Amazed and Bemused: the Education of a Mother

My sons continue to amaze and bemuse me. The latest surprise came during a bedtime discussion with my eldest. For some reason, once lights are out and everyone is supposed to be going to sleep, he waxes philosophical. The other night, his contemplations turned to the issue of how to organize the coming year.

You see, he wants a horse -- he wants a horse a lot -- but all the adults in his life have been pointing out to him the issues of money surrounding the acquisition of said horse. "It is not the initial expense of buying the horse that worries me." I explained. "It is all the other expenses -- food, shelter, medical care... and then there is the issue of day to day maintenance. Horses are work, daily work, work that you can't just not do. Having a horse means no going away on vacation. It means time spent cleaning and grooming that cannot be spent doing other things."  His riding instructor suggested that "for a beginning rider, owning a horse is not ideal. There is a lot of work involved and when you are just learning, it is better to have help."  Both the instructor and I suggested that he work in a stables, learn more about horses, and PLAN for owning a horse by getting trained in what needs to be done, and by saving money towards his goal.

At first, he grieved that he wouldn't be getting what he wanted immediately. He went through a depressed period where he gave up the idea of EVER owning a horse. And then, because he is a truly amazing fellow, he began to think -- and these were his conclusions:

1)He will set up several 'accounts' into which he will divide his money -- money from allowances and gifts etc. These accounts will be a)college fund (he wants to attend the Cordon Bleu cooking school) b)gifting money for buying presents c) 'me' money for buying those items he really wants now -- legos, pokemon cards etc and d) 'horse' money.

2)He will set up an Excel spreadsheet to track his money and his spending to see what happens where.

3)He will keep a small notebook and pen with him at all times. When he sees something he thinks he might want, he will note down a)what the item is b)where he saw it and c) how much it cost. He can then 'shop' the best price on the item both in stores and on line.

4)He will start working through ideas about how to make money -- jobs he can do, businesses he can start.

5)He will volunteer to work at the stables where he rides so that he can learn what there is to learn about caring for horses.

But that was not the end of his planning. He has been thinking also about what having a horse means in terms of self discipline and told me, "I need to start working on developing better self discipline. If I say I am going to do something, I MUST do it. If I make a promise, I MUST keep it. I must start thinking about budgeting my time as well as my money." He told me he wanted his own Day Planner so that he can organize his days visually -- 'So I will know what I am to do when.'

With budgeting time in mind, he asked that I put away all his electronics during the school week. Then, yesterday, we went out and bought 'tickets' -- like the sort you might get for a raffle. These tickets, according to my son's plan, will be 'earned' when he completes items on his 'to do' list. That list will include both school work and chores. The tickets will serve as 'money' which can then be spent for such things as time on the 3DS, the Wii, reading graphic novels, playing YuGiOh etc. One of our vacation projects is to create a 'value' chart for each of these luxury activities. He even got tickets (in a different color) for his little brother to use so that Xander won't feel left out.

What astounds me about all of this is that he, at age 10, has come up with this all on his own. He has thought out his plan of attack and has laid out the steps very clearly. Rather than surrendering his dreams, he has taken steps towards accomplishing them... I am both bemused and somewhat embarrassed -- for I, who am so much older than he, am not so well organized. This, I think, is one of those 'and the little children shall lead them' moments.

And my plans? I shall work to support his plan, providing support and encouragement where he needs it, of course, but more than that, I too shall create a 'plan' , budgeting both time and money towards those goals I have set myself for the coming year.  It will not always go smoothly, I suspect, but the doing of the thing is as important as succeeding at doing it. And I will continue to delight in the creativity and determination that two small boys demonstrate daily.

 

Night time musings

I don't know about other families, how they experience 'bedtime' but for some reason, in our house, once the lights go out, philosophy begins.

Last night, just when I thought the boys were falling asleep, Xander asked 'What happens in Wuthering Heights?' I answered, 'Well, Wuthering Heights is a Gothic Novel about the behavior of some not very nice people.' 'What is a *Gothic* Novel?' (Bet you saw that one coming!) 'Gothic Novels were novels usually set in a castle -- most probably somewhere in Great Britain -- and that castle and its people have some sort of dark mystery attached to them.' There was silence as they pondered that then Jason asked 'So... what happens in Wuthering Heights?'  We discussed the plot of that novel and I explained a little bit about the Bronte sisters and their novels. Reflecting on this, I commented that, nowadays, I preferred mysteries like 'Aunt Dimity' and 'The Cat who...' and that my favorite mystery was 'The Daughter of Time' -- a novel that took a real, still debated mystery, that of the two missing princes, and had a fictional detective apply 'modern' detection methods.' Xander perked up at the idea of a 'real, unsolved' mystery so I explained a bit about that... and then, philosophy slid into bed with us. The idea of mysteries was interesting but much more interesting to the boys was the question of murder -- could killing ever be considered morally acceptable?

I explained a little bit about the Quakers, who say that violence against another person is NEVER acceptable. Jason agreed with that position but then, after further thought he said 'But what if, by killing a bad person, you would save many, many people? What if it wasn't just self defense?'  'To the Quakers,' I told him,' the answer would be that violence against others, regardless of possible future activities by that person, is never acceptable.' Xander didn't buy that one. 'If someone tried to kill my brother,' he said firmly, 'I would go stop them.' 'That is the natural response.' I agreed. 'I would probably be capable of violence if someone threatened you or your daddy or your grandparents or anyone I love.' There was silence. 'But' I continued, 'if you kill someone, for whatever reason, you have killed that person... and that would be a heavy weight to bear.'  Xander, ever

 

Considerations

I am feeling a bit stressed today: we have family coming in next week, a birthday party here at the house and I am attempting to pull together my yearly/monthly/daily school schedule for September. I have a lot of work to do around the house... and I mean, a lot, and I am still trying to balance the needs of my family with all that needs to be accomplished in a short space of time.  I realize, only too clearly, that childhood is a brief moment and that once gone, those moments cannot be regained so I want to offer my children a joyful, educational, and fun summer. Gasp...

But the real point of this particular blog entry is not what is stressing me. I mention that only so that the reader will understand if I seem a bit sharp in my comments. No,  the real point of this entry is my response to something I read in the blurb for a book on homeschooling. This blurb said, in part, 'remember it is not the end but the journey that counts' and I can simply NOT accept such a platitude. "The Journey" not "The End" -- really people, get your heads out of the ground. The end DOES count. Many years ago now, I taught freshman history classes and believe me, the end was grim. Too many of the students I taught could not write a plain English sentence. They had memorized the "Proper" organization for an essay without having any clue how to write a compelling argument. They had NO clue how to do research and, in at least one case, solved that problem by buying a 'pre-made' essay off the web. (Yes, those sites abound. They irritate me beyond speech.) They suffered from serious test anxiety because they had no clue how to study and so pulled 'all nighters' without realizing that this was detrimental to their success. I spent so much of my time, both in class and during office hours (which usually ran over time) trying to teach these kids the fundamentals. I was grimly horrified by what I was seeing -- both at the state universities at which I first taught and then at the private college. The 'end' does matter.

We need to redefine and rediscover the meaning and purpose of education. The current methods produce rote responses, responses that often lack any evidence of understanding. Students reproduce what they have memorized without understanding the reason, the meaning of what they have memorized. It has been argued by some that in order to own something, one must internalize it by recreating it in one's own image.  I am not saying that there isn't a place for memorization. Memorizing information is helpful in that it provides a short cut. But if the material memorized has not also been recast through personal understanding of the subject, the student cannot apply the memorized knowledge in new and creative ways.

When we teach, we must ask that students demonstrate true comprehension of the material as a part of our expectations, of our assessment of learning. And this must be demonstrated by having the student apply the material in his/her own unique way.  I realize that it is easy to say this and not so easy to do but the fact that such a standard is difficult to implement does not mean that we should not seek to do so. To do otherwise is to short our students, our children, and our future.

Travels with Children... and Linc

"On such a trip as mine, so much there is to see and to think about that event and thought set down as they occurred would roil and stir like a slow-cooking minestrone. There are map people whose joy is to lavish more attention on the sheets of colored paper than on the colored land rolling by. ...It is not so with me. I was born lost and take no pleasure in being found, nor much identification from shapes which symbolize continents and states." ~ Travels with Charley in Search of America">Travels with Charlie (John Steinbeck)

I am not generally a fan of Steinbeck, a fact I blame on being forced to read 'The Red Pony (Twentieth-Century Classics) at much too young an age, but I make an exception for his book, 'Travels with Charlie.' Perhaps that is because this book is a travel narrative, a genre of which I am very fond. (I love 'Blue Highways: A Journey into America by Least Heat Moon) I am never bored of the amazing sites, the beauty and the stark ugliness that one sees. And I was reminded anew of the startling diversity that characterizes this country on my most recent road trip with my two sons.

We had driven, me, my husband, our two sons (10 and 6) and our Doberman, Lincoln, from Washington through Oregon, Nevada and into Arizona. The plan (and as Steinbeck comments 'We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us. ...The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.') was to travel at a leisurely pace, stopping at various 'dinosaur' sites along the way. The start went fairly well -- we drove from Washington to Oregon's 'John Day Fossil Beds'.  Those, it turns out, are far more extensive than I ever imagined. Where we ended up was... curious. Incredibly hot, to my mind, for Oregon and the rock formations were fascinating.

Learning

Learning
by Judith Viorst
I'm learning to say thank you. And I'm learning to say please. And I'm learning to use Kleenex, Not my sweater, when I sneeze. And I'm learning not to dribble. And I'm learning not to slurp. And I'm learning (though it sometimes really hurts me) Not to burp. And I'm learning to chew softer When I eat corn on the cob. And I'm learning that it's much Much easier to be a slob. ______________________________________________________ I had to laugh when I read this poem by Viorst. I had to share it.

Morning Prayer
~Ogden Nash
Now another day is breaking, Sleep was sweet and so is waking. Dear Lord, I promised you last night Never again to sulk or fight. Such vows are easier to keep When a child is sound asleep. Today, O Lord, for your dear sake, I'll try to keep them when awake. Ogden Nash is one of my favorite poets -- not the least for the fact that he speaks simple truths in simple ways.  This particular poem is one that I have printed and posted on the mirror of my children's  bathroom.  It is one that I keep with me to remind me of the challenges inherent in holding to one's  resolutions. Each night I make promises to myself about the coming day. Each morning I wake with the best intentions. But the truth that I have finally come to understand is that personal resolutions do not always take into account the wills and ways of other people.  I am not arguing that one shouldn't seek to better oneself. Not at all. But watching my sons struggle to  balance the drive to improve with acceptance of themselves as they are, I have come to understand that we need to remember that the fact that we can improve some elements of our lives and behavior should never imply that we, as individuals, are less than lovable, less than valuable just as we are. This distinction is important for our own individual sense of self worth but it becomes critical when we have  children. We teach by example, whether we intend to do so or not. If we do not love and accept ourselves,  flaws and all, if we do not value our own gifts and offer those gifts to others, how can we expect our children to do so?   So... what am I saying? The Greek myth of Narcissus warns us against selfish love, love that ignores others in it's self obsession but it is easy to go too far in the opposite direction... I am not saying anything new here,  I suppose. Other people have talked about draining the well dry, about giving so much that there is nothing left with which to replenish the source. What I am saying, however, is that when we do this, we teach our children that this is what SHOULD be done. We set them up to have unreasonable expectations of themselves and others. We set a dangerous precedent -- and set our children up to fail. The rain is making me gloomy I fear.

Learning hard lessons

I am reminded that learning is not just about books and academic subjects -- Life itself is a constant lesson and, unfortunately often Life lessons are painful.  For me, perhaps the hardest part of being a mother is watching/re-experiencing those painful lessons as my children encounter them. It would be so nice to hold out my own learning and say 'Here, take this, it won't hurt as much.' But, of course, that is not the way that Life lessons are learned. The best I can do, as a parent, as a person, is to be there, to hold a hand, to wipe away tears, to offer loving arms while my child learns.  Knowing that does not make any of it easier. I wish something did.

One thing I have learned as I have grown older is that compassion for others is an under-appreciated, rarely offered gift. People generally find it easier to offer judgment than compassion. The first has the advantage of placing the Judger in a position of power, authority and immunity from pain. The latter requires empathy, an understanding and recognition of the other person's essential humanity. 'Walk a mile in my moccasins' is not a popular past time. Too painful, too scary.  But it seems to me that if this world and the human race are to survive, we really MUST step into those other shoes. We cannot allow ourselves to be anesthetized to the pain of those around us. It is very human to try to avoid pain but to hide from the pain of others, is to hide from others and that is not living.

That said, as a mother, I wish I could ease the pain my children experience.  Sometimes I fear for my sons: both are extremely empathetic and they absorb the pain of those around them to an alarming degree. Both want so desperately to heal the injuries of the world but they lack, as yet, the experience and wisdom to know what they can do and what they cannot.  And, of course, pain untreated can turn into rage -- rage at the helplessness they feel, rage at the source of the pain. Another lesson, then: Anger is the path to the dark side.  In truth, I think that that may have been the most powerful moment in the Star Wars series, when Anakin, mad with grief, seeks out and destroys all the Sand People, the people who tortured and killed his mother.  When he wakes from his grief induced madness, he wakes in horror at what he has done. That moment is crystalline. It has mostly been ignored by the watchers of the film. Most concentrate on Anakin's conversion to Darth Vader and enjoy the wild ride... but the lesson is there, just as it is in 'Frankenstein'. Both Victor F. and Anakin want to save and protect. Both are driven by a sense of grief and rage at what they perceive as their weakness and failures. Both seek Power, hoping to use it well. But Gandalf the Grey recognized what they did not: Power tempts.  There is that moment, in the first book of the Ring Cycle where Frodo offers Gandalf the ring:

Frodo: Take it!
Gandalf: No, Frodo.
Frodo: You must take it!
Gandalf: You cannot offer me this ring!
Frodo: I'm giving it to you!
Gandalf: Don't... tempt me Frodo! I dare not take it. Not even to keep it safe. Understand, Frodo. I would use this ring from a desire to do good... But through me, it would wield a power too great and terrible to imagine.

Gandalf's wisdom is resisting the temptation of power is something we all need to practice. Too many times, when we are given that power over another, we uses it abusively -- all the while thinking that we are doing it for the well being of the one we control. But how is a parent to know when to step back, to let his/her child stumble and fall and get scraped and bruised, to allow them to rage and cry and recover all on their own? That is the issue I struggle with -- fighting to find a balance between protectiveness and doing harm by stopping my child's growth. Ah well, perhaps I shall re-read The Hobbit: 70th Anniversary Edition and The Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary, One Vol. Edition and get their take on the subject. Grin. They always provide me with unusual perspectives...

Remembrance of things past

I don't know about anyone else but I am an inveterate storyteller -- and the stories my children love to hear (and the ones they actually REMEMBER) are stories from my childhood.

In these stories, certain characters appear over and over. My brothers, for example, 'loom large in my legend' (to paraphrase George Harrison). But the person who has my attention today was a teacher I knew many, many years ago. His name, as far as I knew it, was Mr. Chick and he was my teacher at Sharon Elementary school in Sharon. Massachusetts in 1976. The year is memorable for any number of reasons, not the least being that it was the bi-centennial in Massachusetts and that meant re-enactments of every kind. But it was also memorable because of the friends I made (Hi, Hilary! Hi, Martha!) and because of Mr. Chick.

My sons love to hear HOW Mr. Chick taught -- and really, anyone who teaches can take a lesson from him. He brought joy and excitement and an element of play into what could otherwise have been deadly dull.

For example -- we needed to learn the Preamble to the Constitution and the first ten Amendments. Many of my generation probably remember it from Schoolhouse rock and I admit, that did reinforce the Preamble for me. (Grin). But Mr. Chick had his own approach: He turned it into a marching chant. At the time, he was team teaching with Mrs. Borenstein and they shared a small building with two classrooms divided by a hall. He had us learn the Preamble then marched us out of his classroom and in through hers, shouting the Preamble as loudly as we could. We loved it... though I am not sure what she thought about it!

He did more than that though: when recess came, he PLAYED with us. There was a game called 'Four Square' which involved four players, a red bouncy ball, and a square divided into four smaller squares. Everyone in the whole school knew the basic rules but for us, privileged children of Mr. Chick/Mrs. Borenstein's class, we knew 'Chick's rules'. Perhaps my funniest memory of that game was the time Mr. Chick was playing with a bunch of us. He bounced the ball so hard that it flew out of control and hit... a school window. The crack was so loud that everyone on the playground froze. Everyone but Mr. Chick: "RUN!" he yelled, waving his arms and like obedient children, we fled the scene of the crime... Laugh. I do not know what happened with the window in the end but we were all quite pleased to keep his secret.

He took us on a nature hike once, out just beyond the school grounds. He had mentioned, several times, that we should stay on the path. Of course, once we were out in the green world, several of the boys decided to plunge off and explore. Raising his voice only slightly, Mr. Chick called 'And just watch out for Poison IVY!' The boys returned to the path faster than they had left it... I don't think anyone left the path after that. When we returned to the classroom, he taught us about Poison Ivy, Poison oak and Poison sumac. It was an amazingly effective lesson.

My sons' favorite story, by far, though is of a rather different caliber. Imagine a group of school children in the basement of an old school building. It is nearing the end of the year and the temperatures are rising. The room, dedicated to teaching children typing, is stifling hot and the young teacher (A separate 'typing' teacher had come over from the 'Big' school to teach us.) has thrown open the windows in an attempt to get some air in the room. All the children are melting, dragged down by the heat and no one, including the teacher, is getting much accomplished. Suddenly the door is FLUNG open and Mr. Chick, shining in the sunlight yells 'FLEE, Children! BE FREE!' He holds the door open and children, at first stunned, then delighted, flood past him into the outer world. A last glimpse of the wilted typing teacher shows her gaping at the scene, too hot to even think up a protest.

Mr. Chick taught but he did more than that. He shared joy with us and made the process of learning something more like play and less like punishment. He is no longer with us, and for that, I grieve. But he left me, at least, with a powerful memory -- of what teaching SHOULD be, how it CAN be done, and how truly joyful it can make the learning  process. Thank you, Mr. Chick.

Free Will

Have you ever had a discussion with your child on the subject of 'Free Will'? I cannot say that I have ever 'directed' a conversation on that topic with my sons but they have listened, and participated, in such a discussion with myself and my husband. On that memorable occasion, we were debating the problem of free will, omnipotence and omnipresence and my husband, raised a Catholic and product of a Jesuit college, said firmly, 'When the subject came up in school, the priest's response was simple: When God gave man free will, he CHOSE to surrender omnipotence.' This was in response to my comment that I couldn't understand how man could have free will, behave badly -- get into pain and suffering, and be allowed to do so. As a parent who dearly loves her children, I couldn't IMAGINE watching a child heading into disaster without trying to stop or redirect it. If God was indeed a loving God and parent, how then could this be possible? My husband's answer -- to his mind, allowed for a loving God who willing surrendered the power to protect. This conversation was taking place in the car on the way to Gymnastics and my husband had, cleverly, timed his comment to coincide with our arrival at our destination. The subject, I thought, was closed.

I should have known better.

Several WEEKS, not days, not hours, but WEEKS afterwards, I was having a vocal struggle with my six year old. He wanted to do something that I considered dangerous and I had said 'NO!' In frustration, he finally stormed "I BELIEVE IN FREE WILL AND I WANT MINE!" Snort. It is a good thing that I have lived with this roller coaster since his birth, I retorted 'Well, I am not God and so cannot afford to give up that power. The answer is "No!" To say that I 'won' the argument would be overly optimistic. He didn't do what he wanted to do but I have no doubt that the subject of Free Will will come up again. To that end, I am now working up a 'lesson plan' on the subject of Free Will and Responsible application thereof... Grin.

Television as a teaching tool

Okay, before you begin shuddering in fear at the mention of the big bad TV, I should clarify: I am not talking about WATCHING television -- quite the opposite. I am talking about using the IDEA of television as a tool for teaching...

You might well ask - WHAT could the idea of Television teach? The answer is best given by illustration.

You see, we did succumb to the lure of the blue box: My husband wanted to watch World Cup Soccer and my sons were hooked on a mystery series called "Tower Prep". But the World Cup ended and so too did "Tower Prep"(without ever answering the questions it had raised).  And then my sons discovered the HORRIBLE truth: There was nothing else to watch on T.V.  "The ads" said Xander, "are the best thing on!' But Jason and Xander are not the sort to surrender easily. Rather than simply toss the idea of T.V. (and they are still enamored of the idea) they decided to create their OWN television shows.

The ideas they have generated to this point include 1) Xander's 'The story of pretty much Nobody" ( "Four kids live with their Dad. Dad is never home because he is always off job hunting and mom died four years ago so... the kids wander around in the wilds of their backyard/neighborhood having 'kid-like' adventures -- falling into pits and finding velociraptor skeletons. That kind of thing.") and Jason's "Adventures of Captain Wavy Cape" based on the book/comic strip he wrote when he was five.

Now, I am a homeschooling mom so this screams 'teachable moment' -- I agreed that making our own TV shows was a good idea. I suggested that we work as if we were professionals. We will:

1)create a story board. There is also a site called Jacob Lawrence Whitney which offers not only several Storyboard formats but also offers instruction on how to animate using Powerpoint.

2)sketch up story lines/plots

3) create a cast/character list including pictures of said characters. (I found another form here: Edhelper.com)

4)Then we will write dialogue. I found a handout on writing a TV script which looks quite interesting and useful.



5)and either animate the stories or cast the roles. There is a site that allows you to animate online. We will try that, I think, though I really would rather try out the suggestions from an animator over at Pixar. He offers instruction at 'Tricks to Animating Characters on the Computer'.

Laugh. Oh, this does sound like a fun project! Think I may have to try my own hand at creating a 'television' show!

 

Every day, something new

There are moments in my life when I truly wonder where I am -- the feeling of falling down a Rabbit hole is remarkably strong. Yesterday had one such moment:

I was sitting on my bed, reading aloud from 'The Lost Hero' (the second time we have done this). Xander was snuggled up on one side, Jason on the other. All of a sudden, Jason pops up and heads into my bathroom, 'Keep reading, Mom. I can still hear.' So, obediently, I keep reading. He then comes out (and I know that he has not washed his hands!), heading for the hall. "Jason!' I call, 'Your hands?' 'I still need 'em, Mom' Huh? A few moments pass and he comes back in, carrying the toilet brush. Into my bathroom and there is a sound of scrubbing. He reappears, sans brush, and heads towards the hall again. 'JASON! YOUR HANDS!' 'Still working, mom.' He reappears with a handful of Clorox wipes in his hands and reenters the bathroom. I see him sit down on the floor next to the toilet. It is too much for me. I ask 'What are you doing?' 'Cleaning' he replies, 'Please keep reading.' For lack of any other ideas, I do 'keep reading'. When he finally leaves the bathroom, I ask 'Hands?' He replies 'Yes, I washed them and then I used hand sanitizer.' I am too cowardly to ask 'where' and go with the safer tack in assuming that he meant 'on my hands.'

All of a sudden, Xander begins to cry. I am not a little startled and ask 'Xander? What is wrong?' He says, huge tears rolling down his cheeks, 'Jason did a job I wanted to do! I want a job.' I blink and allow as how I am sure I can find him a job.  Big brown eyes open wide and he asks, hope brimming in his voice, 'Can I do ALL the dishes?' YIKES! We have a sprayer attachment on the sink faucet. The last time he 'washed' dishes, the whole kitchen was washed away in the flood...

 

The Unsung... chickens and fire-crackers

I am a junkie... a junkie hooked on the high of learning and for me one of the unsung benefits of home-schooling is all the learning I get to do...

Take today for example: Today we went to Wilcox Farms in Roy, Washington with a group of Home schooled Scouts. No, this was not an actual 'scouts' event rather it was a small group of parents and children who know each other from Home Schooled Scouts.  One of the mothers, bless her, had heard about Wilcox and arranged for a narrated tour and I am so very glad that she did.

Wilcox Farms, Roy, Washington, is about an hour and a half drive from where we live. The trip out was arduous to say the least -- one of the children gets car sick and our drive down was interspersed with emergency stops. Of course, being that I had three boys, not all the stops were related to car sickness.  Driving along, thinking we were good to go, I would suddenly hear 'I gotta pee!', always AFTER we had just passed an exit or were on a country road with no shoulders. One boy would leap wildly from the car and race away to use 'the bushes'. A short while later 'I need the bushes' and another desperate child fly from the car... You might ask 'why not stop at the next rest stop and have all the boys go?' Answer: I did. I don't know whether it is an atavistic joy to pee in bushes or whether little boys just have a greater need to pee on long road trips but these three...

At any rate, several hours after we left, we arrived at Wilcox Farms in Roy. The scene is lovely and I had absolutely no idea what sort of farm it was... Turns out it is a chicken farm -- not the sort that raises chickens, however but a farm dedicated to producing eggs -- approximately 36,400,000 eggs per year. We learned all sorts of fascinating facts -- like the fact that it takes a chicken approximately 26 hours to produce one egg, that Leghorn chickens -- the ones that produce those lovely large white eggs -- are kept caged in 'conventional commercial' chicken farms because the hens are extremely aggressive and if left in a free range situation, they would kill each other.  Wilcox farms has both 'conventional' hen houses -- each house containing approximately 70,000 hens kept in pairs in cages (the Leghorns) -- and organic hen houses. The organic houses, which contain about 25,000 chicken per house, are 'free' range -- that is, the chickens are 'free' to wander around the hen house and the fenced chicken yards. And the hens in the organic hen houses are Rhode Island Reds. Apparently they are much more mellow creatures and highly social. According to our very knowledgable guide, when the hens hear the bus coming, they crowd up to the fence to take a look at all the people... On our trip, no chickens appeared -- to the distress of the children -- but the guide explained that hens in question were still only babies and would be kept inside until they were large enough to be safe outside.

Chickens, it turns out, are attractive to many predators: Bobcat, Coyote, Raccoon, Possum, Rats and ... Eagles. Now the first group of predators are relatively easy to defeat: the yard is fenced and nine dogs run the farm. Eagles, however, are death from above -- and, as they are an endangered species, the farmers cannot shoot them. So how then does one defend against them? Laugh. The guide allowed as how, when the Wilcoxes contacted Fish and Game with their problem, Fish and Game acknowledged the issue and provided a very creative -- and non-lethal solution. Fish and Game supplied the farm with hi-tech slingshots and large fire-crackers. When an eagle is spotted, one person loads and aims the slingshot while another person lights the fire-cracker. The fire cracker is then release up towards the eagle. They never hit the eagles but the noise is extremely loud and, after a couple such encounters, the eagles back off... for awhile.  I don't know that the children fully appreciated the elegance of the solution but I was in stitches.

The tour was not just about chickens, of course. There was a one room school house  museum-- the children were less interested in the school itself (though they all ran to sit down at desks, something few of them had ever done before!) than in the fact that the floor of the school house was littered with lady bugs. (Xander made it his mission to find and 'rescue' the living ones and begged to be allowed to keep a dead 'zero spot' lady bug.) and a Farm Museum which contained an impressive number of ancient farm machines including a 'home made' tractor and an old delivery van. (That was a hit with the kids as they were allowed to climb in and around it.) There was a log cabin and an ancient chicken house plus lots of room to run and jump and yell. As a final 'high note' to the tour, we were taken into the 'egg processing' plant which stunk quite a bit and watched as eggs were packed into cartons.  We saw as the eggs passed over a light source and two women plucked out eggs that were cracked and tossed them in the trash. It was amazing to see how quickly their hands moved. And we saw the USDA inspector wandering the floor: "Anytime we process eggs, he is here." we were told. All in all, it was an impressive operation -- even more so when we learned that the Wilcox sends its 'Organic' chicken poo to the farmers who grow the 'organic' grain that Wilcox then buys to feed the 'organic' chickens.  A local business supporting and supported by other local businesses.

The trip was a success. When we got home and were having dinner, both boys were able to tell their dad quite a bit about the trip... though Xander did NOT tell his father that he planned to start a chicken farm...

 

Time Management, getting things done, and producing Excellence

"Four months before that emergency landing, Southwest had agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle charges that it operated planes that had missed required safety inspections for cracks in the fuselage. "

Okay, I know that for some, the link between metal fatigue in a plane's fuselage and time management skills in a homeschooled child would seem thin, if not non-existent. Bear with me and I will show you how the two fit together:

As someone who both attended college and taught classes in college, I know that many students arrive on the scene with NO time management skills. They wait until the very last moment to write papers, study for exams, etc and then claim that the reason for this 'delayed' response is because they have too much work to do.  Airlines use the same reasoning when they skip scheduled maintenance on planes. Inspections and maintenance are 'onerous,' especially when the airlines have schedules to meet. In the first case, the only one who suffers for sloppy work and poor planning is the student. In the latter, the possibility exists that many people will be injured or killed. But here is the question: Where do the people (working for the airlines) learn/develop the habit of 'putting off until tomorrow'? I would argue that they learn it early, at home, and have it reinforced by their own behavior in college... especially if they can get away with it.

Let me backtrack for a moment: When I first started teaching, I would assign a paper, offer an 'optional' deadline for drafts (if the student wanted me to review their work BEFORE the final turn in), and give a deadline.  Most freshmen did not take advantage of the optional draft turn in and the papers that they DID turn in, often in the last five minutes of the day, right before I headed home, showed clear evidence that they had been written in a rush, probably the night before.  I would spend, quite literally, hours going through those papers, editing the ENGLISH so that I could read the essay.  When I finally had the essays in readable form, I would find that the argumentation and the evidence were poorly done, if they even existed at all. After two semesters of this, I changed my approach. I made the draft mandatory... and after another semester, I made it a rule that if I found more than five errors in the ENGLISH,  the student had to take the paper to the English tutors and correct the draft before returning it to me to read through for the History.  Students groused about this, complaining that they didn't 'have time', that their course load was 'too heavy' to waste time working on drafts.  What kept me firm in my new approach was the fact that I had students, many of them older students who were also holding down full time jobs, who were ABLE to do what was asked. The difference between the two groups was that the first group (1)lacked time management skills and (2)did not have a developed appreciation of doing quality work. To this first group, class assignments were just a box that needed to be filled on the way to something more important and as such, these assignments were 'unimportant' in and of themselves.  A similar attitude can be seen in companies who 'skip' maintenance and inspections because they are 'onerous' and 'unnecessary.'

Colin Powell is credited with saying " If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude."  Thomas Jefferson said 'I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.'  In fact, if you do a search, you will find that many of the most successful -- and by this I mean people who have left a positive mark on the world -- people are those who understand the value of work. Moreover, they are individuals who have developed the 'habit' of paying attention to the 'small' things as much as to the big. When someone is trained from the beginning to focus on seeking to create excellence in what they do, whether it be writing a paper for a history class or meticulous maintenance of an airplane, the work is not onerous, it is simply 'right'. Pearl S. Buck, a fine American writer, noted that "the secret of joy in work is contained in one word - excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it." But in order to 'pay attention' to small things and to achieve excellence, one must know how to manage time. Much of the time the excuse for skipping the small things, for doing shoddy work or no work at all, is that there wasn't enough time. But things done poorly, or not at all, most often end up costing MUCH MUCH more -- in terms of time, money, and even lives.

So here is my point: Time Management skills are as important as mathematics/reading/writing/science in ANY educational program. I used to grouse about the fact that when I was in school, home economics class taught us to wash eggs and how to cook peanut butter cookies with peanut butter frosting. They did NOT teach us useful skills -- like how to create a budget, balance a check book or how to schedule our time effectively. Those were skills that would actually have CONTRIBUTED to our success as adults. To my knowledge, schools still do not teach those skills... though there may be the exception. For the most part, if you want to be taught those skills, you need to seek out a course and pay money for it... I did that when I was a senior in High School. I told my father, 'I have found a two day, weekend, course that will teach me note-taking and time management -- and I will need both to succeed in college.' My father agreed, I spent my money, and he made sure that I was able to make the course. How much simpler it would've been had I had those things taught to me earlier in my educational career...

Homeschool parents are in a unique position, one that we do not always appreciate, I fear. We have a chance to look back, over our own education, and to see what skills we wished we had been taught -- life skills as well as academic subjects. For me, one of the most critical skills is Time Management and one of the most critical attitudes is the high valuation of excellence, especially in the small things. With training in time management and an appreciation of/determination in excellence in both small and large jobs, I know that my sons will succeed in whatever they chose to do... and that, in the end, is one of my goals for our homeschool.

The Little things

My youngest son loves bats. In fact, if you ask him, and even if you don't, he will tell you that he is part bat.  I am not sure where this fascination came from but I can understand it. Unlike some who are terrified of the creatures they call 'flying rodents', I have had an affection for the creatures ever since I was in fifth grade.

That year we were living in Massachusetts, in the small town of Sharon. It was really the best year of my public school life. Because of my family's late arrival to the place, I was placed in a separate portable where two teachers, Mr. Chick and Mrs. Borenstein, team taught. I was terribly shy, awkward with being the 'new' kid, and when no teacher called my name for their class, I wanted to curl up and die. It was then that I was rescued by one of the loveliest souls I have ever been honored to know. Hilary Karas, the girl with the brilliant smile and bouncing black curls, saw me. She called out 'Mr. Chick, nobody called on her. Can she come with us?' Bless the girl. We became good friends that year... And Mr. Chick, of Chick's Rule for foursquare, and Mrs. Borenstein, with the one white streak in her otherwise midnight hair, were wonderful teachers. Mr. Chick, who taught Social Studies amongst other things, had us march through Mrs. Borenstein's class while reciting the Preamble to the Constitution. Grin. I have a load of tales to tell about that man and I do remember that the whole class was DEEPLY disappointed to discovered that these two teachers couldn't be married -- they worked so very well together and made their classes full of joy.

And that was the year, to return to my discussion of bats, that they arranged for a lady from the Audubon society to come in and share with us. She came once a month and we all waited breathlessly to see who she would bring... She always brought someone. (Once she brought a skunk, descented, but OH! Did we laugh when Mrs. Borenstein, all unsuspecting, pulled open the drawer that the skunk had been investigating!!) And one time she brought a little brown bat...

She let each of us, those of us who wanted to do, hold the small creature. It was so tiny, so fragile, so delicately made -- and so terrified. I remember feeling a kinship with it because I knew very well how terrifying the world could seem when you are little and not in control. And I was fascinated at how delicately it had been shaped. It was not some accidental, gross creation, thrown together from left over bits. Every part of the bat served a very specific purpose and its wings... Have you ever considered the construction of a wing? The difference between a bird's wing and a bat's? They are strikingly different. I realized, holding that small creature, how very amazing the world, and its creatures, really is.

But what, you may ask, brought these reflections on? A news article in the Times: "The Economic Cost of Losing Bats".  The boys and I have been reading the Percy Jackson series and in it Grover, the Satyr, finds the Lord of the Wild, Pan, as he is dying. Pan leaves Grover with a heavy burden, to spread the word to EVERYONE that saving the planet is each person's responsibility. 'The damage is too great, the burden to heavy for just one god.' Pan tells Grover and his friends. And here again, as with the stories of the Bees dying off and the Frogs disappearing, we see an indication of just how fragile our world is. We really do need to take responsibility -- or the world that our children inherit... It scares me to think of what will/won't be left.

So today, in honor of the little creatures who contribute so much to our world and our survival, I think we will start a series of units focusing on these little ones. We will start, I think, with the bats. There are many resources. Homeschool Share has a bat lapbook/unit study and one on Nocturnal Animals, both for free. If you are feeling flush, Hands Of A Child has a Bats Lapbook (12.00$)that you can purchase with an optional Kit pack (also 12.00) if you don't want to have to fuss with photocopying pages out of the Lapbook project pack.

Then there are the unit studies: One is called 'The Wonderful World of Bats

For frogs I have found: Just Mommies Frog Study

In the end, I think the poet, William Blake said it best when he wrote his poem, Auguries of Innocence

To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.

Perhaps with our study of the 'little things' we will be able to hold onto that innocent appreciation of 

the wonders of this world for just a little bit longer.

Tea for Two

It never fails to amaze me, the ideas that take a hold on a child's imagination. For some reason, my sons have become enamored of the British meal, tea. Yesterday, when I was feeling very sick to my stomach, my sons prepared a 'tea' for me. It consisted of: greek olives, toast, peanut butter, jelly, bread, salami, cheese slices, apples, and, of course, tea... Mango Zinger tea, to be precise. They very carefully arranged it on a lazy Susan (Which I had put out in the hall to be taken to Goodwill...) and called me down. I joined them and munched on crackers (all that my stomach could take) while they happily piled their plates and ate their 'tea'. So pleased were they with their 'tea' that Jason immediately announced that we should make one night a week 'British' night and cook and eat a British meal. Hmmm...

Today, at 12:30, the boys announced 'It is tea time!' 'It is lunch time.' I agreed. 'NO! Tea Time!' they insisted. I shrugged. I am not really overly worried about the naming of things. The 'rectification of names' has its place but not all the time:> So the boys put together their 'tea'. Today it consists of Pina Colada tea, raisins (which have been renamed 'figs' in honor of The stories Julian tells ), salami, two kinds of cheese, sourdough bread, homemade peanut butter, cashew butter, jam, and apples. It is an eclectic meal, to put it mildly, and at some point, I will take them to a real 'High Tea' but for now they are enjoying themselves so thoroughly -- and it gives me a chance to reinforce the idea that the cooks need to help clean up...

What are 'shee-shits' anyway?

Good morning!
I know, a weird title for a blog post but you see, this is the question that has been puzzling me this morning. I will explain:

Jason just turned 10 and, for his 10th birthday, his father (an avid photographer) gave him a Nikon camera and lens. Jason was over the moon and immediately started taking photos. Then tragedy struck... the batteries died. Tom calmly put them to recharge before leaving on his trip to Dubai. This morning, Jason bounced in and, collecting the batteries, inserted them and went off with his little brother to take pictures of 'shee-shits'. These creatures were created by Xander. They look like little pieces of thread and lint but, according to the boys, they are alive. Today they have decided to create a photo-documentary of the creatures. Jason is the camera man, Xander the naturalist. I have promised to upload the pictures so that Jason can photoshop them with the understanding that they will be uploaded for public viewing.

Laugh. Actually, what we need to do is work on our Beastiary. I figure that, once it is created, the boys can refer to it when writing their novels. As I plan to take them to the Office supply store to get notebooks for their writing anyway, I will just go ahead and pick up some sketch books which they can decorate and use for the Beastiary. I will upload pictures of that project as soon as I have them.

So today's plan is: breakfast, chores, trip to store to get supplies, work on Beastiary and writing, then off to Tae Kwon Do. From TKD, we will head home to do some school work/projects (we are starting on two lapbooks: one on Mythical Beasts and one on Multiplication) and garden planting (should weather permit). If all goes well, we will make Slime (A non-Newtonian liquid) as part of our science class and perhaps peruse a documentary on Ancient Greece. Should keep us busy, don't you think?

Examining courage

"Courage is the price that Life exacts for granting peace." ~~ Amelia Earhart

 



Okay, I am a curriculum and resource junkie, I will admit it. My house looks like... well, a bookstore cum garage sale, I am sorry to say... too much stuff and too little time. But the plus is... if anyone wants to know about something, I can usually put my hand on the information.

That said, I wanted to mention the site above. It is BRILLIANT. The lady who writes this blog is a creative writing teacher -- and I mean both that she teaches 'creative writing' and that she IS creative. Lovely. She has an entire course laid out on the blog and believe me, junkie that I am, I am going to try it. Whee! A new day's adventure is about to begin.

Collected links for Education and Fun...

Sigh. It appears that I have contracted the illness that has been making the rounds in my family. I had hoped that I would be passed by but as so often happens, free will is given only so much rein. Despite our fantasies to the contrary, there are some things over which we have no control -- and illness seems to be one of those.  If I were the type to speak of 'karma', I might think that I had brought it on myself, by laughing privately when my six year old announced that he was 'not going to get sick' on his brother's birthday.  I explained to him that some things are not necessarily a choice, that when your body is ill, it will do what it will do. He had no use for such an idea -- and now, I can understand why. Being sick stinks, both literally and figuratively.

But  I have never been one to recognize limits -- my husband chided me on that just the other day. He did allow as how I have gotten better during the sixteen years of our marriage but still, I find it difficult to be limited by outside forces. Laugh. And there again, I could point to 'Karma' as I have at least one child, and sometimes two, who find limitations difficult to accept. Can you imagine? An immovable object meets an irresistible force? Ah, but I am getting side-tracked here.

Though I may be ill, I still need to be doing: cleaning the house (though not cooking as I do not wish to spread the illness around again), and working at this, that, and the other project. My current project has been to compile a series of pages dedicated to the useful educational links that I have found in my wanderings in the Labyrinth called the Web. I thought, perhaps, some people might be interested so I am including links to those pages here:

L'Academie Des Chevalier History Sites

L'Academie Des Chevalier Math Sites

L'Academie des Chevalier Educational Games

LAC Homeschool blogs and Resources

LAC Writing Pages

LAC English Pages

These pages are updated regularly as there is a limited number of links that I can add per day... so check back and see what you see. I have been told by several folks with whom I shared the Educational games site that their kids are over the moon with delight -- and that they, the adults, have not had access to the computer since their kids discovered the page...

 

Nim's Island and the question of courage

Nim's Island (Full Screen Edition) -- have you seen it? Or read it?(Nim's Island)  It is a lovely story, and(homeschoolers will be especially pleased with this)  stars a very bright 'island schooled' little girl named 'Nim'.  At this precise moment, however, my interest is focused on a particular phrase: Nim, the heroine of the tale, is asking her father why her favorite fictional character, Alex Rover, is so brave.  Her father replies "Courage is not inside you. It is something you have to relearn every day, in the choices you make."  That particular phrase resonates with me. The question of courage is one with which we battle daily. My eldest, as kind and loving a soul as I have ever met, is beset by fears of nameless things. Perhaps it is his age (he has just turned ten)? I know that, at this age, children become painfully aware of  mortality, both their own and that of others. They become aware of the frailty of human knowledge and wisdom -- specifically, they begin to suspect the flawed nature of their parents' wisdom. Regardless of the whys of this development, the issue of how one gains and practices courage is of great interest in our homeschool.

Now I am a great believer in using multi-media tools for study and learning. Movies and Novels, especially, have proven useful in the past. So here, then, is a story that I wish to use in discussing the question of courage and of how one achieves it.  First I went looking for existing materials: An Educator's Guide to Nim's Island looked promising but it's focus is on teaching children about their environment and the need to protect it, a worthy topic but not quite what I had in mind. More such resources exist at Walden.com and at The Weekly Reader.

Next I discovered a wonderful Unit Study at Homeschool Share -- something I am most definitely going to pursue and another one at Squidoo. At 'Blog, She wrote" I found some lovely images of Nim's Island Salt Dough Maps. But this was still not quite what I wanted. I found a blog which recorded another family's Nim Adventures: Liberty Hill House: Nim's Island Lessons - Chapter 2. And then I found something upon which I could base my own 'Unit Study' -- Munce.com's Study Guide. The study guide is very much Christian oriented, so for those who are not so inclined, this may be a bit off putting but the questions that it asks/addresses are similar to the ones that I wish to pursue: how does one display courage and when? What is a courageous act -- does it have to be something big and splashy like saving your little sister? Or can it be something smaller and quieter -- like walking out your own front door? I think that my next stop will be the Konos and Weaver units, as both use questions of Character as subjects of unit studies. I will see what I can pull together and, when it is complete, add it to this blog. Wish me luck...

Spring Reading Thing

Okay, if 52 books in 52 weeks is not enough... here is Spring Reading Thing! This contest asks you to offer a list of books to read/finish between March 20th and June 2oth so I guess I had better getting snapping! My list (with links to Amazon in case you want a more complete description):

On the Social and Emotional Lives of Gifted Children by Tracy L. Cross, Ph.D.

Advice on Dying and Living a Better Life by His Holiness, the Dalai Lama

Trojan Horses: Saving the Classics from the Conservatives by Page Dubois

Angels and Ages: A Short Book about Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life by Adam Gopnik

A Mathematician's Lament by Paul Lockhart

The Way of Herodotus: Travels with the Man who invented History by Justin Marozzi

Finding Sanctuary: Monastic Steps for Everyday Life by Abbott Christopher Jamison

A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis

Educating your gifted child by Vicki Caruana

Magic: The Untold Story of U.S. Intelligence and the Evacuation of Japanese Residents from the West Coast during WWII by David Lowman

The Last Knight by Norman F. Cantor

The Ghost in the Machine by Arthur Koestler

Gorgon: Paleontology, Obsession, and the Greatest Catastrophe in Earth's History by Peter D. Ward

Nothing to do, nowhere to go: Waking up to who you are by Thit Nhat Hanh

From First Draft to Finished Novel by Karen S. Weisner

The Great Tradition Edited by Richard M. Gamble

52 books in 52 weeks

Just spotted this challenge, 52 books in 52 weeks, on Robin's blog and am intrigued. Not like I need an EXCUSE to read, of course, laugh. I usually have several books going simultaneously... some of interest only to me, some having to do with schooling, some which are 'pre reads' for my sons, and some which are, I admit, just plain 'brain candy'. That said, I think it would be interesting to do this. It would, in a sense, give me an excuse to read -- I could call it 'homework' and carve out a small niche of time just for me to indulge myself..

For this week, I am starting with A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis, A Mathematician's Lament by Paul Lockhart, and Game of Thrones by George Martin. These are my (laugh) recreational reading! I will not include the books that I read for my 'work' as a homeschooler.

 

Birthday thoughts

It was ten years ago, at eight minutes after midnight, that my own 'little buddha' was born. His father was thrilled with the timing  as it meant that he didn't have to go into work and me? Well, I was just plain thrilled. It had been a rough ride -- I went into labor with a bang. I had just swallowed a fruit smoothie -- my stomach was feeling oogie -- when suddenly I felt violently ill. I rushed off to the bathroom and Tom rushed to start packing. I was in the bathroom, contemplating the ironies of life, when Tom called through the door: "I've got a suitcase packed. Let's go." Being the  conscientious sort, I called back, "Dr. Faulkner says to time the contractions and when they are three minutes a part, to go in." I could hear the poor man pulling his hair. I started timing. Five minutes, four minutes, okay, three minutes -- but no rush. I asked Tom to call our Doula. Teeth grinding, he did so. She talked to me for a moment and said 'Honey, you are in labour. Shall I meet you at home or at the hospital?' Hospital and now, finally, at 9 pm, half an hour after I first went into the bathroom, Tom raced me (carefully) to the hospital, dropped me off at the ER entrance (the front of the hospital was locked) and went off to park the car. Despite having been through an orientation at the hospital, when the time came, all I could think about were the horrendous cramps in my stomach and back. I wobbled up to the desk and, tears in my voice, I wailed 'I am in labor and I don't know what to do!' As if on cue, the elevator door opened up and a tall, slender man walked out pushing a wheelchair. One of the people at the desk called 'Hey, Mike! This lady is in labor. Can you take her to fifth floor triage?' "Of course!' Mike said and helped me, gently, into the wheelchair. All the way up in the elevator I said 'Thank you' -- they were the only words that came to mind. Mike pushed the wheelchair into Triage and left me in the capable hands of our Doula and the labor nurse. The nurse examined me and called the Doctor with her findings. After a brief, and somewhat heated discussion on the nurse's part ("SHE IS IN LABOR! I know when a woman IS IN LABOR!"), they took me into a labor room to await the doctor and my husband. It was, I am told, a fast labor -- to be precise, it was about three hours and 38 minutes long. That may be why it hurt so much. Jason was born with a roar (with Louis Armstrong, in the background, singing 'What a wonderful world'), yelling his unhappiness to the world. The labor nurses laughed and laughed. The one cleaning him off said 'Oh, my! Look at how RED he is. This is one mad baby.' She seemed thoroughly delighted with him -- and, indeed, offered to take him if we didn't want him. Laugh. Then she handed him to me and he quieted to a mutter, complaining to me softly before falling asleep.  It was some sort of ride.

When he woke a short time later, and after he had nursed, his father took him, oh so carefully, and danced an Irish jig around the room to which we had been moved. Maybe that is why Jason, to this day, loves Irish dance music and dancing. Whatever the case, he was our miracle -- a tiny Yodaesque baby whose every breath delighted us.

And now he is ten. I can hardly believe it. He woke this morning with a grin on his face. His little brother (6) woke with a very sick tummy. Bless the boy. The plan had been to take Jason out to breakfast whereever he chose but when he realized how ill his little brother was feeling, he said calmly, "If Xander doesn't feel good, we won't go. We can do it some other time, when he is feeling better." Not wanting his birthday day to be a complete write off, I suggested that maybe he and his dad could do something. Jason's eyes lit up. "I would like to go fishing, please."  So the two of them went off to go fishing and then to have a birthday breakfast. Tom called me a short time ago to say that they had 'had fun fishing' but that Jason was getting cold and they were going to go for breakfast. 'But before we go,' Tom told me, 'Jason wanted me to call and to tell you to tell Xander that we had found him an air soft pellet.' (Xander, for whatever reason, collects them). Bless the boy. His heart is so big and he loves his little brother dearly. The feeling is mutual -- Laugh. Feeling very sick to his tum, Xander nonetheless announced (tearfully) 'I will NOT throw up on my brother's birthday! I WILL NOT! I get to make this choice and I WON'T DO IT!' Sadly, it really wasn't his choice.

Sigh. Despite the unhappy nature of his brother's health, nothing can detract from the joy that Jason's presence in our lives has brought. Oh, we have our ups and downs. He is, as he would be the first to tell you, more like Gawain than like Galahad. He has his full share of human frailties but he also has the brightest blue eyes, an incredibly infectious laugh, and an enormously generous heart.  Unlike so many ten year old boys, Jason loves to talk with girls and has been accorded the great honor of being informed by an 11 year old girl that he is 'the only SENSIBLE boy' she knows. He likes girls -- really likes them as people.

Of course, one of Jason's gifts is that he likes people. I remember, when he was about 2, we went to the grocery store on Veteran's Day. As I was pushing the cart past a table where several Older Vets were sitting (the store had a Veteran's Day display), Jason smiled and burst into "Its a Grand Old Flag". The gentlemen at the table immediately stood at attention and when he was through, one of them came over and gently shook Jason's hand. 'Thank you' he said solemnly, 'It makes me feel good to hear that song.'

When we had finished our shopping, we stopped into Goodwill (which was just across the street). I was looking for little boy clothes. They always seem too small by morning! I found what I needed and we went to check out. As we were walking up, we passed a large (both in height and girth)bearded man who was covered in tatoos and wearing a bandana. Jason looked at him and smiled a broad smile. The man stared and then came over to me.  Jason continued smiling at him. The man, tears distinct in his voice, said, 'He is smiling at me!' I looked and nodded and said 'Yes, he does that.' 'No', the man said sadly, 'You don't understand. Children are usually scared of me.' I looked back at my son. He was still smiling and watching us. 'Well,' I said 'I don't think he is.' The man very carefully held his hand out to Jason, who took it, and said 'Thank you' then walked away quickly but not before I saw the shine in his eyes.  Bless the baby.

And so, today, my first born is ten. No longer a baby, not yet a man but always, always, my special joy.

Early mornings and computer programming

Hey there!

Maybe it is because I have been up since 3 am with a sick child, but my brain is tumbling over ways to teach material so that it is both exciting and accessible. Imagine my delight when I came across the Arduino Blog and his discussion of cards designed to teach computer programming. Now I am OLD. My first programming experience was with Basic, then with COBOL and since then, I have fallen down a maze of rabbit holes. That is not the best way to learn a subject, though it can be a lot of fun. Now my sons are interested in learning programming -- quite simply, they want to create Games for Nintendo. We started with ALICE , moved onto GameMaker and Scratch but weren't entirely satisfied.  I then discovered PHROGRAM . The previous programs are free. Phrogram you have to buy. On the other hand, of the four, Phrogram seems to have click with my sons.  It was designed for children from the get go and, according to the site:

"you can try products that minimize code and use graphics in a "drag-&-drop" environment, like Alice and Scratch. These may appeal to very young learners, of if you want your program to tell a story, but they are not much like what programmers actually do and they won't show you what real programming is all about ... that's what makes Phrogram different.  Phrogram's "plain language" approach makes it easier to understand, read and write code. Its commands are concise and the tools are easy to master. And, because Phrogram is built on Microsoft's powerful .NET Framework, your programs can do much more with much less code."

For whatever reason, Phrogram seems to work best for us. My 9 year constantly reminds me that 'I need to study programming today, Mom' -- something that cannot be said for most of his other subjects (Laugh). That said, after what I read at the Arduino blog ( a blog recommended by a friend of mine who used to work for NASA) and what I have seen at the Complubot site, I think I am going to add a little variety to our Programming courses.  The idea that one can learn using cards is nothing new -- Many math programs recommend the use of card games ( I am thinking in particular of RightStart here) and it just makes good educational sense that something that is enjoyable to do will be retained better than something viewed as 'work.'

This idea, that 'fun' = effective learning has been picked up by some colleges as well. At Palomar college, Instructors are using Legos to teach computer programming. Marlboro has a syllabus for such a class available as well. The Legos being utilized are the Mindstorms robots (for which, it turns out, there are a variety of programming languages available!), a product that my six year old has been lusting after for as long as he can remember. Mindstorms is a bit advanced for him but it turns out that Lego, 'wise in the ways of the force', has an answer for that. Their WeDo program is designed for early Elementary kids. I haven't dived into that particular pool just yet, I admit. Part of me trembles at the thought of Weird Science coming to my house (Grin) but maybe for his birthday....

WeDo and Mindstorms are for the future. Complubot's card game has yet to be released but the idea... the idea is a great one and I may have to work on creating a similar approach using the Phrogram's system as the model... Hmm. Funny what tired brains can conceive.

 

A moment in a life

There are moments in life which have the gift of being both comic and painful. Such a moment occurred today: both boys are enrolled in theater classes and while my eldest is quite happy to be off at his class alone, I often sit in on my six year old's class. Today they were building props for their play -- in this case, a paper mache mushroom. As you can imagine, the making of a newspaper and glue construction can get a bit sticky and, as one might expect, there were the requisite spills and over applications of glue and massive over utilization of paper towels. But the truly exciting moments had little to do with the mushroom building and everything to do with six year old boys in a small room for an hour and a half while the sun was shining outside. The first incident, which did not involve my son (A selfish 'thank heavens!'), occurred when a little boy, in an excess of enthusiasm ran head long, head FIRST into a wooden door... This action had, of course, followed upon his being asked 'not to run around the room, please.' Hmm... crash, bang, tears and mommy came. Off goes that little one, throughly unhappy with the world. Sigh.

The next 'moment', however, starred my son, front and center.  It was half way through the class and the two ladies who were running the class decided that it was time for a water/bathroom break. Off the class troops. Ah, but here a problem arose: two women with a class equally divided between boys and girls and two bathrooms, one for boys and one for girls... so the six year old boys were sent off to the men's room... by themselves. I, meanwhile, am sitting quietly, working on schoolwork. Suddenly I hear the unmistakable sound of my son... crying. In he comes, face dripping with tears and red with unhappiness. 'He HIT me! He PUNCHED me!'  he announced loudly. Another woman, not part of the class, had followed him and explained that the other little boy was in tears too. Over the course of the next few minutes the story emerged. The boys had gone to the bathroom. Xander had turned ON the light. The other child had turned the light OFF. Xander turned the light ON and, when the other child (who, to Xander's indignation, was laughing) went to turn the light off again, Xander reached out and grabbed his hair. The other boy punched Xander in response... After hearing the story, the young woman teaching the class said calmly, 'Well, now, maybe pulling his hair wasn't the best response.' Xander replied indignantly, 'Well, I didn't PUNCH him! If I'd punched him, I might've broken his ARM!' She allowed as how punching was probably not the best solution either. Xander looked mutinous. She explained that a better approach would've been to ASK the other child not to turn the light off. Xander expressed his doubts about the efficacy of such an approach and she then said 'Well, in that case, you should leave and ask a teacher for help.' I kept silent through the whole of this, figuring I should not undermine the teacher's authority but a part of me shook my head -- not that I disagreed with the general outline of behavior. Quite the contrary. But having dealt with children this age in large groups, I know that telling them what they 'Should do' after the fact rarely works to teach them anything.  Children, like many adults, tend to react rather than reason and it is for this reason that sending a small group of six year old boys into a bathroom by themselves rarely ends well.

Of course, I cannot be too holier than thou about this. Grin. It was only last night that I walked into the bathroom (at the end of bathes) to discover a minor flood on the floor and my six year old busily 'cleaning it up' with toilet paper... the whole roll!

Such are the moments in the life of a boy (and his mother).

 

New Professions

What are your children interested in being when they grow up? My two started out predictably: as with most boys, they have a passion for Fossils, one that was fed when we were lucky enough to visit the T-Rex Museum in Tucson. The T-Rex Museum, which sadly is now out of business, was created and run by a retired Paleontologist. It was a small place, crammed to the gills with Fossils and hands on projects. It was, in the words of it's owner 'The sort of place I wish there had been when I was a kid.' Upon leaving it, after our first visit, my youngest said, decisively "When I grown up, I am going to be a Paleontologist." My eldest, ever insightful, responded "Xander, you don't have to grown up to be a Paleontologist. Just DIG!"

This budding passion morphed a bit for my eldest after we made a weekend trip to the Stone Rose Site in Republic Washington. At this site, a dry river bed, amateur paleontolgists can dig for their own fossils. The only caveats are (1)significant finds are kept and catalogued by the museum and (2)one can only take a certain number of fossils home per day.  This experience plus a hefty dose of reading (Please note: The link will take you to an Amazon list. You can then find the books/videos at your Library if you don't wish to purchase them) about the Prehistoric seas led my eldest to his new passion: Marine Paleontology.  In that vein, he decided that his focus in Boy Scouts would be, when he is old enough, a branch called 'Sea Scouts'. We are lucky in this respect: one of our closest family friends is a Sea Scouts Captain and, better yet, a Geologist by training.

But, of course, while boys like Dinosaurs, and while the passion for Fossils still animates my sons' souls, their ideas about what they 'want to do when I grow up' continue to change. The latest one caught even me by surprise: My youngest has decided that he wants to be a Blacksmith... now, hmm... he has informed me that he is going to (1)have his forge in the Barn (GULP!) (2)that he wants to be apprenticed to a working Blacksmith (Do they take six year olds, Mommy? I want to start NOW!) and (3) that he needs to 'build up' his muscles because Blacksmiths have to be 'strong.' (Grin. He started his 'weight training' program by manfully carrying our HEAVY library book bags to the care for me. He had been hefting them around the library and demonstrating his muscles to the bemused librarians.) And his older brother, the budding Marine Paleontologist? Well, he still wants to do that but now, as a complimentary position to his brother's blacksmithing, he has decided to learn how to be... a KNIGHT! Yep, complete training is required, Mom. And after all, he points out to me, there is no reason whatsoever that he is restricted to ONE ambition...

Sigh. Who knows where we will end up. Meanwhile, I need to start helping them to hunt down information about Knighthood and Blacksmithing. Wish me luck!

 

 

Learning Every Day

It is striking how life changes moment to moment. Things that seemed SO IMPORTANT one minute disappear from one's memory the next. This is very much the case for these past few days. News from Hawaii, where I have family and friends, and Japan -- where a number of my friends/relatives have family has been at the forefront of our minds. We still think and worry for the folks in Iraq and Libya.. for the soldiers and the civilians caught up in the politics of the powerful but the unfolding tragedy in Japan has pretty much overtaken and subsumed our attention.  I hurt, inside me, when I hear the numbers. I grieve for those lost and wish that there were something immediate that I could do. Raising money seems a good, though not very immediate, project -- on the other hand, I realize that those folks are going to NEED the money. To that end, I am including a link to a list of donation sites -- all of them authentic.

As is human, the discussions of what is happening in Japan has led to discussions about what COULD happen here in the Puget Sound Region. The boys and I have agreed that it makes sense to put together an emergency kit. The boys are also planning to learn Morse Code and to study HAM radio operations. We have also been putting together a Glog: Puget Sound Disaster Preparedness . Although some of the information is specific to this reason, there are also links to National Emergency sites as well as links to the history of quakes and tsunamis for those who are interested.

I find, awful though it may sound, that I am desperately in need of the minutiae of life as a distraction from the griefs of the world. Too much information, too many images of all that is happening in Japan and in the Middle East plus a hefty dose of 'Daylight Savings' and Tax time blues, has led to a very blue Mommy. So, with that in mind, this will be my only post on the current events of the larger world. I will return to the joys and terrors of little boys and leave news reporting to the professionals.

Blessings on you all.

Glogs!

Okay, I have found a new education tool -- and am I having fun with it. The tool is called a 'glog' -- it is a visual collection of links on a given subject.

So far I have made three glogs -- http://kerri2.edu.glogster.com/betwixt-and-twain/ A glog for Mark Twain

-- http://kerri2.edu.glogster.com/shakespeare-amongst-the-maples/ A Glog for Shakespeare learning

-- http://kerri2.edu.glogster.com/greek-myths-classroom/ A Glog for studying the Greek Myths

And the best part? I have my own built in critics! My sons are more than willing to check through the glogs and tell me what they think! Ain't learning grand?

 

Visit my newest project: A Shakespeare Glog...