www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5pSegLpgL8

Until relatively recently, I would have never considered home schooling.  I always thought it was for freaks and geeks (although, in that sense, it would have been perfect for us – I’ll let you decide which one of us is the freak and which one is the geek.  OK, I’ll give you a hint:  Marissa likes doing taxes, and there’s a strong Electric Slide tradition on my side of the family.  Maybe that doesn’t help).  And I mean freaks and geeks in the nicest possible way.  Not all home schoolers are freaks and geeks.  Some are just freaks, and some are just geeks.

It took me getting to know some other home schooling families to even be open to the idea of it.  But what really sealed the deal for me was  the book Educating for Human Greatness, which Marissa’s mom recommended.  The educational focus today is so narrow and the curriculum so standardized that it meets the needs of very few children.

The book is really more focused on reforming public education, and there are obviously lost of students who are not well served by our schools.  And yet even in my own experience, having gone to good public schools and done pretty well, public education failed me in several ways (again, I’m sure you can elaborate on all the ways it failed me . . .).

Home schooling is not the right decision for everyone, but we think it’s the right one for us, at least for now.  We’re going to reevaluate every year, and do whatever we think will be the best choice for our kids.

If you haven’t received our annual ecard, it’s here. And send us an current email address!

I’m in big trouble for posting Marissa’s age, but at least I left the pictures out.   She’s freaking out about being 32, so I figure the more she see’s the numbers, the less weird it will be.  Right?  We had chocolate cake for breakfast to celebrate, and since I didn’t actually have 32 candles, the kids and I formed candles in the shape of the 32.  With the candles that close together, it made about a 12 inch flame–Marissa’s lucky to still have eyebrows.

Anyway, here’s wishing you a special day, my older and wiser dear.  May all your (32) dreams and wishes come true.

We’re also sending out our annual Christmas eCard this year.  If you don’t get it, we don’t have an up-to-date email address for you. In that case, please send us your address and view the card here.

We wish you peace, hope and joy this Christmas and throughout the coming year!

She got $13 to celebrate her accomplishment–she gets to pick anywhere she wants to go to celebrate (and I’m rooting for Chipotle).  Tonight she told me she wished we could go to Antarctica, but she’s afraid of polar bears.

I was so excited about the pick that I decided to start a blog:  The Palin Report. Not that I don’t already have enough trouble keeping up with this blog, but I think this is the most excited I’ve ever been about an actual candidate (close second: Bob Dole!). If you’re not already convinced, hopefully this will help: 

For a little more background on why I decided to start the blog, go here.