Math Drills

Glancing up from my laptop to see Jed quietly doing his Math drills.

Link Love: Einstein on Education

“How far superior an education that stresses independent action and personal responsibility is to one that relies on drill, external authority and ambition.”

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/03/14/einstein-fairy-tales/

Whale Time

Unlike most parents who get the weekend off, I am on a 24/7 shift. I do not have the option of quality time for Jed. 

Instead, Jed and I have lots and lots of "whale time". A baby whale spends two years beside its mom, just moving placidly through the waters. They do everything (which is mostly nothing) together. In this way, the baby whale slowly but surely grows to maturity.

Deuteronomy 4:9, 6:7 Watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

On Young Adult Book Covers

Everyday, media overloads young kids with titillating and sexy images. I cant afford to play ostrich and bury my head in the sand. So, I fight fire with fire. 

At Fully Booked, I picked up a young adult book with a picture of two torsos semi-naked. This book was displayed a few steps away from the children's section. I showed the book to Jed and said:

"Hey, Elijah, look at this book. They look like they are about to have sex."

"Moooom..." (long-suffering sigh!) "Remember what I told you?"

(We had a discussion on picking the right code word to use in public. Jed chose a good one.) "They look like they are about to PROCREATE."

(another long-suffering sigh! Jed knows this is one topic I dont drop easily) "Here, let me see. Not yet. He still has his pants on." (Pause.) "They dont look like husband and wife."

"You know I'm praying for your future wife, right?!"

(side hug) "Let's go home, Mom."

No to Addictive Videogames

Often, just knowing that someone else faced the battles we are facing now is enough to give us strength to continue to fight the good fight. 

Telling stories of my childhood failures is a magical parenting tool. It encourages Jed, reminds me to be patient and opens up moments of dialogue.

"Did you have any addictions when you were young?", Jed asks. 

"Books. When I was your age, I let a potful of rice burn that I was supposed to watch because I was too focused on a book. An addiction is anything that stops us from doing what is right."

"But, I like building stuff.", counters Jed

"I know you do. Nong Undo has already bought you a saw and you can learn to build real and useful stuff. Start with a desk and three chairs for your cousins."

(So, now, we will try a new subject in homeschool - CARPENTRY. Which is really just another way to say No to Addictive Videogames.)

Link Love: Harvard University on Skills That Make an Educated Person

Here’s Harvard University’s list of skills that make an “educated person”:

The ability to define problems without a guide.
The ability to ask hard questions which challenge prevailing assumptions.
The ability to quickly assimilate needed data from masses of irrelevant information.
The ability to work in teams without guidance.
The ability to work absolutely alone.
The ability to persuade others that your course is the right one.
The ability to conceptualize and reorganize information into new patterns.
The ability to discuss ideas with an eye toward application.
The ability to think inductively, deductively and dialectically.
The ability to attack problems heuristically.

This is why I homeschool.

http://joshkaufman.net/what-must-an-educated-person-know/

Boys

Dericke has Jed pinned against the floor, his wrist at an unholy angle. Jed is screaming, "It hurts. It hurts. Let go!"

I run in and shout at the top of my voice to "Stop it and let go RIGHT NOW!"

Both boys stop instantly, look at me like I'm crazy and then they speak over each other. "No, mom, it's okay." "We were just playacting, auntie." "We're fine really." 

Then they run out to find something else to play with. 

I go back and sit at the kitchen table, my heart racing. I congratulate myself. Because, hey, Im not strangling myself to death. Or slitting my wrists. Or mindlessly banging my head against the wall. 

Boys. I will never understand them.

Dear Mommies with Grown-up Kids

Dear mommies-with-grown-up-children, 

Is it true that all mommies will miss the mess when the kids are grown up and move out of the house?

Please encourage me.

Catching a Magic Moment

God called me to work-from-home five years ago and homeschool two years ago. Today, I have the greatest privilege of leading my second heathen (Jed being the first, of course) to a saving knowledge of the Jesus.

Me: (stage auntie mode) It's true lagi, Sam. I almost died last night.

Samantha: Hahaaaay.... Anti, teacher said 'Dont tell a lie. Or God will send you to hell on the last day of earth'.

(catching a magic moment and swiftly changing to serious mode)

Me: And if we want to go to heaven on the last day of earth, what should we do then?

Me: The Bible says in Romans 10:9, "If we say with our heart that 'Jesus is Lord' and believe with our hearts, then we will be saved." Do you say it? And will you believe it?

Bent head. Closed eyes. A prayer made. A savior accepted. A life entrusted. Celebrate with heaven and me.

Childhood Hurts and Prayers

The two boys burst into my room, with Jed Elijah Sean Tan leaning slightly into Dericke for support. Dericke Gwaine Tan burst into a convoluted tale, Jed burst into tears.

After many questions, I managed to piece the story together.

They were biking the 500 meters from Elleane Tan-Dicdican's house to my apartment. Two kids started to chase them.

My precautionary tales of kidnappers, syndicated children begging on the streets, organ harvesting, pedophiles & toxic poisoning resulting from ruptured colons set them on the defensive and they pedaled faster to get away.

Dericke evaded the hump after the curve of the road and called out a warning but Jed didn't hear. Of course, Jed howled like a banshee as I dressed his wounds.

I shushed him, hugged my boy closer and thought,"This hurt, at least, I can heal."

I sent a quick prayer (one of many others) for all the little boys and their mommies in the neighboring islands.

Fish with Taosi

I lie. I lie a lot. And I lie often. I lie about food. Ten years as mom to Mister-Picky-Eater will do that to you, make you choose between your morality - or your sanity. 

In this morning's breaking news... 

Jed: Mom, what's for breakfast? 
Me: Fish with taosi. 
Jed: Bleh! 
Me: Oh, my mistake. It's chicken with taosi. 
Jed: Chicken is okay. What's taosi? 
Me: Grapes. 
(silence while I hold my breath and shoot a prayer to the miserly god of picky eaters)
Jed: Okay. Let's eat.

Because, Mr. Shakespeare, while a rose by any other name will smell just as sweet, little boys will only eat fish & black beans if they think it's chicken & grapes.

And we lived happily-ever-after... (or so I'd like to think.) 

Six Tremors in One Hour

Six tremors in one hour. 

Matthew 6:25,27 Therefore I tell you do not worry about life. Can anyone of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 

This morning, I overheard Jed repeat to his little cousin Samantha what I had told him yesterday: "We have to trust him, Sam. He is too wise to be mistaken." 

Last night's talk went something like this: 

"Mom, why is God not answering my prayer to make the earthquake stop?"

"Come here." A backrub and a soft song is the best medicine for a young (and not-so-young) heart filled with worry.

"God is too wise to be mistaken. He is too good to be unkind. So, if you dont understand, if you can't see His plan, when you can't trace his hand, trust His heart." 

After the EarthQuake

After the eathquake, Jed calmly and methodically started evacuation procedures. He prepared, on his own, the following:

-his Cars backpack with his collection of 5 Geronimo Stilton books, clothes, underwear
-a pitcher of chocolate milk, a loaf of bread
-an insulated bag with our cellphones and wifi in it (took me 2 days to find the charger of my tablet afterwards)
-a box with 2 rolls of tissue
-a plastic with Donald Duck, teddy, Panda and Nimrod the penguin ("Elijah, leave my Rapunzel doll alone. She'll be safe where she is.")
-another plastic with rubber slippers and bedroom slippers
-yet another plastic with noodles, all the canned goods he could find and a can opener
-the last plastic with a ski mask and winter gloves. ("In case, they will evacuate us all the way to China and it's winter there.")

These he dragged all the way down three flights of stairs, singing loudly, "I will surviiiiive".

Then he returned up the stairs to get his most prized posession (me!) and quoted from After Earth the movie: "Danger is real. But fear is a choice."

Magnitude 7.0 Earthquake Five Minutes Ago

Five minutes ago, a strong earthquake hit Cebu City and neighboring provinces. As my luck would have it, I was in the shower when it struck. 

Down the stairs, I rushed together with my fellow apartment-mates ---- they in slippers and house clothes, me in a towel with shampoo suds in my hair, soap on my face and a soap bar in hand. 

As I write this, tremors continue to rock our building as the aftershock rolls through. We are back in the apartment. Apparently, my son has inherited my ability to stay calm in the midst of stress and distress. He is now packing our emergency bag with his clothes and canned goods from our pantry.

"We also need to bring money, Mom. Should we bring a matchbox or a lighter? Im going to miss all my books if the building falls down."

And me? Im on the desk writing this, like a good, little, crazy writer should be.

(Click post. And now Jed & I go back down to the parking lot with our hefty emergency bag. Stay safe, everyone.)

When Jesus Fed Five Thousand with Five Loaves

Jed reads his Hands-on Bible daily now. And the most precious questions been cropping up...

Jed: Mom, what do you get when you mix holy water and holy ground?
Me: Uh... holy mud!
Jed: Mo-om, come on. There's no such thing as holy mud. 
(quick prayer to heaven for answers)
Me: There is such a thing as holy mud! It's in (googling 'Jesus mud blind man'...) John nine six.

And now, dear mommies, I need help with today's Question of the Day:
"Mom, when Jesus fed five thousand people with 5 pieces of bread and 2 fish, did the bread grow back each time he broke a piece?

Laptop Grounded

Jed listened patiently as I grounded his laptop for one week explaining, "The Bible says whatever is pure, honorable, lovely - think of these things" and that too much gaming would not help him do this. 

He kept a rested & obedient heart. Then, one bright morning, he pumped his fist in the air, "Yes, finally! I can use my laptop again!". No hint of anger or frustration. I praise God for his obedient spirit.

I have seen what indolence can do to young men who prefer to waste away the day with video games and such tomfoolery. These boys never master their full mental prowess, physical strength or social skills.

Indolence is dangerous and insiduous. It robs families of the best of these young men's hours. It nips in the bud everything that a young energetic gentleman may champion & accomplish in this world.

(Jed peered over my shoulders as I wrote this. "Tell everyone, Mom," he insisted, "that I am not angry. I understand why you grounded my laptop." Then, he sauntered off to pick up a book to read, even though the restrictions against his laptop had been relaxed.)

The Eye of the Tiger

The nice thing about homeschooling is that we can customize the learning environment. 

Jed is learning his multiplication table now and has put Eye of the Tiger on infinite replay. 

3 times 3 is... "It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight, rising up to the challenge". (It's the funniest thing ever!)

Sunday School Quiet

I snuck out of the main sermon and peeped into yesterday's Sunday school, as I always do. 

Jed was seated quietly, listening intently to the discussion and taking down notes (taking down notes!!!) on his own initiative. To my added delight, during lunch afterwards, he wanted me to look up the verse so he could tell me about his lesson. 

This used to be my super-active young child who could not stay still in one spot for a microsecond. The child I secretly referred to as my "weapon-of-mass-destruction". Such a HUUUUGE moment of parenting & homeschooling fulfillment, to see my son listening intently & absorbing his lessons.

Before They Grow So Big

"Before they grow so big, the baobabs start out by being little."
...When it is a bad plant, one must destroy it as soon as possible, the very first instant that one recognizes it. - The Little Prince

Three weeks ago, Jed got a perfect score in his vocabulary. I should be happy, right? Except there was no way he could have known what "vivid" and "engrossed" mean.

"How old are you?" is a dreaded question in my house. "Divide it in half since you were honest to tell me you cheated." And that's the formula for a spanking. Jed barricaded himself under the bed for two hours. After that, he came out and apologized.

I shared with him about the time I, too, cheated in Chinese class when I was his age and I was caught by my teacher. I promised to never do it again. This helped me to become the best student I could be.

I am happy to report that Jed now presents all his workbooks with pride and gives a good account for all his answers. "Cheating is for losers, Mom."

I Am Forgiving

My life is not a movie and I'm no Mary Poppins.

Jed refused to talk to me last night but relented at bedtime. "Mom, I am angry because you didn't even ask me why I was coming to you. You just yelled at me to get back to the car."

How to explain a mother's fears to my son?

"It was wrong of me to yell. But, when I saw you walking out of the car and into the rain, I also saw you lying sick in bed last year with very high fever, gagging while you forced yourself to take those huge bitter pills. I was angry because I was afraid."

Silence. "Oh." Hug. "I forgive you."