Just Chattin'

Hello F.O.T.E.'s,
The Ram has taken the children to try out a playground we discovered yesterday. It's quiet around here (!) so I thought I'd touch base w/ you guys.
We have not yet found a church here. This is a real discouragement. We will visit another one tomorrow. The children are anxious to meet some other children. (Can't imagine!)
There are dozens of homeschooling groups here, but I'm finding it hard to "crack the code." As in, many of the groups seem pretty exclusive. I think the AL law plays into that--as many people feel the need to prove that homeschooling really educates children. So, most of the "cover schools" here have requirements far above what the state deems mandatory. For example, several I saw require member families to meet "X" number of times each month for group activities. Many covers require more reports--attendance, progress, etc--than the state does. Thus, it was not easy to find a cover school that aligned with our educational philosophy. :-) ie, the parents are the ones responsible. In Missouri, the state assumed homeschoolers *were* educating their children, until something proved otherwise. (Kinda like, "innocent until proven guilty") Down here, I feel like they think we're guilty until we prove we're innocent. lol
Anyway, the fact is, we did find a cover school that doesn't make us feel like criminals and the children *are* learning. I'm so happy with their progress so far this year.
Hey, speaking of which, we found an interesting computer game that is helping our kids learn/polish their multiplication facts. It's called "Timez Attack" (sic). Maybe you can Google it. It does use dragons in a castle, so that might be offensive to some. (just be warned) The little fellow who is defeating the dragons doesn't kill the dragons, they just go away. I was happy about that. I'm just not keen on games where something kills something else. Guess I'm a wuss. lol
Well, must run...the Flock will be back soon and I know they'll be hungry...
Y'all keep your wool dry,
The Ewe