BIO: Seeds & Memorization

It's likely you've heard this saying before. I created the following picture for our fridge and the kids' memorization.

Love Quote Matching Game

You may recall that our homeschool curriculum for this year is all about life and as part of that, we host Biography Club once a month. At each gathering, before the students give their presentations, we play some kind of game relating to people. (We've gone through the Who cards of Smart A**, played The Name Chase Historical Figures Edition, etc.) Today, in honor of February, I created a matching game where you match a quote about love to the famous person who said it. (Before beginning, though, I went through the list of people to make sure everyone knew who the people were, or at least a little something about them. For instance, no one knew who William Goldman is off the tops of their heads, but I made sure they knew he was the author of The Princess Bride, something everyone was familiar with.)

Check it out. Play it with your family.  If you need an answer sheet, ping me in the comments.

Sarcasm--Corrupt Communication

We had a most excellent Family Home Evening lesson tonight. I have felt for some time that the communication in our family was drifting further and further from the uplifting "Love at Home" kind of talk needed and wanted, instead sinking into a muddy, swampy, stinging, biting mess of sarcasm and meanness. After a series of particularly sharp jabs by one family member that led to some tears in another, I told the family member issuing the jabs to find what the Lord's apostles have said regarding sarcasm and to share it with us during FHE.

The full article the lesson was based on, "No Corrupt Communication" by Jennifer Grace Jones, can be found here. I just want to share a few of the things that stood out most to me and/or us.

The most attention grabbing thing we learned was that the Greek root for sarcasm is sarkazein and means "to tear flesh like dogs." That really brought us all up short. One dictionary definition defines sarcasm as irony designed to "give pain." Oftentimes teens and adults alike consider sarcasm as a way to demonstrate smarts or cleverness and humor. If we all thought of sarcasm as a bestial tearing of emotional flesh that was sure to give pain, I think we'd be more careful. 

From the article:  "Parents and siblings who use sarcasm against young children often cause more damage than they ever intend. Studies show that children as young as five years old can detect sarcasm immediately. Although children discern sarcasm, they don't have the ability to understand it fully. Parents are much more proficient at using sarcasm than children and it can become a veil for undisclosed anger, annoyance, even jealousy. This unequal power changes parental sarcasm from a joke into a form of bullying." 

Jeffrey R. Holland has taught:  "Be constructive in your comments to a child--always. Never tell them, even in whimsy, that they are fat or dumb or lazy or homely. You would never do that maliciously, but they remember and may struggle for years trying to forget--and to forgive."

Also from the article:  "Eliminating hurtful sarcasm doesn't mean our homes need to be empty of humor or necessary correction. Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has taught that 'a good sense of humor helps revelation' and that it 'is an escape valve for the pressures of life.' Whereas sarcasm stems from light-mindedness where nothing is taken seriously, true humor blossoms from lightheartedness and helps cultivate beautiful, healthy family cultures."

I LOVE that comparison of light-mindedness with lightheartedness!

President Gordon B. Hinckley said:  "Everywhere is heard the snide remark, the sarcastic gibe, the cutting down of associates. Sadly, these are too often the essence of our conversation. In our homes, wives weep and children finally give up under the barrage of criticism leveled by husbands and fathers. Criticism is the forerunner of divorce, the cultivator of rebellion, sometimes a catalyst that leads to failure..."

As a reminder for my family, I've just created a couple of visuals to put up in our home. Feel free to use them in yours. And check out and share the entire article mentioned above.

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.

Soundtrack - New Page and Series of Posts

Even though I have scores of other posts started in draft form (or in my head) I'm announcing a new "series" of posts that coincide with a new page on this blog you may have noticed:  Soundtrack. 

Music is one of the greatest delights of life. It builds, lifts, comforts, motivates, inspires, thrills, moves, and more. As both a musician and a poet I have a great appreciation for (and critique of) all sorts of music. Many songs have been blessed companions throughout my life and have served as great mentors. Music is a great teacher! This series of posts is my way to share my delight in music as well as the lessons I've learned from great songs, hoping to give everyone out there some everyday inspiration.

The Search for Delicious and Other Appropriate Words

As I mentioned before, I am tying Creative Writing into our BIO year. Here is how I kicked that off.

We began our day singing "Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words" and discussed whether words have power in them, such as power to build or give life, or power to destroy. I shared the Mormonads on the worksheet below and we read the scriptures that go with each. 

A most appropriate scriptures was James 3:8-10:

"But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made of the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be."

The metaphor of a tongue being full of deadly poison fits right in. (See also verses 11-13.)  We talked about each of the pictures and their implications and then I gave them this Life-giving or Biohazardous Words Worksheet.  

Examples of some of the additional scriptures the kids found that coincide with the idea of the words we say either giving life or destroying it are:

"And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity:  so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature..." (James 3:6)

"The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life:  but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked." (Proverbs 10:11)

Amazingly, the Piano Guys released the following video the very day I wanted to talk about this, so I tied it into our discussion as well.

After talking about the affect spoken words have, I moved the discussion on to written words. I love the following quote from an old Church manual and shared it (along with using it for handwriting practice that day).

"Reading the scriptures and other good books nourishes our minds, just as good food nourishes our bodies. Books are like companions. They can lift us up or tear us down. We should read only books that will help us become better people." 

Then we talked about how we're going to do a lot with creative writing throughout the year, giving life to words and trying to write words that nourish, or give life, to our minds.

I assigned everyone to read The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbitt. I love to use this book in language studies. I think it's very clever. Suffice it to say, the creation of a dictionary helps set off an impending civil war, the dictionary entry for delicious being key to both the creation of the crisis and its resolution.

After reading and discussing the book, I had my kids close their eyes while I said a word out loud. When I said the word, I wanted them to tell me what they immediately associated that word with. For example, I said, "Christmas." One child replied, "Presents," while another said, "Cookies!" I asked if either of those answers were the definition of Christmas and, of course they weren't. We then talked about the difference between definition and connotation. In The Search for Delicious, the dictionary entries weren't so much definitions as connotations, and words used contextually in a sentence. The assignment was to create a "dictionary" written in the style of the one in The Search for Delicious, with the requirement that every sentence had to be in reference to food.

(Incidentally, if you're looking to build your children's vocabulary and need some help for your tired brain, sites like this help. It came in handy a few times for me when I created the worksheet.)

Download the entire Search for Delicious Word Worksheet.

Just like the book, none of my kids agreed on what delicious is. We had pepperoni pizza, endless crepes, a bowl of mixed fruit, and creamy mac and cheese for contenders. Here are some of my favorite sentences written by my kids:

"Aromatic is a batch of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven."

"Aromatic is a hot bowl of Jambalaya."

"Aromatic is a freshly baked pizza."

"Unnecessary is orange juice in a smoothie." (From a kids who hates OJ and hates it when I try to sneak it into smoothies!)

"Juicy is a ripe pear."

"Tart is my dad's lemon bars."  

"Lucky is when I get to have Reese's Puffs cereal," and "Unnecessary is Raisin Bran cereal," from the same child.

"Lucky is getting a doughnut for free."

"Proud is baking molten lava cake for the first time."

Another day, I read aloud one of my favorite picture books, Cookies, Bite-Size Life Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. (There are actually several sequels to this, too!) This is another book that explains meanings of words in a very creative way, through the medium of baking cookies.

Then, using the exact words "defined" in Cookies, I created a writing assignment in which these words had to be explained referencing baseball/softball.

Download the Bat-and-Ball-Sized Lessons Worksheet here.

When it comes to understanding the meaning of patience, every one of my kids referenced waiting for a good pitch. :) Here are some of my favorite sentences my kids wrote:

"Open-minded means, 'I've never bunted before but I will try it.'"

"Content means you and me cheering together for our teammates."

"Respect means to not talk back to your coach."

"Unfair means (an umpire) calling strike three at the kid's eyes."

"Cooperate means to turn a double play."

"Open-minded means to listen to your coaches."

"Trustworthy means to let your pitcher know he has defense behind him."

"Wise means to pull your pitcher out before the other team scores too many runs."

"Loyal means to always be friends with someone even if he struck out to end the championship game that you just lost."

"Respect means to not hate someone just because he's on the other team."


We also began using the Complete the Story story starters.


Here's to the power of words!

General Conference - Sorry It's Over but So Glad it Happened

THIS is how feasting on the Words of Christ should feel! When General Conference is over, I feel full, knowing I have a lot to digest, yet at the same time I'm still hungry for more because it tasted so good. I really was sad as the last session came to a close; I could have listened for several more hours. There is nothing more inspiring, comforting, motivating, reassuring, instructive, buoying, and peaceful than Conference Weekend.

I am so glad that years ago I decided to establish some traditions around General Conference. I wanted my children to look forward to it and relish it as much as I do, and they do. Over the years there have been some little adjustments as we have moved states and as technology has made it more accessible, but we treat it like the very special occasion it is.

For one thing, I want it to be a feast, both spiritually and physically. I have come to realize and appreciate that food plays a huge part in traditions and memories and in bringing and binding people together. It is a form of nurturing and the sensations involved in delicious feasting contribute to our sense of well being; we remember it long after it is over.  That said, I don't want to be stuck in the kitchen on the Sabbath, nor spending listening time doing too much cooking.

For this reason, I usually make Morning Buns, aka cinnamon and orange rolls. I can knock that out on Saturday and bake them fresh Sunday morning as we settle in for the feast. Then I lay out a simple but tasty nacho bar for the afternoon session.

My kids' other favorite tradition is to print off Conference Squares and try to get a blackout while listening. I have tried other activity/listening packs in the past, but my children weren't interested. Conference Squares is what they love. Even now, as they are older, they still have a blast getting a Bingo and listening carefully to make sure they don't miss a square. It's TRADITION!

Now that Conference is over, it's time to re-listen, read, and study the talks. I can't wait to get started! Already the internet is being filled with Conference quotes. It's interesting to see which phrases in each talk stood out to other people; sometimes I was hit with the same sentence, sometimes not, and there are other nuggets that meant more to me personally. Here are a couple of them.

There is one for every talk over at Chocolate on My Cranium and LDS Smile if you're looking for easy quotes for your fridge or mirror to begin pondering.

So, it's six more months until I get to enjoy another such blessed weekend of listening live to prophets and apostles, but I get six months to re-taste and digest this weekend's delicious feast.

"Liberty! --Electric Word!"

One of the highlights of my Independence Day this month was pure serendipity. I was reading Uncle Tom's Cabin in the car as we made our way to our 4th of July celebrations and got to the point where George and Eliza are preparing for the last leg of their journey to Canada and freedom. This passage was appropriate and electrifying:

"Their night was now far spent, and the morning star of liberty rose fair before them. Liberty!--electric word! What is it? Is there anything more in it than a name,--a rhetorical flourish? Why, men and women of America, does your heart's blood thrill at that word, for which your fathers bled, and your braver mothers were willing that their noblest and best should die?

"Is there anything in it glorious and dear for a nation, that is not also glorious and dear for a man? What is freedom to a nation, but freedom to the individuals in it? What is freedom to that young man who sits there, with his arms folded over his broad chest, the tint of African blood in his cheek, its dark fires in his eye,--what is freedom to George Harris? To your fathers, freedom was the right of a nation to be a nation. To him, it is the right of a man to be a man, and not a brute; the right to call the wife of his bosom his wife, and to protect her from lawless violence; the right to protect and educate his child; the right to have a home of his own, a religion of his own, a character of his own, unsubject to the will of another...."

 

For Mothers

I'm continuing to clean out old files and attempting to reduce the paper piles in my house. Today I came across a very old group email exchange between homeschooling mothers that I had printed off. One mom had asked, "Do you all have a favorite scripture that you have posted somewhere around the house that is especially for you as a mom, and a homeschool mom at that? I read a book recently that challenged the reader to really search for a scripture that she could commit to memory that would encourage her in her endeavor as a wife and mother...."

This same mother shared the scripture that she had found for herself:

"Wherefore be not weary in well doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great. Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days." (Doctrine & Covenants 64:33-34)

Another mother replied that she had posted the following in her house:

"And thou shalt teach them 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." (Deuteronomy 6:7)

"Material possessions, and so-called professional advantages are nothing compared to a righteous posterity. In the eternal perspective, children--not possessions, not position, not prestige--are our greatest jewels." - Ezra Taft Benson

 "Mothers, you are your children's best teacher. The Church cannot teach like you can. The school cannot. The day-care center cannot. But you can, and the Lord will sustain you. Your children will remember your teachings forever, and when they are old, they will not depart from them. They will call you blessed--their truly angel mother. Mothers, this kind of heavenly, motherly teaching takes time--lots of time. It cannot be done effectively part-time. It must be done all the time in order to save and exalt your children. This is your divine calling." -Ezra Taft Benson, To the Mothers in Zion pamphlet

Having quotes of scripture and counsel to help stay focused and moving forward is a great boost on rough and tough days, whether you collect them somewhere or post them on a bathroom mirror.

One of my personal favorite quotes, that I truly believe in and try to live by, was quoted by Elder Anderson in Conference. It is from an excellent article written by Rachel Jankovic, titled "Motherhood is a Calling."

 "Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. ... It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for."

As I've mentioned before, and as was suggested by my friend above, memorized scripture is a key source of comfort, motivation, and guidance. When things get fuzzy or frazzled, being able to mentally recall words of God that speak to your soul is invaluable.

There are two scriptures that mean a lot to me as a mother, and especially as a homeschooling mother. While I do consider myself to be an intelligent and capable woman, I recognize that I do not know everything. My love for my children has me ever searching for what I can and should do that is right for them and by them. For all the worldly wisdom out there from the countless "experts," my main source of guidance is my children's Father in Heaven.

"And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore he worketh in me to do according to his will." (Words of Mormon 1:7)

This second scripture is a powerful example to me of what is possible when the Lord is your mentor. If He can guide Nephi to build a ship--and a better one than anything anyone knew how to build at that time--then surely He can guide me to being the mother my children need, and He can do so better than the so-called parenting experts doing things after the manner of men.

"...And the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should work the timbers of the ship.

"Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me; wherefore it was not after the manner of men.

"And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things." (1 Nephi 18:1-3) 

 

I'd love to hear the scriptures, counsel, and inspiration that helps you stay a hard-working, fully invested, ever-loving mother. Post it in the comments below.

BUSY - Being Under Satan's Yoke

I found the following while going through a very old stack of papers. I have from time to time recalled this lesson when my life seems full of inconsequential busy-ness and I feel the Heavens are quiet and I am far adrift from my spiritual moorings. It's definitely something to think about.

BUSY

Satan called a worldwide convention. In his opening address to his evil angels. he said, "We can't keep the Christians from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from conservative values. But we can do something else. We can keep them from forming and intimate, abiding relationship with Christ. If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to church, let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time, so they can't gain that experience in Jesus Christ.

"This is what I want you to do, angels. Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"

"How shall we do this?" shouted his angels.

"Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life and invent unnumbered schemes to occupy their minds," he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, then borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days a week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their family fragments, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work. Over stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice.  Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive, to keep the TV, VCR. CDs and the PCs going constantly in their homes. And see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical, contradicting music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ.

"Fill their coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, sweepstakes, mail order catalogs, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services, and false hopes. Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted, and unprepared for the coming week. Don't let them go out in nature to reflect on God's wonders. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts, and movies instead.

"And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotion. Let them be involved in soul-winning, but crowd their lives with so many good causes that they have no time to seek power from Christ. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause."

It was quite a convention in the end. And the evil angels went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busy, busy, busy, and rush here and there.

Has the devil been successful at his scheme? You be the judge.

What about this definition of BUSY?

B-Being U-Under S-Satan's Y-Yoke 

I think sometimes we get mixed up. For instance, we are supposed to be "anxiously engaged," and we are warned and commanded not to be idle, but I think we can be busy and idle simultaneously, and we can be busy without being truly engaged. For instance, think of an employee who is always looking to look busy, without really having to work. You know, the guy who does a cart run even though he just did that. From my own experience, I relate to the junk mail reference listed above:  when it comes time to clean up areas in my home I often find that way too much time ends up being spent on mail and flyers and newspapers and whatever other papers are lying about. Before I know it, my time to tidy is gone and all I've done is read a bunch of junk. It's so frustrating!

All too often I am regretfully busy. I say this because there are times when a neighbor or family member or friend will say, "I would have (asked, told, talked to) you, but you're so busy I didn't want to bother you." Oh, the sting! So let's ever keep in mind that "being busy" can too often morph into "being too busy."

A few more thoughts:

"I fear that many of us rush about from day to day taking for granted the holy scriptures. We scramble to honor appointments with physicians, lawyers, and businessmen. Yet we think nothing of postponing interviews with Deity--postponing scripture study. Little wonder we develop anemic souls and lose our direction in living. How much better it would be if we planned and held sacred fifteen or twenty minutes a day for reading the scriptures. Such interviews with Deity would help us recognize his voice and enable us to receive guidance in all of our affairs." -Carlos E. Asay, 

"I've come to understand something that happened to me in my early teens. I was in a hurry when I felt, not heard, a voice, an impression, which I knew then was from God. It was close to these words: 'Someday, when you know who you really are, you will be sorry that you didn't use your time better.' I thought then that the impression was odd, since I thought I was using my time pretty well and I thought I knew who I was. Now, years later, I am beginning to know who I am - and who you are - and why we will be so sorry if we do not invest our time well...." -Henry B. Eyring

Spring!

"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow."

-Proverb-

As the sun set on winter, I was finally recovered enough from my pneumonia to take a short walk around the block. The snow was melting and I so appreciated that the smell of my first deep breaths in weeks were heavy with the delicious earthiness of dirt, emerging from its long sleep and ready for life, like me.

"It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. 

And when you've got it, you want--oh, you don't 

quite know what it is you do want, but it just

fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!"

-Mark Twain-

Sunrise on a promising spring morning in the country is invigorating, especially since I was finally able to run again--the first time this year.

“Country things are the necessary root of our life - 

and that remains true even of a rootless 

and tragically urban civilization. 

To live permanently away from the country 

is a form of slow death.” 

-Esther Meynell-

"The true sound of spring is not the robins returning

but the sound of a bat on a ball"

And the nature of spring baseball is that you can and do play in all sorts of weather--even in the snow.

"Springs greatest joy beyond a doubt

is when it brings the children out."

-Edgar Guest-

"In the spring, 

at the end of the day,

you should smell like dirt."

-Margaret Atwood-

"Our Lord hath written the promises

of the Resurrection

not in books alone

but in every leaf in springtime."

-Martin Luther-

"Spring shows what God can do

with a drab and dirty world"

-Virgil Kraft-

"Can words describe

the fragrance of the

very breath of spring?"

-Neltje Blanchan-

“Is the spring coming?" he said. "What is it like?"...

"It is the sun shining on the rain 

and the rain falling on the sunshine...” 

-Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden-

My daughter begged me to come to the window to see the rainbow. I'm so glad she did. I never tire of rainbows and always see them as a miracle despite the scientific explanations. This was probably the brightest rainbow I've ever seen, but in thinking on it it's probably because another dark storm was brewing behind it. The darker the storm, the brighter the rainbow--both out my window, and in life.

"I looked out the window,

and what did I see?

Popcorn popping on the apricot tree!"

-Georgia W. Bello-

"The flowers of tomorrow

are in the seeds of today."

So much hope in spring! Here's hoping that no freeze nor hail nor pest will destroy my apricots this year. It's been three years since we harvested any. These blossoms look promising!

"April hath put 

a spirit of youth

in everything."

-William Shakespeare

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!

Seeds

While I Was an Ugly Duckling

H.P. Paull's 1872 English translation of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Ugly Duckling" concludes with the now beautiful swan saying,

"I never dreamed of such happiness as this, 

while I was an ugly duckling."

The loneliness and heartbreak of before was gone once this creature came to know who and what he really was. I've been thinking about this today as I began a literature unit with my children on the works of Hans Christian Andersen. I can't help but correlate it to the happiness, healing, and purpose that comes when one knows, above all else, that he or she is a beloved and eternal Child of God, created in the image of Heavenly Parents, possessing a divine nature and enormous potential. That knowledge changes everything. 

I've also been considering this phrase in relation to the realm of education. "The Ugly Duckling" is in many ways autobiographical. Hans Christian was very different from those around him and was often rejected in his personal life. No one today would say that he wasn't born to write stories, yet he was miserable as a student and had difficulties in his education:  he was a poor speller, was treated badly, and educators actually discouraged him from writing. Not surprisingly, however, it was exactly those things that he was not--stiff and artificially formal in his writing like the Victorians would have demanded--that made his stories so universal and wonderful. His was a unique voice and genius. He was not the ugly duckling his educators might have believed, but a beautiful creature who, thankfully, discovered who he was, spread his wings, and soared through the stories he gave the world. How often in today's approach to children and education do we confuse ducks and swans (and hens, robins, chickadees) and shame them for what they are not and hold them back from discovering who they are? How often do we work against them instead of with them?

Of course, I can't discuss "The Ugly Duckling" without also stopping to think of how I treat others. Was there a time that I labeled someone, made assumptions at first glance? Was there a time that I only saw what was on the outside, or didn't value someone for who they are? And that brings me to a most profound quote by C.S. Lewis from The Weight of Glory that I return to again and again to remind myself to be careful, because no one should ever feel like an ugly duckling.

"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no 'ordinary' people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations -- these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit -- immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously -- no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner -- no mere tolerance or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment."

Mommy's Gonna Fly!

If you cannot relate to this Family Circus you either a) don't have children or b) have your priorities mixed up. 

A mother with a house full of children, who is seeing to their needs and who has many things to do in a day, cannot keep an immaculate house at all times--unless she cares more about a clean house than happy children, or housecleaning is the only hobby she has. I have always like the following quote:

"A clean house is a sign of a misspent life."

That doesn't mean there aren't days I'm not mortified at the state of the house when someone drops in. Once upon a time, in a different house, someone came to the front door and before leaving said, "Well, you can tell this is a homeschooling house." WHAT DID THAT MEAN?  I'll tell you what that meant:  it meant that I made sure that the next house I bought had a very different floor plan, with little to be seen from the front door! 

Messy House Rule #1:  No one ever drops in when the house is clean. I know there is a man in Washington who doesn't believe I ever clean house, because he always stopped by on the worst days. I would sigh and say, "You should have come by yesterday." 

Messy House Rule #2:  Household appliances break down only when the house is already in a state of disaster. A washer/dryer will only break when you are already swamped with laundry because you had a really busy week and you were about to catch up when...kerplunk. The dishwasher only dies when you have cooked up a storm and have no clean dishes left and they're all over the counter. 

One winter we got socked in with a snowstorm over a weekend and we'd just enjoyed playing games and watching movies and snacking, etc. We'd enjoyed being a little lazy and planned to restore order on Monday morning. It snowed and snowed Sunday evening and the house felt colder and colder and we realized that something was wrong with our boiler and we had no heat. We all slept downstairs by the wood stove that night and called our plumber the next morning. As I was outside to shovel two feet of snow out of the driveway with my husband and kids, the plumber showed up and went to work. I pushed another shovel full of snow and then shrieked, remembering the pantyhose sitting next to my laptop that I'd taken off after church when I checked my email. The plumber would walk by that, among many other things out and about from our lazy weekend, and I was horrified. I sheepishly said something to him when he was finished, apologizing for the mess. He laughed and told me that in his line of work he's seen some real messy houses and that mine has never been the worst he's seen. He further reassured me, saying, "I have kids, too, and you just can't live your life and have a clean house all the time." Whew!

I remember arriving at a Relief Society presidency meeting at the secretary's home and asking her young son where their bathroom was because my little guy needed to go. This probably five-year-old little boy said, very seriously, "Oh, you need to use my mom's bathroom. She wants the other one to stay clean for five minutes." I still laugh about that because I know exactly what went down in that house before we all began to arrive:  Mom cleaned the bathroom because the ladies were coming over and then she instructed her children to only use her personal bathroom because (she said in exasperation and exaggeration) she wanted the other one "to stay clean for five minutes" as any use by her children would undue what she'd just done.

I love how literal kids are. It makes life interesting--and it should make parents think before speaking.

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms who just can't seem to get it all done. It's okay! Let me close by sharing poem I memorized as a teenager, the message of which I believe with my whole heart.

Excuse This House

Some houses try to hide the fact

That children shelter there.

Ours boasts of it quite openly,

The signs are every where.

For smears are on the windows,

Little smudges on the doors;

I should apologize I guess

For toys strewn on the floor.

But I sat down with the children

And we played and laughed and read,

And if the doorbell doesn't shine,

Their eyes will shine instead.

For when at times I'm forced to

Choose the one job or the other,

I want to be a housewife . . .

But first I'll be a mother.

On Top of the World

This is a long post but it was a long time in the making. Our geology and geography studies continued as we moved on to a unit about mountains. We began this unit in the middle of November but with the holidays and all that goes with them there were several interruptions and so it took longer than normal to complete (and even longer afterward for me to put this post together bit by bit). I'm listing resources used as well as showing and telling most of what we did with these resources.


Informational Books
The Big Atlas of the Earth and Sea by Susanna van Rose and Anita Ganeri*
Scholastic's Everything You Need to Know About Geography Homework by Anne Zeman and Kate Kelly*

Mountains (Mapping Earthforms) by Catherine Chambers

Everest:  Reaching the World's Highest Peak (DK Discoveries)
Denali "The Highest Peak in North America (Wonders of the World)
Grand Teton National Park by David Peterson
John Muir, America's Naturalist by Thomas Locker
John Muir, My Life with Nature by Joseph Cornell

Each book was read cover to cover and then the information used for notebooking.  Books marked with * are being used throughout the whole of our geology studies.

Videos
Amazing Earth, a Discovery Channel video
Planet Earth, "Mountain" episode
Kilimanjaro:  To the Roof of Africa from the Houston Museum of Natural Science (SlingShot)

Game

"Himalaya" - a mountaineering card game involving adding meter cards to reach base camps and having equipment cards to avoid the danger cards; first to the summit wins

Music
Hymn "High on the Mountain Top"
Hymn "O Ye Mountains High"
Hymn "Our Mountain Home So Dear"
Hymn "For the Strength of the Hills" (both to sing and study and to learn on piano)
Piano Solo "Smoky Mountain Waterfall" by Martha Mier in Celebrate America! Book I
Piano Solo "Rocky Mountains" by Ted Cooper in Around the World on 88 Keys Book 1

A mountain unit study was the perfect time to introduce my kids to the poetic lyrics of John Denver, starting with "Rocky Mountain High."

Art
Possibly the coolest art project ever:  textured mountain paintings from thatartistwoman

These two are my creations. Yes, I did two, and if I'd had time I would have done more. The texture technique was addicting.

Notebooking

There were vocabulary pages in addition to the following.

The Seven Summits:  Highest mountain on each continent.

Eight Thousanders, Altitude, Snow Lines

Tree Lines, Altitude Sickness, Temples as the Mountains of the Lord

Mountain Biomes

Topographical Maps, Major Mountain Ranges in the U.S.

This fold-out "book" was about the mountain ranges in the U.S.
with maps, photos, and information such as the highest peaks in
these ranges and other interesting facts about names and places.

You can see in some of the notebooking pages that we learned about topographical maps and contour maps, and then we made relief maps of the mountains in our state. We also did a notebook page on specific mountains in our state. 

We also learned about the science and folklore of our immediate local mountains and completed a tour and activity book produced by America's Scenic Byways.

Language Arts

The majority of our Language Arts for this unit was focused on John Muir, a fascinating individual. I read a beautiful picture book to everyone:

Then everyone read on their own:

Following the reading there were writing assignments, including writing a biographical report on Muir. John Muir wrote so much himself and it is a real pleasure to read some of his very poetic observations; one assignment was to create a mountain collage with photographs and John Muir quotes. 

Another creative writing assignment took place at Christmastime after we read "Fairy Tale Christmas."  The elements of the story had to include familiar characters from books they loved and a mountain figuring prominently in the scene/plot.

Field Trips

We went into the mountains to hike and make observations of rock strata and the obvious folding and upheaval. One day we hiked from the mouth of one canyon, along the bench, to the mouth of another canyon. ("Benches" usually mark a former shoreline and wave-cut terraces in the flanks of the Wasatch Mountains.) On other hikes we identified things with vocabulary words such as foothills and scree. One particular trip to the mountains had another significant purpose, learning of the relation between prophets and mountains and revelation.

History

There is history in all the other components from the history of mountaineering to John Muir, etc.

Quotes
"The mountains are calling and I must go." -John Muir

"Be Master of your petty annoyances and conserve your energies for the big, worthwhile things. It isn't the mountain ahead that wears you out--it's the grain of sand in your shoe." -Robert Service

"Go to nature's school--the one true university." -John Muir

"People are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home, that wilderness is a necessity."

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread..."

"Climb the mountains and get good tidings. Nature's peace will flow unto you as sunshine flows into the trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while care will drop off like autumn leaves." -John Muir

"The mountains are fountains of men as well as of rivers, of glaciers, of fertile soil. The great poets, philosophers, prophets, able men, whose thoughts and deeds have moved the world, have come down from the mountains."