Ask a good question, get a good answer

It is amazing what you might learn if you ask. A lifetime (at least so far) of learning and I keep forgetting that to learn the truth one must only ask. And in my case, brace yourself with a cringe and a grimace as you wait for the answer. 

I have been, unbeknownst to me, grasping and guessing at what my children should be learning in our schooling process. I am a trained elementary teacher with specialties in reading and language studies.  I thought I was utilizing and designing curriculum individual to each child. Or at least a combination of what works for them with what works for me.  All wishful thinking. 

A girlfriend of mine who also homeschools told me she was reading a book that has challenged her approach to teaching her children. This particular book puts a premium on the love of learning. And so she related to me that she had interviewed each of her children about what they want to learn. I decided to copycat. I may not be doing anything original, but I don't mind giving credit to others.

So I interviewed each of my children about what they want to learn. Was I ever enlightened? 

Here is the Warrior's list:

I want to learn about:

dinosaurs

mysterious creatures like a jackalope and dragons

heroes of the Bible

Super Heroes

astronauts

how to use a computer

typing skills

Can I just join a computer club?

sewing

blacksmithing

woodworking

making a fire with just sticks

how to live in the outdoors

space

cooking

frogs

I want to pet ducks.

I want to conquer mountains.

I want to learn about trains.

plumbing

I want to do mechanics.

I want to learn how to hook up the Blu-ray player to surprise Daddy.

I want to be good at music like on the electric guitar.

dragons (We just saw How to Train Your Dragon last night.)

Expand my stomach so I can eat a lot, which is basically body parts.

I want to know how to grow stuff.

I want to be like Big Gramps (the Warrior's great-grandfather who has always gardened.)

I would like to work in a plant like Papa.

I want to learn to drive the skidsteer and the big 4-wheeler.

I'd like to drive the tractor.

I want to learn about the army

and how to be a good citizen.

Well, looks like I've got a thing or two to learn about this boy of mine. He is only eight years old and so many plans.  To go from petting ducks to conquering mountains. The simpleness of just being a little boy to the great and honorable ambitions of a man. 

Needless to say, I feel a bit ill-equipped to teach him many of these things. Fortunately, God already knows who he is to become and how it will happen.  And the Professor and I were hand-picked to help guide him on that journey. Wow! With all that in mind, who am I to question? 

In the moment

Isn't it ironic that this is supposed to be a snapshot of what I am doing in my life? Haha! I dont have any photos on here at all. YET! 

Before blogs it would never have occurred to me to document my cooking, my gardening, my crafting endeavors. But here I am, wishing I had pictures of just one of the times I made a fabulous glob of homemade mozzarella cheese. It was a beauty. Or if only I had taken pictures of the steaming golden-crusted bread I baked with homemade butter.

 I know. Who takes pictures of such things? A camera never seemed like kitchen equipment to me. I was too busy enjoying the spoils of my labor. I'm not talking about the taste of it even though it was out-of-this-world delicious.  Nope. I am talking about just watching The Professor and all the hooligans lingering in the kitchen and then making all the noises of anticipation waiting for the first bites. The Professor asking, "Is it done yet? Is it done yet?" I receive an affectionate peck on the back of the head. The hooligans, all four of them, huddled around the oven window watching the doughy loaf slowly transform. Trusting the outcome will fill their little bellies with the warm satisfaction of home, I hope. These are the moments I wish I could relive over and over again. 

You know the ooo's and ahh's that make any cook's heart sing. Then to watch them savor and enjoy my handiwork. "Mommy, this is the yummiest ever." "Mommy-made is the best." I am the heroine in the story. Just for a moment, I am June Cleaver, Donna Reed, and so on. For just one moment in a day of disaster after disaster I am who I want to be. I basked in it. My heart swelled because I knew, and still know, how fleeting the times are when I feel like I am exactly what I was created to be. 

So forgive me if there aren't enough pictures on this blog yet. I am learning to adjust my thinking to remember to take a few pictures now and then. After all, these moments don't last forever.

Where does one begin?

Does everyone who blogs start this way? I type. Words show up on the screen, as they should if everything is in working order.  But when I look up and read the words, they don't convey what I wanted to say at all.  

Is this how I want to be introduced to the world? This new world. A world where 80% of communication is erased from the equation. As someone who is very expressive, not having facial expressions, body language, audible tone and articulation makes communication like this challenging. I am suddenly, totally dependent on a vocabulary that seems to shrink a little more with the birth of each child and my typing (Thank you, Ms. Copeland). Yikes! 

And so I try to focus on all the things I wanted to share with my family, my friends and the small number of people who stumble onto these ramblings. So many things I want to share. And I have to ask myself, "Why? Why do I want to share?" I suppose the answer is simpler than I would like to admit. (I would like to imagine myself as a complex, mysterious, and spontaneous person. But, in reality, I rarely surprise anyone.) I really just want to be known, understood, connected with other people. See told you. Not very mysterious. I think most people want that. So if you'd like to peek in...Great! And if you'd like to comment even better!