It's Been a Week...

Since I've written anything. There's just so much going on that it's hard to keep up. This is going to be a long one.

Last week Saturday I attended a Montessori event called "Silent Journey". I was so thankful that I went. It gave me great insight into my children's lives away from home. It also confirmed for me that Montessori is so wonderful and that every child should attend school in this setting. Montessori is for every child, not just children like mine.

All of the parents were lead through one Children's House (pre-k and Kindergarten) classroom, Elementary 1 (1st - 3rd) and Elementary 2 (4th - 6th). On our first walk through, we were instructed to just observe the rooms without touching or asking questions. Just to absorb the materials. I found this incredibly difficult. Not talk or touch????? All I could do was think, "Oh my Goodness, this feeling I have inside of me must be what Taylor experiences on a day to day basis." By the way, some of the parents didn't follow direction and touched the materials. Is it odd that that bothered me? Parents who don't follow directions...naughty, naughty. Anyway, on the second walk through, the teachers showed us the Montessori materials and how they work. I was blown away. All of the feelings and emotions I felt took me back to my childhood. Had I only been taught in a Montessori environment, who knows where I would be today. Everything about Montessori is amazing, especially math. It was amazing to see the math beads used to solve for least common multiple. I just can't emphasis how amazing a Montessori classroom is.

At the end of the event, one of the teachers explained that people often do not see creativity and organization as related. He said that what people fail to understand is that creativity comes when people have order for their thoughts, ideas and feelings which in return allows creativity to spawn, develop and make it self real. With out order, these thoughts, ideas and feelings are chaotic and will not produce themselves in a way that can be shared with other people. Dan, the teacher, said it so much more graciously than I put it but his words allowed me to connect the dots.

Montessori materials are all very neat, orderly, and laid out in a very common sense way. Though each classroom from K-6th is nearly the same, all of the thoughts build upon each other until you are able to take the binomial block and use it to solve math equations. Did I say AMAZING yet????? It provides order, and structure at the same time allowing the child the ability to make their own decisions and freedom with the materials. That's how we live our lives at home too. Our children understand that there is a place for everything and that we all take responsibility for keeping this order yet we have the freedom to be creative and feel how we choose. Having the same structure at home and at school has provided great harmony in our lives. People who visit us are often amazed at how responsible and neat Taylor and Ayden are but their behavior is truly a result of Montessori. The order in our home allows them security and an understanding of limits. This may sound counter intuitive but this structure allows the girls to explore in ways other children may not be able to.

This is a big part of why the girls ask me things that I think are so odd. While Taylor was sitting on the toilet this morning, she asked me what a portfolio is. Kong and I explained it to her and she said, "okay", like what we had told her was completely normal. Ayden and I went around last night asking for UNICEF donations. She was such a pro. When we finished, she asked me about poor children and if she was considered poor. We had a very nice discussion. Montessori children are encouraged to ask questions, challenge the norm, and explore all thoughts and feelings. I'm so lucky I stumbled upon Montessori. My girls are amazing people because of it. Sometimes I completely forget that they are only 8 and 4.

So while I was learning, Kong went Pheasant hunting in Iowa. They shot a total of 20 birds. We made Pheasant with bamboo and it was delicious. The natural game is such a great addition to our diet. He's my provider : )

I made it to 165. Woo whooo!!!!!!!!! That's 17 pounds baby! Is it odd that I'm afraid to buy clothes? I have this fear in the back of my mind that I may get big again and the new clothes I buy are wasted. I've been wearing a pair of jeans I bought from Express before I had Taylor. I can't believe I was this big before I even had kids. My goodness what happened to me in my mid twenties? Anyway, the jeans actually look good on me but they are a little torn where my legs use to rub. You know, the area that rubs so much you could start a small brush fire? It's probably time for me to get a new pair of jeans.

I also went to the dentist this past week. I am bummed to report that I have a cavity. This is my first one in over 10 years. I had the first cavity of my life at 22 and now, 12 years later, I have my second. I'm scheduled to get it fixed on November 12.

Lastly, I want to make a correction on a prior post, now that my cholesterol is down to 170, that is actually a 60 point drop, not 30 as I originally thought. This is amazing. I've been using amazing a lot, huh? We'll, it is amazing. I am loved, I am blessed and I'm loving life...including all of the hectic craziness that happens on a day to day basis. Thank you Lord!