What the Reviewers Are Saying...

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I was reading reviews of Real Learning at Amazon yesterday and I found this one:

              

 

      

                Booklist in the back is worth the price of the book alone...., December 20, 2006       

      

       

      

This was one of the most refreshing reads I've experienced in a long time. This book inspired me to take my children on some nature walks and just to enjoy being with them. Treat yourself and your family by reading this book. The booklist in the back (as well as the chapter on preventing burnout) is worth the price of the book. Check out from the library first, but I guarantee you'll want to have it on the bookshelf!

What a kind review, Mary McCarthy in Minnesota! Thank you!

Now, at the risk of annoying my publisher, you don't have to buy the book to get the booklist. You can read it here. I hope it blesses you as you plan for the year ahead.

And...the list is going to change. We are revising and reorganizing before printing the second edition of Real Learning. Now, while I clean out my basement pack Michael for college, won't you take a moment to leave a comment and tell me any books you think should be included on the new, improved list and how we can organize the list to better serve you?

Writer's block

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When I first started writing a column fourteen years ago, I worried about running out of things to write. When Lissa persuaded me to blog a year ago, I still worried about the same thing.  And the advice was the same: write about what you care about; if you don't stop caring, you won't stop writing. And that is why blogging might be very light these next couple of weeks. I have lots of ideas, lots of them. But I don't care about them.

There is a box of linens in the rec room; a trunk in the foyer; he's pinned his pre-season training schedule and his fall class schedule to the refrigerator. He's moved his desktop out of his room and he's actually picked all his clothes up off the floor. He's leaving. And it's hard to care about anything else.

But the fact of the matter is, he reads this blog. He's shared his life with my readers since he was very little. And he doesn't need to know over and over again how sorry I am to see him go. So, I won't write right now, at least not nearly as much as I care.

I've been memed...

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...or perhaps this time I should say I've been 'megged (when a ballhandler intentionally passes the ball through a defenders legs, then the defender has been "nutmegged"), since I was tagged at Life in a Nutshell.

A Picture of Now, Between Past and Future.

1.a.  Describe your outfit.

An extra large T-shirt the celebrates the match between Real Madrid and Real Salt Lake last year and a pair of boxers. I just woke up.

b.  What associations does the main color invoke?

It's gray. It evokes memories of countless others gray athletic T-shirts and the boys (and men) in this house who wear them.

c.  Is there a memory associated with this outfit (or part of it)?

Sure. Mike took Patrick out to Salt Lake when Real Salt Lake hosted Real Madrid. Mike handled television for the event. Patrick went to the reception at the Governor's mansion, escorted a player on the field, attended a training session with Madrid, and met David Beckham. They got the memory. I got the T-shirt. It's a very cool shirt:-)

2.a.  Are you listening to music?

Yes. There is a tab open with the Life in a Nutshell and Megan is indoctrinating me with BNL. My baby is literally rocking out. I wish you could see video. Karoline's all about rhythm.

b.  Was this intentional?

Oh, it was very intentional on Nutmeg's part. She's on a quest to convert the world.

c.  What does the music make you remember?

That I have teenaged sons who will be very amused when they come in here, rub sleep from their eyes, and find that it's not a weird dream-- I'm listening to "Waking up to the Sound of Your Voice"--BNL from some other mom's blog.

3.a.  Describe the objects within arms' reach.

I may need to opt for a photo for this...printer, stacks of Oak Meadow manuals, the CHC catalog, every Waldorf book I own (look for a sidebar list later today),Educating the WholeHearted Child, craft books, Homeschooling with Gentleness, a St. Therese prayer card, Catholic Mosaic, stacks of catalogs, two Catholic Women's Daily Planners...I'm trying to get a vision for the coming school year.

b.  Choose one object and tell where you acquired it.

I acquired the Oak Meadow manuals on loan  from someone who weaves sunshine and candlelight into her every day...

c.  On the whole, are the objects new (memory blanks) or old (memory filled)?

I think most of them are memory filled. I've dug them out to help me remember all those things which first inspired me to educate my children with peace and gentleness.

4.a.  What room are you in?

The learning room. I'm using the only computer--I have to do this very early in the morning or I won't be able to concentrate because this room will fill with children soon.

b.  To what extent is it yours?

The room? It's not. I only pretend it is in the wee hours. I have no room of my own--maybe someday, when I am old, but then I'll import children because they make a room so much more interesting.

c.  What kind of memories will you have in the future of this room?

Well, if I could buckle down and actually plan for this year, I could write a whole post or two on that one, but I've spent the summer traveling from Denver back to Virginia to Ponte Vedra, Florida, back to Virginia and then to Long Island, New York. There's a conference expecting my attention next week. Then, maybe I can look towards creating memories at home.

5.  What were you doing before starting this post, and what would you like to do next?

Before I sat down to work on this, I was sleeping.

Next? The plan was to blog about a family reunion in New York or art at my aunt's or more seashore memories, but the grunting and tooting coming from the baby at my feet indicate that I'm going to change a diaper next.

You asked;-)!

I tag Jennifer, Jennifer, Jennifer, Jennifer, Jennifer, and Jennifer. If your name's Jennifer, even if I  didn't link, consider yourself tagged.

While I appreciate the beauty, the materials and some of the methods of Waldorf education, I am not a follower of Rudolf Steiner, his educational philosophy, or his religion. I am a practicing Catholic who is very clear in teaching the faith to her children. Please see this post for any further explanation of incorporating methods or materials that might also appear in Waldorf schools into your home. Take inspiration from what is good and what in in harmony with the true faith and leave the rest. If you can't discern, then leave it all alone.