How to Escape Education's Death Valley

Ken Robinson continues to make so much sense.

TED - Do Schools Kill Creativity?

Just listened to this presentation and had to share the thoughts. Excellent talk by Sir Ken Robinson.

AFRICA: Akhwari--Greatest Last Place Finish Ever

Have you ever heard of John Stephen Akhwari? If not, you should find out who he is, and you should share his story with your children. Let me help you.

John Stephen Akhwari is a marathon runner from Tanzania. He was the African champion runner and he competed in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Even though Akhwari had previously beaten the man who would win the gold medal in the men's marathon that year, Akhwari is mostly known for having the worst marathon finishing time in the history of the Olympics. But really, the time isn't the important part--the finishing is. 

Here is the quote he is most famous for:

"My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 5,000 miles to finish it."

Akhwari's Olympic marathon finish is nothing short of heroic given all the circumstances and given his tenacious grit. He is an amazing example! I like everything about the following video except that at the end it categorizes Akhwari's finish as one of the "strangest." I disagree. I think it's one of the best and most inspiring.

Years later, Akhwari was called upon to be honored and participate in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, carrying the torch. Here is a good follow up article on Akhwari's life since his famous finish. 

Whether you're studying Africa, the Olympics, focusing on biographies, working on character development, or need a story for a Family Home Evening lesson on enduring to the end, John Stephen Akhwari from Mbulu, Tanzania, Africa is someone to talk about.

Imagination, Creative Freedom, and a Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz

I remember the first time I was frustrated with the way one of my children was coloring. We'd been doing a unit study on salmon and I had carefully drawn blank shapes of salmon for my kids to color, fully expecting them to color the picture the way salmon actually are. That isn't the way one of them chose to color. I had one of those split personality moments--the kind where I heard myself speaking in a tone and volume not reflective of the kind of mother or teacher I wanted to be, while simultaneously saying to myself inside my own brain, "Well, you are kind of justified. I mean, salmon are so obviously not yellow and purple," while simultaneously arguing with myself inside my own head that I don't want to stifle my children's creativity or be so rigid that learning isn't fun, while simultaneously counter arguing inside my head that this task was not meant to be especially creative, but demonstrate awareness and learning--it was science, not art. It was an exhausting two minutes. I finally calmed down, made more copies of the salmon drawing, and settled on telling my children they needed to color one the way salmon actually look in real life and then they could color one any way they wanted. 

While cleaning out a file of papers today, I came across this poem I found long ago and had forgotten about. It's definitely food for thought.

                    The Little Boy

                    by Helen E. Buckley

                    Once a little boy went to school.

                    He was quite a little boy.

                    And it was quite a big school.

                    But when the little boy

                    Found that he could to go his room

                    By walking right in from the door outside,

                    He was happy.

                    And the school did not seem 

                    Quite so big anymore.

                    One morning,

                    When the little boy had been in school awhile,

                    The teacher said:

                    "Today we are going to make a picture."

                    "Good," thought the little boy.

                    He liked to make pictures.

                    Lions and tigers,

                    Chickens and cows,

                    Trains and boats--

                    And he took out his box of crayons and he began to draw.

                    But the teacher said, "Wait!

                    "It's not the time to begin!"

                    And she waited until everyone looked ready.

                    

                    "Now," said the teacher,

                    "We are going to make flowers."

                    "Good," thought the little boy. He liked to make flowers.

                    And he began to make beautiful ones

                    With his pink and orange and blue crayons.

                     But the teacher said, "Wait!

                     "And I will show you how."

                     And it was a red flower with a green stem.

                     "There," said the teacher.

                     "Now you may begin."

                     The little boy looked at the teacher's flower.

                     Then he looked at his own flower.

                     He liked his flower better than the teacher's.

                     But he did not say this.

                     He just turned his paper over.

                     And made a flower like the teacher's.

                     It was red with a green stem.

                     On another day,

                     When the little boy had opened

                     The door from the outside all by himself,

                     The teacher said:

                     "Today we are going to make something with clay."

                     "Good," thought the little boy. 

                     He liked clay.

                     He could make all kinds of things with clay:

                     Snakes and snowmen,

                     Elephants and mice,

                     Cars and trucks--

                     And he began to pull and pinch

                     His ball of clay.

                     But the teacher said: 

                     "Wait! It's not time to begin!"

                     And she waited until everyone looked ready.

                    "Now," said the teacher.

                    "We are going to make a dish."

                    "Good," thought the little boy.

                    He liked to make dishes,

                    And he began to make some

                    That were all shapes and sizes.

                    But the teacher said, "Wait!

                    "And I will show you how."

                    And she showed everyone how to make

                    One deep dish.

                   "There," said the teacher.

                   "Now you may begin."

                   The little boy looked at the teacher's dish.

                   Then he looked at his own.

                   He liked his dishes better than the teacher's.

                   But he did not say this.

                   He just rolled his clay into a big ball again.

                   And made a dish like the teacher's.

                   It was a deep dish.

                   And pretty soon

                  The little boy learned to wait.

                   And to watch.

                   And to make things just like the teacher.

                   And pretty soon

                  He didn't make things of his own anymore.

                  Then it happened

                  That the little boy and his family

                  Moved to another house

                  In another city.

                  And the little boy

                  Had to go to another school.

                  This school was even bigger

                  Than the other.

                  And there was no door from the outside

                  Into his room.

                  He had to go up some big steps

                  To get to his room.

                  And the first day

                  He was there,

                  The teacher said:

                  "Today we are going to make a picture."

                  "Good," thought the little boy.

                  And he waited for the teacher

                  To tell him what to do.

                  But the teacher didn't say anything.

                  She just walked around the room.

                  When she came to the little boy,

                  She said, "Don't you want to make a picture?"

                  "Yes" said the little boy.

                  "What are we going to make?"

                  "I don't know until you make it," said the teacher.

                  "How shall I make it?" asked the little boy.

                  "Why, any way you like," said the teacher.

                  "And any color?" asked the little boy.

                  "Any color," said the teacher.

                  "If everyone made the same picture, 

                  And used the same colors,

                  How would I know who made what,

                  And which was which?"

                 "I don't know," said the little boy.

                 And he began to make a red flower with a green stem.

Obviously, there are times in life when precision or exactness or sameness are what is called for. Art isn't one of them. Neither is writing. Sometimes teachers think the only way to properly teach is to have children merely copy them. Because we're trying to teach, help, better, challenge, grow children into educated, capable people and, because it's our job to show them and be examples, we think our example is THE way to do it. But there is a difference between teaching technique, form, rules, etc. and dominating a mind or an outcome. We can teach that flowers have petals, pistils, stems, and leaves and let children draw their own based on a live flower. We can give guided assignments/challenges without dictating. We can demonstrate watercolors or shading or any other medium or technique and let children practice and experiment. We can observe great art and artists or great writing and writers and point out what makes it so. And we can still give children creative freedom.

Just think--what would the world be like if someone had stifled Dr. Seuss and he never created pink trees or a Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz because they just don't exist?  What would the world be like if no one ever thought outside the box? We'd have no Mary Poppins, no Star Wars, no Narnia. We'd all be huddled around campfires--not because we want to be but because we have to be. No one would be reading this blog (though maybe they aren't anyway!). We'd live dark, bleak, hard lives. It's the purple-and-yellow-salmon-colorers and the wiggly-can't-sit-still-botherers and the "I-like-mine-betterers" that do most of the inventing and problem solving in this world. 

Just think about that.

Why Art?

The next time you hear that the arts are being cut in your local schools, think of this quote. 

If you're a homeschool mom who is tempted to not make time for art or who gets frustrated with the mess of art, think of this quote.

All Quiet on the Western Front - War

The following excerpt, from Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, is full of timeless and universal insight. It should be read and pondered and remembered by all.

For me, it's all the more remarkable, provoking, and poignant that it is a discussion among the common soldiers of "the enemy." AQWF is, after all, written from the perspective of a young German soldier. (Remarque was a German veteran of WWI.)

At last the moment arrives. We stand up stiff and the Kaiser appears. We are curious to see what he looks like. He stalks along the line, and I am really rather disappointed; judging from his pictures I imagined him to be bigger and more powerfully built, and above all to have a thundering voice.

     He distributes Iron Crosses and speaks to this man and to that. Then we march off.

     Afterwards we discuss it. Tjaden says with astonishment:

     So that is the All-Highest! And everyone, bar nobody, has to stand up stiff in front of him!"...

     ..."And would a king have to stand up to an emperor?"

     None of us is quite sure about it, but we don't suppose so. They are both so exalted that standing strictly to attention is probably not insisted on.

     "What rot you do hatch out," says Kat. "The main point is that you have to stand stiff yourself."

     But Tjaden is quite fascinated. His otherwise prosy fancy is blowing bubbles. "But look," he announces, "I simply can't believe than an emperor has to go to the latrine the same as I have."

     "You can bet your boots on it."

     ...

     Tjaden disappears.

     "But what I would like to know," says Albert, "is whether there would not have been a war if the Kaiser had said No."

     "I'm sure of this much," I interject, "he was against it from the first."

     "Well, if not him alone, then perhaps if twenty or thirty people in the world had said No."

     "That's probable," I agree, "but they damned well said Yes."

     "It's queer, when one thinks about it," goes on Kropp, "we are here to protect our fatherland. And the French are over there to protect their fatherland. Now, who's in the right?"

     "Perhaps both," say I, without believing it.

     "Yes, well now," pursues Albert, and I see that he means to drive me into a corner, "but our professors and parsons and newspapers say that we are the only ones that are right, and let's hope so; --but the French professors and parsons and newspapers say that the right is on their side, what about that?"

     "That I don't know," I say, "but whichever way it is there's war all the same and every month more countries coming in."

     Tjaden reappears. He is still quite excited and again joins the conversation, wondering just how a war gets started.

     "Mostly by one country badly offending another," answers Albert with a slight air of superiority.

     "Then Tjaden pretends to be obtuse. "A country? I don't follow. A mountain in Germany cannot offend a mountain in France. Or a river, or a wood, or a field of wheat."

     "Are you really as stupid as that, or are you just pulling my leg?" growls Kropp. "I don't mean that at all. One people offends the other--"

     "Then I haven't any business here at all," replies Tjaden, "I don't feel myself offended."

     "Well, let me tell you," says Albert sourly, "it doesn't apply to tramps like you."

     "Then I can be going home right away," retorts Tjaden, and we all laugh.

     "Ach, man! he means the people as a whole, the State--" exclaims Muller.

     "State, State"--Tjaden snaps his fingers contemptuously. "Gendarmes, police, taxes, that's your State;--if that's what you are talking about, no thank you."

     "That's right," says Kat, "you've said something for once, Tjaden. State and home-country, there's a big difference.

     "But they go together," insists Kropp, "without the State there wouldn't be any home-country."

     "True, but just you consider, almost all of us are simple folk. And in France, too, the majority of men are labourers, workmen, or poor clerks. Now just why would a French blacksmith or a French shoemaker want to attack us? No, it is merely the rulers. I had never seen a Frenchman before I came here, and it will be just the same with the majority of the Frenchmen as regards us. They weren't asked about it any more than we were.

     "Then what exactly is the war for?" asks Tjaden.

     "Kat shrugs his shoulders. "There must be some people to whom the war is useful."

     "Well, I'm not one of them," grins Tjaden.

     "Not you, nor anybody else here."

     "Who are they then?" persists Tjaden. "It isn't any use to the Kaiser either. He has everything he can want already."

     "I'm not so sure about that," contradicts Kat, "he has not had a war up till now. And every full-grown emperor requires at least one war, otherwise he wouldn't become famous. You look in your school books."

     ...

     "But there are more lies told by the other side than by us," say I; "just think of those pamphlets the prisoners have on them, where it says that we eat Belgian children. The fellows who write that ought to go and hang themselves. They are the real culprits."

     Muller gets up. "Anyway, it is better that the war is here instead of in Germany. Just you take a look at the shell-holes.

     "True," assents Tjaden, "but no war at all would be better still."

The Fulness of the Earth - God's Wisdom for Ecology and Environmental Science

16 Verily I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the fulness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbeth upon the trees and walketh upon the earth;

 17 Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come of the earth, whether for food or for raiment, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards;

 18 Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart;

 19 Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul.

 20 And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion.

I love these verses of scripture! The entirety of Earth and all living things on it have always testified to me that there is a God; to read that those creations that please my eye and gladden my heart, that taste and smell so wonderful, and that strengthen and enliven me were in fact created specifically to do so confirms even more the existence and love of an Eternal Father. I further appreciate that though these things were given for these uses, freely and rightfully, we are also told--in scripture--to use judgment and not to use them with excess. These verses of scripture are the perfect way to begin ecological and/or environmental studies. 

Everywhere there are extremes in schools of thought. There are those who would have us conserve and preserve to the point of rejecting the purpose and thus the gifts of the earth freely given by the Creator, and those who would have us use and consume with no thought for the morrow. Clearly, the wise will find the middle ground. Thus it is imperative to learn the science of ecology and our environment while keeping the purposes of God's creations in mind and recognizing we have a stewardship.

Our first ecology project was to create a picture book with these verses of scripture found in Doctrine & Covenants 59:16-20. I gave each child a blank, bound book and had them find pictures to print, cut out, and tape into their books to personally illustrate the scripture. 

Happy homeschooling!

Goodly Parents Teach

I wrote the following for the 2015 round of the annual Family Proclamation Celebration over at We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice in Christ. Now that it's been several months, I'm sharing it here as well.

Copying the Declaration of Independence with quill pens.

Recently I purchased a Book of Mormon to study with the sole purpose of searching for specific guidance relating to parenting and education. I have been color coding verses according to subject and theme. I think it is significant that the most true book on Earth begins with telling us of good parents; Nephi's father taught him what he knew because he was a good parent, the converse being true that because Lehi taught his son, he was a good parent:

"I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father..." (1 Nephi 1:1)

As I studied the family of Lehi anew, and reread of their two return journeys to Jerusalem after fleeing to the wilderness, I paused to consider the reasons for these return trips. The acquisition of the Brass Plates served to preserve a language and provide a record of doctrine and commandments, both necessary for the support, teaching, sustaining and building of this family and their future generations, and also to provide the genealogy of Lehi's family. The convincing of Ishmael and his family to join Lehi's family was for the forming of the most important companionships in this life, those of marrying and making families. These two necessary trips were all about the family! From the dust of 600 BC comes the Book of Mormon version of the Proclamation on the Family.

Juxtaposing this part of the Book of Mormon with the Proclamation, I'd like to suggest what it is that is imperative for parents to teach their children.

Teach them where they come from.

• Teach your children that they are eternal beings. Teach them the Plan of Salvation and that they are children of a loving Father in Heaven.
• Teach your children their family history. More than names and dates, search and study the true life stories that are their heritage. Come to know your ancestors as real people and internalize their trials, triumphs, and testimonies.
• Keep in touch with living relatives. Be diligent in strengthening family relationships. Those who make up the members of your family are not a matter of chance.
• Teach your children the history of your nation and to be patriots. Help them recognize the Hand of God in the affairs of history.

Teach them where they are going.

• Teach them that this life is the time to prepare to meet God. Continually walk with them the path that leads back to Him.
• Demonstrate a love of learning and an appreciation for education and improvement.
• Teach your children to work.
• Teach your children to make and keep covenants both in word and by example. Take your family to the temple. Prepare them for the day when they will marry and begin families of their own. 
• Discuss family life and help your children acquire skills for homemaking and providing, as well as those for nurturing family relationships.

Teach them what you know. 

• Follow the example of Lehi and share your knowledge, your passions, your experiences, and your testimony with your children. Be interested in and an active part of your children's educations.
• Set an example of standing up for what is right. Do not underestimate yourself or your influence. Employ the skills and knowledge you've acquired to bless your children  and guard against any enemy.

Teach them language.

• Don't leave to others the responsibility you have to ensure your children are learning and literate. Read to them, read with them, have them read to you. 
• Create a home environment where record keeping is the norm. Journals, scrapbooks, letters, memoirs, even poetry and creative writing should abound.
• Teach good manners in speech and how to effectively communicate with people, being good listeners as well as strong but tempered speakers.
• Help them learn, recognize, and understand the language of the Spirit.
• Teach them to pray.

Moses counseled, "And thou shalt teach (these words) diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up" (see Deuteronomy 6:7). This means good parents are teaching all the time. 

Children are born into families. They aren't born to governments, to schools, to clubs, or even to churches. The Plan of Happiness--the blueprint for finding and achieving real, lasting happiness--is centered on the family and not any other organization or group. Therefore, the rearing and education of children is both the responsibility and privilege of parents to whom children are born. They may employ the help of others for support, but never should they give up what is both their right and their charge in the teaching of their children.

Politics, Storm Chasers, and the Bermuda Triangle

As a follow up to "Bigfoot and Other Persuasive Writing Prompts," here are a few more examples of ways to use current events, your current studies, and other "everyday" things as ways to jump start thinking, opining, writing, and leading.

Using the latest issues of Parade magazine and Scholastic News, we learned quite a few things about different careers, and/or maybe profitable hobbies, as well as tornadoes. For instance, even at 83 years old, one woman adds to her income by being a professional dog sitter ($7,895 annually). We had no idea that there are people who made a decent amount of money just for standing in line! A professional line sitter in New York charges $25 for the first hour and $10 for each additional half hour to hold your place in line for you. It ends up being $54,470 a year, just to stand in line! Of course, many other professions were represented, and there were even more that were not, which we talked a little about. Then we read about storm chasers who are actually employed by a news station to update on current conditions (rather than just chasing tornadoes on their own simply for the thrill of it). The writing prompt was to write about jobs you definitely don't want to have, and those that you do. 

The Bermuda Triangle falls into a thriller/mystery category, but it can and should also be a part of geography studies. Since we are working on world geography, both "Tornado Alley" (referenced in the storm chasing reading) and the Bermuda Triangle fall into enhancing those studies in intriguing ways, while giving us something interesting to write about. My kids had some fascinating theories on what is going on in the Bermuda Triangle.

It was all too easy to find another of this past week's writing prompts when I opened the morning newspaper to an article all about the upcoming changes to United States currency. The biggest change will be Harriet Tubman replacing Andrew Jackson on the twenty dollar bill. I read the article to my kids and then had them write their thoughts on it. I was surprised at how definite their opinions were, and I think this is a topic I'll want them to practice their expression and persuasion on.

The thing about this type of writing is that it is engaging kids in politics, whether they know it or not. Any time someone writes a letter to the editor of a newspaper, or discusses the goings on in the world, for good or bad, they are engaging in the political process. I'm hoping to help my kids learn to gather good information and come to good conclusions, to recognize that their ideas and opinions matter and that they should be engaged in shaping/changing/helping the world around them, and also to be able to express themselves to the best of their ability so that they can.

An additional benefit is the broadening of my kids' knowledge base. As I mentioned in the other post, my kids are supposed to periodically choose one of these topics to expand on in a full, polished essay. One of my boys decided to write about how he would not want to be one of the first people on Mars and why. He did some research on everything those people going will have to do to prepare as well as what they expect to be doing once there, and also the dangers along the way. At some point, I don't remember the exact context, we were discussing his findings and I mentioned that some people think that NASA faked the moon landings. All of a sudden he quoted, "We're where NASA faked the moon landings," which is a line from the film RV with Robin Williams. He smiled and said, "I never really understood that line before now." I smiled over that because even though we haven't watched that movie in months and months, that question was stored in his head and just a little bit of learning recalled it and answered it.

Detecting Beavers

I love beavers. Not only are they some of the most adorable creatures on earth, they are useful and necessary beyond measure in maintaining a healthy planet that can sustain life. Watching them work is both fascinating and inspiring; knowing that they were once nearly hunted to extinction for fashion is horrifying.

Alice Outwater's Water--A Natural History has been on my wishlist for years. I once took a class that explained the gist and some details of the book and it struck and stuck. While this book would be a good basis for a unit study in and of itself, I'm tacking it on to our U.S. History studies. That may seem odd, but in the history of this nation, from fur trapping mountain men to westward expansion with its excessive logging and buffalo hunting, to plowing the plains, etc., we find that much of what we read about is not only the story of people and a growing nation, but also a story of ecosystems and their demise.

Having just finished the chapters on beaver, I wanted to bring it all to life and not leave it as just something we read about in a book. That meant, first of all, a field trip!

We packed some sandwiches and headed to an area where beaver should be. The quest was on and we became beaver detectives.

My hopeful anticipation almost fizzled when we first arrived at our destination because there was so much water. Spring melt had this river rushing! I couldn't see how there could possibly be a beaver dam here. 

We sat and ate our lunch and I studied the area. There were a few places where the current slowed, due to islands in the river forking the water. I walked up and down the bank. One of my sons and I wondered aloud at a particular area, but we weren't sure if what we were looking at was just forest debris caught up on an obstacle. I determined that we should go to the other side of the river where we could see what was on the other side of an island and where we could also traverse farther along the bank. (And we tried not to be so loud as to disturb the lone fly fisherman that was probably wondering why in the heck these kids weren't "in school.")

On the other side of the river we found a lot of evidence of beaver! We KNEW they had to be there, somewhere.

We even found beaver scat--and a lot of it!

We knew from our reading that beavers practice coecotrophy--they eat everything twice to extract the most calories from their high-fiber diet when food supplies are low. This means they eat their poo after the first digestion, when it's a gelatinous, porridge-like substance. After the second digestion, a beaver's excrement is pretty much pure sawdust. I broke one of the discovered poo pellets open and, voila! Sawdust!

We knew we were close; there had to be a beaver lodge nearby. We retraced our steps and looked again and finally one of my kids spotted it, right next to where we'd been standing previously. The lodge was on the bank, and we'd been looking more at the water, trying to find a dam to go with it.

Another of my kids found an entrance to a beaver tunnel several feet away from the lodge.

After finding the lodge, we wanted to see what it looked like from the other side of the river. We were incredulous to find that we had been sitting directly across from it and looking right at it during our picnic. We simply hadn't noticed it because we were looking for a preconceived picture in our heads and expected the lodge to be on the water. (We later read that when the water moves too fast, beavers will put their lodge on the shore next to it.) We noted, though, that the "clump" we had previously wondered about was close to the lodge and was likely the beginnings of a dam as it was already redirecting the current and there were the beginnings of a slower wetland area on the opposite bank.

I'm so glad we didn't spot the beaver lodge right away. It was much more fun, exciting, and meaningful to look for evidence and to search for it.

Later that evening we watched PBS's Nature:  "Leave it to Beavers." It's on DVD, but it's free to stream if you have Amazon Prime. It is really good. Here is a preview:

If you want to see some seriously amateur beaver film, you can check out my post Work Like a Beaver where I philosophize a bit about beavers, families, and work, and share the video I took of a beaver family at work in Alaska.

Bigfoot and Other Persuasive Writing Prompts

Many classrooms and homeschools across the world have a point in their day where they free write in either a daily journal, or a writing notebook. Often there are writing prompts such as, "If I could travel anywhere, I would go..." or a story beginning such as, "Thunder clapped loudly as the dark figure entered the..." which the students need to finish. 

While I love creative writing, I am taking a different approach to this activity. I want my children to be able to think critically, make decisions, form opinions, and be able to express their beliefs and opinions in sound an solid ways. So, currently, our daily writing prompts are essay starters, kindling persuasive writing.

First, I share some information with my children. Every day is something different. If I come across an interesting or provocative book like the Bigfoot "autobiography" shown below, BINGO! After reading the (considerably informative yet still speculative) book, plus a few accounts of sightings from the internet, the question for the day was, "Do you believe in Bigfoot and why or why not?"

This school year we have had a subscription to Scholastic News. Each issue has articles on current events and a lot of interesting bits of information, plus a debate section. I choose the pieces I think most valuable to think about and read the article, then pose a question to write about. Examples of some of these are, "Should boys and girls attend school together, or should they be separated?" "Should students have more P.E. time?" "Would you want to be one of the first people on Mars?" "Should (a kid who has been trained) be able to climb Mount Everest?" Keep in mind that before writing my kids have heard multiple perspectives as well as some cold, hard facts and information, and they're expected to back up their positions.

I also come up with writing prompts based on our current studies and common reading and viewing. An example of this is, "Compare and contrast Andrew Jackson and Donald Trump. Are they more alike, or more different?"

After about seven writing prompts, I have my children choose one of the free write topics and write a full, researched essay to develop their thinking, researching, and writing skills.

In case you are wondering, most of my kids believe in Bigfoot. We have one, solid holdout among us.

Caucus Video Aids

Last night I attended the Republican Caucus with my 18-year-old. I have to say that it was really great to have him with me, participating in the process together and also discussing issues and observations both during and afterward. Sometimes I lament the "little years" being over and my kids growing up, but I am really loving the intelligent adults they're becoming and appreciating the grown up conversations.

We've learned a lot about government and elections in the past few months, and especially after watching several of both parties' debates, ALL of my kids are following the Primary results with interest and eagerness. I get updates of all sorts from them as they see headlines in our local paper and also the Washington Post that is automatically on their Kindles.  

So, Utah operates its electoral process with a caucus. The best way to understand a caucus is to attend one, but I did find a couple of videos to share with my kids about it. 

Also, there is a ton of comparative information on "Caucus v. Primary" on Diffen. It's a little outdated, though, as Utah isn't listed as one of the caucusing states.

Teach and involve your kids in everything you do!

Presidential Adaptation

You may recall my review of The Presidential game from about a month ago. Today we adaptated it for more players. Grabbing chips, coinage, etc. from other games, we made it a six-player (thus six-candidate) game by including the Green Party, the Constitution Party, the Libertarians, and an Independent candidate. We learned about the ideologies and goals of those parties as we played.

As I looked up information on those other "major" parties, I discovered that there are 31 nationally ranked "minor" parties, as well as regional parties, the majority of whom I'd never heard of. Even though we disagreed with most of the platforms and philosophies, it was fascinating to read about such parties as the Transhumanist Party, the Black Riders Liberation Party, and the United States Pirate Party.

In real life, of course, this country is still dominated by a two-party system, regardless of how many other political parties there are. That's unfortunate in many ways. Though our adaptation isn't likely to be a reality any time soon, it did ignite learning and discussion in addition to changing the dynamic of our game play.

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!

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.