March Craziness

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So...the beat goes on! I'm still on a crazy bracket run for family bragging rights.  But, my true delight is in the fact that I am tied for the lead in my husband's office pool.  That might not be a big deal in most households, but my husband is the director of operations at ESPN Washington.  (Shhh...that means I'm ahead of Tony Kornheiser and tied with one of Michael Wilbon's brackets. I'm ahead of the other bracket--and I only have one bracket. Wonder why he has two?;-). All that said, the only one-- here and at Mike's office-- to have all four of the Final Four is our six-year-old Nicholas.  Remember, he has his eye on someone's job...

Planning and Recording for Real

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It's been nearly a year since I Lissa launched this blog.  When Lissa first pestered me about proposed a blog, I protested.  I thought that there was no way I could find time to write here on any regular basis and still keep my "other" job as a columnist.  I just wouldn't have enough words.  Lissa told me that writing would breed more writing and that blog writing was different.  She was so right!

She also said that blogging would make me a better teacher, a better mom, maybe even a better wife. Also right.  As I organized the narrative that is always running in my head, I also organized my household and my "homeschool" (I  hate that word but it's too early this morning to find another way to express it). All was well as I blogged just enough to frame life in the heart of my home.

Then, I had a brilliant idea.  It had been suggested to me by more than one expert that I needed a way to make my children accountable to my husband for lessons.  In most homes, this could probably be accomplished with an evening conversation. Not here. My husband works erratic hours and is often gone.

Also, my inbox was filling with "how to" questions.  When did I cover such and such?  What was the toddler doing?  Who held the baby during read alouds?

So, I had this brilliant idea. I'd blog the day in detail and Dad would have a  complete picture no matter where he was or what time he checked in and all those questions would be answered. Faithful Over Little Things was born.

At first, my entries were written with an eye toward showing how we wove real learning into real life. Slowly, though, something started to change. I discovered that I could make a template of what we usually covered at the table each day and then just fill in the details. Instead of a conversation, the entry became a list. It was quicker, easier, more efficient to cut the conversation and just list what we did--just list those things that could be quantified and checked off at the end of a day.  Funny thing though (unless you're my kids, then it's not funny at all): our days were starting to look like the blog. My tapestry of learning was becoming a straight seam. The work at the table--the "just the facts ma'am" stuff--became the whole goal. There were chains at the learning room table and they were growing bigger and heavier. Yesterday, ten of us were at home and eight of us were crying (for the record, teenage boys did not cry).  I'm not a straight seam kind of person and my children aren't straight seam learners.

There is a fine line, it seems, between planning and recording for real learning and being a slave to one's plans and records. The basics need to be covered--the list-able, predictable, slightly boring basics. But they should happen in such a way that they are not the central focus of the day.

Yesterday, before the breakdown, Katie was gluing jewels to a wooden frame.

Katie: Look, Nicky, I'm doing my school. Isn't it pretty?

Nicky: That isn't school.  You're not doing real school.  If you were doing real school, it would be boring.  If you were doing real school, you'd be bored.

All would be well if the conversation ended there. I would assume that Nicholas had decided that what was happening in the large institutional building across the street was boring. But then, he held up the book on the table in front of him and

Nick: I am doing real school.

When did we start calling it "school?" How did we fall into this lifeless rut? The materials are actually quite "living." Even the methods--narration, copy work, picture study--are "living." Something subtle happened in late February and early March and it killed the joy.

When I write a column, I can raise a question, present a problem. But I have roughly 700 words to answer it or solve it.  For fourteen years, I've been wrestling with and writing about life's mysteries and nailing neat solutions in 700 words or fewer. Needless to say, I haven't tackled anything too big or broad:-). But this is not a column. I have no editor (unless you count my ten-year-old). I don't have to solve anything this morning. I'm blogging. I'm thinking in narrative. I'm working it out in my brain by getting it up on a screen. It's not neat. It's not tidy. It's not solved. But it's real.

Today, it's supposed to be eighty degrees. I got up at 5:30 this morning and bought birdseed.  The garden needs weeding.  The feeders need filling. I've promised to play basketball before lunchtime...

It's a beginning.

Meme from Denise

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My old friend Denise (old, as in since I was eleven) sent me this as an email chain. And then I saw it at Dawn's as a meme. So, I htink I'll give it a go.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 5:40 exactly.

2. Diamonds or pearls? Not much of either.  I love my pear-shaped diamond engagment ring and my grandmother's pearls. But they are all about the heart and not about the bling.

3. What was the last film you saw at the theater? Shalll I date myself and reveal how much I dislike movie theaters?  In the past sixteen years, I have seen Beauty and the Beast, The Prince of Egypt and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  That's all. Really.

4. What is your favorite TV show?  The West Wing

5. What did you have for breakfast? Tea and an egg.

6. What is your middle name? Ann

7. What is your favorite cuisine?  To cook: Italian, especially homemade pesto and perfect fresh mozarella, tomato and basil salad.

Eating out: Thai.

8. What foods do you dislike? Liver

9. What are your favorite chips? Chocolate ones, preferably Ghirardelli.

10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Steven Curtis Chapman All About Love and Faith Hill Fireflies (sings SUMMER to me--great for cleaning binges). 
11. What kind of car do you drive? A giant Ford 250 extended conversion van that seats nine and gives me anxiety every time I have to park.

12. Favorite sandwich? I can't eat bread, so that pretty much eliminates sandwiches, but the above fresh mozarella and tomato salad works for me!

13. What are characteristics you can't stand? Arrogance that prevents people from really listening and seeking to understand. Also, loudness.  Believe it or not, I like things quiet (even with nine kids here all day).

14. What are your favorite clothes? True confessions: my favorite clothes in the whole world are well broken-in, super soft jeans and a reverse-weave hoodie. Not terribly feminine or modest or anything, but you didn't ask that. If I have to actually be seen in said clothing, I love a knit skirt, low heeled boots and a cashmere sweater.

15. If you could go anywhere on vacation where would you go? Rome. I'd like to go with Mike (we never got that honeymoon). but I'd also love to go with Michael because he's the guide to art and architecture. Closer to home, I want a month at a lakeside cabin in Maine or a seaside cottage on the outer Outer Banks.

16. One random fact about myself: I clean when I'm stressed.

17. Where would you want to retire? On a small farm where my grandchildren will come frequently to visit.

18. Favorite time of day? Morning. I love quiet. I love dawn. And I love that Nicholas wakes up first and needs me to snuggle and talk and ease into the day.

19. Where were you born? Quonset Point, Rhode Island

20. What is your favorite sport to watch? Anything being played by my children.

21. Coke or Pepsi? Neither. Yuck.

22. Beavers or ducks? Ducks.

23. Are you a morning person or a night owl? I have always been a morning person; I took 8:00 classes all through college by choice.

24. Pedicure or manicure? Pedicure. A manicure lasts about three hours and then it's messed up.

25. What did you want to be when you were little? A mother and a writer. :)

26. What is your best childhood memory? Playing Little House in the woods in Chesapeake behind the Wheatons house.  Playing Barbies for hours on end at Denise's house.

27. Ever been to Africa? No, but Denise brought Africa home to her when she adopted Melvin.
28. Ever been toilet papering? Yes, with someone who grew up to bring Africa home to her;-)

29. Been in a car accident? Yes. 

30. Favorite day of the week? The Sundays when Mike is home.

31. Favorite restaurant? You mean there are choices in restaurants and I could have a preference? I don't know; I haven't had the occasion to think about it recently:-)

32. Favorite flower? Virginia bluebells (see the blog banner to understand why).

33. Favorite ice-cream? Starbucks Espresso Chip.

34. Favorite fast food restaurant? The Pho restaurant down the street.

35. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Once.

36. From whom did you get your last e-mail? 4Real Forums

37. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Pottery Barn and the Container Store. I would be clean and matching and organized.

38. Last person you went to dinner with? My husband and kids after the soccer tournament in Richmond last weekend.

39. What are you listening to right now? Hey, Julie! and Sweet Caroline. After Karoline was born, Michael made a playlist and Hey, Julie came right after Sweet Caroline (to which he made linked slideshow). Whenever she got fussy, he or Christian would pick her up and dance to that playlist. Now, whenever she's cranky, Hey, Julie quiets her. With Nicholas, it was Mozart; with Karoline, it's Fountains of Wayne. I wonder sometimes what teenage brothers are doing to her brain.

40. What is your favorite color? Pink.

41. How many tattoos do you have? Ten. Really. Got your attention didn't I?

Before I was radiated to treat Hodgkin's Disease, the doctor gave me ten different reference point tattoos with which to poistion the lead shields. Ten. Elizabeth Foss has ten tattoos. (They're pretty tiny dots that look a little like freckles;-)

42. How many people are you sending this to? I'll never know because I never check my stats!

43. What time did you finish this blog entry? Lunchtime. And yes, Molly, I just got majorly diverted from the task at hand.

44. Favorite magazine: I gave up magazines in favor blogs.

45. Coffee or tea? Tea, and lots of it.

46. Do you tan easily or burn easily? Tan.

47. Do you color your hair? Nope.

48. What was the first car you ever purchased without the help of your parents?  An absolute lemon of a Renault Encore.

49. What is your most dreaded household chore? Cleaning AROUND the toilet. Yuck! (moms of boys get it;)

Bring on the Food!

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"Karieatingmarch190001 Hmmm...she made applesauce. Smells good. Wonder why she put it in that tiny little bowl?  Who in the world would only eat a tiny little bit of applesauce?"

Karieatingmarch190005 "Why does a crowd watch every move I make? I sense something big is about to happen..."

Karieatingmarch190007 "Me?  For me?  I get to eat--for real?"

Karieatingmarch190008 "I can do this all by myself! What took y'all so long to introduce me to this wonderful experience?"Karieatingmarch190004