Detours and Distractions

This morning started with a long pause as I scrawled arrows in the lesson book. My children were sick last week, so plans stalled. Copying a lesson from one day to the next used to frustrate me.

Why take time to write out what will become scribbles?

I thought it would be a good idea to capture the serendipity of whatever came next in our curriculum by simply writing down what we did each day. That way detours would be recognized as school, because learning really does happen when conversations turn and questions appear.

I quickly realized that didn’t work for us. We needed a general direction, a goal, a starting place.

Now I prepare for each week as it comes. If lessons aren’t sketched out by Monday, nocturnal me gets up before dawn to make it happen.

My plans aren’t elaborate: an idea with a resource or a page numbers from curriculum. Library day tucked in here. Activities listed on the side. Observations splattered here and there.

As we travel down the grid, record the distractions and detours. Because sometimes those are the things we remember the longest, the things that put life into perspective:

1/14/10 Prayed for Haiti. Looked at pictures of Faith Orphanage before and after the earthquake. Kids overwhelmed by compassion. They want to send their toys.

The plan isn’t the destination. It is a map of scratches and arrows attempting to reveal the One whose breath flung the Heavens and whose Spirit whispers to souls.

Silencing the Background Noise or Why I Blog

While kids and weary husband sleep, I sit at the table and peck through chapter by chapter. I copy the author’s words to help me remember, to help me teach.

I strain for the discipline to just finish the last two chapters, but thoughts buzz. Ideas repeated here and there during the day hum for the moment they can be completed. When is that moment? It’s now, when the silence of the night gives ear to their music.

I decipher the purposeful notes and realize daily multi-tasking dulls my focus. My children too easily become part of the background noise. Walls press in, so I must press out. I need new perspectives.

Today three of us lingered at the window. Flocks of birds visited our feeder. We watched the juncos bounce around nibbling spilled seeds. Their black suit coats contrasted with the white snow. Finches of gold and purple brightened the dead lilac bush.

The fourth person here, my son, glanced out, flipped through books, and started asking:

Can we make a suet feeder? Can I make a bird bath? What about a brush cover?

My active, imaginative son always wants to do. I want to bundle up and hibernate until spring. Instead, I make the effort to listen and gather supplies.

Then I pause, before sleep, to capture a moment to help me remember, to help me teach.

What helps you be a better mother and teacher? What do you do to stay focused?

Bawling During Homeschool

There were just a few more pages to turn when it happened. My voice froze and I felt the tears pushing. My son grinned knowingly, “Mom’s going to cry.”

For the rest of this article, please join me at The Curriculum Choice.

Introduction to Biblical Poetry

It’s midnight, and I just finished my homework. Yes, real homework. College homework! I’m taking an elementary literature class at Aletheia Christian College. My assignment this week was to start creating a notebook on the classic, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch. I plan to share it when it is done, but for now, I’d like to introduce you to Biblical poetry.

Poetry isn’t my favorite form of literature, but my research created such an engaging word picture inspiration erupted. I was able to take this one lesson and relate it to all my children, ages 4 to 12. Please pay special attention to the definition of composition in my outline to see if you get any ideas.

photo credit: whiteafrican

To pique student interest:

Imagine stumbling across a treasure box full of gold and diamonds. Would you simply sigh and walk away? What kinds of words would you use to describe your excitement?

Sometimes a narrative just isn’t enough. Sometimes our souls beg to express to the wonder of our experiences. We sing. We dance. We cry. We pray. We use words to try to expose what is going on inside our hearts. One way we do this is through the gift of poetry.

I. Introduction to Biblical Poetry

A. Poem “…A composition in which the verses consist of certain measures, whether in blank verse [has meter, but not rhyme] or in rhyme.”

B. Verse “In poetry, a line, consisting of a certain number of long and short syllables…”

C. Composition “In literature, the act of inventing or combining ideas, clothing them with words, arranging them in order…writing them.”

The Bible has some of the most beautiful poetry of all, but the poetry in the Bible is much different from our English poetry.

II. Characteristics of Hebrew Poetry

A. Hebrew poetry relies on rhythms and sounds. Hence, the use of alliteration, repeating of sounds.

B. Parallelism, logical rhythm

1. Synonymous parallelism, the second line reinforces the first (Psalms 19:1)
2. Antithetic parallelism, the second line shows a contract (Proverbs 13:16)
3. Synthetic parallelism, the second line continues the thought (Proverbs 26:20)

C. Acrostic “A composition in verse, in which the first letter of the lines, taken in order, form the name of a person, kingdom, city, etc. which is the subject of the composition.” (Psalms 9, 199, and 37)

Did you see it? Clothing ideas with words. Who knew the dictionary could bring life to a lesson? Well, Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary can!

I took that one idea and talked to my children about our internal thoughts. Words clothe our ideas, but can they truly reveal our innermost parts? How can mere letters comprehend the personality and soul of a unique individual?

And think of all the ways we use words. Some work in warm boots and overalls, some lounge in jeans and a t-shirt, some dance in sparkling ballroom gowns, some sing in pajamas at dawn.

I’ll embrace that last gift, but it might not be before coffee…

My Homeschool To Do List

Melancholy settled in as the hours passed. My to do list unmarked except for what I’d deemed most important: prayer, Bible reading, school lessons, and home-cooked meals. Those things took all day. Literally, all day. What about the trail of obligations and ideas for things I wanted to pursue?

My brain tried to focus in the quiet of the night, but darkness and sleep shut out the whispers of failure. That was enough for one day.

Bug, Age 12, 2010

I am task-oriented by nature, so my spirit lifts when I can stand back and look at accomplishments. The dullness comes from my weary eyes. They glance around the room and get caught on the undone and the messes. Yes, meals are consumed, but the smiles and laughter linger. Lessons are, hopefully, stored in the hearts of my children. My little prayer book is stashed away to collect even more memories later.

This is my life now. This is what is important.

The lists in my notebook grow each day, but the time I have with these children is short. Oh, some days feel like they last forever. The truth is they don’t.

Bug, Age 5, with Baby Sunshine, 2003

Now is the time to make messes, so I brought the craft table in off the porch.

Now is the time to read great books, so I let my son devour a biography during our normal math time.

Now is the time to make a home, so I close my eyes to the missing boards around the windows and the torn up bathroom. Those things will be fixed in time, but I don’t want to miss the eternal for a nagging piece of paper. The truly important things I do in a day are hard to check off as done.