I am so insanely blessed to be working with Ard Hoyt. One of the great joys of working with this talented artist is having a front row seat to witness the creation of the main characters in the stories we tell. I am head over heels in love with this walrus. Here is the latest Tevah character sketch. I truly hope you enjoy him as much as I do.
One of my favorite aspects of homeschooling is the flexibility it affords us. I love working hard on the days we are completing a normal class schedule and then taking a day off to hit up a museum or some other field trip. We recently made a little trip over to Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville Arkansas and had a complete blast.
The hiking trails around the museum are amazing and the museum itself is absolutely incredible. Our favorite exhibit was the “100 Unknown Artists”. This particular exhibit showcases the works of artists who are not well known and all of them are from the United States. It was fun to see all the “out of the box” thinking that comes with artistic freedom. My personal favorite was the pigeon knitwear. I have recently taken up knitting and crocheting and neither of these things is particularly easy for me. But the intricate costumes this designer created for pigeons were off the charts amazing. I can only assume this person has patience that goes beyond most humans, because these things were detailed beyond belief. I would pay good money to witness a NYC fashion week “pigeon walk” of these designs.
My kids were totally amazed at some of the work shown in this museum. We have a small pottery wheel in our home, and my kids have truly tried to master the art of throwing a pot. Their work is displayed in our home, and they regularly complain about my pride in their original pieces. I guess none of them want to showcase their masterpieces, but I insist. The pottery and ceramic works this museum contains are beyond anything my children had ever seen before. It is one thing to read about art in a book, but it is a whole different animal when you actually have the opportunity to see the piece with your own eyes.
I am constantly reminded of just how short and precious life truly is. Losing both my parents in a three year timeframe has given me a deep respect for each day I am here. This perspective influences the way I plan both short-term and long-term goals. I used to believe that there would always be time to do whatever I wanted, but I have converted my thought process to “seize the day” and “put your money, and hard work, where your mouth is.”
I recently came across a father who inspired me immensely with his “seize the day” attitude. Brian Smith has a son who was diagnosed on the autism spectrum. He, as do all parents of children with any non-typical developmental struggles, faced a myriad of unknowns. Brian found that his son responded extremely well to music and connected to the messages within the lyrics. With fortitude and planning, Brian began the process of creating songs to help his son navigate through new experiences life presented. I was thrilled when I was introduced to Brian’s work, and even more enthralled when I found out more about the man behind the music. Each of us faces moments when we realize someone needs to step up and make a difference. But very few of us look within ourselves and choose to become that catalyst for change. Brian was one of the few who looked inside and opted to do the hard work necessary to make a change.
I have been inspired by Brian’s attitude and his ability to make the world a better place than he found it. As I move forward with my goals and continue on my journey, I am working to become more of a catalyst for change. If you are interested in finding out more about Brian Smith and The Aus-Sums go to http://theaussumdad.com/ and check out what they are working on now.
One of the downsides to homeschooling is the way my kids have decided to harass me with fake snakes. I guess, as their teacher, I should know better than to think that they would let me teach in total peace. But I was under the impression that, being my children, they would not try so hard to induce panic and possible heart attacks. Most of their extra time in the day goes towards hobbies and educational activities, but a portion of it clearly goes into planning strategic snake attacks for their personal entertainment.
I’m only including a couple of the pictures of the last few “fake snake attacks” as evidence of their crimes. I’m thankful I have never had the old-school “tack on the chair” prank, but these snakes are seriously realistic and have elicited numerous screams. The problem is the fact that we have actually had two snakes in our home in the last four years, and so each fake snake attack evokes some level of PTSD style reaction.
I absolutely love all hands-on teaching methods, and this is one of my favorites from the last two weeks. My 5th grader is learning about some of the most important advancements made in the world of transportation. I am blown away by all the educational materials available to my children. We can jump online or head over to the library and find an insane amount of supplemental materials for each topic. I had no idea the Wright brothers ran a bicycle shop full-time and made planes in the winter when the shop was slow. This is just one of the fun facts we learned while researching some of the amazing inventions and inventors from America’s past.
My son was particularly interested in Henry Ford and his amazing Model T. We talked all about the advancements made in production, and why this car made such a huge impact on the world of motor vehicles. The Model T was the first affordable car for the general population, and it was the beginning of a total shift in how we would mass produce the enormous number of items used by today’s consumer. There is clearly a down side to the mass market mentality, but we tried to focus on the upside of this new production method.
In order to show my kids just how much of an impact an assembly line can have on production, I challenged each of my three kids to produce as many candy cars as they could in just one minute. Each of the kids did their best to run around the kitchen and grab all the items they needed to create one car at a time. The outcome was one sloppy car from only one child. The other two were not able to create one single finished product in 60 seconds. Then each child chose their jobs, and we created an assembly line to produce the tiny candy cars. The kids were able to pump out three completed cars and one half finished product in just 60 seconds. It was a real learning moment for each of them. The amount of time and energy needed to complete this challenge diminished significantly when they implemented the “assembly line” mentality. I’m sure they could have pounded out a few more if we would have had access to a moving assembly line, but that was not to be… I hope they never forget Henry Ford and his moving assembly line.
One of the great advantages to homeschooling is the ability we have to take this show on the road. When we travel, so does our school. On our last trip, I think half of our car was packed with school supplies. My husband never complains about all the books he has to pack into our family car, but he always makes at least one comment about the number of shoes I claim are necessary for any getaway.
I know all our “school stuff” took up a good portion of our hotel room. I had crates of books, workbooks, paper, and other miscellaneous supplies all packed into our little hotel room for the entire trip. We sacrificed one corner of the hotel room to the two little kids’ supplies, and the coveted desk to my high schooler and all his materials. The only person who seemed a bit disconcerted with my stash was the sweet woman from housekeeping who somehow ended up with our room for a solid two weeks. But luckily she developed a cleaning method that included turning a blind eye to the piles of papers and books.
For the entire two weeks we got up early in the morning and completed an entire day of school well before noon. It was awesome. My kids were able to spend time with their cousins and not worry about falling behind in school. In fact, my oldest got so far ahead we were a little concerned we would run out of class materials before the two weeks were up. In hindsight, I think he figured out how to pace himself so that he could take a couple of days off–out of “necessity”.
I know that I say this all the time, but I am so thankful to live in a country where I am able to home school my children. As we sneak up on the launch date of my first book, I am looking at taking my kids on the road for a couple of months. Right now they seem to be completely excited about the potential this adventure holds. I will dig up information on all the interesting sights, museums, and educational experiences we can do as a family while we are on the road. It will be epic.
Anyone who knows me knows just how much I adore books. Well, we recently learned a very important lesson regarding library books. My kids often times grab a book while they are eating lunch. It has been a tradition in our home for quite some time. These two dogs have taught our family that one should never read a book while holding a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Evidently, these two little cuties sniffed out the trace amounts of PB&J left on the outside of the book from when Teagan was leafing through it. The funny part of all this is the fact that I actually tried to discourage my child from checking out this particular library book because it is for much younger kids. She just had to have it, and then these two decided it could potentially make for an excellent snack. I am now the proud owner of a spineless book for kiddos under the age of four, and two dogs who are not on good terms with the local library.
Growing up with two brothers and two sisters, there always seemed to be an enormous amount of competition in our home. I was continuously compared to my older sister who seemed to be the perfect child, and my ability to keep up with the standard my mother felt she set was lacking in every way. There was contention in our home. There was resentment. It has taken many years of work to get to a healthy place for all five of us kids, but we are finally there. And the lessons I have learned are interesting to say the least.
One of the many amazing aspects of homeschooling my little ones is the fact that I can make three homemade meals, and often times more, a day. My children are notorious for needing first, second and third breakfast. They don’t eat a lot in one sitting, so I have had to find ways to make healthy “mini-meals”. One of the favorites in our home is granola. I have gotten a few requests for this particular recipe. So, here it is…
6 cups rolled oats
1 ½ cups lightly salted sunflower seeds
1 ½ cups sliced almonds
1 ½ cups (sweetened) shredded coconut
½ cup toasted wheat germ (optional)
½ cup milled flax seed (optional)
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup honey
¼ cup brown sugar
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl, add wet ingredients and stir until evenly coated. Spread the mixture on two greased cookie sheets, as evenly as possible, and bake at 220 degrees for 90 minutes. Allow the granola to cool completely before removing from the cookie sheets. I store mine in a large Zip Lock freezer bag in the fridge. It usually lasts about two weeks in our house. This is great as cereal with milk or sprinkled on Greek yogurt.
Autism and bullying tend to go hand in hand. Unfortunately, suicide rates for those on the spectrum are also increased. One in sixty-eight will be diagnosed on the Autism spectrum. This intensely high number leads one to believe that nearly every child in the United States will, at one point or another, come in contact with an individual on the spectrum. It is imperative that we teach our neuro-typical kiddos what Autism looks like and how to interact with those on the spectrum.
No parent would allow their child to torment a cancer patient, and the same mentality should be instated when dealing with a child on the spectrum. Those on the spectrum will have differences. Their level of functionality, by the general population’s standards, can vary significantly. There are those who are completely non-verbal, while some individuals will seem to be functioning quite well, other than their tendency towards social awkwardness. The socially awkward trait lends itself to horrible teasing and isolation for children on the spectrum.
The comment “you’re so weird” is one of the most common statements I hear. This is an incredibly damaging way of communicating with a child on the spectrum. Parents would flinch if their child told a cancer patient they look weird without hair, but often times the belittling comments, towards kids on the spectrum, are either made by adults, or are ignored. When we, as adults, model a behavior of intolerance we are setting the bar incredibly low for our children. We should be teaching them how to negotiate the social waters with those who may not seem to react in a typical fashion.
There are ways to teach your children empathy and compassion for children on the autism spectrum. One of my favorite techniques is to remove all my facial and physical cues, and then ask my children what my words alone mean. This is how children on the spectrum “see” communication. They don’t register most of the physical and or facial cues we, as neuro-typical individuals, take for granted every single day. They are also incredibly literal.
A simple look, is not enough to get your message across with a child on the spectrum. I can give my neuro-typical children a look and they know the conversation is over. A child on the spectrum needs to be taken step-by-step though your expectations and then usually needs an explanation of your reasons for feeling this way. Kids on the spectrum are amazingly literal. What you say is what you mean. When you take away all the facial cues and an ability to understand sarcasm, there is a lot of room for misinterpretations.
Neuro-typical children need to be taught how to be tolerant of these social differences and how to embrace the amazing individual who is exhibiting these behaviors. We can’t expect kids on the spectrum to feel safe if we don’t make some changes. I beg all parents with neuro-typical children to take a stand and help stop the unintentional bullying that is causing children on the spectrum to become more depressed at younger ages. I beg you parents to teach your little ones how to love with open arms and an open mind.