Three Doses of Paddington Sweetness for Your Honeys

Looking for some innocent, good-natured fun for your family movie nights? Over the summer, my daughter and her family (three grade-school-aged kids) were able to stay with us for a month while her husband worked remotely. They introduced us to two of their favorite movies that we’d somehow missed: Paddington, and Paddington 2.

Paddington, 2014 , PG, 7.2 IMDb

The family who finds Paddington is (of course) pretty zany, but well-intentioned and definitely compassionate toward the little bear who’s come from darkest Peru to find a new home in London.

Paddington accidentally gets into all sorts of mischief because he’s so curious, but isn’t that what happens, even to the best of bears?

Paddington 2, 2017, PG, 7.8 IMDb

Perhaps for the first time in our family history, we liked the sequel even better than the first story (as did the critics), although one really needs to understand Paddington’s history (developed in the first movie) to fully appreciate the second movie.

Although Paddington definitely has a good heart and never intends to hurt anybody,

in Paddington 2 he somehow manages to get into big-time trouble while taking on some odd jobs in order to save up money to buy his Aunt Lucy a gift for her 100th birthday.

Paddington pursues a very quirky and perfectly funny bad guy (Hugh Grant) who through trickery evades the cops,

leaving Paddington to take the wrap. 😦

However, even in prison, his steadfast integrity and goodness have a positive affect on his fellow inmates.

What happens in the end? Well, let’s just say children who watch will go to bed smiling that night, pleased that good overcame evil and hopeful that if they are earnest and persevere in always trying to do the right things, everything will turn out well in the end.

“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: 
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever” (Psalm 23:6).

P.S.—Perhaps you’ve all seen this by now, but I have always admired Queen Elizabeth and think of her as an example of English-style goodness. She spent her life trying to serve her people and her heavenly Father. Did you know that she’s had a bread, butter, and jam sandwich almost every day of her life since she was eight? At any rate, she will be greatly missed! This little skit of sharing tea with Paddington Bear was made for her jubilee this year. If you haven’t seen it, it will make you smile! God bless you all!

TWA:NE (5) Ontario Orchards and Other Harvest Hosts

Ever hear of T.O.E. jam or F.R.O.G. jam? Those were just two of the new and unusual foods we discovered on our trip. But, let me back up and tell you how it all happened!

Blissful evening at Ontario Orchards in Upstate New York

We spent our next night at Ontario Orchards nestled between an apple orchard and a stand of Christmas trees. Sixty years ago, when John Steinbeck was traveling in search of America with his faithful poodle, Charley, he camped numerous times by rivers or in quiet fields, often on private property, with or without any particular consent from the owners (who may or may not have been aware of his presence). If you ever travel by motorhome, you may be aware that Walmart allows self-contained campers to spend the night in their parking lots, which are usually lit and have some modicum of security and surveillance cameras. Alan and I had considered trying this approach, but then I found something so much better!

For completely self-contained vehicles (with no need for electricity, water, toilets, or trash services), there’s a wonderful organization called “Harvest Hosts.” We joined for less than $100, and it has given us access to some 2,861 farms, orchards, museums, etc. for one year.

Sunrise at Island Hill Farm in Prince Edward Island, Canada

We reserved nights at farms and orchards along our way, choosing to stay no more than one night (due to water and electrical needs) in areas where it was hard to find a good state park.

Home

I highly recommend this organization if you’re interested in travel, have a self-contained vehicle, and have the time to meander just a bit off the path to experience more of the stuff and substance of Americana.

Map of Harvest Host Locations in America and Canada

Road to Cedar Valley Farm near Exeter, Rhode Island

I intentionally chose locations that were less than 15 miles “out of our way,” and in every case the excursions were a delight, adding to our enjoyment rather than being a detraction.

Enjoying fresh apple cider and muffins from Ontario Orchards for breakfast

Staying on the sites is free, although there is a courtesy expectation of buying $20 of products from their roadside stands or stores.

Store connected to Ontario Orchards

In fact, we always spent considerably more, simply because the produce and products were always very appealing! We never needed to stop at a regular grocery store for fruits or vegetables!

Eureka Farms in Palmyra, Maine

For example, at Eureka Farms, it was hard to keep from buying out the entire store!

Sunny and Hollis, hosts at Eureka Farms

This is where we found the jams made by local Mennonite families:

T.O.E. jam is made from tangerines, oranges, and elderberries. F.R.O.G. jam is made from figs, raspberries, oranges, and grapes. When you put it that way, it sounds pretty yummy, doesn’t it? We’re saving them to share with our kids next week for Thanksgiving.

Maple Syrup Production at Eureka Farms, Maine

The highlight of Eureka Farms is their production of maple syrup . . . so we ended up buying a big jug to share with our kids over the holidays as well! 🙂

Our view from the parking lot of Granite Town Blueberry Farms, New Brunswick

Most of the places we stayed were very rural, but even the ones in small towns had lovely views!

Steam rising in the frosty morning at our site. Granite Town Wild Blueberry Farms

So, the sites and stores were both super appealing and super fun!

And, sometimes we’d find amazing deals! Alan bought a pair of Stihl workboots from our hosts in New Brunswick for much less than he’d have to pay in America!

Wild Blueberry Pie, fresh from the oven!

And, by request, we were able to order a hot wild-blueberry pie to take with us when we left the next morning!

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Piggy Wiggy and their family of smaller snorters!

All the hosts at the orchards and farms where we stayed were hospitable, and we met a number of memorable hosts and guests.

Children helping prepare food for the pigs at Cedar Valley Farm, Exeter, Rhode Island

One of our favorite adventures was joining a homeschooling family at Cedar Valley Farm, where the boys helped mix pomace from pressed apples with other feed to make a feast fit for pampered piggies!

Mother and young son feeding pigs

The young couple who own Cedar Valley Farm have been working like troopers for three years to get their farm going, but they cheerfully took time to answer our questions and let the kids help out.

Watering the hogs

What a wonderful way to experience America at her finest (AND Canada) . . . meeting “real” people who are willing to extend hospitality to others. And, I hope, it’s also a good experience for the hosts and hostesses! All it takes is time and kindness, but what a gift to give others! Thank you, Harvest Hosts!

“Use hospitality one to another without grudging” (1 Peter 4:9).

What Money Can and Cannot Buy

Ready for a game? Perhaps you’ve already thought about this and come up with your own list of cans and can’ts concerning money, but I’ve been thinking about all the things money can’t buy, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized you could go on and on. I started playing this game with myself, going from A-Z thinking of all the things we can buy and then trying to pair it with things that we can’t buy but would doubtless like to. We can buy a fancy car, but we can’t “buy” a guarantee that we’ll never get hurt driving it. Here’s my list, but I’d love to hear some additions from you. I started by trying to use the same letter for both what you could and couldn’t buy, and that’s probably possible but might make the game unnecessarily complicated. I also think this could be a good game to play with your kids while traveling in your car! What do you think?

Bugatti, world’s most expensive cars in 2021

We can buy:

Attention but not admiration
Athletic equipment but not agility
Books but not brains
Baubles but not blessings
Canvases but not creativity
Company but not companionship
Computers but not wisdom
Dogs but not faithfulness
Entertainment but not enjoyment
Equipment but not wisdom
Fun but not happiness
Food but not appetite
Guns but not courage
Glamour but not beauty
Houses but not homes
Ice cream but not ingenuity
Jobs but not joy
Kitchens but not kindness
Laughs but not patience
Music but not worship
Medicine but not wholeness
Names but not integrity
Objects but not feelings
Passion but not purity
Popularity but not esteem
Quilts but not perception
Relationships but not trust
Sleep but not peace
Servants but not loyalty
Sex but not love
Trophies but not praise
Umbrellas but not weather
Vacations but not rest
Wardrobes but not class
X-rays but not health
Yachts but not safety
Zoos but not life

“How much better to get wisdom than gold!
To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver” (Proverbs 16:16).

Learning to Treasure Manna

“There’s no use telling my kids Bible stories again. They’ve heard them so often they know them by heart.”

Really?? I don’t think so.

Sambo and the Tiger

As a little girl, I can remember begging my mother to tell me “one more time” about how Sambo outsmarted the hungry tigers or how the silly princess could feel a pea under all those layers of mattresses. I never tired of hearing Pooh Bear’s adventures in the Hundred Acre Woods or about the elephant’s child with his ‘satiable curiosity.

How the Elephant Got His Trunk, in Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories

As a homeschooling mom, one of my (many) mistakes was in failing to reinforce learning enough, specifically in not forcing my children to solve simple math problems over and over again or practice their multiplication and division tables ad nauseum. I hated math as a kid because it was so “BORING!,” so as soon as my children could rattle off their equations, I let them move on to the next step in mathematical education. Big mistake! As adults, some of my kids who didn’t pursue higher mathematics in college no longer have the times tables as part of their muscle memory.

There are some things we all need to have instilled in us as muscle memory. You may think we no longer need to know mathematical principles with calculators at our fingertips, but what about how to make wise choices when confronted with moral decisions? The Bible is filled with true examples of the good and bad choices people made and how those decisions affected their futures. I didn’t grow up in a Christian home, but I would love to have had ingrained in my heart the courageous response of Daniel to idolatry or how Esther was willing to chance losing her life in order to save her people.

The Bible is called “The Word of God” and likened to bread—manna for our souls. “What is it?” Nothing less than that which feeds our spirits and helps us to grow spiritually. It wasn’t that manna didn’t taste good; it tasted like “wafers made with honey” (Exodus 16:31). Plain and simple as it was, manna was given miraculously day by day, could not be freeze-dried for future reference, and was (also miraculously) the perfect food to sustain the children of Israel as they wandered through the desert! This is a perfect picture of how we need to imbibe the Bible for spiritual sustenance as we journey through the arid wilderness of this world! However, just as the children of Israel tired of manna, many people (young and old) tire of meditating on their “daily bread,” the Word of God.

Please don’t stop feeding yourself or your children! The Bible is full of milk (1 Peter 2:2) and meat (Hebrews 5:12-14). God’s words are sweeter than honey (Psalm 119:103), but they also make us strong (Proverbs 10:29). “Give us this day our daily bread” is our prayer to our heavenly father, but it is also the need of our earthly children . . . both physically and spiritually! It was the basis on which Jesus was able to resist temptation: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God” (Luke 4:4). We all need physical and spiritual food every day in order to be healthy and strong. The Bible is one book but filled with sixty-six books including history, poetry, songs, letters, wise sayings, prophecies, and more! It’s like food. We all need “food,” but there are many classes of food, such as vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy, and more! Let’s keep feeding ourselves and our children every day—spiritually as well as physically.

“Come, everyone who thirsts,
    come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without price.
² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
    and delight yourselves in rich food.
³ Incline your ear, and come to me;
    hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant” (Isaiah 55:1-3).

The Great Conjunction and the Star of Bethlehem

Starlight, star bright, can you see the Christmas Star tonight? I hope it’s clear where you live, because the universal studio of stars is holding a very special Christmas performance this week. For the first time since 1226 AD, the two largest planets in our solar system will align in such a way that they can be observed around the world in what is known as “The Great Conjunction.”

“The galactic core area of the Milky Way over Maskinonge Pond in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta on July 14, 2020. Jupiter is the bright object at left, with Saturn dimmer to the left (east) of Jupiter.” Alan Dyer / Universal Images Group via Getty Images file, ABC News

Around the time that Jesus was born, there was a “great conjunction” between Venus and Jupiter. Do you know that story? When Jesus was born, there were “wise men from the east” (astronomers?) who came to Jerusalem looking for the King of the Jews who was to be born (Matthew 2). The Bible doesn’t explain the basis on which these foreigners discerned that Christ would be born, but it had something to do with a bright star that led them to Jesus.

NASA/JPL-Caltech

This week, we will experience something similar, so this great conjunction is being nicknamed “The Christmas Star” or “The Star of Bethlehem.”

Jupiter and Saturn. Getty Images

Tonight and tomorrow night there should be especially glorious viewing as our crescent moon rises close to Saturn and Jupiter (the two largest planets in our solar system). Jupiter is not only our largest planet, it outshines every other star in our universe (as seen from Earth) and is eleven times more brilliant than Saturn, although Saturn shines as brightly as even the biggest stars. On December 21, when The Great Conjunction occurs, Saturn and Jupiter will be only 0.1° apart and will look more brilliant than any star we’ve ever seen!

The internet is full of interesting information and videos concerning The Great Conjunction, and if you find astronomy fascinating (as I do), I think it might be worth your time to study a little and head outside at night to see what you can see! I’m also including two of my favorite videos: the one above from NASA explaining what’s happening in outer space this month (including excellent viewing of Geminid meteor showers and detailed information on The Great Conjunction), and the link below will enable you to livestream the conjunction just in case it’s really overcast where you (or I) live when the time comes.

But, what’s the real relationship between The Great Conjunction and The Star of Bethlehem that led the wise men to Israel 2020 years ago? I don’t think we’ll ever really know until we get to heaven. To me, it’s like asking if “the great fish” God prepared to carry Jonah back to land without killing him was a “whale” or something special that may have been a one-time, uniquely created sea creature.

Ultimately, I’d like to encourage us all to believe what the Bible says without trying to “make it fit” with science as we understand it today. Was the Star of Bethlehem a “Great Conjunction,” or was it something else? Is it a round peg that slips perfectly into the round hole of our scientific understanding, or is it a “square peg” that doesn’t? Does it matter? Let’s believe the scriptures are true; let’s admire all that astronomers are discovering, and let’s wait for the “final verdict” on mysteries until the end of time, when we are face to face with Christ, our Savior!

“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You have set your glory above the heavens . . . When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” ( Psalm 8:1,3-4)

New Friends From Around the World: Meet Jérôme from France!

One of the unique privileges of blogging is getting to know people you’d never meet otherwise here on earth. What a joy to make new friends who live far away—sometimes even on other continents!—but with whom there is the precious bond of sibling kinship through our common faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and God as our heavenly father! In April I shared several poems by Carol Floyd, who is a newly found sister and soulmate from Kentucky. Today I want to share with you another such friend, this time from France: Jérôme Framery. Jérôme approached me initially about helping him find photographs to illustrate some of his work on the Song of Solomon. I was more than delighted to be a tiny part of his project, and we have quickly become friends. Today I’d like to introduce you to Jérôme and encourage you to see his lovely YouTube video on the Song of Solomon.

Combronde (France), May 3rd 2020.


Dear Kathi,


In your last message you told me that you would be honored to feature me on a blog post on your website. I’m honored indeed to get a small place here!

We met as per e-mail in March (it was just the beginning of the quarantine in the USA but the quarantine had already begun two weeks previously in France).

I was looking for information and photographs about the Song of Solomon in order to make and broadcast on my channel a video telling this passage of the Bible. Searching on the global Internet, not only in French, I found your website and the huge work you did. I wrote you and you immediately gave me a very friendly and optimistic answer.

For the past few months I’ve been producing short and funny videos on YouTube to teach the Christian religion to children. I teach religion to a group of 6 children (10-year-olds) in my village, but because of the quarantine the children stay at home so I decided to make more videos to help children of my group and all other children to continue to learn the Gospel “online”.

It is easier to find virtual material (pictures, clip art, coloring, …) in English than in French. For example I translated in French the “Pumpkin Prayer” which seems to be popular in the USA, and I used it with my group last Halloween.

A few words about me: I’m married and I have three teenagers. I’m a mechanical engineer and my wife (whose name is Catherine or Cathy!) is pharmacist, but she stays at home since we had our third child.

In France the government decided in 2013 to authorize “marriage” (I put the word in quotation marks) for homosexual people. There was no vote, no debate. My wife and I have been very shocked and disturbed. I tried to have a political commitment during 4 or 5 years, but it wasn’t going anywhere. So, I decided to teach religion to children to help them to be strong in their faith and get a critical mind so they can be confident in the Lord. Children are our future and THEY will change the society, not “aged” people like me. Maybe the children will make a better society because of the good example of the Lord. I don’t know if I’m a good catechist but I try.

I subscribed to you daily newsletter, and now I feel very close to you because your messages are so friendly. With you we feel like a member of the family.

Thank you, Kathi, for your help to make this video. For the first time but probably not the last, I made it in French and also in English. The English version of the video is dedicated to all your subscribers.

Blessings, from France.

Your Jérôme.

“O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together” (Psalm 34:3).

Ten Reasons Why I Loved Home Schooling

I know many of you are ready to pull out your hair with your kids confined to home 24/7, and I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it would be to have an emergency start in the middle of the year with kids in various grades, without any teaching manuals, and likely many parents trying to work remotely from home to boot. I totally and sincerely empathize! However, I also want to mention that home schooling, when planned for (and I spent my entire summers preparing for the school years), can be an amazing experience both for the parents and the kids.

Why am I on a soap box today shouting out praises for home schooling? Because some people are suggesting that home schools should be banned, probably based on personal frustrations over homeschooling, which is especially testing the patience and stability of homes during this COVID crisis.

If you’re among those who think homeschooling should be banned, please read this helpful article by a Harvard alum (PhD) who home schools her four children:

https://fee.org/articles/harvard-magazine-calls-for-a-presumptive-ban-on-homeschooling-here-are-5-things-it-got-wrong/?fbclid=IwAR3PCAm51mqVZ5PghJGFFs7Ywg2fgWYauoaP1xQrWIK-CR7uaWfSkCduJGU

Kerry McDonald isn’t unique in being a brilliant woman who values her children’s education above her own career ambitions. My closest friend during our early homeschooling years had a PhD in statistics from Princton and gave up a glowing career to home school. Today I have friends who are both physicians, although the wife gave up her career to home school their beautiful family and told me not long ago that their oldest was just accepted into her alma mater for university training, so she felt relieved to know she hadn’t “failed” her kids.

I started homeschooling not because I thought it was a brilliant idea, but as a result of economic duress (which meant we couldn’t afford tuition for the Christian school where we were sending our two oldest). I was lamenting about our financial situation to my best friend, and she responded, “Kathi, the Lord is just backing you into a blessing! Try home schooling.” I didn’t think it would be possible. My oldest was eight and almost uncontrollable, not to mention the other three were two, four, and six.

We started timidly, thinking we’d just home school for one year, but by the end of the year no one was interested in returning to a regular class room setting. Why? Well, here were some of the unexpected pluses:

1. More freedom and time to grow and explore creatively. I think the biggest plus for my kids was the fact that as soon as they were done with their school work, they were free to pursue their own interests. They didn’t have to sit and wait for everybody else in the class to finish, which really cut down on boredom. The eager beavers also put positive pressure on their sibs to get done so they could play.
2. More input by parents as to what the children are learning. I don’t know if this meant much to our children, but it meant a lot to me. I loved being able to tailor our curriculum so that I was teaching the children spiritual and moral values as well as academic lessons.
3. Better able to tailor curriculum to fit your child’s individual needs. Not all kids are born academically equal, so to speak. I am deeply grateful for public education being available for all children in America, but of necessity it has to be geared for the average child, so children on either end of the spectrum do not have their needs met as ably. The closer to the ends of the bell-shaped curve, the less public schools are geared to meet the true needs of the child. So, home schooling is especially helpful both for children who have learning challenges and for those are particularly gifted.
4. Requires (and therefore develops) more independence on the part of the students. A dedicated teacher who only has to teach one grade or subject can focus all their attention on that subject or class during the day, and schools have a complete support staff to oversee all the other aspects of the children’s care. A mother in a home has to provide for every aspect of the school. She’s not only the teacher, she may be replacing several teachers (one per grade level or subject). She is also the principal, the maintenance man, the recess supervisor, the cafeteria personnel, and the child care worker (for any preschoolers). I remember being consoled by learning that butterflies need to fight for themselves to emerge from their cocoons in order for their wings to become strong enough to fly. My kids would get so frustrated waiting for me to finish helping someone else that they’d often figure out the problem before I could get back to them. It forced them to THINK!
5. Less “seat” time and more “hands on” time for learning. Learning didn’t end when classes ended. In many ways, I felt like the kids learned more in their free time than during their academic studies. They probably learned more “facts” studying math, science, history, English, spelling etc., but they learned more about how to live by living and doing.
6. More flexibility as a family. This was a huge advantage! Whenever Alan was available for a vacation week, the rest of us could go anywhere with him. We didn’t have to juggle nine schedules! My personal theory was that I didn’t want any kid to miss any really cool opportunity, and that was pretty consistently true over the years. If a special occasion came up, we could make time for it. (Just one small for instance, but Jon loved trains as a child, and one day he [and I] got to take a train ride with a real, live engineer (who was a patient of Alan’s). We could always take time to enjoy special community or church events, etc. Life was rich with unexpected prospects for adventures and learning experiences.
7. Bonds the family together. There is nothing quite so bonding as working side by side on positive projects, and spending your life working and playing together makes for some pretty tight, lifelong friendships. All of my kids are still very interactive with each other. Not all with all, but all with some. We were always active in a church community wherever we lived, and the kids also played with neighbor children (when there were any) and cousins, but to this day the kids still text and share and think and dream and joke together.
8. More variety and opportunity to teach and learn life skills. Before we started home schooling, we asked the kids if they’d rather go to the local elementary school or try home schooling, with the understanding that if we home schooled, they’d have to help me with family chores. They all signed on to the experiment of homeschooling, and they all learned how to do pretty much everything I knew how to do. We had rotating assignments for almost all aspects of home and yard care. We cooked, cleaned, babysat, shopped, gardened, and canned together. In the evenings after Alan came home from work, we played sports together—hockey, softball, tag football, volleyball . . . swimming, hiking, biking . . . whatever was going wherever we lived. They all had to learn how to play the piano, read music, and sing; they all learned how to sew on buttons and iron shirts. They learned how to handle money. They got comfortable with people of all ages. We got involved in a family music ministry and sang in rescue missions, camps, churches, nursing homes and college campuses. They learned to care about other people. They were eager to talk to adults and children . . . people of all ages. Shaking your hand and looking you straight in the eye came naturally.
9. Better use of family financial resources. When we realized we wouldn’t be able to afford tuition for our kids, the school offered me a job teaching high school English. However, I had two preschoolers whom I was unwilling to put into child care (which had nothing to do with the excellent school but everything to do with my passionate desire to care for my own little ones). Over the years, Alan would notice articles detailing the additional expenses incurred by a second family member working outside the home, and by most accounts, unless the second job is really high paying, it’s a “wash” as far as expenses and additional income. According to the 2015 documentary on The Happiest People on Earth, once a family has about $50 thousand (not sure exactly what the amount would be today), there is no perceptible increase in “happiness” no matter how much more the family earns (according to self-reporting research). In fact, the happiest people on the earth are not the richest monetarily, they are the richest in the love of family and community. Not only did we save thousands of dollars by home schooling, I believe it greatly enriched our family life . . . a trade I’d make any day!!
10. More control over influences in your children’s lives. We all love positive influences in our lives, but the more we can control negative influences, the better. Homeschooling doesn’t eliminate negative influences by any means, but hopefully it will lessen them. I also believe that the older a child is before being exposed to evil, the better able that youngster will be to recognize and handle problems. That being said, I failed to understand that evil lurks in the hearts of children (as well as adults, although I already knew that). If you home school, don’t assume your little cherubs are perfect and would be beyond lying, cheating, or any other problem that all people find tempting. We’re all just humans and need watchful supervision at all times! (One small case in point: One of my kids years later admitted to cheating on math during fifth grade. He kept wondering when I would catch him but finally realized I never would! [It didn’t cross my mind to suspect him.] Thankfully, when he realized that, he became honest because he knew that’s what he needed to do.)
    

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13, ESV).

If you have time, I’d love to hear your comments. If you home school or home schooled, any advice or tips? If you’re struggling with home schooling right now, any questions? If you’re considering home schooling next fall, anything else you’d like to hear about? Blessings~

April is NaPoWriMo! Are You Ready to Celebrate?

Ever heard of National Poetry Writers Month (NaPoWriMo)? Well, this year it’s become GLOBAL Poetry Writers Month (GloPoWriMo), so let’s go, GloPo! The challenge is to write 30 poems in 30 days, and I’d like to encourage you to try . . . even for one poem in the next 30 days (which might be more my speed)! If you write a poem and would like to share it, please add it in the comment box below whenever you get it written, or you can email it to me with a photo (kathrynwarmstrong at gmail.com), as I’m hoping to feature some poetry by friends at some point this month.

During the insecure hush that’s fallen over our world, poetry might come more readily than during the crush of business as usual. Trying to write a poem would make a fitting assignment for a home school English class or a challenging occupation for a quiet evening’s reflection either alone or with family members all sitting around the kitchen table or fireplace!

When I was young, one of the hardest things about poetry was trying to make it rhyme and ensuring there were exactly the right number of syllables per line, but neither rhyme nor meter are mandatory requirements for poetry today. Modern poetry is often more about saying something worth pondering in an artistic way.

If you’re interested in exploring more about poetry, here are a couple of links that might help get you in touch with your poetic potential:

https://www.slowdownshow.org/ This daily poetry podcast is hosted by America’s former Poet Laureate, Tracy K. Smith, and yesterday’s reading (March 31, 2020, called “Interesting Times”) is perfectly apropos for the COVID crisis!!

http://www.napowrimo.net/ This website was developed by Maureen Thorson back in 2003 as a venue for sharing poetry. If you lack for ideas or inspiration, she will be suggesting prompts every day (which you don’t need to heed, of course!). You can also submit poetry into her comment box or submit a link to your website if you’re writing poetry on your blog for the 30 days of April each year. Maureen’s website is totally non-commercial and exists out of the generosity of her heart as a way of sharing people’s love for poetry.

“My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer” (Psalm 45:1).

Ideas for Structuring Your Home School

Although I home schooled our kids and loved it, it’s been about 15-35 years ago, so times have probably changed a lot. Still, kids don’t really change that much, so I thought it might be worthwhile to share how we organized our days just in case you’re struggling to keep your kids channeled between now and the end of the school year. Of my five adult children who are married and have kids, all of them—those who live from Belgium to California—are now in school systems that are closed between now and ?? probably the end of the school year.

So, what did I do with my seven? (Alan, as a physician, was out early and home late, but he almost always made it home for dinner and some fun with the kids afterward.) For the kids and me—who were homeschooling together—Monday-Fridays looked something like this:
*Everybody got up, got dressed, made their beds and brushed their teeth
*Breakfast got made, eaten, and cleaned up with the help of some of the kids (We made a list of chores each week and kids helped self-assign themselves to which ones they wanted to help with . . . or else got assigned.)
*Family devotional time, which included Bible reading, prayer, memorizing one verse each day, and a short devotional lesson. (We used Keys for Kids and Our Daily Bread or other Bible story books and/or devotionals over the years.)
*Calisthenics: Fifteen minute routine that we all did together; stretching exercises mostly
*School work, which didn’t usually take the kids more than about 2 hours (3 hours max). You’d be surprised how fast kids can work if they know they’ll get free time when they’re done. 🙂
* Lunch, again aided by some of the kids in prep and clean up
*Rest time. I could never seem to make it through the day without a break, so I needed to rest even if the kids didn’t, although I think it was good for the kids too. Our “Rest Time” usually lasted one hour, and the kids could sleep, read, write, draw, play legos, or otherwise occupy themselves BY THEMSELVES, but creatively, not by watching videos, video games, or internet. Any unfortunate kid who hadn’t finished his school work could finish school during this time too, although my kids were usually setting their watches and timing themselves to see if they could shave off minutes, so motivation wasn’t an issue in our home.
*Snack time or “Fruit Break” as it was commonly called. One of my kids named their plush monkey “Fruit Break” in honor of this cherished tradition!
*Free time (roughly 3:00-5:00 in our family, but every family is doubtless unique). During this time, the kids could play together or separately, including video games or videos. When our kids were little there weren’t amazing YouTubes of everything under the sun, nor did we have Disney on Demand, Netflix, or Amazon Prime. We intentionally didn’t allow T.V., so the kids were definitely “behind the times” on their knowledge of cultural trivia, but some of them still don’t have T.V.s in their homes 30 years later, and none of them are big fans of T.V., so I think it was worth the effort. Instead, the kids were constantly challenged to be creative and do fun things together, such as making crazy home movies and all sorts of imaginative games.
*Dinner Time, including cooking and food prep (all but one of my kids are still great cooks) and clean up.
*P.E.—Probably one of our favorite times of day! After dinner and the dishes were done, we’d all play some sort of family sport with Alan too, such as touch football, volleyball, ice hockey (on winter ponds or iced rinks Alan would make), soft ball, bike rides, swimming, hiking, whatever! When we lived in neighborhoods with lots of other small children, we’d often incorporate neighbor kids, although after we moved out of town and the kids got bigger, we’d usually have enough for a couple of scrub teams of whatever seasonal sport was going.

Truly, this routine was so fun that we kept at it until our youngest went off to college.

All the kids graduated from various colleges and went on to graduate and professional schools afterward, so don’t be afraid to home school your kids for the next few months! In fact, you might discover what I discovered 40 years ago . . . that homeschooling is so much fun that nobody will want to go back to traditional school next fall! 🙂

“I have more understanding than all my teachers:
for thy testimonies are my meditation” (Psalm 119:99).

Adventures in Home Schooling: Pepper COVID Science Experiment

Here’s an easy experiment my daughter shared with me to help kids visualize the importance of washing their hands with soap to cleanse away COVID viruses. Sprinkle pepper over a bowl of clean water. (Tell your kids that the pepper represents COVID-19 viruses.)

Dip one dry finger into the bowl, and notice how the pepper clings to your finger.

Next, dry off your finger and coat it with liquid dish soap.

Now gently lower your finger into the water and see what happens. Not only does the pepper no longer stick, it’s repelled! You can almost chase the pepper around the bowl with your finger, and the pepper ends up as far away from the soap as it can get, at the bottom and edges of the bowl!

There are other good applications for this lesson, as you can imagine! If we are spiritually dry, sin will stick to us like pepper on a dry finger! On the other hand, if we are protected by the “soap” of God’s pure word, sin won’t stick to us but will instead be repelled!

“Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me” (John 13:8). “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).