Monday, March 29, 2010
Book Review: An Echo in the Bone by Diane Gabaldon
In her much anticipated seventh novel, Diana Gabaldon gave another peek into the lives of Jamie Fraser and his time traveling wife, Claire Randall Fraser. For those of you that have followed this pair since the release of the first book in 1996 the opportunity to learn more about Claire and Jamie was worth the wait. In her usual swashbuckling style, Diana Gabaldon took Jamie and Claire from America at the beginning of the revolution and carried them, almost safely, to Scotland and there, she left them, and me, anxiously awaiting the eighth novel.
When I first found Jaime and Claire more than ten years ago, I never imagined that their story would become so far reaching or continue to be so much fun. I can't tell you of another hero and heroine that I have enjoyed more. Their relationship, talents (individual and joint), conversations, friends, adventures and love would be worth reading without the masterful historical context, celebrity guest appearances and drama.
Three cheers for the adventure, suspense, history and joy I experience in each of the books of this series. My only complaint with this addition to the series is the avalanche of action in the last section. I ended the book breathless and was required to reread a bit to make sure I'd understood everything that had happened. A cliff hanger in every sense of the term. Write quickly, please, Ms. Gabaldon.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Happy Birthday!
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Today we celebrate the eleventh birthday of our daughter. I don't know how it happens but every single birthday catches me off guard. It's not that I don't think and prepare for birthdays. I do. Sometimes I prepare for several different birthday celebrations. I plan dinners, invite guests, buy party supplies and favors for guests. I spend time selecting the perfect gift for the birthday child. I make cakes, to order, to the specifications of the birthday boy or girl. I love birthdays and treat them with all the importance that they deserve. After all, each child only gets their special day once each year.
The part that catches me off guard is the private part. The recollection of the days that only I remember. The private treasury of moments that add up to being the mother of this amazing creature. A creature that is intimately known, only to me. One that I've nurtured and treasured since before she was born. On this day, eleven years ago this child was born and I was born as well. We were born to each other, mother and child.
While I've never talked about this feeling with another mother, I can't imagine that I'm the only one that experiences that soul clutching emotional vertigo when looking at my growing child. I imagine that all mothers must look at their children and see that child at each stage from infant to present in one glance. The rush of knowing that child. The helplessness of time moving on despite the desire to freeze it all for just one moment and hold that precious infant, kiss that sweet from the bath toddler, smooth the hair of that smiling, toothless six year old...and we do. In one blink, we are able to move back in time and know the depth of love we hold for each of those children that are this child.
And so it happens, every birthday. I spend time preparing for the day and forget to prepare my heart for another milestone. I find myself counting candles and fighting back tears as I remember the hours and hours my darling girl screamed as an infant. I ice a cake remembering the stories we read and the songs we sang on car trips and while walking together. I prepare the meal and recall the kisses and hugs, the bathtub games, the laughter, the tears. I set the table and catalog the milestones we've passed, the favorite colors, songs, outfits, movies, foods and friends that this child has loved.
I watch her blow out one more candle and pray that this year is better than any year prior. I pray for her safety. I pray for her continued growth in knowledge and wisdom. I pray for her spirit and her heart. I pray for myself and for the two of us together. I pray that next year we will be celebrating this day with even more joy than we celebrate today.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Weekly Recap 3/15-3/19
This week was full of special activities and gorgeous weather! We celebrated the Ides of March by watching Julius Caesar. Because of our history studies we had a pretty good understanding of the story of Julius Caesar and were able to understand and enjoy this first taste of Shakepeare without too much trouble. The black and white film gave us more difficulty than the language.
On Tuesday, we traveled to the Indianapolis Museum of Art on our way to pick our Idaho grandparents up from the airport. We were thrilled to see a wide variety of European artists and know that we will have to make a return trip to the IMA when we have more time to spend.
We enjoyed a junior version of Once on This Island on Wednesday performed by a local school for the arts. It was fun to see children perform a musical with an interesting story line. Discussion about religious beliefs followed. That discussion continued later in the day when we participated in a Seder at our church. The dc were very familiar with the story of Passover and really liked this addition to the story.
Thursday, there was a special performance by H10 and S8 at our Bible study opening. It was nice that Oma and Opa were able to see the sign language singing that was performed.
In between the activities, we spent plenty of time playing outside and did a partial school week with lots of extra help and some fun and games.
K13:
R&S Grammar 8 - Chapter 9
Lial BCM - Ch 9 Basic Algebra
History - Julius Caesar and The First Roman Prince
Biology - Mammals project: Tigers
H10: R&S Grammar 5 - Chapter 9
Life of Fred Fractions - Lessons 16-20
History - Julius Caesar and The First Roman Prince
Biology - Mammals project: Dolphins
S8:
R&S Grammar 2 - Unit 5 #9-14
Math on the Level - Multiplication facts
History - Julius Caesar and The First Roman Prince
Biology - Mammals project: Chimpanzees
M5:
Phonics Pathways
First Language Lessons
Math on the Level
History - Julius Caesar and The First Roman Prince
Biology - Mammals project: Seals
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
The Nature of Trust
According to ">dictionary.com trust can be a noun, adjective or verb. Trust has 24 definitions.
The definitions that seem to pertain the most to my thoughts recently are these:
to have trust or confidence in; rely or depend on.
to believe.
to expect confidently; hope.
Before our frustrations of the previous week, I would have said that I had trust or confidence in my children. I knew I was able to rely or depend on them and wouldn't have doubted that trust. Over the last week I've wondered how I managed to misjudge the level of responsibility my children were able to handle and how we could repair the relationship that had been damaged.
My children let themselves down and they let me down with their behavior. They are only beginning to realize the toll that their lack of judgement has taken. They've been working this weekend to make up the work that they didn't do when assigned. They understand now that it would have just been easier to do the work as expected. The next few weeks will help them understand the loss freedom and the process necessary to earn back trust. I hope it will also help them understand the benefits of having trusting relationships. I pray that this experience will enable them to appreciate trust in a way they didn't last week.
While I no longer have the confidence to rely on my children (trust) I do expect confidently and hope (trust) that this lesson will be learned well and that we will all be better because of it.
The definitions that seem to pertain the most to my thoughts recently are these:
to have trust or confidence in; rely or depend on.
to believe.
to expect confidently; hope.
Before our frustrations of the previous week, I would have said that I had trust or confidence in my children. I knew I was able to rely or depend on them and wouldn't have doubted that trust. Over the last week I've wondered how I managed to misjudge the level of responsibility my children were able to handle and how we could repair the relationship that had been damaged.
My children let themselves down and they let me down with their behavior. They are only beginning to realize the toll that their lack of judgement has taken. They've been working this weekend to make up the work that they didn't do when assigned. They understand now that it would have just been easier to do the work as expected. The next few weeks will help them understand the loss freedom and the process necessary to earn back trust. I hope it will also help them understand the benefits of having trusting relationships. I pray that this experience will enable them to appreciate trust in a way they didn't last week.
While I no longer have the confidence to rely on my children (trust) I do expect confidently and hope (trust) that this lesson will be learned well and that we will all be better because of it.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Weekly Recap 3/8-3/12
This week was like the old sports show intro... the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
I think the biggest victory of the week was completing "The Young Carthaginian" on CD. We've been listening to the story for awhile now. We all loved the hero and his superman like side kick but we weren't particularly in love with the reader's voice. It's funny what a difference the voice of a reader can make when you spend lots of time listening to it.
M5 has finally expressed an interest in learning beyond play. She's taken whole heartedly to her phonics and grammar and has even allowed a few math games. I guess she's finally decided it's worth her time to give more formal learning a try. It's been a fun week with her.
M5's first narration exercise.
Little people math is just our style.
S8 has made study progress this week. His biggest victory was the discovery of Timezattack
and a new haircut, thanks to his dad.
The agony of defeat came from K13 and H10. The girls had taken the initiative to do their grammar lessons together, checking each other for any work that could be done orally. This had really freed me up to work a bit more with M5 and S8. I was being trusting when they told me that they were understanding everything and working really well together.
On Tuesday, I was given three poems that K13 was to have written demonstrating various poetry techniques. I knew immediately that the work had not been done by K13 or anyone else in our household. Serious discussions followed with the end result being that since I've been trusting the girls to "help" each other with grammar, neither girl has been doing grammar and they've been lying for each other.
As you can imagine, I felt betrayed and disappointed. They aren't nearly as contrite as I'd like them to be but have the good sense to display meekness in my presence. They are in the process of doing the entire chapter that was supposed to have been completed this week and weekend. There isn't much else for them to do with out t.v., Wii, phone, computer or friends. I expect they'll know more about this chapter than any other they've studied. Unfortunately, it's going to take much longer than that for trust to be rebuilt.
K13: Writing Strands 5 - #1
R&S Grammar 8 - Chapter 8
Spelling Power
Lial BCM - Ch 9 Basic Algebra
Fallacy Detective - Ch 25-28
History - Julius Caesar
Biology - Mammals project: Tigers
H10: Writing Strands 3 - polishing selected pieces of writing
Handwriting/Copywork - Draw and Write Through History (Creation through Jonah)
R&S Grammar 5 - Chapter 8
Spelling Power
Life of Fred Fractions - Lessons 16-20
Fallacy Detective - Ch 25-28
History - Julius Caesar
Biology - Mammals project: Dolphins
S8:
Handwriting/Copywork - Draw and Write Through History (Creation through Jonah)
R&S Grammar 2 - Unit 5 #5-#8
Spelling Power
Math on the Level - Multiplication facts
History - Julius Caesar
Biology - Mammals project: Monkeys
M5:
Phonics Pathways
First Language Lessons
Math on the Level
History - Julius Caesar
Biology - Mammals project: Seals
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
In Which I Contemplate the Best Laid Plans
I've been planning. I'll admit, I'm a planner so my planning is no great shock for anyone that knows me. I plan my day, week, month and year. I plan meals, chores, activities, curriculum and vacations. Planning helps me feel in control.
This week I've been planning for my in-laws visit, spring break, our trip to Florida and our curriculum for next year. I've looked at local activities, prices for Disney passes and meals and astronomy and algebra books. My planning knows no limits.
The thing with my planning is that I've lived long enough to know that my efforts at control may very well be futile. I really only have a plan, not a promise of completion. God has plans too. Plans that totally supersede mine. And mostly, I'm thankful that God's plans are perfect. Sometimes, I'm able to be thankful after the fact, rather than in the moment.
Still, I plan. I think God likes that. I think that God loves me enough to know that my plans aren't an attempt to control God but rather an attempt to make the very best of any situation God has for me. Having a plan enables me to be flexible rather than frazzled. Having a plan gives me a place to begin and a direction in which to move.
Often my plans go in ways I never intended. Last summer I had a plan for the perfect 20th anniversary trip to Europe for two weeks. I ended up enjoying a lovely cruise for 5 days and an emergency appendectomy. I am so thankful that God knew the right plan for that part of my life.
I expect God to keep directing my plans. Right now, it feels like we are at a turning point, a cross road. It feels like change is coming. My first response is to plan. My second response is to pray. I think reversing that might be a better impulse. So, I think I'll pray for awhile and see what God has planned.
This week I've been planning for my in-laws visit, spring break, our trip to Florida and our curriculum for next year. I've looked at local activities, prices for Disney passes and meals and astronomy and algebra books. My planning knows no limits.
The thing with my planning is that I've lived long enough to know that my efforts at control may very well be futile. I really only have a plan, not a promise of completion. God has plans too. Plans that totally supersede mine. And mostly, I'm thankful that God's plans are perfect. Sometimes, I'm able to be thankful after the fact, rather than in the moment.
Still, I plan. I think God likes that. I think that God loves me enough to know that my plans aren't an attempt to control God but rather an attempt to make the very best of any situation God has for me. Having a plan enables me to be flexible rather than frazzled. Having a plan gives me a place to begin and a direction in which to move.
Often my plans go in ways I never intended. Last summer I had a plan for the perfect 20th anniversary trip to Europe for two weeks. I ended up enjoying a lovely cruise for 5 days and an emergency appendectomy. I am so thankful that God knew the right plan for that part of my life.
I expect God to keep directing my plans. Right now, it feels like we are at a turning point, a cross road. It feels like change is coming. My first response is to plan. My second response is to pray. I think reversing that might be a better impulse. So, I think I'll pray for awhile and see what God has planned.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
In Which I Wonder Where the Time Has Gone
My amazing husband just came upstairs as I was yawning at the computer, trying to finish up one or two more things, and said, "None of that. We're twenty, we don't get tired and we only think about sex and eating." I snorted and then remembered a few days (weeks, years, decades) ago when we were those people and that's all we did think about. It seems as if that was so long ago and far away and as if it were just yesterday. I don't know how it can be both but it can.
I spent a large part of this afternoon with my two teenage daughters looking for dresses. Our newest daughter (a foreign exchange student from Turkey) was looking for a prom dress. Our eldest daughter was looking for a dress for Spring Fling. Both found the PERFECT dress. Whew!
It turned out to be a relatively painless experience and I was so thankful that my negotiating skills were up to the task. We steered clear of a few inappropriate and not as attractive choices and managed to find the exact dress in the exact size to wear with the ideal shoes.
All the time we are in the store and dressing rooms I kept flashing back to the tiny little girl who fell in love with the ruby red sparkly slippers. The same girl who loved her dresses above all else. The same girl that sat on my lap and had me ready the same book over and over and over. The same girl who rarely wears anything but jeans and zip up sweat jackets these days. The same girl who looked drop dead gorgeous in every dress she tried on, even if mom wasn't ready to turn her loose in public in said dresses. The same girl who has a smile that can light up any room. The same girl that stamps her foot and yells when she is thwarted in her plans. The same girl that wraps her arms around me and kisses me on the cheek and barely has to stand on her tip toes.
It seems like time has gone so quickly. Just yesterday, last week, last year, my husband and I were that 20 year old couple. Then we had one tiny little girl, then two, then a boy, then another girl. Then we blinked and here we are.
What experiences make you realize how time has gone?
I spent a large part of this afternoon with my two teenage daughters looking for dresses. Our newest daughter (a foreign exchange student from Turkey) was looking for a prom dress. Our eldest daughter was looking for a dress for Spring Fling. Both found the PERFECT dress. Whew!
It turned out to be a relatively painless experience and I was so thankful that my negotiating skills were up to the task. We steered clear of a few inappropriate and not as attractive choices and managed to find the exact dress in the exact size to wear with the ideal shoes.
All the time we are in the store and dressing rooms I kept flashing back to the tiny little girl who fell in love with the ruby red sparkly slippers. The same girl who loved her dresses above all else. The same girl that sat on my lap and had me ready the same book over and over and over. The same girl who rarely wears anything but jeans and zip up sweat jackets these days. The same girl who looked drop dead gorgeous in every dress she tried on, even if mom wasn't ready to turn her loose in public in said dresses. The same girl who has a smile that can light up any room. The same girl that stamps her foot and yells when she is thwarted in her plans. The same girl that wraps her arms around me and kisses me on the cheek and barely has to stand on her tip toes.
It seems like time has gone so quickly. Just yesterday, last week, last year, my husband and I were that 20 year old couple. Then we had one tiny little girl, then two, then a boy, then another girl. Then we blinked and here we are.
What experiences make you realize how time has gone?
Saturday, March 6, 2010
The Maple Syrup Festival 2010
We had a wonderful time at Leane and Michael's Sugarbush participating in the 19th Annual Maple Syrup Festival. We've been blessed to participate in the Maple Syrup Festival for the last three years and we hope to keep coming back.
For the first year I got to take the maple syrup tour and learned so much about how the syrup is made. It makes my gallon jug of syrup even more precious.
Here are some pictures of the fun we had this year.
If you live within a few hours, a visit to the Maple Syrup Festival is definitely worth the trip.
For the first year I got to take the maple syrup tour and learned so much about how the syrup is made. It makes my gallon jug of syrup even more precious.
Here are some pictures of the fun we had this year.
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If you live within a few hours, a visit to the Maple Syrup Festival is definitely worth the trip.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Weekly Recap 3/1-3/5
This week has been a busier than usual week. We had several orthodontist and dentist appointments to add to our regular schedule. We got a lot done, but not everything that we'd intended.
Wednesday we spent a good part of the afternoon at our library. Normally, I reserve our books online and then we just go and pick them up. This trip was special because each dc had their own project to research. We spent time exploring the layout of the library and the organization of the books. Everyone successfully located their books and we came home with more than we'd returned.
This is what we returned.
This is the living room after the library exploded in it.
Friday brought more dentist appointments and a field trip to the airport to pick up DH! We were all ready for him to come home for awhile.
This was also a wonderful week on our three strike system. No one had a BAD day! Even me ;-)
We have an extra weekend field trip this week. Our local maple syrup farm is having their annual Maple Syrup Festival. The kids wouldn't miss the pancakes breakfast for anything. This year everyone is even old enough to take the syrup tour. I'm excited about learning more about how our favorite breakfast sweet is made. Check back later for pictures of that!
K13: Writing Strands 4 - polishing selected pieces of writing
R&S Grammar 8 - #86-90
Spelling Power
Lial BCM - Ch 9 Basic Algebra
Fallacy Detective - Ch 21-24
History - Julius Caesar
Biology - Mammals
H10: Writing Strands 3 - polishing selected pieces of writing
Handwriting/Copywork - Draw and Write Through History (Creation through Jonah)
R&S Grammar 5 - #86-90
Spelling Power
Life of Fred Fractions - Lessons 11-15
Fallacy Detective - Ch 21-24
History - Julius Caesar
Biology - Mammals
S7:
Handwriting/Copywork - Draw and Write Through History (Creation through Jonah)
R&S Grammar 2 - Unit 4 Review 1- Unit 5 #4
Spelling Power
Math on the Level - Multiplication facts
History - Julius Caesar
Biology - Mammals
M5:
Phonics Pathways
First Language Lessons
Math on the Level
History - Julius Caesar
Biology - Mammals
Three Strikes
In the past few months, too many of our days had been marked with yelling, temper tantrums, nasty words and hurt feelings. School began to feel like a battle zone, not the creative and emotional supportive center for learning that I'd imagined. Things were spinning out of control on an almost daily basis and nothing I did seemed to help. In fact, I seemed to be part of the problem. How could I fix our school and bring us back into good relationships with each other?
I began searching for a system of reminding my children of the behavior I expect, allowing them to correct their own behavior without my correcting, lecturing or yelling. I struggled with feeling swamped by the demands of discipline on top of the demands of teaching. I felt like my school was inching toward out of control. Granted, my own hormones may have been out of wack but the feeling of unhappiness in my interactions with my children were to pressing to ignore.
After much discussion with my cheerleader and chief idea man and much introspection and prayer, I've implemented the three strike policy. Each day my children have the opportunity to earn a "good day" toward a family dinner at a restaurant. In order to be able to go to the restaurant, all the children must have five good days. So potentially, we could go out to eat weekly. For each negative behavior during a school day I give the offending child/ren an x on their hand. No charts or fancy record keeping, just an x. Three x (xxx) and the offending child loses their "good day" status. It is simple, easy to follow through on and requires no fancy record keeping. Three strikes gets my point across and requires no conversation at all thus no yelling or lecturing. I began the plan with hope.
We have no problem defining negative behavior and my children understand my expectations. We are all very aware of my definition of negative behavior because I have lectured and yelled about negative behaviors until I'm frankly sick of hearing myself. For clarification here though, negative behavior includes but is not limited to arguing, complaining, excessive delays in work, touching siblings in anyway not hugging or kissing or exhibiting offensive attitudes.
The thing I love about the three strike system is that from the start it took the yelling/lecturing out of the day. I don't get worked up and neither do the children. The second thing I like is that it puts the children in charge of their own behavior. It also gives incentive for all to behave well , cooperate and encourage each other in their behavior. Finally, it starts new every morning. We all need that.
We've been working with three strikes for almost a month now and I've seen a dramatic difference in our days together. We rarely have three strike days. We usually manage to hold ourselves at two. I have to admit there was even a day that I got two strikes and I deserved them both. In fact, I believe my children practiced the grace by stopping at two. I know they've seen that grace modeled a time or two by me when they didn't get what they deserved.
Has three strikes fixed all our problems? No, but it's given us room to breathe and a way of rewarding the behavior we want to see and are proud of in a way that everyone wins. For me three strikes is a reminder that taking time to think about what is needed is a lot more productive that doing the same thing over and over again. I suppose it's good that the teacher is still learning and being taught by my students.
What creative systems have you developed for improving your life?
I began searching for a system of reminding my children of the behavior I expect, allowing them to correct their own behavior without my correcting, lecturing or yelling. I struggled with feeling swamped by the demands of discipline on top of the demands of teaching. I felt like my school was inching toward out of control. Granted, my own hormones may have been out of wack but the feeling of unhappiness in my interactions with my children were to pressing to ignore.
After much discussion with my cheerleader and chief idea man and much introspection and prayer, I've implemented the three strike policy. Each day my children have the opportunity to earn a "good day" toward a family dinner at a restaurant. In order to be able to go to the restaurant, all the children must have five good days. So potentially, we could go out to eat weekly. For each negative behavior during a school day I give the offending child/ren an x on their hand. No charts or fancy record keeping, just an x. Three x (xxx) and the offending child loses their "good day" status. It is simple, easy to follow through on and requires no fancy record keeping. Three strikes gets my point across and requires no conversation at all thus no yelling or lecturing. I began the plan with hope.
We have no problem defining negative behavior and my children understand my expectations. We are all very aware of my definition of negative behavior because I have lectured and yelled about negative behaviors until I'm frankly sick of hearing myself. For clarification here though, negative behavior includes but is not limited to arguing, complaining, excessive delays in work, touching siblings in anyway not hugging or kissing or exhibiting offensive attitudes.
The thing I love about the three strike system is that from the start it took the yelling/lecturing out of the day. I don't get worked up and neither do the children. The second thing I like is that it puts the children in charge of their own behavior. It also gives incentive for all to behave well , cooperate and encourage each other in their behavior. Finally, it starts new every morning. We all need that.
We've been working with three strikes for almost a month now and I've seen a dramatic difference in our days together. We rarely have three strike days. We usually manage to hold ourselves at two. I have to admit there was even a day that I got two strikes and I deserved them both. In fact, I believe my children practiced the grace by stopping at two. I know they've seen that grace modeled a time or two by me when they didn't get what they deserved.
Has three strikes fixed all our problems? No, but it's given us room to breathe and a way of rewarding the behavior we want to see and are proud of in a way that everyone wins. For me three strikes is a reminder that taking time to think about what is needed is a lot more productive that doing the same thing over and over again. I suppose it's good that the teacher is still learning and being taught by my students.
What creative systems have you developed for improving your life?
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
In Which I Think About the Lessons of Home School
This year has been a year of growth for all of us. Our first year of homeschool. Our first year of everyone home together, all the time. Our first year of getting to know each other. Our first year of finding our way together. Our first year.
The thing that I know most assuredly of all the lessons I've learned is that my children are amazing creatures. They are bright, funny and entertaining. They are frustrating, irritating and enraging. They are interesting. They bore me to tears. They can take a topic and run with it in directions that I never would have imagined. They can take a topic and sink it so deep in the muck and mire that no one would ever recognize it. They love each other deeply. They fight each other with passion and conviction. They do what I ask without argument or delay. They turn their ears off and only hear me when I yell. They are all these things and so much more depending on the day and the hour. Really, depending on the minute!
There are days that I have to remind myself why we are a homeschool family. There are days that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is truly the right place and the right choice for us. If I'm able to waffle so drastically, I can't expect my children to always be consistent.
I'm thankful for the lessons homeschooling is teaching me. Lessons about resourcefulness and compromise. Lessons about loving and letting go. Lessons about perserverance and surrender. Lessons about smoothing the way and getting out of the way. Lessons about working myself out of a job. In each one of these lessons my children have been the primary instructors.
I only hope that I can make as great an impact on these amazing creatures as they make on me.
The thing that I know most assuredly of all the lessons I've learned is that my children are amazing creatures. They are bright, funny and entertaining. They are frustrating, irritating and enraging. They are interesting. They bore me to tears. They can take a topic and run with it in directions that I never would have imagined. They can take a topic and sink it so deep in the muck and mire that no one would ever recognize it. They love each other deeply. They fight each other with passion and conviction. They do what I ask without argument or delay. They turn their ears off and only hear me when I yell. They are all these things and so much more depending on the day and the hour. Really, depending on the minute!
There are days that I have to remind myself why we are a homeschool family. There are days that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is truly the right place and the right choice for us. If I'm able to waffle so drastically, I can't expect my children to always be consistent.
I'm thankful for the lessons homeschooling is teaching me. Lessons about resourcefulness and compromise. Lessons about loving and letting go. Lessons about perserverance and surrender. Lessons about smoothing the way and getting out of the way. Lessons about working myself out of a job. In each one of these lessons my children have been the primary instructors.
I only hope that I can make as great an impact on these amazing creatures as they make on me.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Book Review: Day After Night by Anita Diamant
Day After Night is the story of Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. It focuses on four women, girls really, who have managed to escape from Europe to Palestine only to find themselves, once again, imprisoned. This time their jail is Atlit, a British internment camp. The story tells the heartbreaking past and present of the four girls as they come back to life.
I was entranced by the characters, their courage and their faults. Each of the girls spoke to me in a way only well formed characters can. The story, much of it based on fact, was riveting. Because of my attachment to the characters, the entire reading of this novel felt very personal, as if I were listening to stories told by my grandmother.
Anita Diamant explored a very sensitive period with tenderness and courage and each of her character reflect both those attributes.
I was entranced by the characters, their courage and their faults. Each of the girls spoke to me in a way only well formed characters can. The story, much of it based on fact, was riveting. Because of my attachment to the characters, the entire reading of this novel felt very personal, as if I were listening to stories told by my grandmother.
Anita Diamant explored a very sensitive period with tenderness and courage and each of her character reflect both those attributes.
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