My Little Entrepreneurs

The boys are in their rooms/stores. They have done this before, but I always find it funny. They set up little stores in their rooms and then sell their stuff to each other. Today, Theodore (ds 6) made a little sign for his door with a pocket at the bottom and asked me to write “Pay to keep me in business.” Then he said, “If you have room, also add ‘Dollars only.’” I added “please.”

Entrepreneur

I went upstairs to take a picture of this sign, and found Simon (ds 9) busking in the hallway (yep, it is 10:30 and we are still in our jammies, of course). Note the money jar.

Busking

May 16, 2007 | Filed Under Learning | 7 Comments 

Where is Waldo? (Florida Fires)

See that pretty picture at the top of my blog? That is a picture I took from the dock at my father-in-law’s house. It is a view of the northern shore of Little Lake Santa Fe in Waldo, Florida. The homes over there are being evacuated. The sky isn’t nearly as beautiful right now. Luckily they have gotten most of these particular fires under control, but so much of northern Florida is still burning. While there has been some rain yesterday and today, they need much more to stop the fires. Hopefully that will happen soon.

May 11, 2007 | Filed Under Rants, Moods and Attitude | 3 Comments 

Update on Excellent Cartoon

Jason Holm just updated his “socialization” cartoon and made it color. It looks great.

You can visit his new website for it and even order a t-shirt or bumper sticker with the cartoon on it.

Thanks Jason!

May 8, 2007 | Filed Under Homeschool Issues | Leave a Comment 

Dandelion Wishes

I got a great picture of Theodore (ds 6) on Saturday at his brother’s soccer game and had it on my computer screen.

Dandelion

Here’s the conversation that ensued:

Me: “Hey Theodore, come look at this picture.” He looked and offered no reaction.

Me again: “Did you even know I took your picture?” He went back to what he was doing without replying.

Then, very defensively, he said, “You don’t even know what I was wishing.”

Me: “Well, I hope it comes true.”

Him: “It already did.”

Me: “Well, since it already came true, will you tell me what you wished for?”

Him: “No.”

Maybe I’ll wait until bedtime and ask again.

May 3, 2007 | Filed Under Parenting | 3 Comments 

Ugly Betty Isn’t Ugly

I had two conversations with Simon (ds almost 10) tonight that were really interesting to me. The first was the result of a worksheet we were doing on using quotation marks (gotta get ready to jump through the state’s testing hoop!). One of the sentences where he had to identify whether quotation marks were used correctly or incorrectly was, “‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot’ was a song originally sung by slaves.” That began two things: 1) me singing that song (yikes!) and 2) a discussion about slavery. We talked a bit about it and he said, “Well, that all happened before I was born. I’m glad people know better now.” Hooray! Then we talked some about how what is most important is what is inside people, not how they look. He didn’t say much about that, but he seemed to understand, so I didn’t push it. We finished up our work and he went upstairs to take a shower.

Later (around 10:00 p.m.), I was was watching the latest episode of “Ugly Betty” on my laptop (I love watching shows on my laptop!) and he came out on the screen porch to let me know he was finished with his shower. I told him I was watching “Ugly Betty” and it makes me laugh. He said he didn’t think that was a nice name for a show. I said I didn’t think so either. We talked about the show and why it is called “Ugly Betty.” This again led into the concept of “what is inside a person is what is most important” and this time he said, “But what does that mean?” Ah ha! He didn’t understand. I’m so glad he asked.

The opportunity arose to share with him some insight about people and beauty. We walked upstairs and I tucked him into bed as we talked. It was a wonderful conversation about what really matters in life. It was also an opportunity to share with him a quote that has been with me for years, but I have no idea where it originated –

 

“People will forget what you said.

People will forget what you did.

But people will NEVER forget

how you made them feel.”

He liked that, and I kissed him goodnight and he smiled. I hope he will remember that quote for the rest of his life.

May 1, 2007 | Filed Under Learning, Parenting | 6 Comments