Wonderfully Abnormal Love for Golf

Golf does not come naturally to most people.  If you spend about 5 minutes with me on the course, it will be painfully obvious that I stink at golf.  I might fake it with my cute golf skirt and pink rolling bag, but the score card pretty much speaks for itself.  I'm terrible.  Mr. Wonderful is considerably better than I am when it comes to understanding and playing golf.  That said, you can get a pretty decent idea of what kind of hitter he was in baseball when you watch his golf swing (the ball is hit hard and everything veers to the left).  To sum it up, neither of us are quality golfers.  Yet somehow, we have a child who has a natural ability to swing golf clubs and hit balls.

Our oldest child has had this affinity for hitting golf balls since he was a year old and could swing his plastic Fisher Price clubs. At the time we thought it was so cute that we bought him his first set of real golf clubs for his second birthday.  We were those crazy parents who would take their toddler to the driving range.  Again, it was so cute to watch him swing and hit the balls. I don't think we realized the significance of the fact that our toddler was making contact and actually hitting balls like a real golfer.  When he turned 4, we noticed that he rarely ever missed making contact with the ball off the tee--in spite of his dancing and crazy footwork.  That was about the time that he started chipping balls off of our back porch into a neighbors' pools and landscaping.  So for his 6th birthday, we decided to send him to golf camp.

At camp, we were informed that he was wonderfully abnormal on the golf course.  I say abnormal, because a "normal" child on the golf course is one who has been sent to camp by his golf-playing parents to learn a game that does not come naturally to them.  Our child, on the other hand, loved every minute of being on the golf course and apparently has an unteachable "feel for the game."  It was absolutely hilarious to watch him swing his club like a ninja sword at one moment and then turn around a minute later and drive a one-handed shot over a creek.  And it's very weird to have a 5 year old explain how he is going to use his 9 iron to "tap-chip" his ball out of the rough and onto the green when all the other children are using their putters and then to see his plan work!

Considering that I'm having to read PGA golf books for parents to even understand the game myself, it's kind of crazy to think that I might have to caddy on the DFW Metro Jr. Golf Tour next summer (all children under 8 need to have a caddy) in order to keep up with my wonderfully abnormal son.  Something tells me that this is not going to be my first time to step outside of my comfort box for my kiddos.  I'm sure someone else will want to do something that blows my mind too: hockey, dance, art, etc.  But golf: could not have predicted that one.

Planning Out the School Year

 

We finally finished kindergarten math!  At first, I was really proud that my little guy whizzed through 85 lessons in approximately 4 months--because he wanted to.  And then I realized that when we start kindergarten FOR REAL this fall, he's going to need something to do.  My intention behind starting homeschooling in the spring was solely as an experiment to see if it would work.  I didn't necessarily mean to knock out a year of school in 1 semester. 

Now I have the dilemma: Do I rinse and repeat? Or do I forge ahead into the unknown realm of first grade with my kindergartner?  As I flipped through my lesson plans for the rest of kindergarten, I realized that all we really have to do to get caught up for first grade is to finish Phonics.  A few months ago, I would have told you that pushing ahead in Phonics was an absolute no-go.  We were shedding way too many tears in that department.  Then all of a sudden it started clicking!  After fighting through the short "a" sounds, he started to get the concept of how reading is supposed to work.  Suddenly, he was able to roll through the other short vowels.  So realistically, finishing the kindergarten Phonics lessons before school starts (we're following the more traditional after Labor Day schedule) is not out of the question. 

So I ordered first grade curriculum.  And I guess we're going to give it a go.  If I'm going to homeschool right, I'm going to have to go all-or-nothing.  No sense NOT pushing ahead if my guy can handle it.  If it turns out he can't, then there's no harm in slowing down as needed because we're already ahead, right?  I guess we're going to have to give it the old college try and just see how it goes.

For those of you who might be interested in what curriculum we're using this year for each subject, here is my plan:

1. Memoria Press: Bible, Phonics, Copybook & Bible Memorization, Math (they use Rod & Staff),  Cursive, Art/Music/Reading Enrichment
2. Apologia: Science, Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the 5th Day
3. Story of the World, by Susan Wise Bauer: History Volume 1: From Earliest Nomads to the Last Roman Emperor (we're continuing this from where we left off this spring)
4. Christian Heroes Then and Now: Missionary studies
5. Fort Worth Museum of Science & History Museum School: science & history enrichment

The Co-op Question

I think it's funny that the first question most homeschooling parents ask when I tell them that I'm homeschooling is what co-op I'm using.  Then they're surprised when I tell them I'm not really into the co-op thing--at least not right now.  Co-ops are probably really useful for older children who desire a variety of activities or for children whose parents aren't comfortable teaching basic curriculum.  But let's be honest, my kindergartner doesn't need a lot of extra-curricular activities right now (we've already got tennis, golf, baseball, piano, and museum school), and I'm certainly capable of teaching elementary phonics, math, history, science, Spanish, Bible, and Latin.  It really doesn't take a genius to teach kindergarten or first grade curriculum, so I'm always amazed when people shirk at the idea of teaching their own child themselves.

Part of my reason for not wanting to hand off my kindergartner to an organized co-op or homeschool program where someone else directs the course work, curriculum, pace, and activities, is because handing off those duties totally defeats the purpose in homeschooling my kiddo.  The beauty of homeschooling is having the freedom to teach to YOUR OWN child. Sometimes that means that you take a big black sharpie and cross out the lesson that comes next in the textbook.  And sometimes that means that you call your potter friend at church and ask for a private lesson on pottery instead.  There is something very freeing in making learning fun. I know I sound a little hippie-dippy in my approach to school, but rest assured, the only hippie streak in me is that streak that loves Free People clothing.  I'm no flower child.

My other reason for passing on the opportunity to have an educational professional oversee my teaching of my child is that my son and I would both get really bored with this approach and probably really competitive.  Boy Wonder is a lot like his mommy.  And once he realizes that he and the other kids are going to be taking tests and learning the same things, he would delight in having his mommy teach him everything there would be to learn on the subject matter at hand.  And he and his mommy would get really ticked if he weren't the smartest kid in the class.  Talk about pressure on me!  I'm thinking that this isn't the healthiest approach for us right now.

Instead of focusing on someone else's idea for my son's education, I've realized that I'm actually cut out to be a do-it-yourself kind of homeschool mom.  I like the idea of providing my son with a classical curriculum, and I am also a huge believer in the Charlotte Mason approach to education: “Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life.”  These styles go well together.  And they also don't lend well to the university-style of teaching which involves lots of homework.  Charlotte wanted education to be natural and in the proper context and atmosphere.  So, using Memorial Press' classical  curriculum in a Charlotte Mason way works well for me (and their curriculum uses lots of living books which would make her proud).

So no.  For now, we're going to pass on the co-op model program.  But who knows? Maybe we'll change our minds in the future and dive into a local group.  That's the beauty of educating your child at home.  You do what works and avoid what doesn't.

What Girls are Made Of

Baby G in the Flowers: Courtesy of K.I. Photography.

Sugar and Spice

Sugar and spice
and everything nice
that's what little girls are made of

Sunshine and rainbows
and ribbons for hair bows
that's what little girls are made of

Tea parties, laces
and baby doll faces
that's what little girls are made of

Author: Unknown

This past week, Mr. Wonderful and I were given grief by some family members about the fact that Baby G wears hair bows --bows that keep getting larger as she gets larger.  For the life of me, I can't imagine why this would bother anyone.

I think this poem that my grandma used to say to me sums up what I love about having a little girl.  Little girls are different from little boys.  They are, generally speaking, lovers of all things pretty.  They squeal and get jumpy when they see glitter and rainbows.  They giggle and clap when they spin in their fluffy dresses.  They ooh and ah when they see babies.  They like to have painted toes and walk in their mommy's shoes.  And there's nothing wrong with allowing little girls to be girls. Doing boy things with my sons is fun, but getting to experience the sugary and sparkly world of my daughter also brings me delight.

So yes, I suppose I perpetuate my daughter's girly ways by dressing her in fancy dresses and sparkly shoes.  I paint her toe nails and allow her to play with my necklaces and bracelets. I always coordinate her outfits with a matching hair accessory.   I have some how convinced her that sparkly is always better than plain.   And yet, she's not even 2 years old.

Baby G may or may not grow out of the fun, fluffy, girly stage.  She has plenty of opportunities to experience boy activities and sports with her two older brothers. To be honest, she throws a ball better than either of them did at her age.  So who knows, she may be our all-star yet.  But I'm not going to stop having fun raising my daughter as the princess she is just because other people don't appreciate glitter and rainbows and cupcakes. 

We're all entitled to dress our children as we see fit.  As a result, I'm doing my best to keep my opinions to myself about how other little girls are dressed and how their mommies raise them.  I have a different perspective on parenting a little girl than other mothers might have.  I've had my chances to do the boy mom thing for the last 6 years, and it is certainly loads of fun to live in a world of trains and balls and grass stains.  These days, however, I'm truly appreciating what little girls are made of.

Note: If you need recommendations on where to find some fabulous hair bows, please let me know.  These days, I'm somewhat of an expert.

Kid Day Turned Out All Right

On my previous blog post (from like a month ago) I wrote about the need to keep the kids entertained while on vacation--not necessarily for their own benefit, but for the benefit of EVERYONE.  After our first disastrous vacation day, we worked a little bit harder to make the trip more fun.  We must have done a pretty good job, because everyone looks pretty happy in our vacation photos!

And just a note: The pink Texas hat that Baby G tried to wear in almost every photo was her vacation gift from her daddy.  I think he intended on buying her a hat that looked a little more baseballish, but when she saw the sparkly zebra hat it was love at first sight.
 

 

Keeping the Kids Entertained

I'm generally not a believer that children need to be entertained all the time.  In fact, I think mommas who constantly entertain their children, or send them to preschool to be entertained, do their children a huge disservice.  Children need to learn how to play and how to imagine.  They need to explore things for themselves.  Thus, you'll notice the crayon markings on the walls of my house, the upturned chairs turned into forts, the "relocated" dirt piles (and holes) in my backyard, empty water bottles converted into toys in the playroom, and pictures of who-knows-what taped to random places in my bedroom courtesy of my kids.  In spite of my type-A nature, I give my children lots of freedom to be creative on their own at home.  This freedom, however, does NOT work on vacation.

Although Mr. Wonderful and I love to enjoy vacations where we have absolutely nothing planned but to relax, this didn't work very well for our energetic gang.  If I had a vacation do-over, the first thing I would do is to plan an activity for the kiddos on Day 1.  In hind sight, we probably should have made more stops on the way to San Antonio, and one stop should have been a park.  Instead, our major stop was at an outlet mall where Mr. Wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed bargain hunting.  Unfortunately, not all parties (especially Tornado Man) enjoyed this outing.

I knew that we were in for a long week when Mr. Wonderful walked out of a surfer store and appeared agitated with our four year old son.  Apparently, he walked through the store and licked as many stacks of t-shirts as he could find.  Yes, licked--with his tongue!  We're still not sure how many shirts got licked before Daddy saw what was happening.  But we're also pretty sure that we're not welcome in that store for a looooong time!  And that was before the "I'm thirsty" and "I have to go to the bathroom again" started.   Our 2 hours of shopping was ultimately successful, but by the time we left I really did have a massive headache.  And that was Day 1.

On Day 2, Daddy highly overestimated how fun a baseball game could be for little people.  Mr. Wonderful was so excited to get to go to a San Antonio Missions baseball game that day.   It was perfect and sunny, the Missions were playing the Frisco Rough Riders (the TX Rangers' AA team and one of our favorites), and we had seats right behind home plate.  How could this have been bad?

Well, let's just say that our game lasted all of 2 innings.  None of the kids were overly impressed with the game.  Baby G turned bright red and started to literally overheat, Boy 2 complained about every possible thing he could think of, and Boy Wonder started crying when we told him he had to sit next to a stranger.  It was a complete disaster--drama, drama, drama.  The only thing that Daddy really wanted to do on this trip was a huge bust.  And by the time we got back to the hotel, Daddy wasn't speaking to the kids.  He even left me at the hotel and went and got me Starbucks just to get some fresh air.  That's when I knew, we might be in for a really long week.  (Stay tuned to hear how the week got better.)

Planning our Family Vacation: Texas or Bust!

Last week we decided to take a vacation! Since we haven't left the friendly confines of our little Metroplex for 2 years, it was definitely time to go somewhere.  So, we spent a few days researching and discussing where to go. 

Originally, we were completely on board with another trip to Hawaii.  But the realization that we STILL couldn't climb Diamond Head because our little ones can't do the stairs, and we STILL couldn't do the underwater fish adventure because our little ones are too short, and we STILL have to pay the exorbitant fees for the little ones, made us realize that maybe we were better off taking a trip to a more three-kids-friendly place.  (Although, Waikiki really is kid friendly!)

Next, we decided that maybe we should go all-in on a kid adventure this year.  So we looked into Walt Disney World.  It soon became apparent that a family of 5 with little ones is at a complete disadvantage in the magical world of Disney.  For starters, we don't fit on rides very well.  And there's also the fact that we don't fit into hotel rooms very well.  And then there's the fact that taking a family of 5 to Disney World and doing it right (I'm not into a dinky trip at a stinky resort) costs about the same as a trip to Hawaii.  So we decided that maybe Disney World should wait until our kids can actually recognize Disney characters--seriously, our boys probably don't know anyone outside of Mickey or Minnie.

Then we decided that maybe we should take an "easier" trip with our little gang.  Maybe we should stay IN Texas and enjoy our beautiful state.  So, because it is always fun and reliable, we did our little pilgrimage to the San Antonio Riverwalk.  And we're very glad we did.  There are so many things to do when you venture into the Texas Hill Country: shopping at the outlets along I-35; the Alamo; IMAX at the Alamo; Sea World; Six Flags; Missions baseball; San Antonio missions tour; shopping in Fredericksburg; Schlitterbauhn; Natural Caverns tour;  Boat rides down the river; tubing down the Brazos; the Zoo; the train ride at the zoo; western town tours, etc. Of course, we only did a few of the activities on this list, but the kids had some fun experiences, mommy did some shopping, and daddy spent afternoons reading books.  We actually had a trip that resembled a real vacation.

That said, vacationing with the 3 Amigos was easier said than done.  By night #1 it occurred to us that taking the kids might have been a mistake.  By night #2, we were already planning our adults-only vacation away from the kids for our next trip.  By night #3, we were exhausted.  So on each of the rest of the nights, we had a mandatory pajama party in our hotel suite that started around 6:30 pm.  (Thank goodness for bedtime, right?)  And somehow, we survived and lived to tell the stories.  Stay tuned for more tales from the Hill Country.

Derailed Plans and Forever Stamps

 

No, I haven't been hospitalized, institutionalized, comatose, or imprisoned for the last month.  And no, I'm not expecting baby #4!  I've just been busy.  Thus, I haven't written in awhile.

I'm not really sure why I've been so busy, but little things just keep coming up.  Take for example, my litigation meeting on Monday.  Usually, we get everything sorted out in time so that I can skip our group lunch and leave around noon (I love leaving early so that I can catch a quick lunch date with Mr. Wonderful).  This week, however, the meeting went on and on and on and on.  By the time I left the meeting, I was well behind rush hour traffic and was too close to falling asleep to be able to go birthday shopping for my almost 4 year old's birthday.   My plans for this week were complete derailed (and yes, the pun is appropriate).

The long Monday resulted in a change of plans on Tuesday where homeschooling turned into a Mommy-Son date and shopping trip.  That trip was fun, but altogether unsuccessful since train decorations are extremely hard to find--even Thomas decorations were yucky or overpriced.  Seriously, who pays $20 plus the cost of helium for a Thomas balloon?!  So after some planning and plotting, Boy Wonder and I decided that we would create our own train tracks at home so that Mr. T could have a train day party for his 4th birthday.  Thus, our Wednesday agenda went from birthday partying to decorating and preparing for a party (all which I wanted to do on Monday!).

Boy Wonder was so excited about homemade paint-tape tracks that he offered to do the tracks himself this morning while I worked out.  This sounded like a great creative project for him, and honestly, less for me to do.  So I said got for it!

Later, when I walked into our large entry space to check out the tracks I noticed that Boy Wonder had done more than just put painter's tape on the floor.  He proudly pointed out the fact that he had found these cool flags to add to his tracks.  As he grinned, I stared in horror at the many dollars worth of stamps that he had stuck to my tile floor and walls.  Forever stamps with the American flag were all over the place!  Instead of appreciating his creativity, I'm pretty sure I shrieked and said a word that belongs on the "bad word list."  In hind site, I should have taken a picture of his masterpiece, but at the time all I could do was focus on salvaging as many flags as I could.

Thus has been my life lately.  I clean up messes daily.  I deal with crying daily.  I accidentally fall asleep before I finish my to-do list sometimes.  But in the midst of all the madness that is life with preschoolers, I still manage to find time to party with and enjoy them.  Sometimes I just forget to blog it.

Homeschooling is a Lot Like Law School

This week marks Week 11 of homeschooling (we did take off for Spring Break). Starting in January seemed like a fabulous idea at the time.  It was my chance to see if homeschooling would work before I became bound to an entire school year.  Why I chose to start an entire year's worth of kindergarten in January still confuses me. 

In theory, having a pre-done and pre-planned curriculum at my fingertips was genius.  But starting it mid year has been tricky.  The lessons that coordinated with Columbus Day landed around President's Day and Christmas showed up in math a few weeks ago.  Thus, I've had to rearrange some of the literature and enrichment and social studies projects.  And although I've got nicely scheduled lessons for math and phonics, in reality we're on Phonics week 12 and Math week 21.  So if you look at my pre-done lessons for week 11, in reality, we're only actually doing the Bible verse for that week. 

I've been told that my inability to follow pre-done lesson plans is because I'm an out-of-the-box thinker who doesn't like to be confined to a rigid set of rules.  (I mean, isn't one of the benefits of homeschooling to have a little freedom and to get away from the institutionalized norms?)  But the truth of the matter is that law school did this to me.  In law school, each student gets a syllabus and usually a schedule at the beginning of the semester to use as a guide for what they should be studying outside of class.  Typically, the lectures for each class coordinate with this schedule.  And then, at the end of the semester, each student is responsible for all the material included in the syllabus and schedule and they are tested accordingly--one test for the entire semester.  Thus, there's a lot of personal responsibility to get to the end of the syllabus, but little accountability along the way.  So some students cram an entire semester's worth of material into a few days before the exam.  And other students systematically work through the material on an individual or group basis throughout the semester.  It's the perfect preparation for handling a real case load.

Homeschooling is a lot like that.  Mom (or Dad) gets the material and/or the lesson plan guide and then creates a way to get to the end.  For us, it means that I find ways to push 5 days of work into 3 longer days each week; the other 2 days we do fun activities. And then I try to optimize those 5 days be pushing up the difficulty notch each week so as to not bore Boy Wonder (who, like his Daddy, hates meaningless repetition).   My goal is to get to the end of the 32 week lesson plan book, having covered all the objectives designed for the curriculum and having a child who has retained all that we've covered. 

At some point, I might have the guts to create my own objectives and develop my own "curriculum" combining different books and authors.  But for now, I like having the syllabus-like lesson planner to use as my guide for the year.  And I love finding new ways to explore the materials with Boy Wonder.  So yes, I would do it again and buy the pre-done lesson plans.  And although it is confusing, I really don't regret starting in January.

I'm sure that in time I will have to adjust my methods.  The law school approach might not always work.  But for everybody who thinks that mom wasted 4 years studying the law just to stay home with children and homeschool, just know that this was probably the best preparation I could have had for homeschooling! Law school is a lot like homeschooling.

Ancient Med Mal

 

After studying multiple chapters of The Story of the World that involved ancient leaders who were brutal and ruthless rulers over their people, today we studied Hammurabi.  Unlike, many of his predecessors, Hammurabi held his people to a more "civilized" system of justice.  He actually developed laws that were applicable to everyone.  For better or worse, these somtimes brutal laws attempted to promote a standard of goodness among the people.

As a part of our lesson, I was instructed to ask Boy Wonder how he felt about some of Hammurabi's Code.  The goal was for him to decide if the rules were just and fair. The first few rules were simple and obviously reasonable rules, such as: "If someone cuts down a tree on someone else's land, he will pay for it."  The further we got down the list, however, the rules became a little more drastic. 

I couldn't help but laugh when Boy Wonder informed me that the rule "If a doctor operates on a patient and the patient dies, the doctor's hand will be cut off," was a fair rule.  I suppose the fact that Mommy is a medical malpractice lawyer who is regularly involved in lawsuits where things go drastically wrong with patient care has somehow rubbed off.  But because I'm not quite as vicious as some might believe, I explained to Boy Wonder that it wouldn't be appropriate to cut off a doctor's hand just because his patient dies.  This led to a wonderful discussion over medical liability, which Boy Wonder grasped better than many adults I know.

Yes, sometimes patients die after surgery and the surgeon did the best he could and the best that could be expected of him to do. Sometimes patients just have bad outcomes that could not be prevented.

But, as Hammurabi so clearly understood, sometimes doctors do fail their patients.  Many bad outcomes are preventable.  And if a patient gets injured or dies because a doctor provides really awful care, then the doctor should reimburse the patient for the pain, suffering, and cost of the injury.   That's why injured patients file lawsuits.  They seek recovery for the wrong that was committed to them by the physician (or whoever) who messed up.  This is both reasonable and logical for a patient who has endured suffering at the hands of someone who should have done better.  In many cases, a patient has to sue in order to cover the cost of medical bills, time away from work, childcare, etc.  A lawsuit is not something that they're excited about.  Too often, patients won't be able to eat or pay their bills without it.

It's funny how so many people don't get the medical malpractice concept.  I mean, if I'm a painter and walk in your house and spill paint everywhere, you have every right to seek reimbursement from me for the damage I cause.  Everyone who provides a service to someone else should be held to this standard.  Their is no I-went-to-medical-school exemption.  We are all expected to do our best in a good and reasonable way all the time. 

Hammurabi was extreme with many of his laws.  But he got one thing right.  It's a theme that is repeated throughout the code: If you do something to wrong another, you should do what it takes to restore that person to their original place or reimburse them for your wrongdoing.  It's such a simple concept that even my 5 year old gets it!