Impromptu Science

Yesterday I got my goat's milk soap and lotion in the mail. The box was filled with packing peanuts. In the past, I've saved those things, just knowing that they have art project potential.

Yesterday, I googled it and found out I was right. First we dipped them in water and determined that the ones we had were the biodegradable kind; they're made from cornstarch, which I thought was pretty cool.

They're actually a great material for sculptures. A little bit of water is enough to "glue" them together to that end.

First the kids experimented with different levels of saturation to determine what would work best for their sculptures. Then they played with it.

Next came the fun part!

I went to the kitchen and spooned a little bit of three different white substances on the counter, with the suggestion that the kids explore each material with their senses in effort to identify each. I used cornstarch (since that's what the peanuts are made of), flour, and baking soda.

We reviewed the five senses and I encouraged each kid to use their senses to identify the substances. As they were touching, tasting, smelling, and looking at the substances, I was asking them questions about what they thought and why. I then wrote down their guesses for each substance.

Then we put water in each to see what would happen. The kids mixed in the water with their fingers. They watched and felt the marked difference in how each substance changed when water was added. My 6 year old daughter noticed that the substance she was experimenting with felt the same as the packing peanuts had when they were mixed with water. She correctly changed her answer as a result.

Then, we added vinegar to a small pile of each substance. After seeing the bubbling and fizzing of the baking soda/vinegar concoction, my oldest realized that his initial guess had been wrong. (They've seen the baking soda/vinegar reaction enough to know.

Not surprisingly, Annacie, my little chef was able to identify all of the substances before anyone else because she had been in the kitchen enough to know.

This is definitely an experiment that I'll do again with different substances, though I foresee that they will need far less coaching and questioning next time.

If you're like me, there's so much stuff laying around in your house that can be used for experimentation. You are far better equipped to provide these hands on learning opportunities than classroom teachers are.

This is how kids learn. And it's how we learn too.

As William Butler Yeatts said, ""Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." 

Love them, play with them, and learn with them. That's what it's all about.

The Main Thing

Our days for the most part, are filled with busyness. There are few people who don't fit into this category. From work to play, and everything in between, each day is packed with activity, and before we know it, the days turn into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years.

Life goes by fast, and the older we get, the more we know it. The more we wish it would all just slow down.

Yet in a way it's good.

The knowledge that life is short can be a prompting to prioritize our time more effectively, to share more freely, and to love more deeply than we would otherwise.

Yet there are many people who don't seem to get it. Judging from the way they spend their time, you would guess that they have some secret knowledge that the normal life span doesn't apply to them. Many live carelessly, recklessly, with little regard for other people. Others live distracted, filling their time excessively with things that in the long term will be of no account.

Many never slow down enough to consider the things of God at all.

My heart goes out this morning to a sweet family who lost their Granny last night. As I've pictured them sitting in the hospital with her throughout the past few days, I've remembered my time with my own Grandma in the hospital just before she died in 2005. 

I got there precious moments before she passed, time that I wouldn't trade for anything.

No matter what you have chosen to fill your life with, when you are at the bedside of a dying relative or friend, everything falls away except the one thing that's really important. It can be a time of helplessness or a time of hope, all depending on the decisions that that person has made up to the point. 

There's nothing in this life that will ever compare to the hope that we have in Christ.

Parting from our loved ones is always sad, but it is an incredible consolation to have faith and confidence that you're going to see them again. I know of no other way to have that, except in Christ. It is because of his resurrection that we know that this is not the end, that we were created for so much more than this.

While, the way that we spend our time should be a direct reflection of what matters most in our lives, few ever even give it a thought. Typically, the things that are most deserving of peoples' time and thoughts are the things that get the least amount of attention. 

Don't let that be you.

Don't wait until you are at the bedside of a loved one or in that bed yourself to delve into the things of God. Don't wait until it's too late.

As I sang Amazing Grace at my Grandma's bedside, I know I was singing her into eternity. I miss her as I know my friends will miss their sweet Granny but I tell you, it's everything in those moments, to know that you'll see your loved one again.

O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law: 57 but thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:55-56)

May all of our stories end in victory.

A Lesson Learned

Sometimes it takes being away from something for a while to really appreciate it. Sometimes you don't realize the benefits of a thing until it's gone. This month I've experienced a little bit of that.

I've been working diligently on school planning and research for this year's garden. I guess that sounds a little strange for me to do research on gardening but there really is a lot to learn. I'm wanting to grow our vegetables organically this year. We do our best to pay the organic price for the things on EWG's "Dirty Dozen" list. That gets kind of costly and I want to be outside anyway so I'm really looking forward to our garden season this year.

Back to the point though, I've told myself that if I'm going to devote time each day to gardening, then something else has to go. So as I've been taking notes on growing tips and seasons for each individual crop, I've done very little running.

The results have not been good. I've been reminded why exercise is so important and thought that the things I've learned might be an encouragement to someone to get up and get moving. Anyway...

-I haven't been sleeping as well. Today, I came up with reasoning for that that is so obvious, I can't believe I haven't thought of it before. Our bodies were made to move. We have energy that needs to be released. If we don't expend the energy necessary for our bodies to stay balanced in that way, it's no wonder that we have trouble sleeping. There's just too much energy needing to be released for us to settle down well at night.

-I feel mean. I am not nearly as sweet when I don't get my exercise. My streshhold (new word I've coined about the level of stress an individual is equipped to bear) is much lower when I don't exercise. I just get irritated more easily and I'm less pleasant to be around. When I get cranky, I know I need to run or do something cardiovascular. Naturally, everyone around me benefits from that as well.

-I can't think as clearly when I don't exercise. We know this is common to children as well. When their physical activity is limited, they're often diagnosed as trouble makers and referred to a doctor for medication.

Energy is not something that needs to be cured. Rather, it needs to be channeled appropriately. Exercise is a great mechanism toward that end. Sometimes I pray when I run; sometimes I just think. Either way, it seems that the thoughts that felt overwhelming before I began are magically organized into shelves and compartments in my brain. This results in order which later leads to greater productivity and effectiveness. It is a powerful thing!

-Some of you may like this part but when I don't run, I don't write. I have a lot of thoughts floating around in my brain but I don't assimilate them well enough to bring it together in a way that makes sense.

Even with all this, I never struggled with sitting still or listening and making good grades in school. I don't know if what I'm referring to is a result of the fast paced world that we live in or just that my pace of life is different, having four kids, homeschooling, and all. It's busy, busy, busy.

In summary, I've learned that I'd better keep pounding my feet on the pavement at least until I get into the strenuous part of gardening this year. Then I'll reassess.

This list of the detriments of not exercising is by no means comprehensive. I do hope that it's enough, though, to motivate you to "get up, get up, get busy. Get up and move that body."

It just makes life better. : )

Learning Through Parenting

The past couple of years have been tumultuous for me at times. For a lady with four kids, I guess that's no surprise. I've shared more than once on here that my fourth is what they would term a "horse of a different color." (I love the Wizard of Oz.)

I've received many compliments on my kids and their behavior over the years. That includes number four. My hairdresser and friend jokes that she doesn't believe the things that I share about his daring and defiance. From his first haircut until now, he has sat still as a statue for her, perfectly patient and in complete cooperation.

He really is a great kid, a breath of fresh air, and a delight. Delight is the most honest word I can use to describe him.

I've continued to in great sincerity, use that word even through the toughest of times, through the biggest freak out moments like...the time before he turned a year old and my husband found him perched on top of his sister's dresser in the dark. (Note-the dresser is as tall as the bunk bed.) That was certainly a wake-up call.

And there have been a lot more.

Yet, there has not been a moment when I didn't believe, I mean sincerely believe, that he was and is the most awesome kid in the universe. (I believe this about each of my kids of course.)

Now that things have leveled out some, I thought I might consider and share some things that have kept me sane through this interesting process.

-I've prayed and asked God for guidance and for his safety. A lot.

-My faith enables me to recognize that each of my children was created with a purpose and a plan.  Rather than throwing my hands up in despair in frustrating situations, I'm inclined to ask God what He's trying to teach me, and how I can best influence (note I did not say control) a child's behavior for his/her own good and God's glory.

- I recognize that this is not about me. I am simply a tool in the master's hands to assist in the molding and making of each of our children into the people that He created them to be. So I need not take offense. Too often we as parents receive our children's disagreeable actions or characteristics as an affront against ourselves.

That's immaturity.

-I see that parenting is not only about raising our children but it's also about how we can grow through that process. A self centered focus won't result in anything good, in our kids or in ourselves. Only God can free us from that nonsense.

-I see reason and purpose in it all. I believe that our greatest strengths, channeled inappropriately can become our greatest weaknesses.

Inversely, I believe that the qualities that can be perceived in some situations as our greatest weaknesses, when submitted to the authority of our maker, can be transformed into our greatest strengths.

This frees me from any natural inclination of wishing my kids were different. When I'm trusting in Him, I have nothing to complain about which leaves me more energy to put toward trusting Him in it all.

-I don't worry about what other people think. I'm secure enough not to adjust my interactions with my kids to measure up to my perceptions of others' expectations. This confidence comes from the undivided nature of my position as stay-at-home-mom.

-I keep my expectations consistent. We have a pretty consistent schedule and our behavioral expectations are pretty consistent too. Because of this, little man and the others are less apt to push the limits.

There's always more to be learned, always more to be written, but there are also little mouths (and a big one :) ) that needs to be fed.

This may end up being a two parter...

Giving

My political opinions have really been flipped over the course of the past five years. It will be interesting to see how different my perceptions will be the next time we have a Republican president in power. I'm not sure whether I will get upset less frequently, or about the same.

None of this is about political party to me. I perceive that from an economic standpoint, we need a more balanced, common sense approach to resolve the problems that assail us. Yet neither party seems willing to acknowledge that. We are living in a time and land that is deficient in  common sense and in which money dictates the majority of decisions made.

There is a place in our government for social programs; yet just like most any thing that man gets his hands on, these have gone to an extreme in our system. Most of us know of situations in which there are injustices in this area, in which people are playing the system and getting by with it.

This is enough to make people angry and cynical, and less apt to give to those who are really in need.

Yet the fact remains that there are needs still being unmet, children who didn't have dinner last night, and elderly people who don't have enough money to pay their light bills or buy groceries.

Government is a mechanism through which needs can be met, but because of its impersonal nature, it cannot begin to touch the heart of the matter. As the amount of taxpayer money spent to "benefit" the poor increases, the more the average person is apt to hold onto to his earnings with both hands, refusing to help even family members in need, or to 'love his neighbor as his self' as the gospel commands.

As a result of this, "the ties that bind" us all together in families and communities have been severed.

As people are subjected to excessive taxation to the end of supporting programs that they don't agree with, their concern for the collective "we" diminishes, and their esteem for the all-important "me" reigns supreme.

The cost to family and society as a whole is immeasurable. The more dependent we become on big government, the less we rely on each other. Our lives become more compartmentalized and our concerns rarely extend beyond the walls of our own homes.

The only thing I know to do is to give anyway. We need not grow cynical. Love anyway. Go against society's flow of selfishness and self preservation, and be generous with what you've been given. God's commands do not change no matter how much government and societal whims do.

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt , and where thieves break through and steal : but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal : For where your treasure is , there will your heart be also." (Matthew 6:19-21)

Obey Him in all situations, and He will bring the harvest.

Khan Academy/Common Core Clarification

Yesterday I shared on FB how much I like Khan Academy's math. Following that, in a comment, I shared that Khan has aligned his stuff to Common Core. With the many posts that I've shared against Common Core Standards, I really felt the need to clarify.

Sal Khan started creating these tutorials and putting them on YouTube well before Common Core became a reality. When I say that he has aligned his lessons to Common Core, what I mean is that at the bottom of each lesson, he shares what CC Standard that particular lesson aligns with.

To what extent he has allowed Common Core Standards to dictate his more recent lessons, I don't know. Yet since he has been doing this since 2006, my assumption would be that the majority of them have not been influenced by Common Core.

My main arguments against the Math portion of Common Core are that...

1. It is developmentally inappropriate. 

For those who don't know, that means that they're asking kids to do things that their brains are not mature enough to do. Experts in child development will tell you that most elementary schooled children just are not wired for the tasks that CC is requiring them to complete.

It's like asking a baby to walk before he crawls, or is able to stand up with good balance.

2. The Common Core math lessons that I've seen have been extremely confusing in presentation, not only for children but for many college educated adults as well. 

I recognize that we are talking about standards and not a curriculum. Yet the majority of schools are purchasing scripted resources from Pearson Publishing. School boards are purchasing these items and expecting their teachers to use them, as is. There's little room for changing the content to scaffold learning or to accommodate for the unexpected things that happen in human interactions daily.

You could not pay me enough to subject my children to that.

I have none of these concerns in regard to my children taking lessons from Khan Academy because...

1. They don't even ask for a child's age when he/she signs up. Therefore there are no preconceived notions about where a child should be or what he should be capable of doing by a certain time. 

As we know, (though it seems to have been forgotten in many parts of the public school sector) every child has his own unique time table for learning. 

 

2. Khan Academy has a system that is customized to fit each child. Each child takes a pre-test and the program gives suggestions about where he "might" want to start. Yet ultimately, those decisions are mine to make.

As a "coach," I determine what skills my children work on by making assignment recommendations. Therefore I am determining the trajectory for learning.

Again, I didn't want you all to think I had "jumped ship" or thrown my long held values to the wind. Therefore I felt this post was necessary. 

Again, Khan Academy is free. I signed up months ago and haven't been contacted by them in the interim with the exception of a few e-mail notifications in regard to their offerings. If you're tempted to try it out, go ahead. There's no hassle involved.