Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Summer = Burning Pencil Muscles/ Insuring Ideas Come to Fruition....with teenagers

    I've been filling calendars & placing  papers into my sanity keeper binder. This has been done with the notions/ideas and skill-sets in mind that I want to bring into my little school. I've been reflecting on the things that I want to see accomplished as well as guarding planning specific times for a decompressing margin. I have spent much of June & July buried in a sea of curriculum, travel guides, teaching resources, web-inars, paperwork and books.

No.  I am not done.

  Over the last few months I have heard many comments from my co-home educators about how I choose to home school...and how I spent my summer plan for it. Some are words of encouragement...others not so much.  I am okay with all of that though. You see in the last ten years I've witnessed many different ways to home educate. As the saying goes, "The only thing homeschoolers have in common is the fact that they home school". Yes we are a diverse group indeed. We are an untamed people. We are not afraid to color outside of the lines. Jeff & I  love this, we embrace it whole heartedly. Having said that, is it any wonder that we have raised two sons with enormous opinion? I know I shouldn't be surprised, but I am..every day right now. I am shocked by their intellect, vision and application. I have two teenagers who have been raised to have a voice...and boy do they use it!

  We interview our kiddos every summer in regards to the previous and up coming school years. We ask them questions such as  "what did you think of the year?". "What did you like about it"? "What changes would you like to see take place?" What would you like to add...release"? Now please don't assume they have total power over the situation. They have thoughts, desires, concerns and we want to know what they are. This is a trust building activity on both sides (parent & child). It has been a good way to get many important issues out on the table for discussion. That and a built in excuse for drinking some ice cold sweet tea with giant handfuls of frozen cheese-its (the boys), Ritz with avocado slices (me) Wheat Thins and cream cheese (J).  Um yeah anyway back to what I was saying...When they were little guys this was so cute and  they were so easy to please. As every year passes this gets harder and harder to deal with. Quite honestly as they have become teenagers I question the sanity in raising them to express their own thoughts. Haha...

  At the end of the day I am glad they are willing to talk to us, oh what color they bring to an otherwise dull world!!! You see our boys are very adventurous. I get announcements such as "Mom I want to have a sled dog team, swim with sharks or join an ethnic band and travel to exotic places". "Mom, I've decided I'm going to trek across Alaska and then sail around the United States, then settle down to train others to explore all of creation". Oh and they don't just say things like this, they embrace them whole heartedly...they live out load for sure!! In all honestly I'm glad that they can test/check and argue with authority if needed.. I'm glad they dream big. I'm glad they have creative minds. Given carte blanch I wouldn't change a thing.

  I took a break from working today to come up for air. On a whim, as I passed a cranky teenager in the hallway, I squirted him with shaving cream...I missed, go figure. Let's just say it ended with shaving cream all over the bathroom floor...we were "skating" and laughing...good times!! I will miss them terribly when they are gone. They make me smile. I am blessed to be "Mother". I know this deeply. Life may be much easier... with less bathroom mopping jobs. I will certainly have my summers back. Dare I say I may even experience stillness and quietude in serenity on a regular basis? Nah....