everything there is to know about Russia

The wise-way-beyond-her-years Stephani, who is raising three young boys in Texas and telling about it in her wonderful blog Blue Yonder, recently posted this idea (which she says is inspired by Lori's Camp Creek Blog, which truly is the original font of inspiration).

It's a simple idea, but somehow I needed it pointed out to me. When your child asks you a question you can't answer, write it down.

I've been leaning on this tired phrase: "oh, that's an interesting question. We should look that up."

I was called out on that. "Mom," my son said. "You say we'll look it up but we never do."

"What was it you asked about?" I asked.

"I don't remember anymore," he sighed.

I've carried a tiny notebook and pen in my purse forever. It says email Emily or return library books Monday--stuff like that. Sometimes it catches snips of poems or essay ideas. Often it's turned over to Leah for drawings or tic-tac-toe games in a waiting moment. Why didn't I ever think to hand it to Jacob? I don't know.

So, after reading Stephani's post, I reached into my purse for this notebook and tossed it to Jacob in the backseat. "Write it down," I said, "because I really want to know that too and we'll look it up together." His reaction was all I could hope for.

Here is a partial list of my son's research topics in the last few days, written in his own words and his own tidy, purposeful handwriting.

How tall is Mt. Everest in INCHES?

What is the gas milage of a Smart Car?

Where was President Garfield when he was killed?

What do fire extinguishers let out?

Everything there is to know about Russia.

Comparing early childhood education concepts

For a long time, I've been mentally working on a comparison study of the many schools of thought on early childhood education.

And I just came across this blog and this series of posts. Wonderful. I wish I had had this information at my fingertips when my own children were preschool-aged.

Click around--such informative posts, and doesn't she have an eye for the beautiful detail?

new game around the house

My husband was in Germany last week, and he brought back with him loads of German chocolate (thank you, honey), and also an addictive game called Tantrix. Check it out.

Example of a teacher/poet who gets it

Enjoy.


Teaching Poetry to 3rd Graders

by Gary Short
from his collection "10 Moons and 13 Horses"

At recess a boy ran to me
with a pink rubber ball and asked
if I would kick it to him. He handed me the ball,
then turned and ran
and ran and ran, not turning back
until he was far out in the field.
I wasn't sure I could kick the ball
that far. But I tried,
launching a perfect and lucky kick.
The ball sailed in a beautiful arc
about eight stories high,
landed within a few feet of the 3rd grader
and took a big bounce off the hard playground dirt.
Pleased, I turned to enter the school building.
And then (I don't know where they came from
so quickly) I heard a rumbling behind me
full tilt. They were carrying pink balls and yellow balls
of different sizes, black and white checkered
soccer balls. They wanted me to kick for them.
And now this is a ritual—this is how we spend recess.
They stand in line, hand me the ball and run.
The balls rise like planets
and the 3rd graders
circle dizzily beneath the falling sky,
their arms outstretched.

Into the woods

Oh, my, I found something new and I have fallen down an internet rabbit hole, going from one site to another to learn about it.

Have you heard of a Waldkindergarten?

If you are European, I'm sure you have, as they are well-established there, especially in Denmark, Germany, and Great Britain.

Here's the concept: the children and staff work and play outdoors. They never go indoors. There is no indoors at their preschool. Whatever the weather, they are part of it. There are no toys or art supplies in the traditional sense. They use what they find in nature to build, create, and learn. They climb. They hike. When the snow is deep, they dig and sculpt. Apparently they occasionally fall into the stream while they are playing, and they are fished out, and then they carry on. By the way, the stress levels, noise levels, and illness rates are reportedly dramatically lower.

This school in Scotland is literally outdoors, always. Some schools in Germany mix it up a little--outdoors all morning, then indoors for the afternoon. A school in Brussels where this amazing blogger teaches, is more or less indoors, but they go frolicking in the woods abutting their back door every chance they get. They have, I read, a secret playground in the woods. I would lose my mind as a child--as a parent--as a teacher--to find a secret playground on my jaunts through enchanted woods.

I'm reading about these preschools after my children spent weeks indoors at their elementary school. Ice? inside. Dusting of snow? inside. Under 32 F? inside. They may not pick up a stick on their playground. They may not rearrange the mulch. There are no trees.

Maybe we are missing something essential.

Maybe there is a golden mean?

nurturing parenting in the limelight

I'm taking this quote to share with my class of teen parents today.

You may remember hearing it, but I thought I'd share this emphasis with you, too.

“For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.

"It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break; the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours.

"It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.”

from President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address, Jan 20, 2009 (italics added)