On a Different Note...

Occasionally I will update on our more personal part of life...for no other reason other than to be personally informitive for family and friends. My free time is limited and I don't have much time for personal e-mails. I guess you could call it the "form letter" approach.

I spend most of my time internet surfing for various teaching ideas, grade standards, free curriculum sources, etc.. I have realized that it is very time consuming to do it that way...but buying a boxed curriculum is more than I want to spend...and likewise can not afford. Although it takes alot of effort on my part, that is how I have been doing it for the past few years. Research and gathering of curricula is very time consuming and tiring. It's a job that does not pay well, but hopefully in the end it will "pay off".

As far as Toby's tattooing 'career" goes, well..... Toby offers a luxary service. With the economy the way it is and gas and food prices rising the majority of the population would rather put gas in their car and food in their mouths than get cool artwork adorned on their bodies. I don't blame them in the least...unfortunately this economic cycle takes gas from my car and food out of our mouths...so to speak.

Unfortunately for Toby, he may have to eventually resort to menial labor again. But he has done it before and if need be, can and will do it again...it just won't be excercising his artistic talent. There is a reason the term "starving artist" was coined. Sad for all of us in the end because "When daddy ain't happy, ain't nobody happy". ;-)

Summer is having a blast! I have never seen her so "into" her atmosphere. She hangs out with the public schooled kids next door every day after school. I have seen her learn many things from them and them, in turn , learn many things from her. I have learned with having a public schooled educated older son, that no child ever goes without learning....they are just learning different things. Even as adults we all having something to learn from each other.

There is also a little 3 year old little hispanic boy that lives on the other side of us that she has taken under her wing. The little boy LOVES her and follows her everywhere and Summer acts like a mother hen to him. With Summer being the "baby" of the family you would not think that she would ever behave in this mothering way....they seem to have some kind of kid connection.

To be honest, I am a little envious of how billingual adults and children alike are here. My neighbor tries to teach me a few choice words but usually ends up laughing at the way I say them...or maybe it's the words she is giving me to say that makes her laugh. :-) Well anyway, if you want to consider ebonics a true language, then I do know that one...thank you Mobile, Alabama!

I will update again on personal issues about once a month....