Monday #2

     More questions than answers, it seemed today.  Everyone was kind of tired and not terribly motivated for most of the day.  It didn't help that we slept in quite a bit so by the time we got math, French and piano done  (actually just one kid took forever with this) it was getting on toward noon.  Tobin spent some time after this writing down 5 questions that he would like to pursue about birdwatching.  There was glimmer of passion as he wrote these, he really does love birds, but it's not like he immersed himself in the pursuit of ornithology and completely lost track of time.   But that's what the poster children of unschooling do all day, right?  They revel in their passions until it gets them their own TED talk or at least an article in Scientific American about the new species they discovered.   We've still got until August.  I'm sure these things are in store for us too. :)
       I perused some blogs about learner-led education this morning to read about what other families do in cases where kids don't seem motivated to lead in any particular direction.   Mostly, they just don't freak out about it.  We all have times when we feel inspired and times when we just need to chill.  I'm not at all feeling panicky.   I know the moments of truly memorable learning happen when you least expect them, often when you aren't methodically pursuing them.  We've enjoyed lots of these times, which is part of the reason I wanted to take this time to value those opportunities in the first place.  The blogs also reminded me that the "meta- lessons"  are so much more important than the material learned anyway.   Today, for me, this meant trying to take on a role as an encourager of my kids and their characters, not a nagger to guilt them into being brilliantly fruitful every minute, every hour, all day long.  Wow kids, you sure are having fun playing ministicks together.  That's cool.  (Oh wait, now you're all mad.  Oh well.)
     The other thing that stood out from the blogs is how important it is for Mom to model enjoyable productivity.    Just as I read that the phone rang.  I had won a trip to the Bahamas.   Then the phone rang again and it was actually a real person.  The president of  Partners Worldwide (the organization that my Little Wooly Mama money goes to.  See posts from 2011) was calling to arrange a meeting with me to find out how PW can support me in my connection to their ministry.  Wha?  So random.   I almost said out loud, "Do you babysit?"  but instead I tried to sound cool and unsurprised that they should be calling me and asked "Interesting.  What would this support look like?"  He said he would like for me to meet some other representatives in other regions and discuss the importance of connecting globally.  One of these women is a banker, and the other I can't remember what.    SO glad I was on the phone and not speaking in person.   It reminded me of the times when our financial advisor calls us into his office to sign papers because he's transferring funds from here to there due to ....what follows is usually said in Charlie Brown's teacher's voice.  And I sit there having conversations in my head like:  "Try to look interested, Alicia.  Focus your eyes like you know what he is saying.  NOT THAT focused, now you're cross-eyed....Did he just slip into Cling-On?  Dang, I wish I had paid more attention in Cling-On class back in school..."  Then I spend the next 5 minutes trying to keep a straight face and nod at the appropriate times.  But I'm sure this won't be like that at all.  Maybe the banker and I will have a lot to say to each other.  We'll talk about global markets, economies of scale, employee management,  importing and exporting until the cows come home.  Oooh I like cows.  So many black and white spots.  Some are brown...  Anyway, I said yes, let's pursue this and see where it leads.   Good modeling, Mom.
     Anneke baked cookies.
      The girls and I went grocery shopping.  Anneke helped my compare prices on butter.  She chose the one that was $2 cheaper because cartons of chocolate milk were on sale for $1 a litre.  "We can get two of those now, because we saved $2 on the butter!"  Smart kid.
      Tobin finished his letter to our Ward Councillor about getting a basketball court built in our park and knocked on a few doors to get signatures to hand in to City Hall with it.   He was excited to do a real life writing project back when we had this idea back in December.  Knocking on doors and asking for support is way.  way.  out of his comfort zone, though, so he needed some nudging to get out and follow through today.  I thought it was worth the gentle pushing to prove to himself that he is capable of doing things that are hard, and things that matter.   I hope he gets enough signatures to make this a successful venture.  And heck, if the park gets the basketball court, they better put his name on it.