Friday, May 28, 2010

Arizona State University

The other day I had to go down to the college to visit with a professor and Ryan and the girls decided to come with. It was so fun to have them down there with me, and the baby loved running all over the place and exploring the architecture. After I finished with my meeting we went to the Art Museum. It is interesting the difference between college age artworks and the artworks of more accomplished artists. The difference being the need to make a point or statement. There was a great deal of modern art, mixed with a few historic pieces. The Historic oil and watercolors were of subjects like clipper ships and boats, or of the ride of Paul Revere. The modern college age artists works were very stirring and usually dealt with the subject of injustice or ugly societal issues. One piece by a Vietnamese artist entitled "Porn" was pretty moving. It dealt with the issue of the overwhelming sex trade in southern Asia (which our country and other developed nations is somewhat if not solely responsible for. Nothing inappropriate for kids, she represented the industry in pictures of city streets with a DVD on a post in the middle of every picture. In fact my kids thought of it as an "Ode" to computer games. I didn't read them the title or explain the piece. I think the most memorable of all of the displays was leaving the museum with the baby and two girls and watching the baby try to skip over the sidewalk breaks which look like glass sheets about six inches wide placed every few feet in the sidewalk. It was so funny because she can't skip and so it was more like an exaggerated hop that didn't get her anywhere. Such cute kids I have. It was a fun day.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Gardening

One of the things that I want to learn and teach is the importance of sustainable agriculture. That includes the dangers as well as the blessings of agriculture as a means of subsistence. In reality agriculture is in its infancy. While domestication exists and has for many more years than agriculture and across animal species, agriculture is only roughly 10,000 years old. One way to learn about subsistence variances among different people is to study them, but to an eight year old that could be stretching the interest span a bit. the only other way to learn is by doing with discussion and that is why this year we are going to be attempting a Mediterranean garden. The people of the Mediterranean have had the same cultivation techniques for years, and while we can't mimic exactly for want of well...the climate, we can look at pictures and go over one of the most longstanding successful agricultural areas in the world and plant some eggplant, tomato's, and herbs. Now, if only the the scenery came in a seed packet! (picture to follow soon)

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Mission Statement

There are many choices to be made in this life, and even more to be made by those living in this country. The blog title is self explanatory and is in large part the mission statement. To put it simply, there have been many choices I have made in my life. Most will not be discussed here as I very much doubt that you care what I had for lunch today. The choices that will be focused on are simple. They almost all revolve around education. The education I have chosen for myself and the one I am giving my girls. This may not seem like a life altering "Two Roads diverged.." topic for some people, but for me there is nothing that identifies a person more than their education. That is why this is where I will be addressing Archeology, Anthropology, Homeschooling, Music Lessons, Performances, Sports, History or anything else that delves into the realm of education. The other purpose of this blog is to catalog the progress and performance of both my teaching, and my child's learning. It is a sort of virtual calendar allowing me to reflect and analyze what we have done, what we should be doing etc. If you have an interest in the subject by all means feel free to leave a comment or even a suggestion.