Sep. 4, 2008 Smile and Sit Sep. 4, 2008 New "Old" entry Sep. 4, 2008 So that's why we had no Autumn Garden last year...
Spinach actually grows nicer for me in the Fall than in the Spring. I was wondering last week: why hadn't I grown any last Fall?
This week as I was trying to get ready to start school and/or procrastinating on getting ready to start school (cleaning out closets, bringing outgrown/not their color hand me downs to the Salvation Army, writing schedules for their subjects, organizing the coming co-op, Sunday School and Lego classes I'll be teaching) I realized why I hadn't gotten any spinach, lettuce or carrots planted last August. I must have been either preparing to start up homeschool, or procrastinating on starting up homeschool.
We planted spinach, carrots, lettuce and Swiss chard yesterday, pulled lots of impressive purselane (didn't eat it though, I'm the only one who likes it) and rag weed as high as M. I kept telling myself that this was science. I felt guilty that we weren't "doing school." which is why I keep telling myself we are going to switch to year round schooling, so I don't have the guilt of starting or not starting.
Well, this year we did plant the veggies, maybe next year we will school year round.
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I was going to start last Thursday, back with the chore time, no computer for Mom until after school, doing the hard studies while K naps, switching the boys off in Mom time and independent time...but then we looked at the calender and remembered Labor Day. Why start only to have a 3 day weekend...then everyone got sick.
So, I sorted closets and drove excess clothes over to the Salvation Army. Its sort of like the procrastination I used to do before diving into a paper or formal lab write up in college. Something needs to make cleaning appealing besides imminent visitors!
So, today, with mostly functioning throats, we did school. I routed B out of Bed at 7:30, inflicted oatmeal, and launched him on his chores by 8:15. The chores are a bunch of hygene and household stuff so long it takes him 45 min to finish, and if it weren't for a list hanging near his bunk bed and in the bathroom, neither of us would remember them.
Once K was in her crib not complaining too much about morning nap, and M had brushed his teeth, I started reviewing vowels with him. We have a covered container with a layer of salt in it that he can write in. I meant to play a game with some dice and the Cuisenart rods, but he was building pictures with them happily, and remarked that "Oh, the ones that are the same color are as long as each other." If he's only just learned that, he needs more free play! So it was time to work with B.
Today's project was to start up his Spell to Write and Read notebook. We numbered the last 31 pages of his bound notebook, folded them into thirds or halves as instructed in the manual, realized we'd goofed, printed numbers onto cardstock, punched them out and glued them over the first set of numbers to cover, an re-folded everything. Then we added tabs for the reference pages that we are likely to need on a daily basis. The folds are so he can make neat columns when he adds example words into his collection pages as we work through the W.I.S.E. spelling guide. These follow the steps projects make both B and me nervous! We did just fine recovering though, yeah us!
At 10:30 I made a pot of popcorn, then set B his afternoon independent study instructions: read through the introductions to his new Key to Math books, practice occarina and flute, review his memory verses. We'll add more work as we add in topics.
At 11:15, I heard M's hollers of frustration at being sent outside to get exercise before Daddy came home for lunch. B was probably frustrated too, but he wasn't making noise. I had told them that since they couldn't think of a game, they should try the feathered hackysack game I'd bought them in Guangzhou. So I took K outside in her stroller to watch us and I played along. M laughted at how badly I played, but kept trying until he got a few kicks in himself. He'd been trying to serve by letting go the shuttle cock and kicking at the same moment. B kept trying to use his Karate moves, and sending the shuttle cock straight to the ground whenever he did connect to it with his foot.
As we played, I recounted watching a fat Chinese grandfather playing this game in a park on Shamian Island, using his paunch to deflect the shuttlecock. This seemed to make the boys play better for some reason.
Once they were launched on playing, I had time to come inside and get lunch together.
After lunch, M, K and I took our naps, even though the interesting gas main work continued down the street with noisy equipment. B listened to the Prince Caspian movie music while he worked. When I got up at 2:30, K wanted to play on the rug, I looked though cookbooks for some menu ideas, and B finished up his work. M was excited to watch his hour of TV with his brother, and by the time they were done with that, it was time for supper.
After supper, DH watched the kids while I got groceries.
The newest innovation to our daily pattern is dinner dishes. I don't wash them! B washes them while I read to him from Sherlock Holmes. Great trade, no? It wasn't my idea, I read it in one of Jim Trelease's books about books. DH has been doing M's bedtime reading, and the boys join up for Bible reading and prayer after that. We juggle K's bedtime in between. She has been cheerful to lie down if I sing to her and give her some thing to hold after her nursing. Reading a little some thing from a board book is a wrestling match at this stage, she wants to chew on it, but I'm persevering.
M and B were reading in bed, but I just called lights out. DH and I get to visit now!
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Sep. 1, 2008 The New Crib is a good thing
Dh cleaned, repainted, and assembed the new crib. Baby K had been sleeping well, but we all have sore throats today, with post nasal drip.
Yesterday at my Mom's house after church, I played with her rubber stamps to see if I could make something like the pattern on my friend's new purse. blue flowers on a creamy background, with darker blue leaves, and whiter highlights. So far I am enjoying the results.
Dh just handed me my "Rosie the Riveter" coffee cup, he is making the oatmeal, I hear him washing dishes so we will have enough bowls. B is sorting his Pokemon cards, I hear M telling funny stories to K. I should go do something useful! |
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Aug. 19, 2008 What I've been doing instead of posting
It turns out I love the photograph aspect of blogging more than I thought I did: I've used up all 200 free slots on my flicker account. While working on another cheap option for photos, I've had a hard time sitting down and writing. Who knew?
I've also been collecting science experiment stuff for working through the Bernie Zubrowski books on clockmaking and syphons, polishing my Letter of Intent to Homeschool, (an annual editing ordeal here in Massachusetts), enjoying the family reunion in the Catskills at Huntersfield Christian Training Center, and trying to figure out how to help K get some sleep!
She has been growing a lot this month, learning new things, responding to words and signals (DH's greetings when he comes home from work, the words nurse and hungry, though not her name consistently) she's beginning to wave and lift her arms when she wants to be picked up. But sleeping is no longer an easy matter of a nursing, swaddling and laying her down in her Moses Basket! For one thing she wants to practice rolling over.
M has been really asking good questions lately, like what did Jesus mean when he told people they had to eat his flesh and drink his blood, in the bread of life discourse in John? He's also been listening in when I read to B as he washes the dinner dishes, and followed the mystery in Sherlock Holmes just fine, despite the vocabulary - which got him sent to bed before the scary bit, much to his disappointment.
B is trying to get his Lego castle built in time for a deadline in a Brickmaster's challenge.
DH is working on getting K's crib clean and assembled, I'm to go shopping with the kids this morning to pick up a mattress and some school supplies.
Better go get that organized!
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Aug. 16, 2008 The Drawing with Children Link!
Jimmie at One Child Policy Homeschool just found the link for me of the lesson plans that allowed me to use "Drawing with Children." so now I can share it with whoever happens to be reading this.
Before I started homeschooling, I used to think that I would always just make up my own lists and organize studies myself, just Me and the Library. Well, I didn't know that my brain wouldn't always work if I didn't sleep the night before, something that often happens with a baby in the house! So now I treasure my helpful lists.
Who'd have thought it?
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Aug. 14, 2008 Well, yes M, you are right...
We got home from the family reunion yesterday in mid afternoon. DH (DDDDH) unpacked the car, then ordered Chinese take out, and came home with the movie Hoodwinked. We warned the boys that this was the last Hurrah of vacation, and to expect a simple good night after the movie.
So, we laughed until we couldn't breath over the movie, then brushed teeth and the boys were in bed when DH prayed for them and said goodnight. I came in to kiss them after settling K, when M sat up and looked at me earnestly. I expected him to ask me to bring him a drink of water, but he said," Mom, aren't you and Daddy going to read us the Bible?"
I replied that no, we were having a simple goodnight that night.
"But Mom!" Said M, "It's the Word of God!"
DH came back, and we read the Bible. It is the word of God.
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Aug. 2, 2008 Outlines, Gardens and Chilling Out though Sleep Deprived (with pictures)
I've been thinking about how we sort and organize ideas, and wondering how to present the information to the children who will be taking my research paper class this Fall at Co-op. Planning a bulb bed is like making an outline, you have to put things together, and pay attention to chronology, no matter how beautiful two flowers would be together, if one is done blooming before another starts, you'll never see them together (without some greenhouse tricks but that's too complex for me!) I thought this game the gardeners play at Blithewold is a great idea! Sort of like keeping a tough scrap book page out on your desk for a while up-sidedown so you can fiddle with the lay out and just think composition, not getting all tied up in other associations.
Writing about gardens, I took the boys and K to Tranquil lake yesterday. Its been two years since we visited, M is now wearing that shirt B is pictured in!
I wanted to see what cool things they have done to the display gardens.
Meanwhile, I got frustrated with the children, because of all their logistics: I need a drink, where is the portapotty, oh, K needs changed,
 I don't think you can wear her backpack style, she's slipping...when I realized that they were having fun, and all that stuff was fun for them, it wasn't things to get over with in order to have fun in the garden.
 So many day lilies were blooming in the fields, some year when I want to work on the succession of my flower beds, I'll go there when I have a blank spot, and order a lily that blooms when mine are done. That should fill in gaps nicely.
I Wonder the best way to suggest that the kids fill in gaps in a paper' s argument, or find information when their outline is thin. I wonder how to get them to actually look for weak spots without feeling bad. Can the library ever seem as inviting as a garden?
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Jul. 31, 2008 Lego Form, if any one wants it
This is the season for new F.I.R.S.T. LEGO Teams to form. We found this a good flier to let the other parent in the club we founded know how we wanted things to go. I mostly used ideas from the young peacemaker.
Anyone is welcome to borrow it for their own club.
FLL Homeschool Team - Goals, Plans, Etc. Welcome!
We are here to form a homeschool First Lego League Robotics team. We look forward to working with you for the benefit of all our children. It will hopefully be an enjoyable and rewarding time. This will be our first year running a team, so please be patient if things are a little disorganized!
My Promise as Coach or Parent (copied from the First Lego League Coaches' Handbook)
The children come first. FLL is about children having fun and getting excited about science and technology. Everything my team does starts and ends with that principle.
The children do the work. This is their opportunity to learn and grow. The children on my team do all the programming, research, problem solving, and building. Adults can help them find the answers, but cannot give them answers or make decisions.
My team is comprised of ten or fewer members (all team members participate on only one team), registered as an official FLL team, and all team members are no older than 14 on Jan 1 of the Challenge year.
I will encourage my team members, other coaches, volunteers, parents and team supporters to develop and practice a set of FLL Values that reflects FIRST's goal to change culture in a positive way by inspiring others through our team's actions and words.
FLL Values for team members (copied from the First Lego League Coaches' Handbook)
We are a team
We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors.
We honor the spirit of friendly competition
What we discover is more important than what we win
We share our experiences with others
We display gracious professionalism in everything we do.
We have fun.
What is Gracious Professionalism?
Win-win attitudes and behaviors
Respect in action
Behavior Expectations for Team Members and their Families:
Our goals as a team line up with the goals of the First Lego League. We are here for the children; If they have learned a little about physics / mechanics, about the engineering process, about working with a team, and have enjoyed themselves, then we have been successful! We are here to build up ALL the children on the team. We are not here primarily to win a contest (but I won't complain if that happens!) We want the children to learn to work together, to encourage each other, to build upon each other's ideas, and to challenge each other. We want children to be able to express ideas and thoughts without fear of being made fun of or criticized, either by other children or by adults. (by the way, we are all in this together: not only does our team's behavior and attitude at FLL competition affect scoring, but the coaches' and parents' behavior affects the score as well!)
This healthy team atmosphere will not happen if there is any negativity, put-downs, or sarcasm during meetings! Consequently, we won't tolerate obscenities, vulgarities, blasphemies, rough joking, name calling or excessive sarcasm from anyone on the team. Parents, be sure to remind your children of this. A child will be reprimanded once, referred to their parents for them to discipline as they see fit on a second time, then asked to leave the team on a third time (in which case we will refund their parent's money and make their slot available to another child). We may or may not keep careful track of the number of offenses.
When relative strangers gather around a goal, even when it is for the benefit of their children, there are bound to be some disagreements and awkward bits. Here is how we want us all (parents and children alike) to deal with these things: Go directly to the person who bothered you and explain the problem, unless you can forgive them without mentioning it. Try to do this within 24 hours of the offense. Do NOT discuss the problem with anyone else unless you are seeking coaching on the best way to deal with the problem (no gossip). If the problem person won't work with you on the matter, get a third person to work with both of you as coach, arbiter, or mediator. The goal is positive progress, forgiveness and friendship. The means to do this are to admit what parts of the problem are caused by each of you, apologize and seek forgiveness. Real forgiveness is when you promise your acquaintance to think charitably about them, to not bring up the matter again to hurt them, to not gossip about them, and to resume the friendship enthusiastically.
Volunteer Jobs for Parents (this is NOT an exhaustive list, we will think of more as time goes on, so will you)
Coaches / Technical Can help Dan with Coaching and/or the technical aspects of making a robot, researching the team project, etc.
Kid Wranglers We need at least 2 other parents on site each build meeting besides Dan. Mostly for crowd control. There are some cringing-ly expensive pieces of equipment (and some very dangerous ones) in the lab, one bit of wrestling in the wrong place could make us all have to sell our cars and family heirlooms to replace it. This is a great job for Dads. We can rotate. We could even take the kids hiking at the pond behind Dan's work after snack so they get some wiggles out.
Snacks Got to fuel those creative brains! We don't need to be nutrition nuts, but lets not serve sugary/caffeinated drinks, oxygen is stimulating enough for herds children at this age. I think a snack at the 1 1/2 hour break would be just about right. Could even be pizza. We can rotate.
Fund Raiser / Treasurer Come up with creative ways to raise funds for the team. Manage team finances.
Web Tracker - Being the official web tracker of interesting ideas and developments on the web www.usfirst.org www.firstlegoleague.org www.ceeo.tufts.edu www.legoengineering.com www.education.rec.ri.cmu.edu
Other Useful Roles: - Printing off papers - Making tee shirts or hats or some sort of team spirit thing-y with the kids, using their designs. - Lead a brain storming session - Work out our travel arrangements in January - Help us find a good field trip site - Help children with building /decorating the tri-fold presentation board. |
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Jul. 31, 2008 Just Go Play outside!
You'd think I was torturing them. There is a warm up period for playing happily outside. I got out some bubble solution, some straws and old wands, and they may be happy for a while. I know that the intellectual effort to create their own fun is healthy for them, but the humidity seems to have made their imaginations get moldy.
I just put a bunch of playground games on hold from the library. Maybe I need to teach them how to play, to give them a jump start, like the jet with the space shuttle on it's back (how dated is that illustration?).
Meanwhile, I need to teach them some civility - be kind to your brother even if you are bored, use nice voices, no eye rolling.
Summer is more work than the school year as far as attitudes go.
Things that are supposed to be fun are always what we have trouble with.
And today is allowance day...
I'd better pray.
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Jul. 30, 2008 First Fraction Lesson for M
We got up to the part of "Little House in the Big Woods" last week where Laura and Mary had the cookie dilemma.
"Mrs. Peterson talked Swedish to them, and they talked English to her, and they understood each other perfectly. She always gave them each a cookie when they left, and they nibbled the cookies very slowly while they walked home.
Laura nibbled away exactly half of hers, and Mary nibbled exactly half of hers, ant the other halves they saved for Baby Carrie. Then when they got home, Carrie had two half-cookies, and that was a whole cookie.
This wasn't right. All they wanted to do was to divide the cookies fairly with Carrie. Still, if Mary saved half her cookie, while Laura ate the whole of hers, or if Laura saved half, and Mary ate her whole cookie, that wouldn't be fair either.
They didn't know what to do. So each saved half, and gave it to Baby Carrie. But they always felt that somehow that wasn't quiet fair."
I remember the jubilation I felt in 4th grade walking to the bus stop at Yasumora's house, and figuring out this problem, we had been dividing by fractions in math class. I remember promising myself to let my children think through this math problem when they got to it, so they could have the same fun I had in figuring it out. I had been puzzled by that story since Kindergarten when my Mom and Dad had read it to me.
So, Sunday night, M and I talked about the math problem. Could the children have asked Mrs Peterson for another cookie to take home to Carrie? But what if her English was fuzzy? M began a complex plan involving giving some left over parts to Pa and Ma, because grown ups don't mind getting less cookies than children do. He also thought about dividing the halves into halves of halves, and halves of halves of halves (got to boost his math vocabulary, but he is only 5!) but his idea seemed a bit like calculus, only hard to do on a real cookie, they don't divide neatly, too many crumbs.
This morning as B was away at band, I cut some construction paper cookies out for M to divide with his mini fiskars, the kind you can use left handed without crying in frustration.
I cheated a little, by laying out some pattern blocks to show sixths, thirds, and halves, to remind him that he didn't need to stick to halves.
As I was putting away my laundry, he came running into my bedroom in great excitement. He held up three fingers in each hand, then held his hands together to put them into three groups of two fingers. "See Momma? They'd each get two parts!"
I don't have Little House on the Prairie out from the library yet and my copy is missing. So in the mean time, we are continuing to play with literary fractions by reading "Half Magic" by Edward Eager. Lots of laughs that one.
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When B walked home from band practice at the park, he arrived half an hour earlier than usual, which was odd, because I'd lent him our zoo pass and suggested that he look at the animals as well as play on the play ground. He sat down and said in a voice that sounded like he'd like to be disrespectful but wouldn't, "Mom, please read the member's manual more carefully before suggesting that I go to to zoo by myself, no one under the age of 16 can visit the zoo without an adult!"
Well, I hadn't read the manual, we've been members on and off since B was a toddler, and DH was on a first name basis with some of the keepers, I figured that we knew the deal. I phoned DH to ask him if I should talk to the zoo administrator about the manors of the ticket booth clerk, but he interviewed B on the phone and decided that the person hadn't been rude to B or tried to humiliate him, he'd just been officious and B was embarrassed.
B is so responsible, that when he was playing with K this morning, I heard him say, "Oh, no wonder you aren't laughing, your diaper is full, Don't worry, I'll change you." and he did.
How annoying that he can't go see the animals he's been enjoying since he could barely walk, just because I wasn't there. Some actuary somewhere must have calculated based on a table that young people are likely to do something lethally expensive if they weren't attended by their parents, and with a lion and snow leopard, I suppose lethally stupid could be just plain lethal.
But my son is not stupid. And what is wrong with our culture we are raising a generation that cannot be trusted to go to the zoo until they are 16?
As I washed my dishes, and baked biscotti for the family reunion in a few weeks (biscotti keep really well because they are so dry, so I'm baking them today in the cool weather so I don't have to turn the oven on later when it might be really hot) I listened to my local NPR interview some childhood experts. One said, "Of course some people take sheltering their children to the extent that they homeschool them." I wanted to phone in and tell this story as a, "So there!" and, "Take that!" but I sound stupid when I am angry, and they probably had all their phone lines full by then anyway.
More importantly, I shouldn't be taking revenge, but leaving room for God's wrath, not that the uninformed expert had actually done me any harm, and the zoo officials do need to protect their animals.
I just wish I hadn't set my responsible boy up to be embarrassed by a world that isn't used to responsible children, and limits their freedom by expecting them to be spoiled.
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Jul. 29, 2008 Mid Summer Homeschool Chores
Just a note to myself for next year when I start wondering, "What do I do during Summer?"
The school books have mostly arrived, accept for some of the stragglers I bought used, and picked the cheap shipping options. Now I'm trying to find space for the old books that B doesn't need anymore, and M doesn't need yet, also to put the homeschool stuff into covered boxes, so K won't get into them (or choke on them) too easily. I finally brought the bags of outgrown but not too worn out clothing to the Salvation Army, so the bottom of my clothes closet can hold some stuff. If I harden my heart, I may give away the science kits that we've never used too.
My other mid-Summer chore is to register the Lego club for F.I.R.S.T. Lego League.
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A few weeks ago, we had a night of unusual food, and both boys begged and negotiated to eat only a few bites. I remembered that that was how B learned to count in the first place, it was certainly how he learned to figure greater than and less than!
DH started singing the Weird Al Yankovic song "Just Eat It." We decided to look it up on U-tube. The boys weren't getting it, so we showed them "Beat It." and then "Eat It." Now the boys say they really like Michael Jackson and want to hear more of his music. Oops.
I still crack up at the Eat It song. My mother was more likely to tell me how missionaries need to show respect for people by eating what is in front of them than to say other kids were starving. I have resorted to reading World Vision magazine to them sometimes though. We do "no thank you" helpings, and ask them to help cook, and come up with menus. I think learning to make yourself do something because you must is important, even if it's filling your mouth with food you are sure is disgusting. Some day they will have to make embarrassing apologies, write term papers, wake up at night to care for their children...the world is full of unpleasant duties.
Just Eat It. |
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Jul. 25, 2008 VBS Week Survival Strategies
This is mostly a note to myself - that's why the authoritative tone. I have trouble remembering from one season to the next what worked - I want to be up to date next year!
When the VBS was at a neighborhood church, DH and I dropped the boys off, put K down to nap, and had 5 date nights in a row. Then we picked up the boys refreshed, ready to hear Bible verses, and listen to them sing their songs with motions.
But this week was VBS at our church, a 20 min drive away, so one or both of us needed to go with the boys, and stay until it was over, either that or drive for an hour and 20 min...
In addition, this week DH needed to catch up on some report writing at work. So, on Monday he came home early to help me load the van and find shoes, but wound up taking the laptop to write at church. Tuesday and Wednesday he came home for supper, then went back to work after helping me find shoes and load the van. Last night K was SO tired from late nights that DH took the boys and I stayed home with K and got her to sleep on time. (I think she is having her 6 month growth spurt early, she was born post term). So, in summary, flexibility with parental jobs is the first strategy.
Junk Food and or Faster Home Food. My kids eat slowly, and to hit the road by 6PM, they need to start at 5:30. We've eaten fish sticks, hot dogs, pasta, and hogie sandwiches (AKA subs, torpedoes, deli sandwiches...) tonight we are having refried beans and soft tacoes. At lunch I've given them veggies and fruit to compensate. They get plenty of desert at VBS.
Nap time. Even for B. He's tired being out until 9PM all week too, just like K and M. (And Mom and Dad). Let everyone sleep in if they can too.
Bath time at weird times. A bath tub full of toys is sort of like wading pool, right? A bath in the middle of a hot, muggy day might feel better than one at bedtime anyway.
Low Expectations for the rest of the week. We did go to the eye doctors and play ground up the road from the eye doctors, and B did have flute lessons and band practice, but other than that, no big projects, library trips, hiking or day trips. I haven't particularly rationed library DVD watching or mandated outside play time either (it's also been thunder-storming like mad, and this is New England, not the Midwest!) Speaking of the library, I've got some books come in on reserve to pick up today - but we'll keep it low key!
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Jul. 25, 2008 Now That's Clever! Jul. 23, 2008 Oldie but Goody
I often loose my temper and stick my foot in my mouth. So one of the most beautiful thing in my life is when God brings forgiveness to me from the people I've spoken harshly too.
Several years ago, we had a miscommunication problem at Eagles' Wings and I exploded. Here's how I described the fix up to my friend who was compiling a book about leading co-ops in an e-mail.
Dear Meg,
This is my all time favorite co-op memory, because it started out as
'how do I get these people to come on time so I have help hauling in all
my sets for drama class?' and turned into an uplifting bonding
experience. I can only explain it because I prayed a lot, and God was
good to us. Here's the story:
It used to be at Eagle's Wings co-op, that every 6 weeks, whoever was
making announcements, reminded the whole group of 25 families to come at
12:30 to help set up. Sometimes the whole group had had to wait for the
leader, so this rang hollow, and everyone knew that they weren't all
needed, because they'd come early before, and twiddled their thumbs.
When I became the co-ordinater, I didn't change this policy, I was too
busy changing other things.
Another ongoing frustration/conversation topic was the value of 'extra
curricular' actives. At planning meetings, most of the time we steered
away from 'core' activities, because we only had 12 weeks a session, or
no one wanted to have the choice of text book dictated to them. Then
later on, when people didn't show up, folks said, 'well, all we are
offering is enrichments, it really doesn't matter.' I, for one, didn't
want to be bothered organizing a co-op no one showed up at. If their
time was too precious to bother with coming, than mine was too precious
to organize it in the first place.
Last Spring I was teaching drama for two different ages, and I had used
up 4 refrigerator boxes making the large sets that had to be hauled out
of my mini van each week (getting them put away was no problem) Each
week I made more, so the work load was getting greater and greater,
meanwhile, the level of motivated haulers were getting smaller and
smaller. I was fed up, but I could see their point of view too. I am the
only one with a key, so I had been running into the building to get it
ready, then was stuck as the children arrived. The adults, unaware that
I had a van full of large sets, or a church full of young 'helpers,'
chatted outside, while the children did what unsupervised children
do...I kept looking out the windows at the relaxed adults, unable to get
their attention, and unable to leave the kids alone in the building.
Things were getting ugly in my heart.
The other problem (besides lateness) was a dark, late Winter and cold,
wet Spring. No one felt excited about homeschooling anymore and I had
overheard a few ladies complaining vaguely about how things were
organized. I assume about how things were organized around the co-op,
because the subject switched as soon as I showed up!
Finally it got so bad, that I blew up.
So, I determined to fix things, and hoped to keep my Christian testimony
while I was at it. I prepared for the speech and apology that I knew I
had to make by pouring my heart out to anyone who would listen, my
Husband, Mother, Mother-in-law, Pastor, Next Door Neighbor. I got them
all praying for me too. I imagined things from my angle, other people's
angle, rewound my imagination and inserted things to make it better.
I wrote a very personal e-mail to the whole group explaining how
annoying everything was from my point of view, and apologizing for
getting mad at them without ever having explained my problems to them,
not delegating, and taking on more than I could handle. I assured them
that I knew that they loved me, and don't want me to be overburdened.
And that I understood that none of them felt like minding a dumb rule
that didn't make sense to them. Then I proposed that we split the group
into set up teams, and take down teams, so that we didn't all come at
the same time for half of us to be bored. I added the enticement that
the early team could go home as soon as classes were over and that the
late team didn't have to show up until circle announcements time.
The night before co-op I couldn't sleep, so I wrote and re-wrote my
speech notes. When I arrived 30 min early, the parking lot was full. As
I got out of the car, I handed the church keys to someone else, and
stayed by my van to direct the unpackers, so they knew what went and
what stayed.
When it was time to lead the circle, everyone was as excited as if we'd
all had grande frappachinos, and most of these ladies only drink
decaffeinated organic herb tea. As I started to take a deep breath for
my speech, a light turned on in my brain about "extra" curricular
studies. As close as I can remember it, this is what I said:
Boy! You guys read your emails! Thank you for coming early and helping
me to unload my car, mind my little toddler, and supervise the other
children. In the first few weeks of the year, you all did this, and you
must have noticed that set up only takes 4 families about 10 min to do
this. What you don't know is that I've made many more drama sets since
then, and that I can't watch my 2 year old, unpack my car, let you into
the building, and supervise the set up by myself. I haven't asked you
for help, I've gotten overwhelmed, and I've been really cranky about it.
I mentioned it to you in an ungracious way last week, and I'm sorry.
Yes, if you are wondering, it was that time of the month. Will you
forgive me for getting mad at you for not being able to read my mind?
(Now that was a tension breaker! after nervous laughter, I continued)
In the past when we've had lateness problems, we were urged to all come
at 12:30. You are so efficient at set up, that I don't think this is
necessary. What do you think about dividing into a set up crew and take
down crew?
(we voted, various people apologized to me for letting me get stuck,
oddly enough, not the ones that did it most of the time)
I continued:
We know that when we teach science, we aren't just fulfilling a state
requirement, we are showing our kids the orderliness of God's creation,
and the beauty of it. When we study art or music, we are teaching them
to use their creativity because they are made in his image, and are
creative like he is. We aren't just training future citizens, wise
consumers or future employees, we are raising people created in the
image of God, so that they love him with all their hearts, souls, minds
and strengths, and glorify him by the excellence of their work. We also
glorify him when we teach excellently. Who will open in prayer?
I think I heard someone murmur "preach it sister." I was thrilled. Not
only had my educational theory had been crystallized for me in one
moment, no one was mad at me! They had every appearance of coming on
time next week too.
And they all did, for the rest of the Spring.
Your Cyber Friend,
Christine Guest
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Jul. 21, 2008 Bog Walk - Guest Blog by my Guys
As I blogged here,
we heard about the bog walk at the Roger Williams Park Botanical Center. When it came down to it, I decided to stay home with K and sew cool, comfy nursing tops, but DH took the boys to the great swamp for New England Carnivorous Plant Society bog walk. So, this is a compilation of their comments:
M said, "See all those grasses right there? That's where I got my cuts. I called them cactus grass."
 Here is a pitcher plant flower, the don't eat their pollinators.
 If you were a bug, this would be very scary.
 John showed the kids the ripe blueberries, thus fulfilling one of my long held educational goals for my children: to know that blueberries don't come from cardboard boxes.
 bladderwort
 Not a carnivorous plant, but fringed orchids are rare and "cool!"
I asked M, what was your favorite part of the walk?
"The berries!" |
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Jul. 19, 2008 What we almost always do on Sunday Afternoon
Ever see "Joe vs the Volcano,"? Its an early Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks movie that didn't quite make it with the critics or the box office, but it has its moments. On Sundays, we often refer to the part where the Tom Hanks character, a former hero fireman, now neurotic office worker believing that he is dying of a "brain cloud;" buys some very expensive luggage.
"Will you be traveling light or heavy?"
"Heavy."
"Allow me to show you our top of the line suitcase"
"I'll take four"
"May you live a thousand years."
Why do we travel so heavy on Sundays after church to my Mom's house?
DH might get a chance to play guitar, he will definitely phone his folks on the cell phone,
 B might build Lego castles, or read library books,
 (I did have him fix the seat belt so it wasn't around his neck by the way)
or play Pokemon with Dad, I might work on scrap books, after all, my Mom has more rubber stamps than I do,
 M might need his stuffed animal army at nap time, or his mags
 K can't pack much yet, she is content to watch the rest of us.
But after Sunday Dinner, we usually just watch the Discovery Channel.
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