Tuesday, November 28, 2006

TV or Not TV?

This one comes from the November archives of my fashion blog, The Space Between My Peers:

TV or Not TV?

We have two children still at home, both in their teens, who have lived without a TV in the home for over 8 years. While neither of them is perfect, they both defy today's stereotypes about teens. They are not rebellious, rarely unpleasant, and for the most part, they agree with their parents about the important issues of life.

So, we wonder, heads spinning, how did we manage that? At first glance, it may seem that homeschooling is what makes our family different from others. Could be. But recently, as I was thinking about the electronic influences on today's children, I began to wonder whether being without a TV was just as beneficial. So I asked. "Why do you think you are so pleasant and easy to be parent of?" Obviously this is not a question we can know the answer to in full, and there is clearly a spiritual component, but today our best thoughts are: 40% homeschooling, 60% TV (that is not TV). My best advice? Many hours of conversation.

One year later I would only add that AWANA is a wonderful discipleship tool. Like icing on the cake.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Mary's Favorite Homeschool Websites

Find a list of Mary's favorite homeschool websites in her post Homeschooling and The Internet at MInTheGap.

And allow me to add one: Home-Made Living, aka Jody's site.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Train Your Child to Be a Fighter Pilot

From an email:

The object of the game is to move the red block around without getting hit by the blue blocks or touching the black walls. If you can go longer than 18 seconds you are phenomenal. It's been said that the USAir Force uses this for fighter pilots. They are expected to go for at least 2 minutes.

Give it a try but be careful..it is addictive!!

Hand - Eye Coordination Game

Concerning Delegating Responsibilities

The delightful Mrs Meg Logan has left the following comment responding to my Riveting Question: Can Responsibilities Be Delegated? It's a must-read:

Seems to me that responsibility before God cannot be passed on to another. If you delegate something to someone, it is still your responsibility to see that action fulfilled properly.
For example, I may delegate my parenting duties temporarily to a sitter, that sitter may do something wrong that causes my children harm, (physical or otherwise). The person who perpetrated the sin upon my children is guilty of that sin, while I am guilty of not protecting my children. I still carry some responsibility for their well being. I should have chosen a sitter more wisely, or perhaps forgone a sitter completely!
(I have personal experience in this area, so I am well aware of the pain of my responsibility.)

Another thing, since it is my husband's responisibility before God to raise up his family in the admonition of the Lord, if he delegates that to me, and I do not follow through, I am guilty of disobedience, but he is guilty of not raising up his family in the admonition of the Lord.


If you're interested in my response, it's at the original post.

Live My Priorities or Blog Them?

Just a quick word of explanation about why it's been two weeks since I posted here.

As many of you know, I have two teen daughters at home and two older sons (a step and a natural) who do not live here. Recently, though, that has changed slightly. While our girls are still here and neither of the young men actually reside in our home, my dearly loved step-son has decided to relocate his family to our area. We are thrilled!

So instead of blogging quite as much, although I have kept a decent publishing schedule at my fashion blog, I have been living my own advice: Many hours of conversation.