Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[FlyRobinFly]

The thing about community clubs was the enormous intitutional memory and organizational expertise, the ways in which knowledge, tack, show clothes, and breed lines got handed down through the generations of Junior members, the way in which supervising herdsmanship got shared among parents so that nobody had sole responsibility for the whole day, or worst of all the whole fair. Most important were the skills I picked up at club level, from Robert's Rules of Order to demonstration practice and keeping record books, which have served me over and over in my life- in academic and job environments, especially.


I've recommended 4H many times to parents, urban and rural, who had young kids who wanted to learn specific skills, but as a resident of a remnant farm in suburbia, what I miss most about 4H is the tradition of knowing and working with my neighbors, the institution of community service and inter-generational contact, and making friendships that lasted for decades.

As a 4-H alumna, I can say that I learned so much about leadership and human relations from my participation. The subject knowledge (we didn't have a poultry project, sadly) was great but as Stumpfarmer says, the organization and planning, public speaking and demonstration, and record keeping are invaluable lessons and have made me part of who I am today.

 

[FlyRobinFly]

So I'm excited. I'll be volunteering tomorrow when my 5th grade son attends JA BizTown. He's over-the-top ecstatic - he was "hired" to be a banker.

Do any of you have experience with BizTown? Any hints, tips etc. to provide an untrained volunteer. I'm a last-minute volunteer, so I didn't go to training.

Haven't seen it yet, but from what I understand, BizTown operates exactly like a real community would. The kids earn money and they can go shopping with their paycheck. My kids started taking JA courses in first grade, I believe it was, with the ultimate goal of being prepared for BizTown in 5th grade.

I haven't done the fifth grade version but took my high school freshmen (career choices class) to the Junior Achievement budget challenge program for older kids one year. It was designed for younger students than mine, but the practical lessons about expenses versus income and how money works were great. I think your son will enjoy the experience!

 

[FlyRobinFly]

Quote: TC's Corgi was a sweetheart.

I've watched Corgis in herding and agility, and those little legs don't slow them down much!

 

[CarolynF]

Tomato Test Results
About 10 days ago folks were talking about what to do with unripe tomatoes. Some mentioned pulling the plant and hanging upside down in the garage to let them ripen. At the time I decided to do a test and promised I would post my results, so here it is.

I pulled up my best bush, shook off the dirt and hung it upside down in the shed. One tomato fell off while I was handling the bush so I took it in the house and put it on the window sill (another suggested ripening method). And I kept several others that were nearly ripe when the bush was still planted.

Today DH and I took a slice of each one for a taste test. On a scale of 1-10 with one being totally without flavor, 10 being out of this world fabulous, here's what we got.


1. window sill: score=3 Just like a grocery store tomato

2. bush in shed: score=4 A smidge above grocery store tomatoes

3. nearly ripe from growing bush: score=7 (because it was only "nearly" ripe when picked)
(when fully ripe on the bush they're 9.5 )


This test was the proof I needed to reaffirm my belief that letting a tomato turn red is not the same thing as a ripe tomato.

 

[Cowgirlgrace]

It was a kit for the most part. I opted for wood endwalls so that and the wood on the sides I had to buy separate. The semi gable design is much better on snow load than the quonset type and it's 13 ga, 2 3/8 inch steel bows, 5 ft apart so if anything gives under snow it would be just the plastic. It will definately hold till we could get out and pop snow off.

Quote:

 

[Cowgirlgrace]

Yes she is a Corgi. Our second one. Our first, Hannah, died 3 years ago and a year later we got Bella. I had to have another.They are the best dogs. I remember seeing pics of your girl! It's very sad when they go.

Quote:

If I remember right she's a Corgi - our little one could fly too! Can't figure out how they do it, but man they are fast. I miss my little girl.

 

[Ogress]

Good for you Mo! Hope they think about it!

Both the principal and the Counselor responded by 7 a.m. this morning and they both had concerns about the notes before they started this bully education propgram, and agreed that in cases like this, ignorance is bliss. The program is not something organized by our school district, but a movie that travels to schools all around the country along with a curriculum on how it should be taught, and regional directors that oversee the program. They went ahead with the program as it was as it has been used with good reviews all over the nation. They have forwarded my concers and Olivia's experience to the program directors.

Every girl in the school was required to write an apology note to another student. The counselor met with the nice girl who had given Olivia the note to clarify what prompted it and then he met with Olivia and updated me. They too said Olivia's initial perception of the girl was correct, she is a very good student and a decent person. The girl could not think of anything recently that she had done that was bullying, but she needed to get the assignment done to get credit, and she was already a day late turning it in. She thought hard and could only recall an incident from when they were in 3rd or 4th grade (they are in 6th grade now) and apologized for that. Her note did not specify that it was an apology for something that happened years ago.

I can't believe that they have been teaching this program for years (first time at our school), and this issue has not come up before! I asked Olivia who she apologized to and what her note said. I'm sure there are many other girls who feel as Olivia did. She aoplogized to a special girl for not always eating lunch with her when she sees the girl sit alone day after day. Aparently, quite a few kids gave this girl notes.

I know her fairly well and feel for her. She is from a large family and her parents died in an accident when she was barely 2. for the next 5 years she was bumped from foster home to foster home somewhere in the South. The schools she attended down there and her foster families assumed she was severly mentally handicapped and aparently no one had really ever made an effort to communicate with her. She had been placed in classrooms with students who could not talk, write and barely communicate. When she was 7, a family here learned of her and formally adopted her and all her siblings. Her biological parents must have been wonderful people because her siblings, all Jr High and High School boys at the time they moved here, are all very polite, well balanced, and well behaved boys.The special ed teacher at the elementary school here beleives that the girl was only slightly handicapped if at all because she learned to read and write, talk, and do math all very quickly, and was soon mainstreamed into the regular classrooms with tutors. I even used to go in to the school to help tutor her. She is very sweet, but also emotionally scarred. She loved having me come in to the classroom and teach her in 3rd grade. She would hug me and always had a huge smile on her face, eager to show off what she had learned, but if I said hello to Olivia, she would get very angry, punch me and tell me I was not to say hello to Olivia. The poor girl had no concept of family and told me I needed to send Olivia away to live with some other parents because she did not want to share me! She would shove Olivia away if she greeted me. Over the years Olivia did become her friend, but the girl still has a mean streak I'm sure due to her past. The girl can only handle one friend at a time. She gets very jealous if another girl should talk to her friend, and this turns kids away from her. Olivia told me a couple weeks ago that she was having a hard time choosing who to sit with during lunch. Olivia missed eating with her friends, but feels bad joining her friends because If she does the girl eats alone. She tried inviting the girl to eat with her and her friends, but that did not work out, and they did a few times but it was not pleasant. I told Olivia that she should remain nice to the girl, but to eat with who she wants to eat with, maybe one day her group of friends and the next this girl. Lately she has been eating with her group of friends and has felt bad about it. Can you imagine how this poor girl and the stack of apology letters she must have gotten? I don't think she has the capacity to understand the notes.

 

[Ogress]

Olivia showed this video at school for her science fair project last year which compared our fresh eggs to grocery store eggs.

 

[Ogress]

OMG!!!!

My 2 big dogs followed me into my office and are farting up a sortm! The must have been snacking on too much chicken poop.

Time to blow this gas chamber; I'll log on again a bit later. Need to see if they sell doggie Gas-X in town.

 

[Chicken Rustler]

OMG!!!!

My 2 big dogs followed me into my office and are farting up a sortm! The must have been snacking on too much chicken poop.

Time to blow this gas chamber; I'll log on again a bit later. Need to see if they sell doggie Gas-X in town.

Maybe BOWSER BEENO !!!!!