Sam got 3rd place...sorta.

Sam bursted into the warming room today at the ice arena to show me her 3rd place medal!  Apparently, they had competitions to see who could hold up one foot and skate on the other the longest.  I was so proud of her; 3rd place out of 6 kids.  Then she tells me that another girl got 3rd place too.  I was confused.  So I probed Sam and asked if they had tied or something.  No, not at all.  Sam in fact did have more "points" than the other person.  I later found out that there were two 2nd place people too.  That is when it hit me.  EVERYONE GETS A PRIZE!  Heaven forbid there are any losers.  In reality Sam got 5th place, but instead they choose to lie to my daughter.  How is this a good thing?  Sam normally loves ice skating, but recently she has been slacking off.  I asked her if she would not have gotten a medal would she practice more and try harder the next time to maybe achieve a medal; she said yes.  This is the problem with our society.  Our kids are not allowed to experience failure and thus not preparing them for the real world that will be racked with times when they fail!  They will not and are not prepared for how to deal with failing.  A quote from the villain in The Incredibles  sums it up perfectly; "*Everyone* can be super! And when everyone's super--[chuckles evilly] --no one will be."
If you want a good glimpse at the damage this kind of upbringing causes, just watch the auditions to American Idol.  The singers who are outed are flabbergasted.  And yet most leave there making statements on how they will keep trying.  All because someone told them they were not good enough.  They will be forced to either try harder or seek out a different path.  Now at least they know where they stand.  My daughter was cheated of this.  And it puts me in a difficult position.  Do I just go along with the lie or do I get to be the bad guy who tells her she really was in 5th place and her teachers lied to her.  I choose honesty.  No, I don't just tell her she was really in 5th place and make her feel like a looser.  I simply asked her questions and she figured it out.  I know many would argue that it was a trifling matter and I should have just let it go.  I still doubt myself if it was the right choice.   It's my job to prepare my kids for the future.  To ready them for the real world with all it's ups and downs.  So when they lose; they lose graciously and when they succeed they can reap the rewards of their hard work.  Just wish I had coaches to back me up in this.

Home school groups Valentine's Day party and a funny update.

We went to the annual home school group Valentine's Day party last Thursday.

Sam is with her friend Nina here.

There was treats and even healthy food.  Lots of games and Valentine Box contest!

Zach is pictured here with his "Outer Space" themed box.

Sam's is the "USS Sam Baierl" - The love boat.

We didn't win any of the contests.  But oh well, we had a great time.  Here are some of the awesome creations.  There were some doozies!

 

Leave it to home schoolers to make over the top Valentine's Day boxes!

Zach and Sam are already planning for next year to make theirs bigger and better!  I'm sure it will involve some paper mache and a destroyed kitchen!

Now on to my update.  I had written about my children's learning styles a month or so ago.  Well, I made the mistake of telling my kids their learning styles.  They both agreed that my assessment was correct.  Sam likes to be around people to learn and Zach likes to be alone to learn.  Now they use this information against each other.  Last week I hear Zach yelling at Sam to be quiet or leave so he can do his spellng. Sam pipes up and says, "Zach, you know I need to be around people to learn."  Which Zach replies, "Yeah, and I need to be alone to learn!" *Insert eye roll here from me*.  Lord, give me strength.

Lego Land

We recently found out that there is a Lego Land in Illinois close to chicago.  Not a bad drive for us about an hour and a half.  They actually have special discount days for homeschoolers!  So we scheduled it and met our friends there.

Besides the awesomeness that is Lego Land, they had a workshop that had the kids in teams to build sturdy "sky scrapers."

It stood during the earth quake test!

The rest of the day was dedicated to play and which they did take advantage of!

Savings as income?!

So, we are thinking of buying a $3,000 plasma tv.  I really want it.  I think we deserve it.  I see other people have them why not us?  So, we increased our budget.  True, we haven't incresed our income, but no matter we have credit cards.  Oh and you haven't heard the best part, the tv is on sale from $4,000!  So, as I see it we will be saving $1,000!  We have to get it now before the sale runs out because if we don't we will be missing that $1,000!
By now you must think I'm crazy.  Clearly, I'm being facetious.  Most hard working sane people would never put themselves in that kind of debt or count a savings as income.  So why is it okay for the government to do that to this country?!

“We’re not going to save our way out of this recession. We’ve got to spend our way out of this recession.” – U.S. Majority Whip Jim Clyburn

 My plasma tv story would be worse if I added that I got the credit card in my childrens' name and expecting them to pay for it!  This is what is being proposed to be done to us.

The White House acknowledged that the federal government will run huge deficits for the foreseeable future, including a record $1.55 trillion deficit in 2010, although President Obama will try to reduce that figure to a still-staggering $1.2 trillion deficit in the budget he submits to Congress on Monday.
Trying to get a handle on spending while pushing for the economic recovery to continue, Mr. Obama will send Congress a $3.8 trillion budget for fiscal 2011  - Washington Times Feb 1, 2010: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/01/white-house-unveils-38-trillion-budget//print/

Are we going to just allow this? Or are we going to demand real "change."