k12, Historically Speaking

I am such a huge fan of the k12 curriculum. My favorite k12 subject by far has been history. Let me tell you why.

k12 is not a Christian curriculum. It is a public school curriculum that is also made available for purchase by homeschooling parents and private schools, although most public schools don't use k12 because it is one of the more expensive curricula.

The history course begins in Kindergarten, in place of the more common "Social Studies", which was a huge selling point for me. Social Studies should be what parents teach their kids every day. Social Studies is just living life. Don't waste time on it in the classroom.

In my opinion, a great start to a great education includes learning how to read and write at high levels, learning deductive reasoning, which for me begins with learning math and science at an early age, and developing a wealth of knowledge of historical facts and references. If that wealth of knowledge can also include a healthy use of another language, all the better. I believe all of these things can be accomplished by 5th or 6th grade, at which point advanced maths and sciences, and specific courses should be introduced, such as Economics and Politics.

(Music and Art and Physical Education I would group together under one category: The Arts. I don't think you need to delve deeply into all three all the time, but certainly having some form of the arts included in your education is beneficial.)

But I digress. Back to k12's history curriculum. I love how k12 handles the topic of religion. Religion is mentioned a great deal in the history course. And why shouldn't it be? A huge component to understanding a culture and their history is understanding their religion. Religion is why wars were fought and why new nations began. Religion has played such a huge role in the course of history, you cannot avoid it.

And yet most curricula dance around religion, especially the Christian religion. k12 addresses it head on. In history this year, Ava has and/or will be learning about Judaism, Egyptian gods and goddesses, Hinduism, and Buddhism. She's learning about how each religion began, and the basics of what the followers of each religion believe. Each religion is treated with respect and with equal time, and none of the religions are promoted as "right" or superior.

I had no interest in finding a Christian curriculum to use for my children. My goal was to find a curriculum that was academically challenging and technologically advanced. In my mind, while you can become a Christian at a young age, you need advanced deductive reasoning skills to really further your knowledge of God.

If you've taught your children how to reason from a young age, you can trust that they'll come to what is real and right on their own as adults. This is why a challenging education is so important. If young children were taught how to think and how to ask questions and how to challenge themselves and others, this country would become a much different place.

History reeks of God. Science reeks of God. Math reeks of God. Literature reeks of God. God is everywhere, in all of education. You can't escape it. So just teach your kids, teach them all of it. You don't need to send them to a religious school for them to learn religion, education IS religion. God shows himself through all of it. Just give them the skills to recognize Him.

Bror Saxberg, the CLO of k12, explains the concepts behind the k12 curriculum. His "Big Ideas" concept was another selling point for me.

More from the k12 team:

Nothing Comes From Nothing

I watched "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed", the Ben Stein Intelligent Design documentary, the other night. So good. It was overflowing with NT temperaments, so of course I was captivated by hearing my language through an entire movie. The animated depiction of the amount of complexity in the single cell was AWESOME. It's on Comcast On Demand right now, if you have Showtime. Some of my thoughts:

The reason that the debate between science and religion sparks such strong reactions is fear. Most scientists are terrified of religion, and most Christians are terrified of science. Both sides are operating out of fear, and in fear there is no growth.

Christians should have no fear of science. The more scientists try to disprove the existence of God, the more they will find Him. Scientists should have no fear of God, because they don't believe He exists.

Darwinists can't explain how the single cell came into existence. They think they have an explanation for how, from it, came human life as we know it, but they can't explain how that first cell came to be. They will throw out some theories, (aliens "seeding" our planet, proteins growing on the backs of crystals) but even they know those theories sound ridiculous.

Their belief that somehow, by some miraculous coincidence, everything that is needed to make the most complex of systems, a self-reproducing single celled organism, came together at the right time is just as unlikely as the belief that an intelligent designer formed that single cell.

The theories are equally ludicrous. And yet one is correct. Darwinists scoff at those who believe in an intelligent designer, and yet they know that their theories sound just as crazy. Neither theory can be proven (although science is trying to prove it with the Large Hadron Collider...which I call the Tower Of Babel 2.0.).

Science and religion, to me, is a beautiful marriage. I "see" God through science. Some Christians see God through other people's actions, but I see God through examining the world He created. The complex workings of the human body, the amazing interlocking workings of a particular ecosystem, pretty much any Discovery channel show, all I see is God God God.

So much more to say, I may have to talk about this again....

It's Raining Bears, Hallelujah!

Wickedly cool video. Not because of the subject matter, I couldn't care less if polar bears become extinct, it's called evolution and survival of the fittest if you're an atheist and the sovereignty of God if you're a Christian, but because it's the coolest idea with the most amazing execution. Enjoy.

My Blog Post, Who Is So Funny

I shall now give you a quick run down of some of the funnier moments of When The Levees Broke.

It started with a gentleman listing his family members who lived in the house with him..."My gramma, which is 81. My sister, which is 43. My cousin, which is 27..." Which??? Really??

Then you've got your wanna be journalist guy, who probably didn't get beyond fourth grade, talking about the horrific living conditions he experienced in the Superdome in the days after the hurricane...."You got sewers backing up, so people got shit and piss all over 'em....you got women with they periods comin' down on 'em..."

Women with they periods comin' down on 'em. Someone actually said that. With a straight face.

Women with they periods comin' down on 'em.

Another highlight was the Rev. Al Sharpton describing one of his visits to speak with the victims waiting in the Superdome. He said it was terrible that these folk had lost their home and their families, and now had to lose their dignity. He said it was "like pouring salt in their wombs."

SALT IN THEIR WOMBS......SALT IN THEIR WOMBS!!!!!!!! I had to pause the video and do some improv for Eric, miming how painful salt in your womb would be, and wondering aloud the myriad ways that one might pour salt into someone else's womb.

You had the public school teacher telling us about how so few children were coming to school now that everyone had left town, but that the reason for all the violence was a lack of education. That it was vicious cycle. A cycle that never resolves. She said it was like a dog wagging it's tail.

Oh yes, a dog wagging it's tail. You know, cause wagging's just so futile. What's the point.

Eric got a couple of good laughs in, too. There was the woman who told us that she'd never leave New Orleans, because generation after generation of her family had lived there. Her great great great great grandparents had lived there.

Eric says, "Um, I'm pretty sure your great great great great grandparents didn't live there. Unless your great great great great grandparents were Cherokee Indians (and from the looks of her, they weren't), you have no idea how young our country is".

He also liked the guy who was talking about the Army guys who came in to save everyone, and how they were carrying AK 47s. Eric scoffed, "Really?? The US Army soldiers were carrying RUSSIAN guns? How about an M-16, dummy..."

But my longest laugh was at the older woman who decided to sing us a song that her mother used to sing to her. A song that got her through the terror of Katrina. She closed her eyes, and sang this song slowly with so much expression:

"Wathe in the water.......Wathe in the water, children......wathe, wathe, wathe in the water...."


You have to watch this film for that moment alone. You just can't believe it's happening. A hurricane that wipes out a city, yes. But someone truly believing that you can wathe in water, never in a million years.

When The Levees Broke, or Whiny Entitled Americans

I'm a huge documentary fan. Whenever I have some time to kill, I check out HBO's documentaries On Demand. The other night I watched Spike Lee's "When The Levees Broke". I have so much to say about it I can hardly contain myself.

Before I regale you with all the funny moments from the film (yes, there are hysterical moments in the documentary about Hurricane Katrina, to me anyway), I will give you my personal opinion on this catastrophe and the aftermath.

Hurricane Katrina, horrifying situation. Obviously. Goes without saying. But I'm saying it, so that you cannot say I'm cold and dead inside.

But folks, weather happens. Hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, tsunamis, all happen. They always have, and always will. You can't stop it. Try as you might, you can't hold back the wind or the rain. If you believe in creation, Man will never beat God. If you believe in the Big Bang, Man will never beat evolution and Mother Nature. You can't have the expectation that the U.S. Government, or the military, or NASA, will ever be able to eliminate the threat of weather. Even before global warming, catastrophic weather occurred.

This documentary is full of people whining. Whining out how they were treated during and after the storm. I can't understand it one little bit.

Here's how it plays out: the mandatory evacuation is ordered. Yes, there wasn't much time to evacuate, and some folk didn't have transportation (except their legs, but I digress...), but there was warning. A lot of folks said their attitude was, "We've weathered many a hurricane, we'll weather this one". Which is a perfectly justifiable attitude. But when you take that route, you are ONE HUNDRED percent responsible for what happens to you.

New Orleans had never issued a mandatory evacuation before, so this was new territory. There's so much to consider in making a decision like that. If you issue that order, and the storm passes over or dies out before landfall, you would get TONS of crap. If you don't issue the evacuation and everyone dies, you'd get TONS of crap. So basically, you don't want to have to be the one making that call, because you know that no matter what, you're going to be covered in shit when it's all over.

But Mayor Nagin issued the order, and that die was cast. I'm sure many lives were saved due to that order.

For the folks who didn't leave the city, nature's fury was unleashed. As the media had reported it would be. The storm itself wasn't that bad, there in New Orleans. I don't think it ever reached category 5 once it made landfall. The trouble came when the levees broke. Major flooding occurred in those neighborhoods, flooding that killed many people. Those who made it to their rooftops had to wait it out until a boat came by.

The folks who hadn't left town, but wanted to leave their houses before the storm hit and move to higher ground, went to the Superdome. The Superdome is in downtown Louisiana, surrounded by high rise office buildings and hotels and restaurants.

That's right, I said surrounded by office buildings and hotels and restaurants. That were empty. Because of the mandatory evacuation. Herein lies one of my greatest frustrations. These folk that were at the Superdome for 5 days post-Katrina, whining about how no one was coming, how they had no food or water, how they had nowhere to go to the bathroom....were within walking distance of hundreds of buildings.

How many high rise office buildings do you know that don't have vending machines? How many restaurants do you know that don't have food?

These people's lack of self-preservation skill was driving me INSANE while watching this film. They were all just sitting around, waiting for Superman to fly in and save them. The sense of entitlement was palpable. They were all expending their energy shouting angrily at the media cameras, "Where is the National Guard??? Why is no one helping us?? No one cares about the Black Man!!!"

And yet there they all continued to lay, day after day. Not helping themselves.

Don't get me wrong, there was something COMPLETELY fishy going on in Washington, DC. The power struggle between the governor of Louisiana and the president seemed ridiculous. She didn't seem to be the sharpest tool in the box, and as for Bush, well...one brain cell plus one brain cell does not a catastrophe solve.

But whether or not the government should have done more, and faster, what you do FOR YOURSELF doesn't change ! When you're on fire, do you stand there until the fire department comes by with a hose? Even if you've called 911 and you know the firemen are on their way, you still stop, drop, and roll. But not these folk.

Once the National Guard made it into town, the compaints just got worse. Complaints of the chaos and the lack of sensitivity...People, there was just a major hurricane! Your entire city was just decimated! THERE'S GOING TO BE CHAOS! It's inevitable.

Then the complaints about being shipped off to different states. Complaints about how long it took to get FEMA trailers and checks...hello, it's the federal government! Do they do anything quickly?

What do you think people did before the Dept. Of Homeland Security? Before FEMA? When a catastrophe struck in ages gone by, people took care of themselves. They were grateful that they had survived, and they picked themselves up and moved on.

Should the levees have held? Sure. In a perfect world, everything would work perfectly and nothing would ever break. And unicorns would fly out of my butt and candy corn would grow on trees. But this is why insurance companies exist. Because we don't live in a perfect world.

Yes, it would be nice if someone helped you. But you can't expect people to help you. People aren't required to help you. You can only control yourself. Instead of whining about how no one's helping you, why don't YOU go help someone?

I'm amazed that humans have lasted this long. In the game of Survival Of The Fittest, Louisianians would have lost out.

In my personal opinion, the media made it worse. Every major network had cameramen down there, interviewing the poor neglected victims. If those folk had been truly neglected, they may have gotten up and found some water. Put a camera in someone's face, work them up with a few well placed comments like, "How do you feel that the government seems to have forgotten you?", and you place ideas into their heads.

Sure, you can't know for sure what you would do in a situation like this until it happens to you. But it's not in my nature one little bit to sit around and wait for someone to take care of me or my children. I can do it better than anyone else can anyway.

My main point in this rant is this: take care of yourself. Period.



I've completely re-irritated myself, so I'm going to wait until tomorrow to share the comedic portions of When The Levees Broke. But don't take any of this to mean that this film isn't worth watching. It's actually well worth your time, very thought provoking (obviously!).

A Homeless Man Walks Into A Bar....

I might consider giving money to a homeless person if they'd entertain me. Most homeless people just sit there with a sign and a morose look on their face. That does nothing for me. That actually makes it even easier for me to just walk on by.

But if there was a homeless person doing a little soft shoe, or playing the spoons, or doing a bit of stand-up, I'd have a harder time just walking by. I might even stop and watch. I'd probably chuckle a bit. And I just might reach into my pocket and grab some change.

So homeless people, take note. To make more money, why not actually DO something? I know you've all got hidden talents, be inventive and use them in your panhandling!

"And Already He's At It Again"

Another Lewis in the news, from back in the day...

A Hot Mess

I'm going to ramble for a moment about the North Carolina ruling from yesterday, regarding homeschooling. I apologize that my thoughts aren't very organized, I wrote this in a hurry.

Oh how easy it must be as parents to take your arguments to the courts. Eric and I have had many heated discussions over our kids' education. They're not fun. But it's what you do when you have children together. You lock yourselves into a room and you don't come out until you've reached a decision, or someone is dead. That's what you sign up for when you sow and/or receive Irish Cream. You don't get to go whining to the court system. You do the hard work, and once you've done that hard work, your marriage moves up to the next level of maturity.

Now I realize this case is more than homeschooling. It's a divorce and custody proceeding, in which the husband has committed adultery. I'm sure the proceedings are ugly. And I'm sure that has a lot more to do with how this situation is playing out than if it were purely a matter of education.

The courts in this country have no right to decide upon an educational path for children. Period.

But I do have one complaint. Homeschoolers, like Pro-Life advocates, too often shoot themselves in the foot by bringing religion into the argument way too soon and way too often. There are plenty of valid scientific reasons to support life beginning at conception, and there are hundreds of excellent reasons to homeschool that don't involve religious beliefs. You turn people off to both causes when you spout religious cliches as your defense.

I'm not saying that religious beliefs aren't valid. I'm saying that they don't get you very far. You have to know your audience, especially if you're put in a public situation. Educate yourself, so that when needed, you are able to defend yourself in any situation with eloquence, conviction and grace.

I am a Christian woman who homeschools. But I don't homeschool for religious reasons. I homeschool because the public school system in this country is absolutely worthless and I can provide my children with a private school quality education at a much lower cost.

And I'm very proud of the battle scars that Eric and I have, and will continue to accrue, over the education of our kids. They prove that we have accepted the responsibility that comes with parenting, and that we don't need the government to decide things for us.

Don't let the government deny you of accumulating battle scars. Otherwise your lily white unmarked skin will mark you as the yellow-bellied wimp that you are.

The End Of Disney

We watched Wall-E with the kids on Sunday morning. I haven't been so disgusted since Happy Feet (which had to be written by Al Gore, with the subtext being "HUMANS BAAAAD, ANIMALS GOOOOOD!!!).

Please, keep political propaganda away from children's movies. Disney should be ashamed.

The premise of Wall-E goes like this:

Bad humans are swept away by consumerism and fill the world with trash, to the point that they have to move to outer space. Wall-E machines are working tirelessly to clean up the bad humans' mess here on earth. The humans are living on this big Starship Enterprise type ship in space. They don't walk anymore, they ride around on electric lounge chairs. Every single human is obese. And I mean OBESE. They are ordering supersize drinks from their lounge chairs, playing virtual sports, all from their chairs.

When I first saw all the obese humans riding around, I thought I was going to fall off the couch. Are you kidding me?? Eric was also shocked.

Now, is it true that humans are fat and lazy and ruled by consumerism? Yes! But is that appropriate Disney children's movie fodder? Disney movies are supposed to be about fantasy.

Not to mention that the romance between Wall-E and EVE is SO CREEPY!! At times I had to turn my head away, it made me so uncomfortable.

It's very sad to me, as I grew up enamored by Disney movies. I can't watch a Disney movie without getting warm fuzzies in my soul.

What's next, Disney? A movie about animated monkeys having abortions? Circus animals complaining about the cost of healthcare? Cartoon insects handing over national ID cards to the policing owls?

We've come a long way since Cinderella, baby.......

Stop Getting Your Panties In A Bunch

All of this hoopla that the Motrin Moms started on Twitter, reminded me of something my Dad has always said. Let me see if I can get it right...

"If you are a true believer, you can never be offended."


The homeschooling moms on Twitter are now trying to start the same hoopla, in regards to a joke that Joy Behar made yesterday about homeschooled kids being demented.

The same Bob Lewis-ism applies. If you truly believe in something, if you're passionate about something, it shouldn't matter what anyone else has to say about it. Being offended tarnishes your belief.

Another "Article" About "Dad"

My mother, always with the one-liners........


And yes, another perfect song.....

I Do Love A Black And White Cookie.....

Someone help me out here. There is something that has been going on that I have NO comprehension of.

What is the big deal about a black man becoming president? Simply because we've never had a half black president? We've never had an Asian president, either. Or an American Indian president. You completely negate anything positive about Obama when you go on and on about there being a black man in the White House. You make it sound like that's the only reason you voted for him.

And he's not even black, he's half black. Obama is just as much white as he is black. He was raised completely by his white relatives. In school, the black kids beat up on the half black kids. Don't they call them "oreos" or something? But now the blacks are all "yee haw!" about a half black president? They probably beat Obama up in grade school and refused to acknowledge him as a real African American.

If it's a "hope" issue, that Obama being elected brings hope to all of the young black kids out there, I can't buy into that. Obama wasn't a young black kid, the way that you think of a young black kid. He was a young black kid, raised in a white environment. So the only lesson you learn is that if you're a young black kid, you better find yourself some nice white folk to raise you, if you want to become president. Don't know many young black kids in America who could relate...

Obama is smart and worked hard to get here. THAT should be what you talk about. Not the color of half of his skin. Let's get some perspective, folks...

Personally, I won't be happy until there's an Asian president. Or an American Indian president. Or a Cuban president. Or an Iraqi president. Or a one-legged ugly Russian transgendered pole-dancer president!! I can only hope!! Now THERE'S some change!



If we looked at Obama through the eyes of a Jew, he would be considered white, since in the Jewish culture, ethnicity is passed down through the mother.

Willy Nilly Silly Old Bear

If I hear one more celebrity talk about the dying polar bears, I'm going to scream. They're not even talking about global warming at this point, they're talking specifically about the dying polar bears. (I mean, if they really believe the earth is heating up so fast, why bother with the polar bears? That's like the proverbial thimble on the Titanic.)

Here's my take on the polar bear crisis:

If you believe in the theory of evolution, why isn't polar bears dying out part of that evolving? Evolution hasn't just stopped, right? Maybe the polar bears are supposed to die, so that a certain species of fish can flourish, and by flourishing, will eventually evolve into some new amazing half fish/half land mammal creature?

If you were alive when the dinosaurs started facing extinction, would you have tried to save them? Would we have seen celebrities on TV asking everyone to donate money to save the poor dinosaurs? Noooo, we're very happy about the possible climate change that brought the extinction of the dinosaurs.

What is the big deal about polar bears anyway? If they were to all die out, how would your life be different?

How often do you sit around and say "Man, I miss those dodo birds...". "Life sure hasn't been the same since the Falkland Islands Wolf...".

How many psychiatrists do you think get patients who say "Doc, I just can't sleep knowing that there are no more Japanese Sea Lions! I can't take it anymore!"

Why are people in such a tizzy over losing the polar bear? Is it Coke's fault? Is it just because polar bears are more well-known animals? Is it because they're cute and furry? Or is it because Americans are easily swayed by people like Al Gore?

Do you even know how many species of animals are on this planet??? We can afford to lose a few.


In the words of the naturalist, It's the circle of life, people..................

Spontaneous Order

I love this recent episode of 20/20.

There's a great moment when Stossel tries to make legislators fill out their own forms...


Interesting fact about Stossel:
John Stossel was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois, the second of two boys and graduated from New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois. He overcame a stuttering problem so he could become a reporter, and is now a supporter and advocate for The Stuttering Foundation.


Maybe that's why I feel like we're kindred spirits????

Ming-Ming For President!

From a conversation with Melissa...

Friend says: I just can't wrap my brain around how the Republican party can be against killing babies, but FOR killing animals!

Melissa says: Um, but you CAN wrap your brain around how your party can be against killing animals, but FOR killing babies??? If you have to pick one group to "save", you're going to pick animals???



For the love of Beyonce Knowles....it's like people want America to be run by the Wonder Pets.