Reflections on Denver....

OK, I know that most of the people who read my blog teach their children at home but would you indulge me as I put on my public school teacher's hat for a moment? I always have a difficult time explaining to people what I do at my job. I teach home school kids....in a public school. I am met with blank stares. Huh?

We are trying a new model with our teen agers. It is based around the notion of One Kid at a Time. (What a novel approach, eh? They could have asked home schoolers about this one!) A man named Dennis Littky started a network of small schools that look radically different than the normal public schools. Every student has an advisor that stays with them for four years. The advisor is the person who helps the kid set up their learning plan and follow through on what they are learning. They don't have traditional classes like you normally see in a high school. Two days a week students are learning in internships and volunteer opportunities. (Still sounding familiar?) This model has been extremely effective in inner city/at risk populations. When I was in Denver at this little school of 100 kids there was not a white face in the crowd (except most of the teachers).

It was such an inspiring thing to be around these kids and their advisors. First of all, the kids are amazing! The way those kids can articulate what they are learning and why they are learning it is so cool! They are normal kids (not the best and brightest) with really (really) hard lives and they would put most of our kids to shame in the way they take ownership of their learning. They are doing deep, in-depth, real world projects that actually matter in the businesses that they serve. I saw this in Rhode Islands last year when we visited, and I saw it again in Denver last week.

Second, these advisors live and breathe these kids. They are young and sold out to what they do. They work incredibly long hours and that doesn't include the time they spend on the weekend rescuing their kids from situations that I can't even begin to imagine. It is a high burn-out job. Most advisors don't go back after making the four year loop with a group of kids. They usually don't have spouses or families because there is just not energy for both. (My little political side note is that the majority of the advisors and people who work at this job are uber-liberal in all ways. It makes me wonder where the church is in this process, but that is a whole different topic!) I'm telling you, in a different life (read-no family) I would move to Rhode Island (or Denver) and work with those kids in a heartbeat.

They literally save these kids. The statistics of how these kids do in college compared to similar demographics of kids is astounding. If anyone is interested at all I would recommend reading One Kid at a Time or The Big Picture:Education is Everyone's Business. Or, read about Dennis Littky his controversial, but interesting story Doc.

So, why do these schools concern me? Because we figure if inner cities can produce kids who are so turned on to their own learning and futures how much more can we, a school that actually has a partnership with parents, help kids to be excited about their learning. We have all the tools in place. Our students are normal kids. They don't want to work any harder than someone is going to push them. And, by this time, some of our parents are tired of pushing and are ready for an advisor to stand side by side of them and help them inspire, teach and lead. So, that is where I come in! I get to be an advisor for the 9th graders. We are in our first year of this model and it is hard work, but I see glimmers of it paying off. We don't see our kids as much as the other schools (two mornings a week) so we are trying to figure out how to make our model work to best fit our students.

I go from teaching the high school students to working with grade school kids in the afternoon. Then I work with families who are just starting out with homeschooling. It is a great variety. This is the "grown-up" work that I get to do each week. It challenges me mentally and I love the people I work with. But, to top it off my own kids get to be there with me and they are getting great science classes, PE and art, music and other extras that I don't do at home. For this season of our lives, it works perfectly!

So, to make a very long story short. That is why I went to Denver. :-)

Daily Bread

I was convicted during our communion singing time this morning while singing, "This is my daily bread...." that it is so easy for Christ to become second and certainly not as important as my "daily bread." (or coffee, or snack, or....) Because Easter is so early this year, I have not yet spent time thinking about how to approach this season. For the last two years I have given something up for Lent. I'm not yet sure what I will give up (or take up) this year. However, I know that my heart needs this desperately. The song continues to the Lord, "I'm desperate for you, I'm lost without you." I think it is coming off a time of being sick and busy, but I'm feeling the need for some serious deeper communion with my Heavenly Father. All of a sudden, I'm looking forward to the Lenten season and a time of focusing on Jesus. Anyone care to join me?

Another funny....

Seth was being a little bit bossy to his older sister, which is something he has a tendency to do.

Mommy: Seth, you do not have to be in charge.
Seth (said with a gleam in his eye): I'm just practicing for someday when I am in charge of a family someday.

I think he is taking his male leadership role seriously! :-) Perhaps I need to remind him of all the responsibilities God has for him that goes along with the job!

If only they grew up on the farm....

Annsley (after seeing a picture in a science book): Mommy, zebras poop their babies out.
Mommy (on her way to doing something else and not having time to really get into the conversation): Hmmmmm.

If we lived on a farm I would never have to explain to an almost 9 year old who has obviously never thought too deeply about the question of how babies get out of a Mommy's tummy (let alone how they get in there.) When she asks I'll be happy to explain it all to her, especially the part about them coming out. I'm hoping she puts off the part about them getting in there for a while longer.

Couch bound

OK, I feel lousy today. I'm not sure exactly what is wrong, but I'm achey and a bit sick to my stomach. So far, the kids got up, served themselves cereal for breakfast. Then they did their school while I sat here on the couch. The next thing I know they made themselves their own lunch and kept coming up to check on me to see if I needed anything. What great kids!! I am thankful that they are able to care for themselves in a pinch. It makes me all the happier to care for them most of the time!

Revisit some old friends....

For Danny's birthday this year we got him season 2 of Gilligan's Island. When was the last time you watched Gilligan's Island? I highly suggest finding a copy and watching it through the eyes of a 7 & 8 year old. They really are very funny. The kids laugh hysterically every time Gilligan botches something and crashes into the Skipper knocking him over. They think Mr and Mrs Howell are funny (mostly because their Daddy thinks they are funny-lots of pro-Republican comments :-)) Sure, they don't totally get Ginger and her ways (fortunately), but they giggle at her voice, all the same. This show ain't gonna win any acting awards, but who can forget such classic plot lines as the Russian astronauts landing on the island and head hunters coming to get them? It makes me smile to here my kids sing along to the theme song that was a classic in my day!

Why is it that kids remember every quote from something that they have only seen once? I swear they remember every line and love to quote them to me all day. Between Gilligan's Island and Looney Tunes (the other set of DVD's we own) they are walking quotes. I can handle Gilligan far better than Daffy Duck and crew, I must admit. If my son says, "What's up, Doc?" one more time.....

Good clean fun. They just don't make them like that anymore! :-) It cracks me up to think that Gilligan used to be a prime time show. I wonder how it would compete with Desperate Housewives and Friends, etc.

Okay, I'm done waxing eloquent (or not) about this subject! Have a great Tuesday, everyone!

New picture coming soon, I promise....

Somehow the picture doesn't quite fit! Here are some random thought because that is all my Nyquil-affected brain can handle right now.

• First, my trip to Denver was great despite the fact that I was really sick the whole time. The glorious time in the hotel really turned out to be coughing fits and frustration over lack of sleep. I didn't fully get to appreciate the time alone although I still enjoyed it.
• Nyquil really helps you go to sleep. Especially if the regular dose doesn't work and you just start swigging it down!
• The students I saw in the inner city Denver schools deserve a post all to themselves which I will post tomorrow or sometime soon. We learned a ton and I loved what we saw.
• I saw my very first "rap-off" at the Denver school. Very funny!
• Today I turned in my second assignment for both of my online classes. Woohoo! One more to go for each class.
• I really missed my husband and kids and it is so good to be home with them. What a joy it is to have them to come home to!
• Church was great this morning. The pastor talked about not storing up treasures where moth and rust can destroy but storing up our treasures in heaven. It was good stuff and I am looking forward to mulling it over some more.
• I love to worship in song, even when my voice won't sing the right notes because I'm sick. Great worship this morning.
• I'm looking forward to a normal slow paced week and I'm also looking forward to watching American Idol go down to the final 12. Three nights this week.

The Nyquil is causing me to stop now before I write something I really don't mean. Have a great week, everyone!

A Day in the Homeschooling Life....

Inspired by Crissy, I decided to give you a day in the life of our school. If this day were a normal Tuesday it would start with me at the gym at 6:00 AM. However, I’m sick, the kids spent the night at Grandma’s last night, and so I was treated to a morning of sleeping in!

7:30-I awake feeling like my head might explode if I’m not careful. I take drugs and coffee (not necessarily in that order) and get some reading time. What a morning treat! When I went downstairs I found a heart balloon and a card from my sweet husband.

8:30-My head feels a little better and Grandma drops the kids off. There is a tearful goodbye because Kailyn (Annsley’s best friend and cousin) has been visiting from CA and is returning home this morning.

8:35-I tell the kids we are going to be working hard today, so if they plan on doing any crying, whining, or making especially loud noises, it should be done in the next five minutes. I give them a Valentine’s treat and hugs all around. I can tell they both had extra maple syrup on their pancakes this morning and that the sugar has just kicked in. It may be a long day!

8:45-Teeth are brushed, another cup of coffee is poured and we head to the school room. I put on the Memory CD and grab the laundry to be folded. I frantically page through my copy of Well Trained Mind trying to find the section on children pushing each other, wrestling, and giggling furiously while saying their memory work. Surprisingly, I can’t find it in there. They continue regardless.

9:30-Children start to work at their desks. It is surprisingly quiet for 15 minutes. There are only 4 socks that have no match.

9:45-Annsley reminds Seth that it is her week (we alternate weeks for who gets to make any and all kid-related decisions like who gets to choose the movie, who gets to do something first, etc.) and so she gets to choose who does Rosetta first. She chooses to practice piano and Seth starts Rosetta Stone. I remind Seth not to lean back in his chair. Seth makes noises and talks his way through his Rosetta Lesson. I remind Seth not to lean back in his chair. I sit on my chair between the kids alternately cheering them on, answering questions, typing on my laptop and blowing my nose. When the kids are doing school, I am usually in here with them finding something to work on while they are working.

10:00-Annsley finishes piano and kicks Seth off the computer so she can do Rosetta and a slight scuffle ensues. I help Seth with his new song on the piano. I correct yesterday’s math assignments. Seth has to tell to me for the 1000th time which line he likes best in his piano song. I agree (for the 1000th time) that it is a cool sounding line.

10:15-I put the laundry baskets in the rooms where they belong. The kids make fun of me because I put Seth’s laundry in Annsley’s basket and vice-versa. I get the last laugh when I tell them they still have to put it away! Seth insists that I watch him as he unscrambles the word "branches" for his spelling. He has a strong need to process everything (and I mean everything) orally. I check email and Seth shows me how he used to make his letter A and how he makes it now. Seth starts his math corrections. He did yesterday’s math today so he is ahead. He starts tomorrow’s math. I teach him how to do division with a double digit divisor. He has such an amazing mathematical mind. He just gets it so intuitively.

10:40-Seth goes back to Rosetta and I remind him not to lean back in the chair. Annsley starts on her spelling and math. Seth runs to get his blanky which always seems to help him on Rosetta. (I love that his blanky still has those magic powers!) I remind Seth not to lean backwards in his chair. Annsley flashes me the I Love You sign in sign language. I have Seth put his hand over his mouth while he finishes Rosetta to remind him that he doesn’t need to make noise ALL THE TIME! I send an email to Danny telling him I love him. Seth falls backwards in his chair! Sigh!!

11:11-We stop and pray for the soldiers in Iraq. This started a couple years ago when a good friend in the reserves got called to active duty. He had told us that he had begun to notice the numbers 11-11 a lot and that was the day he was called up. So, after that whenever I saw a clock saying 11:11 we stopped and prayed for him. The kids started counting down (Mommy, 2 more minutes until we pray.) He is home safe and sound, but we still pray whenever we see that on the clock.

11:15-Seth finishes Rosetta and needs to talk about it. I set the timer for 5 minutes of silence from Seth. He has to work without making a sound. He immediately pauses the timer to ask me a question. Sigh. He makes it the rest of the way through.

11:45-I leave the room momentarily to use bathroom. As always, when I go to the bathroom, I hear footsteps running down the hall to ask me a question that just can’t wait until I’m out of the bathroom. It involved lunch.

12:00-1:00 I leave to go make lunch and the kids take a break. I listen to Invisible Man on tape while I make lunch. I’m almost done and it is overdue. I read to them over lunch since we didn’t have breakfast together today. They talk me into finishing the book. I give in!!

1:00-We work together on the Latin lesson, Bible lesson, and art lesson.

1:30 I take the kids to my Mom’s house because it is week to have a meeting. We stop by the library for a few returns (I finished Invisible Man) and pick-ups.

3:00-we have to stay at my parents a little longer than I expected because my Dad is giving the kids a little impromptu lesson on the development of the different translations of the Bible and the differences between word for word translations, and idea for idea translations. I love the influence both sets of Grandparents have in my kids’ lives.

3:30-we run to the bank so that I have some cash for my trip to Denver (I leave tomorrow).

4:00-Annsley finishes her math, Seth reads a book and finishes tomorrow’s math, I frantically realize I have no inspiration (or food) for dinner tonight. Happy Valentine’s Day, honey!

4:45-Danny comes home and I make some Teriyaki shrimp with bell peppers, onions served over rice. Don’t be impressed. Frozen shrimp. Bottled sauce. Not one of my finer culinary moments. Add a spinach salad and some oranges and voila!

6:15-The kitchen is cleaned up, Annsley is taking a shower and Seth is showing Danny what he learned in division. This is the time of day that Danny takes over and the time of day I am most thankful for him!!. He will read the Spanish Bible with the kids, read to them, play games with them, tell them stories and be with them from now until bedtime. Sometimes I join them, but often I take some quiet time. (Well, as quiet as can be with squeals of joy coming from the bedroom!)

If you made it this far, you really are bored!! Tomorrow I leave for Denver but I just found out my hotel has free internet access. Woo hoo!! I’m looking forward to some serious alone-in-a-hotel-room-time! Me, my laptop, several new books, free reign over the remote control….I’ll let you know how it goes!!

Saved by the Olympics!

Boy, did I ever watch the Olympics this weekend. I find it amazing at how fast I find myself caring about a speed skater who used to be an inline skater or a darling read headed snow boarder. I really don't find any of the sports overwhelmingly interesting, but I think that NBC et al has done a good job of finding ways to make you care. The other thing I have appreciated about NBC is that I rarely have to turn off the commercials when my kids are in the room. Sure, they play the same ones over and over, but at least they are child suitable. When we watched football I had to keep one finger on the remote the whole time.

I loved watching the Russian who was knocked down in cross country fight to catch up and get the silver. I cried with Michelle Kwan as she withdrew from the Olympics. I had to stay up late last night to watch The Flying Tomato get his gold. That kid is just too cute!! All in all, I have been enjoying watching the Olympics. Of course, if I was feeling perky, I probably wouldn't have laid around watching all that coverage, but it was a nice time filler!

I'm sick, grumble, grumble....

and what is worse is that the only books on my nightstand were Climbing Parnasus and Mendeleyev's Dream. One book is a treatise on classical education and the importance of learning Latin and Greek and the other is a book on the history of chemistry!! And I didn't feel like going to the library yesterday and it is closed today and tomorrow. (Grumble, grumble) I don't feel like reading any of the books I own, either! Grumble, grumble. Honestly, I feel like reading something by Danielle Steele or something like that. (Did I just lose half of my favorite readers?) I have come a long way in my reading pursuits, but every now and then, I just want to read something mindless. To tell the truth, I find that desire coming less and less, but in my weakened state....

I finished Climbing Parnassus last night, and perhaps someday I'll blog about my thoughts on it. I am halfway through Mendeleyev's Dream and I must confess that it is getting better as it goes. But, I have a long afternoon ahead of me I'm sure that one will be done before evening. I could start The Count of Monte Cristo, but it makes my brain hurt to think about it. Grumble, grumble.

The good news is that the fact that I have whittled my book stack down to 1 book on my nightstand means that I have been spending quite a bit of time reading. And that, is a good thing. Here's to stuffed up heads and noses!!

Taste and see...

Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
Psalm 34:8

God is good! I am tasting and rejoicing because of two pieces of news that I received today. First, one of my best friends got the news that the lump in her breast was benign. And second, friends of ours who are missionaries in Mexico told us last week that there 4 year old had leukemia. This morning we got the news that they moved her to Seattle and further tests show that is a virus that acts like leukemia, but is NOT cancer!!

The question that hovers in the back of my brain is would I be able to write the same if these situations had turned out differently? Could I still proclaim, "God is good?" I think this question has been dancing around in the back of my brain ever since reading Night (see previous post). How could someone come out of the concentration camps saying, "God is good?" Wiesel didn't. I can't pretend to have an answer to this question, but I believe when the Bible promises,

Romans 8:28-And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

I can't help but think of the scene in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe when Mr Beaver introduces the idea of Aslan to the children.
"Don't you know who is the King of the Beasts? Aslan is a lion-the lion, the great Lion."
"Ooh!" said Susan, "I thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous meeting a lion."
"That you will, dearie, and no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver, "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or just silly."
"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.
"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver, "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about being safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the king, I tell you."
(Side note, I was so glad they put that line in the movie even though they got it in the wrong place. :-))

God doesn't promise that no bad things will happen. But, he promises He will work them for our good if we love Him. This certainly doesn't answer all the questions, but I cling to the words. Today, however, I rejoice with tears of joy and a heart of happiness. Thank you, God!

Question for everyone....

Do you see a brown background or pink? I haven't had time to figure out how to change the green font yet, but, can you see the main text on the background? I find it odd that I don't always see the same thing that you all see. It makes changing my blog a bit scary. :-)

Note to self...Don't change your blog when grieving...

No actually, there is no grief here. We ate lots and lots of great food, partied with fun friends, laughed our way through a hideous halftime show, (are there any other kinds?) cheered raucously for the team and booed vociferously at the refs. A good time was had by all, and I'm still proud to be a Seahawks fan!!! It has been really fun to be a Hawks fan this year and I'm proud of them.

The good news is that you only have to look at the Valentine's theme for a couple of weeks. It didn't quite turn out like I hoped it would, but hey, I'm still learning!!

Now, what am I going to do on Sunday afternoons?

Amazing Love

I'm forgiven, because You were forsaken.
I'm accepted, You were condemned.
I'm alive and well, Your Spirit is within me
Because You died and rose again.

Amazing love, how can it be
That You, my King, would die for me?
Amazing love, I know it's true.
And it's my joy to honor You,
In all I do, I honor You!


We sung this song tonight at church. The words still move me every time I think of Jesus, giving His life for my sins! It is my joy to honor Him in all I do.

I have just a little more to say about Night...

I already know that there are few happy endings in the Nazi death camps. Even those who survived lost more than I can even begin to imagine. But, I want a happy ending. I want Wiesel to cling to God to get him through the hardest times imaginable. I want him to come through with his faith stronger because of the trials. But that doesn't happen in Night. Wiesel says, "Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my Faith forever."

I can't explain why God allowed such things to happen. I can't even fault Wiesel for rejecting God in those circumstances. Who knows what I would do in those same circumstances. I know my faith in God is what carries me through the small (and I do mean oh, so very small, in comparison) trials.

I pray I will always turn toward Him. I pray I will cling to the promises in His Word. I pray that Christ will return soon and rid the world of evil!

Thoughts on books...

"Required reading for the entire human race?" Is there such a thing? This past week I read two different books that had that claim made about them. I only agreed with one of them. One claim was made by William Kennedy, New York Times Book Review of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The other was made by, of all people, Oprah, about Night by Elie Wiesel.

And my agreement goes with.....Oprah!

Personally, I did not like One Hundred Years of Solitude. Marquez is known for masterfully weaving together the real and the imaginative, and he writes with a very Latin flavor. But, I could not get past the incestuous themes that permeated the book. Call me a prude or old fashioned, but it just grossed me out. And, I struggled keeping the characters straight (thank goodness for the family tree at the beginning of the book) because they kept reusing the same names.

Night, however, was well worth this accolade. It was horrible in its subject matter. The kind of book that caused me to weep over the ugliness that mankind is capable of. It was not an enjoyable read, but a necessary one. A man who could have written volumes on his experiences limited himself to 109 pages. But Wiesel gets across more in those pages, in his story, than if he had written 1000. Sometimes less is more. Spot on, Oprah!

To continue my theme of *light* reading I just finished The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. This book came highly recommended by some of my favorite readers so I was anxious to dig in. But, I must confess that I am not ready for this book. I have not lost someone close enough to me to need the words in this book. I know that someday I will have a need to revisit it but for now, thank God, I can not truly relate.

OK, I am ready for some fun reading. Unfortunately, I'm still 56th on the waiting list for the new Sue Grafton mystery. She's up to S, now. I'm in the mood for a good Grafton read right now.

A great football joke....(or is it a joke?)

Thanks Patty, for the laugh I got from this one! I can't imagine why she thought I would like it!

Just in case you haven't been paying attention to the news.....
Terry Bradshaw, after living a full life, died. When he got to heaven, God was showing him around. They came to a modest little house with a faded Steelers flag in the window. "This house is yours for eternity, Terry." said God. "This is very special; not everyone gets a house up here."

Bradshaw felt special, indeed, and walked up to his house. On his way up the porch, he noticed another house just around the corner. It was a 3 story mansion with a blue and white sidewalk, a 50 foot tall flag pole with an enormous SEAHAWKS flag, and in every window was a blue Towel.

Bradshaw looked at God and said, "God, I'm not trying to be ungrateful, but I have a question. I was an all-pro quarterback, I hold many NFL records, and I even went to the Hall of Fame."
God said, "So, what's your point Bradshaw?"
"Well, why does Matt Hasselbeck get a better house than me?"

God chuckled, and said, "Terry, that's not Matt's house, it's mine.