The Christian Carnival is up at The Bible Archive. It is the Voltron addition and appears to be power packed with great pieces!

The Carnival of Homeschooling is up over at HomeSchoolBuzz. There seems to be a wealth of wonderful articles. Go check it out!

The Carnival of Recipes is up over at World Famous Recipes. Go check them out!

Life is about learning. Think about it. At your birth you have to learn how to breath, then eat, then burp and so on. Learning beyond the books is a needed part of life. I have found that my educational philosophy is just a carry through of my parenting philosophy. Because of that I believe that they are joined as 1 task and 1 venture. I believe in a combinations of classical and unschooling for those of you who haven’t read my earlier post. So let me illustrate what this looks like within a parenting situation.

In classical education you have the “grammer” stage in the younger years (say kidergarten until 4th grade). During this time in education you teach skills and facts. Within the confines of being a complete and mature person you teach the same thing. To use an example of what we are doing right now, we are teching the NerdBug how to empty and load the dishwasher. Then we will go to a schedule (you so this at this time). I believe the same goes with money (but more on that later).

The next stage is “logic” and it deals with thinking through arguements and being able to follow progressions. For example, knowing when the Constitution was signed would be grammer. Then logic would be seeing everyhting that led up to it (contributing factors). This is a time when both a little freedom and a little consequences come into home life. An Example: you need to empty the dishwasher between breakfast and dinner, you choose when. If it doesn’t get done by dinner there will be no tv the next day or extra chores, etc. This is also where the unschooling element can come in. Let’s say you have one kid who loves mowing the lawn but hates helping in the kitchen. At this point that child knows how to help in the kitchen but doesn’t care for it. But, let us say you have another child who likes working in the kitchen but hates mowing. The division of labor seems very clear. Now there will always be jobs everyone dislikes and those just get divided up. Because when they grow up they will still have to do things around the house they dislike (I am still waiting to meet the person who likes to clean the toilet).

The next stage is the “rhetoric” stage and this is where they really become adults. This is when they can try out their adult skills within the safety of home. If they don’t plan well they can’t be evicted but I won’t (necessarily) be up at 3am washing clothes because they forgot to put their laundry in and don’t have anything to wear.

This model eliminates the modern teenager. At this point they are adults just their job is their education. We as parents and home educators need to emphasize this. I think this is were many parents falsely believe that the school system helps. I remember hearing a parent saying that their kid had to know how to balance a check book. I mean, they teach that in school, right? This also leads to the new teenage group, the college student or the bounceback child. The one that lives in the dorm and gets everything from mom and dad. Then they graduate and aren’t ready to be on their own so they move home and mooch. You see this everywhere from tv show like Dr. Phil to people you know. The master’s degree often is the I don’t know what I want to do yet degree. I strongly believe that being a sucessful adult is even more important than higher education (and that is coming from a nerd;). I see this as one of the reasons that homeschooling is so successful. We put out complete people.

Now here is the disclaimer: Not all parents who put their children in tradition school neglect the training up of their children in the practical ways. I know quite a few responsible balanced children out of public school. I am looking at this as an overall societal issue.

So this week has been kind of crazy. Last Saturday was NerdPie’s 3rd birthday. Instead of a party she got a ‘girl’s day’ with mom (as I am battleing morning sickness). So we went shopping and our to lunch. She was immediately excited because we took Dad’s car instead of the minivan. We went to the school store to get her some ‘big girl’ preschool books. She loved it. Then we went to ToysRUs. It was a mess. We walk in just 20 minutes after it opened and it is already a mad house. They send out a little card that gets the birthday girl a balloon and crown (also a coupon for mom) so we went to customer service to do that first. They had a long line so the lady told us to come back later. So I go to put NerdPie in a cart (there was no way I would go through a toy store with her walking) and she melted down. A)She wanted to get into the large Power Wheels from the movie Cars and B)she isn’t a baby. I settle her and we proceed through the store. She tries every display and looks at every toy. So we go back to the registers. The reason that there is chaos in the store is that the registers scanners aren’t working. So they type in the numbers and then have to have someone on the floor go find the price. In the midst of this the NerdPie gets her balloon and crown. They announce that it is her birthday so people walk up and wish her a Happy Birthday. Of course they ask her how old she is and she tell everyone 6 and that she is going to the kindergarten class at church.

We then go over to JoAnns to get some butterfly wings that she loves. She then asks to put them on. I say later at home, after lunch. She then says she wants to have lunch at home. It takes 10 minutes to convince her that she can’t just go home and put them on so she decides she wants to go to Applebees. I should have taken a book;). We get seated and they give her a little color book and crayons. She is intent on it, no talking to me, no looking up. But lunch went great. They brought her ice cream and a balloon. They then began singing to her. She was so cute and got embarrassed. And then a first happened, she wouldn’t take a bite of her ice cream. About 2 weeks ago she over ate at a resturant and threw up, ice cream was the last straw. So we are at her lunch and she is insistant that if she eats it she will throw up. It was so sad and cute all at the same time. We left and everything was great.

That night she had a princess cake (recipe will follow) and open all her gifts from us, a friend and Grandpa. I asked her if she would have rather had a party and she said no. So I guess the whole day was a home run and very cute!

So here we are at the first ever Carnival of Pregnancy! I have a few entries and a variety of things I have found in the wonderful blogosphere. First up are the humorous entries. Kim over at Life in a Shoe has a great post with Belly Button bandaids. While you are there take her labor quiz! Kailani at the Pink Diary has a hilarious Pregnancy Q & A. These are both must reads! I have my own humble contribution on Food Issues and Pregnancy.

Now for out and about on the blogosphere. First up is this woman, who is pregnant with 5.
Rise has a great Pregnancy Reading List. Once you gather all you reading material you can contemplate exercise at 2nd Wind Exercise Equipment Blog with their post on Elliptical Trainers and Pregnancy. Then onto political matters. Feminist Law Professors has a post on Pregnancy Discrimination. Workplace Prof Blog has a post on the Verizon Pregnancy Discrimination Settlement. While I may not agree with it all, I do find it very interesting. And last but certainly not least is a tribute to my nerdy side (ok whole being;) with a post on Pregnancy in Comics by Polite Dissent.

The next Carnival of Pregnancy will be here on June 29th. Email me at mom[at]nerdfamily.com by June 28th or go to BlogCarnival. Remember it can be any tone as long as it is related to pregnancy. And you do not have to be pregnant!

My mother-in-law always comments about how now there are so many things pregnant women are not supposed to eat. She has had 7 babies (the youngest of which is 34 yrs old) of her own so she is a voice of experience. The scary thing is to see how food issues have changed through my 4 pregnancies that are only 5 years apart, in total. With my first child, I saw a report on 20/20 saying tuna was high in mercury. So I diligently asked the doctor. He asked how much of a health nut was I not pregnant. Everyone who knows me would be laughing at this point when I smiled sweetly and said not much. He said don’t worry, just don’t eat it for every meal. Good enough. Move to this pregnancy…my doctor’s office says 1 can a week and that is it.

Of course when you first get pregnant you get a packet of junk from the doctor’s office, including magazine and vitamins. One of these magazines had a whole new food issue… deli meat. Suppposedly, I can only have deli meat that has been steamed or I could get a bug called listeriosis. I did a little research (ala Google) and heck, it is true! According to Kid’s Health:

Listeria infections may create symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, difficulty breathing, and poor feeding. Pregnant women who develop listeriosis may experience only mild flu-like symptoms, although they are at risk for premature delivery, miscarriage, and stillbirth. People who have weakened immune systems are at particular risk for developing other more serious illnesses from listeriosis, including pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis. Cases of listeriosis are relatively rare. In 2004, just 120 cases were reported in the United States.

So 5 years from now what will be banned from the pregnant mom?

So here is this week’s Christian Carnival. I will try to present these wonderful offerings in a logical manner as befits a nerd. Please peruse the thoughtful posts and tell the authors what you think!

Issues in the Body: We all have issues with other Christians and there are a couple pieces that articulate that view. The Blog Of Dysfunction says that, “God blogs are bugging me“. If you like that you will love the 20 reasons you ought to be a bloghound from the Disciple’s Journal. Amazing Grace has had it with Fat Head Christian Leaders. And ParableMan is standing up for the body by responding to a recent piece at the Huffington Post that grossly misrepresents the apolitical and political diverse missions organization Campus Crusade for Christ as a political operative of the Bush Administration in Evangelighouls. With yet another issue with in the body, Keith DeRose at the Generous Orthodoxy Think Tank reflects on the possible effects of institutional pressures on the degree to which universalism is openly accepted among those who belong to, and especially those employed by, various Christian institutions in Underground Universalism.

Let us move from church politics to society and politics. Ales Rarus has an interesting article, Mangling, Mishandling, and Misrepresentation of Science in the Plan B Debate. Looking to Hollywood, Nehring tells us about a Christian film, Facing The Giants, that has been given a higher film rating because it was too “proselytizing” in JESUS LOVES YOU BUT HOLLYWOOD THINKS YOU’RE A JERK. In Death Tax Lives, Leslie Carbone describes the moral hazards of the estate tax.

When you deal with politics and society, homosexuality always needs it own grouping (due to size). We have a few very interesting articles on the subject. We start with Xyba over at Once More Into the Breach. In Communion Denied to Activists, they talk about a group known as the Rainbow Sash Movement coming to church to accept Communion while wearing a rainbow sash as an indication of their pride in being homosexual. Tom Gilson asks some interesting questions in Hijacking the Civil Rights Legacy. Such as: The Gay Rights movement uses the language of Civil Rights, but does this really fit? Are they supporting the far more historic freedoms of religion and speech? Stacy has a great post in My Conversation with a Gay Man. It is very suprising and insightful.

Now we are onto marriage and family. This week it seems there was a lot on this subject. Let’s begin with the basics with What is Marriage? from Adam’s blog. He takes this complex question and opens a complex but well written dialog. Richard H. Anderson looks at another complex subject with More on Intermarriage. This is a deep historical and scriptural analysis.

Transitioning from marriage to family and education is an article by Crossroads. Adult Children of Divorce – Part 2 is a continuation on her examination of the effects. The Arkansas Razorbaptist writes an article, Encouraging Christian Education, that deals with the resolution that will be before the Southern Baptist Convention again. Trivium Pursuit has a wonderful post on classical education, Having It All Together. Congrats to all of you who do have it all together, please let me in on you secret;). Last in the family arena, anyone who has kids will relate to Mama Duck’s offering in Keyboard Decor.

For a change of speed we have a couple of book reviews this week. Rod Heggy of Terra Extraneus says David Murrow’s book, “Why Men Hate Church,” makes one of the most important observations of this decade about church practices. Among other points: Christian music in worship services and on Christian radio stations has been “Manilowized” — music written for a female audience, but leaving men bored silly. Mark Olson presents us with a book review of The Illumined Heart. It is about the onlooking East and what might be gained from that exercise. This last one isn’t exactly a book review but it does descibe the effect Peacemaking Women is having over at Lux Venit.

Next up is theology. First up a hard one. Rev Bill asks the question — Is Hell Real? Andre at Every Square Inch poses the question, How Much Does God Weigh? There are 2 posts about David and Goliath. The first is Christ in the Story of David and Goliath by Michele at Life Under the Sun. The second is by rev-ed over at Attention Span called Content in Our Tents. It deals with Saul hiding in his tent. Sun and Shield has a great post On growing old. It is insightful about a subject we will all encounter. The Penitent Blogger encourages us to Be peculiar. Some of us already have that down but hopefully in the right way;). Fernnook Farmgirl has a great piece on what we know as believers. David at All Kinds of Time has a wonderful post on Tithing and Mal 3:10.

Somewhat continuing theology is the Christian life. They should be one in the same, true? First up, Don Bosch at The Evanagelical Ecologist blog reports on a guy in California who says a tiny house would do wonders to improve your spirituality and the environment. Think he’s right? Then Ashley at Intellectuelle asks whether living out the gospel looks different in the suburbs than it does in the city in God of the ‘burbs and the cities. Then Jennifer at Snapshot tells us what it is like Hearing From God regarding moving and buying homes. Then we look at the spiritual and emotional effects others have upon us. We start with Allthings2all with in The Merciful Stripper. It is a true story and modern day parable about a bar, a burglary and a stripper – and the difference between theory and practice. Then we have 2 posts both dealing with the effects others and their stories have on us. First, is Jack Yoest with Scars Are Tattoos…With Better Stories (I love that title). Then is Voices in My Attic: No. 1 by Kingdom>>> Church>>> Culture. Last but certainly not least in this week’s Carnival is a sweet tribute to a wonderful woman. Melissa Markham at Home Sweet Home writes Rest in Peace, Nanny. If only we all have just a postive impact. And Melissa, I am sorry for your family’s loss.

That is it for this week. May the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ shine upon you all. Amen.

Well, I apologize for the spotty posting. This last week has been crazy. In addition to the NerdPie’s birthday, there is the normal craziness;). I would love to say it is going to immediately be better but that may be a lie. We have decided that this may be my hardest pregnancy. I am exhausted (which doesn’t lend itself to great rhetoric), tired and my arm has been tingling. My doctor’s office says it is probably carpel tunnel and stay off the computer. But, you know how addictions go;). So I just wanted to explain. More blogging later!

The Carnival is up over at about.com. Go check it out!