Parenting
Pages
Categories
Archives
Blogroll and Other Sites
I am 99% sure we will be gin to see the much hyped Iron man movie starring Robert Downey Jr. as Marvel Comic’s Tony Stark / Iron Man. It has gotten rave reviews. Here is trailer:
Posted by Lisa - Unschooling Mom as General Homeschool and Unschooling at 9:24 AM EDT
Kids should not be in the business of show. I am not against kids performing and following their passions. I am against them being exploited and being responsible for being the figurehead of an empire.
Miley Cyrus aka Hannah Montana , the Disney Brand creation, has come out and apologized for photos that were published of her in Vanity fair taken by noted photographer Annie Leibovitz.
Disney has come out saying Annie Leibowitz should apologize Wow. Not that they have anything to do with it! Exploiting is exploiting. Have a 14 year old girl responsible for billions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs is nuts. That kind of pressure is not fair to inflict on a girl- or any child.
I am not sure what the solution is. parents don’t seem to know what best for their kids- I hate to cite Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan as examples… Banning kids from show business isn’t the answer- but maybe banning them from the business of show is. No more T-shirts, jewelry , clothing lines. headlining million dollar tours, etc.
IS this not violating any kind of labour law? yes I do know they have branded Hannah Montana and not Miley Cyrus.. it just seems so wrong to me. we is this girl apologizing to protect a brand at 15 years old? Why was she allowed to take these photos? Where were her parents> Is there any mom reading this who would allow their daughter to be photographed half naked wearing a bed sheet? Would you do it for a million dollars how about 100 million?
Being a child star is so different than it was even 20 years ago,. There were not clothing lines. There were no cell phone cameras that would catch your every move and every mistake.
What is the answer to child actors and performers and making sure they are emotionally “safe” ? Who is the arbiter of all this?
Posted by Lisa - Unschooling Mom as General Homeschool and Unschooling at 9:38 AM EDT
yes, There is a WebKinz Day.
I have been hearing about ti for WEEKS now. I have promised and re-promised that I will take my daughter to 3 of our nearby retailers who are celebrating and check out the Webkinz Day Extravanganza goings on.
The gist of it is- if you spend 10.00 ( easy to do) you get a free Webkinz. Just what our home needed 
If you have a 6+ old girl her your home you all ready know what these things are. The unschooling mom in me celebrates her love for them- she actually created a spreadsheet of how much money she has, how much she expects to receive and the Webkinz she will buy with said money.
Here are some details- you can vist the webkinz site to find your nearest retailer that will “honor” WebKinz Day.
From Webkinz Site:
Webkinz Day Extravanganza promotion available in U.S.A. and Canada only.
Visit a participating Webkinz retailer on April 25th, 26th or 27th
and you’ll be surrounded with great Webkinz activities,
contest and promotions!
It’ll be a full day of Webkinz fun!
Posted by Lisa - Unschooling Mom as Fun Activities for Kids at 5:04 PM EDT
We have been playing Ticket to Ride board game in our home for the past few weeks, the rules are fairly easy to pick up and the game play is fun while not being to serious. For those of you who enjoy Settlers of Catan or Carcassonne you will also enjoy this game. The rules are easier to understand so younger children can also play.
When you buy the game you can also register to play on the”official” website for 6 months. You get a “code” printed in your instruction manual.
You can also play for free with some limitations,like l you aren’t rated and can’t start new games, only join ones started by others. After that you have to pay or buy another Days of Wonder game. Cost is 18.00 a year and I think a good buy.
There are some sites that let you play Ticket to Ride online and for free. I have listed some of the better ones.
Wanderer They call is “Wanderer” but its Ticket to Ride. The online board game site is in Finnish/English but you will have no trouble if you are not Finnish speaking. Rules are well explained.
The site has other games, including FISK which is RISK.
Note: Above site has pulled ‘Wanderers” from game line up- I believe to further develop. I wil post more as I learn more if you now when they will be back before i do- please post. If you know of another site- please let us know.
Play Ticket to Ride free for 30 days hereon skotos.net. They also have many other online verson of Days of Wonder board games 
Posted by Lisa - Unschooling Mom as Board Games and Board Game Reviews and Recommendations at 12:37 PM EDT
I am reading a fascinating article by George Monbiot. The Pleasures of the Flesh. He raises some interesting questions about how we raise food and what we what we eat , sadly the article does little to help answer these questions.
I am not against meat by any means- even the offer admits he cannot follow a vegan diet. We are at a crossroads- we need GMO’s and farm raised animals and their by products to continue to feed the world yet it more and more food is being wasted.
He writes:
Never mind the economic crisis. Focus for a moment on a more urgent threat: the great food recession which is sweeping the world faster than the credit crunch.
You have probably seen the figures by now: the price of rice has risen by three-quarters in the past year, that of wheat by 130%(1). There are food crises in 37 countries. One hundred million people, according to the World Bank, could be pushed into deeper poverty by the high prices(2). But I bet you have missed the most telling statistic. At 2.1bn tonnes, last year’s global grain harvest broke all records(3). It beat the previous year’s by almost 5%. The crisis, in other words, has begun before world food supplies are hit by climate change. If hunger can strike now, what will happen if harvests decline?
There is plenty of food. It is just not reaching human stomachs. Of the 2.13bn tonnes likely to be consumed this year, only 1.01bn, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), will feed people(4).
to read complete article: http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2008/04/15/the-pleasures-of-the-flesh/
Posted by Lisa - Unschooling Mom as General Homeschool and Unschooling at 11:49 AM EDT
