So now I get to eat crow. 
I was complaining a while ago about teachers who were asking about activities to use as excuses to show Happy Feet or Shrek 2 in their classes, and I stated that I’ve seen a lot of things from homeschoolers, but never that.
Well, now I’ve seen it.
Now, it COULD be that the homeschooler meant for the videos as sort of a Friday night family activity, not as actual class time. But she still asked for a list of movies for her study of “the middle ages.” Not for fun, but as if some sort of educationalvalue can be gotten from them. To make it worse, not only did she ask for videos, but she listed those she planned on showing. They included the Errol Flynn Robin Hood, Ladyhawke, The Princess Bride, and The Three Musketeers.
Two of which, of course, are set in Medieval-ish Fantasy Land with Magic, one in Medieval-ish Fantasy Land without magic, and one isn’t even set in the freaking middle ages.
*sighs*
I suppose not only does no one group have a monopoly on stupidity, but no one group even apparently has a monopoly on *any* brand of stupidity, either.
1) One of the items in a charity auction on the radio is a set of “custom ranch gates.” (The “ranch” in question would really be an estate, but you don’t call it an estate in Texas.)
2) People (well, MOST people–@#$# carpetbaggers) pull over onto the shoulder on two-lane highways to let you pass when they’re going slowly.
3) You’re dripping with sweat when it’s 82 degrees outside because the humidity is 73%.
My graphics card went pfffttthh, and I’m using my mom’s computer right now, but it’s leaving tomorrow and I don’t have time to fix mine right now. I may be offline up to a week.
he misses:
of
from
bed
sit
he gets instantly:
heavenly
chocolate
raspberry
spaghetti
coconut
harmonica
libray
More info here.
This is, of course, continuing my INCREDIBLY INTELLECTUAL AND INSIGHTFUL commentary on the next presidential election.
So’s my mommy! Which is good because I was going insane. Mommies can be life savers.
Anyhow, as I was telling my mother a while ago:
You know you’re old when PBS is broadcasting a performance by “your band” as a part of its fundraiser.
On a homeschooling board, someone asked about nature study–do you do it? How? Etc.
I said that I sort of do it.
My dad has a masters in rec and parks, which means I grew up with a constant stream of “nature study”-esque info. So I’ve always done the same thing with my DS. I get weird looks from people sometimes when I stop dead on the sidewalk and start burbling on about this insect or that bird, but hey, the kid thinks it’s cool. (I think they keep looking for the tour group–it sounds like I’m giving an interpretive nature walk!)
So we do that now, and when he’s older, he’ll have his own ‘nocs and various Petersons and Audubon guides to ID animals, birds, insects, plants, and the like.
For me, another advantage to this unusual education in the public schools was the fact that so many names in the binomial nomenclature system sound downright foul when you spit them out with appropriate vitriol. If there was a kid in class who was being nasty to me, I’d snarl “Cnemidophorus sexlineatus!” or “Dasypus novemcinctus!” and trick the kid into “telling” on me, when I’d innocently explained that I was calling the child a species of lizard called a six-lined racerunner or whatever. If the child was partiicularly slow, I’d use a couple of bird species in plain English. Marbled godwit and blue tit were my favorites, but for the really, REALLY slow kids, I’d even try out bridled titmouse. Calling a kid a skink worked every time.
My record was getting the same kid to fall for the trick three times….
BTW, the best part was watching the teacher as he or she tried very hard not to laugh.
Me: You have only two books left out of the stack of readers you chose from the library–Arthur’s Back to School Day and Gus and Grandpa. Which do you want to read tomorrow?
Him, frowning at the: Both.
My little heart just went pitter-pat. 
On speed news, he’s now staying above 30 WPM almost always and is often in the range of 50 WPM, woth peaks at 60 and slightly above. And he’s discovered how much more FUN it is to read when you do it FAST!
