We have a play room

Part of our basement remodel has been to create a little “kids living room” where they can sit down and read a book or watch TV and store their toys. When I was a kid our rooms were always such messes because we stored our toys there and policing the space was impossible. My goal is that no toys (save for a small shelf of sentimental items or recent gifts) be stored in their rooms. So this rec room space we’ve made is mostly a playroom. Their computer is down there, too. Reclaiming my living room has been nice.

the 8th and the 9th deadly blog sin

In reference to the post “The 7 deadly blog sins.” I add the following:

8. No visible comment area. perhaps she’s trying to get us to blog about it instead of simply polluting her comment page. No matter- it sends the vibe that “I do not care what your comment is” and that may be true and valid but really, a comment form is a good thing. Her repeat visitors might stay longer if they’re looking to see if anyone responded to their comment.

9. No memorable graphic image in the header. As I was reading her blog, I realized that I had been there before. The posts weren’t forgettable (they were funny and easy to relate to) but the look of it was very forgettable. Personally, I enjoy graphic header image banners. It’s like your face sitting atop of your blog’s body.

That’s all I have to say, and if you’re having the problem she described in sin #6 go into your browser settings and have every link open in their own tab. Then, you never have to right click to open a tag again.

Incidentally, if you are disabling right clicks in an effort to prevent people from stealing your graphics, please know that all they need to do if they really want it that bad, is to view your page source code for the URL of the photo. OR- if they hold down the alt key and press “print scrn” they can paste your entire front page into any .doc and use their photo editing software to crop and steal your image, or even an entire screen in your website (as a static image.)

Anyone care to post these instructions for mac users? I could go in to the mac and figure it out but really, there are so many blogs to read and the baby is almost ready to burp.

Thomas Jefferson

I noticed recently, that the search terms people were using most when they found my Choosing a Homeschooling Method article all referenced a Thomas Jefferson Education. I’m hoping they found it to be a pleasant diversion, since the article really wasn’t about the Thomas Jefferson style of Educating children. I figured, though that I’d write a little synopsis about the whole Thomas Jefferson thing, in case anyone wonders about this kind of homeschooling, since it is becoming very popular. In my opinion, it is the perfect blend of unschooling and a Classical Education.
Thomas Jefferson Education proponents claim that this type of learning creates leaders. In TJed circles, it is said that the public schools teach people “what to think” and professional (trade) schools teach people “when to think” and that a Thomas Jefferson Education teaches people “how to think.” Encouraging children to think outside the box and immersing them in the works of political leaders and accomplished businessmen, creating relationships with classic well written texts by the most accomplished of leaders in every field will give children an intimate relationship with the workings of the very best leaders, and teach them to emulate those thought processes.

Becoming a Thomas Jefferson Education family has been a difficult prospect for families. The philosophy has been attractive to many homeschooling families for years, and is in fact, the basis upon which many classical education programs have been written including The Well Trained Mind. Adapting it to every day life, however, involves a paradigm shift that requires an almost constant change in thought patterns.

The best way, in my experience, to elicit a change in thought patterns is by reading a book on the subject. In Oliver Van DeMille’s book, A Thomas Jefferson Education, not only are parents given the opportunity to immerse themselves in the ideas behind the philosophy while reading the book, but there is a 2 month preparatory course for parents that teaches them how best to be their children’s mentors in learning as opposed to taking the role of teacher, that might otherwise be the “default” attitude of a homeschooling parent. I know in my house, it is. Teacher, police officer, cab driver, banker, chef- all of those roles come easily, but mentor is a struggle. I want better for my children than for myself, so the idea of self improvement, learning to be a better leader, and simultaneously learning to mentor my children in a process designed for homeschoolers is very attractive.

Let’s read it together- I’m ordering mine right now.

Maureen in Illinois recently held a blog carnival about the Thomas Jefferson Education. Check it out, she’s collected quite a few well written evaluations (by people who actually read it, not just me talking about why I want to read it) Enjoy.

A Thomas Jefferson Education

I noticed recently, that the search terms people were using most when they found my Choosing a Homeschooling Method article all referenced a Thomas Jefferson Education. I’m hoping they found it to be a pleasant diversion, since the article really wasn’t about the Thomas Jefferson style of Educating children. I figured, though that I’d write a little synopsis about the whole Thomas Jefferson thing, in case anyone wonders about this kind of homeschooling, since it is becoming very popular. In my opinion, it is the perfect blend of unschooling and a Classical Education.
Thomas Jefferson Education proponents claim that this type of learning creates leaders. In TJed circles, it is said that the public schools teach people “what to think” and professional (trade) schools teach people “when to think” and that a Thomas Jefferson Education teaches people “how to think.” Encouraging children to think outside the box and immersing them in the works of political leaders and accomplished businessmen, creating relationships with classic well written texts by the most accomplished of leaders in every field will give children an intimate relationship with the workings of the very best leaders, and teach them to emulate those thought processes.

Becoming a Thomas Jefferson Education family has been a difficult prospect for families. The philosophy has been attractive to many homeschooling families for years, and is in fact, the basis upon which many classical education programs have been written including The Well Trained Mind. Adapting it to every day life, however, involves a paradigm shift that requires an almost constant change in thought patterns.

The best way, in my experience, to elicit a change in thought patterns is by reading a book on the subject. In Oliver Van DeMille’s book, A Thomas Jefferson Education, not only are parents given the opportunity to immerse themselves in the ideas behind the philosophy while reading the book, but there is a 2 month preparatory course for parents that teaches them how best to be their children’s mentors in learning as opposed to taking the role of teacher, that might otherwise be the “default” attitude of a homeschooling parent. I know in my house, it is. Teacher, police officer, cab driver, banker, chef- all of those roles come easily, but mentor is a struggle. I want better for my children than for myself, so the idea of self improvement, learning to be a better leader, and simultaneously learning to mentor my children in a process designed for homeschoolers is very attractive.

Let’s read it together- I’m ordering mine right now.

Maureen in Illinois recently held a blog carnival about the Thomas Jefferson Education. Check it out, she’s collected quite a few well written evaluations (by people who actually read it, not just me talking about why I want to read it) Enjoy.