My husband and I decided to join some other homeschoolers who were having a local professional photographer take "school photos" of their kids. We walked to the studio today and they had their photos taken against a white backdrop. They are actually more like senior portraits, because they are so much fancier than regular school photos, plus I got to choose my favorite of several, and I get to order however many I want from Shutterfly. Plus, I got to stand behind the photographer and wave my arms and make faces so that my kids would laugh.
Think about how many advantages this system has over just getting regular photos at school!
I don't even like school photos - I mean, I never know what to do with them when people give them to me. But we thought it would be fun to get those head shots every year so we can have a uniform kind of photo taken every year so we can see our kids' growth, etc.
My father-in-law usually hangs out with the kids on Tuesday mornings, so he accompanied us. On the way home we stopped at a coffee shop and he bought the kids hot cocoa. Then he came up and read books to Ezra while I wrote on my blog and Ottar (unbeknownst to me) emptied bottles of shampoo onto the bathroom floor and into the tub. Luckily he told on himself, as usual, and I was able to save a couple of bottles. Oops!
Then Ottar napped while Ezra spent the afternoon making rockets and launchpads out of legos and listening to Dr. Suess stories on CD. I used this time to voraciously tear through the book The Call to Brilliance, which I did indeed finish. It was very thought-provoking though I was already familiar with most of the information in the book. Basically it is a story of a woman who did a form of unschooling with her kids, and all three of them ended up in college by the time they were fourteen. Very inspirational, and recommended reading for anyone who feels panic at the thought of their kids not being able to go to college if they unschool. Maybe it makes more sense to worry that your kids will want to go too young? :)
Ezra has already decided that when he's 15 (or is it 13?) he wants the whole family to move down to Cape Canaveral (sp?) so that he can work for NASA. After reading this book, I don't really doubt that it can happen - I just have to prepare myself for the possibility!
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Isn't it great to actually BELIEVE in your kids? I mean, the average parent might say "That's nice.." to their son's dream of being a 15 yr old working for NASA.. but, US.. we can look beyond that as a dream and realize it as potential. Something that could really happen.. something that has worth and value.. not just a passing fancy... we can take our kids' seriously, and BELIEVE in them. I feel pity for those fools who do not. They limit their lives and their kids lives to mediocrity by stifling dreams and ignoring that reality has limitless potential. You may introduce your son to some material about the life of Gene Shoemaker. Before folks went to the moon, he decided that he wanted to be the first sent to the moon. So, he thought "What kind of scientist would they have to send?" He decided that they'd have to send a geologist, to study the rocks. He became a geologist and was in the running, but a physical health problem kept him on Earth. However, he spent his life dedicated to studying meteors and comets.. discovered many meteor craters, and discovered many comets, mapped them in space. and when he died, his ashes were shot into space.
ReplyDeleteOh, thank you for the tip! I was just searching Amazon last night for some biographies of astronauts, etc. I am really getting tired of reading books that are just crammed with "space shuttle facts," etc., and I would really like to read some books that are more fluid and that tell a story.
ReplyDeleteYeah, plenty of people chuckle at Ezra's dream, and I do, too, but only because I know he might change his mind (though I'm starting to think there's NO WAY he will!), but I don't know if anyone but his parents realize that it really could happen. He's already got some contacts!