You say Tomato, I say Tomauto...

Here is how our tomatoes look today, nice and full and ready to burst with fruit.  Tomatoes anyone?  Do you think we have enough?

A couple of weaker tumblers that are now starting to go...

...and our peony starts to explode.

Last weekend we went camping and here are a few snapshots:

Clayton has learned how to use the axe.  It's great to let him do all the work for firewood, and he really does an awesome job!  He thinks it's pretty neat when Dan teases him that he won't be able to split a log, then he manages it in only a couple of hits.

I got this ladder golf set for cheap at a garage sale that morning.  I was thinking family reunion next summer, but the kids played all day.  Best $15 I've spent in a long time!

I cannot get a serious picture of this girl.  What a hoot!

The boys.

The little boys saw these cereals on sale today (otherwise they would not be eating them.  What a rip-off!)  Lots of memories of my own camping trips though.  They wanted to eat them for every meal. 

The Best Father's Day EVER!

Congratulations to my sister and her hubby on becoming parents on just about the best weekend!

Beautiful little Brady Harris. 

Could you ask for a more perfect Father's Day gift?

Celebrating Mediocrity

Has anyone else noticed our society's epidemic of celebrating mediocrity in our children?  This has always been an issue for me, but it was brought back to the forefront of my brain this week when an Edmonton teacher was suspended for giving zeros to his students.  What prompted him to give zeros you wonder?  Well, because they did not turn in their assignments.  Hence, no marks given.  Seems pretty straight forward, wouldn't you agree?

Not so.  Because our government, in all of its infinite wisdom, designates funding to schools based on minimum percentages (25% in this instance) if students don't achieve that mark the money is pulled.  As a result, schools across the province have begun instituting a 'no zeros' policy.  Essentially it means that teachers cannot give zeros unless every other avenue has been exhausted (in other words every other attempt to rescue the child from the natural consequences of their own choices).  Also not very fair to students who get their work done on time.  Talk about lack of incentive!

When I was in school, and that was not all that long ago, if you didn't do the work you simply failed.  But we don't teach our kids about failure anymore.  We don't help them to find and develop the thing they are good at.  Heck, we don't even differentiate between them at all.  Nowadays everyone is good at every thing, and every student will graduate and go on to succeed in life.  Sound a little idyllic to anyone else?

Case in point at an elementary school level.  Remember we used to have actual track and field days?  For weeks before we would practice our hearts out in each of the events in gym class - running, long jump, triple jump, high jump, ball throw.  Teachers taught us proper technique and we tried hard to learn, then on the big day you gave it your all in the hopes of receiving one of those beautiful red ribbons.  I remember the only ribbon I ever won - it was for ball throw in the 5th grade. 

That's right.  The ONLY ribbon I ever won in my elementary school career.  Can you understand my natural talent for sports?  Pretty non-existant.  But I survived.  That's because I was good at other things.  I excelled academically, musically.  But there were kids in my class who lived for track and field day.  Why?  Because they were awesome at it.  They took all the ribbons and we cheered them on.  As we should have - they were great!

Fast forward to now.  The schools we've been in don't even teach the events in gym anymore.  Someone might get hurt maybe?  No, they just don't need to because they don't ever do them.  No, now we have 'Sports Day'.  These generally involve splitting kids into some sort of team and participating in cheesy relay races, like a family picnic.  Everyone is celebrated, everyone is a winner.

Now there's a killer statement if I've ever heard one.  I hate to burst the euphoric bubble, but everyone is NOT a winner in all things, sports or academics included.  Can't we celebrate the hard work and talents of our kids?  Can't we let them experience sadness and failure so they pull their socks up and try harder the next time?  Can't we let them understand the real world of disappointment and the thrill of achievement before they're thrown to the wolves after graduation?  Any psychologist would tell you that too much praise and equalization is as harmful as none.

So why do our schools perpetuate this?  Stop celebrating mediocrity and get on with helping these kids become all they can be - for real.

Teaching Your Own Children (or How to Not Lose Your Sanity or Your Tenmper)

As a second part to my recent post on Piano Method Books, I thought I would write about teaching your own kids.  Hopefully this will help any of you considering this for whatever reason (hello, dear sister).  It may be due to the cost or unavailability of teachers, or you may know a little (or a lot) about music and figure you can start them just as easily.  Here are some things to consider to make this go a little more smoothly.  This is purely from my own experience, but it may give you some things to think about:

1. Set aside a lesson time, just like they would have taking from anyone else.  Stick to it.  Put your other kids somewhere else or have your spouse or a friend around to help you. 

Make sure you explain your expectations to the other kids too.  Mine have finally figured out that when I'm teaching I am unavailable to help them.  Consider bribery.  At our house, piano lesson time means Wii time for anyone not involved.  What would work for yours?

Consider making aspects of the lesson group time if you have kids at the same general stages of music.  Play the games together.  Have older kids quiz younger kids on their alphabet or piano notes and play memory games with them.  Have younger kids listen to the older kids play like a concert and give 'critiques' at the end.

2. Keep it interesting and celebrate the small stuff.  Kids, especially boys, find sitting at the bench torture after about 10 minutes, but there are plenty of games and resources online to help them.  At those young beginning ages I try to do 10 -15 minutes at the bench and 10 minutes or so at the table or moving around in the living room.  If you want ideas for that side of it, let me know.

3.  Choose good books.  I get the best success for learning out of Faber's Piano Adventure books.

4. Don't be too hard on them.  I am way tougher on my own kids than my other students because I know their capabilities and their routine excuses. 

5. Be ready for every excuse in the book.  Your own kids will whine and complain way more than others.  I often remind my kids, "Would you act like this for Ms. Wood?  Then don't do it with me!"

6.  Be prepared.  You have to plan piano lessons must like school lessons.  Look ahead, see what concepts are coming, figure out how you're going to approach it.  If you have to spend time at the lesson figuring it out you will lose their interest and their faith that you know what you're doing.

7. Have fun!  This is time you get to spend one-on-one with your little one.  Enjoy it.  Play games, watch youtube videos, compose and create together and make it something you look forward to as well!

8. Don't give up easily.  It will take a while to get rolling and you will always have weeks when you wonder if it's worth it.  It is when you see the lightbulb go on or when you hear them play that song you've helped them struggle through for weeks on end. 

Just a few thoughts, hope they help someone.  Good luck!

Camping...Blah!

I love camping.  I do.  I'm the first to agree to it.  I love sleeping outdoors, sitting around a fire, eating hot dogs and drinking hot chocolate.  I used to sleep outside pretty much all summer as a kid.

But now I'm an adult - with kids.  Our family has agreed to spend the summer camping as much as possible.  Every weekend at least one night if we can manage it.  It's something we love.

Once we get there.

I find myself not enjoying this as much anymore because now I'm in charge of all the stuff around it.  Gone are the days when we used to grab some hot dogs, a bag of chips, a case of pop, and a sleeping bag and go.  And here's the crappy part of camping for anyone who hasn't figured it out yet:

It does not matter how long you go for, you need just as much junk for one night as you do for seven.

This is where I am running into issues.

We can really only go for one night due to work and needing to be back for church.  So I will spend all of today packing up stuff and loading it into the van (which, by the way, is far too small for this adventure with all 6 of us).

Then tomorrow we will come home and I will get to do it all in reverse.

Blah.

I'm complaining, but only a little.  It'll be fun once we get there, right?

I seriously need a camper to keep everything in if this is gonna continue...

Scale of the Universe

Madison shared this website with me and I thought it was pretty cool, so check it out.  It will make you reconsider your place in the universe again.  And then to think that God knows and loves each of us perfectly in the midst of all that....breathtaking!

http://htwins.net/scale2/