This musical child? Utterly unschooled - especially in music. HE has pursued lessons and mentors, and studied what he loves. Yeah. It’s a little mom braggish, but if I can’t do that here, then where?
It’s long - two full songs. Gently Weeps and Gypsy ‘Ukulele, performed with a full grown man (ah, those unsocialized kids and their *mingling* with other age groups!). These two have not played together before - but I think they both enjoyed it!
Becky over at Farm School posted about this awhile back, and pointed me to it in light of my recent post about getting Brad started in college. This article from the New York Times is worth a read. This particular portion caught my eye, as it’s something I’ve said out loud (though far less eloquently) more than once:
One shop teacher suggested to me that “in schools, we create artificial learning environments for our children that they know to be contrived and undeserving of their full attention and engagement. Without the opportunity to learn through the hands, the world remains abstract and distant, and the passions for learning will not be engaged.”
You may need to register to read the article (I didn’t, but now when I click to it, I’m getting a sign in box).
Got a kid who’s interested in architecture? Or one who just loves legos? Check these out!Some of architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous designs are soon to be available in miniature thanks to Lego.
According to the folks at Wired, the sets are now available exclusively at the Guggenheim Museum where the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit “From Within Outward” is underway. The exhibit runs from May 15–August 23, 2009. Maybe the sets will be available in time for the holiday season?
I know my Lego Junkie will want to check these out!
We’ve been slogging through the process of getting my eldest (16) enrolled in the advanced education program at the local community college. Today we met with a very nice counselor. We were required to bring things like proof of birth date, his application and his…transcript. This was really the first time I’ve had to generate such an official document and I was admittedly nervous. But it turned out nice. It looked lovely. And then… Mr. Counselor got clever. He wasn’t happy with what I’d reported on the lovely transcript. He wanted to know Brad’s academic plans for next year. We both refrained from laughing, because Counselor Man was serious.
I barely know what next week will look like, let alone next school year. But sure! We can pull those details out of the air. So we did a little fancy talk about what our next year was likely to look like.
“Algebra,” says Brad.
“Again?” asked the Counselor.
“Writing,” said Brad.
“Beyond creative writing? What would that be?” asked Counselor Man.
“Technical writing and manuals,” says my child who has apparently acquired a BS gene.
We do. So. Much. But it just doesn’t fit into the cookie cutter mold of the education system. Brad came away feeling a little discouraged that learning at this level can’t be a bit more organic. Wondering at his options and whether college is really for him.
I’m hopeful that he’ll get started in his classes in the fall and feel inspired rather than squashed. I’m also very happy that he’s got enough self-confidence to question the system and try to make it work for him.
This will continue to be an interesting ride!
You ever have one of those days when there’s not a spare spot in your brain to think? And everyone needs something that requires thinking? And you can’t always respond fast enough? Yeah.
B: Somebody else wants to advertise on my site.
E: Should I call Carson?
B: Can you read this?
B: Should I use PayPal or Google Checkout?B: It says you must be 18 to sign up for a PayPal account. Should I just have them send me a check?
E: Are you done on the computer?
E: I don’t get this. Is 115% .115?
B: Maybe I can find something else.
E: If the trip usually takes 5 hours and I have to find out how much is 115% more, how do I do that?
E: Did somebody let the chickens out?
B: How do you spell Tolkien?
E: Should I call Carson?
B: Why is this so hard??
E: What can I have for breakfast?E: I don’t mean to be a wet blanket but why don’t you guys stop talking about it and just tell them to send a check?
E: Is this toothpaste too empty? Why is it on my shelf?
B: If we do PayPal in your name that’s gonna be kind of weird. “Oh, I’m only 16 so you’ll have to pay into my mom’s account….”
E: What do I have to do to clean the bathroom?
B: What was the name of your first pet?
It can only get quieter from here!
So, my 16 1/2 year old started the classroom portion of driver’s ed today. This, the child who has never been in a classroom. Here, a sampling:
“Oh, that was a long day of sitting for my skinny butt!”
The driving school touts hands-on learning. I am skeptical, so I ask, “What kind of hands-on learning was there?” He replies, “tests”.
“You know,” he says, clearly thinking. “I need to decide if I’m going to be an organ donor or not. I’m thinking dead is dead.”
Another five hour class tomorrow, and two more next weekend and we’ll be ready to hit the road!
So, I have boys. Boys who are avid readers. I’m told this is an oddity, but I don’t know. It’s the ways it’s always been. I have been known to tell my kids to put down the books and go outside. Other moms - moms with non-readers - have been shocked by the fact that I’d interrupt their reading.
Just as an example, yesterday Evan completed FOUR books. These are your average ~300 page juvenile fiction novels. He also baked a batch of homemade chewy pretzels, made a cheese sauce for lunch, played a little bit of basketball, and washed dishes a couple of times (not by choice). And I’ll note here that the kid is skinny - not an overweight couch potato from all of the reading.
So, out of simple curiosity I ask this: do you ever tell your kids to stop reading? Would you, if they read four books daily? How much is too much?
I try to eat organic foods when I can. I grow much of my own food. And yet. If I were stranded on a desert island, I would want an unlimited supply of…Cheez-Its. And now, good golly, they’ve gone and added a feature that actually makes me wish to be stranded on a desert island. Scrabble Cheez-its. Brilliant.
What, you ask? You can make money with your kids? That’s right - and no need to sign them up to be a child model, either. Of course, I’m talking tongue in cheek - a little. If you’ve always wondered about writing for parenting magazines - like I did before I started actually writing for them - here’s your chance to learn more.
Two of my writing colleagues–Teri Cettina and Jeannette Moninger-- and I just released a great (if I may say so myself) e-book on how to get started writing for magazines about parenting and kids. It’s Cash in on Your Kids: Parenting Queries that Worked and you can check it out here.
Teri has more to say about the book:
Two great reasons to read this book: 1) In addition to covering the basics on how to get started as a freelance parenting writer, we include 16 of our actual proposals to big-name magazines–the real queries we sent to actual editors. We tell you why the story proposal was a hit and what we got paid (anywhere from $300 to $3,600). You can learn to write your own queries by reading and analyzing ours. 2) We share email formats for many of the major parenting publications–info you won’t have unless you’re already an established freelance writer.If you’ve ever wanted to try writing for parenting publications, this is a great time. People don’t stop having kids during a recession, and they sure don’t stop reading articles about potty training, discipline and playdate etiquette. That means there’s always a market for freelancers who can write about these issues.
Okay, I’m at it again. Over at Big Island On The Cheap we’re celebrating Merrie Monarch week with two great giveaways. One is for a cool digital scrapbooking program. The other is for a vase. But not just any vase - this baby is gorgeous! Seriously. Hand blown glass. Even if you don’t want a vase, just go look. It will make you happy.
I do feel a little bad that I’m not wowing over the scrapbook program more, because it IS very cool. It just doesn’t have the amazing wow factor that the vase does. But you should go enter to win! Who among us isn’t buried in photos that we really should organize??
