I donated plenty of bread to well-deserving Mom-and-Pop curriculum dealers, especially the USED curriculum dealers. (Score one for the tight-fisted Scots.)
    But now, Blossom's blog convinces me that I've hit the break-even point! (Oh, joy, a toy!) And then she points us to another Jimmie "I'm-a-Homeschool-Mom-with-30-Hours-in-My-Day"  lens on Squidoo.com (love you, Jimmie) that not only gives us all HER reasons for buying--ready?--not one but TWO Kindles, Hers and Little Hers, but includes a video from Simply Charlotte Mason.com comparing the different e-book readers including the iPad. 
   Ok, now I'm really in trouble because NOW I have to decide if it's wiser to buy the iPad for a "little" more and get all its bells and whistles or go with the e-reader because I could sorta trust MeiWei with it. Great. I love decision-making.
    What would you choose?

  
   

Needling Me

I know God has a plan for everything, so is it a sign of a fallen world or really His desire that Christmas Tree Needles should proliferate until Easter?

Glitter Grouse

I think glitter should be sold with an NC-17 rating--available for sale only to consenting adults who know how to use it safely and without harming themselves or the environment, especially the indoor environment better known as my house. What might be "pretty" glimmering on paper is akin to slime or excrement on my furniture, carpet, clothing, kitchen counters, washing machine, washCLOTH.....It's used in one end of the house and I find its evidence three rooms away. Send it back to Tinker Bell; I'm done with it!
Now how am I going to get rid of these little early Valentines from my DD without scarring her psyche?

PS Let's add sugar cookie sprinkles to that list of controlled substances too.

What's on your grouse list?

1 for 1: Book Challenge

                                                One for One in '11



 I've stumbled upon the blog "52 Books in 52 Weeks" before and was overwhelmed at the very thought, not to mention the execution, especially for me.  It took me at least 3 months to get through some Jane Austen books. How could anyone who does more than read by the fading light of the afternoon eating bon-bons while reclining on a fainting couch possibly have time to read a book a WEEK? A MAGAZINE a week would be a challenge!

But "52 Books" gives bonus points/grace to those who tackle more than Oprah's Book Club selections. You're allowed to read a classic a month for instance. I might be able to do that with a prod.

I really liked the category options, especially the Well-Educated Mind list. Since homeschooling MeiWei using Charlotte Mason and Ambleside Online, I feel the push personally to become better-read. (Can't have the child out-educate me!) So the challenge of 3 selections each from 4 of the five categories. Here's the page from "52 Weeks" WEM list.

But first I have to finish Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford.


What are you reading--just for YOU?

One for One

Well, as you can tell from the previous post, I've either been incredibly busy, so much so, that 1) I can't post or 2) am uninspired or 3) stymied by guilt from not writing and that guilt breeds more putting off,  and on and on it goes.

So now I'm excited to write something and here it is.
                                                          1 for 1.


That doesn't sound like much, does it? But wait. It might get better.

I was thinking at the end of December 2010 how much I'll miss a year whose date had so much pizazz to it. C'mon, how much fun did everyone have saying "twenty-ten"?! And thinking about how the two numbers have a fractional relationship (my made-up math term).
 And it had real eye appeal. 2010. People don't have another year to look forward to for coolness until 2020. Unless you count 2012 when the world ends. But that's another topic.

It was an even number, divisible many ways. (Though not evenly by 7, but even then the answer is a way-cool repeating decimal value. Try it.) It was also the start of a new decade unless you're one of those killjoys who insists that a decade---or Millenium, remember that ruckus around 2000?--doesn't truly begin until the end of this year. 

2010. It had everything going for it. A rock-star among dates.

Now it's 2011. Not divisible by anything that I can find except the old definition of Prime (divisible only by one and itself, which is not impressive even in that way when the number is already rife with 1's.) It doesn't hold its own visually or audibly. No balance, no sexiness, no ring like 2010.

So what can I say about 2011? Is there any hope? Can this sad, unbalanced, odd, prime number inspire?


I say, Yes! The answer lies in those double 1's.  Here is the germ for a great year for me to make resolutions. Don't snort. These will be resolutions that I can live with: short, sweet, manageable, forgivable.


The resolutions --or maybe just -tion!---will be just 1 thing for 1 period of time, whatever I choose at that time. See? 1 for 1. Easy!

For instance: blogging every day for one week. Now that wasn't so bad, was it? (Not saying that's the first thing I'll do, mind.) 
Or walking 1 mile a day for one month (and dropping one size?)
Going for one whole day without using a curse word. (Major challenge.) 
Thinking one kind thought about a loved one every day for a week.  And posting it. Thinking one kind thought about ME and posting it.
Praying for one minute a day for a year. Probably should start with that.


I can do more than one at a time too, but I don't want to overload and blow it all. I am cursed with an All-Or-Nothing-At-All mentality. Explains why I haven't posted in almost a year. That curse of needing a perfect post and waiting until I had time to make one. Which never comes.
So I will start this week with 1 (or 2) things.

The first will to be to post once a day for one week. First Day, done!

One for One in '11