The G.A.P. Pilgrim

New Magazine - Relevant

2009-03-26T22:22:00.002-05:00

Today little man went to play with someone who might rank as his "best friend" - he had his first sleep over this weekend with him. We all survived; but, getting up at 5:45 was a little early for all of us. It was my kiddo that caused all the problems though. So today we went back over to their house (we do most Thursdays). My friend had something to take care of, so I was going to read while the boys played. I had picked up a book that had the original Pinnochio and other old stories that are probably recommended by Charlotte Mason. My hostess came in and asked if I wanted to read something more Relevant. I said that I was okay reading old stories and then she handed me a magazine called Relevant. Well, it gets two thumbs up from me!

I feel badly for my hostess because at first she wasn't around - so I wasn't being rude as I read. But then she returned and I was paying attention to her (I promise)- but also trying to read at the same time. Fortunately, she also received a personal letter so she was reading some of the time as well. The magazine has articles about things you don't often hear about (or a unique perspective on things you probably hear too much about) and it doesn't seem to have a certain political or religious agenda - although it is a Christian magazine.

In an article about the history of postmodernism it sums up how, in general, Christians should respond:

But, now in 2009 we’re sick of hearing about postmodernism already. What if we have no hang-ups about the historical Jesus, we’re not trying to squeeze Genesis into some ill-fitting modernist box, we have no problem finding God in pop-culture, and we’re pretty sure the Holy Spirit is real. What is there left to do? Well, since postmodernity is not the gospel, and Jesus is, it’s time to get on with Jesus business. If I was going to write a book on postmodern ministry, it would look something like this: pray, read the gospels and Acts, get to know Jesus, pray, get to know some guy who doesn’t know Jesus, pray, be nice to that guy, pray, read the gospels again, pray, hang out with that guy, pray for that guy, get to know Jesus better, oh yeah and resist the temptation to use phrases like, “Are you washed in the blood?”

Although a comment was left that some of us need to deal with postmodernism head-on in an intellectual way (ahem - my husband) - most of us really don't. We really need to consider what it means to love our neighbor and trust that God's word is true and will bring "life abundantly " - even in situations that seem impossible. This is especially true in a time when so many things seem upended. But as another friend said this morning - with great change and uncertainty comes great opportunity. This is a time that people are wondering where they should put their faith - as many things that seemed stable are being taken away. I pray that this time challenges us to question where our real faith lies and share our "hope in what is unseen" with others. Relevant talks about the unseen around the world and how our "unseen" God is in the midst- both in Christian circles and other circles (there was an article talking about the millions of lives that Bush helped save in Africa with his initiative against AIDS). So, if you have a chance, check it out.

The Committee of Ten

2009-03-22T19:45:00.003-05:00

Last week we had a wonderful visit with my in-laws. I, unfortunately, got a cold but they took great care of little man and I actually got a "sick" day!! During my sick day I slept and read - it was WONDERFUL. My mother in law reported that she only read about 18 pages of her book last week, by contrast, I read close to 300 pages! Thank you!

The first book I read was E.M. Standing's Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work. This is a great overview of the basic principles of Montessori and it convinced me even more that it really is a great way to teach kids between 2 1/2 and 6. Some day I will comment more on what I learned from there.

The second book was The Graves of Academe. A witty, insightful and harsh treatment of the status of teacher education and its results in America. Richard Mitchell was the editor of the Underground Grammarian - a newsletter in the 1980's that exposed poor writing and educational methods among our universities. To give you an idea of his approach:

The betterment of fools, Goethe tells us, is the appropriate business of other fools. The Underground Grammarian does not seek to educate anyone. We intend rather to ridicule, humiliate, and infuriate those who abuse our language not so that they will do better but so that they will stop using language entirely or at least go away.

I do have to say, it has offered me a great education. It also made me ashamed that I am so sloppy in my grammar (despite my mom's best efforts). There were many excellent points made in the book about the lack of substance in most "education" today. At one point I was trying to read a portion aloud to my husband but starting laughing so hard I cried (okay, that could be hormones). Mitchell referred back to the "Committee of 10" which was formed in 1892 to help determine what should be taught in schools. I found a summary of the report and here are some highlights I'd like to share - just to show how far we've "come".

Here are the subjects that they explored in committees of ten - composed of high school teachers and college professors:

The Committee of Ten, after a preliminary discussion on November 9th, decided on November 10th to organize conferences on the following subjects:— 1. Latin; 2. Greek; 3. English; 4. Other Modern Languages; 5. Mathematics; 6. Physics, Astronomy, and Chemistry; 7. Natural History (Biology, including Botany, Zoölogy, and Physiology); 8. History, Civil Government, and Political Economy; 9. Geography (Physical Geography, Geology, and Meteorology).

Later the report discusses how most of these subjects (excepting Latin, Greek and Math) are "new subjects" in schools! You would be hard pressed to find a public school that teaches Greek and many don't even require you to learn any other foreign language.

Two questions were posed to all nine groups:

7. Should the subject be treated differently for pupils who are going to college, for those who are going to a scientific school, and for those who, presumably, are going to neither?
8. At what age should this differentiation begin, if any be recommended?
The 7th question is answered unanimously in the negative by the Conferences, and the 8th therefore needs no answer. The Committee of Ten unanimously agree with the Conferences. Ninety-eight teachers, intimately concerned either with the actual work of American secondary schools, or with the results of that work as they appear in students who come to college, unanimously declare that every subject which is taught at all in a secondary school should be taught in the same way and to the same extent to every pupil so long as he pursues it, no matter what the probable destination of the pupil may be, or at what point his education is to cease.

They, of course, were expecting that students would be challenged to the highest level in each area of academic pursuit - instead of the dumbing down which we frequently get today in the name of "equality". They desired each pupil to be challenged to the limit of their academic ability.

Even in that day and age the response was:

The experienced principal or superintendent in reading the reports will be apt to say to himself,— “This recommendation is sound, but cannot be carried out without teachers who have received a training superior to that of the teachers now at my command.”

So, this is why the Committee of Twenty-Seven was convened in the 1910's to help "fix" the high standard set by the Committee of Ten. Mitchell's diatribe is against the lack of "education" that occurs under the Committee of Twenty Seven and that we are still living in its shadow. I'll just let you know that the first and most important principle of education established by the Committee of Twenty Seven was health. Only one of the seven areas even discussed the traditional disciplines of education - and those they just discussed having a minimum standard.

Thus, we are entering into almost a century of dumbing down educational standards and making sure that public education does little to actual "educate" in the way the term was pursued and understood for centuries. I am now reading The Closing of the American Mind which has a similar theme and was written a few years after Mitchell's work.

As Mitchell points out, kids are being educated everyday in our schools - just not in things most of us would deem helpful to their growth and intellect. Mitchell doesn't hold out much hope for the educational establishment and I can't say that I blame him.

Long time . . .

2009-02-25T20:58:00.002-06:00

Well, I didn't intend to take a rest from blogging - but apparently that's what happened. I have thought of writing many times but just haven't done it. I will follow in the footsteps of one of my cousins and just give you some highlights.

1. I did get a job - it lasted for two months - which was good. I am excited for the group I was working with though - they have made a new agreement with a local church that I think will help them a lot. So, they had other things to tend to instead of the work I was doing.

2. My dream opportunity has arrived - it combines being trained in Christian Montessori, working with inner city kiddos, and a preschool (and maybe beyond) for my little guy. This really is a God thing because it brings together so many different things that I had pretty much given up on (or never thought would be affordable, convenient, fit with my family life, etc.). So it is all happening about 10 minutes from my house in one of the poorest communities in America! We'll see what happens next. They are looking at opening the school in September 09 - just about the right time for little man to start Montessori!

3. Then another hope is reborn. I am currently about 11 weeks pregnant - due in September!

Of course there are lots of other things going on - little guy is learning new words every day. Recently he has started helping me sing "God is so good". He also started repeating parts of the Lord's Prayer and our good night song with me. Which is a nice way to the end the day when you feel really tired and yucky in general. This pregnancy has been VERY different than the last one.

So I am not sure how this will all work out in the end since it seems that it is all happening at the same time. But I know that God is in the midst and I trust that He's seen it from the beginning to the end. I just need to take it one day at a time. Hopefully I'll update you more frequently than I have been!

The Sabbath

2008-12-09T21:23:00.002-06:00

In Bible Study Fellowship right now we are studying the life of Moses. It is amazing to me how frequently God talks with Moses about the Sabbath. In fact, after spending chapter upon chapter telling Moses all the details of the temple - his last command is that they are to keep the Sabbath as part of their covenant with God. You might remember that this observance also makes it's way in the Commandments.

I am a Sabbath breaker. I was even in a Bible study that spent weeks studying about the Sabbath, ways to Sabbath, the whys of the Sabbath. Yet, it didn't sink in. This past Sunday I took my first real Sabbath - it was great. We had a fellowship at church and I stayed late and wasn't worried about not getting stuff done. I spent time with my son and husband without thinking about what comes next. It was freeing.

Our culture used to observe the Sabbath with blue laws. Well that's gone out the window! You can get anything you want at any time you want. However, I think that there is wisdom in stopping, connecting, resting and just being for a little while. Recently I was reading about a community where Sabbath has really impacted the community - here is a snippet:

Not that everyone who lives in Toco Hills is Jewish, of course. Not even a majority. Actually only 20% or so of community residents attend the synagogue. But this orthodox congregation embraces a theology that has powerfully influenced the stability of the neighborhood. An observance that derives from the Torah's Sabbath day teaching encourages the devout to refrain from driving their automobiles on the Sabbath. Living in proximity to the synagogue allows the faithful to walk rather than drive to services. Consequently, the desirability of having a home close to the synagogue has caused turnover to be low and the entire residential area to remain largely immune to commercial incursion. Whether intentional or not, this obscure theological teaching is responsible for unparalleled community stability for many decades.

So there you have it - observing God's laws - even the obscure ones - can change your community. Are you taking a Sabbath!

My new hero . .

2008-11-06T14:27:00.002-06:00

I had heard of her before but just in passing. Today I have been reading an online biography of Henrietta Mears (this link is a short overview of her life's work). Who? Just the lady that Billy Graham says next to his mom and grandmother had the most impact on his spiritual growth - that's who! Not to mention the founders of Campus Crusade for Christ and others. Her primary ministry was Sunday School (she started Gospel Light Press in 1933) and she had a heart for challenging college kids (it sounds like) to live for Christ.

One of the things her biographer is talking about is that she would teach about positive and negative Christianity. In negative Christianity you are separating yourself from the world. In positive Christianity you separate yourself onto God. For me it goes back (in some ways) to the difference between being naive and being pure. We want our children and ourselves to be pure- to be aware of what is out there but choosing what God has for us.

Here is a quote to that effect:

"Many Christians," she says, "put the emphasis on putting up fences to keep people out of the world, instead of putting up bridges to bring people unto God. If you separate Christians from the world but give them no promised land to possess, they will wander around in the wilderness having nothing — nothing from the world and nothing from the Lord."

Amen! I am going to read the rest of the biography now and I'll let you know what other gems she has in there.

Beware the chopper blades

2008-11-03T21:09:00.004-06:00

This article caught my attention because it discusses one of my pet peeves - helicopter parents. I am not sure where this term originated but I know that it is used in Love and Logic to personify parents who are constantly hovering around their children. This article nicely describes the end result of such constant over parenting - feeble kids and lost parents. It is our responsibility to help raise children who are able to stand on their own two feet - not have to hide in our skirts forever. I wish I could say that this article is an overstatement - but it's not. My friend who works in residential life at a local university said that the number of PARENT calls about their COLLEGE AGED child's roommate problems has increased. Why are parents calling the college to complain about little Johnny's roommate - I don't know?

Everyone loses in the path of a helicopter parent. The problem is that the short term results seem so positive. The problems is solved. Little Jane doesn't cry. Your child seems so well put together. However, you propping them up throughout their childhood ensures they never learn a lesson on their own. This is not a good way to be sent into the world. So try to stop whirring around your child and let them fall down, make a mistake and learn a real lesson. I know I'm preaching to the choir here - but like I said, it's a pet peeve.

Child Centered not child friendly

2008-10-23T09:24:00.002-05:00

Much of education today talks about following the child's lead, allowing the child to be themselves and similar seemingly appropriate phrases. In fact it is hard to find an early child care center that doesn't claim this approach and often elementary schools follow suit. For a long time I think I agreed with these sentiments but recently things have changed for me. Right now I am going to Bible Study Fellowship and we are studying Moses. This week we were talking about Pharaoh and that basically God had given him over to himself. In Romans 1 Paul discusses that if you want to go your own way - God will allow you to do so - often to your own destruction.

God is clear about his ways and he expects you to "train up" a child in the way they should go - they won't figure it out on their own. He also disciplines those he loves - because he wants them to have life and have it abundantly. I agree that sometimes "training" can turn into brainwashing and truly out of whack ideas, just like letting a child follow their own ways can.

I really think that Christian parenting is about finding that middle road between allowing the child to do whatever they think is right in their own eyes (which God normally doesn't think is a good idea - that's a judgement phrase in the Bible) and becoming so legalistic that your child never understands the grace of God either. It's not an easy balance to have. It is especially difficult when two polar opposites seem the only choice and both of them are pretty adamant that they are "the only way". I guess I encourage you to really consider what it means to train up a child in the way THEY should go (not necessarily exactly how you think they should be). I know that's my prayer for my little guy - that God would give me wisdom about how to train him to be the person God has created him to be and fulfill the plans God has for him.

Are there any standards anymore??

2008-10-19T21:09:00.003-05:00

Well today at church we talked about "the Truth Project". The part that we discussed focused on the founding principles of our government. Basically it makes the case that all of our founding fathers (including Ben Franklin) believed that the Christian faith was foundational to their system of government working. From there morals were developed and then you had a people who were prepared to make good decisions. Interesting - and not what you learn in school.

Also, we learned that The New England Primer was the second most bought book in America after the Bible during the 17oo's and early 18oo's. Later in the century the McGuffey Readers became more popular and they replaced the Primer as the second most bought book in America. Basically, after the Bible, pretty much everyone used the same elementary textbook (at least in terms of introduction to literacy). These were focused on faith and morality as well as teaching reading. Today you can't even get people in the same district to use the same curriculum. Of course, the past was not perfect, but at least there was some real education going on.

One friend talks about the "group math" her granddaughter does. Basically this math allows students to determine if they think 2+2 = 4. If 8 of 10 students don't agree with this then you have to consider that maybe their answer - 2 +2= 5 is correct! WHAT?! This is craziness.

Somehow, we are allowing 1st graders to overturn centuries of mathematical understanding. We do this in other areas as well. Actually, we just don't teach them what our forefathers really thought and understood - because it doesn't fit an educational agenda that caters to personal exploration and denies absolute truth. Maybe this is why I couldn't find it in my heart to enter public school education. It's not really education!

Teaching Music

2008-10-07T21:17:00.002-05:00

So as I consider homeschooling I am always looking for new ways to teach things. This October we have at least 6 birthdays we have been invited to. I don't think we can make it to all of them - but I was looking for new types of toys to give to kids. In my search for new and interesting things I came across Boomwhackers - even the name sounds like it is made for boys! It is basically a set of musical tubes that look like PVC pipes. When they are put together they can be played like a xylophone but you can also put them apart on a big musical scale and have kids play them. One child can play one note or one child can play the whole scale. They even have music books and a whole curriculum (K - 6th) to teach music with these. So, if I do homeschool we may have a musical curriculum based around these things - they just seem so useful and less likely to get destroyed by kids. We'll see. Just thought I'd put them out there.

Are you trapped in the "crazy cycle"?

2008-09-30T14:42:00.004-05:00

Recently a friend recommended a book called Love and Respect. I haven't read it (there are fourteen copies at the library but they are all checked out - we'll have to see what hubby can do). However, just reading ABOUT it has been helpful. It's basic premise is that many marriages are caught in a "crazy cycle" where "without love - she reacts - without respect - he reacts - without love" etc. etc. - thus they cycle. If you go to the website read The Marriage Book and The Diet Book - it is RIGHT on - you will be shaking your head in agreement.

I got the chapter information off of the SAPL website basically this speaks to how we can show love and respect to each other. I think this is pretty public informaiton:

C-o-u-p-l-e : how to spell love to your wife -- Closeness ... she wants you to be close -- Openness--she wants you to open up to her -- Understanding--don't try to "fix her", just listen -- Peacemaking--she wants you to say, "I'm sorry" -- Loyalty--she needs to know you're committed -- Esteem--she wants you to honor and cherish her --

C-h-a-i-r-s : how to spell respect to your husband -- Conquest--appreciate his desire to work and achieve -- Hierarchy--appreciate his desire to protect and provide -- Authority--appreciate his desire to serve and to lead -- Insight--appreciate his desire to analyze and counsel -- Relationship--appreciate his desire for shoulder-to-shoulder friendship -- Sexuality--appreciate his desire for sexual intimacy -

So anyway, I hope to actually read the book soon so that I might better understand all these things. But more than that - I probably just need to pray and consider how I can better respect my husband. From other blogs I've seen that there are other acronyms to help you know what words are respectful and loving - but I haven't read so I can't say much about those. So I encourage you to think about how you are meeting your spouses needs! Later I'll talk about what I am learning about how boys learn best - lets just say often it involves moving around!
-

Post Summer Goals Update

2008-09-19T13:38:00.003-05:00

Where has the summer gone - heck it's almost October. I'm a little behind. First with the announcements - the fundraiser for Z-Place was very successful (although a little hot in the gym). It was a much better event than last years' - in large part because of the couple that coordinated it. Also, little man's birthday party was a smashing success. We had about 16 kids under age 5 running around our house and having a GREAT time. I hope all the parents enjoyed it too. It was just fun to catch up with everyone. So now little man is two and he is showing his colors!

So, I will update the goals that I wrote in May:

1. Work on reading classical literature for Great Books. - Didn't really happen. I can say that my hubbie has listened more to stuff about these works but I am no closer than I was before. I think I should probably pick a list and start reading!

2. Learn more about teaching reading - possibly through SWR. - I did not start following the SWR program. However, I did read a lot about reading this summer and have learned a few things:
- Many Montessori teacher's are just as confused as I was about how to help Montessori students learn all the spelling rules etc. These are not things that are easily "discovered". So I think I like Montessori oral prep work and hands on approach but at some point a kiddo needs some direct teaching.
- Core Knowledge is working on a pilot program using Diane McGuinnesses approach to reading. I spent a lot of the summer before little man was born reading her stuff. Their new curriculum sounds FABULOUS! I have read most of the lessons they have posted and it's great. They have a skills stream (direct phonemic instruction) and a listening strand that incorporates science, fairy tales and social studies to build vocabulary and following story structure, etc. This is a GREAT way for children to learn.
- Spell to Write and Read - I just can't see myself using this structured and complex of a program to teach a five year old to read. I think it is a GREAT spelling program and I very well might encourage the use of it for 2nd or 3rd graders to make sure the "get" it all and are spelling well.
In the end the point for us now is to help little guy hear the sounds in words and play with words and stories to help prep him for reading - when the time comes.

3. Being better at planning meals - well that didn't happen either!

4. Being outdoors - going to the park - I was very successful at this. To be honest, this is one of the few goals that I really felt God calling me to do. Everytime we get in the car little man wants to go to the park. We have been to a park somewhere at least 4 times a week. He has had fun playing with other kids, we even made some new friends! He is a parkaholic. We'll have to see what happens as it turns colder - but for now we continue to enjoy the park.

Many other things have changed this summer - but for now we'll leave it at that.

Our own Olympics

2008-08-22T13:38:00.002-05:00

Wrestling
Today as we pulled into the driveway I saw a green lizard on the house. I told little man to be quite and got him out of the car quickly so that we could see the lizard before he disappeared. Then we saw another big green lizard (this is the kind that one of the little boys on my block squeezed to death once upon a time). The lizards were near each other and started doing this strange head bobbing motion. Then they tried to attack each other. I thought this was our territory - but apparently they think it is their turf to defend. They basically had each other by the mouths and were holding on to each other for a pretty long time. We watched the match for at least 5 to 7 minutes - little guy thought it was pretty interesting. Finally, I had to take the groceries inside. When we went back out to check they had disappeared. I have never seen that before.

Rhythmic Dance
We have been a little lax with the wee one about TV watching with the Olympics on - it's sports and so it doesn't seem quite the same. He really enjoyed the diving a few days ago. Today we caught the very end of Rhythmic Gymnastics. The little guy took to it quickly. He found himself one of his play ties and began doing his own moves. I don't think he has much of a future in the sport (since it is a female sport) but he thought it was pretty fun. Don't tell his dad!

Unintended Consequences . . . Child Care Crisis

2008-08-11T21:36:00.003-05:00

This fall many children across Texas will go to preK3 or preK4 for the first time. Only children living in poorer areas, homeless children and English as a second language students will have access to these free services in their neighborhood (so this does not apply to affluent areas of town). Research has shown again and again that children need stimulating environments, exposure to books, stories and songs in order to build their vocabulary skills at a young age and opportunities for positive social interaction. In theory free PreK sounds great!

All this is well and good until you realize the effect this has on the child care industry. All the non profit child care programs (churches, neighborhood programs, etc.) will either have to dramatically raise their prices or shut down as a result of this new "opportunity". Without preschool children on their roles it is almost impossible for a child care center to make ends meet (much less make a profit).

The ratios in infants are 4:1 and in a preschool room (3 and above) they are 15:1. In an infant room - charging $375.00 a month (yes that's $4500/ year for the family - the per capita income for poor areas in San Antonio is about $12,000.00/ year - so that's 1/3 of your income for ONE CHILD!)- you can't even cover the cost of the day care workers (and that's paying them 6.50 as part time workers - federal minimum wage rises to $7.25 next year)! You just can't do it with the younger children! If you are a parent just trying to make ends meet will you choose free or a paid preschool - FREE every time. So as a result of this we can add child care to the list of things that are fleeing the inner city. As it is, most people can barely afford day care and the waiting list for child care assistance is a mile long.

I am currently on the board of a program that has run a child care center for over 30 years. In that time they have consistently been one of the lowest and most affordable quality day cares in the area. However, we, along with many others are feeling the pinch. This is yet another example of how governments "good programs" can have serious unintended ripple effects. I am hoping that this will be an impetus for people to rethink child care in general - but we'll see!

I have much more to say about child care - but we'll stop here for now.

Cute Moments

2008-08-10T20:16:00.003-05:00

I can't believe it has been a month since my last blog. Mostly because there has been a lot going on - but not too much to stop me from blogging. Before I launch into my most recent tirades - I will share a story about my very cute (almost 2 year old) son.

On Thursday I captured the little tyke teaching his stuffed dog. He was using all the words he knows and showing the dog all about them. He was reading the dog a book, blowing the dogs nose, putting the dog to bed and he wanted to feed the dog too. He also showed the dog his train and his cars. To show him these things my son would take the dogs paw and put them on the train or car and say the word. My favorite though was when he disappeared for a minute. When he re-appeared he told me bath and took me back to the bath tub. Sure enough, the dog was in the bath tub ready to get clean. I convinced little guy that his stuffed animal really didn't need a bath. This weekend we had the dog with us when we went to visit an old friend. I told my son to knock and he took his dogs paw and tried to knock on the door - it was pretty cute!

It is moments like these that I'm so glad there is no reason to miss them. At other times (like when he's throwing a fit about putting his clothes on) I really get frustrated. It is really fun to see him learning so much.

Bad mom moment

2008-07-06T20:03:00.003-05:00

Today we arrived home from evening church to discover a small gecko lizard in a dish we had out (no food - just a dish). That served as a learning moment for the boy and he liked the lizard. I think while we were returning it to nature, another little pest entered our home. Little guy was very hungry so he sat happily in the big chair waiting while I made spaghetti. At one point he started saying bug and sort of pointing to the ground. This and the word "no" are the two words he seems to have down pat. However, I didn't see any bugs so I just dismissed it. There was a ball nearby - maybe he was talking about that.

Well when I brought him his food I noticed that there was indeed a bug - a mosquito. I saw one little bite and didn't think much more of it. Well, as we were putting him into his bath I realized the bug had gone to town. He had a total of 9 mosquito bites all up and down his leg. I felt HORRIBLE. He had tried to tell me and I dismissed it.

I should have known. Earlier this week he was pointing into the bathroom saying bug and I thought he was telling me that's where we flush the bugs down the toilet (because he has done that before). Well, he kept on saying it so I finally got up to see what was happening. Sure enough there was a dead bug right there. I am actually surprised that he didn't go find a shoe for me - often he will bring a shoe to you when he sees a bug.

Needless to say, in the future I will heed his warnings about bugs.

BFFs

2008-07-05T22:32:00.003-05:00

We are so blessed that we have family friends that are basically our little guys best friends and almost like brothers and sisters. Today my son was seen trying to kiss their 2 1/2 year old - but the older sister (age 5) claims they were just dancing (they were running around like crazy and trying to hug each other just beforehand). My little guy now responds when I mention their name and wants to leave immediately to see them. He picks out his book with their pictures and looks for them in the book. He recognizes their street and begins yelling when we turn onto it. On occasion, when we've been near their house and not going to see them, I think he's tried to give me "better directions". He just adds to the craziness of 4 kids 5 and under and laughs and loves every minute of it. Today he even had a "he's touching me" fight in the back seat of the car. Ah, the struggles of friends and siblings. Later he was meowing and making his cat sign with everyone else in the back seat. What a blessing!

Baby Explosion

2008-07-03T12:51:00.002-05:00

There are lots of new little ones out there. Two little ones just turned a month old (including the one I mentioned visiting in the last post). One little girl was born last week, a little boy this week and hopefully in the next couple days another friend will have her little one. So, there are babies everywhere.

I have to say my little guy did very well with the baby at the house we visited. He was always wondering where the baby was and responded when the baby cried (he doesn't talk yet but he would look around concerned and start pointing). He did come close to actually saying baby a few times. Since we've been home he found his doll and has started trying to care for it a little bit. That's more than he's ever done before.

Blessings to all the mothers - as they welcome the second or third child into their hearts and homes!

Home James

2008-07-03T12:40:00.002-05:00

Little guy and I just returned from a trip to El Paso. We went to see my college roommate and her two kiddos. We had a good time - it was very low key (did I mention she has a two year old and a one month old). There were some bumps in the road - little guy had a cold and decided to share it with others, he also started getting his molars in. Additionally it was so exciting in a new place that he could not be bothered to stop and rest. He would get up about 4:30 in the morning and finally fall asleep around 8:00 at night - sometimes without a real nap. Despite these little issues we had a good time. They live in a little area of the city called Kern Place - it is great (nice sidewalks, big park nearby, etc.) So we did a lot of walking - which was fun.

It is good to be home. Hubbie cleaned up while we were gone - which was nice. I think he was bored. I am glad to report that little guy did sleep well last night and is napping peacefully as I type. It's been a while since I've been on vacation and it was a good break. Now we are back to just regular life.

I heart Jack Black movies

2008-06-21T22:02:00.002-05:00

Although his movies present themselves as silly comedies - the ones I really like School of Rock and now Be Kind Rewind are really about building community. Both of them have the message that together we can do more than we expected possible. That looking for the good in others is worth the effort. That it's worth risking a little bit for friendship and to see others grow into their dreams. Yes, it's all in these movies. I am not talking about Nacho Libre - that was not one of his better films (that is the last film we saw in the dollar theater before little man was born - other than that it was pretty forgetable). We also saw The Holiday - it was okay, a pretty typical romantic comedy. Still about finding passion -but not in community.

If you do decide to watch Be Kind Rewind please suspend your disbelief for about the first 20 minutes of the movie - after that it gets good. You should also watch the special feature Pasaic Mosaic - basically it talks about how this movie helped bring a community back together. People from the community make up most of the cast!

So, remember that community building can happen in all kinds of ways - even with a crazy comedian in the forefront.

Real Life Snippet

2008-06-18T19:20:00.003-05:00

For his birthday, little guy was given a book that has a light at the end of it (when you lift the flap). It has been well loved and so the light on top of the birthday cake no longer works. It was dying a few weeks ago and little guy kept making the sign for light and looking at us to fix it and make it brighter. Unfortunately there is no way to fix it. Today he discovered that the light had totally gone out. I told him that there wasn't any way to fix it. He then went into the other room and pointed at the cell phone charger (I didn't even know he knew what it was). Apparently he wanted to use the charger to help the light in his book. He was very disappointed when I told him that the charger could not fix his book. It was a good thought though.

No Child Left Inside

2008-06-17T20:57:00.004-05:00

Even though the heat index is 105 around here - we have spent a lot of time outside this summer. As a result I have been thinking about how to improve our backyard - to make it more comfortable for adults and more interesting for little man. At first I checked out a bunch of books on building decks, patios and playground equipment. Then I started thinking about how nature study is a cornerstone of Charlotte Mason's approach. So I've been thinking about how I could make that more possible here.

Little did I know that there is a movement (or here) and almost a syndrome named for children's lack of interaction with the natural world! They really advocate for natural spaces (ponds, tree stumps, grasses, etc. ) where kids can be kids. So today I tried to give little guy some time among the plastic playground equipment (he LOVES those swings) and take him to an area that was just rocks and leaves and trees. He really liked crumpling the leaves and throwing them.

If this is something you've thought about but don't know where to start you might try these two sites:

Kids Gardening - lots of neat ideas about planting, gardening and getting in touch with the natural world

Play spaces - this is a collection of photos and comments about what makes play spaces work (and fail)

Natural Playgrounds - This is a company that specializes in creating these types of landscapes and they have lots of pictures of their work - which is fun to look at.

I am not a fanatic but I do think that we are all refreshed by nature and our children should have an opportunity to explore and wonder about the world God created.

Train sets ROCK

2008-06-14T13:27:00.003-05:00

Well we just got back from a birthday party. It was lots of fun and the Dad just made a train table for his 4 year old son. It is FABULOUS! I intentionally take my little guy to Barnes and Noble to play with the train table. Sure, he probably is exposed to every disease known to man - but he can play for 20 or 30 minutes straight (and it's air conditioned and free - and there are books!). So, I think a good train set is an excellent investement.

Today, I was looking at other people's blogs and someone recommended ImagiPLAY - now here are some good wooden toys at a reasonable price. These are the types of toys that kids can tell stories with FOR HOURS - if you let them. So, I encourage you to check them out. I haven't ordered anything from them (yet) but I think we probably will. They have sets of wooden animals for $6.00. You can hardly get a pair of plastic animals for that price!

Little guy still isn't old enough to be telling stories with the stuff that he owns - but he does line up all his bath toys on the edge of tub like his friend did when they came over. He's a little bit of a copy cat. Oh well! I look forward to the stories he'll tell.

Awww to AHHH!

2008-06-13T23:35:00.002-05:00

This morning little man slept in (until 6:30). While we played in his room he took his stuffed English bulldog (who he is kind of bonding with) and gave him a hug and a kiss. I was impressed - this is the most he has ever "played" with a stuffed animal. Then he proceeded to lie it down on the pillow in his big bed. Next he put both of his blankets over the dog (with the dog's head sticking out on the pillow). He looked around and found his empty sippy cup of milk. He then stuck the sippy cup near the dogs face. It was VERY cute. I guess our bed time routine is sticking with him! AWWW!

This afternoon was the AHHH moment. We had been playing outside for a while (yes it was VERY hot). He was playing in the pool and there was an unwelcome guest hanging out there. One time this little pest got near to the little guy - but when I told my son to stop moving - he actually did and the pest left him alone. I thought we were in the clear. Then I heard little guy sort of yelp and back away (he rarely complains). I knew that a BEE had gotten him! So I rushed him inside (dripping wet) and tried to remember what my first aid lessons. They totally failed me. Then I tried the Internet - it wasn't working either. Called my hubby - no answer. Tried my parents - they were in the middle of a storm but they turned back on their computers to check and see what I should do.

The good news - Little guy was totally fine. He was trying to figure out what the hub-bub was about. He actually wanted to get up and start playing while the stinger was still in him. He was very chill during the "doctoring"- ice and a baking soda/water paste - thanks mom and dad.

The bad news - I think the cure was almost as bad as the bite - we gave him some Benadryl just in case. He barely made it through dinner - his little eyelids were so heavy! (He only had a 45 minute nap today - instead of his 2 -3 hour one - so that could have something to do with it too).
So, apparently bee stings are just a minor inconvenience for him which is GREAT! I did have a student have a serious (call 911) reaction to a fire ant bite (I missed part of a friends wedding as a result - but she was fine which is VERY good). Apparently a serious reaction to fire ants is more common in Asian people - two people on campus in one week had to go to the ER because of this issue. So it's been quite a day - and I stayed up WAY too late.

Where have all the teachers gone? . . .

2008-06-12T12:46:00.004-05:00

Home!

In all my reading about education and the lack of teachers no one seems to address this cruical issue. Since teaching is mostly a female profession and typically those females really enjoy children - it makes sense that they stay home (if they can) when they have their own children. If you enjoy children and know how crucial the early years are for them, like most teachers do, then why wouldn't many elect to stay home.

I have many excellent teacher friends and most of them are at home with their children. They taught for a 4 or 5 years and then started a family. They are trying to find ways to continue in education without being in a classroom full time. Everyone always talks about a teacher schedule working out so well with kids - well not when they are 5 and under!

Some of the options they have found:
1. Consulting
2. Finding summer programs to work with
3. One taught with a University Model School - so she taught twice a week for about 3 hours
4. Teaching On-line courses
5. Tutoring

Some of them may never return to the classroom full time. Some moms realize, after working in a public school, that maybe a homeschool environment would be better for their children and they never return to a classroom. Other moms know that being a good teacher requires a 60 to 70 hour week - so they aren't going to return to that while their children are still young. Still other moms start a home business or find other interests that never lead them back to the classroom.

I am actually really intrigued by the University Model School idea because I think it could be a good way to help excellent teachers continue to teach and balance with their family well. Especially if they have a supportive community that can help switch off child care.

Basically the University Model is a hybrid of a private school and homeschooling - with the curriculum outlined by the teacher. In elementary school the teacher has a self contained class on Tuesday and Thursday for most of a normal school day (8:30 to 2:30 for example). The other days the family is helping the child with their education (learning spelling words, reading one on one, memorizing math facts, etc.). In middle and high school classes meet like a college class does - 3 hours a week. The certified teacher prepares a curriculum that shares the educational load between the teacher and the parent/ student. This allows group projects, discussion, science labs, etc. while also giving students time to read, study and digest information on their own. Although this part time teaching isn't lucrative - it can help meet many needs that aren't financial.

I want to bless those teachers that have gone home and those who feel they need to return to the classroom. It is difficult to find the right balance - especially when children (yours and others) are involved!

Educational Musings

2008-06-08T22:21:00.002-05:00

Well, I decided that I needed to better organize my thoughts about education, homeschooling and the like. So I created a wiki website to bring it all together. After trying blogging, using tags and other methods - this just seemed to make the most sense. I have no idea if anyone will benefit from it - but it is helpful to me to keep links together and in some sort of order. I invite your comments, other programs I should consider, etc. Again, it is pretty much in draft mode right now - but hopefully I will be faithful to this wiki (I think this is probably the third or fourth one I've created) and it will grow.

You can visit it here: www.educationalmusings.pbwiki.com. I don't think you need a password to see it. So from now on I intend to post most of my "educational" theories, curriculum and approaches over there. I have LOTS of theory - hopefully someday I can put it into practice. I will try to post my personal experiences with education here.

For example, we have started listening to the SWR phonogram CD. My hubby was listening to it and his comment was that it was WAY over little guys head. I told him that I was trying to learn it - not little man. It is helpful and I can see how the program is useful. Anyway, the fun part is that little guy is trying to repeat the sounds after me. So, he has NO concept of what he is doing but he is trying to be like mommy and make the sounds. Maybe this will make it easier when we actually start learning about letters and all those things.

Philosophy for Children?

2008-06-07T18:14:00.002-05:00

As I was taking classes in gifted education one of the programs they encouraged was "Philosophy for Children" which helps students consider some of the bigger ideas out there in the world. At first I was very much in favor of this - and then I started using my noggin'. In this curriculum students read stories (elementary aged students) and then discuss the "big issues" within the story - it is a way of doing character development (of sorts) and also introducing them to the greater questions of life. I am all for that - my main issue is that often these types of program (similar to values clarification) expect the 7 year old to create their own moral system and universe. That seems to be asking a little much. Young children still need guidance - unfortunately many aren't getting it at home - that's why some people think the classroom should step in and help these students clarify their values.

I was thinking about this today because I ran across the book Little Big Minds in the bookstore. At first I thought that I would like this book - but then I actually looked at the contents. In this book they look at philosophical topics - like friendship and justice - and then introduce two philosophers points of view about that issue. On the surface that sounds okay - but remember these are 7 and 8 year olds! They include Albert Camus (The Stranger) and Paolo Friere (Pedagogy of the Oppressed - the title isn't even appropriate for children) and a discussion of children's rights as part of the curriculum. I think I'm against high school students reading Albert Camus' at times. As my husband, the philosohpy major said, "Anyone who is teaching Camus and Satre to 3rd graders needs to have their head examined". I have to agree.

I think these developers think that because kids ask these questions that means they are "philosophers". Well, their brains aren't really wired to approach these questions the same way that an adult would. They need really clear guidance - they like to know what is right and wrong (have you ever tried to fudge the rules with an 8 year old - ain't gonna happen). Although I understand the push for "critical thinking" and "higher order thinking skills" this needs to be developmentally appropriate. Additionally, students need to have a standard, a clear idea, of what they are comparing ideas and thoughts to - not just a "whatever you think" attitude.

So, I guess I am leaning more towards the classical education approach which focuses on learning facts and information until about 9 or 10 years old. Then they intentionally focus on critical thinking skills once kids hit about 10 or 11. It is more developmentally appropriate and a well rounded education should invite conversation about these topics - ONCE A FOUNDATION HAS BEEN LAID. Unfortunately many people either tend towards not laying a foundation and allowing a child to "figure it out" for themselves. Or, they never invite a child to think, discuss and consider why they believe what they have been taught as foundational truths.

There is a time for this and it is middle and high school. Unfortunately most middle schools waste this opportunity and are more like holding pens than educational institutions. We have such low expectations of students today. I really appreciate the fact that I was introduced to Lincoln Douglas debate - values debate - in middle school. It was the right challenge at the right time for this chica.

Goals . . . update

2008-06-06T21:28:00.002-05:00

Well I finished reading Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson. It was not as upbeat as Gilead but it was still a good read. At times her water imagery got to be a little much - it was also hard to concentrate when the movie Semi-Pro (Will Farrell) was playing in the background. I have to agree with the reviewer who said that this one will not go down as one of the best comidies ever.
So now I have to choose another book to read - I haven't figured out what will come next. Actually, I do want to read Five Little Pepper's and How they Grew (going to wikipedia I learned it's a series - we'll have to see about this). I did look at the "scope and sequence" of classical readings on the Well Trained Mind website. So maybe I will read some of those. Talking about history and the Well Trained Mind is another topic altogether.

Another goal was to work on my storytelling ability. I am glad to report that I now try to tell little man stories while we are at the park swinging. So far I have told Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Little Red Hen. Today I tried to tell The Three Little Pigs but the influx of kindergarten students was much more interesting than my story. Alas, we will tell it another day when there are fewer distractions. He LOVES playing with big kids - these happened to be older kids from the local school for the deaf - but they all had a great time. I do have a few faiury tale books checked out to refresh my memory - so I am adding to my collection to tell.

I have started reading more about SWR and homeschooling curriculum in general. I think I am going to have to really hype myself up to get into SWR. I did listen to the phonogram CD this morning so I am beginning to learn the 70 phonograms and how they are spelled. Even little guy was trying to repeat some of the sounds he heard - this could be a good way to help him learn. My husband kids me because I know the lyrics to the MOST random songs - maybe the little guy has my ability to remember random stuff like that.

I guess another goal I should work on is creating and planning meals. I have been REALLY bad about it this week. Heck - tonight I spent 3 hours helping cook for a fundraiser but I didn't really have dinner myself. I am still making bread from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I really like it. My mom keeps sending me Pioneer Woman recipes - I should actually try them, they look great. My thought was to make a different kind of pasta salad at the beginning of the week and eat off that throughout adding different meats and sides -but that hasn't happened. The last pasta or potato salad I made was in March!

Back to old goals - I think we did go to the park 3 or 4 times this week. Not on a schedule yet - but we will get there. Little guy really likes the park - he also apparently loves our best friend's backyard - he played out there for about 2 1/2 hours today and was REALLY mad when we made him come in - covered in dirt and left over spaghetti sauce from dinner.

I also need to work on going to bed at a decent hour - so I will sign off now and try to pull myself away from the Internet.

I feel like Timmy

2008-06-04T14:02:00.003-05:00

The other day I was telling a friend that I feel a little like Timmy from the show Lassie. My son is constantly pointing and trying to talk and I am trying to decipher what he is saying. Their typical conversation went like this:

Lassie (running up): Bark, bark
Timmy: "There's trouble, where? "
Lassie: bark, bark
Timmy: "at the well".

That's sort of how our day goes but it's more like:

little man: pointing and grunting - possibly sticking his pointer finger in his mouth - his sign for food
me: What would you like? A sandwich (since that is a staple of his diet).
Little man: exagerated yes nods
me: What kind of sandwich?
Little Man: but
me: Oh, you want peanut butter.
Little Man: more exagerated nods as he either finds a dish for me or makes his way to the table where he eats.

The signing is helping - although he mostly seems to think and talk about the cats and dogs that he MIGHT see once a day. We really should teach him more signs but ah well.

Great Weekend

2008-06-02T21:26:00.002-05:00

Our family went to meet our nephew in Houston this weekend. We stayed with some long time friends who are like second parents to me. They LOVED having little guy around and little guy thought he had died and gone to heaven - there were cats to play with! The cats and little guy played fetch together pretty well. We had to stop the boy from trying to escape through the kitty door a few times though. He was constantly looking for, signing about and playing with the cats. With a little Benadryl I did fine.

It was a busy weekend. Our new nephew is cute and the family is adjusting well. His sister is SUPER proud and wants to help out as much as possible. We also went to a high school reunion at The John Cooper School. We got a backstage tour of their 12 MILLION DOLLAR Performing Arts Center. It is gorgeous. We remember the days when they didn't have a high school building on the main campus so we had to drive from one part of the Woodlands to another part in the middle of the day. We had our choir classes in a 4th grade science lab, etc. They have come a LONG way in a few years. We also met some very cute kids of our high school friends. It was fun.

On Sunday we went to church (our friends and my brother go to the same church). Afterwards we all went out to brunch which was an unexpected surprise. It was great to just hang out with everyone. Then we said our good byes and packed up. We made more stop to meet up with a college friend and saw his beautiful daughter. We ate at Luby's - we were the youngest ones there by far - but it was fun. We made it home safely and I am so glad we went.

Today we took one of little guy's friends to the zoo with us. Hubbie had the day off so we went as a family to the zoo. Our friends two older siblings started "big school" today - it's really a summer camp - so the youngest one was feeling a little left out. We had a great time at the zoo and then we stopped by the park on the way home - to swing of course. We rested most of the afternoon and are ready to face a new week.

Ordinary Time

2008-05-29T12:15:00.003-05:00

Although our church isn't very liturgical I know that in the church calendar we have entered ordinary time. This is the long stretch (at least 23 Sundays) where the church just is. We don't have big celebrations like Christmas or Easter - some people take this time off from church because it's just "the normal stuff". I feel like God is calling me to an "ordinary time". I was hoping for some extraordinary times - like having a new little one. But for now, that's not to be. So I think God is calling me to embrace the ordinary and learn to appreciate the daily things. I tend to live life in anticipation of the next thing instead of enjoying what is happening now.

I am surrounded by the extraordinary (two births in the past week, new jobs, moves, etc.) in the lives of my friends and family. However, I don't see many things being too extraordinary in my own life any time soon. The NPR interviewer of Marilynne Robinson commented on how the character in Gilead had to fight against coveting what everyone else had. For many years he was a bachelor without a family and he often wished for what others had - in contradiction to the 10th commandment. The book discusses how this is one of the hardest commandments to keep. I think it's true. Hopefully I can celebrate the extraordinariness in others lives and still appreciate the ordinary in my own.

So, if you see me trying to find extraordinary things to do or making grandiose schemes and plans - please challenge me. I think I really need to just practice living daily with intentionality and enjoying what we have been given. It is easy to hide behind the extraordinary - I think living in the ordinary requires more discipline than I currently have so maybe that is something God will grow in me.

Ps. 46:10a - Cease striving and know that I am God.

Reading Fiction - shocking!

2008-05-28T16:29:00.003-05:00

I am a non fiction gal through and through. However, I recently ran into the fiction books by Marilynne Robinson and have really enjoyed them. Okay - one, Gilead and I started Housekeeping yesterday. WARNING: Do not read them if you want action adventure. She is very skilled at developing characters and creating moments and images that just stick with you. (My husband would NOT like them). She is a Pulitzer Prize winner that actually has a Christian faith to speak of. These are not "Christian" books - but rather, she is a Christian who writes good books for a general audience. Her style is somewhat like Annie Dillard - noticing the small details of life. She is not a liberal Christian (like Anne Lammot) - which is REALLY surprising. Her tone is more life affirming than Anne Lammot even though she deals with weightier subjects. Although Lammot does make me laugh.

She has written two non fiction works (which I am hoping the local library will add to their collection). Hopefully I can read them soon since the reviews contend that they are thought provoking and well written.

I also like reading her because it makes me want to write better (although this blog does not necessarily reflect that desire). She makes me think about noticing and describing the little incidents of life. She brings value and a sense of sacredness to the small acts of everyday - which is pretty much all you have when you are a stay at home mom. I appreciate her for that.

So, although these do not support my effort to "read the classics" they are at least good literature. You can listen to an interview about her work "Gilead" from NPR. It is interesting to hear NPR try to deal with deep religious faith.

Update - Little man has now been asleep for 2 1/2 hours. As it nears 5 I think I'll have to get him up so that he will go to bed tonight. He needs it though - he went to sleep VERY late last night.

New Bed!

2008-05-28T15:47:00.003-05:00

This weekend was "the big move" from the crib to the "big bed". My dad made a bed especially for little man. It is great and I have rarely seen the little guy so excited as when we moved it into his room. At first the transition was going well. In part because we were wearing him out and driving him to sleep after running errands in the morning. Today all that ended. He went to the zoo with Dad and was mostly asleep when he got home. We tried to put him down then but he would have none of it. Then I ran a few more errands and he was pretty much asleep again - but he refused to calm down enough to sleep in his bed. Finally desperation set in - after about an hour (I have a little project that needs to get done by tomorrow - we both needed him to sleep). So I told him that since he couldn't sleep in the big bed he was going back into the crib - he did. After a little bit of crying he settled down and is still sleeping. Normally a late nap starts at 12:15 for him - today he finally crashed at 2:15. It does look like he'll sleep close to two hours which is good.

I did finish my quilt while he was napping - it's for the Lutheran church in Costa Rica. Currently my creation is handwashing. I figured if it can't stand up to that then it's probably not good enough to give to someone else. We'll see! I will be VERY frustrated if it falls apart. For some reason my thread kept breaking and I really struggled with the binding this time. I am still a newbie. I really like making the tops but I don't enjoy finishing them off. It just seems tedious and not nearly as fun and creative as the rest of the project. I don't think I'm alone in this sentiment though.

UPDATE: The quilt survived the wash - YEAH. Now it just has to dry.

I'm back . . .

2008-05-21T19:31:00.004-05:00

Probably only you with RSS feeds (mom) will actually read this message because it's been so long since I've written. It was a busy spring but now it is done - Grad school, preschool coop and my consulting job. So what to do with the summer? I am trying not to overcommit myself but I think I should set some goals. So here are a few things I hope to accomplish this summer (if you know me - these are pretty modest goals):

1. IF we homeschool (and even if we don't) I think we'd probably like to follow a great books type of reading list in our home (Mortimer J. Adler How to Read a Book). They have a whole curriculum called "Junior Great Books" too. As I look through the list though - I realized that I know about these books but haven't actually read that many of them. So, no time like the present to start. I haven't determined which ones to read/ listen to on tape but I will do that soon.

2. Obviously, young one will not be reading Plato anytime soon, so I'd like to do something more immediate. Both Montessori and Charlotte Mason (CM) (although VERY different in their approaches to education) take the interesting stance that there shouldn't be too many books in a child's life. First, they both think children should be experiencing life instead of just reading about it. Secondly, they believe in the power of a told story (okay CM does). Finally, (again this is CM) she believes in only exposing children to really high quality literature and doesn't believe in twaddle (I have probably talked about this before).
Well, I don't have very many stories to tell. So this summer I think I am going to work on learning a few good stories to tell. There are a few resources out there with stories that might be good to share. So if anyone has suggestions on learning about storytelling I am open to them.

3. As we learn more about reading I realize I know NOTHING about phonics (long vowel/ short vowel - what's that?). I did get the Spell to Write and Read program and starting this summer I think I am going to try and construct the spelling lists that the students doing the program create. This is highly recommmended by all those who "teach" the program. At the outset I think this program is probably too structured for me to use as is - but I am hoping it can teach me a lot that I can use my knowledge no matter what happens.

4. Again, trying to do something more immediate, my goal is to get us out into nature on a regular basis (CM recommends 4 to 6 hours a day - we will be aiming for about 3). So I plan to frequent the parks in our area - little man LOVES to swing. Also, I hope to try some new art and other activities at home. I plan to use The Toddler Busy Book and Young at Art to get some good ideas going. Busy is a very good word to describe my little guy. I will also try to integrate more of the practical life ideas from Montessori into our home (sometimes he can hardly eat he is so taken with trying to clean up his crumbs - anyway).

I will also be working on some quilts, maybe continue to develop my crocheting ability and planning for a major fundraiser in September. I also hope to help out the 5 moms I know that are due between now and July 4th! Yesterday our nephew was born and hopefully we can spend some good time with them! Last summer I was overwhelmed by an outside commitment - this summer I hope to really focus my attention on my family and developing memories.

There is so much to say when you haven't written for months but I'll cut it short now.

Orderly Stage

2008-02-29T07:44:00.003-06:00

Well this weekend we did a little R&R - no not rest and relaxation - reclaiming and repurposing - rooms, plastic bins, tables, etc. The results are really nice. Thanks especially to my parents who helped make it possible.

Our attempts to get orderly coincide with my sons attempts to be orderly - which is convenient. Montessori calls the age and stage he is in the orderly stage. It is the truth. He will be sitting down, eating contently and if we leave the silverware drawer open while we are cooking - he is up pushing in the drawer. Yesterday, another child had moved the lid on the trash can. Little man took it upon himself to remove the bag, the liner and begin to take the trash out. He was half way across the kitchen before I got to him. Fortuantely he did it neatly and there wasn't much trash in the bag. He was pretty upset when I stopped his mission. He loves putting his plate away after he eats and finding trash to put in the trash can. Hopefully, some of his "put it back where you found it" will rub off on his parents.

Now I just need to get the cleaning supplies his size and use the Montessori lessons to teach him how to really clean! (Right now he is wiping down a table with his kleenex- even getting the legs!)

My son's first love

2008-02-21T17:13:00.002-06:00

Well my son is smitten with the neighborhood stray cats - two in particular. He appreciates and recognizes the dogs, but he longs to see the cats. We'll be doing something inside the house and he will go to the window to look for the cat. He frequently makes his modified cat symbol while we are playing inside. If I tell him we need to put his shoes on to go outside he starts making the cat symbol. He loves cats. (Did I tell you I am VERY allergic to cats!)

It seems that the cats may be returning their love. I can't decide if it is a mutual display of affection or rent for using our front flower bed as a kitty litter box - but recently dead grasshoppers have been showing up on our doorstep. Much like the kind offerings I have heard cat owners say their cat makes for them.

I hope to get a picture of these cats to include in his A, B, C scrapbook someday. He really does love them.

Creating Literature "units" at home

2008-02-16T07:12:00.003-06:00

One simple way to develop themes of study at home is to base your study around a good book. There are quite a few resources out there that can help you with this. There is a whole series for early homeschooling dedicated to this called Five in a Row. This series outlines a number of activities you can do for five days in a row based on a book you are reading. Another option is the popular story stretchers series (they have a book dedicated to toddlers and then older age groups). The other day I found the book Ready for Reading which reccomends 60 different books with quick ideas about what you can do to enhance the reading and connections and then it lists"extensions" for poetry and other books to read with a similar theme. Of course you can just read the books and enjoy them on their own merit.

This is obviously not a Montessori or a Charlotte Mason approach to learning but it is a fun and easy way to organize learning in your home. It is more similar to traditional preschool approaches.

Balanced Literacy

2008-02-16T06:53:00.002-06:00

In the end, I of course advocate reading to your children and children hearing great books in school. I would never advocate children learning phonograms to the exclusion of good reading. However, in my experience, the education programs I have been around have not really taught anything about the mechanics of teaching reading. They helped you know how to pick good literature, create activities/ units around that litearature but nothing that resembled making sure that you taught kids the sounds of the language to begin to help them to decode. Programs that do both are obviously the best option. My issue is that very few teachers are truly prepared to systematically help students learn the sounds of the language and decode it so that they can learn to read. As the article points out they often teach rules that don't work and make the language more confusing than necessary.

In response to Flogger I found a great resource: I'll Tell You a Story, I'll Sing You a Song. This little treasure talks about why storytelling is so important (not just story reading - although that is very important too). It also includes a simple outline of the most common folk tales, nursery rhymes and similar things. Basically, as she says, these are all the stories that you know but you can't remember the details of them. I just started the book but I think it will help me to pursue storytelling with my little guy.

Writing Road to Reading

2008-02-13T20:55:00.002-06:00

I am thinking that I might have blogged about this before - but it is SO important. For all you mom's out there STOP teaching your child to sing the alphabet song and spell the word cat - "SEE A TEE". That's not helping them. CAT is spelled /k/ /a/ /t/ - truly sound out the letters not just the letter names. It is confusing to learn letter names and the sounds and it is so easy to just teach the sounds the letter typically makes. Please consider getting either Reading Reflex or Spelling to Read and Write or something similar. They need to know that the letters we write represent the sounds of our language. They already have the sounds down (if they can talk) now they just need the pictures (letters) that represent those sounds. English has between 45 and 70 sounds (depending how you break them down) - not the 26 we find in the alphabet. This is my little rant but you can read the intelligent argument before the senate here.

Whole Language instruction (I took a class on this I think - or at least had to read a book about it for a class) - is a bunch of HOOEY! Please do not let your child be allowed to stay in a class that is ONLY using this approach. Can you imagine someone trying to tell you that you learn math by being around numbers and somehow you will magically understand how numbers work? NO! But that is basically what whole language tries to say about reading. Study after study confirms that whole language does NOT help children learn to read. I agree that just teaching phonics, phonograms or direct instruction WITHOUT hearing great literature and having a reason to want to read is an issue - but that doesn't mean that pleasure should be the primary goal of our reading programs. In fact, this fails because they may love to hear stories -but after a while, when they don't "get" reading, they begin to guess, feel stupid, and never are really able to read. Kids often take these things upon themselves and just figure it is their fault they can't read. Well, no one ever explained how reading works in a way that they understood. So please, learn the sounds of the language and teach your kids to listen to the sounds.

End of rant.

Displaying Learning

2008-02-12T12:10:00.001-06:00

Yesterday one of my listserve's pointed me to a new concept for me- the lapbook. Basically these are folders that students create (with visuals, small books, drawings, etc.) that demonstrate what they have learned about a topic. I found another site that calls this Scrapbooking for school - which is really what it is. I even found a place that talked about creating digital lapbooks. I really like the concept because it develops a record of what the child has learned and what they got from it and pieces can be put together over time and then organized for a"final product". I think the digital one is probably a good idea for older students (plus it teaches them useful computer skills). I am resising the urge to join the listseve about lapbooks - I already spend enough time reading listserve messages. If I end up homeschooling - I definitely think this is one "product" we will develop. If you think books just have to be square - think again! The Big Book of Books has all types of different shapes, sizes and ideas about making books interesting.

Also, I found an idea called the "mini office". I am not totally sure why they call it that but it's a good idea. As one site says it is an extension of the lapbook and is basically a reference for students. So students or teachers can develop a folder that keeps the most important information about a topic handy - whether math or blends in English or whatever else. This is just an easy way to organize them. Instead of always looking for that one sheet of paper - this puts it in an easy place to access and keep it looking nice.

How is 3rd grade language arts like 6th grade math?

2008-02-12T12:01:00.000-06:00

Answer: In 3rd grade you move from learning to read to reading to learn. In 6th grade you move from learning math basics to using and applying math at higher levels. It is important that students have the basics of language or math down before they move on to these next levels. Unfortunately, many students aren't getting the basics and they can never successfully move on to the next level. I have heard this about language before - but never about the switch necessary in math. Often so many other things are happening in middle school that they never really "get" math. Later I'll talk more about approaches to teaching math.

Reading hiSTORY

2008-02-09T13:48:00.000-06:00

Well, I have spent more time on the Charlotte Mason Ambleside (here is another overview) website recently. Wow - they have a LOT of information there for people interested in this approach. I am really enjoying reading through the booklists - they actually have a 36 week curriculum for books you should read to your first, second, third grader, etc. The nice thing about the books she chooses is that they teach history (one of my favorite subjects) through short stories that show the drama and excitement of the subject. Many of the books she recommends can be found at Yesterday's Classics. The reviews for these books are EXCELLENT on Amazon. So, even if you are doing something like Hirsch's Core Curriculum you could easily incorporate some of these stories into your approach. One of the primary texts that they use is apparently online - Fifty Famous Stories Retold. One of the points that the CM approach highlights is storytelling - not just book reading - so that you encourage children to create their own images in their head. This might also be a good reason to get books on tape - then everyone can enjoy the listening experience. She also emphasizes reading poetry - which is not my strength - but it seems like a good idea. Viking Tales is also a work that is listed - so my husband will certainly approve of this approach. He might even be willing to read that one to the kiddos! Here is another link to learn more about living books - so much information out there!

Quite a few years ago they were selling the 6 book series of the Charlotte Mason approach at a local used bookstore. I got the series for a STEAL of a deal. I think I might actually try reading the first book in the series. The online forums at ambleside have a "book group" that reads a chunk of it a week and then talks about it. They also have much of the text and some overviews online.

My poor child may end up very confused as his mom tries to patchwork together a curriculum. I would think, if nothing else you could easily incorporate the readings suggested on the Ambleside website to add depth to your child's reading repretoire - regardless of where they are getting most of their schooling.

Fantasy vs. Imagination

2008-02-07T22:50:00.000-06:00

I am a part of a montessori yahoo group (okay 3 groups). Anyway, one of them recently has been talking about Montessori's approach to children's literature. It has been VERY interesting. I have not read about this myself but apparently she discourages any type of fantasy literature before a child is 6 years old. This is because young children cannot tell the difference between real and make believe. So she discourages any books where animals where clothes and speak, where mythical creatures are involved and similar types of things.

Along the same lines she makes an interesting distinction between fantasy and imagination. She talks about fantasy play not being helpful to kids, while imagination should be encouraged. Fantasy play is when kids pretend to be a pretend character (like Batman, Arial, etc.). Imagination is when they pretend to be something that is real (a pilot, a teacher, a bus driver - whatever). The idea is that in fantasy play they are not really being imaginative they are fulfilling someone else's script (even if the words/ actions are there own). In imaginative play they truly are using their imaginations.

I am still learning more about this topic and I might have to hunt down some original sources. It did make me pause and think. I have known some 4 year olds that can only think about being one character - it becomes and obsession.

On a related note I started looking at the Charlotte Mason approach again. They basically have her whole curriculum laid out online. This includes a great reference list for books (scroll down the page to find it) worth reading. There is also an interesting conversation about how to choose books worth reading. Both approaches focus on helping the child learn for themselves - but they have MANY differences. Good thing I have another couple years to figure out which way we might lean.

It finally happened

2008-01-18T20:22:00.000-06:00

I am happy to report that little man is WALKING! At times, as some predicted, he is trying to run. That doesn't work too well yet. He does seem to enjoy trying to carry heavy and odd shaped objects while he walks. Our batteries ran out on our camera this week so we have been negligent parents in taking video of this event - but this weekend we will.

Good Toddler Books

2008-01-18T20:12:00.000-06:00

One of my friends recently commented that it is difficult to pick out good children's books - there are just so many. Today I learned that there is an organization that picks good books for toddlers. They have for about 8 years (so about 80 books). As I looked through the list I found the one book that little man has pretty much torn to shreds - Babies. I am not really sure how he's done it - but he has loved that book to death. I presonally also recommend everything written by Sandra Boynton. A friend of ours mentioned us to her when little man was very young and we TOTALLY love her books -they cover basic concepts in fun ways.
You can always look for books with the Caldecott or Newberry award as well. If you are in Texas you can look for the Bluebonnet award - but that's typically for older children. If you remember the movie 3 men and a baby (one of the "dads" reads from Sports Illustrated) - when they are really little it isn't so important what you read as that you read.

The winds of change

2008-01-13T21:30:00.000-06:00

Last week my parents were here and my dad outdid himself. He put in a new back door to our garage and then cleaned the garage. It could now win an award for cleanest garage. (It could also be a top contender for most books stored in a garage). Well this was the swift kick in the pants (plus the fact that school starts at my house soon) we needed to get our act together.

On Friday I sat around drooling over the Ikea catalog and considering all the great items I could buy to help me organize. Yesterday I had meetings. Today I returned to reality and realized that we had most of what we need - just not in the right place. So we have been reorganizing. Although I can't say it will remain spotless - we both agree that it is much improved. I even found an extra bookshelf for the coop. I might even create "curtians" for the bookcases to help little man stay out of them. Speaking of little man, even he was inspired to redecorate. In his room we have two short bedside tables with two drawers each that serve as his "dresser". Right before we went to bed he got behind one of them and started moving it around. It was pretty cute.

This might be a form of procrastination - but it has had good results.

Too many projects

2008-01-12T22:45:00.000-06:00

As I enter the new year I realize that I continue with the same bad habits. I was trying really hard not to continue the pattern - but I just seem to go in phases. So this week I will start my last grad school class (for now), start our montessori co-op up again, continue my new part-part time job and be a mom to a child who is finally starting to really walk! He has taken more independent steps recently which is very fun. In addition, we are considering doing some major remodeling in our house over the next few months. So don't be surprised if I kind of drop off the planet for a little while.

I did find a cool program today to help with basic math concepts. It is a free program that provides "manipulatives" on screen to help teach math. So if you don't have a bunch of unit, tens, hundreds blocks around your house - this program can approximate it. They also have directions on how to use it. Of course, part of it is just letting your child play with it to see how math "works". Anyway, I am bookmarking it and will hopefully use it someday. I found it through my montessori listserv and it is in keeping with the way that they teach math.

Language learning and problem solving

2008-01-07T13:20:00.001-06:00

As I am prepping for the spring semester I am reviewing the Montessori lessons to prepare students for language activities. There are couple pre-language activites that are simple and yet crucial to reading:

1. Sequencing - Montessori does this by stringing beads in a pattern, following a sticker pattern or similar types of activities.
Eventually, children will realize that letters are also sequenced to form words (and if they are out of sequence they say something different).

2. Sorting - Here there are activities like alike/ not alike and putting similar items together (we grouped plastic ice cube shapes together).
Here children are learning to match and group items according to similarities - this will be key as they learn the specific shapes of letters and need to figure out what letters are alike.

3. Visual Discrimination - this is very similar to sorting but it focuses more on patterns (like those found in fabric) and moves towards the more abstract. Playing games like memory help with this process - again looking at what is similar.
Children have to be keen observers to realize the difference between "b" and "d" and helping them hone this skill can be fun if we do it with things other than letters all the time.

These simiple, seemingly unrealated activities, are key to helping children prepare to read. Likewise, there is an approach to problem solving and discipline that uses what seems like unrelated factors to help children grow in their ability to deal with "real life".
In the world of child discipline I have only found a few programs that really seem to focus on preschool age children. Currently the "I Can Problem Solve" program captures my attention. It is aimed at parents of three and four year olds - but if you learn the vocabulary early and use it consistently I imagine younger children will catch on. I like it because it focuses on building specific vocabulary (or here) to help children problem solve. It breaks down phrase is like some/ all, same/different and encourages games that use these terms. Then, when a problem arises you use the terms and apply it it to the issue at hand. I skimmed this book a few months ago and I intend to check it out again today. I think it might be interesting to incorporate some of these terms into our Montessori classroom. There are further steps and here is a good summary of the overall (ignore the part about preventing delinquincy- oh wait, that might be a good thing regardless of who you are) approach:

The first section focuses on learning a problem solving vocabulary in the form of games. The second section concentrates on teaching children how to listen. It also teaches them how to identify their own and other's feelings, and to realize that people can feel different ways about the same thing. In the last section children are given hypothetical problems and are asked to think about people's feelings, consequences to their acts, and different ways to solve problems.

One study showed pretty impressive results:

Specifically, as a group, children trained by their mothers at home became better able to wait for what they want, better able to share and take turns, and less easily upset in the face of frustration while they were in school as measured against their control counterparts.

The longitudinal study showed that at the end of grade 2 (they learned the program in kindergarten/1st), mother-trained girls were the least impulsive and the least inhibited, and showed the fewest behavior problems as observed by independent raters.

Children don't automatically know these things but that they can be taught. These programs break down complicated issues into simple steps that parents and teachers can use to help children learn. They also try to teach children in engaging, tactile and varied contexts so it doesn't feel like a "lesson" but the kids are learning nonetheless.

Potty Learning . . . pre training

2008-01-07T12:47:00.000-06:00

Potty learning is the PC term for what people have called potty training forever - it's a granola type phrase that emphasize that this a a skill that is learned just like anything else the child does. Well today I decided to break out the new little potty we got for little man. Although it is VERY early - I am an advocate for introducing the idea early. He was obviously trying to go to the bathroom and I decided why not make the most of the moment. I don't expect him to be potty trained any time soon but today's results were less than thrilling.
He was very interested in the potty and he immediately took out the "bowl" of the potty. (This could make the process MUCH messier in the future). He then dragged the potty from the bathroom to the kitchen and proceeded to try and use it as a step stool to get into the pantry cabinet. His foot kept going through the hole where the "bowl" was supposed to be so it didn't really give him much leverage. Basically he ended up standing in the potty. The version we have is designed to be used as a step stool if you configure it correctly - so he was on to something. So after snapping a few pictures I had to return the potty to the bathroom and got him what he wanted out of the pantry. This might be a longer process than I expected!

Steppin' out

2008-01-06T22:49:00.001-06:00

I am glad to report that little man is now attempting to walk. He has gone from the sofa to the chair and then from one part of the kitchen to another. He still isn't sure that this is a great mode of transportation but he is experimenting with it more. Often he attempts to do this while carrying something large. My husband reports that little guy carried a cup, with a little bit of water, without a top, from one part of the kitchen to another without spilling! He has also become a little more clingy today - which is sort of surprising. He is also getting much better at standing up without anything around him - it really is quite a feat. Anyway, not too long and his little motor will really be running!

Great Montessori Resource

2008-01-06T22:36:00.000-06:00

I continue to enjoy the montessorimakers yahoo group and learn something new almost every day. Today I learned about a new website that talks specifically about doing montessori at home. The website clearly outlines the basic tennets of the math and language program more clearly than any other place I've seen. I did download the ebook and it provides basic but helpful information. I especially like the section about implementing Montessori at home. This outline, in combination with the step by step directions I bought earlier this year, will form the basis of our spring semester. We will start next week and we'll see how it goes.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T20:11:00.000-06:00

Welcome to a new year. I decided to do a year in review instead of a typical Christmas letter to all. I do hope that everyone enjoyed family and friends over the holidays - we certainly did!

The update:

Little man - He still doesn't walk - but he does have really good balance and can be tricked into walking on occasion. He tries to talk and has favorite words like dog, drink, milk, truck and bath. He learned "deer" over Christmas at his great grandparents house. He loves playing outside, climbing all over everything, pulling things out of cabinets, opening and closing doors (he can reach the door knobs but not turn it yet), turning pages in books and playing the piano. So, he is a growing boy. He eats his spinach and oatmeal every morning - please don't tell him that most normal people don't eat that. He had a great first birthday. It grew out of control fast (we had 12 kids under 5 years of age) but we had a great time celebrating with pancakes and curious george. We are looking forward to a great year - he will walk eventually (at least that's what people tell me) and I am sure he will have a language explosion - he really wants to talk. Actually most people think he will be RUNNING within days after walks - I tend to agree.

Hubby (daddy) - He is still employed by the public library system here in SA. Overall he enjoys it. He has been given more administrative responsibilities and he really enjoys that. His boss likes his work and continues to recommend him for position openings - however in a city system it's all about your number of years. He plans to stay with the system for a LONG time coming so his turn will come. He gets frustrated with the computer illiteracy of the general public but enjoys helping patrons who are actually doing research. He has also been busy with a guys group about once a week - they do geeky guy things. He continues to read like crazy and continues to watch all kinds of movies. On occasion he picks a few good books on tape and movies that are interesting to the rest of us. So far we have learned about the history of pirates, the race to the north pole, Harry Potter, and similar fare.

The little wife (mommy) - I am still adjusting to being a full time stay at home mom. I actually spent the summer working full time plus for a summer camp. It was fun but very tiring. In the spring I read "Genius Denied" about gifted and talented education. I also realized that my money towards education from VISTA was about to expire. So I have been taking Internet courses on gifted education over the summer and fall. I have learned a lot - even though I don't have a teaching certificate. After this summer I realized that I WILL NEVER run a child care center (one of my former dreams). So instead my friends and I started a montessori preschool co-op. We had about 12 -1 4 kids between 8 months and 4 years twice a week. It has been fun and I think helpful to the moms/ dads and kids. We will have two "semesters" this spring. We've learned a lot and look forward to what is to come.
I have also found a hobby. I learned how to make quilts this fall and made quite a few for family and friends for Christmas. I have also taking up crocheting after a friend introduced it to me. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree as I realize most of my family has taught at one point and many of them are pretty skilled with needle and thread.
We continue to stay busy at church. Our pastor recently left to accept an exciting opportunity in North Carolina - but it's been awesome to see our church community come together in new ways. We also are busy with a home group. We now meet at our house so once a week we have over 12 adults and 7 children under age 4 in our house. We are still trying to figure out how to meet everyone's needs - but it is fun to do life together. Missy is part of a women's group that has been studying Cloud and Townsend books about spiritual growth and community. Peter is part of a geeky guys group and enjoys hanging out with them. He used to be the only married guy but now the ratio is changing (two were married this year!).
So these are the high points of our year. We are excited about the year to come, looking forward to lots of new life (many of our family and friends are expecting) and new adventure. When I remember I try to post happenings here and we'd love for you to keep in touch.

Yeah Cloth Diapers

2007-12-14T14:24:00.001-06:00

Well today a little miracle happened at our house. My 15 month old left our family room and crawled (because he still refuses to walk) to his room. This was fairly strange behavior because he was playing just fine. When he got to his room he went straight to his changing pad (which is on the floor), sat on it and looked at me. He was wet and wanted to be changed!!! He wasn't even poopy. So we'll see what this means and if he does it again. I tried to praise him profusely.

He continues to try and "clean" things around the house. He has also started feeding himself with a spoon pretty well. He can do it well with his left hand. His right hand is another matter. He sort of tries to catapult it into his mouth. Sometimes it works for him depending on how "sticky" the food is.

He has also started getting on to his little tricycle more. He is very cute as he rides it around. He gets off of it by inching himself off the back end. It works.

So this has sort of been a string of posts about what little man is doing. I guess that is the main thing going on in my life. Everything else is a Christmas surprise for people. Congrats to our friends who have recently given birth or announced that they are pregnant. I think I know about 7 people expecting between May and July of next year. So much life - it's very fun.

My son - the cleaner

2007-12-05T18:29:00.000-06:00

Well I have been enjoying time on the Internet while my son slowly explores all the "safe" areas of the kitchen. He's been at it for about 45 minutes now. It is messy but he is having a good time. My favorite part is when he takes the dishrags and wipes things down. He's been doing this often recently and it is just TOO cute. He isn't really cleaning - but he's trying. Actually Montessori does have a way to teach cleaning so I guess I should pull out that information and teach him how to do it - he would love it.

He still refuses to walk. He is still a little unsteady but he really could probably do it if he tried. He "accidentally" takes a few steps every once in while between chairs or other close objects. He is also getting better at signing. Although I think he thinks the sign for "more" means "food". I get the point. He certainly knows the signs for bath and milk - two of life's greatest pleasures in his estimation. It is almost bed time so we will need to wrap up this playing session. He sure has had a good time though!

Wrappin' it up!

2007-11-30T12:03:00.001-06:00

Well this week marked the end of our trial period for our co-op. The review meeting went really well and we are all looking forward to beginning again in the spring. I have a few things to learn before then because we will start teaching more langauge and math concepts. I also finished my grad school course. My final project ended up being much bigger than it needed to be (over 30 pages plus a website)- but I was having a good time. You can see the webpage if you'd like. It was fun and I am glad that it's done.

There is a chance that little man may be a climber. After figuring out how to get up onto the dining room chairs he has realized that the same principles can be used to climb on top of the table and the piano keys. He is not allowed to do these things - but he tries.

He might be paying more attention to the signs then I give him credit for. Yesterday he went into the bathroom in the middle of the afternoon and made the sign for bath. We didn't take one at that point. Later that night he heard my husband and I talking about it - came by on his way to the bathroom and made the sign. He also LOVES making the sign for milk (now he drinks lactaid or soy milk).

So now its on to new projects - I have a couple I have set aside that I will pick back up now.

Every day something new!

2007-11-28T13:49:00.000-06:00

I can't believe how quickly the little guy is getting new things. Little man is now working on feeding himself with a spoon - although he isn't always that successful. He also managed to climb in and out of our kitchen chairs yesterday. All of our friends were entertained because he was on his tippy, tippy, tippy toes to do it - he was determined that's for sure. He has taken a few steps by himself (mostly to get between larger pieces of furniture. We have a baby gate surrounding our computer area and recently he's taken to trying to lift the gate up so that he can come around the outside edge - he is pretty strong.

Today he was playing with the curtain in my room and I asked him if he wanted to go outside. He immediately started crawling super fast straight to the door that we use to go outside. He then stood up and tried to push the lock open for the door. As soon as I opened the door he walked out of it on two feet. I guess he REALLY wanted to go outside. He had a good time and I discovered we still have pecans out there. I had to convince him that sticks are not good for eating.

We'll see what he does next!

Thankful for . . .

2007-11-25T08:06:00.000-06:00

I hope that you and yours had a great Thanksgiving. This year I think Thanksgiving snuck up on us - but we had a great time. My parents were in town and we went out to visit my Aunt and Uncle. Good food, laughs and rest. Can't ask for much more.

This week little man has learned quite a few things and I am very thankful that he continues to develop and grow into a little boy. Here are the things he has learned:

1. How to push a chair over to the counter so that he can better reach on top.
2. How to hold onto an adults fingers and walk around (he still doesn't have enough balance to walk on his own).
3. How to go to the fridge/ his high chair to tell us that he's ready to eat.
4. How to climb onto our couch by himself.
5. How to loosely put some of the lids back on his toys.
6. He crawls to his room for a diaper change and to the bathroom if you talk about getting a bath.
7. Sometimes he can put puzzle pieces (big ones with knobs) back into their correct hole.
8. He uses words like done, more and sometimes spoon correctly. He really isn't interested in signing with us - he just wants to say the word. (Although more means food I think - whoops).

We are very blessed and have many things to be thankful for this season. Now on to decorating our house for Christmas!

Reflection

2007-11-20T15:13:00.000-06:00

Today as I read about the role of reflection in teacher education it highlighted a difference between my understanding of wisdom and knowledge and the education systems take on this subject. I have to say I am not as adept as my husband in sniffing out the philosophical implications of a belief system - but today this little bit of information hit even me over the head.
The article discusses different theories on reflection and depth of reflection. As it summarizes them it says "Third, the higher a persons’ reflective thinking develops the more he/she starts to realize the subjectivity of knowledge, the relativity of truth, the multiplicity of sources of knowledge and the importance of context in determining meaning." (Baker El Dib, 2006, bolding mine) Basically, the point is that the more reflective thinker is open to the swaying wind of ideas and the mulitple frameworks of the world. I think that many people do see this as the hallmark of an educated person. However, I have to disagree. I think that while a well educated person knows about these different things, in the end they are grounded in something, somewhere. As the old saying goes "Don't be so open minded that your brains fall out!"
Often the goal of the educational establishment is not to anchor students in truth or provide them with a good foundation of knowledge but instead to introduce them to all of life's possiblities. Often these days people talk about critical thinking, higher order thinking, etc. Which I am in favor of to a large extent. However, in the end you must have something TO THINK ABOUT and a STANDARD to compare things to (or else how can you be critical). The relfective practice above does not create a standard - it invites you to create your own in some ways. In fact, you might be thought less intelligent if you CHOSE to hold onto a traditional standard. So once again the prevailing view of an educated mind seems to fly in the face of true education. I never thought I'd be a "back to basics" kind of gal - but I think it is growing on me.

Concentration

2007-11-17T19:26:00.000-06:00

Today my research was discussing the unrealistic expectations that pre-service teachers sometimes set for children. The example they used was expecting 1st and 2nd graders to be engaged in work for a long while. Common knowledge is that they flit from thing to thing and have short attention spans. This caught my attention because Montessori expects the exact opposite of its students. In fact, elementary classrooms have 3 hour work periods in the morning where students choose their work and go to it. She believed that students could be taught to concentrate deeply if given the right atmosphere and properly engaging objects. She basically talked about Flow before the term became a buzzword.

Tonight before bed we finally let little man do his own thing (after running lots of errands today). He is only 14 months old but he already has the idea of flow. He spent about 20 minutes just playing with two of his shape puzzle pieces - he wasn't even trying to put them in the puzzle. He was banging them on things - putting them up high and down low and generally just checking them out. He took a short break and then went back to it for about another 10 minutes. I am not sure if this is normal or not. I will say that at least once a day he will get lost in his play for about 30 to 45 minutes. He will pull out all his books or empty his kitchen cabinet and just see how everything works. If a 14 month old can do it - I expect with encouragement and the right atmosphere older kids can do it.

This again points out the difference between the education I think my child will most enjoy and benefit from and the choppy, line up, sit down, read aloud education that has to be given through the public school. There really isn't any other way for a public school to function - but I'm not sure that's the best way for my son to learn.

It's been interesting to watch the coop class I am leading. I think the kids are so used to trying to "get through" everything and just recently they started realizing that they can sit and enjoy working with one item. One of the kids that we all sort of expected might struggle with this has really taken to it. He spent a good 15 minutes with the pink tower - building, unbuilding, comparing sizes, etc. He spent another 15 minutes pouring beans. I think he liked the noise and the feel - but that's the point. This kind of work engenders a love for learning because it allows students to explore for themselves - not constantly being told what to think about whatever they are working with. This is a HUGE change for me - but I like it.

I have to say I have been lost in a few projects recently and that's why I haven't posted. The research is interesting - I love to research! Another time I'll talk more about what I'm learning.

Bumper Crop

2007-10-26T21:46:00.000-05:00

Pecans for sale! Seriously, it is a little out of control here. Recently it has been beautiful outside so little man and I have enjoyed our backyard. Sometimes while he is playing I work on ridding our backyard of pecans. There are so many! Today Paul Harvey reported that there is a bumper crop of pecans this year - well my backyard proves it. While I gathered pecans today my friendly neighbor called over the fence to offer us some pecans. NO THANKS! We only have one tree - they have two. You literally can't walk without stepping on a pecan. My neighbor did offer an encouraging word - she says that they only come every other year - so no wonder we didn't have this issue last year. None of our friends want pecans because they all attended another friend's pecan picking party. It's sort of like an easter egg hunt in the fall. Anyway, all this to say - do you have any good pecan recipes?

. . . and then he popped a tooth

2007-10-26T21:39:00.000-05:00

This week has been a little crazy at our house. About a week and a half ago pretty much our whole coop group was exposed to a yucky stomach bug. Little man got it and couldn't keep anything down (for about 5 days). Then my hubby got it. Somehow I avoided it (so far). Hubby (and everyone else's) only lasted for about a day or so. But little man's kept dragging on. So, we ended up at the doctor's and he sent us to the outpatient pedi care at a local hospital to pump him full of fluids. Fortunately he fell asleep for about an hour of the two hour treatment. He is feeling much better but he is now dealing with diarrhea (which happens every morning right around 6 am!) He is still not too interested in drinking ANYTHING - which is frustrating. Yesterday as I was hanging out with the boy I noticed an extra white spot in his mouth. Apparently in the midst of all of this one tooth busted through and another seems to be working on it. So now he is up to almost six teeth. It has been quite a week.

Here's a little ditty . . .

2007-10-18T13:51:00.000-05:00

As I was playing around today on other people's blogs I found a link to songs from the 19th century. If you scroll down it has the whole list of songs and when you click on it the sheet music and words appear (it's sort of like a hymnal for children). Reading the text is amazing because the words are all 5 and ten cent words. The meaning behind them are great too - although it does seem like they are from a different century in SO many ways. If you are looking for "new" old songs to expand your repretoire this is a great little site - especially if you can pluck out a tune on the piano.

A little early but . . .

2007-10-16T23:24:00.000-05:00

So this year little man might be able to participate in some Christmas activities. I am glad that we now attend a somewhat liturgical church because that means they might observe Advent. I think that Advent is a great way to help prepare your heart and life for the real meaning of Christmas. I really hope to make this a special time with lots of good memories for our family. I am still collecting ideas but here are a few that I have found so far:

The Jesse Tree - This is a neat idea because it really tells the whole story of the Bible and God's love for us in the course of the 25 days leading up to Christmas. Although the graphics aren't great on this site they give you the right idea. This site gives you an overview of the days, symbols and scripture readings.

Advent Ideas - this is truly "no frills" but it has some really good ideas about helping families prepare their hearts for Christmas - worth the read despite it's plain presentation.

Sticker Advent calendar - I saw one of these on amazon - but you could make your own from clip art and the self made lick and stick - I honestly don't know how long the adhesive would last but it would be fun. So you could do a bunch of Christian symbols, symbols of the season etc.

Old Christmas Cards - It's probably a good idea to save them for future projects - don't know exactly what to do with them - but they could be used again.

One blog I read last season talked about having a family activity for every day of advent. Some of them were simple like smile at your friends today. Some were memory making like baking Christmas cookies. Other were spritual - read part of the Bible. Anyway, they were all mixed up and each day the kids would pick the activity out and do it. (With older kids they suggest you brainstorm together the ideas at the beginning of December- or maybe during the long weekend of Thanksgiving). There are lots of ways you could expand on this.

Some of these sites are a little more Catholic than what I would pursue - but they have great ideas. So, if the stores can start setting up for Christmas, we can start preparing our families hearts to engage with the real meaning of the season. We'll see what my family actually ends up doing this year!

Makin' a list, checkin' it twice

2007-10-14T22:59:00.000-05:00

If you need help choosing fun and educational toys for Christmas this year (or birthdays) I will pass this little gem on to you. Many of the items are for kids 4 and older so I will have to wait to buy these goodies - but they all look so fun. There are a few preschool items on there. Have fun browsing!

Coop Week 2

2007-10-12T09:31:00.000-05:00

Well despite some of the kiddos getting sick - overall week 2 was a great success. I amazed at how well the students are doing - picking their own work, really working at it and having fun. Yesterday I introduced a basting activity where kids transfer colored water from one dish to another with a baster. One of the little guys really loved it - he kept showing his mom what he was doing and he was all smiles. Another student kept telling me how "cool" everything was. It is really hard for them to just watch me demonstrate - they really want to get involved and do it all. Which is the point.

So, I think I have sort of figured out the language stuff for now. I am also reading through Reading Reflex again. It is a similar approach to Montessori - without the sandpaper letters and with cards instead of a "moveable alphabet". Reading reflex basically teaches that letters represent the sounds we make with our speech. Both methods focus on the sounds that the letter makes- not the name of the letters. This makes so much sense - but somehow the A, B, C song seems so popular it's hard to overcome. So children get confused - the letter c - see; however, its sound is cuh. So when we ask them to spell or read they have to go through the process of naming and then sounding - if we just teach the sounds - they just sound it and don't worry about the names.

I have not tried Explode the Code - which also seems to be very popular. Has anyone tried it? I have looked at Teach your child to read in 100 lessons - but it was too visually confusing for me. I do admit that I didn't try very hard.

So, I think it will take all of Christmas break for me to figure out how to teach the math section - but that's okay.

Is the library overwhelming?

2007-10-12T09:24:00.001-05:00

Today Reading Rockets pointed me to another great resource Just One More Book. It seems to be similar to Trelease's read aloud handbook - but since it is basically a blog and podcasts it keeps up with current literature. One of my cousins gave me Trelease's book as a baby gift - it was a GREAT idea! She even put notes about what her family liked - a very nice and helpful personal touch.

Anyway, I haven't explored everything on the site - but it looks like you can search by author or by subject area. It is an act of passion and love by the people who collect all this information. So, if you are looking for new books this might be the place to start. This is the type of thing I might do if I wasn't doing so many other things. I'm glad someone out there is doing it for the rest of us.

Look what I can do

2007-10-04T19:23:00.000-05:00

I mentioned that my mom was here last week. As she left she mentioned that little man would be able to do so much more when she came back (in just two weeks!). She was right. Here are some new things he is trying out:

1. Standing on his own - it was for split seconds but now it is a little longer
2. Sitting on his little potty - sometimes he will stay there, sometimes he won't
3. Trying to put tops onto his "dishes"
4. Rolling and throwing balls
5. Reaching and trying to open door knobs - he doesn't have enough leverage - yet
6. Turning on and off the lights - repeatedly

I am most excited (and freaked out) about the standing on his own. I think this means he will be walking soon and it is ALL down hill from there. I think once he can stand well our table tops will never be the same.

From 0 to 60

2007-10-04T19:14:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's been so long since I've blogged. My mom came into town last week and I took it easy for a while - so that's the zero. Now that the coop has started, my classes are still going and I have board meetings next week to prep for - so that's the 60. On Tuesday we had the parent meeting for the coop and it went really well. It is a more diverse group than I thought- which is GREAT. Many of the kids are right around the same age which is helpful.
Today was the first day of "school". Some kiddos got new backpacks, some took pictures for the day - I was surprised. They are all excited about school though. Overall the older students did very well. They seemed to enjoy the activities and catch onto some of the basic routines. I am realizing that our older kids are more advanced than I expected them to be - so I am playing catch up with that.
Two moms agreed to take care of the younger students. I think overall they had a good time except for the fact that little man spent most of the time crying because mommy wasn't paying attention to him. This is all part of the process I guess. The younger kids (18 months and under) are going to focus on baby signs, singing songs and some physical development activities (fun things to help baby stretch etc.). I am so thankful for these moms that are stepping up.
I hope to update weekly on how our coop is going.

Sleeping update

2007-09-20T07:46:00.000-05:00

When we returned to the doctor for little man's shots we discovered that he had a mild ear infection - so that could be the cause of all his crankiness in the middle of the night. It seemed like something more than usual. Yet again - somehow I picked the one week that he's sick since he's born to try and do something new. I have moved his yogurt meal to the evening and I am now just doing what the Baby Whisperer calls a "dream feed" around 10:30 pm or so. I still am not sure if it is working - he slept until 5:30 yesterday and was up for the morning. This morning he did his "normal" wake up around 3:45 or so - but he did go back to sleep. Who knew this would get so complicated?

My whole life does not revolve around sleep (okay, well, it almost does). We are getting things ready for the co-op. That's actually my goal for the next few days (and has been for the past few days) to figure out what lessons and materials we will start with and go from there. There are soooo many! We plan to start in less than 2 weeks.

Warning - do not try this at home

2007-09-17T07:37:00.000-05:00

Recently I got in my head that little man is a year old and I should probably wean him. I had read about this once upon a time - but not recently. He was already down to about two feeds a day anyway. Of course, last week, when he was sick, I fed him four times a day. In my brilliance I decided that right after he started feeling better I should go cold turkey! What a fool! Feeding him four times a day for two days of course increased my milk supply and then I was in pain and huge. I decided I should probably read up on this again so I pulled out my copy of "So That's What They're For". I glanced over the section and found key phrases like "don't go cold turkey", "consider why you are stopping" and "breast infection". So, I decided to reassess my strategy.

So now I am going to move to one feeding a day. Lots of people talk about their children having a favorite feeding. Well, little man doesn't care about the day feedings and the two days we went cold turkey he didn't miss the bedtime feeding. The only one he seems to care about is the 3:30 - 4:30 am feeding that I started before summer camp this summer. We tried to break this habit on Saturday morning - 2 and 1/2 hours he was up and MAD. Finally, we fed him - with a sippy and milk - and he went back to sleep. So, I guess this is my next issue - how can we get him away from getting up so early in the morning? The Baby Whisperer talks about accidental parenting and I think I have fallen into a bad pattern here.

Success!

2007-09-15T10:10:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the big fundraiser. Although I have had my doubts that this would be a success since March - I have to say, somehow - not by me - it all came together. We ended up with 30 silent auction items (as of Wednesday I knew we had about 12)! We served about 75 plates or so (as of yesterday we had 36 confirmed attending). So once again God was bigger and brought it all together. I actually took little man with me to help set up for a while in the afternoon and he stayed in his stroller for about 2 and 1/2 hours just watching us (and eating pasta some of the time). He barely fussed at all - although he was looking pretty tired at some points. His chill attitude is SO helpful to mom.
So now we are on to the next adventure - the preschool coop. It actually is scheduled to start in about 2 weeks so I need to GET BUSY! I think we will have about 8 kids to start with which is a pretty good number. We'll see what happens from there. I was able to purchase some curriculum materials this week. From the little I've read they are wonderful and exactly what we need. However, I was busy gluing fish nametags together so I didn't have much time to browse through them. That's my goal this week. One of the albums has over 40 lessons on "grace and courtesy". Who can't appreciate that?

Murphy's Law

2007-09-13T18:33:00.001-05:00

Well I think someone gave little man a very nice birthday gift - a little virus. So he has had a high temperature for the past few days. No other real signs of sickness - a little lethargic but other than that he seems okay. This of course is his first real illness - which messed up our well baby appointment today (it became a sick baby and we'll have to go back for the shots). The other issue is that tomorrow I am helping to host a fundraiser. Well I had planned to draw on the generosity of my friends to watch little man while I took care of business - but I can't do that when he's sick. So, here we are. His first real illness comes in the midst of a key time. Dad also isn't available because they are down two or three people at work. So, that's the way it goes. I do hope he gets better quickly for his own sake. With some tylenol in him he barely acts sick at all (although his temp is still around 101).
Such is life with a small child - never on your schedule are they?

A special thank you

2007-09-11T09:55:00.000-05:00

Well today is little man's first birthday. He decided to get up early but that gave me some time to fix muffins before dad left for work. The muffins that had chocolate chips in them and he wasn't quite what to think of them at first.

We were taking the slow approach to opening presents and we opened the last of the ones that we have this morning before daddy left for work. I would like to extend a special thank you to regular reader RMH who has graced our home with noise . . . um music. Just kidding - he loves banging on the drum and the other musical instruments that came with the set. I am sure that this will entertain him for quite a while and it's not that loud.

I'd also like to thank my parents for the puzzles. My hubbie and I were on-line about to order a bunch of puzzles on Saturday- then the sale ended and it wasn't quite as good a deal. The ones you got are two of the one's we had chosen. Actually just before we opened the presents my husband was hoping aloud for puzzles.

I was hoping we'd get to go out some today - but it's been raining pretty hard all day today. If I remember correctly it also rained last year on his birthday. So I guess we'll just stay inside and play with our new toys! :)

Another Quick resource

2007-09-10T22:17:00.000-05:00

I have been looking through Charlotte Mason and other lists of "books you should read" to your little ones. On this list was a series of books that had fairytales from around the world. Well as I researched it further I found a website that has all of the fairytales on it! So, if you are looking for fairytales or stories from other cultures this is a great resource. I think I already posted a site that had many of Aesops' fables on it.

My women's group has started reading Safe People by Cloud and Townsend (our favorite writers). Today we talked about character discernment. One of the reasons people often recommend reading fairy tales and the fables are because they help kids learn more about good and evil if the adults with them can break it down to a level they can understand. Obviously the traits are a little overstated in these stories - but they can help children begin to grasp the concepts. Of course, you really can't beat the Bible for great stories of messed up relationships!

In case you wanted to know . . .

2007-09-10T21:33:00.000-05:00

I am continually amazed at the range of articles that the Reading Rockets people put together regularly. They are truly excellent at condensing articles about preparing kids to read and encouraging them to read. This week they have a review of some of the most popular reading programs used in preschools and elementary school. I am happy to report that Reading Recovery (a very popular program) overall got great marks. So if you are thinking about homeschooling, concerned about the approach your preschool or elementary school is taking - this might be worth reading. They also reviewed early childhood programs in six domains related to reading and math. These are just a few of the areas it appears they review curriculum. I can't comment on their educational bent or politics - but it seems that they take their assessments from studies that meet certain requirements.
Additionally, Reading Rockets links to a website that provides a checklist for parents as they consider their child's preschool options. Overall this checklist looks good - although a Montessori school might not meet some of the standards because of their different approach to teaching. But if you are looking at a Montessori school I hope that you realize the reasons for the differences between this school and the typical preschool. These are pretty stringent guidelines - but you do want the best for your child!

Christmas in September!

2007-09-08T00:05:00.001-05:00

Last week my friend and I decided to take the plunge and buy a whole boat load of Montessori materials for the co-op. Today the materials arrived in three huge boxes - all of her children were very excited about the boxes. After they were all in bed we began to open and open and open the boxes. I didn't realize just how much stuff we would have. It is all well made (it seems) and I know what to do with most of the materials - so that's good. Now we just have to figure out how to hide . . . ummm. . . store everything for the kids.

Co-op plans are coming along. We decided to do a "trial run" this fall for about 6 or 7 weeks to work on the kinks and to allow people to go through the holidays without extra stress. After this time we will evaluate how it's going and see what we might want to change. Our target first day is October 2nd - so it is coming up pretty soon.

I am now trying to decide if I should participate in an on-line very loose Montessori "training course" starting in October. I think it would probably be worth it. I am also taking the gifted and talented program development course this fall from UNT. I am not sure what to do for my major project because I don't work at a school - I think that will be next week's challenge (oh
plus the fundraiser I am pulling together).

Receiving all of that cool stuff was like Christmas in Spetember. I am really excited about actually using it. I think our kid will love it!

New things little man has learned . . .

2007-08-28T18:11:00.000-05:00

how to take off a velcro diaper.
how to open the door to mom and dad's room by pulling on the door stopper.
how to remove a door stopper (and the plastic cover).
how to turn the pages of a book.
how to open cabinet doors.
how to sign light.
sometimes a trash can will fight back - it tipped over on him.
flags are fun to wave.
how to play the piano (he doesn't pound it because he lacks the leverage)

These are just a few of his recent discoveries and abilites. They really do surprise you just about every day at this age.

I knew it was coming

2007-08-26T20:54:00.000-05:00

Last week I commented on moves towards making preschool more academic. I believe that in general 3 year olds do not need these "academic standards" to help them learn what they need to know at this age. Today I received proof positive that my fears might come true in New York city. Apparently, the chancellor is promoting academic preschool for three year olds. AHHHHHH! Don't they know what is good for our littlest ones?

What to do??

2007-08-26T20:44:00.000-05:00

I am a little lost. This is the first weekend that I have had "free" since the middle of May. I busied myself getting ready for little man's Curious George themed birthday party/ Labor day bash. We have decided to have breakfast for dinner - a pancake buffet! So this week I will be making more pancakes than any one person should.

Additionally, I have been giving myself a crash course in the Montessori method. I had a few good books about it and went to the library to find a few more. I think I am putting most of the pieces together now. I can see why it might take two and a half years of course work to master all this information. I have also read through some yahoo user group messages and friendly blogs that have given some good guidance.

I started cleaning my house. This will take a few days - because I am slow (unmotivated in general) and because I am WAY behind. As a part of this I have started organizing the mounds of paper everywhere - little man enjoyed playing with all the papers that were going to the trash. I have put together all the paperwork for summer camp and I am about half way through writing that report - YEAH!

Tomorrow my new class starts - now that I have only one and a full semester I don't think it will seem as overwhelming. So, not to worry, I am finding things to do. My husband still wants me to read Harry Potter - so far I am holding out.

My first phrase

2007-08-24T08:25:00.000-05:00

Today little man said his first phrase. Let me preface this by saying once this past week I think he said bye-bye in context. Yesterday as we were doing our nightly reading and prayers I could have sworn he said "Amen" after I did last night. Well this morning was unmistakeable. We were eating breakfast and saying good-bye to Dad. Dad got out the door and then A picked up his hand, waved and said "ba-ba da-da"! Well I freaked out and ran to the door and told dad to come in and give his genius son a kiss. A was a little overwhelmed by the attention. When Dad left again A did it again - not as clear - but he was doing it!

He has also been trying to use signs but it's a little confusing. To most people his favorite sign looks like milk. But, we haven't taught him the sign for milk so it could be many different things: waving (hello/bye-bye), light (which I think he also did on purpose this morning) or come here (because we are always waving at him to follow us places around the house). You have to watch him in context to see if he's just flapping his hand or trying to say something. I should probably start being more dilligent about the signing again now that I'm home more often.

If it's not one thing . . .

2007-08-22T12:36:00.000-05:00

Last night I decided that the toddler size prefolds I am using are so awesome that I should try them at night. I did put in an extra "insert" of terry just to make sure it absorbed enough. When I went to get A (after he slept through the night - YEAH!) he was dry as could be. I was very excited. The prefold kept everything in and the diaper cover (bummis super whisper wrap) worked great!

I was quite surprised when I turned on the lights later in the morning to discover a wet spot on his sheets. The only thing I can figure is that it was a big pool of drool. Little man is teething (although they haven't popped through yet). So, if it's not one thing - it's another. My husband did call me today to let me know that I had a very dirty cloth diaper waiting for me at home. I think he was a little frustrated with it. But with the toilet attachment it was cleaned up in no time flat. The only problem was little man trying to "help" me out.

What your preschooler should know . . .

2007-08-21T20:59:00.001-05:00

Stay at home moms sometimes are concerned that their children, who haven't attended preschool, may not be ready for "school". I found an interesting list of things your child should be able to do in preparation for preschool. These types of lists are never exhaustive and have to include things that are somewhat measureable. But it is interesting.

Actually the whole concept of the site is interesting because they are basically campaigning AGAINST universal preschool. "Who would be against schooling?" you may think to yourself. Well, I have to say that I probably would be a member of this camp. It is a difficult issue but in the end I don't think that all three, four and five year olds should spend full days (or even half days) in school everyday. Of course, some families need care like this and hopefully their providers incorporate age appropriate materials. I guess that's the other issue. Often, when the school district gets a hold of preschool it twists it into some type of academic exercise that is not in keeping with the needs of young children (even first and second grades often don't use appropriate methods because they are getting ready for tests in third grade). Anyway, I see the need, I know the research and at the end of the day I think many, but not all, can benefit from preschool. I am glad that it is becoming a more widespread option - but it should not be mandatory by any means.

In some ways, this leads to our co-op idea. Basically, few of us have the funds or got on the waiting list early enough to send our children to preschool. However, we are intelligent people with a range of abilities and interests (cooking, music, other languages, etc.). So, we are looking at pooling our resources to create a "co-op preschool" for our kiddos. It would probably only meet two days a week in the morning and we are still debating about the type of curriculum we would use (montessori, enrichment, Bible based, etc.) I will post more about this little adventure as it develops.

Whirlwind Tour

2007-08-20T22:26:00.000-05:00

We just returned from a 700+ mile trip with stops to see friends and family. Our primary goal was to attend a wedding (which we made it to just in the nick of time). During our three day trip we attended three church services in three different cities, met a new baby, met a new boyfriend, saw the grandparents and great grandparents and drove all over DFW. (I slept - my husband drove.) A was a trooper (although the first night was sort of rough). He did make it through all of the services without too much complaint and spent a lot of time in the car contemplating deep thoughts. We were trying to encourage this as my husband selected Famous Romans and a biography of Isaac Newton to be our books on tape. Newton was quite an interesting character. The lecturer for the Romans tape was a great storyteller and I actually enjoyed military history. My husband wonders how I could have been a history major and never had an interest in the military - oh well.

So now it's sort of back to normal life. I did register for a fall class on running gifted and talented programs today. I am prepping for A's first birthday and a fundraiser event. Additionally, my friends and I are considering starting a co-op preschool. So we'll see how all of this fits together. I also intend to start cloth diapering again - which I am looking forward to in a sort of strange way. So, back to being somewhat domestic. We'll see what happens next.

Lessons learned

2007-08-14T19:45:00.000-05:00

This is the last week of summer camp - an 11 week ordeal. I have learned MANY lessons about myself in the midst of this craziness. If you know me you might think - duh - as I share these lessons, but help me remember them in the future.

1. I love to start things; I'm not so great at finishing. I started multiple projects with the kids with great intentions, high hopes and somewhat of a plan. However, I wasn't always as good with the follow through. This surprised me because I've always thought of myself as a fairly disciplined person. In some ways I "lose interest" or something new comes along. Now that I am a mother I need to be more prepared to follow through and finish what I start.

2. I am not a good rule follower and therefore NEVER want to run a licensed child care center. In high school if you asked me what I wanted to be I would almost always answer a preschool/kindergarten teacher. Actually, I wanted to run my own center. I have even taken quite a few courses to support this interest. Today's events drove home the point that I would be a TERRIBLE center director because I really can't follow the rules. I am saddened because this issue caused other people trouble today - which was not my intent.

3. In order for my singing to be "appreciated" the audience must be under 7. At least once this summer I had to stop in the middle of a song because literally I was hurting my own ears. The kids thanked me (partly I was losing my voice too). So, I was not really intended to sing anything beyond fun camp songs. The younger the audience the better - they are less discerning about those things.

4. I like working with "smart" kids. I realized that most of the jobs that I have had have been with kids that would be considered gifted and talented. I don't intend to be elitist but I realize that I enjoy working with kids who are budding nerds. Who really enjoy learning and are hungry for it. I am not so good at coaxing kids into learning. So, it is my goal to complete the 4 courses in gifted and talented education and see where that leads me.

5. I have a LOT to learn about management. I am too trusting of people, expect them to have good motives at all times and to care as much as I do. Well, they don't. I also do not like to break the tough news, make the hard decision or do other things that are "management" activities. So, I can plan things very well, but carrying them through is much more stressful because I am not good at directing other people therefore I do it all myself. Again, I have often thought of myself as a leader - but maybe I am not as much of one as I had hoped.

This summer reaffirmed my decision not to be a classroom teacher. It taught me that I do not have what it takes to run a child care or full time preschool program. It has bolstered my opinion that I am cut out to do something that doesn't really exist out there - run great enrichment programs. What that means I don't know - but I intend to continue praying (and trying not to scheme too much) to learn more about this.

Is summer over??

2007-08-10T22:17:00.000-05:00

Well all, it has been a LOOOOOOOONG time. I took on way too much this summer - two grad courses about gifted and talented education and running a summer camp (technically open 6:30 - 6:00 every weekday). I have almost survived it - summer camp ends this week and I think I ended up getting A's in both of my classes. I also learned a fair amount from the classes too - which is more important when you are basically taking classes for enrichment purposes. Maybe at some point I'll distill some of what I have learned over the summer. NEVER AGAIN would be the main message - but there are more.

If nothing else this summer has been good because my husband and A have been able to spend mornings together. They have bonded a lot. A is now crawling really fast and trying to reach up and grab everything. He is super tall for his age so basically every table is fair game as far as he is concerned. This is a problem because mommy and daddy are pack rats - and not very neat ones at that. Ah well.

A turns 11 months tomorrow. So, we are getting ready for his big birthday party. I didn't expect to do the whole birthday bash - but now I am getting excited about it. So, it will probably be more of a party than I originally intended. Most of my activities are aimed at my friends children who are 2+. A will be happy playing with his cabinet of old cool whip containers and will probably not care very much about the party except that lots of his friends will be here. We just love to have parties - so it will be fun.

I'll share more about the craziness as I decompress. I only got 4 hours of sleep last night so I need to hit the sack now.

Too much celebration

2007-05-19T22:48:00.001-05:00

We are a blessed family. We have been able to stay in contact with many friends and celebrate life's milestones together. Today we were invited to a housewarming, a graduation brunch, a graduation ceremony, a baby shower, a one year old birthday party and a wedding. We made it to the graduation brunch and the wedding. I love that we get to celebrate real life with people -but often I find myself analyzing life instead of enjoying my friends. So, I am trying to step back from that role and just enjoy the good things God has given us.

The graduation brunch was for the students that I was "mom" to at the boarding program. They all make me proud - I was almost in tears as I left. They are really good kids and they are off to great things. I hope that they all realize just how incredible they are to move to another country, learn a new language, live in dorms and somehow make it through high school.

The wedding was also awesome. I thought our wedding season had passed (some of you may remember we went to 7 weddings in 8 weeks one fall - well we will attend 3 in 6 weeks this sprping.) It was outdoors with a BBQ following - very Texas. I love weddings that are an expression of the couple this one had their name all over it. For the first time ever I saw the couple share private vows (in addition to the ones we normally take in marriage). It was really cool - you couldn't hear what they were saying (it's private) but you could see their love for each other. The other cool thing was that the pastor went through 1 Corinthians 13- the love chapter- talking about how we as their friends and family could show love by being patient, kind, forgetting wrongs, etc. He had us consider what we were saying when we commit to support the couple. It was very cool.

So today we celebrated. I am very sorry that I missed the housewarming, birthday party and baby shower - just not enough time. Please know that I am celebrating with all of you!

It's been a while

2007-05-17T19:46:00.000-05:00

Well I think I have succumb to a little bit of temporary insanity. I will be helping to run a summer camp program for a non profit affiliated with my church. I am looking forward to it but it will be lots of work! It already has me pretty busy. I do have to sing the praises of the city because it will allow my husband to be home in the mornings so I can work and then we will switch. It might be a little tough because my hubbie and I won't spend a lot of time together - but it's a short term thing.

In another news my little one has figured out how to push himself up to sit on his own. Today he did this right near our radio and he attempted to push the buttons - so we'll be moving stuff around again soon. He is getting closer to crawling but he's not there yet. So I'll continue to keep you updated about the excitement of summer camp.

Emotional Melt Downs

2007-05-08T21:50:00.000-05:00

Well many of my friends have children that are turning growing up and trying to handle overwhelming emotions.

Recently I read Happiest Toddler on the Block which discusses dealing with children from about 12 months or so until they are about 4. He encourages parents to repeat what your upset toddler is telling you - with words and actions. He recommends using short phrases, repetition, emphasis and gesturing. Empathizing with your little one helps him realize that you hear him and allows him to calm down enough to hear what you have to say. (Obviously in dangerous situations you do NOT use this method). If you've ever been to a counselor or learned anything about counseling they constantly talk about repeating what you are hearing from the person you are talking to - Karp is applying this to little ones. The thing that strikes me about Karp's method is that he emphasizes body language and encourages parents to furrow their brows, beat the door, or do other more dramatic things to help express emotion. This makes sense because your 18 month old can't understand all the words you are using - but your body language can communicate a lot. He does admit that a lot of parents feel like fools acting this way - but when it works it's hard to argue with the approach. That's just part of the book - it's very interesting.

The other book or program that I've been looking at for preschool aged kiddos is the I Can Problem Solve approach. This method has been taught in classrooms and homes with long lasting effects for kids. Basically it teaches a series of phrases to help kids express their thoughts and think through situations. It seems really simple - but I think that's what makes it effective. I actually got Myrna Shure's book at the library and I think it's something that you can incorporate into your everyday life. When my little one is older I think I will be trying to incorporate this approach into our family life.

So these are just two options that might be worth checking out from your local library.

Reading - step by step

2007-05-03T13:55:00.000-05:00

In my search for information about teaching phonics I found the NAEYCs statement outlining the literacy goals from preschool to third grade. I think this is a balanced look at what children should be able to do at each stage. I think I could very easily fall into pushing my kiddo to do more than he can or should do at a certain stage. These markers help me remember it's not a race and that learning to read is a process that takes time and trial and error.

On the other hand, this informaiton is useful if you feel that the school is pushing the academic side of reading too much. NAEYC is the most widely recognized accredidation organization for early childhood centers. If the school is drilling and killing too much you might encourage them to consider this statement and how it should impact the way they teach their students.

As far as phonics goes, it appears that there is no standard way to introduce the letters and sounds. There are suggestions that basically start with the easy sounds and work from there. The research does indicate that a systematic approach to teaching phonics is key to becoming a proficient reader. So, if for some reason the school your first grader attends is still insistent on the whole language approach as the only method - you need to step in on your child's behalf. You can teach phonics at home if need be.

In the end, remember that the goal of reading is inform, entertain, communicate, etc. - not decode. So, we need to make sure that we are reading materials to our kids (yes even when they are older) so that they can learn to enjoy the whole process of reading and see a reason for wading through the difficulty of putting together all those sounds.

Great Literacy Info

2007-05-02T15:12:00.000-05:00

For all you moms out there (or grandmas) who are wondering how to make the most of your time at home and help your little one to enjoy reading I found a great site. It's probably a little more academic than most sites (it is out of the University of Florida) but it has great information on it. It looks like they have really done their research and condensed it down into a usable format. My two favorite pages are:

1) Inexpensive Literacy Materials and Activities - that says it all and they are easy to do too!
2) Characteristics of Children's Writing - this handout tells you about the developmental stages that children pass through in their writing. It's pretty nifty.

Another interesting piece that I found in my search is about transitioning into kindergarten. I realize it is May, but I want to post it before I lose it. This site has lots of information for parents about the BIG step. I think my favorite page is the 80 items that can help ease your little one (not so little anymore) into kindergarten. It's not a screen or skills test - but it gives you an idea of the types of things they should be able to do. So those are my educational finds for today.

My little copy cat

2007-04-27T09:50:00.000-05:00

I think my son is trying to sign to me. bThe sign I have been most consistent with is "all done" (where you flip your hands over a few times). He has been practicing this movement - but it isn't at the "right" time. For example, this morning at 5:30 am when he wanted out of bed he started trying very hard to flip his hands and communicate with me. Last night at 11ish when I changed his diaper for the night he looked like he was trying to do the sign for light. I was VERY tempted to turn on the light for him - but that would not help him sleep. It's pretty exciting to see him start figuring things out.

On another note, I am reading the Baby Read Aloud book. It covers a lot of things I already know (because I read about this stuff incessantly). I am still struck by the difference in the number of words kids from different backgrounds are exposed to. It really is a great advantage to have a mom who is a blabbermouth and has a somewhat sophisticated vocabulary. I like the Jim Trelease quote in the book

"If the child has never heard the word, the child will never say the word; and if you have not heard it nor said it, it's pretty tough to read it and to write it."

Another little ditty from the read aloud guru (my parents had his books when we were little):

If your child is old enough to talk to, she is old enough to be read to. It's the same langauge.

I am preaching to the choir here. It really makes we want to support organizations like First Book. This organization helps put books in the hands of children who normally wouldn't have any books. You can easily support them by making and sending a card for Dr. Seuss's birthday so that Random House will donate books to children. You have to do this BEFORE MAY 1st though!

Today's Firsts

2007-04-25T18:41:00.000-05:00

Drinking from a cup - Today we tried our sippy (again) and a regular cup that's sized for my little one. He did much better with the cup his size. I even gave him a little apple juice for the first time. I think he liked the taste of it - but he's not really swallowing very much - mostly he spit it out. He did manage to blow a few bubbles in his glass.

To the Alamo - We also went with a few of our friends to the Alamo today. Actually, to the grounds of the Alamo - we didn't go inside. It was a gorgeous day (83 degrees) after a really horrible rain storm last night (possibly 10 - 12 inches in some areas!). This week we are in the midst of Fiesta - the week when San Antonio throws itself a party. Today there was an art show of sorts down at the Alamo. It was a great day to be outside and enjoy the weather.

Laid down in the tub - Today he did this on his own. He normally is supported by my arm - but he sort of got himself down there before I could get to him and he seemed fine. In fact, when I tried to sit him upright to play - he protested. My only concern is water in his ears - any thoughts? Obviously we don't put very much water in tub since he's so young.

So these are the little firsts (or at least next steps) for the little guy. I do think he is coming close to crawling soon. Then everything changes!

Parenting Pages

2007-04-22T23:50:00.000-05:00

Today I have spent an inordinant amount of time surfing the web. At about 11:45 I found something that is worth sharing. The first is a website about parenting written by a DAD! I have just started looking at what is on the site - but it seems really interesting with product reviews, book reviews, etc. (I found it because he was reviewing hairbows - it's a long story). So, you might want to check it out.

The other page is a link from Thingamababy. It is a book about reading aloud to your young child. I have recently been researching all types of information about reading - but I haven't come across this website yet. They have lots of good tips and I imagine the book is even better. It is hard to know what to do with books and your very young child sometimes. It seems that this book helps fill that gap.

So these are just a few little interesting tidbits I found. Enjoy!

The super whizzer

2007-04-20T08:48:00.000-05:00

This week I have twice found my little one covered in pee pellets in the morning. I am not sure what else to call them - basically his disposable diaper has exploded and let out little styrofoam like peanuts that have similar properties to cornstarch and water. They are at once liquid and solid. VERY ODD!

I am not sure what causes these explosions. It could be that he simply is a super whizzer and his diaper can't contain it all. This diaper is supposed to be appropriate for someone much heavier than he is though. The other culprit could be a common male tendency, crotch scratching. At his young age he has instinctivly started doing this. So it's possible that he is putting pressure on his diaper that is helping it to explode. I'm not really sure how that would work - but I will put it forward as a theory.

He sleeps well through the night and I would prefer not to wake him up to change his diaper. Any thoughts?

Another symptom of the curse . . .

2007-04-20T08:09:00.000-05:00

Although this symptom isn't mentioned in the Heaths' book, I think it crops up in my life. Those who have "the curse" in a particular area can't imagine why someone wouldn't be eager to read and learn more about their particular passion. However, it was recently brought to my attention (again) that most of the world does not have an insatiable need (or time) to learn and read. Therefore, as I write, I must remind myself that writing should be easily accessible to those who *gasp* don't enjoy reading. Most readers are not interested in the liberal arts, general enrichment approach to reading; they are interested in "What's in it for them". A good writer keeps the audience in mind; however, I am a selfish writer and write in a style that suits me - the minority. So to temper "the curse" I need to look beyond my abnormal obsession with knowledge and try to act like a normal person. This may be harder than it sounds.

In other news . . .

2007-04-17T21:13:00.000-05:00

I guess I don't take "the curse" that seriously because I have applied to graduate school - AGAIN. I intend to complete my coursework this time. In the past pesky things like marriage, new jobs and pregnancy have gotten in the way of my studies. Actually, the biggest issue is that I did not take a stats course as an undergrad which makes it hard to puruse graduate studies. Lesson learned the hard way. This program is on-line and it is a series of four courses about working with gifted children. After reading Genius Denied and realizing that I use or lose my Americorps*VISTA money this summer I decided it was worth learning a little something. So my first two courses are essentially free - my VISTA grant covers them. It should be interesting and I imagine some of what I learn will be showing up here. So I will be a student - once again!

The Curse of Knowledge

2007-04-17T15:55:00.000-05:00

As promised I am continuing to share a few highlights from Made to Stick by the Heath brothers. The Curse of Knowledge is something that I suffer from desperately. It truly does make it difficult for me to communicate with others (you might also call it pride, but anyway). Basically this curse works against you in a few ways when you are trying to communicate with other people. First, having too much knowledge about a subject can make it difficult to get to the core issue. You see all the nuances and it ALL seems important. Knowing too much about a subject can make it difficult to boil it all down - so you overwhlem people. Again you tell them three things instead of one and they actually remember NONE of it. Another issue is that you have trouble communicating the basics because you assume more knowledge than other people have. So you think you are sharing the basics - but even these "basics" are over your listeners head. You assume to much about what other people know. Good communication requires you to go back to square one to be effective.

In fact, sometimes people (no one I know of course) prefer to stay in thier brainy world instead of interacting with the real world. The example in the book talks about engineers and frontline workers. The frontline workers would identify a problem and ask the engineers to come down to floor, look at it, and fix it. However, the engineers preferred to consult their drawings and correct the paper version - not the real version of the problem. This sort of smacked me in the face - because I do this all the time - try to correct the theory instead of dealing with the problem in the real world. It's the curse, I tell ya.

They recommend using the question "why" to break through the curse of knowledge. This might be why we find toddlers so exasperating. They are constantly breaking down the things we thought we knew with their questioning. They are beating away at our comfortable knowledge in their effort to learn more about the practical, visible world around them. Some of their questions seem downright silly - but mostly because they aren't practical in the way we think of practical knowledge.

So, to be good communicator you have to overcome this curse and get back to basics.

A strange dream

2007-04-12T22:12:00.000-05:00

Last night I dreamed that I was giving writing advice, based on the book Made to Stick, to a friend of mine that I haven't seen in about 2 years and who had a baby about 4 weeks ago! Strange.

So, I figured I should share a few more comments about the book. The basic premise is SUCCESs in sending your message:
S - Simple (Core)
U - Unexpected
C - Concrete
C - Credible
E - Emotional
S - Story

My dream was actually about point 1 - talking about the core issue. I often have so many thoughts that it is hard to choose just one. They all seem important to me. We have also seen this difficulty with our intern pastors at church. In the ELCA during seminary a year of your studies are as an "intern" pastor in a local congregation. This is a great concept. Our pastors learn so much and enjoy their time amongst us. However, they only give sermons about once a month. So often they try to cram all that they have learned in that one sermon. It often leads to too many points to remember and feels very overwhelming (and long). My husband has been on the intern committee that oversees these young pastors and they always have to talk about focusing the sermon. It's just hard when there are so many ideas floating around.

This is also made more difficult because the more "expert" you are on a subject the more details seem relevant. This is what they call the "Curse of Knowledge" but we'll talk more about that next time. For your idea to stick -you need to pick just one - not many. As my mom always reminded me as I'd leave for essay tests - "KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid!" I'm still working on it mom.

Softy Love

2007-04-05T23:02:00.000-05:00

I will get back to blogging about Made to Stick but I have been ignoring the 15 library books I have checked out and trying something different this week. I have been online looking for patterns for various things and have found a few that I thought were worth trying out. So here are some of my creations from this week.

This is my rendition of the Chibi Bunny since it is Easter.

The big bunny is Buster for the boy and the little one is Mimi (she was my second trial run - the first one didn't even get stuffed). It is kind of hard to tell in this picture (the lighting isn't that great) but his left ear has already been mauled (I mean loved on). I also tried to make a cloth doll - but I am not sure how to make its head look human.

Yesterday I spent most of the day trying to get library books out of the little ones mouth so I decided he needed some cloth books. I found some great instructions that I played around with a little bit (but I can't find them now of course). Anyway, I decided to pull out my stamping stuff and make an object per "page". Overall they turned out well and he has really liked them so far. I am using non-toxic substances and I will need to heat set them soon. So now he has his On the Go book (cars, planes, etc.) and his Nature Book (bugs, leaves, flowers). He can chew on these all he wants.

I still am interested in making the baby booties - I have tried but I haven't found a pattern that works for me. Tonight I might have come across one (my problem is the heel). I am also eyeing the "sock puppy" much like the "sock monkey" (I made one of these in December and he turned out pretty good). Actually you can make "sock dolls" too and that might be what we end up doing for baby dolls around here. Seeing as my attempt at a doll so far looks like an alien.

There is a whole universe of softy animals out there. As my husband says, we don't really need any more stuffed animals - but it's fun. I am also thinking about going back to plastic canvas (a blast from the past). We'll see!

Creativity can be taught!

2007-04-03T08:19:00.000-05:00

Commercial creativity can be boiled down to 6 templates that can be applied to sell any message. Actually there are two models that are used most frequently with success. I know this rubs against our normal understanding of creativity - inspiration. "Patterned creativity" sounds like an oxymoron - but it seems to be true. Apparently, using these models helps you to think more productively and they have proven effectiveness in helping your message "stick" with other people.

I won't get into the nitty gritty details of how they discovered this information or what the templates are (you can read the article above). The general idea is that they viewed successful commercials and discovered underlying patterns in the "best" commercials. Commercials that did not use these patterns tended to be less creative (and less memorable) even though they were tyring to "think outside the box" and be creative. To "test" this theory they taught these templates and people using them were able to develop more "creative" commercials. Obviously this does not encompass all of creativity - they aren't trying to do that. It does show that there might be patterns in places that we don't expect though.

This is just one little gem of an idea in the book Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath. I think this might be my new favorite book. Basically, it has systematically explained to me why I am not a good communicator and helpfully showed me how I can improve. I intend to share more nuggets from this book -but as it says - if you have three ideas no one remembers any of them.

New Skills

2007-04-01T08:39:00.000-05:00

Citizen Schools peeked my interest in the book their work is based on, Teaching the New Basic Skills by Richard J. Muranane and Frank Levy. Although written ten years ago, I think their insights are even more relevant today. They argue that a high school diploma should be enough to prepare you for the average middle class job in America. However, they have found that the skills that schools teach and the needs of corporate America are not aligning to help our graduating seniors find decent jobs.

They have identified three major types of skills that, if well done in the classroom, should prepare the average student to find employment. They are:

basic hihg school level reading and mathematics
soft skills like team work, problem solving and presentation
and finally basic computer skills.

These seem like things that would be learned in high school, but unfortunately that's not always the case. As my husband, who works at the library laments, many recently graduated students lack basic typing and wordprocessing skills.

In addition to considering what our students need to learn, they share a five points of effective management in corporate America.

1. Ensure that everyone understands the problem. Sometimes you truly are working on two different issues but think they are the same.
2. Design jobs so that there are incentives and opportunities for people to contribute. I think we've all be in a situation where they have asked for our input but not really wanted it - this needs to be avoided.
3. Provide people with the training needed to pursue solutions. This might be learning specific skills, patterns of thinking, etc. The other point they make here is to FOLLOW UP on training - we've all been trainings where there is no follow through. It's a waste of everyone's time.
4. Measure progress on a regular basis. How are we doing, how do we know that we are reaching our goals, etc.
5. Perservere and learn from mistakes. I like this point because it emphasizes that if you are trying something new there will be problems, issues and kinks. This attitude allows you to see them as chances to learn not failures.

This book does not discuss "knowledge management" as a term - but that is basically what they are getting at. But that's another tangent. So this is a quick thumbnail of the book and it is a good read because they use great examples of these principles in action. They have done their research and boiled it down to a few critical elements that business and education should heed. I can see what Citizen Schools has adopted their format to build their programs.