A Slow Pace

The mother with her daughter and two sons.

The three college students armed with cameras to capture autumn.

The girl with purple hair riding her bike.

The man and woman standing to our right and trying, like the little boy, to coax the turtles to the surface, but drawing only fish nibbles to the stale bread.

The young, college-aged couple sitting on the swing.

The elderly couple and their friend.

The group that I can only assume was having a family reunion.

And us, just trying to do what matters most in life.

Like taking time to sift through the gravel.

Or catching a ride on the top of the world.

Like chuckling to a Prairie Home Companion in the car on the way to the park.

Or missing church because time got away from us, but still being able to listen to the sermon at home on the radio as I lay my head on my husband's chest to hear Brother George's message on loneliness that brought on a slow stream of tears.

Like stopping to hold my daughter's hand.

Or playing Legos and reading with my son.

It's moments like this, when I allow the day to set its own slow pace, that the loneliness that often creeps up on a tired and busy mother is best held at bay. These days of making sure we do a lot of "nothing" together helps better prepare my heart and mind for the busy days ahead and all that those days will bring.

Khan Academy

One of my brothers sent me a link a few days ago to an interesting Forbes Magazine article. The article was talking about a man named Salman Khan and his website that offers free tutorials on everything from math and science to US history and art history plus a WHOLE LOT more.

The site is a wonderful resource for any student AND any parent!

If you homeschool, it's a a great way to save money on curriculum. Most of the content is geared toward junior high and high school level subjects, but the math tutorials cover everything from basic addition to trigonometry.

The number line tutorial was incredibly helpful for me as I've been attempting to work on math with a kindergartener. We used the number line this week and found it to be more interactive and FUN for the little boy than just trying to memorize 2+2=4.

It's also a relief to this math-terrified momma to know there's a credible site that might prove valuable in the future when we get to the many things that are over my head when it comes to equations, variables and all that fun stuff.

The site is geared toward anyone with a need or desire to learn, not just home educators. I honestly don't think that's what Khan had in mind when he created the site, even though it works to our advantage.

Say your public-schooled child is struggling with her chemistry homework and you have no clue how to help. This site might provide the guidance and instructions you both need.

Say your private-schooled child did great in Algebra, but now he can't keep up with or understand his calculus teacher's explanations or teaching methods. This site might offer instructions on how to solve problems that he can understand.

So check out Khan Academy and see what you think!

CSA Wednesday

On Wednesday we head to a local farm to pick up fresh produce as part of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. Here's what we got today:

Bok Choy - Still not sure what I want to do with this???

Lettuce

I'm loving all the eggs - a dozen won't last longer than 3 days in this house

We were also supposed to get squash, but the hubby thought the farmer was offering it to be nice. He's not the one that usually does the pick-up, and he didn't realize he was supposed to pick out the pieces himself.

So, we didn't get any.

Go figure.

To the Polls

For everything that may be wrong with modern-day political campaigns, the democratic process of citizens casting a vote is the bright light at the end of the tunnel.

So early on this chilly November morning, with one child riding in her stroller and the other walking beside his sister asking a hundred questions, I headed into my polling station to cast mine.

The little boy was disappointed that we didn’t immediately find out the winner.

I imagine that voting seemed like a major let-down in his eyes. I mean we went and stood in line so that his mother could connect a few arrows on a sheet of paper to have the voting machine reject her ballot because she accidentally connected two lines in the same category. That meant she had to fill out another ballot and then, when finished, it was all done.

Nothing to show for it besides a sticker, and the sticker didn't even have a cool superhero or a dinosaur on it.

While it wasn’t exciting for him, I must admit that I get a giddy feeling every time I vote. Not that my vote matters much in terms of the electoral college in our state for most presidential elections. Nevertheless, it makes me feel like my one small voice contributed in some way.

Tonight we’re watching the numbers as they come in. 

The little boy knows who my vote was cast for. He’s pulling for the other guy, though, because he wants to add the number 45 to the list of presidents he routinely quizzes us all about.

If it was all that simple…

Gratitude

In this month when thanks is openly given, today I find myself grateful for:

1. The canvas, the artist and his masterpiece

2. A little girl that twirls in the kitchen

3. A little boy that often sounds so grown up

4. A new twist on an old story

5. A win for our team

6. Restaurants that provide great food so this mom didn't have to cook

7. The way he delighted in slinging paint

8. The detergent and shampoo that helped get the paint out

9. The sweet taste of persimmons and this hand reaching out to grab them

10. The fallen leaves that must be raked, jumped in and piled once more to do it all again

  

11. The mysterious grouping of leaves that haven't left this spot in our driveway for days, despite the wind, in order to provide the perfect pile for a toddling babe to explore.

"This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes."
                                                -Psalm 118:23

A Day at the Theatre

The little boy looked around and mentioned something about a castle while looking at the boxed rows of seats. When I told him we were at a theatre, his brow deepened and I could tell his mind was trying to process something.

This president-loving child of mine wanted to know if this was THE theatre.

Before I could answer he remembered that Ford’s Theatre was in Washington DC and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Even still, I had to reassure him several times that this was not the theatre Abraham Lincoln was shot in.

I once heard the actress Anne Hathaway, in a television interview, mention her father’s love for the theatre and how he told her something about a mediocre day at the theatre being better than a great movie any day of the week. As a movie lover, I’m not sure I can entirely agree with that sentiment, but being part of an audience for a play is a treat I hope my children might learn to appreciate one day.

That’s why we spent Thursday at a school performance of Martha Speaks in Columbus, Georgia. The RiverCenter Theatre hosts traveling plays year round. Several times a year, school performances are scheduled for plays geared toward younger audiences. 

The play, with its peppy songs and actors, was an appropriate length of time to keep the attention of small children. 

Maybe I should re-phrase. 

It was the perfect length of time for the little boy. 

Little priss was done 10 minutes into the production. She was more interested in trying to take my credit cards, the ones I was trying to use as a distraction for her to play with, to the folks on stage. That and she barked each time the actress playing the dog Martha began to sing. 

Needless to say, she and I spent the remaining 50 minutes in the lobby. 

We were supposed to go to our local junior high school this evening for the community children’s production of 101 Dalmatians, but thought better of that. If one dog the day before caused that much excitement, I’m not sure the folks attempting to act in tonight's play could have handled her response to 101 of them!

Back to the Library

Moby Dick almost did me in. After reading every single word aloud, I needed a major break from reading with the little boy.

So, we spent a lot of time re-discovering his books this past month. I mostly let him flip through and look at the pictures.

We got back on track last week with a visit to the library. He, of course, wanted to start over with the series of president books we finished about the same time as Moby Dick.

We also enjoyed reading some spooky stories to coincide with Halloween this week. I love ghost stories at this time of year and so does he!

A few of Jack Prelutsky’s silly poems have helped us get back into our daily reading groove as well.

And, we started another classic!

We’re reading the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, “The Fellowship of the Ring.” While I question how much he truly absorbs when I read books like this aloud, I know some is sinking in. I heard him mention something about hobbits to my father-in-law when he was at the house on Sunday.

As my husband often reminds me, he’s probably taking in more than I think.