Category — School

I’ve been kind of quiet on my blog lately, but have blogged plenty of posts in my head over the past week or so.  I guess it’s time to put something down on “paper”, so I’ll do it in the form of a rambling update.

~Life has been extremely hectic around here lately.  Jared is in crunch time for school, and that always makes things fun.  Actually, it makes me feel like pulling my hair out and screaming.  But, we’re making it through.

~I’m officially into the second trimester of pregnancy.  This is especially comforting, considering the scare we had a couple of months ago.  I really, really need to get back into my swim routine at the Y.  My most recent excuse has been that I need to shave my legs, and therefore I can’t go.  I do not like to shave during the winter, or when I’m pregnant, so it’s a pretty sad combination right now.  I did break out the razor tonight, so no more excuses for now.  It’s pretty sad when it takes 10 minutes to shave ONE leg.  So, so sad.  Thankfully, Jared doesn’t mind.  At least, that’s what he says.

~A couple of weeks ago, I was 99.9% sure that we were going to put Gage into public school in January.  It was going to be a little experiment to see how he would do and to give me a much needed break until I picked up homeschooling again after our move this summer.  I was feeling extremely overwhelmed because it had become more and more obvious over this past semester that the way we do school around here was going to have to change drastically.  I was not feeling like I had it in me to make the changes necessary.  After talking to Gage about it, my mind changed.  He wants to be homeschooled and became tearful when we told him about our thoughts.  He is so tenderhearted, and so my heart quickly melted and I somehow felt the strength once again to plug through this.  We implemented some major changes the next week, allowing him to start school on his own (he began at 6:30 every day!), and things have gone really well so far.

~Many of you know that we seem to have skipped the “terrible two’s” with our 3 year old Shea.  He has always been so easy and sweet.  Very compliant and easy to handle.  Lately, he has learned how to throw tantrums and how to demand things from his big brother.  Apparently, he is just a late bloomer in this area.  He’s still oh so sweet.  But, he is a NORMAL 3 year old, without a doubt.

~On a heavier note, Gage began asking detailed questions about his biological father a few nights ago.  In the past, his questions have been very brief and the mood light.  He has quickly moved on to other things.  This time, it felt heavy and difficult.  It became an hour long conversation and the questions were detailed.  It just seems too heavy for a 9 year old’s heart, and yet he asked, and we felt we had to answer honestly.    It broke my heart, but also filled me with joy as I was able to tell him of God’s protection over him.  He was able to hear, once again, of how his Daddy entered his life when he was 2 years old and chose to be his father.  Jared was able to tell him of going to the courthouse to get a new birth certificate because  “I chose to be your Daddy and will always be your Daddy.”  It was heart wrenching to see my son sad over the fact that his biological father lost so much.  My prayer is that as he grows older, Gage will be able to see the way God protected him and hand-picked a Daddy for him.  I would also be so bold as to pray that he will one day meet his biological father (years from now) and that he will be a changed man, delivered from an addiction that stole so much from him.  I told Gage to pray for “the man that used to be his Dad”, and I believe he will.

~I’m beginning to understand why I have been so tired lately.  Phew! I need to go to bed now.  Oh, yeah.  First I have to get Gage’s folder ready so that he can start school as the sun rises.  The kid is crazy, if you ask me.  But, it’s working, so I’m going with it.

Jared spent yesterday afternoon with the boys and I went to Panera to brainstorm ideas for school with Gage next year. I know this man loves me because he agreed to go to the parent program at VBS with Gage (and Shea) while I did my own thing. I’m sure he was one of the few Dads present. Anyway, I went to Panera, ate lunch, and then read from the most valuable book on my bookshelf, “The Edison Trait”.

This book, written by a psychologist named Lucy Jo Palladino has been an absolute life-saver for me. I found it a couple of years ago and it has encouraged me and given me fresh ideas in schooling Gage like no other book I’ve found. The reason for this is because the child she describes in the book is our child. For years, Gage and I have struggled, and this book explains it all. He is a divergent thinker. He thinks outside of the box.

I actually consider both Jared and I to be divergent thinkers, so you’d think that raising a divergent thinker wouldn’t be so challenging. We are constantly re-evaluating and coming up with new ideas to make things easier on all of us. I guess that’s where our divergent thinking comes in handy. Gage and I would have killed each other by now if I were not able to think outside of the box!

Here’s what the author says about the Edison trait:

“All children are imaginative and enjoy make-believe, but children who have the Edison trait live even closer to their imaginations. It is their lifeblood.”

“When the Edison trait child is intrinsically motivated, he has formidable mental power. If he is working on a project that is his own brainstorm, he is determined, tenacious, and persevering. As if by magic, he can work for hours involved in what he is doing. He finds ways to overcome barriers; his passion sees him through.” This is Gage in a nutshell. When he wants to get something done, he will find a way. I admire this.

According to the author there are different classifications of Edison trait children, and Gage most definitely fits into the the “dynamo” and “discoverer” categories. Here are some quotes about the “dynamo” and “discoverer”:

“Dynamos need new forms of stimulation at a fairly rapid rate. This can rattle the parent who wants to see his child make a commitment and stay with it.”

“The distinguishing feature of the dynamo is his boundless physical energy. Dynamos keep their bodies in motion one way or another, almost all the time. They walk, run, skip, kick, climb, jump, bounce, leap, bound, pounce, bolt, dash, race, sprint, dive, swim, splash, and fly. Dynamos act with gusto and zest. They are risk-takers and dare-devils. And, they are constantly entertaining. Life in their company is never dull.”

“Discoverers have to find things out for themselves and do things their own way.” Oh, yes! This is my Gage!

“In the past, your Edison-trait child has tried to use the same kind of switch he sees others use, but to no avail. He senses that he doesn’t operate the same way. He has a different configuration. Problems start getting solved when you work from his blueprints, not yours. You empower him to figure out his own circuitry, and the rules and methods to turn his lights on.”

Palladino says that every Edison-trait kid needs an adult who understands and believes in them. I hope that Gage will be able to say one day that his parents understood and believed in him. He is worth the time it takes to understand. I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world, even though I act like I would sometimes!

The boys and I went on a bike ride/nature walk today, exploring a new area.  Gage had been, but I had not, and so we made our way over to a neat little area with grassy fields, a pond, creek, and horses in the distance.  What else could you ask for, right?  It was gorgeous, but I had a hard time completely enjoying our time because a good portion of our outing was spent trying to rein Gage back in.  He had all kinds of ideas of what we should do.  Most of his ideas included maneuvering through heavy brush and steep, jagged hills overlooking the creek.  This would have been fine with me, had we not been toting along Shea (he’s 2).  When Gage gets an idea in his head, it is extremely hard to turn his mind.  He becomes frantic, running around in circles, eyes spinning, trying to find a way to make his idea come to fruition.  In many situations, he figures out a way, but in this one, I was not going to back down.  As a result, what could have been an extremely enjoyable outing  exploring on a Spring day, turned into a half-way pleasant outing in which I came home with a tense neck and the beginning of  a headache.  Later, as I left him here to finish his schoolwork while I ran to Wal-Mart (Jared was here in his office and Shea was napping) I told him to finish his work and completely clean off the table.  This is what I found when I came home:

And the table was cleaned off completely.

For those of you familiar with the area, this is a picture of the shed beside the retreat center on campus.  Gage drew this for his nature notebook after our little outing today.

This kid’s intensity can be wearing, but his sweetness and uniqueness make it all worth it.

I’m reading “The Hiding Place”, by Corrie Ten Boom to Gage, and yesterday as I read, I found myself fighting back a floodgate of tears. We were reading about Corrie’s mom during her time of illness and as her mom’s character came through in the words we were reading, I was reminded of how amazing my own Mom is. I have no doubt that if my Mom were in the same situation as Corrie’s, she would be doing the same thing. Here are Corrie Ten Boom’s words:

(Her Mom suffered a stroke, and as a result could only speak 3 words: “Yes”, “No”, and “Corrie”.)

“To communicate, she and I invented a little game, something like twenty questions. ‘Corrie,’ she would say. ‘What is it, Mama? You’re thinking of someone!’ ‘Yes.’

‘Someone in the family?’

‘No.’

‘Somebody you saw on the street?’

‘Yes.’

‘Was it an old friend?’

‘Yes.’

‘A man?’

‘No.’

‘Mama, I’ll bet it’s someone’s birthday!’ And I would call out names until I heard her delighted, ‘Yes!’ Then I would write a little note saying that Mama had seen the person and wished her a happy birthday. At the close I always put the pen in her stiffened fingers so she could sign it. An angular scrawl was all that was left of her beautiful curling signature, but it was soon recognized and loved all over Haarlem. It was astonishing, really, the quality of life she was able to lead in that crippled body, and watching her during the three years of her paralysis, I made another discovery about love.

Mama’s love had always been the kind that acted itself out with soup pot and sewing basket. But now that these things were taken away, the love seemed as whole as before. She sat in her chair at the window and loved us. She loved the people she saw in the street-and beyond: her love took in the city, the land of Holland, the world. And so I learned that love is larger than the walls which shut it in.”

As a homeschooler, I get to enjoy having people in public ask me questions like, “So, I guess he hasn’t started school yet?” or “So, is school out today?”  When I respond that we homeschool, I usually get the “Oh, okay”, with a nod and then a really awkward silence, along with a sympathetic look toward my child that seems to say, “I’m so sorry your mom is keeping you at home and not letting you socialize with all the other kids.”  I guess I am exaggerating a little bit.  This doesn’t happen every single time, but it does happen often.  Well, today was just great.  We were at the park around 11:00 and there was a mom there with her two daughters, both under the age of 5.  We started talking and she said, “So, has school not started back for your son?”  I told her that we homeschool and then Gage looked at her and said, “Yeah, this is school for me.”  Oh my gosh!  Talk about having to swallow your pride!  I wanted to rattle off to her all that Gage has already learned in just a week of officially “doing school”.  But, I simply told her that we do school in the afternoons and left it at that.  Ughhhh!  We got into the car soon after that and I tried to explain to Gage that his answer was not the best one to give in such a circumstance.  Oh, well.  Another chance for me to practice not worrying about what others think.  Not always easy!

Well, we’ve started back with school this week, and Jared will attend his first class of the semester tomorrow morning. I’m even taking a class. A study on the book of Hebrews. I’m excited for a few reasons. First of all, our pastor has been preaching through the book of Hebrews. And, secondly, because this class is supposed to teach us how to study the bible. That is key for me. I need it desperately. A friend of mine took a class on the book of John from the same professor, and she felt equipped by the end of the class to lead a study, based on all the tools she learned.

As far as school with Gage goes, I’ve reworked our schedule this semester, and I’m really excited about it. I ACTUALLY PLANNED and came up with a schedule! A few weeks ago, I went to Panera for 4 hours and made up 2 schedules for the school year. One is a family schedule that lists out our daily activities, and the second one is a daily schedule for school. It’s not hour by hour, because I just can’t do that. But, I can look at any given day of the week and know what subjects we need to cover. AMAZING! I have never done this. Can you tell I’m excited!? I’ll post later about what subjects we’re covering and include the books we’re using. But, for now, I’ll just tell you how I’ve reworked our schedule. Instead of starting school in the morning, I am spending time with the boys doing outdoor things/field trips. Then, when Shea goes down for his nap around 1:00, I’m doing school with Gage until around 4:00. In the morning, I’ve been writing on a dry-erase board, the subjects we’re going to cover that day, so Gage is well aware of what he will have to do for the day. On Mondays, Shea will be in MMO, so Gage and I will have the morning to do some things on our own. This is working out so much better for all of us. Keeping Shea inside all morning so that we could do school for Gage was just not cutting it. And, I ended up feeling so secluded from all the other moms who have toddlers. The morning is their prime time to be outside on the playground. So, I’m feeling like this is going to be a better fit for all of us. Today, we went for a bike ride, came home and had lunch, and then Shea went down for his nap and Gage and I did school. And, he’s enjoying school! That’s another big plus! More on that later………

Jared checked his campus mailbox tonight and discovered a gift card for the Covenant bookstore in the amount of $250!  We don’t know who gave it, but whoever you are, we thank you so much for your generosity.  This will cover a good portion of his books for this semester.  Amazing!

I can’t believe a whole year has passed already since arriving here at seminary. Time really does fly! So, I figured I’d take a few minutes to reflect on this past year. I’ve actually been reflecting on it for a few weeks now, but I’m going to try to sum up my thoughts in a few paragraphs.

Or, maybe I’ll try to do it by listing the things I’ve learned over this year here. Here goes…..

1. Even seminary students are broken. Sorry to anyone out there who thinks otherwise! Living in such close proximity to other families here on campus has been a good way for me to learn that we are ALL pretty messed up. We all are in desperate need of a Saviour. It’s really a freeing experience to be angered by another’s sin, and then realize that you are just as sinful, so how can you really be mad at the other guy in the first place. Good, but hard stuff to learn!

2. God is faithful in His provision for us. He really does give you all that you need to pursue what He has called you to do. I have so many amazing stories to tell. Here’s a couple of the most recent. From the time that we arrived here last May until February, our rent was never able to be paid before the 10th of the month. Every month, we would get an e-mail notifying us that it was due and that we would incur a late fee if not paid by the 10th. Well, I started getting frustrated by the reminders, because our rent was like a thorn in our side and we NEVER forgot. It was just a matter of whether or not we had it. So, I notified the school that we just never have the full amount until the 10th and I assured them that it wasn’t a matter of forgetting for us. I told them that they would probably be sending us a notice every month because that’s just the way it was working out for us. Well, that was in February, and every month since then, we have had the full amount by the 1st! It’s as if the Lord said, “Oh really, Lyra. Well, I’ll show you what I can do.” AMAZING!

Back in March, I told Jared that I really felt like we needed to make it a priority to take a family trip every year, even though it seemed pretty impossible financially. I became determined to find something cheap and discovered what became our “yurt” adventure. The week before we were to leave for our trip, I was starting to get nervous about finances because we really didn’t have much in the bank. At that point, someone told Jared for us to go and enjoy ourselves without skimping, and that they would reimburse us for all of it! So, instead of buying food at the grocery store and cooking all week, we were able to go out to eat and just relax about the money issues. And, rather than reimbursing us just for the cost of the trip, they doubled the amount, so, guess what, we had our rent on time once again!

3. I am really insecure, despite what I used to believe. I always considered myself to be pretty secure. Then we came to seminary and it seems that every insecurity has been uncovered. But, what has been really neat for me to learn is that we are all pretty insecure. At first, I thought that it was only me who had awkward moments on the playground (where all the Moms gather with their kids) and left sometimes feeling like I just didn’t quite belong. Usually it stemmed from other women being in conversations, and then me just feeling really stupid because I didn’t know who to talk to, and I certainly wasn’t going to go and interrupt an intense conversation(I’m an introvert). It was amazing for me to realize that other women felt the same way. All it took was me admitting to it, and then they also admitted their insecurities. And, I began to realize that we all cling to the people we know because it makes us feel better. And, then I began realizing that this is what causes women to be “clicky”. And, then, oh no, I realized that I do the same thing that I hate seeing other women do! Oh, crap! Now I have to try to fix it. But, ughhh, I try and I can’t. And, then, duh, I realize that I can’t do it without the Holy Spirit. So, that’s where I am. I am realizing that most of us leave seminary as insecure women and we carry this “clickiness” over to the church because it is more comfortable to live that way. It is my mission while we are here to ask the Lord to help me figure out how to put a stop to this. I don’t want to carry this into our future. And, I’ve met some women who are great at not doing this, so I know it is possible. Can you tell I’m on my soapbox? Perhaps I need to carry this on in a later post! I told Jared that I wish someone had told me that the insecurities I felt in Jr. High would follow me throughout my life.

4. Counseling is a great thing! I was able to take advantage of the free counseling they offer here at Covenant for students/spouses and it was so worth it. I started out going on my own from August until January. Then, Jared and I began going together from January until the end of the semester and we feel like it has helped us focus on our marriage and pinpoint specific areas we need to work on. One of those areas is our spiritual relationship. It is very lacking in that we rarely pray together and we don’t get into the Word together, either. We realize that this is NOT a good thing, so please pray that we will be diligent in pursuing this together.

5. Community among believers has become tainted by our individualistic society. We are all so busy with our own lives that we are not really getting into the lives of our neighbors. Before coming to Covenant, I had all kinds of expectations about the “community” here. But, what I found once we arrived took me by surprise. I soon realized that everyone is so busy that they don’t have time to invite someone for dinner or just drop by to say “hi”. I’m not saying this never happens around here, because it does. I guess it just doesn’t happen as often as I expected. For the first 3 months, I was angry and then I realized that we were doing the same thing. It’s just easier to be an individual family rather than take part in a covenant community. I did, however, have a friend here point out to me that there are “pockets” of community among the larger community, and I do find that to be true. It’s been interesting getting used to this little community and seeing areas that I believe need to change, and then seeing my own contribution to the things I don’t like. Wow, this is some learning experience!

I think there’s a theme here. I see something I don’t like, get angry about it, and then realize that I’m guilty, also. Hmmmm…looks like the Lord is using all of this to humble me. And, boy do I need it!!!!!

Gage had the best time with his Dad yesterday! It was so neat to see how much he learned. I did not regret in any way not having “regular” school yesterday. He told me all about it yesterday in his ultra-excited way that I love. He is so passionate and describes everything in such great detail. What’s really awesome is that we have book about caves that we picked up at the library book sale a few weeks ago, and so we looked through that when he got home and he showed me some of the very same things he had just seen with his own eyes. He knew about the zones of a cave and what kinds of animals you can find. We read in the book about how stalactites and stalagmites sometimes join and form a column and he got all excited b/c he had just seen the very same thing. We literally spent an hour talking about caves and he was loving it! To get to this cave, they had to crawl through a small opening and continue crawling on their bellies for about 50 feet. Jared said he doesn’t think I would have liked that part, considering that I can be claustrophobic at times. They saw bats sleeping and Gage said they were really cute. I can’t even tell you how much I learned about caves just from the hour I spent talking with Gage yesterday. It was quite an experience for him. In a couple of weeks, we’ll be going on a little family vacation, where I am told there are caves to explore. We just might have to do that.

I normally start school with Gage between 8:30 and 9.  But, this morning, Shea woke up extremely early and he is so grumpy.  He was making it pretty obvious that doing school with Gage was going to be a challenge.  So, I decided to turn PBS Kids on, and he’s as happy as he can be.  Gage is at the table drawing, Shea is watching TV, and I’m having some blog time.  Today, we’ll be doing the majority of school while Shea is sleeping!