Learning in the Sunshine State

On Saturday, Nov. 18, Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station had an open house for family members. This was the first time since 9/11 that they’ve done this. Bill actually works at Canaveral AF Station, not Kennedy Space Center. However, since he had to work that day (meaning our time was limited), and since his specific area wouldn’t be open to us, we only went to KSC. We’re hoping they do it again next year, so we can go to the Air Force side. (A quick lesson here — KSC is where they launch the space shuttle. It’s also where all previous manned launches (such as Apollo) took place. CCAFS sends unmanned launches. Do you use a cellphone? Satellite TV? GPS? All those things and more are sent in unmanned rockets from where dh works. The manned launches get the glamour publicity, but the unmanned ones are the workhorses of our modern world).

Below is the VAB. It’s now called the Vehicle Assembly Building, but in the early days of the space program it was the Vertical Assembly Building. You can tell who the local old timers are, by what they call this building. When NASA rolls out the shuttle, this is where it leaves from. You can see that they still haven’t fixed damage from the 2004 hurricanes.

The shuttle Atlantis is scheduled for launch in spring 2007, and our names will go into space! Well, ours and a ton of others. We signed the banner which will be onboard when Atlantis lifts off. That’s Bill and Dennis signing, the kid in the second picture is a stranger.

Endeavor is being refurbished, and we were allowed into the building where they’re working on it. Not such a great picture (well, it’s a good pic of my guys), but that’s Endeavor behind them.

We were allowed a drive by of the launch pads, but couldn’t go on the perimeter road. I could only get a from-behind shot of Discovery on Pad 39B.

Finally, I want to point out that Kennedy Space Center is surrounded by the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. As we were driving towards the launch pad, Dennis grabbed my new Sony DSC-H2 digital camera. In the midst of all this technology, he snapped a picture of the natural world. That’s my boy!
P.S. Can anyone spot the gator in this picture?

Hmmm. Two blogs in one day, and both of them linking to newspaper articles. This one really upset me. Did you know that Big Oil can determine what is taught in science class? Laurie David, a global warming activist, wrote about the movie’s producers’ attempt to donate 50,000 copies of An Inconvenient Truth to the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). They refused to accept. Here is an excerpt from the Washington Post article:

Science a la Joe Camel

Still, maybe the NSTA just being extra cautious. But there was one more curious argument in the e-mail: Accepting the DVDs, they wrote, would place “unnecessary risk upon the [NSTA] capital campaign, especially certain targeted supporters.” One of those supporters, it turns out, is the Exxon Mobil Corp.

I’d be willing to bet many individual science teachers would love to have this DVD donated. It’s the NSTA as an organization that turned it down. If they didn’t take money and materials from Big Oil, their argument against accepting An Inconvenient Truth would hold water. But clearly, they are making choices that have everything to do with money, and nothing to do with teaching Real Science to children. For what it’s worth, they do have some information about global warming on their website. Go ahead, see if you can find it without doing a site search. Not easy, is it?

When Big Oil and other members of Corporate America can bully the public schools into teaching only what they want taught, we know the public school system is truly broken. Or maybe, as John Taylor Gatto has been warning people for years, it’s working just like it’s supposed to.

Well, after Dr. Phil’s one-sided show (which I admit I didn’t watch), here is a more balanced view of unschooling.

Homeschoolers content to take children’s lead.

The link is going around the homeschool cyber world this morning, so you might have seen it on a list, or on some forums. I think the article was fairly well balanced, considering that it came from mainstream media. Homeschooling itself is only just becoming understood as a viable option. I don’t think we can expect the general public to instantly embrace unschooling. Dialogue is good, and an article like this helps to get the dialogue going in a positive direction.

As for the Dr. Phil episode, don’t validate it. If someone you know (someone not exactly homeschool friendly) mentions it, remind them that it’s a TV show. Remember they’re concerned with ratings, not truth or balance. Keep the light on the fact it’s a TV show, not on the content. If the person wants real conversation about homeschooling or unschooling, direct him or her to articles like this one instead.

It’s true. Just a few flurries that didn’t stick to the ground. They never do. That’s right, this isn’t the first time it has snowed in The Sunshine State. It’s rare, and you have to have eagle eyes to spot the flurries as they fall, but it does happen every now and then.

Brrrr! We’re Floridians. We freeze at room temperature. The best thing about cold weather in Florida is that it doesn’t last. The Thanksgiving forecast calls for a high of 70F, and by Sunday we’re back to 80F.

Sure, he looks all cute and furry eating peanuts from the squirrel feeder just like he’s supposed to. However, just minutes earlier he was pigging out at the bird feeder. We’ve tried everything to keep the squirrels from eating the birdseed, including baffles, squirrel proof feeders, and Squirrel BeGone (cayenne pepper). Lately they’ve taken to chattering at me when I try to shoo them away from the bird feeders. Oh great. Squirrels that give backtalk. I am convinced these little rodents are absolutely brilliant.

The sleepless nights, that is. At least once a week, I have trouble sleeping. Sometimes it happens 2-3 nights a week. I believe I know the cause (besides the guy snoring next to me). It’s perimenopause. I have many of the symptoms listed, but I’m thankful there are some that I haven’t experienced.

Another Cub Scout mom and I have had countless conversations about this; often we compare symptoms, and give each other an outlet for venting. Depending on which experts you listen to, it can last anywhere from 3 to 15 years. I’m hoping for 3.

When I have these sleepless nights, I usually come to the computer. I wander around the internet reading blogs, searching for free homeschool stuff, catching up on email. So if you see comments on your blogs left by me in the wee hours, now you know why.

It’s 1:40 AM. Guess I’ll give sleep another try now. Wish me luck.

Those of us who wish to teach the science of evolution to our kids, know how difficult it is to find homeschool resources for the subject. Thankfully, Ave from The Denim Jumper, has decided to do something about it.

Evolved Homeschooling is an attempt to bring together news, books, links, and other resources to help you teach evolution. There are already some good book recommendations and links up. Anyone can make a suggestion, and you don’t have to be a homeschooler to participate. Hopefully, as word spreads, this blog will grow. Please pass this along to your like minded friends.

What is it about penguins that we humans love? Is it the way they walk? Their “tuxedos”? First there was March of the Penguins, then Happy Feet. Now the latest thing to capture kids’ attention is Club Penguin.

Club Penguin is a kid-friendly virtual world, where kids can play games and chat in a safe chat environment. Your character is a penguin, and the penguin world resembles a ski village. You earn coins by playing games, and can spend the coins on clothes, igloos, furniture, even pets called Puffles. If you buy a puffle, you have to feed and care for it, or it will run away. You can also go to a dance club, pizza parlor, or coffee shop. The site is moderated 24/7, and those not following the rules are dealt with swiftly.

You can sign up for a free account, but it doesn’t let you do much. The paid account is $5.95 mo. or $29.95 for 6 months. I bought Dennis a 6 month account, and he’s having a blast with it. I have to admit, I’ve gone on his account and played a few games myself. He doesn’t mind though, as long as I’m earning coins for him.

So far he’s been good at limiting his time, but I told him if it gets out of hand, I’ll have to give him time limits. It can definitely be addicting.

The handwriting is on the wall and it’s time to clear the air. Why, it’s as plain as the nose on your face.

Today is Cliche Day.

Have a nice day.

Though it sure looks like one, doesn’t it?

I started this blog to encourage myself to write about our homeschool adventures, among other things. I read somewhere that the average time before a blog is abandoned is about 4 months. If you make it past a year with regular postings, you will likely keep it up.

I don’t want to feel like I have to blog. That would take the fun out of it. On the other hand, going for weeks at a time without blogging takes the motivation away. So I’m going to give myself a goal of once a week from now until the end of the year. If I do more, great. If not, I don’t feel guilty. After the first of the year, I’ll up it to twice a week, and see how that goes.

As for what we’ve been up to, we’ve been busy with activities. We’re lucky to get the 3 R’s in, but they seem to find their way into general life anyway. Yes, we’re in unschooling mode for now. We’ll probably stay there until after the holidays.

We’ve been reading about the Civil War and Underground Railroad, because of 2 related activities. Yesterday we went to see a play called

A Midnight Cry — The Underground Railroad to Freedom

In a few weeks, we’re going to a Civil War reenactment in the center of our state, a town called Palatka. We’ll be camping there with our Cub Scout pack for the weekend.

In preparation for the play and the camping trip, we’ll be reading a few books about the Civil War, slavery, and the Underground Railroad. We read Follow the Drinking Gourd, watched a video of it narrated by Morgan Freeman, and will be reading a few of the “If You” books about the time period. (grrr. I can’t get this thing to underline without looking weird and putting it on a separate line).

Other than that, field trips, 4H, P.E., karate, and guitar lessons are keeping us busy. Oh, and the Academic Fair our homeschool group held on Monday, Oct. 30. And there was Halloween, which was great fun, but gave Dennis candy overload. Seems a lot of people gave out chocolate this year. Think he’ll notice if I raid his candy bucket?

Now we’re about to get on that holiday roller coaster that lasts from mid-November to the end of the year.

Oh yeah. Did I mention the weather is beautiful? This is our outdoor time of year. I’d rather do bookwork school stuff in the hot, humid summer, and take advantage of the outdoors during Florida’s version of fall and winter.