Project: International Christmas

It has been many years since my family's Christmas Around the World unit. My oldest children were a lot younger and my youngest children weren't with us yet. (We have participated in a couple of one-day group activities of such a nature, though.) I have been wanting to revisit this unit and had planned on doing it this year, but the circumstances of rebuilding our kitchen limited the time I could personally give to it. As I was discussing some ideas with a friend, I came up with a plan. Since my children are now all mostly capable of independent research, and since I needed to be more hands off for the 10 days or so before Christmas, I gave my children the assignment of Project:  International Christmas.

Each of them was to choose a foreign country in which to study and create and give a presentation on. They could choose any country they wished, as long as it was one that celebrated Christmas. To guide them in their research and presentations I gave them this:

On Wednesday of next week you will give the family your presentation.  It needs to include the following components, and all need to be made/written/colored/created by you--not just found online and printed off.

-A map showing the location of the country in relation to the world

-A good up-close map of the country, with some details marked

-The country's flag

-A graph of some kind

-Share a native story or folk tale that is important to that country's culture

-Exports and natural resources

-Samples of traditional food

-Short biography of someone famous from that country

-Important geographical features or landmarks

-Music from that country

-Type of government

-"Merry Christmas" and some other common phrases in the native language

-Gingerbread model of a traditional or typical dwelling (we'll do these together on M or T)

-Demographic information, including religion(s)

-Christmas customs and traditions, which must include an activity for everyone to do

Before they got started, though, we kicked it all off with a field trip. First we visited a local Fair Trade gift shop with unique handcrafts from all over the world.

Checking out the musical instruments.

Nativity Needlework from Peru.

I did some Christmas shopping as well. I couldn't resist the unique items.

Then we visited other local businesses that hosted the entries for our town's Gingerbread Parade, both for fun and to get some ideas. These were my favorite. 

Back home I took every book off the shelves that could possibly help the kids with their research, stacked them all in a pile in front of them, and for a few days had them comb just the books with no Internet. After that they were free to fill in any holes with a Web search.

On December 23 we had a very full day of making our gingerbread structures, eating our International foods, and listening to each other's presentations.

My youngest chose Germany as her country to present. Her gingerbread house was a version of a common half-timbered German house. We had chocolate bars from Germany, bratwurst and sauerkraut, and we made Black Forest brownies. For the folk tale and activity part of her presentation she read a version of the Legend of the Christmas Spider and we put tinsel on our Christmas tree.

My next youngest studied Russia. He proved everyone wrong when he victoriously created a condensed graham cracker and gingerbread version of St. Basil's Cathedral, all by himself. (No one thought he could do it because he's never made a gingerbread anything before and we all thought the cathedral too complicated.) He made Piroshky and Russian Tea Cakes for our meal, and the activity he prepared was for us to make Russian Star Ornaments.

My middlest did his presentation on Greece. His gingerbread creation was the ruins of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. He had plans to make Kok, and we were looking forward to it, but as the day progressed we ran out of time (and clean dishes), so our backup was grabbing gyros and baklava from a local Greek restaurant. We'll make Kok another day.

My second oldest did his presentation on Canada. By the time he got around to making his gingerbread house, our frosting was dwindling and drying out. His creation ended up being a "cabin under construction" in the Yukon. :) For the Canadian part of our International meal he cooked Poutine.

A fun and surprising addition to all of this was that as we were preparing to make our gingerbread houses, my missionary son sent us a photo of the gingerbread house he made. I LOVE the cute gingerbread missionaries! We added this photo to our gingerbread village table.

And finally, on Christmas Eve, we enjoyed looking over a photo compilation of what children in 11 different countries leave for Santa.

Wise Men Still Seek Him

Our Christmas Presence readings continued with Pamela Kennedy's The Other Wise Man, which is a retelling of Henry Van Dyke's The Story of the Other Wise Man. (I didn't realize I was getting a retold version, but it turned out fine, especially since it made for a nice picture book. Still, I can't wait to read the original.) This is a story of a man set to travel with the other magi to find the Christ child, to present his own gifts of jewels, who ends up never actually setting eyes on Him because every time he gets close, he sees someone in desperate need and he cannot turn away. In the course of his journey he sells the jewels meant for the King in order to help the people he sees in need. At the end of his life he is disappointed that he never actually achieved finding the King, but is told that through his acts of love and service, he actually did.

The day after reading The Other Wise Man I read Carol Lynn Pearson's The Lesson to my children. The main lesson in The Lesson is that life's most important lesson is to teach us how to love. There are other things to learn, as well, and this is a good short read.

I then read some excerpts from Thomas S. Monson's "The Search for Jesus", we had a discussion of all these readings, and then we watched the video below. After that, each child made a small poster on the theme, "Wise Men Still Seek Him" for themselves, using old Christmas cards or graphics from the computer.

Rappin' with Hip Hop Angels

"Angels We Have Heard on High" has always been one of my fav, fav, favorite Christmas songs. Nothing feels better to my heart and soul than belting out some gorgeous "glorias!" I just discovered a new rap version and, believe it or not, it really is worth listening to. Even though I don't like the rap/hip-hop genre in general, I can appreciate the poetry of some of it when it's full of well-done rhyme, rhythm and reason. This is such a piece.

Further, the video really, really touched me. THIS is Christmas Presence. THIS is what it's all about. THIS is somebody coupling his talents, passions, and possessions with a desire to do good, and ACTUALLY DOING IT. 

Merry Christmas! And thanks for the example, Jamesthemormon.

A Savior is Born

I love, Love, LOVE this year's Christmas video!

Harvey Slumfenburger's Christmas Present

Harvey Slumfenburger's Christmas Present is a cute story that packs a lot of good examples in a creative way and tied into our Christmas Presence theme nicely.

The story begins on Christmas Eve as Santa is tucking his reindeer, one of whom is sick, into bed. Exhausted from his year's work and night's travels, Santa wearily climbs into bed himself, only to discover that there is still one present left in his bag. The present belongs to Harvey Slumfenburger, a very poor and very good little boy who lives on a mountain far, far away. Santa knows that he cannot let Harvey down, but he also cannot take his sick reindeer out again. He gets out of bed and the rest of the story is a journey of mishaps as Santa tries one mode of transportation after another, each by asking the next person he can find along the way to help him, only to have every plane, motorbike, ski, etc. break in crazy accidents.

Santa does finally reach Harvey's humble hut at the top of the mountain, just before morning. The book has an open ending wherein Harvey awakes, sees his present at the end of the bed, opens it... and smiles... leaving the reader to wonder what the present was.

The first lessons in this book that I love are that Santa demonstrates compassion, responsibility, determination, perseverance, and patience. He understands Harvey's situation and feels a desire to bring him joy. He's tired and feels completely spent, but he's Santa and it's his job to deliver that gift, so he just does it, even though he has his own reasons not to (sick reindeer, etc.) and to make excuses. He overcomes almost insurmountable odds and just keeps going. Many people would give up after the first, second, or third accident, but Santa keeps on going. And he never gets upset.

The second group of lessons in this story are basic generosity and helpfulness. Each person Santa asks for help--on Christmas Eve and in the middle of the night no less--are perfectly willing to use their time and resources to help Santa on his way. When disaster strikes, they are sorry they can't be of further help and offer suggestions for Santa's next journey leg.

Now, this picture book has cute illustrations and is probably supposed to be a simply charming tale of mishaps. I realize that all these lessons could very well be my own projections. Nonetheless, they are there, by example, and I see them. After reading the book aloud, I asked some leading questions to help my children see them also. Then we went to the scriptures.

There is a word that has been on my mind for months:  entreat. It was in a scripture I read that has also been on my mind for months. We went to the entry for entreat in the Topical Guide of our scriptures and focused on this:  "gentle, and easy to be entreated:  James 3:17 (Alma 7:23, Helaman 7:7)."

According to Merriam-Webster, entreat means to ask (someone) in a serious and emotional way; to make an earnest request; to plead. Synonyms include appeal, beseech, beg, implore, petition, solicit. With this in mind, we read the following scriptures and discussed how they applied to the people in the story of Harvey Slumfenburger's Christmas Present, what it all has to do with "being present" and/or giving the gift of presence, and what it all means for us.

"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." (James 3:17)

"Oh, that I could have had my days in the days when my father Nephi first came out of the land of Jerusalem, that I could have joyed with him in the promised land; then were his people easy to be entreated, firm to keep the commandments of God, and slow to be led to do iniquity; and they were quick to hearken unto the words of the Lord--" (Helaman 7:7)

"And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle, easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive." (Alma 7:23)

After all of this was a creative writing assignment. What was in the box that Santa left for Harvey? What was Harvey's Christmas present? Everyone was supposed to begin their story where the book left off, reveal what the gift was and why Harvey needed/wanted it and/or how it blessed his life.  My kids' reveals ranged from a hat and mittens to keep him warm, to a Book of Mormon to bless his whole family, to a toolkit so Harvey could work and earn money to help his family, to a slingshot that managed to shoot a rock through Santa's window far, far away. I loved this book and discussion and the writing!

Christmas Presence

Our focus for this Christmas season has been Christmas Presence. Many years ago I found Chieko Okazaki's talk-turned-booklet "Christmas Presence" in a Christmas clearance bin and found it so inspiringly instructive. Because the holidays are too often focused on Christmas presents, I pulled this out this year to use as the spine for our December devotionals. It begins:

"As an educator, I was always delighted when children would discover some of the wonderful games you can play with language in the creation of puns, and images, and literalisms--such as, 'Have you ever seen a butterfly?' 'No, but I've seen the lettuce leaf.' Or how about the games you can play with homonyms, such as horse and hoarse? I would like to share some thoughts about another pair of homonyms:  Christmas presents and Christmas presence.

"We all know about the first kind. Christmas presents come wrapped in bright paper with beg red bows on them, and we find them under the Christmas tree. The second kind is the awareness that someone else is with us--the Christmas presence of our Savior. The scriptures describe both kinds for us. The first is the present as a gift, and the scriptures refer to us laying our gifts on the altar, kings giving gifts to prophets and other kings, God accepting Abel's  gift, and the wise men presenting unto the Christ child their gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. In the second case, we find Adam and Eve hiding themselves from the presence of God, Moses coming into the presence of Pharaoh, and the commandment in Psalms to come into the presnece of the Lord with singing. It is this second kind I want to examine--the presence of the Lord, the presence of his love, the presence of his grace." 

Sister Okazaki goes on to discuss the importance of each of us giving the gift of our presence to those we love or even just come in contact with--being fully present in our interactions.

One example she uses in her book is the story of Rob's gift in Pearl S. Buck's Christmas Day in the Morning. She quotes some of it and summarizes and analyzes some of it, but later I read the full story to my children. It's a lovely story.

I gave my kids a writing assignment after reading and discussing these. They were to write about an instance or a person wherein they were given the gift of someone's presence and why it was important to them. I loved reading what they wrote! Each one wrote about someone/something vastly different from the others, but they were so meaningful and insightful.

_________________________________________________________________________________

P.S. It is really hard to find this booklet nowadays. I have found it in person only twice, both times in Christmas clearance for just 50 cents. Keep your eyes open! An internet search brings up really rare, expensive copies for sale. It's good, but I wouldn't pay $25 for it!

Life's Other Lessons

It has been a very long time since I have posted anything. That's not for lack of things to post; on the contrary, there are so many posts that I planned and wanted to share that my brain feels the high-powered pressure of being jam packed with things needing to get out so I don't have to store them cerebrally anymore. I am frustrated because many of them were things pertaining to autumn or certain days or lessons this past autumn, and I like things to get posted neatly, tidily, and in chronological order. But there hasn't been a single neat, tidy, chronological stitch in any facet of my life since September, so why should my blog be any different? 

You may recall our September disaster wherein a dishwasher leak ruined my kitchen. We are just now getting our kitchen back--went three months without one. It has been...an interesting experience. All of the real business of tearing the rest of everything out--the rest of the cabinets, flooring, etc.-- happened the day before Thanksgiving, which made for a real memory-making holiday. Getting everything put back into place wasn't the jubilee I thought it would be, either. Part of that is because we took on tiling the floor ourselves; part of that is that just because things are new, it doesn't mean they are perfect. And a house full of people living their lives makes all new things "lived in" in a hurry.

In some ways all of this was an interruption. There are definitely some plans that were waylaid. In other ways, however, we learned many lessons that couldn't and wouldn't have come any other way, and those kinds of lessons are almost always way more important than anything I might have planned. 

There were real-life applications of subjects learned:

Even a kid had to measure and draw lines for cutting the tile to fit certain places.

So glad to have an older son who was experienced
with tools and machinery from some manufacturing
and construction classes so he could cut tile.

Working together, everyone with their own responsibility, to get the job done.

We learned how to really work together as a family. If every single one of us hadn't picked up some tools and rags and whatnot and pitched in, my poor husband would probably still be laying tile. We were ALL up into the wee hours almost every night for a week, under the pressure of rented things needing to be returned and the deadline of upcoming installations. It was hard work. It wasn't fun at all. But I am so proud of how everyone just did it, and that we did it together. None of us knew much at all about tiling a floor before this, but we sure know a lot now. We also learned that things are just things. That life can be fulfilling without them, life can go on and even happily in any state, and that even in a state of complete chaos there can be peace and joy and fantastic moments that cement not just tile, but a family together.

Quick Literary Lesson from The Mansion

A few years ago, during the annual First Presidency Christmas Devotional, President Thomas S. Monson gave a talk titled, "Because He Came." In this talk, he shared the three things he traditionally reads each and every Christmas season and what they mean to him. One of the three was the story "The Mansion" written long ago by Henry Van Dyke. Though President Monson shared a brief summary of the story in his talk, I figured that if this is a story the prophet reads every year, I should at least read it once in my life.

As per usual, Deseret Book jumped on that and published a new edition of the story in its own book. This being the 100th Anniversary Edition, it contains both the original story as written by Van Dyke, and an abridged picture book version for younger children. This book is very well done, and it lends itself perfectly to a one-day lesson on what unabridged  and abridged mean. Further, it exposes children to the rich language of the original, while also bringing the meaning of the story to younger minds not yet full able to understand that language.

When I shared this with my children, I read aloud the original unabridged version first. I wanted to see if they would be able to understand and follow it before I gave them the simplified version. Every so often I paused reading and asked questions. If we came to a word we/they were unfamiliar with, we searched its meaning. Happily, they were able to follow it. Then we talked about what abridged books are and I read the picture book story. Both versions are short enough to make this an easy-to-grasp lesson in one afternoon, as opposed to reading two whole novels over the course of days or weeks to see the difference.

I will say that everyone should read Henry Van Dyke's original unabridged story. If you think that knowing the summary of this story is enough because you "get" the meaning, think again. I learned a lot from the son in this story and the dialogue between him and his father, which isn't well represented in the abridged version, or a summary. While it's important to know the moral of this story, a summary is just half a serving of the meal this story is.

EYH: Comparison Essays

EYH stands for Eat Your Homework. I am a big proponent of tying as many senses as possible into the educational experience, and raising a house full of boys has really shown me the power of food. I use food in units/lessons as often as I can. It makes an impression.

Food lends itself so well to being a great introduction to writing comparison essays. I mean, if you were to tell your kids, "Today we'll be learning how to write comparison essays," how many would get excited about that? But if you pull out tantalizing goodies to use as tools, they perk up. Don't worry, this doesn't reduce literary analysis to cheap sugar. It does give you a motivating and understandable way to introduce steps and formats from which to launch into deeper thoughts later, though.

Our first comparison exercise was with Cheese Nips and Original Cheez-Its. In addition to the obvious taste testing and the fact that they look almost the same (there are subtle differences), we studied ingredients and nutritional information, package sizes, cost, and brands. We used Venn diagrams to chart the similarities and differences. This was a case of comparing two very similar items.

Next we took to comparing three things that all have an obvious commonality--candy bars with chocolate and crisped rice--but that also differ in many ways, such as additional ingredients, shape, and texture.

After completing the Venn diagram for the candy bars, I taught them the two basic formats of comparison essays:  alternating and block.

Using our diagrams from the crackers, I walked them through a simple essay outline, point for point to show them an example. Then we tried turning it into an actual essay together. That got animated in a hurry because they didn't agree with all of my descriptions or conclusions, so we had to discuss and compromise on the actual wording. I actually loved that. It was a good use of language skills on everyone's part.

The next step was the assignment I gave them to take this lesson and write their own comparison essays on two pieces of literature they'd just read.  For my younger kids, it was to compare two Lois Lenski books of their choice, reading they've been doing with their U.S. geography studies. For my older son, I asked him to write a comparison essay on two books that have been part of his literature course--Lord of the Flies and Call of the Wild.

I actually did a similar exercise to this with my Journalism crew, and in addition to crackers had them compare Harry Potter with The Lord of the Rings and/or Disney's Tangled with Sleeping Beauty. They could either focus on comparing main characters, or villains, or plot lines, or compare all of it together. 

When we (my family) was done with this activity, one of my boys said, "We should do this experiment every week and see if we can find more differences." I don't think there are any more differences to be found, but it would be yummy to give it a try! Bottom line, though, is that thinking critically about food can teach you to think critically about literature (and anything else you may need to compare in real life decision making).

Homeward Bound

I've spent some time this past week seeking additions to my November playlist and I found a "new" song (new to me) that has my heart stirring. "Homeward Bound," written by Marta Keen Thompson, is a very powerful, very emotional, very meaningful song. I've thought so much about it, both when I'm listening to it, and when I'm not. I've listened to several different arrangements and performances, but my favorite so far is by BYU's Vocal Point combined with the All-American Boys Choir.

I think there are many messages and possible interpretations in these lyrics, all of them profound. My first thoughts were of my children and how they need to find their own missions in life and not be chained to whatever my issues or plans are. I have always been an independent person myself and I understand that urge to forge and seek and find my own way on the open road. As insanely hard as it is, it is absolutely right for my children to grow up and be who they want and need to be. This doesn't mean a severing of ties or a dissolving of the family; the road that leads away from home is not one way. 

Of course, my thoughts always turn to education, and specifically homeschooling, and how it should facilitate these higher ideals. With a son currently serving a mission and another preparing to go, the growth I see in both of them as the mature and become their own men is amazing. It is ever so hard to say goodbye, but how it would hurt them if I bound them to my pasture and didn't let them go where they needed and were supposed to go. It's both my pleasure and my pain to prepare them as best I can for whatever journeys lay ahead.

Second, I thought of the Plan of Salvation and how each of us leaves our Heavenly Home to find and fulfill our earthly missions and callings. I wonder if I leaped from my Celestial moorings with too much anticipation to look back longingly, or if I turned to wave and sigh and take a mental picture, hoping I'd get back someday.

Bryce Haymond has many other musings on the meaning of "Homeward Bound" that are worth reading and thinking about. Other meaningful musings come from those who had a hand in putting Vocal Point's arrangement and video together (see video below). In the end, I hope we are all homeward bound, metaphorically, spiritually, and in reality. This song makes me thankful for agency, for growth, for music, and for the ability to see and understand truth.

My November Playlist

We listen to a lot of music at our house. During December (and often November or even October!) Christmas music is almost constant on the stereo. We love the sounds of the season and everyone keeps rotating in their favorite CDs in the CD changer and singing along as we go about our day. The past couple of years, however, I’ve sought to create a November playlist to specifically reflect and enhance the kind of thoughts and feelings I want to have in my heart this time of year. As much as I love Christmas, I don’t want Thanksgiving overlooked.

I’d like to share some of my favorite songs for November with you. In many cases you will likely already know the song, but I’ll tell you my favorite arrangements and performers as well.

Traditional

“All Creatures of Our God and King”— Paul Cardall has a lovely, peaceful piano arrangement. I love Stephen Sharp Nelson’s percussive cello performance.  The upbeat a capella harmonies of the Eclipse 6 version are nice. And for an absolutely joyful rendition that makes one glad, electric guitar and all, check out West Coast Revival’s recording.

“For the Beauty of the Earth”—John Rutter, a brilliant British composer and conductor, has a beautiful arrangement performed by the City of London Sinfonia and the Cambridge Singers. Cantus does a stirring a capella version that is reminiscent of monastic music. John Schmidt’s piano arrangement is classically beautiful. And David Tolk combines this hymn with “Beautiful Savior” to make a happy, hopeful medley.

“All Things Bright and Beautiful” —Michael O’Brien’s recording featuring Joseph O’Brien is full of praise. John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers delight with another arrangement.

“Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”—For an instrumental version, you cannot beat the reverent but fervent longing in Paul Cardall’s arrangement.  Two good but very different a capella performances are from BYU Vocal Point and Insideout A Capella (the latter having a lot more bass).

“Simple Gifts”—This Shaker hymn is the epitome of gratitude to me. I love the Piano Guys’ reggae medley combining this and “Over the Rainbow” for a happy, thankful, feel-good song. Aaron Copland’s rousing orchestration of it as a part of his Appalachian Spring is, to be sure, more spring-y than fall-y, but it’s great music. The 5 Browns give a nice classical piano performance.  Cantus sings a fantastic a capella version.

“Shenandoah”—Not really a song of thankgiving, but I love, love this stirring traditional folk song so much, and for some reason I like it even more in November. Peter Hollens sings it so fantastically that he’s my number one pick to listen to. If you like jazz, the Julian Waterfall Pollack Trio plays a truly delightful, carefree arrangement.

Seasonal

“Thankful”—Sung by Josh Groban

“Thanksgiving”—George Winston

“Colors/Dance”—George Winston

“Before the Last Leaf Falls”—David Lanz

“Leaves on the Seine”—David Lanz

“Gratitude” by Paul Cardall is the instrumental version of his vocal “Grateful.”  “Grateful” is peppier and full of praise, while “Gratitude” is quietly reflective. I like them both.

Because

“Homeward Bound”—Written by Marta Keen Thompson and performed by BYU Vocal Point, this moving piece sounds like a traditional folk song but isn’t very old. Full of meaning and emotion, this is an amazing song.

“More Than the World”—Sung by Mindy Gledhill, this is not a Thanksgiving song per se, but it is about where happiness really comes from. The lyrics are incredibly poetic, the music perfectly compliments it, and I love it.

“Pictures at an Exhibition”—While original composer Mussorgsky is responsible for the main melody, The Piano Guys’ adapted arrangement finished what Mussorgsky started. This song is on my November playlist because it is so beautiful it makes me unspeakably thankful to be alive and able to hear.

I'm too tired to link everything.  Sorry.  But I'll add some videos of a few of these songs below. The video portions aren't much, but turn up your volume.

P.S.  I wrote most of this earlier today but didn't have time to finish and post. I had to leave for a few hours and when I got home my kids had the stereo cranked with Christmas music.  What'd I tell ya?

Autumn Art - Leaf Prints

Unable to EVER get enough of autumn leaves, I wanted to try painting leaves for prints this year. It was awesome!

It's actually a pretty simple project. 

First, obviously, collect all sorts of leaves. You want many different shapes and sizes. (Before painting, we actually did a leaf and tree identification activity as well.) You'll want to have leaves that aren't dry and brittle. 

Have large pieces of black paper for printing on. We mostly used construction paper, but I did do one on cardstock and I liked that one the best. You could use any color, but the black really makes the prints pop.

We used acrylic paint. I've seen some people use tempera, but I don't like how tempera tends to crumble after it's dried.

Paint the BACK of the leaves, coating well, but not with so much paint that you have dripping blobs or puddles. (You can paint the front, but by painting the back the veins of the leaves are more prominent.) Put your leaf painted side down on your black paper, then take a piece of scratch paper and place it over the top so that you can press down and apply pressure all over the leaf to transfer the paint and make your print.

Remove scratch paper and carefully lift your leaf.  Repaint the same leaf, or try another one.

This is one of my creations.
This one was done on cardstock.

The kid who created this didn't want to use a black background.
This kid always manages to get a smiley face into every art project.

Another child's creation.

The child who did this one wanted to paint a frame around the leaves.

Another of mine.

If something happens in the process to make the artist not like every
bit of the full paper, don't fret. You can cut out the leaves that turned
out they way you like them and glue them to a different background.

I had a couple of frames laying around so I decided to frame two of
my creations for decoration. I taped everyone else's up in the school room.

When you're finished painting, the painted leaves
make a lovely decoration, too.

Please, Mrs. Mitchell!

PLEASE, Mrs. Mitchell!  Homeschool Dennis!

Today's Dennis the Menace cartoon has me buzzing, if you can't tell. The idea that education, or life, is all about sitting still and conforming chaps my soul. There is a time and a place to be still, and children can and should learn, but being forced to sit still and stand in lines and sit still for 6-plus hours a day is abusive, plain and simple.  I can't do it, and don't know many adults who can. Why do we expect it of children? And to imply that a lack of focus is the fault of a child and not in any way the result of being in a stuffy room with 30 other children... all day... being tested, tested, tested instead of engaged in something worthwhile and interesting... at what point did simple sense escape Earth's atmosphere?  For my part, I often think and focus better when I'm... MOVING.

So I say to all the Mrs. Mitchell's out there, get your boy out of the classroom and outdoors. Don't feel badly. Edison's and Einstein's mothers were also told their sons weren't fit for school. Hallelujah that they weren't! 

The Spirit of God

It kind of feels like Christmas. That full, happy, peaceful feeling at the end of something wonderful and enriching, where you're standing at the intersection of holiday and tomorrow, blissful and still glowing but ready to cross the street to the "regular" days afterward. After a refueling, renewing weekend of General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I am always ready to go to work, at being better and doing better.

I continue to be amazed at how much Conference is filled with the Spirit of God. So much so that just a couple of chords from the organ at the Conference Center can start the tears flowing as I feel an enormously warm peace envelop me with the feeling that I am as close to "home" as I can get here on Earth--home being that Heavenly Home in the presence of my Father. There is something so powerful in the unity of the gathering of the faithful and the outpouring of  direction from prophets, seers, and revelators; try as I might I cannot find words to describe what I feel, but I know when I feel the Spirit of God.

If this isn't the sound of Heaven, I don't know what is.

Ponderize!

During the Sunday Afternoon Session of General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today, Devin G. Durrant issued a very specific challenge. Interestingly, the challenge is very similar to something I've found myself doing lately already. The challenge is to ponderize scripture. 

To ponderize is to take a verse (or selection of verses) of scripture and to ponder/memorize it for a week. 

I can testify to the benefit of doing this. I have always been a proponent of memorizing scripture. I can't possibly list every instance in which memorized scriptures coming to mind has guided and comforted me. But lately I've come to understand the blessing of really studying and pondering one verse in detail.

One day I came across a verse in my reading that struck me with great force. Mostly it's because I realized that I am not what this verse says I should be. But I knew, in reading it again and again, that I would be so much happier if I could change and I want to be the kind of person this verse describes. So for a period of time, I went to that verse again and again, day after day to read and reread, look words up in the dictionary for greater understanding, and cross reference... and to ponder. I have done a lot of pondering on this one verse and on who I am and who I want to be. Thus a verse that chastised me at first (though that's not how it's written) has become a favorite, trusted friend.

So it is with great enthusiasm that I am going to choose a new scripture tonight to print, post on my fridge, and ponderize this week.