Monthly Archives: July 2019
Kids say funny things, Part 4. Plus, some contemplation
For homeschooling family like ours, it’s year round. One great thing about this schooling mode is its flexibility: one of its worst thing is its flexibility.
Unless you’re a very organized person who can manage your day with strict schedules, activities and lessons can blend into one big blob. Being that organized hurts my brain. There’s learning going on but getting evidence of it is not so straightforward.
So when the kids are having fun playing but two seconds later tell me they’re bored, I get nervous: I wonder if we are wasting time; maybe I’m not doing enough to make their learning broad, stimulating, and wholesome.
I brush off their “bored” comment with a telling them that nothing is boring and, as a matterof fact, it’s good to daydream; stare out the window and wonder why you’re bored. How can you fix this boredom?
I believe what I’m saying but the self-conscious mind goes beserk.
“I’m bored” is a useless thing to say. I mean, you live in a great, big, vast world that you’ve seen none percent of. Even the inside of your own mind is endless, it goes on forever, inwardly, do you understand? The fact that you’re alive is amazing, so you don’t get to say ‘I’m bored.”
– Louis C.K.
Maybe Ellis senses my reoccurring restlessness because she told me that her future plans as a mom doesn’t include homeschool.
Ellis: “Mommy, when I grow up I think I’m going to send my kids to school”
Me: “Why do you say that?”
Ellis: “So I can relax. Then you and me can relax together when the kids are in school. I don’t have to feel far away from you.”
She says random things like that and I wonder what ideas are going through that little mind of hers. But it’s nice to know I’m included in her future relaxation plan. My restlessness is probably palpable to her; I need to relax and believe that learning takes time and patience. It doesn’t happen all in a day. Trust God and let go of the burden.
A goosey photobomb
On a recent outing to San Francisco with a friend and our clan of kids, we discovered a baby duckling swimming around and resting, on land with bigger ducks. It’s not unusual to see a duckling as all ducks were once ducklings, but I’ve never seen one in a lake.
The duckling was about five inches long and fuzzy. So cute and you can imagine the kids squealing with excitement. They frantically asked if we had anything to feed them and it had to be something else than bread: Elliot wanted to feed them oats or peas for duck’s health benefit (we did a brief lesson on what to feed ducks last spring). Funny he’d be adamant when he can’t stand to eat either of those himself. I get it though: it’s an acquired taste that I hope he’ll learn to appreciate in time.
The sun was blazing hot this day and the glare from the water made it hard to see what pictures I was taking. I didn’t realize until later this goose had squeezed itself into this picture. I like how it’s looking straight at the camera.
Animals are quirky and full of surprises! Doesn’t matter their size; each has their own uniqueness. God made them wonderful.
Any glimpse into the life of an animal quickens our own and makes it so much the larger and better in every way.
John Muir
Flower of the Day: July 12, 2019. Burst of pink blooms
“Where flowers bloom so does hope.”
– Lady Bird Johnson
