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THE TWO GOATS
TWO GOATS, frisking gayly on the rocky steeps of a mountain valley, chanced to meet, one on each side of a deep chasm through which poured a mighty mountain torrent. The trunk of a fallen tree formed the only means of crossing the chasm, and on this not even two squirrels could have passed each other in safety. The narrow path would have made the bravest tremble. Not so our Goats. Their pride would not permit either to stand aside for the other.
One set her foot on the log. The other did likewise. In the middle they met horn to horn. Neither would give way, and so they both fell, to be swept away by the roaring torrent below.
It is better to yield than to come to misfortune through stubbornness.
![[Illustration]](http://www.mainlesson.com/books/winter/aesop/zpage036.gif)
This is one of our fables this week, and the moral was Super-boy’s copywork today. It has me thinking a lot about stubbornness and people’s inability to move past “being right.”
We are always the goat, aren’t we? The one who is right, the one who knows what’s best.
We can’t possibly be that other goat. You know, the one who is stubborn, the one who is so obviously wrong.
My way or the highway. Is that you? It’s me more often than I care to admit. But, other than a fleeting sense of justification, how often has “being right” made me happy? How often does “being right” make you happy? Every person has control issues. Some are more severe than others.
How much have your control issues truly hurt you in the long run?
A lot, you say?
Perhaps it’s time to stop being a goat, period. I know. I am working on that one too.
I will have lots and lots to post this weekend, possibly the end of this week; we are just very busy at the moment. Homeschooling can be quite time consuming, or so I hear. Plus, there is that pesky housework to get done, and I have spent the last six weeks with a husband underfoot while he was unemployed. You ladies know how it is when your man is home during the week. Your whole schedule gets WONKY!
I am happy to report that the darling husband is at work today, and I cannot be thankful enough about that on so many levels. We are considering this a temporary job because the salary is just too low to be really anything long term. We still have some irons in the fire, God is providing for us everyday, and we will have some money coming in again soon. So we are hopeful about the future and some other prospects. Hooray!
We should have a fabulous MLK Lap Book ready for blogging about by the end of this week and maybe some art. Starting next week we will be doing loads of science experiments about atoms and molecules which Super-boy is very excited about. He informed me today we wants to be a great scientist and inventor. *grins*
Stay tuned, and thanks for reading anyway, even when I don’t have time to post much! I miss you all!!
From The Anti-Racist Parent:
I love nappy hair and little girls should too
by guest contributor Tami Winfrey Harris
“Maybe Aunt Tami can be the clown at my birthday party.”
So my five-year-old niece told my sister. It’s not that I can juggle or do magic. I don’t own a pair of big, floppy shoes or a red, rubber nose. It’s the hair.
My hair is nappy. It is coarse and thick. It grows in pencil-sized spirals and tiny crinkles. My hair grows out, not down. It springs from my head like a corona. My hair is like wool. You can’t run your fingers through it, nor a comb. It is impenetrable. My hair is rebellious. It resists being smoothed into a neat bun or pony tail. It puffs. Strands escape; they won’t be tamed. My hair is nappy. And I love it.
To my niece, my hair is a novelty. I am the only black woman in her life that wears her hair in its natural state. I could dismiss my niece’s comments as a kid innocently calling attention to a perceived difference, but I realize there is some judgment in her words. She has already learned, like little girls of color almost always do, that typically European physical features, like straight hair, are the prettiest.
When my niece first spotted the short afro that replaced my straight bob, she crinkled her nose and emphatically said, “I like your hair the other way better.” When I gifted her with two Barbie dolls–a caramel colored one with silky hair and a deep brown one with bushy afro puffs–she favored the one with the combable ‘do. I also notice how she preens and tosses her tresses when they are freshly straightened by the hot comb. She feels pretty, like I used to when I was a little girl.
Growing up, I learned to covet silky, straight hair; flaxen, “bouncing and behaving” hair; Cheryl Tiegs and Christie Brinkley hair. It was a Eurocentric beauty standard that many women no doubt struggled with, but as a young black girl, my appearance could not have been further from the American ideal.
Making my hair bounce and behave meant hours wriggling between my grandmother’s knees as she raked an iron comb, heated in the flames of the stove, through my hair. I remember the sizzle of the hot comb as it rested cooling on a damp towel, the smell of burnt hair and Posner’s blue grease heavy in the air. The process stretched my tight curls into hair I could swing, toss and run my fingers through, something closer to the “white girl hair” that black girls admired and tried to imitate, sometimes even wrapping our heads in towels to a simulate a long, flowing mane.
My straightened hair was beautiful. But that beauty came at a price. It meant ears burned by slipped hot combs and a scalp scarred by harsh chemicals. It meant moderating outside play so as not to work up a sweat and staying clear of the swimming pool; dreaded moisture would make my hair “go back.” It meant having lye from a perm relaxer eat away at the back of my long, thick hair until barely an inch was left. It meant subtly learning that my natural physical attributes were unacceptable, something to be hidden or molded into submission.
My review went soooooo well! I had the sweetest reviewer in the whole wide world. I think I might send her flowers. Wait, is that bribery? Maybe I better skip the flowers. 
She went over each subject, looked at what we are reading, looked at samples and asked some questions and I was done in about 20 minutes. Seriously.
She said that the Charlotte Mason method seems like a very good program and she was very impressed by the quality of what we are doing and how well-rounded it is. She was also impressed with Super-boy’s math tests and scores and that his curriculum has pre-algebra in it.
I feel about 100 pounds lighter, although my scale only reflects a loss of 2lbs from last week. It’s just, you know, a metaphorical weight loss.
I love life right now…..so much!
One of my very favorite actors was found dead today.
Heath Ledger found dead in his NY apartment.
Wow…….I am seriously shocked. I usually don’t pay that much attention to celebrities, but he was so talented. What a sad day.
We are studying George Frideric Handel this term as our composer. I have four CD’s from the library, including two different recordings of selections of The Messiah. I have a special place in my heart for The Messiah since my high school used to perform it each year at Christmas, and I was a total choir geek. We are listening to the selections at various times throughout the day. Lunch seems to be a favorite.
Also, on our “Music Monday,” after practicing recorder, Super-boy has been logging onto Classics for Kids and listening to short shows about Handel. There are 4 programs about Handel and his music, so I am having him listen to one show each week, and the site also includes a little quiz to take at the end of each show. How cool is that? As if that wasn’t cool enough, they also offer an activity sheet which we will be using at the end of the month, and it includes some biographical information about Handel and a few games. I couldn’t be happier and I am looking forward to using the site for more composers in the future.
Hooray for learning!
That’s the name of our next Rembrandt print, which I introduced today. The kids all recognized that it was Jesus in the painting, and that led to a small discussion about why Jesus was on the cross. I let Super-boy lead the way with that conversation and explain it to Diva. We read on Tuesday that Rembrandt is well-known for his bold use of light and dark paint. I asked Super-boy why he thought Jesus was painted so brightly. He responded with this:
“Because Jesus is the focus of the painting, AND he is God!” I was pretty happy with that answer. 
As a little side note: Rembrandt painted himself into the painting as a soldier. The kids and I will be talking about that in the coming week and I will be sure to share any interesting thoughts they have about it! He is the one in the blue cap.
My MCPS homeschool review letter made it’s way into my mail slot this afternoon.
I know I am doing a good job, I know my kids are learning so much, but that hasn’t stopped this terrifying feeling from creeping its way up from my stomach and choking off my air supply.
My appointment time is Wednesday the 23rd at 10:00. That’s next week isn’t it? Sheesh. The law states at a time and place convenient to both parties. No one asked me.
This will be ok, right? I am so bothered by the fact that the government can deem me deficient and give me only 30 days to correct it. ERG.
Doing this:
These are Monkey’s first beads, and I think her first time with more than pigtail braids. The irony of my three year old with my hair texture, asking for braids and beads and then sitting for nearly two hours while I do it, is not lost on me. Where is my almost five year old? Playing Gamecube with her brother with a full afro. Diva was the one that initially asked for beads, and then refused to sit for me to do them. OY!
I think I just decided to try something new with my little homeschooling project. I love that I can do that!
Starting this Monday, we will complete our usual readings and activities that are already mapped out, but I will be adding a “special interest” topic as well. This coming week will be a focus on eating healthy and learning about the food pyramid. I have a great poster I just put up in the kitchen, and I picked up a library book that, unknowingly, is directly linked to the new food pyramid! How cool is that? I was flipping through it and saw that it was laid out identically to the poster I have, and when I got to the end of the book, guess what I found? A smaller version of the “my pyramid” poster! Pretty sweet, huh?
I am planning to spend about 15-30 minutes a day working on the “special interest” topic. Each week will include books, some kind of learning tool (in this case, the poster), vocabulary words related to the topic, games, special activities or field trips, and anything else I can come up with. I am sure this coming week will involve fun with food!
I want to use MLK Day as a kick off for a civil rights centered week revolving around Dr. King and what he accomplished, and hopefully find an activity locally that we can participate in for MLK day. I know a week is not long to cover civil rights, but they are fairly young, and it’s a topic we talk about often anyway.
Here is how I plan to break the next 11 weeks down:
1 – Food pyramid (health)
2 – Martin Luther King Jr. (social studies)
3 – Atoms and Molecules (science)
4 – Orchestras (music)
5 – Math facts (math)
6 – William Shakespeare (literature)
7 – Grammar concepts (English)
8 – Styles of art (art)
9 – Field Week (PE)
10 – Holy Week (religion)
11 – Volunteering (community)
