The woods are bright and lovely lit,
And I will make this time to sit,
And smile at them a little bit…
And smile at them a little bit.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Light
Tag: Sayings
Saturday Sayings – Ocean
Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll.
Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain:
Man marks the earth with ruin, –his control
Stops with the shore.
–Lord Byron Childe Harold
Comrades! now that we have established our peace on land, let us conquer the freedom of the seas.
–Napoleon Bonaparte
Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.
–Publilius Syrus Sententiae
The sea folds away from you like a mystery. You can look and look at it and mystery never leaves it.
–Carl Sandburg Remembrance Rock
All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full.
–Old Testament Ecclesiastes 1:7
Saturday Sayings – Abundance
Great abundance of riches cannot be gathered and kept by any man without sin. – Desiderius Erasmus
Talent is always conscious of its own abundance, and does not object to sharing. – Alexander Solzehnitsyn
Slavery is founded in the selfishness of man’s nature—opposition to it, is [in?] his love of justice…. Repeal the Missouri compromise—repeal all compromises—repeal the declaration of independence—repeal all past history, you still can not repeal human nature. It still will be the abundance of man’s heart, that slavery extension is wrong; and out of the abundance of his heart, his mouth will continue to speak. – Abraham Lincoln
Machinery that gives us abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent, and all will be lost. – Charlie Chaplin
She either gives a stomach and no food—
Such are the poor, in health; or else a feast
And takes away the stomach—such are the rich,
That have abundance and enjoy it not.
– William Shakespeare
Saturday Sayings – 7
1. Curiosity, people say,
Killed the kitty cat, one fine day.
Well, this may be true, but hear me:
This is what to do for curiosity–
See the Encylopedia, E-N-C-Y-C-L-O-P-E-D-I-A!
Encylopedia, E-N-C-Y-C-L-O-P-E-D-I-A!
Just look inside this book and you will see
Everything from A clear down to Z!
Encyclopedia, E-N-C-Y-C-L-O-P-E-D-I-A!
—Jiminy Cricket, c. 1958
2. The first and simplest emotion which we discover in the human mind is curiosity. –Edmund Burke (1729-1797) The Sublime and Beautiful
3. Shun the inquisitive person, for he is also a talker. –Horace (65-8 B.C.) Epistles
4. Curiosity is one of the most permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect. –Samuel Johnson (1709-1787) The Rambler
5. He that pryeth into every cloud may be struck by a thunderbolt. –John Ray (1627?-1705) English Proverbs
Cracker Jacks © first contained a prize on this date in 1912. 🙂
The Last of the Unsupported Homeschoolers
We were homeschoolers when homeschool wasn’t cool.
We had no support because there was no such thing as a homeschool support group.
We started about the same time as Home School Legal Defense Association started, but they and we did not know about each other, so we also had no legal support.
Internet was only a child, then, and had not maximized its potential to help homeschoolers. Computers had no practical applications in home schools.
All, all the curriculum available to us was published for collective schools and some publishers refused to sell to home educators.
Back in these very good, old days, only the driven, committed, principled, loyal, persevering, stubborn, maverick, determined, motivated, obsessed, dedicated, devoted, steadfast, unswerving, faithful, home educating parents survived. We had somewhat of a reputation for being a pain, especially among status-quo legislators.
Many of us could relate to the Washington/Jefferson/Adams triumvirate, always questioned by those around us and always questioning ourselves, testing ourselves, proving ourselves.
Always hunted and attacked by the government that claimed to protect us.
Always in semi-hiding.
Always ready with an escape plan.
Always losing money on this project.
Always making do with do-by-self.
We faced obstacles, penalties, hindrances, impediments, barriers, hurdles, deterrents, limitations, and interference.
We were hated.
We were arrested.
I guess it’s the American way.
Now that home educating is the bright star that it has become, and we have retired after a quarter century of it, people want our opinions.
- What curriculum do I think is best? Pick one you like and get busy.
- What is my child’s learning style? Lazy and stubborn. What about yours?
- Do I homeschool during summer? All parents homeschool at all times.
- Do I think you’re harming your child? Probably, but better you, than someone who doesn’t care.
- What do I do about socialization? I talk to my child; I teach my child; I read to my child.
- What about computers? Teach your children to read, spell, write legibly, and type, and to love English, first, in that order. No computers allowed until high school and no Internet until the last half of the senior year.
Does all that sound harsh to you?
Does it sound grumpy?
You will not get a marshmallow answer from a homeschool-callused person.
We did not plant our homeschool garden with a tractor, but with a shovel and a hoe.
We did not have curriculum choice unless we wrote the curriculum, so we did.
I beg you, for your own and your children’s sakes, pick one you like and get busy.
Saturday Sayings – 6
1. Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.
2. If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you . . . yours is the earth and everything that’s in it. –Ruyard Kipling
3. I can’t do everything in the world. –Kimberly
4. Things like picking up crosses and denying ourselves seldom find a place on our agendas. –David Faust
5. For excellence, ask an expert . . . for wisdom, ask a sage . . . for honesty, ask a child.
Abraham Lincoln was born on this date in 1809. 🙂
Saturday Sayings – 5
1. The future belongs to those who will work for it.
2. The best thing you can spend on your children is time.
3. The only thing left after fire is the stuff you gave away. –Nan Snider
4. Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you would have preferred to talk.
5. A ship is safe in the harbor, but that isn’t what ships were built for.
The first Don’t Walk sign began operation on this date in 1952. 🙂
Home's Cool! 