Good morning friends! I have a quick prayer request from this only-a-little bit-worried Momma. It's all good, I hope, but…well here's the thing. Our second eldest son turns 16 Monday and get this: Not only will he get his drivers license that day, but he will also fly solo for the first time! He's been taking flight lessons for almost a year now, so the day he turns 16 is the first day they're allowed to solo, and we're all so excited for him because he's dreamed of this since he was really young. The first time I watched him take off down the runway with his instructor I had tears running down my face because I just knew this was what he was meant to do, and I prayed about how God might use this intense passion of his someday. (p.s. I had his permission to share this. After past mistakes I'm very careful about that now that we have kids growing up fast around here!) So I'm not TOO nervous about Monday, because his instructor (an American Airlines pilot who also goes to our church and is awesome) said that he was ready months ago, but still — our 16 year old flying by himself, please say a prayer! By the way I STINK at remembering things like social media when I'm busy living my life and all — some blogger I am, but I'll TRY to remember to get some pics up on Instagram or Facebook, or whatever I can get to work fast enough at the time. We'll also be face-timing with our older son, so no promises. 🙂
Oh and one other thing…
When he was in with the FAA doctor for his physical, he was asked if he'd had his flu shot. He told him no and said, “We don't get those, but we take cod liver oil and that helps a lot because we're hardly ever sick.” So the doc told him, “Well soon you'll be old enough to decide for yourself, so I hope you'll get the shots.” When he told me I said, “DID YOU TELL HIM TO ASK YOU WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WERE SICK?!” I can't get too upset with this doc, though, he met with him for a special appointment on a Saturday morning so we could get the physical in time, since we didn't know that it was necessary until Friday afternoon before his solo scheduled for Monday morning!
Here's what I've found for you to look over today…
- Speaking of deals, do you guys love Groupon too? Did you know that now they have a new program where you can save without purchasing anything up front? You can choose from over 50,000 coupons from more than 8,600 stores like Walgreens, Home Depot and more. Check out all the store coupons here.
- I came across something really interesting the other day that I though you might appreciate, too. It was an article from Sally Fallon Morell and the Weston Price Foundation about the differences between two very popular diets: WAPF vs Paleo. (Get Sally Fallon and Mary Enig's book here — many lives have changed because of it: Nourishing Traditions.)
- I'm trying to get this post done early because Saturday Kent and I are going to our very first homeschool expo and I'm so excited to get my hands ON some curriculum to look over for next year. I'm DONE trying to get kids to read boring textbooks, but you often can't tell online what they're really like! Plus I'm so happy that Kent wanted to go. Michael Farris is giving a talk to homeschool Dads, so while he's in there, and hopefully everyone else so I have the floor to myself, I'm delving in. (I do want to catch some of the talks, too…) I'm curious, how do YOU all shop for curriculum? Mostly online or do you go to expos or conferences or what?
- Anyone else watching this live stream of the bald eagle and her babies in PA? I just leave it open and the kids and I pop on now and then to see what they're up to. (Thanks to my friend, Sue, for telling us about it again recently.) I got to see Momma feeding the babies worms after she chewed them up the other day, precious huh? LOL.
- I loved this post from Cara last week, You're the Parent, You CAN Say No to Unwanted Medical Treatment. “Why rules are there: There are parents who aren’t as educated or logical about healthcare choices as you are, which is not bad or wrong, but the rules put in place to protect their children may not apply to yours.” Lots of common sense is in this article so I hope you'll check it out. Isn't this a cute pic? Cara is on the right. 🙂
- Also, since Cara is the GAPS diet expert in these parts (second only to Dr. Natasha of course), if you're thinking of starting that diet or you know someone who is (to heal chronic health conditions, digestion problems, anxiety or depression, autism, and more!), Cara wrote a guest post here not long ago called, GAPS Diet for Rookies. Also there she told about her GAPS Intro Kit to help you with that first difficult stage.
- We saw this movie the other day. It was a true story and so good: McFarland USA. I also loved how at the end they told what the boys are all doing today and how the team changed their lives. Here's the trailer:
- Two more don't-miss vaccine info posts: 20 Things I Wish Vaccine Junkies Would Admit and also the Pro-Vax Argument Lost Me When…
- Did you catch all of last week’s posts? Here they are in case you missed them:
Soon our whole family will be together again under the same roof for the first time since Christmas, which makes this Momma SO happy. (And that's all I'm allowed to say about that.)
I pray you have an especially wonderful Holy week and Easter.
(Affiliate links are often included in Monday posts. Check out my affiliate disclaimer here. Also, Groupon paid me for this week's mention, but I really do love Groupon deals and buy them often!)
Sarah says
I am disturbed by the doctors’ comment to your son, “Well soon you’ll be old enough to decide for yourself, so I hope you’ll get the shots.” This is a direct attempt to undermine your parental influence. It just bothers me.
I guess we all need to be preparing our kids to think for themselves and to not let “authority figures” sway their convictions. I must figured out how I got my stubborn independence and pass it along to my daughters!
KitchenKop says
I know Sarah, that bugged me too! Then when I met with this doc a couple days later, he asked me about it. “Your son tells me he hasn’t had any shots?” I said, “He’s had some, but not all. If I knew then what I knew now he’d have gotten even less though.” (Picture his shocked face.) We had a friendly dialogue about it for a few minutes and he ended up giving me a Wall Street Journal article about vaccines. Ha! But it was good for our son to see me discussing this with the doc and the way the doctor’s face was sort of blank when I mentioned a couple of my concerns, like he’s NEVER heard these things before… Sad.
Kelly
Sarah says
The doc probably had not heard of those concerns before, especially if he’s not a pediatrician. I was discussing a few of my vaccination concerns with a friend (mainly the use of fetal tissue procured through abortion) from church because she asked a few questions…. Well two weeks later her doctor husband pulled me aside and with a very concerned, even tortured look on his face said the most amazing thing.
He said “you have caused me two weeks of sleepless nights and relentless research. I never knew about this. They don’t teach about this in med school. How can I be a doctor and not know about this? I do not know what to do. I talked with all the other doctors in my practice, they are all Christians, none of them knew about this.”
I so respect him. He is a humble man who took time he did not have in order to find the truth and he has the strength of character to tell me about it and also to put himself out there and talk with his peers about it.
KitchenKop says
That is so impressive that he was, like you said, so humble and real about it. I hope he now spreads the word far and wide to all his doctor friends!
Kelly
jmmatlock says
Kelly, this year is my 13 year of homeschooling (!!!) and my 10th year of attending a homeschool conference/expo of some sort (and this will be my first year at TWO; our family helped staff a booth for NCFCA – our speech and debate league – at the Indiana convention last week, and my older boys, husband and I are going to the Midwest Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati next week). I curriculum shop VERY differently now than I did my first few years. Back then, if it caught my eye and looked halfway interesting, I bought it! (Our budget was a little extreme back then, and I never ended up using half of it.) I think it can be easy to make an ’emotional’ curriculum choice at a convention, sadly, and the vendors’ deals seem so reasonable (plus, 13 years ago, you couldn’t just google the item on your smartphone while you’re at the booth to see if the “deal” is really worth snatching up). So about 10 years ago, I made a family rule: you had to wait at least 30 days before buying. This helps my kids immensely when they attend too, as many vendors have shiny new toys they want, as well. For some things (like the real metal sword my son wanted) “at least 30 days” really means “next convention”, and thinking about and saving for an entire year for something can be worth the wait. My only curriculum purchase I regret not getting sooner was the Institute for Excellence in Writing’s (IEW) Teaching Writing: Structure and Style (TWSS) and Student Writing Intensive (SWI), but even that I felt well able to justify the purchase because I waited the year and thought about it, read reviews, got on their message boards and feel like I knew exactly what I was getting from it when I did buy.
Tips:
1. Don’t buy anything the first time you go through (unless it’s good chocolate!). Just walk through, get a feel for where the things you’re interested in are, (mark them on your map with a note about WHAT you want to go back to look at) and then take a little time to consider what you just saw.
2. Consider your kids’ learning styles and your own teaching/facilitating style before you buy. A teacher-intensive curriculum might seem like the best thing on earth because of it’s content, but if you don’t have a teacher-intensive homeschool life, you won’t ever use it or you’ll find it frustrating and burdensome.
3. Pray about making wise decisions (this should be #1, but the comment format is bulky on iPad and hard to go back without deleting everything).
4. Comparison shop. If your EXPO is faith-based, there’s a good chance CBD.com has a flyer with a free shipping code, so check your vendor’s price against their website (which has a ton of curriculum), against Rainbow Resources’ prices (which has a low, flat-rate shipping fee and the best prices on almost everything), and Amazon. If you find a lower price, don’t give in to the pressure to buy while you’re there.
5. Have a list of Needs, Wants, and Would Likes in mind. Don’t add a bunch of subjects just because you suddenly realize you aren’t already doing it. No one does it all, no matter how it may seem as you see other families. I realized a long time ago that an interest-led learning worked much better for my kids, and no amount of “but Latin is crucial and it would be so neat if everyone played the piano” that *I* want will change what my kids love or do easily/willingly.
6. Yes, they grow up so fast and waiting another year to do something might mean you won’t get to it. But there’s a good chance you won’t get to it. You already have a full docket, right?
7. Enjoy!
I’m sure there’s more, but I’ve got a full day of speech and debate, so must go. Enjoy the EXPO!
Maryjane says
Excellent advice!
Kasnya Berry says
I too am irritated by Sally Fallon’s article. She derides especially the Paleo Parents for feeding their kids meat and veggies and not grains. What?! This comes from a personal email conversation I had with Sally too—she is highly misguided and she needs to educate herself on WHY parents like Sarah and Stacy, me and SO many others choose Paleo. We tried GAPS, SCD and while they worked initially to help with leaky gut brought on by Celiac, Standard Gluten Free and antibiotics, they weren’t the end-all, be-all and Paleo has given SO many kids and parents LIFE back!! My kids are now in college and can tolerate some rice pasta occasionally and some beans prepared properly—-again, occasionally. But they thrive on high fat Paleo. Sally tried to tell me that my daughter growing to her full height of 6 feet tall at 19 was due to high protein, low fat Paleo. SORRY Sally—she was eating high fat SCD at the time!! SO many people don’t tolerate grains—and I don’t care if they are prepared properly, grains still provide NO nutritional benefits and anthropologically, grains have been a disaster for humanity from Day 1. They are cheap and filling—that’s it. Sally Fallon has started a ridiculous ‘war’ that is unnecessary. Why not go after parents feeding their kids Lucky Charms and GF Cheerios???
KitchenKop says
Hi Jeanmarie, and everyone!
I’ll read the article above soon (crazy day, the solo went well!), but one thing I thought Sally made clear was that she wasn’t negative on *all* Paleo diets, and she said she knows that some are very different than others, but she was just referencing the diets in the two books mentioned in that article. I’ll have to re-read it now, though, because maybe that was somewhere else that she said that… If so, I’m sorry for the confusion!
Kelly
KindFoodFarm says
I’m disappointed that you highlighted Sally Fallon Morrell’s anti-Paleo article. I was very disturbed by it when it came out and it is a large part of why I didn’t renew my WAPF membership last year. It was poorly researched, out of date, inaccurate, and not very smart considering that the Paleo movement has been very supportive of WAPF and has referred many people to it. Many Paleo/Primal diet advocates have been influenced by the WAPF’s work and the concepts of nutrient density, the importance of soaking/sprouting and properly preparing foods (though they usually don’t eat grains, those rules apply to nuts). I draw on Paleo/Primal cookbooks and blogs as much as I do Nourishing Traditions. That book will always have a place in my heart, but I don’t really like the recipes that much. Sally has done so much to promote some very important ideas; it was shocking and disappointing to me how she has been so negative about Paleo. The Paleo/Ancestral Health movement is not one monolithic group, but a host of bloggers, researchers, athletes, and ordinary people who are trying to figure out what works and why. WAPF should welcome anyone who is supporting and furthering the cause of Real Food and getting away from factory farming. Paleo and Price followers are natural allies, but Sally has chosen to use her position in a way that makes it look like she’s more concerned with maintaining her position as the top Real Food advocate than to help expand the Big Tent of the Ancestral Health movement. I have long been bothered by the tendency of some to practically worship Sally and treat her words like those of Chairman Mao for the Communist Chinese. She and the WAPF don’t have the corner on truth. The Ancestral Health movement has a very healthy dialogue and disagreements going on as the science and human experience march forward.
The Sarah Ballantyne blog post referenced above (The Paleo Mom) is an excellent rebuttal to Sally and I encourage you to read it.
Keep up the good work! One of the things I like about you Kelly is that you have firm principles but aren’t dogmatic about it!
Diane says
Agreed!
sherrytx says
I soloed when I was 16, and my dad had to go out of town. You can imagine my mom’s anxiety! She was great though, and so was I! Your son will do just great too, no doubt.
KitchenKop says
He did so good, and I was surprised that he wasn’t even nervous! He said, “I was more nervous for my driving test!” 🙂
Cynthia says
I feel for you Kelly – I felt the same way when my Brother took his first solo flight! Prayers! 🙂
Martha says
I had the same problem with the links. Hubby and I really enjoyed the McFarland movie.
Maryjane says
The article by Sally Fallon Morrell is out-of-date and incorrect in its presentation of the Paleo diet. WAPF put a similar article in their Summer 2013 Newsletter, and Dr. Sarah Ballantyne (also known as The Paleo Mom) wrote a very well-reasoned response on her blog here:
https://www.thepaleomom.com/2013/07/rebuttal-to-wise-traditions-summer-2013-newsletter-article-titled-myththe-wapf-diet-is-like-the-paleo-diet.html
On another note — you’re going to LOVE the homeschool expo! My only advice would be — don’t buy everything you think you want. Go home and think about it. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with ALL the curriculum choices. And definitely try to go to as many of the talks as you can.
Alexandra says
Hey Kelly. The links in your mailing list email that should direct me to this post didn’t work for me. Not sure if anyone else had that problem but just wanted to let you know. Thanks!
KitchenKop says
Frustrating!!! Especially because this one was all my fault!! I fixed it now.
Thanks for telling me!
Kel
Cara says
Thanks for the mention Kelly <3