What she said...

You don't need a perfect world to teach well. You need a perfectstrategy. You need a strategy that does not involve manipulating events that are largely out of your control. Each year I have discerned "what" we need to accomplish. We make checklists to help us stay on track and cover the necessary ground.  The "when" of it varies but it always happens and surprisingly well.  Real life and real learning are unnerving to those who are wedded to absolute control. With faith and a fun loving attitude you can roll with the punches and thrive. It just requires a bit of thinking outside the box. : )

Read the rest here.

Faithful Over Little Things

I'm back to posting over at the daily notes blog. I actually have a plan up there this morning instead of just the jottings of what we did. I've had a little too much fun with Google Calendar in the wee hours of the morning lately. We'll see how long this lasts;-). Stop in over there, say hey, and let me know what your planning tools  are this year.

How very nice!

AwardbmpMany thanks to Patience for bestowing this nice award on me! I happen to think Patience is very nice as well, never mind those shopkeepers in New Zealand. An aside Patience, my husband thinks everyone in New Zealand is infinitely nice and he is determined to migrate there. I keep getting New Zealand travel information from him in my inbox. Now, at least I feel like I have a friend there should he follow through on his plans.

I'd like point out some people who are just as nice in person as they are on their blogs:

Dawn is nice, nice, nice,. I love Dawn's blog. It continually inspires me. Dawn has said she blogs because she loves her life: her family and her faith. And she just wants to share it. That joy is so effusive both on the blog and in person. Dawn is genuinely nice.

Cindy is nice, too. Cindy is my neighbor for a week or so more. Then, she's moving her nice family to Florida (which is a very nice state). Then my children and I will be sad because a nice corner of the neighborhood will never be the same. Last night, as we drove past Cindy's house, I remarked to my daughter that I'd miss them. I said I really couldn't remember a time when they weren't there. And Mary Beth said, "Yes, I think that's what we'll miss. Whenever we need something or we just want to be friends with someone, they're always there.'

"Oh, and,"  she added "you can always count on her to go and get a latte if you really, really want one."
Well, yes dear, there is that. Very nice.

Kim is nice in person, too. She is smart and wise and warm and ever-so-committed to holiness. With Kim, I know that only a phone call away, there is good common sense, warm-hearted inspiration, and a swift kick in the pants if necessary. And there always is the offering of her rosary--the nicest thing she could do. She lives what she believes--and blogs-- and she blesses us abundantly in the genuine sharing.

Bridget is very nice in person--and very tall. I am very short. We look funny together and our height difference belies the fact that our hearts are really in the same place. From Bridget, in real life, I have learned more than I could ever share about being a nice wife. And really, those might be the most important lessons of my lifetime.

Finally, Mary is nice. She's just so way nice I think she might be my dear husband's favorite person of the summer. I so loved meeting Mary in Denver and then having the unexpected joy of having here in my neighborhood with her children just a few weeks later. Mary is a glowingly nice combination of gentle mothering and brilliant home educating. That's one nice mom!

So there you go! Have a very nice Sunday! I'm off to swelter on the sidelines again today. Four soccer games and a football game today. Please pray about the heat index. It's exceedingly difficult to be nice when one is hot.

Point of Information

The www.4reallearning.com site is down. I'm not sure why...
Anyhoo, if you use that site as a portal to the message boards, the address to get to the message board directly is www.4real.thenetsmith.com.
And if you use it to get to the booklist, the address is http://charlottemason.tripod.com/4real_learning_booklist.htm

If you are looking for specific content from the site, I'll do what I can to dig it up around here somewhere and post it on this blog.