To Yard Sale or Not to Yard Sale

Every summer I ask myself, do I have a yard sale or not?  I'm a big believer that it's not really cost effective to have a yard sale.  And, it's hot to sit out and tend to a yard sale.  Plus, you have to price things, and I never know what price to put on things.  But, I'm also a big believer that I have stuff I want to be rid of!  I mean, who's going to wear those kids clothes now that my kids have out grown them?  And I know I have toys stored away that we'll never get any use out of.

Our Schools, Let's Compare

PLEASE NOTE: Some of this post is 110% my opinion. If you don't like my opinions, please spare yourself a rise in blood pressure and read something else. I hear the weather channel can be riveting.  Since this is a "read at your own risk" kind of post, I have included a "jump break" so that you have to click "read more" in order to read the rest of it.  I know, it annoys me, too.

School Failure, Who's Fault Is It?

PLEASE NOTE: Some of this post is 110% my opinion. If you don't like my opinions, please spare yourself a rise in blood pressure and read something else. I hear the weather channel can be riveting. Since this is a "read at your own risk" kind of post, I have included a "jump break" so that you have to click "read more" in order to read the rest of it. I know, it annoys me, too.

Rain, Slug-fest, and Go Fishing!

My oh my, where does the time go?  I can't believe the first month of summer vacation is almost over!  And I can't believe I haven't been blogging more often!  Here are a few posts to catch you up on our past month.  And I guess we need to make the most out of the last weeks of summer, huh?  Only seven and a half weeks until school starts!  Whoa!

The kids enjoyed watching a rain shower at the end of May.  We went out onto the front porch to get that picutre and the thunder scared the dickens out of them.  The very next day I was quite surprised to find that slimmy little slug on the kitchen floor.  He looks even more disgusting in that closeup picture!  On the far right, you can see our stack of card games, all from the Dollar Tree.  We pretty much treat each one like Go Fish and I get such a kick when the kids say "Go fishing!"  Gotta love it!

Scissors, Autographs, and Lego Mania

Patty has been enjoying her weekly Occupational Therapy and one of her "homework" activities is to use scissors.  To say that scissors in the hands of four and five year old makes me nervous is such an understatement!  On our very first day of cutting practice, JT snipped a little of Patty's hair and then did a little trimming to his own.  Thankfully, it wasn't noticeable!

Summer School...NOT!

Summer School was something I really wanted to incorporate into our summer this year.  Patty gained so many skills during Kindergarten and I have been afraid that she'll experience that summer slide I've been reading about.  Our very first attempt at school work was such a huge success!  Unfortunately, all other attempts have not been nearly as well received.  I need to fall back and regroup.  The messier the activity, the more they like it.  They really like those bingo dobbers from the Dollar Tree.  Just wish they were a little easier to wash off!  There have to be messy and educational activites out there on the www somewhere!  Maybe we'll try painting sight words today.  Wonder how that will go over?  I did see a post somewhere out there using fishing worms and paint.  Yep, you read that right.  Live fishing worms and paint.  We will not be trying that one at home!  Yuck!

Day-cation: Outlaw Cavern

Casey had a three day weekend for Father's Day so we spent our Friday in Cave City.  I was a little worried about going on a tour of Mammoth Cave simply because my hip and long walks do not get along.  So, I consulted my friend Google and was surprised to find there are several cave options in Cave City.  Go figure.  We settled on Outlaw Caverns.  There were a couple things I liked about it.  First, it was 45-minutes, second it was five bucks.  It turned out to be $6.95, but active-duty military and children under 5 (I think it was under 5) could take the tour for FREE!  So, for a whopping $6.95 we loaded the bus and headed to the cave.  We were the only tourists so our tour was pretty short, which worked out really well because Patty wasn't at all interested in the cave.  JT, on the other hand, really loved it.  I was happy to see that some of my pictures turned out pretty good, too.  I really like the one on the far left.  I really like the one on the far right, too!

Day-cation: Dinosaur World

We spent the second half of our Day-cation at Dinosaur World.  It was a big hit with everyone.  The kids got to dig for fossils and even bring a few home.  In spite of the June heat, it was completely bearable along the shady paths, that was a big hit for me!  Patty is a huge fan of zoos, and this was the next best thing.  That second picture from the left is of the trash cans.  This place really stuck to the dino theme!  If you are looking for dinosaur stuff, the gift shop was loaded down.  And they had one of those penny smash machines.  I'm a big fan of those things, too!  Dino World wasn't quite as cost effective as our cave tour, but it was well worth it.  I kind of wish we had avoided the gift shop, though!

Free Lunches, anyone?

Have you heard that elementary school kids will receive free breakfast and lunch this school year?  Yeah, I kind of missed the announcement, too.  You'd think it would have been an "all-call" event!  I'm sure there will be some kind of official notification once school is back in session.  I wonder if this free lunch program will mean the school system won't collect financial data about us this year?

I have to say I wasn't happy to read that this free program isn't being extended to all students in Hopkins County.  I wouldn't want to be the person responsible for making that decision!  But, if my kids were in the excluded group of students, I'd be calling someone to make a complaint.  I know, shocking, right?  I would think that middle and high school students would be more susceptible to the stigma associated with free or reduced lunch, wouldn't you? 

Maybe the Fed determines who receives free lunch since this is a federally funded program.  But, how could the government exclude approximately half of the student body from these benefits?  I tried unsuccessfully to find some kind of guideline for what the program is paying each school system.  If you find it, shoot me an email with the link!

If you're curious, you can read about the free lunches on 14 News, 93.9, and SurfKY.

Is Public School Separate but Equal?

PLEASE NOTE: This is 110% my opinion.  If you don't like my opinions, please spare yourself a rise in blood pressure and read something else.  I hear the weather channel can be riveting.

Like some of you, I took AP US History in High School.  Segregation and Civil Rights were the two things that made the greatest impact on me from that entire school year.  You may find it surprising that Brown v. The Board of Education was the first thing I thought of when I learned that at least one elementary school in Hopkins County had hosted a Kindergarten Graduation for it's students.  It shouldn't surprise you that Patty's school was not one of those elementary schools.

So, I asked myself: Is Public School Separate but Equal? 

I had previously heard that some schools have art programs and some don't.  Some have music and some don't.  I had noticed this past school year that some schools have more "events" than others.  It's no secret that some schools are in better repair than others.  Instead of depriving students based on race, we are depriving our students based on what?  Zip code?

It feels like each school in our district operates independently.  This really surprises me since all of our public schools are PUBLIC schools.  Shouldn't each school be equal?  Shouldn't each school be using the same curriculum?  Offer the same electives?  If a school in a larger zip code can provide art class to it's students, my children in a smaller zip code should be experiencing the same thing.  The more exposure kids receive, the more well rounded they will become, right?  But only if you live in the right zip code?

It really aggravates me that Patty and her kindergarten classmates did not get to enjoy a graduation ceremony.  That we as parents did not get to watch our kids sing and dance and receive their little diplomas.  I'd really like to know why we missed out?  Does it come down to parent involvement?  Is the decision left up to the teachers?  The principal? 

Since these things are taking place at the school level, I've got to assume that the difference is inside the school.  But, isn't anyone in the Board of Ed taking note that some schools are doing more for their students?  Where's the report card for each school?  I want to know how my kids school compares to the school down the road or across the county.  Don't you?