Blog Comment Week 2009

It's that time again. Chip is off to the National Pastor's Convention/Book Marketing Event in San Diego tomorrow. I'm stuffing the calendar full of things to do with the boys. In addition to entertaining, educating and giving them sustenance for life, I'll be posting pictures (mostly so their dad can see what they're up to) and sharing ideas from the book I'm reading: The Courage to Teach by Parker J. Palmer.

So, I'm inviting new readers, long time friends, whether I've met you or not, to leave me comments. Adult interaction = a good thing.

Thoughts From an Unexpected Place

I had the chance to go hear Shane Claiborne tonight. I happened to have my homeschool filter on at the time and so what I heard I heard most loudly as a mother and a home educator. My other roles were vying for attention as well, but I kind of needed to make peace with the filter tonight. I don't think he expected to address a homeschooling mother's dilemmas, but he did because I chose to listen in that way and it's pretty cool what came out of it for me.

Here are some thoughts that everyone there heard tonight:

• Jesus doesn't command anyone to worship but he invites them to follow and as they begin to follow they begin to worship.
• Christianity is not spread by force, but by fascination.
• Jesus didn't come to make bad people good but to bring dead people to life.
• As a peculiar people we have the opportunity to live with creativity.
• We do this (not to become somebody or create something) but so that people can taste and see that the Lord is good.
• The person who is in love with their vision for community will destroy it. But the person who is in love with the people around them will create community wherever they go. -- Boenhoeffer

Regardless of how others will take these ideas and run with them, I'm personally praying that these thoughts will revolutionize my homeschooling and my parenting as I continue to dwell on them. More invitations, less commands; more fascination, less force; more life, less behavior modification; more tasting; more loving; less destroying.

Hard things for a mom to hear. Good things for a mom to do. And a better teacher/inviter I'll be.

Note to Self: Don't Move to this Town Without HSLDA Membership

I'm not an alarmist... far from it. But the very thought of having the school superintendent going door-to-door to collect the truant children makes me cringe a little bit. Here are my problems with this story:

• He interviewed (searched) a minor without the parent's consent (mom was out shopping).
• His words: "We're not going to stop fighting for them until we get every single kid." Do they belong to him?
• "Personal Touch." Is that what we're calling Big Brother these days?

Nevermind the fact that I'd like to have a word with that family who "is going" to homeschool that child. (It's kind of like being pregnant. Either you are or you aren't.)

I feel things both ways here and none of it's good.

Sometimes I Try to be Too Fun

Today we've got plans.

#1 Take Chip to the airport. His flight left at 6:10 which meant that we had to be up at 4:30 -- so early that the kids weren't quite sure who I was when I shook them awake.

#2 Take the boys to breakfast. I figured, since we had to be up we might as well do this because one low-quality restaurant is giving everyone in America a free breakfast today. I thought, "A fun mom would take them."

#3 Get an early start on school -- and finish early. Being up before the sun with a full belly is a great start to the day. Right?

#4 Work in a field trip. We've done OMSI again and again, but today is a special Teacher Sneak Peak at the new DaVinci exhibit. I can bring the kids, they can explore and I can get them home in time for bed.

#5 Take the kids to dinner. Going out to eat twice in one month is rare for us. Going out to eat twice in one day is kind of a millennial event. But the first one is free remember. Besides, we can't be at OMSI until 3:00 so we'll pretty much play through dinner.

#6 Put my sleepy little people to bed. On time. Read a book. Avoid staying up too late.

We'll see which of these doesn't work out.

#2 isn't faring too well since two of the three squirrels went back to sleep already.

Which probably means #3 won't work out either.

Sigh.

Updated for our results: Aside from #1 we accomplished the spirit of #3 and the whole of #4, #5 and #6... except for the staying up late part. Was it fun? Yep. They actually thanked me for the day today and I got a hug and easy bedtime. Score one for the team.