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HUUmans at Home December 2001/January 2002
HUUmans at Home
December 2001/January 2002
Issue 24
A UUA Related Organization
Member, National Home Education Network
Member, Rose Rock Inclusive Homeschoolers
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In this Issue
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Editor's Note by Teresa Willingham: Wishing you Happy, Thoughtful Holidays! December is a thoughtful month. And the last couple of months have, no doubt, evoked more thought than is probably usual even for this time of year. The commercialism is grating, as usual, but somehow easier to ignore this year. The ads inviting us to greater self-indulgence are tempered by equally inviting ads and articles inviting us to participate in community service. Last month, we shared community service ideas online and discovered there's no shortage of ways you can help out in your communities. You can contact your local United Way to learn about Family Friendly volunteer opportunities, or the Points of Light Foundation to learn about the Family Matters initiative, which encourages family volunteerism. (See Online Resources for details.) More recent online conversations with UU Homeschoolers have turned to more basic family matters, like late readers, provoking more thought about what we're doing and why. As liberal learners, we often find ourselves doing less actual "teaching" than hands on "living." And yet most of us find it difficult to avoid wanting to teach when our children seem to be failing to learn something we feel is important, like reading. We may feel confident teaching social studies and comparative religion by example, through community service activities and church work; we're okay teaching history and geography by reading the newspaper aloud, and science in the kitchen. But if your nine-year-old son isn't reading as well as your friend's four-year-old, most of us will admit to an overwhelming need to find a "method" to successfully teach reading. The long and the short of our online discussions, however, seem to prove once again that our children learn in spite of our best efforts to teach them. All the late readers in the discussion are learning to read, at their own pace, in their own good time, with fine comprehension and interest. It's when we guide by example that we best teach, and that goes for things as fundamental as reading, as well as for things as abstract as compassion and social justice. If we love reading, chances are our children will too. If we continue to support and encourage our children in the things they may have difficulty with - without making an issue of those things - they will persevere willingly and with success. UU Homeschooler Ann Fuller's wonderful "Insights" on page 6 help remind us that learning - for us, as well as for our children - is less dependent on classroom experiences than on living experiences. By teaching our children at home, we're able to give them the most meaningful learning opportunities they'll ever have. We just need to stay out of their way and let them get the most of their experiences. Enjoy your holiday experiences; talk, and share your thoughts and ideas with one another. Use this thoughtful month, with all its opportunities for learning and growing together, to the fullest... and have a wonderful Christmas, and a New Year full of love and continued learning! All the best to all of you, always! Terri Willingham Many, many thanks to our wonderful contributors, Jackie Boone, Ann Fuller, Camille Sobun, our copy editor, and Gwyneth Butera, our Web Coordinator! |
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UUA News: Statement by the Rev. William G. Sinkford, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations Boston, MA - November 14, 2001 Rapid advances in science are presenting us with complicated ethical and religious questions. Over the past several months, our community and our country have heard a good deal about stem cell technology. Many people have contacted my office asking for comments and for guidance. Unitarian Universalism's first principle affirms the inherent worth and dignity of each person. Our religious community has long acknowledged the right of women to make their own reproductive choices. And our faith tradition also tells us that scientific inquiry is an active avowal of our social responsibility. Therefore, I am not willing to frame the debate over research using human stem cells as a conflict between a woman's right to choose and science, nor as a dispute between religious dogma and medical progress. Instead, I have looked more deeply into this controversy, to try to discern how Unitarian Universalists might best understand it. Here is what I have found. The science of human stem cell manipulation stands at the earliest stages of what may prove to be a long journey of discovery. Human beings originate from stem cells, and we produce stem cells in many places in our bodies during our entire lives. Because stem cells give rise to other kinds of cells, they hold out the hope of creating cures for a number of terrible human afflictions. For this reason, as a compassionate faith, we should welcome the development of this infant science. Some types of stem cells are found in human embryos. Because embryonic stem cell science requires the destruction of early-stage, microscopic human embryos, those who consider embryos to be persons have objected to this aspect of stem cell research. Because I do not consider human embryos to be people, and because Unitarian Universalists insist that reproduction is a personal and private matter, I believe that there should be no ban on embryonic stem cell research. However, I also think that as people of faith, we need to accompany the development of this new science with careful and continual scrutiny, offering our Unitarian Universalist principles and tradition as tools for the emerging ethical exchange. Because of our principles, I would contend that no human embryos should be created specifically for stem cell experimentation, thus turning human life and human reproduction into a commodity -- surely a clear affront to our first principle affirming the inherent dignity of human beings. On August 9, President Bush announced support for federal funding for stem cell research under limited conditions. I am happy with the President's support of stem cell research, and I am glad to see the formation of a prestigious panel to inquire further into ethical considerations of this work. Yet I regret that the President has limited his support to the use of so-called stem cell 'lines' that might confine this entire field of scientific research to tools that are locked up by commercial interests. While all discoverers should enjoy our Constitution's protection of inventor's rights, the common biological heritage of humankind should never become privatized, earmarked for the benefit of the few to the detriment of us all. Our Unitarian Universalist tradition places high value on democratic process. Accordingly, I eagerly await the consideration of these and related concerns by our General Assembly. During the time that is necessary for the denominational discernment process to proceed, I pray that stem cell research will develop carefully, in the light of informed ethical and religious contributions, so that it can eventually alleviate the suffering of many in our world. (New York, NY - Oct. 25, 2001) Religious leaders of the world's great faiths, UN Ambassadors, and respected academics gathered in New York City at the end of October to promote increased religious tolerance and common actions for peace, and to share an evening of commemoration and commitment yards from the site of the World Trade Center destruction. The Rev. William G. Sinkford, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association, and the Rev. Olivia Holmes, UUA Director of International Relations, were among the participants at the symposium and in the service of commemoration that were sponsored by the World Conference on Religion and Peace. (Boston, MA and Alexandria, VA, Sept. 19, 2001) The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the American Unitarian Conference announced today that they have agreed to a settlement of the lawsuit filed by the UUA in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, VA. The American Unitarian Conference was incorporated as the American Unitarian Association ("AUA") in September, 2000. In the lawsuit, the UUA asserted ownership of the American Unitarian Association name and mark. The AUA also claimed lawful ownership of the AUA name. Given the uncertainties and costs of litigation, the parties have agreed to settle the lawsuit. As part of the settlement agreement, the AUA has agreed to modify its name to the American Unitarian Conference. |
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Homeschool News from around the Nation: And now for something completely different: The nation's first college for homeschoolers, but from an unsurprising source: Mike Farris, of the Home School Legal Defense Association. Much of this may make difficult reading for some of us, but if we truly want to provoke thought this month, this is especially provoking. On the other hand, if we truly aspire to tolerance and understanding, this is as good an exercise as any in trying to achieve it. Anyone for a UU college for homeschoolers? I've only run a small portion of this lengthy article here. The entire piece can be read online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19351-2001Nov26.html or can be found in the Nov. 27 edition of the Washington Post in your local library. Higher Yearning At Patrick Henry College, Home-Schooled Students Learn to Confront the World By Libby Copeland Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, November 27, 2001; Page C01 For some, this is their first time at a school bigger than their mothers' kitchen tables. They've made intensely private journeys, these 152 home-schoolers, to a fledgling college with four classrooms in the soybean fields of Loudoun County. They are the believers, the religious flank of the movement, and here -- at the nation's first college for home-schoolers -- they find a godly purpose. Though they are teenagers suddenly on their own, they do not rebel. They refrain from smoking and drinking and sex -- refrain, for the most part, from the trials and temptations of youth. They are here to build a more righteous nation, not to party or to find themselves. "I'm 50, I still like to have fun," says the president of the college. But "there's a certain adolescent approach to fun that gets you in trouble." His name is Michael Farris, and on one bright fall day he paces the well of a small lecture hall at Patrick Henry College. A boyish-looking, charismatic father of 10, Farris teaches constitutional law with a conservative conscience. The way he sees it, America's struggle between states' rights and federal power is an epic war of good and evil. Big government encroaches, while defenders of constitutional integrity stand stalwart against the tide. The Supreme Court is ground zero, Farris believes -- it has been trending leftward for 200 years. How, he asks his class, can they take back the highest court? A sophomore named Sarah Cooke raises her hand. "Having justices in there who return to what the original intent is?" A wise guy named Paul: "Have Dubya pack the court?" Another wise guy: "Wait till they all die?" The class titters. "You guys have got to get into the United States Senate -- that's the solution," says Farris. His students grasp the implication: Senators confirm Supreme Court nominees. Farris, one of the best-known figures in the home schooling movement, believes in the healing power of politics; he is himself a onetime Virginia gubernatorial candidate. "Go take over. That's the answer." But if Patrick Henry College is to remake this nation, it also finds itself set apart from it. It's so new -- two years old -- that its main and only road doesn't exist on many maps. The campus consists of one two-story building that holds virtually all the facilities -- classrooms, cafeteria, library -- plus four single-sex dormitories. There's a baseball diamond, but no baseball team, and only one sport, soccer. (And because the school didn't make it onto college athletic calendars, the men's team recently suffered the indignity of having to play high-schoolers.) For study breaks, students drive 15 minutes from the campus in Purcellville to a Starbucks in Leesburg. When they're feeling feisty, they throw one another into the campus drainage pond they've named -- oddly -- Lake Bob. Saying his school will be like "Harvard in the late 1700s," Michael Farris mandates that his students take a rigorous load of classical courses, including ancient languages. There's a curfew and a classroom dress code. Chapel is mandatory every morning and, as at many of the nation's more than 100 evangelical Christian colleges, students sign a statement of religious belief. Students uniformly identify themselves as Republican or libertarian; there's not one known Democrat on campus. And though the school doesn't keep a racial breakdown, a reporter sees not one black student in three days, and only a handful of students who aren't Caucasian. Students here have spent their lives in the shelter of their parents' homes, shielded from what the movement regards as the troubling "isms" of the public schools: secularism, multiculturalism, liberalism. At Patrick Henry, they are shielded still. From this haven, they prepare to cross over to a wider, wilder world -- a world, the student handbook warns, "often hostile to the values of the Cross." Patrick Henry represents the maturation of a movement decades in the making. The number of home-schoolers nationwide is estimated to range from 850,000 to 1.9 million, and the National Home Education Research Institute, an advocacy organization, says this is growing by 7 to 15 percent a year. For those students educated at home for religious reasons -- a sizable portion, though by no means the total -- just any college won't do. This was the case with Joshua Gibson, who was home schooled after sixth grade. His mom, Patty Matthews, brought Joshua and his older brother home when she began to feel the boys were under-stimulated in the Oklahoma City public schools. She was troubled, too, by the science books "teaching evolution as a fact" and the health books teaching sex education. When it was time for college, Gibson entertained a notion of applying to Columbia University. But an alumnus warned: "You're putting yourself in a position where you're going to be asked to question a lot of things." At Patrick Henry, Gibson says, the professors don't try to "tear down what you've built, what your parents have spent 18 years building." Gibson is a personable 19-year-old with an acute sense of self-awareness and ambition. He headed the student senate last year and ran unopposed to head the Republican club this year. On Monday mornings, like this one, he wears a suit jacket to class; he says he likes to start the week off on a serious note. Today Gibson has a brief lull between morning chapel and Latin class, so he relaxes in his dorm lounge. He's feeling peppy, he says, which is good, because it means his new sleep-study cycle may work out. He has joined one of the latest trends on campus: going to bed at 10 p.m. and waking at 4:30 a.m. to study. It's "social buzz kill," he admits, but "at 4:30 in the morning there's not anybody up" to disturb a person's concentration. At Patrick Henry, Gibson is not considered a nerd for taking his studies so seriously. Some of his classmates estimate that they study 35 hours a week. They bring their laptops to class to take notes and address their professors -- all but one of whom are men -- as "sir." The student body has an average SAT score of 1260, and many students attribute their academic seriousness to self-discipline acquired through home schooling. (Numerous studies have shown that home-schoolers consistently rank equal to or above national averages for learning.) The atmosphere of academic rigor was part of what impressed Gibson when he first looked into Patrick Henry. He found the application intimidating, in a good way: It required three essays, including a five-page public policy position and a three-pager on the applicant's relationship with Jesus Christ. He read that the college mandates apprenticeships for upperclassmen, and figured he might live out his fantasy of interning at the White House. He could get the political experience he'll need to run for the state legislature back in Oklahoma. "Twenty-one is the legal age for which you can run," Gibson says. "That's an option as my kickoff. What better to graduate from college and go right into the statehouse?" When Gibson was about 10, his grandmother asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. President, he replied. And she said, What about being a pastor instead? It troubles him, he says, that people assume that you can't be a person of God and a politician as well. "I think that a person who really has true beliefs and values can flourish in politics," he says. "Let's hope, for the sake of America anyways." What is the purpose of college? Classes are arguably but a fraction of it. For many kids, the true learning begins with living away from home for the first time. The college experience, as defined in the American cultural consciousness -- "Animal House" and "Revenge of the Nerds" and "Felicity" -- is an entropic process of late rent and later papers, binge drinking and midnight theology discussions, rushing a frat (and realizing you hate frats), dating someone you'll never forget (and one you wish you could), switching your major from pre-med to biology to, um, philosophy. And so on, until some magical spring day during senior year, it hits that you've achieved, through trial and error, the one thing you never tried for: adulthood. Is the purpose of college to explore? To carve out your own space, apart from your parents? Or is it to strengthen the beliefs you came with? To arm yourself against a morally ambiguous world? For Farris, these questions lay bare the very notion of adolescence itself. He says home schooling -- because it causes children to spend social time with their parents and other adults, rather than with their own age group -- sometimes has the effect of "skipping" the teenage years, of bringing young people straight from childhood to adulthood. This is a good thing; the modern concept of adolescence as a time for rebellious rites of passage is a fallacy, Farris says. He's not alone in feeling this way.... And I'll stop there... Check out the website or the Nov. 27 issue of the Washington Post for the rest of the article. ------------------------ And the other side of the coin, also from the Washington Post (and also only a partial article...these are LONG! See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7774-2001Nov23.html or the Nov. 23 issue of the Post): Home-Schooler Makes the Grade Sterling Teen Named Merit Semifinalist By Rosalind S. Helderman Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, November 25, 2001; Page LZ01 Ask 17-year-old Matthew Smedberg what he has been reading lately. The Roman historian Livy tops the list, part of his Great Books curriculum. For fun, there have been a trilogy by the Polish writer Henryk Sienkiewicz ("very well written and exciting"), "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" ("one of the few history books to get that period just right") and the sci-fi thriller "Speaker for the Dead" ("the best work of fiction of the 20th century"). Those don't include books on architecture, an interest that he thinks could become a career. Matthew Smedberg reads all the time, sometimes following the curriculum he designs with his mother, Marion, but often following his nose. Pure intellectual curiousity, he and his mother agree, is what's missing from most public high schools. "I think what most people think of as high school is the social life -- the parties, the football," said Matthew, who plans to go to college next year. "It's not the intellectual adventure." By mainstream academic standards, Matthew is a star. In September, he was named a National Merit semifinalist, a prestigious award based on his perfect score on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT). Only three students enrolled in Loudoun County public schools, and four Loudoun students enrolled at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, received the same honor this year. "On the one hand, it's not nice to brag," said Marion Smedberg. "On the other hand, it's nice to let people know that home-schoolers can excel." Matthew knows the home-school stereotypes -- two categories, he said. Some people think home-schoolers are hicks who are too lazy to send their children to school and keep them home all day doing nothing, a view he describes as "just ignorant." Others think that all home-schoolers are fundamentalist Christians whose children have as little outside contact as possible and will be unable to function in the secular world, the "real world," as adults. Matthew is proof that few generalities can be made about the county's growing home-schooling movement. Yes, he's religious, a Roman Catholic who spent four years at a boarding school that prepares boys for the priesthood before deciding that it wasn't for him. Public-school secularism isn't the main reason the Smedbergs have taught five of their seven children in their Sterling home. It's too soon for the seventh and youngest, who is 3, and their 12-year-old daughter started private school this year, a break from a house full of brothers. "We think that every kid's an individual, and you've got to do what's right for each of them," said Marion Smedberg, 51. But no, Matthew isn't isolated. For him, home-schooled hardly means homebound. Besides spending hours studying in the sunny blue den and classroom that he and his brothers built with their father, Matthew has a schedule of extracurricular activities that could make the best soccer mom's head spin. He works at Target. He takes upper-level math and laboratory science classes at Northern Virginia Community College. With other home-schooled students, he attends a weekly religion course taught by a local priest. He sings in church choirs at Our Lady of Hope in Cascades and St. Catherine of Siena in Great Falls. He has played the cello with the Loudoun Symphony. He performs with the Sterling Playmakers: Tonight is opening night for their production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," in which he plays the Squirrel. "I don't consider him to be sheltered at all," said Kathy Bleutge, chairman of the Sterling Playmakers board of directors, who has worked with Matthew in three productions. "He's really pretty savvy. He's an example of when it works, home schooling at its best." ...He is looking for a school where students are not afraid to think deeply and where learning is paramount. He also wouldn't mind high-speed Internet access in dorm rooms and edible food. He's confident that he'll get along with his roommate and make friends quickly. Above all, he's not worried about fitting in. "I'll never fit in," he said. "Fitting in isn't my ideal. If I did fit in, I would worry that I was giving up part of myself to be like everyone else." ------------------------ If your brain's not on fire yet, check out what the National Association of Elementary School Principles (NAESP) warns parents about homeschooling: NAESP ASKS PARENTS TO CONSIDER THAT HOMESCHOOLING MIGHT: 1. Deprive the child of important social experiences 2. Isolate the student from other social/ethnic groups 3. Deny students the full range of curriculum experiences and materials 4. Provide education by non-certified and unqualified persons 5. Create an additional burden on school administrators whose duties include the enforcement of compulsory school attendance laws 6. Not permit effective assessment of academic standards of quality 7. Violate health and safety standards 8. Not provide accurate diagnosis and planning for meeting the needs of children of special talents, learning difficulties and other conditions requiring atypical educational programs ------------------------ And the HSLDA at work for us again - although this DOES look inviting, we should watch carefully to see where the carrot string leads... Senate Bill To Allow Educational Savings for Home Schoolers Senator Tim Hutchinson (R-AR) has introduced a bill that will amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow "Coverdell education savings accounts" or ESAs (formerly known as "education individual retirement accounts" or education IRAs) to be used for home schooling expenses. Senate bill 1662 would add the following language to the Internal Revenue Code: SPECIAL RULE FOR HOMESCHOOLING-Such term shall include expenses described in clause (1) or (iii) of subparagraph (A) in connection with education provided by homeschooling if the requirements of any applicable State or local law are met with respect to such education. Unlike the education savings account provision for home schoolers in the recent tax package signed by President George W. Bush earlier this year, this amendment would enable all home schoolers to take advantage of the Coverdell provisions-even if they are not recognized by their states as "private schools." "Senator Hutchinson told me that he is hoping to have this bill attached to and made part of this year's economic stimulus package, but that it may receive some opposition," said Caleb Kershner, National Center for Home Education Manager of Federal Policy and Research. "However, the Senator has long been a strong advocate for home school freedom, and I am confident that he and his staff will work hard to ensure that home schoolers are treated fairly under the language of the Coverdell education savings accounts." Once authorized, the amendment would apply to taxable years beginning with January 1, 2002. |
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INSIGHTS from Ann Fuller "Let's have a B week!" The words were out of my mouth before I realized what I was saying. Although I had no idea what a B week was, my four-year-old son readily agreed. He responds well to enthusiasm, particularly when content has little meaning. The first thing we did that Monday morning was take our usual walk through the neighborhood. Only this time we looked at the world a little differently. "I see a bird! Bird starts with the letter 'b' doesn't it?" I'd ask my son. Among other things, we spotted brown buildings, a bakery and a basketball court. When we returned home, I wrote the words down on 3x5 index cards and taped them along the kitchen counter. Whenever we encountered a word that started with a 'b' that week we'd write it down. We quickly ran out of counter space. Tuesday is library day, courtesy of their wonderful story time and crafts program for preschoolers. We spent time after the session scouring the non-fiction children's books for topics beginning with the letter 'b.' Each successive week I have tried to pick out a biography, a book about a profession or sport, a plant, an animal or two, a U.S. city or state, a country and a general science topic that begins with the letter we've picked. I have found this to be a wonderful way to expand both of our bases of knowledge and open the way for the exploration of potential special interests. On Wednesday we blew bubbles and bounced a balloon back and forth. Thursday we baked brownies and Friday we went to Barnes and Noble to browse through the books. Hey, mommy needed some biscotti. I had every intention of simply proceeding through the alphabet one consonant at a time, but my son had other plans. He quickly took over choosing which letter we would focus on each week and that's probably as it should be. I realized later that the point of alphabet week wasn't to convey the phonetic sounds of the letters to prepare him for reading, as I'd originally assumed. Instead it has become a way to broaden our horizons and dabble in a variety of topics while challenging me to find new and fun things to do. For example, F week found us at Flat Rock Brook Nature Center where we discovered frogs, ferns and foxes. I wish I could say that each week is met with as much enthusiasm from both of us as B week was, but it's not so. Some weeks we're better at it than others and some weeks we don't bother with it at all. At the very least we get the books from the library and point out words in our conversation that have the sounds of the letters. I'm looking forward to H week. What are the chances I can get a four-year-old to help with the housework? |
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Adventures in Parenting: Continuing Education A friend of mine recently questioned my decision to quit work and stay home with my boys. She expressed concern that without appropriate intellectual challenges, my brain was at risk of atrophy. She encouraged me to at least consider taking a class at the local community college to stay mentally active. She can relax. In just the last 24 hours I received an incredibly well-rounded education. LANGUAGE ARTS: I learned that a four-year-old still struggling with verb tense in his sentence structure can easily recall a swear word he heard once six months ago, and use it in proper context. Mind you, this is most effective when uttered loudly and with an audience. The employee at the Chic-Fil-A drive-thru must have thought I was chauffeuring a midget sailor for the evening. PHYSICS: I discovered that it is possible to vomit with just the right amount of force to make it into the kitchen sink without waking the baby sleeping in my arms. BIOLOGY: I found out that a two-month-old infant has the capacity to excrete from four different bodily orifices simultaneously. It's truly an impressive sight. Think about it. LOGIC: I realized that no amount of rationalization would entice a four-year-old to go to sleep an hour past his bedtime just because mommy is sick and can no longer stand up. He isn't sleepy and he doesn't care. I did learn that the electronic babysitter would at least allow mommy the luxury of lying prone for an hour and a half before daddy gets home. I owe the Disney Channel a thank you letter. PENMENSHIP: See LOGIC GEOMETRY: I discovered that if I carefully position the baby and quickly calculate the vector and trajectory in my head, I can accurately predict the exact location and shape of the impending spit up stain on the floor. I realized that by utilizing this skill, I could create interesting patterns that have the potential for prolonging the life of my carpeting. Because a few more days of this and no one will recognize it. They'll have to assume it's brand new and that I have extraordinarily bad taste in carpeting. CHEMISTRY: I found out that spit up reacts differently when introduced to a variety of fibers and fiber blends. It has an attraction at the molecular level for Lay-Z-Boy recliners. SOCIAL STUDIES: I learned that an e-mail from a friend and a phone call with my sister provides enough social interaction to keep me going for a few more hours. HISTORY: I realized that as wet as the past 24 hours have been, I will never see them again. My friend is an accountant. Somehow I doubt she faced as many challenges or learned nearly as much as I did yesterday. I am woman. Hear me roar. Okay, so maybe today it sounds more like a sick gagging, choking noise. I'll roar again another day. |
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HomeTime, Edited by Jackie Boone Ann's Apple Butter Core, peel and thickly slice approximately 15 apples. I used a mix of small to medium. Put them in a large pot with: 4 cups apple cider (cranberry apple cider works too!) 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 3 cinnamon sticks (or ground cinnamon to taste) 1/4 tsp. each of ground cloves, allspice, nutmeg and ground ginger 2-3 whole cloves Stir and coat the apples with the liquid mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 1-2 hours, until the consistency of chunky applesauce , stirring occasionally. Take out the cinnamon sticks and whole cloves and process with a blender, hand mixer, or regular mixer. Return to a smaller pot, test and cook for another 30-60 minutes, if needed, to evaporate more liquid. TEST: Put a plate in the freezer for a few minutes. Drop a bit of the apple butter on the cold plate. If it leaks waters around the edges, it's not ready and should cook some more. Here are some great holiday craft and kitchen gift ideas from Ann Fuller. Thanks, Ann! Cinnamon Scented Ornaments 1 cup applesauce 1 1/2 cup cinnamon (cheapest you can lay your hands on) 1/2 - 3/4 cup white glue cutting board or wax paper rolling pin cookie cutters plastic straw cooling rack ribbon, cord or ornament hangers Mix the applesauce, cinnamon and glue to form a ball. You may have to play around with the ratios depending upon the manufacturers and quality of ingredients. You want it to feel doughy, like sugar cookie dough, but not too wet. Refrigerate for at least half an hour. Sprinkle cinnamon on the cutting board or wax paper and roll the dough out to about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. Do not roll it too thin. Cut out your shapes with the cookie cutters. Using the straw, punch a hole at the top where you plan to thread the ribbon through. Let the shapes dry on a cooling rack for two days or until completely dry. When the color has changed from deep to light brown, loop the ribbon through the holes. You now have a bunch of lovely smelling ornaments to give as stocking stuffers, party favors, etc. Although you may hate the smell of cinnamon for a few years! * Tip: Paint pens can be used to decorate the dry ornaments. |
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Online Resources Recently, online discussions turned to community service ideas. As much as we all want to help, finding "family-friendly" community service projects or organizations can be a bit of a challenge sometimes. Here's a few online resources that might help: Family Matters: http://www.pointsoflight.org/familymatters/fm_day.cfm "The Family Matters initiative is a national program ... focused on developing models, building capacity, and raising awareness of the values gained from families volunteering together. It is based on the idea, grounded in research, that families who volunteer together benefit at least as much as those they seek to help, and that family involvement in community service promotes its value to a younger generation." The United Way: Go to www.unitedway.org and type in your zip code. That links you to your county's United Way chapter, which usually features lists of organizations in your area that can use volunteer help. Our chapter here categorizes organizations that are "family friendly." City Cares, http://www.citycares.org/national/ , links to affiliate groups in most major cities. The goal of "City Cares" chapters and affiliates is to "put volunteers in direct, hands-on service in their communities," and to do so in a way that fits people's schedules. |
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Homeschooling Contacts: See our web page here for the most up-to-date list of contacts. |
HUUmans at Home
HUUmans at Home HUUmans at Home is a quarterly publication of UU Homeschoolers Contents reflect the views of the authors and are not necessarily those of any particular group of people. The editor welcomes submissions of articles, letters, media reviews and other items of interest to our readers. Inquiries and submissions can be sent to:
Email: Terri sparrow@tampabay.rr.com
Rights to all submissions to this newsletter remain with the authors. Permission is hereby granted for homeschoolers to quote from this newsletter in whole or in part with the requirements that this newsletter is properly credited as the source and that a copy of the quote is sent to the editor at the above address.
