Last week we went on a field trip. My dear friend knows a couple who just opened up a bakery not too far from here, so we piled all the kids into her van and drove over there for the bakery's first full day of business! The kids loved looking at the treats and deciding what to choose, and we all enjoyed a little tour of their kitchen. I don't know if you know this, but Mademoiselle wants to have a bakery. And not just someday, but preferably now. She enjoyed looking at their huge fridge, oven, and mixer. We picked a few donuts and a slice of cheesecake to share, ran around a little in the sun, then headed back to town.
Our kids weren't done playing ( I mean, are they ever?) and, really, we weren't done visiting, so we ended up at the park for a picnic lunch. The kids played and ate, and I enjoyed my friend and the sunshine. So fun!
We came home to responsibilities. I did some housework as the kids got on with some schoolwork and chores.
Mads listened to some more Heidi on Librivox and did some math drills on the computer.
S.A.M. read to me and did some math drills.
All in all, a day light on the bookwork, but pretty fun and enjoyable. The balance of our schooldays have definitely shifted with the generally pleasant weather. We spend more time outdoors, working, playing, learning. We spend less time indoors, learning according to a schedule. It's still there, but much more flexible. It just seems to change this way naturally as we draw closer to summer. (So, yeah, homeschool kids still have the summer itch! So do moms.)
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1 comment:
It's just so fascinating to realize children have their adult passions or pursuits right there in embryo. So fun to hear the themes of their lives begin to emerge. Of course it's not always easy to see when our babies are still young, but then looking back SOMETIMES they've been there all along.
I liked/loved to cook when I was in mid-childhood, but I never thought of having my own bakery! I never even knew another child who did! I loved textiles and making them into things, but I never had the flare and creativity one of my granddaughters has. I thought drawing was almost magical but I never got to the point where it was self-expression. I wanted to be an author, and I did do that.
I liked to ride my bike but never thought of being in a race. I loved baseball but girls weren't allowed in Little League, so we just did neighborhood games. I loved to play my violin but I knew Helen was better than I was, and others were, so I didn't bother with it much.
Sometimes I think it's all a matter of permission from the authorities in our lives. Maybe it's encouragement but I think that's not always needed. And maybe it usurps something that is 'about me' for a parent to become the manager of it or the enabler.
No, I think it's about permission. I had permission about textiles: it was my mother's interest, which I adopted. She didn't encourage it, she just enjoyed fabric for its own sake. I also had permission about drawing but also encouragement and lessons (which I went to once, and where everyone else seemed to know what they were doing and I felt lost and never wanted to go back).
I had permission to babysit to earn money. Not explicitly from my parents to me, but because they used and paid sitters and so it was something real people did.
But I didn't have permission to make and sell lemonade (and presumably other food). It was because my mother told me the sugar was expensive and how was I going to be sure I charged enough to cover my costs? I'd say that is permission withheld.
Photography. There's a theme in our family! I bought myself a camera when I was 7. My mother had a camera.... But film and developing are expensive! I did not have permission - permission was in fact withheld - for me to use it with any abandon. I ended up putting it away. Or letting it creep to the back of the closet.
I think children, even our children, come with their own passions, or take the passion they come with and apply them uniquely to the things that are permitted in their spheres. I think that encouragement can shift the interest from being theirs to being their mom's or dad's. I think they want ownership and autonomy and not be the junior part of a team effort. (Not all the time, not for their special strengths and ideas.)
Especially fatal are flattery and promotion by a parent to others.
This embryo-sized passion will take care of itself. We can be part of it when asked. Otherwise please step aside!
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