Tag, I'm It!

Well, this is interesting. I intersected with Andrea from Harvest Academy Homeschool on Latter-day Homeschooling Blog a little while back and left a comment on a very insightful post that she made that made an impression with me. I guess my comment made an impression with her because weeks later, I find she commented on my blog and said, basically, "Tag, I'm it!" It's a blog tag game where I answer questions and then tag other bloggers with questions of my own. Here are the questions she asks:

• What are your top 5 favorite books?
This is the world's hardest question for someone who has always been a voracious reader. Okay, for the sake of the game I'm going to leave scriptures out. And keep in mind, if this question were asked me tomorrow, the answers would probably be different. So, here they are:

1. The Castle in the Attic, by Elizabeth Winthrop. I will always treasure this book because it is the one that finally opened up the magical world of love of reading to me when I was nine years old.
2. The Virginian, by Owen Wister. If you want to know what it really means to me to be an American, read this book.
3. Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes. It was the first book that made me cry and I felt like it made me grow up a little.
4. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. The simple, sad story broke my 14-year-old heart so thoroughly I will never forget it.

Hmm...those four rolled off the fingertips pretty easily. Now for one more...

5. The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. I wanted to include a happy book, and this one was so incredibly, beautifully--cleanly--romantic that I read it at least five times in high school, whenever I needed that innocent little love rush that all teenage girls crave. In fact, I need to find this book and read it again. Sigh.

(P.S. A close second to The Scarlet Pimpernel is Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, for the same reason. In fact, if I had thought of it first, I would have put that instead.)

• What is one of your favorite scriptures?


Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all they ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

• What is your favorite homeschool curriculum that you have used?


Well...since my oldest is only three this doesn't really apply yet. I'm currently using some simple pre-k workbooks I got at the Dollar Tree (I plan to make a post about it actually) about letters, numbers, shapes and colors, basic phonics, etc. Right now we've just started so we're doing shapes and colors. He knows most of them already, and I wanted to start with something easy so it would be encouraging to him. I'm also planning to implement some of the learning games and exercises from Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready, by June Oberlander. That's all I feel he needs at this point. I'm interested in Sonlight curriculum, maybe in the future.

• What led you to homeschool your children?


One of my best friends was homeschooled, and I loved the way she had so much time, and yet was so far ahead academically than where I was in high school, even though I was chomping at the bit and took every single honors and AP class that was offered. I got a degree in history and kind of wavered between law school and teaching until I realized that if I went to law school I would have to, um, be a lawyer, so I decided to pursue teaching. About three months of subbing, and especially the semester I did long-term for a seventh-grade social studies class, convinced me finally and completely that I could never, ever in a million years unless I became a quadriplegic widow or something, send my kids into the horror that is modern-day public school. Not that I have strong feelings about this or anything.

• If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be?


Wow. Maybe...Spain? This answer would probably be different if I were asked tomorrow, as well.

• If you had one day all to yourself, what would you do?


Well, since I fantasize about someone dropping in to voluntarily take my kids off my hands for a day so I can finally get my house under control, the honest truth is I would probably clean. If, hypothetically, my house were already spic and span, I would...gee, I dunno. I can't imagine being by myself without kids, a husband, dogs, cats, horses, chickens, a garden, blah, blah, blah to care for. Maybe, since we're only dreaming here, I would finally realize my dream of running a marathon. Since I have this magical day to myself, I would also magically have already trained for it and my bum knee (which I injured running years ago) would magically have healed.

• What is your favorite food group?

No question. Dairy. I can easily drink two gallons of milk a week all by myself. I don't anymore because we've got kids and it's too expensive, but I did all through college.

• What is something that your child(ren) did recently that made you laugh out loud?

OK, to tell this story, I kind of have to tell on myself, but since it all ended OK, I guess I will. My three-year-old loves baths. We have a kind of hinky septic tank so I can't give him baths every day, but he would love it if he could have three baths a day. Anyway, every once in a great while, when he thinks I have waited too long to give him a bath, he will poop in his underwear trying to angle for a bath. He is totally potty-trained. He only does it to manipulate me into giving him a bath, because while he was potty-training, that is how I would usually deal with the mess rather than trying the whole wipies thing when he's got poo oozing out his underwear legs. The first time he did it I just calmly cleaned him up, no bath. Not gonna reward that behavior, no way. The second time he did it, I told him I was going to spank him. He looked at me in the most honest-to-goodness wide-eyed horror I have ever seen on his little face, and said desperately, "No, Mommy! Don't spank me! There's poop down there!" I gave a great big, open-mouthed belly laugh. And didn't spank him. After all, he had a point.

Okay, so those were the answers to Andrea's questions. This seems to have been primarily directed at homeschoolers, from what I can tell, but since I don't know all that many homeschoolers who blog--only one, actually--I'm going to have to modify the thrust of my questions a little bit. Now here are my questions:

1. Have you ever locked your keys in your car? If so, what was your solution?

2. Name a book that has been very significant in your life. Why was it significant?

3. What is your biggest weakness as a mother and/or wife?

4. What is your biggest strength?

5. What are your views on homeschooling, and would you ever consider doing it? Why or why not?

6. What is the last dessert that you baked and what was the occasion?

7. What is a talent that you've always wanted to have but have been too busy or too scared to develop?

8. What do you consider your most and least attractive physical features?


Here are the people I'm tagging. If you choose to play, make sure to let me know in the comments so I can check out your blog and see the answers--which I'm dying to!

Analei at www.shadowsnatcher.blogspot.com

Gabby at www.bluebirdacademy.blogspot.com

Shawntae at www.theberrybuzz.blogspot.com


Everyone else I know has private blogs, so I will leave my list at that. Thanks for playing guys! I hope you all do, since I only listed three of you!