Picnics and Poetry

We are jumping off of the conveyor belt. I've been studying about Leadership Education and specifically the Thomas Jefferson Education learning style and I am in love. To quote Robert Frost, this educational philosophy "makes [me] remember what [I] didn't know [I] knew."

Basically, it is about letting children be children while they are young. It is about loving life and learning to love learning, studying the classics for hours at a time when we feel inspired and taking time to enjoy the beauty of simple pleasures in all their abundance.

So this afternoon the kids and I seized the opportunity to enjoy the sunshine on a winter day. We put the math and English and science books away for the day. We brought a blanket outside to the front yard and they enjoyed a picnic while I read some beautiful poetry to them and we discussed it. We learned about rhythm and rhyme as we clapped out the stanzas. We discussed some background history of Robert Frost, William Shakespeare, Elinor Wylie and Walter de la Mare. Then the children finished their lunch, laid back on their pillows and learned to enjoy the cadence of "musical rhythms and liquid phrasing" (Poetry for Young People) as I read several poems about winter. This afternoon we all learned to love and live in the moment.

This is what love of learning looks like to me.

Message in the Sand

Anyone who has talked with me recently knows of the struggles I've had with the public school system this year and trying to get help for my daughter who may have dyslexia. It has been an uphill battle month after month trying to communicate with teachers, counsellors, principals, special education directors--I've even been in contact with state education officials trying to advocate for my daughter.

And it has been hard. Emotionally gruelling. Trying to stay as involved in her education at school as possible I have tried to work with the teacher in volunteering in the classroom and participating in class activities and field trips. Even that has not been an easy door to gain access to. Sometimes I would ask myself if all the work and struggles were ever going to be worth it.

Finally, I invited myself to her class "Winter Party" in December. It was a quiet affair (eating nachos and silently watching a movie) and since the parents weren't actually invited, I was the only one in there besides the teacher's own mom. Since we didn't get much interaction during the 'party' I decided to stay for recess afterwards.

It was cold and I hadn't planned on being outside so I didn't have a coat with me. Most of the kids were too frozen to play anything so Leah and I huddled together near the slides in the sandbox until I suggested some of the kids draw hopscotch patterns in the dirt so we could play. But instead of drawing hopscotch squares Leah proudly presented me with a gift I will never forget.

Right there in the middle of the playground on a cold, blustery day I remembered why I had been fighting the fight for this little girl all year long and the reason why I will never stop. Her words may have been written in the sand but they will be etched in my heart forever. I love my sweet girl and she loves me. What more reason does a Momma Bear need?

I'm gonna miss this...

Being a parent is tough stuff. Some days I thought toddlerhood was going to be the death of me with potty training, constant messes, temper tantrums and sleepless nights. I used to secretly scoff at the older, seasoned parents who promised me I would miss those days. I was certain I would not. But there was a tiny bit of rationality left in my brain that whispered they might not be all that wrong.

Of course they were right. I only have one toddler left and half the time I forget she is only two. I've learned to let go of the need to have a spotless house and perfectly manicured children. Heck, sometimes they run around the house with pudding on their hands and faces sporting their favorite princess dress they have been wearing since the day before.

And when that little someone crawls up onto my lap and wants me to read her a story or watch her dance or whispers, "Mommy. I need to tell you a secret!" my whole world can stop for a little while and revolve around her because--I know I'm going to miss this.

Glenn Beck and homeschooling