Back to academic vs non-academic learning.

One child found a banana box and pulled apart lid and bottom. He was just being goofy with it, showing off to me and his sister. Within minutes, the two of them had the beginnings of a market, selling flour and apples. Only a few minutes later the last sibling caught on. Now, there is a full-blown market being set up in the kitchen. They have the stalls set up, with fruit nicely displayed and jams, jellies and pickles priced and lined up attractively. The third sibling will be a 'peddler' and carry his highly varied goods with him. They are now making money to use. How can this not count as a business class?

I will not break this up. But at what point will we start 'real school' today?

There is an interesting article written on this topic. I can only believe that the source of today's market world comes from our normal schoolday habits.

On a completely different note, I have started knitting. Nothing much--at all. I only know how to knit. I can't even purl yet. However, I've been enjoying reading this blog and I think my next project will be socks.

So, sometimes, despite those good intentions, school takes on a somewhat less academic tone.

Today started with a late night yesterday. As a result we were eating breakfast with bleary eyes just when we normally are starting school. Although Teacher feels better than she has in days, the jitters in the students foretold a challenging morning. Teacher consulted Principal who agreed that an hour outside in the snow would work wonders. Teacher was actually hugged as a result of the announcement. Within scant minutes she was alone in the house, free to make banana muffins to bless her family and tea to renew her own spirits and body. Principal joined the students outside to split wood for next year's heating supply.

The course of the study during the day has included of a game of chess followed quickly by a 'variation' on the game complete with white army and black army fighting (gently against a backboard so as to not lose the pieces) and the white army losing. Thoughtfully though the black army gave up three prisoners of war so as to even the odds. Next time I looked the game and pieces are tidied and put away. Wow!

Detailed craft projects followed, inspired, designed, planned out and executed by the students themselves. There was even a dictionary pulled out for reference.

Principal initiated a quick football (soccer) game in between his various phone calls and duties. Lunch was accompanied by the engaging sound of Jim Weiss reading out G.A.Henty's Cat of Bubastes, a story that has been currently continued.

I am quite certain that a good deal of learning has happened today, however unacademic it may have looked.

With Christmas and New Year behind us--already--we have settled back into our school routine. Admittedly re-entry has been a little bumpy. It's not helped by my fuzzy cold and sinusy head. A good nap this afternoon was welcome while Pieman took over teaching. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

As for Christmas, well, with the whole family here I was thrilled. A little noisier than is normal at our home but certainly a beautiful time for me. Thank you for coming! BTG wondered why the pappaenate lasted longer than the jam-jams when we had made them first. She hadn't realized I had frozen half of them. She did request new year's cookies today even though new year's is past.

The best part of our school day is by far the read-aloud time. I sit down with a cup of tea or other warm drink, the children grab their 'yarn work' (knitting mostly--it's the year to learn how) and I read. Currently we're reading Walk In My Woods by Margaret Epp (this is the reason BTG requested those new year's cookies) and The Fellowship of the Ring by Tolkien. We read the Hobbit earlier in the school year and the kidlets loved it. I wasn't ready to start the trilogy but I tell you, when my 9-year old begs me to read a book, it's hard to say no!

We finished up our Christmas holidays with a get-together with 3 other families. They came for supper, each bringing more than enough for their portion! They stayed for toboganning, coffee and tea, dessert and more coffee and tea. Much later than is usual at our home on a Saturday evening, the lights were on and the children playing.

I learned much about myself over these holidays. I learned that having a crowd of people here brings me joy. And it really isn't that hard to plan. I learned that our house is much warmer with a crowd of people in it! Another good reason to have parties. I learned that an adult woman is still a daughter and sister but she can 'grow up' and change those habitual ways of relating to family members. I learned that brussel sprouts aren't so bad. (Speaking of growing up.)

But chocolate is still better.

Very funny.

I look out our window to figure out what the noise of spinning tires is. First glance, I see nothing but then I realize that a large van is stuck. Apparently he thought our driveway was a good candidate for turning around. With a sheepish look on his face he realized it too as he slid sideways into the deep snow. It took Simon about 10 minutes to help him out and gave me some good entertainment at Stuck Van's expense. I didn't let on that I was watching and grinning from the window. I even restrained myself from taking a picture.

I have giggled just now over a joke that only a certain friend would find funny. I won't bore you with it. It would lose its fun to be looked at askance by one who knows not the history that makes the joke fun. But my point is that friends are good. If you have one, hold on with joy and delight. If you do not then my sympathies are great.

The kidlets and I have just returned from the last in an 8-week session of swimming lessons. Adequate training, lots of fun for them--despite the chicken pox, travelling and runny noses that kept them from attending half the lessons. They asked me if they needed to wear coats and boots or were flip-flops and t-shirts ok. I tried to answer them seriously as the snow was flying around my head while I went to warm up the car.

Winter

We've been away, you know, for nearly two weeks. Visiting with family in Virginia and North Carolina. We had such a nice time.

Our return trip was uneventful and as we drove north the snow became a common sight. So much so that BTG claimed she felt that we had been seeing snow for months. It was nice to arrive home. And although I was reminded today that we have months of winter left, I know that I can and will relish the beauty of the snow now, before it gets to be too much for me. It really is pretty.

Who the Dickens?

I had put off reading Dickens with the kids, thinking them too young still. But a conversation around the table Sunday past had K2, the youngest at 7-11/12ths, asking who Scrooge was and BTG, the oldest at 11-10/12ths telling her he's a duck. OK, so not only are my children illiterate, they also have watched Disney's version of A Christmas Carol too many times. It took me only a few seconds to decide that the time had come to read the book.

Varied were the comments. But mostly negative.

I persisted.

"Marley was dead. There is no doubt whatever about that....Old Marley was
as dead as a doornail."

The surprised looks on their faces as the kidlets actually laughed out loud were as gratifying to me as the fact that they were enjoying the story. I was smug, I admit. "Maybe this won't be that bad after all," CTM says. It makes a mother proud. sigh.

Scrooge is described in sharp, pointy detail on page three.

"He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in
the dog-days; and didn't thaw it one degree at Christmas."

And the clincher for this proud mother: "And to think I thought this would be boring!" (BTG)

Two and a half hours later, with my voice scratchy, the story was interrupted by the return of Pieman. We picked it up again Monday and finished it Wednesday. Not one word was missed, although I'm sure many of the old English allusions were. But nobody seemed to mind. There was silence when I finished. The spell was complete.