Posted from slobokan's posterous

Posted from slobokan's posterous

As most of you know, we homeschool our kids, and they are doing a fantastic job this year.

This is the first year where the two oldest are actually doing some independent study and absorbing information faster than we can supply it in some cases. Because they are so eager to learn this is also the first year that we have depended on any form of online homeschooling.

When we first started homeschooling we paid for several different curriculums which were supposed to be the best in the industry (at the time). There were only two problems with those curriculums. The kids got bored quickly and mommy got overwhelmed with all the instructions.

Last year we started looking at alternatives to supplement what we were doing and settled into a few different progreams and curriculums. Online curriculums like Global student network are a great resource for all homeschoolers, which we didn't have access to when we began homeschooling.

Although the first few years were quite rocky, and we wanted to give up at times, we stuck with it and our homeschooling routine began to evolve. We found early on that our kids were sending clear signals regarding the amount of information they could absorb in the day, the approach which they found more conducive to learning, and how long they could sit at one time for each subject.

It took a lot of tweaking, some schedule adjustments, and the addition of homeschool online resources, but we got there, and now that we are there, things are really working well.

They start their day a bit later than regular school children, they study different subjects for different lengths of time, and some days they stay in the classroom far longer than other kids in public/private schools, because they find something interesting to keep researching or writing about.

I have one recommendation for anyone that homeschools. Just because it works for someone else, that doesn't mean it will work for you or your kids. Don't set your routine in stone until you're sure it's best for your family, no matter what the "experts" say.

The longtime chief bodyguard of the late Pope John Paul II, who accompanied him in trips abroad and was nearby during the 1981 attempted assassination of the pontiff, has died in Rome at 83.

Camillo Cibin was one of the most faithful papal servants. In 2006, he retired as head of the papal bodyguards after a 58-year globe-trotting career in the Vatican's security services.

Cibin died Sunday morning at the Pius XI clinic in Rome, Vatican Radio said. It did not give a cause of death.

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Cibin was married and had three children, the ANSA news agency said. Information on funeral arrangements was not available.

Rest In Peace, Camillo.

Lou Jacobi, the mustachioed, scene-stealing Canadian-born actor and comedian who made a film and stage career playing comic ethnic characters but was lauded for serious dramatic roles as well, died on Friday at his home in Manhattan. He was 95.

The death was confirmed by Leonie Nowitz, a social worker who had been overseeing his care for several years.

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Mr. Jacobi married Ruth Ludwin in 1957. She died in 2004. He is survived by a brother, Avrom Jacobovitch, and a sister, Rae Gold, both of Toronto.

Rest In Peace, Lou.