Excellence in Education.

Last night, Anthony (youngest son) and I had a discussion on education and excellence.

We were cleaning up together after visitors.

Some of our conversation with our visitors had been on educational excellence.

While cleaning the kitchen , Anthony mentioned his thoughts. To his mind, the most important goals in education were to "have a love for learning and to know the basics."

If by basics Anthony means the tools of learning, then I am right there with him.


The Lost Tools of Learning by Dorothy Sayers.

Sometimes, Anthony reminds me of Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes - he says the most amazing things!

My Story

We are reading the novels in the My Story series.

Published by Ashton Scholastic, each novel is a personal account of a fictional character living within a time period of Australian history.

Currently the books in the series span Australian history from the 1770s to 1975.

We also have the three accompanying Teacher's Guides.

Reading these novels is my idea - living literature for Australian Studies . Gerry ( dh) and Thomas read some of these novels last year and found them to be both interesting and informative - learned more about Australian history via reading.

I've asked some of the kids to choose a novel, read it and we'll follow up with discussions and narrations and activities.

This week, Alexander finished the novel on Sir Donald Bradman.

This novel not only remembered the cricketer but also the man and his almost iconic status. Alexander pointed out that Donald Bradman was often a hero, a ray of hope and a positive distraction to those suffering during the Great Depression - so, naturally, this novel looks at the Great Depression and at life in Australia at that time.

All of the My Story books are written in the form of either diaries and journals or personal letters. We have discussed the advantages and disadvantages of choosing to write in such a style.

And why choose fiction? Can fiction enable us to understand another's life more easily? To become enveloped in the story? Does it whet our appetite for more serious history study?

What about the problem of bias and interpretation?

The educator Charlotte Mason saw value in teaching history as the story of one person. She wrote,

"The fatal mistake is in the notion that he must learn 'outlines' of the whole history... just as he must cover the geography of all the world. Let him, on the contrary, linger pleasantly over the history of a single man, a short period, until he thinks the thoughts of that man, is at home in the ways of that period. Though he is reading and thinking of the lifetime of a single man, he is really getting intimately acquainted with the history of a whole nation for a whole age."

Happy birthday, Jonathon!

Today, we celebrate both Jonathon's birthday and Australia Day.

We began our day with Mass, an Australia Day Mass but Mass also celebrated for Jonathon's birthday and intentions.

Then breakfast at the Coffee Club...

What is education?

At the 4 real learning forum, we have been discussing unschooling.

What is unschooling? Is it another form of education, of homeschooling?

To a certain extent, one could say that our family is a family of unschoolers. Especially if one uses the quote below from educator John Holt, to describe our unschooly homeshool.

However, I do hate labels - we never quite fit the parameter of any one particular box, be it the unschool box, the homeschool box, the Catholic box... I suspect this is true for most.

The quote ~

Any child who can spend an hour or two a day, or more if he wants, with adults that he likes, who are interested in the world and like to talk about it, will on most days learn far more from their talk than he would learn in a week of school. ~John Holt

This quote describes part of our homeschooling life and our philosophy of homeschooling.

So, what is education?

A poster at the 4 real board posted a link to this article ~ What Does It Mean to be Well Educated?

This article makes me cringe .The example used by the author - his wife - is the example that causes me to grimace. The author points out that his wife does not know literature, for example, but is a deep thinker, a physician, well educated, etc. I am sure she is all these things.

So, why does this make me cringe? I think because the author does not give us the impression that his wife is continuing to learn - to realize "Hey, I know a lot about some things and I enjoy thinking about them and contributing to society. But when people talk about literature I have no idea. Maybe I'm missing somethng here? I'll continue with my self education and read literature and broaden my horizons."

There is a self satisfaction promoted by the article, a postmodern view that all learning is equal, all things are good....

To me, education and to be educated implies having a thirst for knowledge and for thought and/or discussion, self learning, never stopping learning...throughout life.

In part, that is why I like unschooling - it tends to encourage and feed this thirst for self learning.

And in part, that is why I am no longer a radical unschooler - I wanted to add to our life, to add some "let's do" to our days and weeks - rather than just an reliance on strewing.

For me a "let's do" has a bit more emphasis than strewing. It has a stronger encouragment for areas for which my sons may not naturally feel an attraction , even when we strewing and set examples as role models.

Areas that are important, that we parents see as having value ~ areas that are noble and good.

I like this essay ~ C. S. Lewis on a Liberal Arts Education.

Lewis describes a liberal arts education as an education that makes one free. Free from the slavery of appetite and free to choose to be self disciplined. To learn from the past, to think , to fulfill one's humanity, to become a better person and a better citizen.

“Most of all, perhaps, we need an intimate knowledge of the past.” C.S. Lewis

Perhaps we are liberal arts unschoolers?

A few quotes

I found these quotes while searching for appropriate quotes , for a piece that I was asked to write, on older children leaving the home. On how mothers deal with the separation.

The quotes stand alone. They speak volumes .

"That special power of loving that belongs to a woman is seen most clearly when she becomes a mother. Motherhood is the gift of God to women. How grateful we must be to God for this wonderful gift that brings such joy to the whole world, women and men alike!" Mother Teresa of Calcutta

"To love at all is to be vulnerable." C.S. Lewis

"It is love alone that gives worth to all things." Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus

A little Science.

Funny. January must be a Science month.

I read Theresa's blog and noted their bacteria exeriments.

Jennifer and her daughter have embarked on a study of birds.

We also undertook Science activities this last week - on Thursday.

It all began with a clearing and organizing project. January is good for these sort of jobs!

We re-organized our "school boxes", the containers in which we keep projects and notebooks and drawings and writing and anything else we can stick into a file folder and call a portfolio for the Board of Studies.

We tidied up some homeschooling shelves. I threw into the recycle bin a pile of papers - notes and ideas and themes and units. No point in hoarding..

In the process, we came across a few Science textbooks, primary and secondary level.

I asked Alexander, Thomas and Anthony to each select a book of interest from this group, to pop into their school boxes for possible reading.

Straight away, Thomas and Anthony became interested in the Science activities in the books.

Anthony made a water lens - see the pic above. You can make a similar
magnifier.

Thomas attempted to create and observe static electricity ~ do you know how difficult it is to create static electricity when you want to? Or how easy it is to create and exerience static electricity in every day life, when you could care less? There must be some sort of Murphy's Law applicable to this situation..

Vision. Oh, and Pollyanna!

I have spent the morning and part of the afternoon at a Kumon meeting.

This is extra volunteer work that I do , extra to my day to day work as a Kumon Education Supervisor.

I take part in these meetings because I see the importance of the Kumon Vision - Supervisors helping each other and building a community and thus making a positive change in the general community; Kumon centres helping children not just with academic skills but also with confidence and goal setting and other life skills.

Our Kumon motto for this year is "One by One."

IOW, we will look at each parent and child, each Supervisor, each staff member as an individual and remember to do what is best for each person. Making a change one by one.

As I was driving home, I thought about this vision in relation to my family.

(Where are the kids, you ask? At a parish related picnic and outing. So, I have had time for the meeting and to ponder..).

What would be the effect in my family of remembering to see each member as individual, one by one?.

Over Christmas my motto was to see only the positives in my husband and in my children.

Can I continue to look for positives in 2007?

P.S. Reminds me of one of my favourite books as a child - Pollyanna. I loved Pollyanna's character and her way of looking at adversity . I have tried to live a more positive life myself.

The influence of books on children!

An Addendum or two..

First, a delightful addendum to the Loveliness of New Years resolutions - read
Paula's post on A Year of Abundance.

And, an addendum to the post on blogs - lest you think I agree with the writer mentioned in the blogpost "Are Catholic blogs an occasion of sin?". I strongly disagree and simply posted the link for information and food for thought. It occurred to me tonight that I should clarify.

In fact, in my comments I wrote ~ I think the writer and the blogger take themselves way too seriously! The whole blog does. :-(

Basically, I don't think we bloggers should be "guardians of the language" - there is a difference between formal and informal language, isn't there?

And, to be honest, I don't see the purpose of my blog to be the bastion of orthodoxy ( con, neo-con, trad or whatever label the original writer may like to attach - I hate labels). It is just a means of sharing our life with family and friends. I also meet new friends along the way.

This can hardly be " an occasion of sin" - unless I neglect other things. Hah! As if I could! I have too many other things to do! :-)

The Loveliness of New Years Resolutions...

Let us be firm in our purposes and unswerving in our resolutions. Perseverance will prove whether we have sincerely sacrificed ourselves to God and dedicated ourselves to a devout life

St. Frances de Sales from Introduction to the Divine Life

My hope is that this Fair will encourage us all , as homeschooling mothers, to be firm in our resolutions.

I begin the fair with a photo of our family's public New Years Resolutions. This poster currently sits on our refrigerator, as a visual reminder of our individual decisions. A poster , in eye catching colours and open for all to view, certainly helps with encouragement and accountability.

You can read about our resolutions and ideas for families and resolutions here and here.

Sarah from Canada writes ~ I don’t usually believe in getting too caught up in New Year’s Resolutions as it concerns me that it can be a way of setting ourselves up for failure to comply with our own resolutions if we change the way we feel or think before the next year’s beginning. On the flip side of that a year does allow a nice length of time for gradual changes to be made towards new goals. Therefore the goals might then be more long lasting.

In light of that I also think that New Year is a nice time to review and reflect on how we do things in our lives and a great time for renewing, whether it be physically, spiritually, intellectually, socially.

That said my commitment to myself is to once again look at the essential elements for healthful living. Being in a new environment for me has brought it’s challenges. I have had a plethora of new experiences all year and a smorgasbord of new foods to indulge in. Looking at the scales perhaps a little less indulgence is warranted. So I am actively working on being conscious of the healthful foods that tickle my taste buds.

Fitness and health form part of the resolutions of many.

Margaret reminds us that our resolutions are often shared by many - and includes the New York Times best seller list as proof. I admit to having read some of those books!


Cindy writes about her aim to exercise more - for 30 minutes at least three times a week. And she has made many other worthwhile resolutions - way to go, Cindy!

The three times a week fitness goal is also shared by KC from the Cabbage Patch ~ and I like her resolution of being more diligent with read alouds, too!

Elizabeth has resolved to give up dieting forever. This resolve is close to my own heart and, I suspect, close to the hearts of many women. What a healthy resolution - to focus on health and good nutrition without the need for unsettling body images. A good resolution to pass onto daughters ( and sons).

In addition to fitness goals ( two ab workouts a day!) My Thoughtful Spot (Cheryl) tells us the importance of writing down goals. She gives an example from her life, of achieving written goals...Very helpful.

Mary, from St Athanasius Academy shares her experiences, too - and how goals or resolutions must be flexible, as life circumstances change. Spontaneity in our resolutions?

This reflection on last year's resolutions is not restricted to Mary. Read My Domestic Church , where Elena reflects on resolutions for 2006 and on her progress, while considering resolutions for 2007. I especially like the photo of the FIRM workouts! Kira, too, is reflective and she resolves to return to making New Years Resolutions. And Maria gives us her wise Thoughts and Plans for 2007.

Don't feel disheartened by all this talk of goals - Suzanne shares her blog post on not being defeated and on the importance of consistency. We also read at Lettres de mon Moulin about remembering that we are all "works in progress."

A very thoughtful post from Heather reminds us once again of the important things in life - what can we resolve to do this year, to help our spiritual life and our family? More ideas are here.

For more on a similar vein, read about Jenny's Core Values Exercise.

Willa categorizes her resolutions - what a good idea! Her categories are ~
Household
Health
Learning
Doing

Very practical. As are Dawn's resolutions, neatly listed under the banner of "The Year of De-cluttering."

More practical resolutions come from causa-nostrae-laetitiae ( Cause of My Joy) - linked to a quote from St Basil. And Ruth shares her resolutions list,too.


Helen is generous in sharing her resolutions ~ Resolutions with Our Lady. While Katherine shares her resolution of praying the psalms.

Genevieve reminds us that resolutions can be monthly ideas.....

Sarah provides an uplifting post with her resolutions based on A New Year of Faith, Hope and Charity. How much better would my home life flow if I concentrated on these three virtues? Thank you, Sarah, for your post.

Soul of the Home gives us her motto for 2007 - I love mottoes! Read how a motto can form your resolutions for the good of all.

And I love Taffy's resolution - Be happy. Be the best me. Take a peek at Taffy's blog and I guarantee you will come away with a smile .

Laugh with Mary as your read her very do-able resolution - I, too, may resolve not to dust!

So, there it is. A Fair of New Year's Resolutions.

Lest you feel overwhelmed - read this article at Catholic Online and remember to just take five. Five minutes to work on resolutions. That's all.

Remember, in the words of the article ~ Rather that feeling a sense of failure to resolve or complete everything on the list, make this year’s list an “evolution” list. By making an evolution rather than resolution list, perspective shifts from completing items on the list to taking small steps to create change, to evolve.

Check out these blogs...

Thomas and Anthony are writing novels and putting chapters on their blogs. Have a read - leave a comment! (BTW, I am not proof reading their chapters so any errors are theirs alone! lol!).

Cindy and I are still working out - check out our fitness blog if you feel so inspired.

And this blog consists of chapters of Maria Von Trapp's Book "Around the Year with the Trapp Family."

Finally, read Are Catholic Blogs an Occasion of Sin? Hmm.

St Anthony of the Desert and Memory

Having learned that we should always be praying, even when we are by ourselves, St. Anthony prayed without ceasing. Indeed, he was so attentive when Scripture was read that nothing escaped him and because he retained all he heard, his memory served him in place of books.
-St. Athanasius

I read this quote at Katherine's blog.


We are reading about St Anthony of the Desert this month (see my bulletin board post. ).

This quote reminds me of the deliciously irreverent play "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde.

Miss Prism, a tutor, tells her charge Cecily that "Memory , my dear Cecily, is the diary we all carry about with us."

Love this play.

Sadly, if memory is my diary, then we are all lost!

What feeds your soul?

At the 4 Real Learning forum, a question was asked ~ What feeds your soul?

The answer to this varies, doesn't it? Well, for me, the answer varies..

What feeds my soul right now?

Lately, it has been saying the Rosary as a family.

We have gone back to using our rosary beads ( long story - but basically beads were banned for awhile - kids played with them, swung them around, shot each other with them... Sometimes, I despair at my children's lack of religion!). This month, we have re-instated Rosary beads into family prayers.

Last night, sitting in the sitting room, with the air conditioning on, everyone gathered round, using the beads and praying - well, I felt a real peace in my soul.

I will also admit that working out feeds my soul ( okay, it helps me in the physical sense, too.)

I set an intention for my workout and I feel so good after, so happy and glad to be me and where I am.

It is infectious - after a hard but fun workout I want to spread this feeling of goodwill to all.

What feeds your soul, January 2007?

January Bulletin Board

Dawn shares a super idea - a bulletin board display of "what we are up to."

A form of strewing for your children, your dh, your visitors ~ of current themes of interest in your homeschool.

Or of possible themes of interest?

On Wednesday, Thomas, Anthony, Alexander and I put together a smaller version of Dawn's bulletin board. This board gives us a glimpse of January - a visual reminder. A visual ideas prompt. A talking point.

These are some of the things we are looking at in January. I'll expound -

We have pics of Jonathon as a little boy - it is Jonathon's birthday this month. He was too cute! Still is! lol!

Also information and portraits of St Genevieve, St William and St Anthony of the Desert.

And, according to the book "A Continual Feast", pork is often associated with this St Anthony - we will be dining on homemade Sweet and Sour Pork on January 17, the feast day - so here is a pic of Sweet and Sour Pork!

St Anthony of the Desert was a Christian hermit. He lived a life of great austerity. Legend has it that the Devil tried to tempt him, taking many different forms - among them a pig or hog, representing sensuality. Anthony resisted temptations and that is why he is often represented in works of art with a pig next to him. On his feast day it is traditional to eat pork...

We are reading novels in the My Story series, concerned with time periods in Australian history, and so Thomas copied a few covers of the novels for our bulletin board.

Alexander is looking for a more structured history programme this year - he is perusing two programmes that I purchased, secondhand, years ago - KONOS History of the Ancient World or Sonlight Church History. Nicholas and I worked through segments of the Church History booklist and guide in 2001 - a good literature list and the guide also examines some of the beliefs of the Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Very interesting.

Alexander still can't decide which guide to use!

So, there it is - a mini tour of some of our January themes ....

Of course, we still have our New Years Resolutions poster, strewn on our refrigerator!

From Mother Teresa

"Peace begins with a smile"

St Genevieve

We read about St Genevieve - feast day January 3.

I really like St Genevieve - a strong woman of faith. She reminds me of both St Joan of Arc and St Catherine of Sienna.

St Genevieve was generous to the poor and so one of the symbols used to denote St Genevieve is a loaf of bread.

Thomas made some sour dough bread in remembrance of St Genevieve - I had a piece with banana for breakfast today. Very nice. Even low GI!

Living Lives of Loveliness Fairs 2007

I am happy to announce that I will be hosting the next Fair - The Loveliness of New Years Resolutions.

Elizabeth has posted about the Fairs for 2007. Have you made any New Years Resolutions or commitments? Or are you anti the whole idea? Share your thoughts and links. The deadline for the Fair is Sunday January 14 - and the Fair will be opened on Monday January 15.

There is not much time so please send your links in! I need help!

You can contact me via my Blogger details.

Reading.

Anthony is reading The Borrowers. One of his Christmas present books. We visited a model village in November and this book seemed a natural follow up.

Anthony also received a copy of Charlotte's Web, thus enabling us to replace our old, battered copy.

"Charlotte's Web" will be our shared book for January ( fits in with the movie!) - just for Anthony and I. As the youngest in a busy household, Anthony has been read aloud to less than other sons. 2007 will, hopefully, be my year to make up for lost time.

Thomas received a new copy of "A Christmas Carol" as one of his gifts - he has finished the book this Christmas period. We plan to try to read some of the same books this year, he and I, and then to discuss our impressions.

And Anthony will be loosely following this literature list , shared at the 4 real learning forum, starting this month - we hope! The books will be of his choice but each month there is a different category or genre suggested, with a different possible follow up activity.

January is "realistic fiction". Not so sure that this is up Anthony's alley - so he might start with February ( a biography or autobiography). We'll see..

Homeschool recordkeeping.

A funny post, given the school holidays, I know. But we really do live and learn all the time.

And, when feeling less than stellar, it is my nature to take control - to plan something.

Makes me feel more together.

Tomorrow I am back at work. I thought it would also be a good time to get back to homeschool journaling - keeping a brief record of what we do each day or week.

Why? First, I am required to keep some record for the state. Second, I like having a journal of our activities - for me and for the kids.

I am reluctant to continue with my ad hoc notebook journaling this year.

It just takes too much time.

Blogging may be fun - but not sure if it is formal enough for the BOS regulations. Or that I will be faithful enough. I might try an informal blogging of our activities, though...

Anyway, dh and I have drawn up an Excel document - days of the week across the top, the eight curricula areas along the side. A space for notes at the bottom of the page.

A weekly planner. Except I am not planning but will continue to record what we do, after the fact.

Sample planners/record keepers are available from here.

Lissa blogs about homeschool recordkeeping.

More ideas on homeschool recordkeeping - including emailing your kids with their list of things to do!

An article to read, from Home Education Magazine , on record keeping.

Give without counting the cost.

Give without counting the cost.

This is a favourite statement from
fellow blogger and homeschooler Karen E.

I do some volunteer work ( giving) with Kumon Education
(in addition to paid work). I do some volunteer work with homeschoolers and within our parish.

But I can afford to give more. Without counting the cost .

However, my main reason for posting Karen's statement is to remind myself of giving in parenting.

I am sad at my older sons' leaving, at the end of their holiday. But I love and I give without counting the cost - sadness sometimes comes with the giving of mothering.

We give without counting the cost. We give ourselves in our mothering, we get a lot back but there is a cost - and who would count it?

Luke, Greg, Nick.

Some pics of their holiday with us - yes, we've been to the movies, the shops, bowling, we've played cricket, we've been to the city and to Wollongong and to Kiama and out with friends - but its the games at home that remind us of how much fun it is to hang out together.

And I think its good for them to spend time with the family, at home and at Mass. Living alone ( albeit all three together :-0 ) is not always a positive thing, for community and for faith..

St Basil's Bread..

from January 1st.

And my Dr Who pot mitts - a Christmas present. Exterminate!

Trust.

Trust seems like it will be a theme for this year.

Gerry is finding it difficult to trust God to work out our living circumstances - as the older three boys prepare to return interstate after their holiday, and we remain living in Sydney, he tries to trust God to work things out. All his efforts to be transferred closer to the our older sons have fizzled out.

And trust keeps coming up in my life.

On the feast of Mary, Mother of God I read about some characteristics of Mary - What characteristics of Mary are you most in need of in your own life: courage, faithfulness, gentleness, openness, trust, prayerfulness?

Trust, gentleness, prayerfulness jumped off the page . It is these I need.

Fr's homily recently reminded us of trusting in God, of the value of faith and trust.

And today I read this comment, in " Advent and Christmas Wisdom from Pope John Paul II" ~

"May the joy of Christmas, which sings of the birth of the Saviour, instill in all trust in the power of truth and of patient perseverance in doing good. For each of us the divine message of Bethlehem resounds 'Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy, to you is born this day in the city of David a saviour, who is Christ the Lord.' ( Luke 2:10-11)" Originally from Urbi Et Orbi, Christmas 1998.

Trust. Be not afraid. Perhaps these should be some of our mottoes for 2007.

New Years Resolutions.

Following up on the ideas in this
post, we decided to make some public resolutions. This way we can be accountable to each other wrt some of our New Years Resolutions.

Of course, we may have some private resolutions and we ain't gonna share those!

I made a mini poster of these resolutions for our fridge ( refrigerator strewing) and we are sharing them here as a reminder for us all.

Resolution ~

A firm decision to do something.

A firmness of mind or purpose.

Thomas – to finish writing my novel

Anthony - to be a better altar server
- to be nice to others

Alexander – greater diligence in studying Latin and maths


Jonathon – to exercise regularly
- to concentrate on my studies

Leonie – to be fitter and reach my first weight goal
- to be more gentle and prayerful

Luke – to exercise regularly

Greg – work regularly on keeping up my Latin and G reek

Gerry – to chill out

Nick - to finish my degree this year

Latin for the Illiterati

I bought this from Borders here in Sydney. A present for the family.

It is a page a day calendar for our breakfast bar. It has " 365 Days of Terms of Endearment, Pithy Insights, Obscure Abbreviations & Legal Terms, Proverbs, Concepts, Aphorisms, & Select Insults of Antiquity."

I thought it would fun ( and educational!) to read a Latin quote each day.

Yesterday's Latin - initio anni - at the beginning of the year.

Today's - spinosus - thorny or prickly.

Another form of educational strewing in our home. :-)

Mary, Mother of God

Mary is truly "Mother of God" since she is the mother of the eternal Son of God made man, who is God himself.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 509

Happy New Year

Wishing all my friends and family a blessed 2007.

December 31 was the Feast of the Holy Family.

"Families, be who you are." Pope John Paul II

Well, yesterday, we got to be who we are and to spend time together as a family. We sent surfing in the afternoon.

We went to Mass together in the evening. And said some prayers at the nativity creche.

We spent the evening dancing to 1980s music at the home of our friends - and welcomed in the New Year with champagne, friends, family and text messages. :-)

Today is the Feast of Mary, Mother of God.

Planning on Mass this evening. Maybe a picnic this afternoon. Giving out new diaries for 2007.

Any New Year Resolutions?

Or check out this idea for a Family New Year Resolutions Book.

Sometime today ( we hope!) Thomas and I are making St Basil's Bread. On January 1, Eastern Orthodox Christians celebrate the feast of St Basil the Great. St Basil preached against the Arian heresy, which denied the divinity of Christ, and he helped to formulate the doctrine of the Trinity.

In Greece, on St Basil's Day, the Orthodox bake an aromatic bread. The bread is blessed and distributed by the head of the household. The first slice is dedicated to Christ, the second to the Virgin Mary, and the third to St Basil. Then the family is served, starting with the eldest. A silver coin has been baked into the bread and the person who finds it has a special blessing from St Basil for the coming year .

To make St Basil's Bread, start with any white dough bread recipe. Add some cinnamon and grated orange peel. When shaping the dough into a loaf, reserve a small piece.

Form the numbers of the year ( 2007!) from this piece and place it onto the unbaked loaf. Decorate with almonds and cherries and bake as normal.

Sounds yum.

And not too many calories or fat grams! lol!

Lean but not Mean

Cindy has set up a fitness blog - would you like to contribute? Or just check out fitness ideas? 2007 can be our year for fitness - be strong!

We are posting at lean but not mean.....