Wordless Wednesday

All my children. And grandchild, too. PRM

I think the Nobel means 3 things

1. a thumb in the eye of George Bush,
2. an appreciation for Obama's turning the US back to diplomacy, peacemaking and moral leadership, and finally,
3. a challenge to live up to the fine words and ideas Obama has expressed.

Let's hope he meets the challenge. PRM

Remember to place your own bra mask on first

before helping your neighbor or small child.
At the 2009 ceremony, Public Health Prize winner Dr. Elena Bodnar demonstrates her invention — a brassiere that, in an emergency, can be quickly converted into a pair of protective face masks, one for the brassiere wearer and one to be given to some needy bystander. She is assisted by Nobel laureates Wolfgang Ketterle (left), Orhan Pamuk, and Paul Krugman (right). PHOTO: Alexey Eliseev.

Yes, it's the IgNoble Awards. Krugman looks like he just can't stand it unless he gets to help with the bra placement. PRM

Desert Adventure

Here is 19yo son in Israel, enjoying the desert with his friends. They have done a lot of hiking.

Wait, wait! What is he doing? Climbing down into a tunnel? Oh, we forgot to warn him about climbing down into strange tunnels in the desert.

And we forgot to warn him about old guns in tunnels in the desert.

What else did we forget to warn him about? What difference would it make if we had warned him? None. PRM

Letterboxing today

Beautiful day. Four boxes. PRM

Big E's birthday

Yes, it is September 11th but, for our family, that also means that it is the Big E's birthday. He's here with his family, soon to have another member, and his little brother, Noach. The Big E is a mensch. I am proud of him and proud to be his mother. PRM

Beatlemania

A Beatles fan's dream. PRM

Wordless Wednesday

Tikkun Olam

Homeschooling's like lifeschooling

and that's a good thing, so said Yakov this morning when he called for the second time. He said he was the only one in his group who knows how to cook and can figure out how to compare prices in the grocery store. Maybe the math-resistant Yakov is finally realizing that all that math was not for nothing.

Schooling here at home has been quite different this week. Shoshie has worked a lot so Noach and I have been working alone. Since I am not teaching any science labs this fall, he has been craving some social activities.

Wednesday we went to park day with our old group and fortunately there were a number of older kids there. We met a new homeschooling mom who is offering a language arts class that he may join. I am calling it language arts because it is not just reading and discussing books, not really a writing class, but a combination of both and more. As I said, the mom is new to homeschooling and is very intense, so I hope this works out. She really wants to meet 3 days a week but I think has realized that twice a week is about all anyone can commit to.

Noach also signed up for a physical science class at a local private school. We went to an orientation Wednesday afternoon and I was really encouraged about this class. It is a pre-chemistry class so they will be doing fun stuff. I wish I could go.

Thus we are adjusting to our smaller school size. In reality it may not be that much different from last year but the lack of Yakov makes it feel that way. Shoshie walked in at lunch yesterday and commented on how quiet the house was without our "tummler". I guess he is stirring stuff up in the Negev. PRM

Another reminder of the importance of play

from the NY Times, Let the Children Play (Some More). Articles like this always herald the end of summer. But I can't help thinking The National Institute for Play seems an oxymoron. PRM