Browngirl Speaks

I live smack in the middle of the infamous "Bible Belt".  Everything homeschool around here is Christ-centered.  Do I have a problem with Christ?  Absolutely not.  He is the head of my life and has been for most of it.  However, a Christ-centered education is very close-minded and non-inclusive.  It seems hypocritical of the teachings of Christ for the majority of the homeschooling community to not only go out of their way to be non-inclusive but also, sometimes, shun those who do not adhere to or even believe in a Christ-centered education.  I want my son to choose Christ just as I did, but I also want him to be able to function in this world that is also comprised of non-believers.  I want him to be informed and filled with intelligent thinking, not narrow minded and unable to think outside the box.  I’m not saying Christians are narrow minded or I’d be calling myself as such and I’m far from it.  I’m saying that a form of education that ignores a number of truths about our world is unacceptable.  Public schools teach a very Eurocentric curriculum and homeschoolers are opting for curriculums that are Christ-centered AND Eurocentric.  This seems like a step further in the wrong direction.  I already see an area that is very lacking in available curriculum that I will have to create my own.  I do hope that more secular curriculum becomes available and soon.  I also hope that the homeschooling community becomes more inclusive because Christians don’t own the rights to it. 

i have been begging folks for their treadmills for a few years now. of course, these are treadmills that are now clothes racks. finally, my lovely SIL wants to get rid of hers. score! i’m broke and have 100 lbs. to discard thank you very much. anyway…my husband and I note how fast the “slow” setting is. he says: “if that’s slow, i hate to see what fast looks like”. Now he’s in far better shape than myself and i shoulda known better when he made that comment. however, my inner seven year old just had to try out the max speed yesterday and see if i could get my short fat legs to keep up. aww hell! i have busted my ass! actually, i busted my shoulder, both knees and burned the skin off the fold of my arm. i mean, my left knee now looks like three kielbasa sausages instead of one and my are looks like i was maimed by some feral cat. i can’t believe this is even coming out coherently because I am delirious on some leftover hydrocodone from having a wisdom tooth pulled. but you know what? before i got doped up, i got back on this morning and did a quick mile.

quel, stop laughing at me.

I’m slowly getting us “off the grid”. So, my next foray is into homemade laundry detergent. I’ve been eyeballin’ some recipes for about six months now and finally took the plunge today. Honestly, most of the recipes are the same. The only major differences I noticed were either for making a powder instead of liquid or for larger quantities. Now, I used the recipe found over here which seems to be for a standard quantity and you wouldn’t be.lieve how much detergent it made and with how little of the three ingredients necessary.

*Note: I used Ivory soap instead of Fels-Naptha. I also added an essential oil–grapefruit. For some reason I had two bottles and used up the one that was open. It probably came to 40-50 drops.

And now for the numbers…

Ivory soap $1.19/ 3 bars/ 9.5 oz.
Borax $3.99/76 oz
Washing soda $2.99/ 55 oz.

1/3 bar of soap=$0.13
1/2 cup borax=$0.18
1/2 cup washing soda=$0.23
grand total for 1 batch= $0.54

Using 1/2 cup per load gives me about 64 loads @ less than a penny each. Not bad for about 30 minutes of work and just under $9.00 at the grocery store. peace.

kids bible info - extensive list on character building with scripture reference

free world u - flashcard based curriculum for Pre K- 12 (also includes Pre-Medical through fourth yr. Med.)

spelling city - create your own spelling lists-that can be saved- and the site will teach and generate quizzes and games for you. 

Scott Foresman Online Grammar and Writing Handbook -  these are pdf files of workbooks for grades 1-6 grammar and writing exercises.  these are printable and can be bound into an actual workbook.  the corresponding textbook is not necessary to use these. 

your child learns - includes "bridge to reading" program, printable maps of any size, map puzzles and online atlas.  very good site for geography.

Stay tuned for my review on Time4Learning…

Dear Zion,

Today you are 5 years old and a man of color, a Black man, was elected President of the United States of America. Now, you will learn throughout life of the many struggles of Black people in this country. You will learn that we were brought here as slaves and lived as second class citizens even after we had been supposedly freed. You will see images of us harassed and brutalized as we attempt to vote or enter educational institutions. Because of the history of injustice in America, the idea of a Black person leading this nation has always been inconceivable, until now. And, though many of us swore our support to Senator Obama with little regard to the color of his skin, this fact could not be denied nor ignored. Does this mean things will change drastically for Black people? Not necessarily. I’m pretty sure it will provoke little change in our overall status as a group. But, what I do know is that this victory means that every drop of blood shed by our people has undoubtedly not been in vain. It also means that when I say that you can be WHATEVER your heart desires, you have one of the most prolific representations of that endless possibility to inspire you. Always know that anything is possible.

Love,
Mom