A Few of My Favorite Things

This is one of my favorite times of year. 
Yes, I love summer weather.
Yes, I love that we aren't controlled by schedules.
Yes, I love the vacations, the cottage, the travel, the family time...
These are some of my favorite things.

But, one of my very favorite things at this time of year is seeking God's plan for Anna-Lee's schooling for the next year.

Yesterday, I sat by the lake asking God what He'd like Anna-Lee to spend her time doing next year. It is so much fun to have an idea then float into mind. 

Anna-Lee loves reading. One idea that I am now researching is to focus on different types of writing. For the first part of next year we will study writing in the form of plays as well as studying the playwrights. That of course then gets us into to all things drama. Did you know that "intermission" began in theatres when the theatre companies moved indoors and needed time to resnuff, replace and relight the candles! They used that time to start to sell food such as oranges and liquor and economically it was a boon. Intermission has remained. Fascinating!

This whole process of custom designing curriculum, custom designing the days and weeks and months is truly a joy. God surely knows our kids better than anyone, and we parents know our kids the next best. Working together, education becomes a truly beautiful process. 
One of my favorite things!

Clarinet music spilling across the lake. Another of my favorite things!

 

Eye Opening Experiences

I've heard the stories and I've met the familes, but now I have a weeks worth of experience!
What am I referring to?

School!

Anna-Lee is at a Music Day Camp for two weeks playing her clarinet in wind ensemble, band, and orchestra and she even gets to take a percussion class! She is gone from 7:45 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. each day (travel included as the school is way out in the east end). On the whole she is enjoying the experience and learning lots.

I however...

• am experiencing waking my daughter up each morning and her being so tired that on Tuesday she fell back asleep - reminds me of the Zits cartoon.
• am experiencing making her breakfast to go - she eats it in the car on the way as it's just too early for her to sit down and eat before she goes.
• am experiencing making zip lock bag lunches every morning.
• am experiencing getting things done around the house in the day and even having time for some extras.
• am experiencing having to get supper on the table as early as possible so she can go to bed on schedule.
• am experiencing homework - she's working all day and they want her to practice at night. Are you kidding me?! She needs to go swimming and get some exercise. I think homework (and school for that matter)  is the root of obesity in children!
• am experiencing a turn to prayer all day in a new area as she eats in the cafeteria with other girls in her class and is being exposed to the concept of peer pressure with people I have never met.
• Most of all I am experiencing missing the quality and quantity of time I am used to spending with my daughter.

On the other hand this is only for two weeks and she is learning lots. We are making sure we have our story times each day at the dinner hour. Instead of asking "What did you learn today?" which I am told from others is a useless questions, I ask her "What stories do you have to tell us?" and there are always lots. 

Certainly these experiences have given me a new gratitude and appreciation for our precious homeschooling way of life.

Story Time

 This summer is a new season - Anna-Lee is off to a music day camp for two weeks. She's gone from 7:30 a.m. until about 5:00 p.m. For a homeschool Mom this is a major change in lifestyle.
I miss her, but it is such a joy to have "story time" over the supper hour - and it definitely stretches to the hour (or two) as everyone has their chance to tell their stories of the day.

I believe stories are what binds hearts, families, and generations together.

Both my girls love to hear stories of family from long ago - my recollections of my Grandparent's houses, games played, school days, friends and holidays. As we spend time telling and listening to each others stories we are binding ourselves to one another more and more.

And on a precious note: each morning before Anna-Lee leaves, she slides a note of love under her sister's door for her to find when she gets up. Sweet.
 

What do you do for Fun?

How strange that I have been asked this twice in the last couple weeks, and yet I can't recall ever being asked this in my life before!

I think I don't do much that is "fun" , but I do do things that bring me a lot of joy. 
Here's a list

• homeschooling
• writing
• working as speaker coordinator for the homeschool conference
• working as Special Needs Representative
• teaching Sunday School

Those are what came to me in the first 30 seconds.

Note that all of these are work.
So, here's the thing: Work is joyful.
 Not much of it is fun (amusing, entertaining, lighthearted pleasure), but most of it is joyful.

And as a P.S. the word amusing as in amusement park etc. means without thought. "a" = without and "muse" = to consider something thoughtfully - thus literally without any thinking. 
No fun.

A Bucket or a River

I was praying for a peaceful sleep for my daughter before bed the other day as I usually do, but this time I had a picture in my mind as I prayed. Rather than a bucket of peace being dumped into her for the night, I envisioned a river that was constantly flowing filled with peace.

This image has stayed with me over the past week as I have been praying - God is constant, His love neverending, His provision eternal, His peace given not as the world gives.

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.Rev. 22:1

A Moment to Share

Anyone who knows me well, knows I love peaceful, open spaces where I can contemplate God's beauty without disturbance. Today I had that opportunity and I wanted to share it.
So, join me on a bench overlooking large quiet fields with horses romping, birds chirping, and a warm slight breeze.
God's created a very beautiful world which often I don't have time or opportunity to appreciate.

The Unexpected

Not in my wildest dreams did I ever expect my life to include a road trip with my daughter. And yet, here I was on the Via Rail Train on my way, with the Propeller Dance Company, to the Tangled Arts Festival in Toronto!

Via Rail - friendly and helpful

Wheelchair Accessible Access

Other than the train ride, I think there was not one logistical thing that went according to my expectations on this trip! But throughout the unpleasant unexpected situations shone the surprising unexpected results.

Here, in a nutshell are some examples:

• The support worker assigned to us was hospitalized a couple days before the trip.
• The Wheel Trans that was scheduled to pick us up from the train was still not there after we waited over an hour.
• The hotel's "accessible room" was inaccessible - even the manual chair of one of the company members could not fit into the bathroom - certainly my daughter's power chair could not.
• The larger suite we were assigned was equally inaccessible and the penthouse suite we were offered had stairs!

As a result of these unexpected challenges:
 The Propeller Dance Company showed me what Community is really about. 

• Immediately, we had volunteers to swap roles and we were assigned a full time support. 
• Immediately, two people got up from their dinner in the hotel restaurant to come help us walk from the train station to the hotel by taking our luggage and being that friendly face we needed when Wheel Trans didn't show up. 
• Immediately, three Propeller men came and removed furniture from the inaccessible suite to make more room for the power chair.  
• AND the hugest most significant part of all of this was that they did it cheerfully, with a sincere heart so that neither my daughter nor I felt like a burden. We were engulfed in their love as part of their team.

I would not give up one of those unexpected challenges for the unexpected blessing of that unexpected lesson.
 

The Propeller Dance Company