Danger: Reader Gone Wild

In a family of readers, eight year old Denver has long been the hold out: "I don't want to read anything.  It's too boring!"  

Today at the library, Denver asked me how to spell survival.  He then walked to the computer and searched for books on survival.  He found Wilderness Survival for Dummies.  I helped him locate it in the adult section.

"I like the title," he said.  "It makes me think that I might evolve not to be a dummy about this stuff."  I stifled a smile at his word choice, and suggested he take a look.

Denver sat near the window and began to read.  This is a boy who at age seven would cry if I asked him to read more than two sentences.  Last year's test scores indicated he was off the charts in everything except reading.  He received no score in reading because he simply couldn't do it.

Every five or ten minutes this morning, he jumped up grinning to tell me about something he learned-- how to hold a piece of metal toward the sun to signal for help; how to cook over an open fire; the importance of self-control when you realize you might be lost and your heart is racing.

Delighted with his newfound powers, Denver enlisted his brother to build an outdoor survival camp in our woodsy backyard as soon as we got home from the library.  Denver just made a slingshot, and Spencer is shooting his bow. They are outside building a campfire right now.

If you should hear news of a forest fire east of Atlanta . . . you'll know things got a little out of hand.

"Slow Down and Chew Your Food," said my mom every day of my life. :-)

Confession time . . . I live primarily on coffee, cashews, and Coke Zero.  It doesn't seem like I really have time to prepare a meal for myself.  I usually eat from a small dish of cashews while I dash around the house homeschooling the children, chasing one of our three dogs, answering the phone or a text, or getting ready to go to one of my four (really?)
part time jobs.

Sara's delicious rainbow swiss chard

Sometimes I come to my senses.  Today I did, and this is why: My dear friend Sara Vinson from Yellow Hen Farms delivered bundles of her beautiful greens to my door. How could I not take the time to prepare and enjoy them?

So after sending my children off to a church pancake dinner, my husband and I unpacked our goodies and began chopping-- fresh, colorful swiss chard, beet greens, mushrooms, onion, garlic, sundried tomatoes-- all sauteed with plentiful olive oil and delicious spices.  Add a little grilled steak and chicken for the carnivorously inclined.

John and I on a Bahamas vacation . . .
three years ago.

Oh, My!  This is what real food tastes like.  I had almost forgotten. 

My vow: More Real Food. More Slow Food.  Fewer cashews.

Also, more wine with dinner and more dinners with my handsome hubby.  Delicious.  

Peaceful Choices

Choices: Candy or Not?  If so, how many?  Which ones?

It's better for me and everyone around me when I remember that life-- at least for adults-- is a series of choices, not "have to"s.

The Boys Swordfighting with a Friend

I don't have to yell when my children shoot nerf darts in the house or the puppy eats another pair of my shoes.  

I can take a deep breath instead, and remember that my actions matter; and then maybe say something a bit more gentle.

I don't have to have a certain kind of house (clean) or be a certain kind of parent (strict).  Instead, I can consider the kindest choice in that moment, and I can make the most peaceful choice if I'm paying attention.  

Denver chose to play a waiter
during a game at the
Montessori School

Moment by moment, my choice to be patient, kind, and good humored sets the tone for our home.  

I'm still working on it. 

John Robert has chosen to attend
Morgan County High School next year.

Fractalicious

Are these images moving?

Fractals (3D, natural, moving), geometry, ratios, area, repeating patterns . . . the beginnings of calculus.

Spencer, Denver, and I have been playing with the wonderful ideas from Calculus for Young People.  I can't believe how much fun it is and how much imaginative play it invites.  Is this what "real" math can be?

Excellent Policework

Today my youngest & wildest and I took a drive to Porterdale.  I won't go into everything that happened, but it looks like they finally got that boy under control. :-)

Tonight we attended the Citizens Police Academy where we watched amazing police dog demonstrations.  Denver got to sit in the police vehicles and run the sirens.  He and the other children also investigated the new boat for river rescues.  And of course, Denver enjoyed being handcuffed and placed into the back of a police car.  A sign of things to come?

I can only guess how much work Chief Jason Cripps and his staff put into these marvelous programs for our citizens.  I am grateful to play a small part in Porterdale.  The mayor, the city council, the city hall staff, the police department . . . They are all quietly doing wonderful things.

Minecraft Math?!

Much to my surprise, the boys are learning more
from Minecraft than I ever could have predicted.

It can be a little strange to work so hard to prepare an excellent lesson only to discover the boys already learned the concepts from Minecraft!

I recently spent a great deal of time studying Time Travel Math, which introduced Leonardo DaVinci's ratio concepts that he used for accurate drawing.  I also prepared a kitchen experiment using ratios.  

I invited the boys to prepare rice-- 1:2 ratio of rice to water.  They always enjoy measuring and pouring.  We then used a measuring tape to explore DaVinci's rule that (in general) the length of one's arms is about the same as one's height (1:1 ratio) and the length of one's lower leg is about the same length as twice your foot length (1:2).  We also tested whether one's arm length was the same as four faces (1:4).

The boys enjoyed making rice and comparing measurements.  They took notes and I was feeling good about their grasp of ratios. Then Spencer humbled me.

"Yeah, that's pretty easy because I use ratios all the time in Minecraft.  One coal can cook eight items.  So that's 1:8."

"Yeah, and 1 stick can cook half an item.  So you need two sticks for each item.  2:1," Denver chimed in.

Denver and Spencer enjoyed
the new Fernbank exhibit yesterday.
Truly engaged learning appears effortless.

"Well, that's great.  I'm glad you're learning so much," I said, laughing to myself "from Minecraft," I might have added.