Two Books for Parents of Homeschoolers on the Fourth of July

Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong -James W. Loewen

From Publishers Weekly:

Loewen's politically correct critique of 12 American history textbooks—including The American Pageant by Thomas A. Bailey and David M. Kennedy; and Triumph of the American Nation by Paul Lewis Todd and Merle Curti—is sure to please liberals and infuriate conservatives. In condemning the way history is taught, he indicts everyone involved in the enterprise: authors, publishers, adoption committees, parents and teachers. Loewen (Mississippi: Conflict and Change) argues that the bland, Eurocentric treatment of history bores most elementary and high school students, who also find it irrelevant to their lives. To make learning more compelling, Loewen urges authors, publishers and teachers to highlight the drama inherent in history by presenting students with different viewpoints and stressing that history is an ongoing process, not merely a collection of—often misleading—factoids. Readers interested in history, whether liberal or conservative, professional or layperson, will find food for thought here.

A People's History of the United States -Howard Zinn

"My point is not that we must, in telling history, accuse, judge, condemn Columbus in absentia. It is too late for that; it would be a useless scholarly exercise in morality. But the easy acceptance of atrocities as a deplorable but necessary price to pay for progress (Hiroshima and Vietnam, to save Western civilization; Kronstadt and Hungary, to save socialism; nuclear proliferation, to save us all)--that is still with us. One reason these atrocities are still with us is that we have learned to bury them in a mass of other facts, as radioactive wastes are buried in containers in the earth."

If you manage to get through both of these (Zinn's is almost 700 pages), you'll find yourself wondering just how many of the "facts" we learned in school were actually facts.

When our kids ask us about George Washington, are we going to tell the sad old myth of the cherry tree? Do we continue to glorify our mythic American heroes, or do we look a little deeper, even if it means giving up the cultural story that we were sold while growing up?

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Try sprouting for a low cost nutrition option

Image via WikipediaOne easy way to lower your food costs and up your intake of fresh food is to start sprouting in your kitchen. It's something you can do with no experience, it takes very little time to maintain, and you can get all you need to get started for free or at very little cost.

When a seed starts to sprout, the nutrient qualities begin to change, with complex compounds such as carbohydrates starting to break down into simple sugars, proteins into amino acids, and fats into fatty acids. The enzyme inhibitors that enable a seed to remain inert yet viable for years are neutralized, and enzyme and vitamin content is increased, especially the B vitamins. The seed is changing from a long-term storage unit for starches into a living plant, full of digestive enzymes, amino acids, and simple sugars. The nutrient content increases up to 1200% after sprouting, and your body readily assimilates organic compounds in the sprouts. As the sprouts green up, chlorophyll is developed in these baby plants, making them a superfood.

Ready to get started? Here's what you need:

• cheesecloth or screen
  
• mason jar
• some sort of tray to stand the jar in
• rubber bands or canning ring to hold cheesecloth in place
• seeds, beans, or grains of your choice
• a cupboard or corner of your counter out of direct sunlight
• 5 minutes a day to care for your sprouts

Fill a jar with water (filtered or spring water is preferable). For alfalfa, clover, or other small seeds, put two tablespoons in the jar and let soak for 8 hours. Starting the soaking at night develops an easy rhythm for daily maintenance, evening and morning.

After the soak time is up (in the morning, if started at night), empty the water and rinse with fresh water at least twice. Cover the mouth of the jar with cheesecloth and set upside down in a tray or bowl (to catch the drainage). I always lean the jar at an angle so that fresh air is available.

Rinse the sprouts every 8 to 12 hours by filling jars with water and then draining. The sprout water from soaking and rinsing is great for houseplants or gardens. When the sprouts have reached the size you prefer, rinse thoroughly and place in the refrigerator until you eat them. They will keep just fine for a couple of days (up to a week).

Most sprouts are edible as soon as you see a tail (the root) emerging, but you can let them grow as long as you want. Alfalfa and clover will fill the jar so completely that you'll have a hard time getting them out, so don't let them go too far.

This is a great learning activity for unschooling and homeschooling families. The amazing transformation that takes place to change those tiny seeds into living green food is inspiring. Nature's wisdom is contained in every one of them, yet the great god science can not make a single seed. Humbling...

See Sprouting, Part 2

a little context

For the last 5 1/2 years, I lived in a travel trailer 8 feet wide and 15 feet long, with my wife, our two daughters, and our cat. We rented a back corner of a friends' lot, ran an extension cord from the nearest shed, and called it home. We used a compost toilet, hauled all of our drinking and wash water, took solar showers outside, and lived as simply as we could. I'm sure I'll be sharing many of our experiences on this blog.

We recently decided to rent a house, as in, a real house, with running water, a shower, more than one tiny room for all of us... It took some time to find the right place for us, but now we're enjoying the benefits of a municipal infrastructure (and paying for it...!) It's amazing how soon you get back to taking things for granted, like a washing machine, central heating and hot water. And internet access...

We unschool our children, ages 10 and 2, we eat a vegan diet, and we don't own a t.v. We spend outrageous amounts of money at the farmers market each week, constantly exceed the maximum limit for books checked out the library, and buy most things at thrift stores and yard sales. It's a good life....

Thanks for reading.