Erika Shupe Miscarriage

[mango_fandango]

The other sad part? Before she had kids, she was a teacher. :penguin-no:

She had to unlearn a lot of what she'd learnt in order to be a better homeschooler. Because public schools are ebil and teach evolution doncha know. And don't mention Christ in every fucking lesson.

[princessmahina]

And don't forget there's no such thing as "learning styles." Except for Erika. She's "very visual." She talks about it in multiple posts.

[Brittany15]

Did anyone see her new post on orderliness? I could not read the entire thing but I did find this interesting part:

I Will Use Things Only for Their Intended Purposes

"Everything has a specific design and purpose and should be used accordingly. A table knife should be used only with food; a hammer is meant to construct rather than destroy; and a pen is for writing, not poking. Much harm can be done when things are misused. When in doubt, a child should consult someone wise r for instructions on hwo to properly use an item. Parents and teachers are resources for wise counsel and guidance in behavior."

Nice that you are teaching your kids to be creative and think outside the box. I get that you shouldn't let kids use something in a dangerous manner but letting kids play or use things differently teaches them to be creative and think critically.

[Brittany15]

Did anyone see her new post on orderliness? I could not read the entire thing but I did find this interesting part:

I Will Use Things Only for Their Intended Purposes

"Everything has a specific design and purpose and should be used accordingly. A table knife should be used only with food; a hammer is meant to construct rather than destroy; and a pen is for writing, not poking. Much harm can be done when things are misused. When in doubt, a child should consult someone wise r for instructions on hwo to properly use an item. Parents and teachers are resources for wise counsel and guidance in behavior."

Nice that you are teaching your kids to be creative and think outside the box. I get that you shouldn't let kids use something in a dangerous manner but letting kids play or use things differently teaches them to be creative and think critically.

I am quoted myself (sorry if that is obnoxious) but I just realized someone posted a similar comment to mine on her page and she responded:

KathyMay 9, 2012 at 11:01 AM

Erica,

I was with you on all of this until I got to "I will use things only for their intended purpose." How do you encourage creativity? At my house a laundry basket is for clothing, but it's also a boat, a car or a jail for stuffed animals. The kids are not allowed to hurt one another for any reason and they understand that. So I don't worry too much about them poking one another as you described. Don't get me wrong, they're anything but perfect at that part, but I LOVE seeing what they come up with. Just yesterday a straw, napkin, string and a few paper clips became a parachute that kept them busy for HOURS.

How do you square the "only use as intended" rule with creativity?

Reply

Replies

Erika ShupeMay 9, 2012 at 2:32 PM

Well if you don't worry about things breaking then I suppose you make exceptions to the rule. Our laundry baskets have broken and I can't keep replacing them so the kids don't use them. If you wanted to make paper clips the exception then you could. In my experience, pretty much every time things get used for something other than their intended purpose they break. A card table used for a fort eventually gets ruined when they sit/stand on it, so they may use a play yard for a fort, or a bunk bed, or the nylon tent we have for that. But they use beach towels for all kinds of things at home - but I don't consider that using them for an intended purpose, because beach towels are intended to be played with I think. =) They're very strong, easy to wash. If you want to use a ball point pen to poke a hole in a stirophome (sp?) cup for a craft project, then that's mom's discretion once-in-a-while I guess. Kids can learn that it's a general rule, but there are always exceptions to nearly every rule - but that's for adults to decide (in our house) not kids.

[CaptainFunderpants]

I am quoted myself (sorry if that is obnoxious) but I just realized someone posted a similar comment to mine on her page and she responded:

KathyMay 9, 2012 at 11:01 AM

Erica,

I was with you on all of this until I got to "I will use things only for their intended purpose." How do you encourage creativity? At my house a laundry basket is for clothing, but it's also a boat, a car or a jail for stuffed animals. The kids are not allowed to hurt one another for any reason and they understand that. So I don't worry too much about them poking one another as you described. Don't get me wrong, they're anything but perfect at that part, but I LOVE seeing what they come up with. Just yesterday a straw, napkin, string and a few paper clips became a parachute that kept them busy for HOURS.

How do you square the "only use as intended" rule with creativity?

Reply

Replies

Erika ShupeMay 9, 2012 at 2:32 PM

Well if you don't worry about things breaking then I suppose you make exceptions to the rule. Our laundry baskets have broken and I can't keep replacing them so the kids don't use them. If you wanted to make paper clips the exception then you could. In my experience, pretty much every time things get used for something other than their intended purpose they break. A card table used for a fort eventually gets ruined when they sit/stand on it, so they may use a play yard for a fort, or a bunk bed, or the nylon tent we have for that. But they use beach towels for all kinds of things at home - but I don't consider that using them for an intended purpose, because beach towels are intended to be played with I think. =) They're very strong, easy to wash. If you want to use a ball point pen to poke a hole in a stirophome (sp?) cup for a craft project, then that's mom's discretion once-in-a-while I guess. Kids can learn that it's a general rule, but there are always exceptions to nearly every rule - but that's for adults to decide (in our house) not kids.

I'm going to pull my hair out *beam*! I get her point on things breaking, but... DON'T HAVE SO MANY DAMN KIDS. DON'T PROGRAM YOUR KIDS TO EAT EVERY FOUR HOURS DISRUPTING THE MINIMAL PROTECTION FROM PREGNANCY THAT BREASTFEEDING GIVES YOU, THEREFORE CAUSING YOU TO HAVE MORE DAMNED KIDS (via your delightful *smiles* parenting).

Having five boys and expecting things to remain intact is lunacy *cheers*.

[mango_fandango]

I'm going to pull my hair out *beam*! I get her point on things breaking, but... DON'T HAVE SO MANY DAMN KIDS. DON'T PROGRAM YOUR KIDS TO EAT EVERY FOUR HOURS DISRUPTING THE MINIMAL PROTECTION FROM PREGNANCY THAT BREASTFEEDING GIVES YOU, THEREFORE CAUSING YOU TO HAVE MORE DAMNED KIDS (via your delightful *smiles* parenting).

Having five boys and expecting things to remain intact is lunacy *cheers*.

Yes! Especially as they're so close in age. She has four boys, actually, but your comment is still pertinent.

Also, more Erika hypocrisy: she said somewhere that her kids rarely wear tank tops in public... a lot of the recent pictures, including the ones from the latest FB album, are of the girls wearing tank tops. Also, she said she doesn't let the girls wear spaghetti strap tops... lo and behold, Anna Marie is wearing a spaghetti strap top in the Jungle Playland album! Unless the rule only applies to the older girls/girls who have reached puberty and have boobs.

[Seven Severn]

I am quoted myself (sorry if that is obnoxious) but I just realized someone posted a similar comment to mine on her page and she responded:

KathyMay 9, 2012 at 11:01 AM

Erica,

I was with you on all of this until I got to "I will use things only for their intended purpose." How do you encourage creativity? At my house a laundry basket is for clothing, but it's also a boat, a car or a jail for stuffed animals. The kids are not allowed to hurt one another for any reason and they understand that. So I don't worry too much about them poking one another as you described. Don't get me wrong, they're anything but perfect at that part, but I LOVE seeing what they come up with. Just yesterday a straw, napkin, string and a few paper clips became a parachute that kept them busy for HOURS.

How do you square the "only use as intended" rule with creativity?

Reply

Replies

Erika ShupeMay 9, 2012 at 2:32 PM

Well if you don't worry about things breaking then I suppose you make exceptions to the rule. Our laundry baskets have broken and I can't keep replacing them so the kids don't use them. If you wanted to make paper clips the exception then you could. In my experience, pretty much every time things get used for something other than their intended purpose they break. A card table used for a fort eventually gets ruined when they sit/stand on it, so they may use a play yard for a fort, or a bunk bed, or the nylon tent we have for that. But they use beach towels for all kinds of things at home - but I don't consider that using them for an intended purpose, because beach towels are intended to be played with I think. =) They're very strong, easy to wash. If you want to use a ball point pen to poke a hole in a stirophome (sp?) cup for a craft project, then that's mom's discretion once-in-a-while I guess. Kids can learn that it's a general rule, but there are always exceptions to nearly every rule - but that's for adults to decide (in our house) not kids.

Erica, sweetie, it's Styrofoam®. And it's capitalized because it's a brand name (or you could've just said polystyrene).

[slickcat79]

Stirophome. Stirophome. STIROPHOME?

JFC, send your children to school, you ignorant twat :angry-banghead:

*beam*

[DowntownAbbey]

Stirophome. Stirophome. STIROPHOME?

JFC, send your children to school, you ignorant twat :angry-banghead:

*beam*

At the very least, she should learn to Google that shit before posting. I'm sure there's someone out there that could teach her how to "power browse..." *smile*

[Wingnut]

And this is the person that used to be a teacher right?

Wow.

[feministxtian]

Laundry baskets and kids...if you buy the good Rubbermaid ones, they'll stand up to kids, cats, laundry, using them as a step-stool and last for YEARS!!! Hell, I have one that I think is probably 25 years old!

Poking holes in Styrofoam cups...used to start seedlings in those with the kids.

Card tables and forts...teach the damn kids NOT to jump on the top of the table...easy peasy!

My not quite 3 year old grandson plays with his toys in a number of fascinating ways. Papa's recliner became a rocket ship (he likes watching NASA launch videos while he's doing it), the dining room table became his "hideout".

What is it with that bitch and other fundies that have to wring every little spark of creativity out of their children?

[defraudingjezebel]

For Erika, this whole "using things for their intended purpose ONLY" is all about control, control, control. That's all she is about. She wants everything perfectly organized so she is in CONTROL of it. She wants everyone to eat a certain way so she is in CONTROL of it. Everything has to be used for the purpose Erika decides upon because she wants to be in CONTROL. She's a control freak, pure and simple. She can hide behind the doctrine of submission all she wants but her facebook and blog posts make it abundantly clear that she expects everything to follow her certain plan- animals included! And if they don't follow that, then they get the boot.

[Eternalbluepearl]

And this is the person that used to be a teacher right?

Wow.

I feel like the crazy misspellings are on purpose now. She is trying to get a reaction from the liberal nut jobs at FJ.

[ILoveJellybeans]

Way to suck the creativity out of childhood Erika. The point of childhood is that the possibilities are endless and everything can be used for fun. Give a kid a box, and they will be occupied for hours drawing on it, pretending it is a house, then turning it into a rocket and going to the moon, then pretending to be pirates in their boat...

As long as they aren't being destructive or doing anything dangerous (ripping up the polystyrene into pieces all over the carpet, standing on the dining room table with dirty feet, playing with knives) they should be allowed to play.

[Eternalbluepearl]

Way to suck the creativity out of childhood Erika. The point of childhood is that the possibilities are endless and everything can be used for fun. Give a kid a box, and they will be occupied for hours drawing on it, pretending it is a house, then turning it into a rocket and going to the moon, then pretending to be pirates in their boat...

As long as they aren't being destructive or doing anything dangerous (ripping up the polystyrene into pieces all over the carpet, standing on the dining room table with dirty feet, playing with knives) they should be allowed to play.

Imagination (that's emadjanayshun in the Shupe household) is linked to intelligence. Erika doesn't want her kids to be intelligent. Dumb for Jesus is what Mrs. Shupe is all about. Dumb people don't question. Dumb people can be controlled.

[Maggie Mae]

The "everything has a purpose" is so telling. Erica has no creativity. This was also apparent on her scrapbooking post, when she complained that snapfish didn't have enough premade options for her to choose from.

Her overscheduling and list making and hatred of fiction also shows me that she likes control. She lacks passion. I bet she's never started anything - a painting, sculpture, hiking, reading a book, writing a story, whatever (or even a game) - and got so involved that she completely lost track of time.

I'm actually surprised she's terrible at spelling and grammar. She's a rule follower. And she lacks the ability to realize how easy it is to look up words online.

[Gimme a Free RV]

Can you imagine the younger kids trying to be artistic?

"Now remember, we ONLY color INSIDE the lines."

"No, you may NOT color the cowboy's boots pink."

"Put that purple crayon away and use brown for that dog's fur."

She would never say to a child, "Tell me about your picture." She would say, "What's THIS supposed to be?" then proceed to critique the picture.

[DowntownAbbey]

The "everything has a purpose" is so telling. Erica has no creativity. This was also apparent on her scrapbooking post, when she complained that snapfish didn't have enough premade options for her to choose from.

Her overscheduling and list making and hatred of fiction also shows me that she likes control. She lacks passion. I bet she's never started anything - a painting, sculpture, hiking, reading a book, writing a story, whatever (or even a game) - and got so involved that she completely lost track of time.

I'm actually surprised she's terrible at spelling and grammar. She's a rule follower. And she lacks the ability to realize how easy it is to look up words online.

Because now, if she admits she's a bad speller or goes to correct things after the fact, FJ or her followers have some control over her.

Honestly, Erika, being a bad speller is not the end of the world. My dad and I are both shitty spellers. The difference is we can both admit when we're deficient in an area and actually fucking do something about it. Like use Google or a dictionary. Ugh.

[Maggie Mae]

Can you imagine the younger kids trying to be artistic?

"Now remember, we ONLY color INSIDE the lines."

"No, you may NOT color the cowboy's boots pink."

"Put that purple crayon away and use brown for that dog's fur."

She would never say to a child, "Tell me about your picture." She would say, "What's THIS supposed to be?" then proceed to critique the picture.

Only one crayon out of the box at a time. Don't forget to sharpen it before you put it away.

[MamaJunebug]

I confess: I keep up with this thread because the breadth and depth of her control issues fascinates me. I maintain that there was some major, major trauma that sent her down this pike. That her own mother is practically a mold for Erica -- thin, hard, every hair in place, cemented grin -- also intrigues and my emajanshan *titter*giggle* takes wing.

It doesn't give any pleasure, though. Whatever Caused It is causing a weird life for those kids.

And saying that, I also believe Erica's plan is backfiring on her. There's a video of the kids running around a play tent on the deck. She directs the twins several times to "Say, 'Hi, Mommy'!" but the kids are having none of it.

At one point, an older daughter runs between the camera and the playhouse and the annoyance in Erica's voice is evident.

There's another video of a sister-mom dutifully leading her children-siblings in a game and the older girl clearly snaps, "Shut UP!" at the littles -- hardly Erica's picture-perfect image, but she posted it anyway.

I'm trying to say, I perceive a great amount of pain in the Shupes, none of it being addressed in a healthy way.

Verrrrry interesting -- and sad.

[nausicaa]

At the very least, she should learn to Google that shit before posting. I'm sure there's someone out there that could teach her how to "power browse..." *smile*

Drives me crazy that she is so lazy she can't be friggin' bothered to take ten seconds to Google a word before posting and just tacks on "(sp?)" at the end. I don't know why but it's just so grating to me. Maybe because she expects so much of her kids, but doesn't hold herself to the same standards?

Also, a google of "stirophome cups" pulls up "Styrofoam cups" for every result on the first page of search results. It actually took me less than ten seconds.

[mango_fandango]

The "everything has a purpose" is so telling. Erica has no creativity. This was also apparent on her scrapbooking post, when she complained that snapfish didn't have enough premade options for her to choose from.

Her overscheduling and list making and hatred of fiction also shows me that she likes control. She lacks passion. I bet she's never started anything - a painting, sculpture, hiking, reading a book, writing a story, whatever (or even a game) - and got so involved that she completely lost track of time.

I'm actually surprised she's terrible at spelling and grammar. She's a rule follower. And she lacks the ability to realize how easy it is to look up words online.

What I find hilarious is that, on her sliding list of inspirational quotes on the side of her blog, there's a quote that goes "Creativity is not a talent. It is a way of operating." It's attributed to John Cleese, who is very anti organised religion. Maybe Erika thought it was a good quote, Googled John Cleese and then found out about him... but couldn't be bothered to remove the quote. Or, I could just be speculating, and she has no idea who John Cleese is. She'd certainly have doubts if she realised he's on his fourth wife.

[dilannsmom]

Drives me crazy that she is so lazy she can't be friggin' bothered to take ten seconds to Google a word before posting and just tacks on "(sp?)" at the end. I don't know why but it's just so grating to me. Maybe because she expects so much of her kids, but doesn't hold herself to the same standards?

Also, a google of "stirophome cups" pulls up "Styrofoam cups" for every result on the first page of search results. It actually took me less than ten seconds.

I find this very interesting as an English teacher in an ebil govm'nt school. Does she allow her children to get away with the (sp?) crap--cuz I would LIGHT MY JUNIORS AND SENIORS UP FOR THIS!

I am a crappy speller. I tell my students this all the time--actually to the point that they will spell words that they know I'm likely to misspell when I'm putting information on the board. But I am sure to follow it up with, "because I am a crappy speller I know that I have to look words up or I will look ridiculously ignorant to my colleagues, my students, and my administration." It's actually a pretty good lesson for them because it acknowledges that we all have strengths and weaknesses, and that those don't have to limit our future. But to simply note that you don't know how to spell a word is LAZY and doesn't point to living a life that is purpose driven. *beam* *smile* *VOMIT*

[mango_fandango]

I find this very interesting as an English teacher in an ebil govm'nt school. Does she allow her children to get away with the (sp?) crap--cuz I would LIGHT MY JUNIORS AND SENIORS UP FOR THIS!

I am a crappy speller. I tell my students this all the time--actually to the point that they will spell words that they know I'm likely to misspell when I'm putting information on the board. But I am sure to follow it up with, "because I am a crappy speller I know that I have to look words up or I will look ridiculously ignorant to my colleagues, my students, and my administration." It's actually a pretty good lesson for them because it acknowledges that we all have strengths and weaknesses, and that those don't have to limit our future. But to simply note that you don't know how to spell a word is LAZY and doesn't point to living a life that is purpose driven. *beam* *smile* *VOMIT*

Also, proper spelling and grammar really matter to future employers. I know that tidbit will only apply to Erika's sons, but still. Over in the "Ramping up the 1TonRamp" thread, people have been posting about the skills the Maxwell kids have been developing. We all know that the Maxwell men all work for Steve, but at least Steve makes the point that he encourages his kids to gain these skills. We haven't seen much evidence of this with the Shupes. I know that most of them are still young, though, and in the Christmas letter Erika does mention that Brandon can use some of Bob's tools for DIY type stuff. Maybe Brandon and the others will join Bob's business, or will set up their own business together, so that their spelling and grammar skills won't have to be scrutinised by the outside world.

But what really strikes me is that although Erika is the author of the blog, Bob is the nominated proofreader and blog technician etc. This means that the spelling mistakes go over Bob's head too. I find it weird that they both make the same mistakes, or maybe Bob tells Erika that it doesn't matter.

[HoneyBunny]

I get the impression that Bob is not the brightest bulb on the tree either. He's posted something about the Jade Helm military training exercise on Facebook, and appears to be someone who got his brain from Faux News. Those people are gullible or stupid or both.