Mothering Many

Sometime ago, like in October, which was three lifetimes in the past, I attended some training sessions for my role as Cub Master. As part of that we covered the ages and stages boys go through as they move through scouting, and I knew at the time I wanted to discuss it here for ya’l, but as things tend to do, it just slipped through the cracks. Except!! I have been writing a massive to-do list (when I finally got started on it today, it totaled 6.5 pages, that’s practically a mattress ya’ll), and guess what? That’s right, typing this post was on it. Along with many other things, HA! Anyway, here we go.

Seven year olds have a very difficult time with time. They have no concept of “later”, life is now or never. They are also very literal.

Nine year olds are into verbal violence. Dork, retard, and I’m going to kill you are real high on their list of cute things to say (personal experience indicates that this phase can last well into the teen years).

Eleven years olds need clear instructions, preferably just a few steps at a time. “Clear the table” may be more than they can handle, but they can certainly handle the job if it’s broken down for them.

Thirteen year olds are all about the fair. They want to make sure that everyone is treated equally (experience indicated that this phase can begin as early as eight in some kids).

Sixteen year olds are able to understand rules and their function. They are good with younger kids and able to think of others.

Eighteen year olds are beginning to show even more adult skills. They can delay gratification, compromise and set goals (and work toward them).

Ok, gather the kids, all of you put on your aprons and lets get cooking! I want to tell you about a cool game for kids. And maybe for moms if the kids aren’t watching. (Ruthless Ruth kicked my butt with spaghetti, just so you know. Ahem.) The Good Food Fight is just what it sounds like: You have a food fight with healthy, nutritious food that happens to be tasty. The effects are pretty cool and it’s tempting to duck when that food comes sailing at you. And how do I know it’s tasty? All the recipes are on the site! Eat Better America has developed the game to highlight its healthy recipes. You can also find fitness tips and advice for a healthy lifestyle.

I don’t know about you, but I struggle with teaching my children about nutrition. It’s just not something that comes up in ordinary conversation. Perhaps I will use this game to open the discussion.

I just saw this neat night light over at Edmund Scientific. Isn’t that wicked cool? Of course, they aren’t calling it a night light, but that is totally what I would use it for, after I used it to teach an astronomy lesson, of course. You know it fits right in with our Science theme for this term. Too bad we are almost done with the term. Why didn’t you guys tell me about it?

They have so many cool things there! When I do school planning again, I’ll be scoping out www.scientificsonline.com for some cool toys teaching tools.

Edited to add: ok, you can’t see the nifty-ness here. The light changes to show the cycles of the moon. Click it and you will go to the page where you can scope it out. “Scope it”. Ha! I slay myself again!

You know, I talk to my kid through the course of the day. There here, I’m here and the words, they just kinda flow naturally between us: mom can I, no, mom can I, no. You know how it is, I’m sure. I sometimes think my children intentionally misunderstand me, mostly about the no part, and then sometimes I wonder how any of us understand each other at all ever. I was reminded of this when I looked up the word elliptical last night. Now if you are a guy, you probably thought immediately of an exercise machine. And also, you are probably wondering how the heck you got here, and frankly, so am I, but ok, here you are, hello and welcome.

But! what if you are a reader? Elliptical also means pertaining to or having the form of an ellipse (shaped like an egg) and expressed with extreme or excessive economy; relieved of irrelevant matter (to the point) and tending to be ambiguous, cryptic, or obscure (confusing). Oh, and if you are a writer, it means those period things… you know…the ones we use to indicate we are thinking…or shifting our view point a bit…or are just plain crazy.

Suddenly, I have a new respect for Clinton. Maybe he really didn’t know what is is.

I’m having a real hard time putting this post in a category, so I am just going to put it in several. They all apply, so that makes sense to me. Let me quit dithering and cut to the chase:

University students are competing in a contest to design and build solar powered homes. The houses have to be livable and not use any other form of energy. The contest is called the BP Solar Decathlon, and the teams come from some of the top universities here and abroad. In just two days, the teams will meet for a week-long competition at the national mall in Washington, DC. There, they will have 10 separate contests to judge their homes.The teams have been blogging about it, and you can read about their exploits at the BP Solar Decathlon blog.

Now, here’s the kicker: only one energy company is sponsoring this event. You know a contest like this requires a good deal of funding, right? Well, BP has been involved each time the Dept of Energy has held one of these events. Three events, three sponsoships, putting their money right where their mouth is. And not only that, BP is paying to publicize this event as the lovely badge below will verify.

So, I’m curious about something. I poked around a site today where you can buy essays and othe academic works, and I want to know what you think of them. The site says it’s “plagiarism free”, but…that really seems like an oxymoron to me. Sure, there’s a tiny-font disclamer at the bottom of the page that says not to use these as your own work, but, ummm?

Yeah.

Okay.

But do you really think someone who pays $10,245 for a thesis (yep, they sell them–I checked) is going to not turn it in as their own work?

I think the site would garner less disapproval if it moved away from custom writing, and concentrated more on helping students become better at essay writing themselves. I know if I assigned an essay and found out the student didn’t write it themselves, I’d flunk them. And I certainly would not want to go to a Doctor of Anything that bought his dissertation.

Help me out here. Am I missing the obvious?

I’ve posted about Capella University before, and I guess in my mind, I’ve equated it with those schools that you see little ads for in the back of women’s magazines. That is, I kinda discredited as a viable resource for higher education, even as I liked and shared some of the information about them. But Capella is continuing to grow and change. Their latest offerings include Bachelor of Science in Public Safety program, as well as eight new graduate and undergraduate specializations in psychology, education, information technology, business, and criminal justice.

I did some poking around on the site, and I discovered that Capella takes federal financial aid, and can even help you with applying for it. I don’t know why that makes a difference in my mind, but it does, so I’m looking at Capella again with fresh eyes. Not for me, but for my children. If I spend their early school years tailoring a program to their needs, and allowing them to work on a flexible schedule, then having them continue that pattern for college may not be a bad idea.

Can you memorize and place the countries, cities, or sites of a specific region on a map, fast enough to make it to the top-ten list? GeoQuiz is a fun way to test your skills, or teach your little ones about the world we live in. And it’s fun!

There are links on the left sidebar for even more educational games, and all of them are member created! Registration is free and optional, but you can only save your high scores if you do it. Enjoy!

As for me, no playing today, I’ve got things to clean, ya’ll.

I have a penchant for alphabet books. We have several here, and I like to read them to the pre-schoolers to get them familiar with the alphabet before they begin to read. The kids really enjoy them, and so do I, and that’s just a winning combination, isn’t it?

I saw this one today on Amazon, and thought I would share. Alphabet Fruit was written by a parent as a birthday present for a 2 year old. I don’t have an alphabet book that concentrates on fruit (yet), so this may have to go on my wish list.