Movin' On Up.....

Miss "S" contemplating all those sacrifices she made in order to achieve this belt. All those hours she had to wait through Mama's and Daddy & Big Brother's training classes; those Saturdays she wasn't allowed to watch TV so we could attend a class as a family; the early bedtimes on Fridays; oh yes....and all those graduation cookies!!!!

She's doing fantastic. We can not bring her to a class without many compliments on how focused she is and how well she does. And then on Saturdays--she giggles her way through the rolls and the throws and the sword katas. She's SUCH in inspiration.....

And here is Shihan Woodard gleefully handing her her belt.

And she said "Domo Origato Goziamas Shihan"!

~~Proud Mama

History Channel's "Human Weapon Series"

If you want to know more about what we are doing in Taijutsu, you can check out the History Channel TV show "Human Weapon". If you can find it in the archives or on episodes from Netflix, our sensei, Shihan Matthew Woodard was in Japan when the show's hosts, Bill and Jason traveled to Japan to study at the Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu Dojo with Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi, Grandmaster of the nine schools of ninja arts in Japan.

Here you can find some more information on Hatsumi-Sensei and the art of Ninjutsu
http://shinkentaijutsu.com/content/bujinkan.php

and here about our Dojo. http://www.secretstobetterkids.com/woodard/

Shihan Woodard, training with Hatsumi-sensei during the filming of this show and was able to be part of the show. Jason Chambers is seen carrying our Sensei on his shoulders during Ninja conditioning training.

Hollywood Fun

Recognize this guy?......

Now, can you pick him out of this photo?

AND who are those other great looking people in the photo???.............

My "bonus-sister", J, is married to producer-guy, (whose name is the same as my guy's only with a different letter at the end). He has a great relationship with LeVar Burton, who is well known as Lt. Cmdr (or Cmdr--depending on the movie) Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Mr. Burton is also well-known as the host of PBS' Reading Rainbow. Mr. Burton is currently wrapping up a film called Tempting Hyenas that he directs. (He also has an acting role in TH.) We helped out my "bonus-BIL" (who is credited as a producer on TH) by showing up on a set this past weekend to act as extras in some filler material that may be used between scenes.

You can keep up with the information on Tempting Hyenas by checking out www.imdb.com.

Mr. Burton is a gentle, wonderful, personable man. His appeal to children was apparent in his dealings with N and S (though S was a bit on the shy side). I am certain we will be seeing more of him as time progresses (and as J receives her Black Belt in December).

Sometimes we get to do some of the "fun" Hollywood stuff.

Today is Thanksgiving (which most should know unless you live in another country or under a rock). We are missing our distance family and friends. Sending you love and joy and lots of gravy covered, yummy, turkey.

Gobble-gobble.

~~Mama ~~)O(

Hi-YAAAAA!!!!!

Well, that isn't REALLY what we say...more like "Whoa!" and "Yeah!". But isn't S.he cute?????

Look at that pious concentration (the ONLY time she's likes this, we assure you....) as she takes off her very first belt, (white) and prepares to accept belt that will unlock the "next level"
(yellow).

Mr. Woodward presenting the youngest student (currently) at T Dojo with her new belt.

She has the BEST rolls! Ah.....to be so flexible and young again.

Not to be outdone, N and Daddy also advanced (the graduation was after this photo was taken). They are now at the Green/White Stripe level and Mama is Red/Black Stripe level.

The elder 3 of Z Family are all on track for Black Belt next October. Mama will be accelerating some classes in order to catch up to N and Daddy either in December or February.

What an amazing journey this is.....the best we've all undertaken. We will "Stand Tall, Stand Proud and Stand Out From The Crowd".

Best,
~~Mama Z. ~~)O(

Are you "blown away" by our blog updates???

LOL!! We might be! The Santa Ana's have arrived! As you can see from this satellite image I found today, it's a wee bit smoky over this way!

The fires began in Malibu. It was very sad to see that Castle Kashan was one of the first victims. While it is never good to see any loss; of structures rather than life, I am thankful.

There are quite a few fires burning in the area. This time, not many are affecting us directly other than smoke. The closest fires, in Piru and the NightSky fire in the Santa Rosa Valley in Camarillo, are the closest with small spot fires in and around Simi Valley. My dad and MIL called yesterday with concerns. It is touching and I know that everyone out there is thinking positive thoughts for us. Seriously, though, my excuse fro staying at home the past few days has been that I am more concerned for a tree or branch falling on my car than any fires activity. I saw no less than 6 crushed vehicles in a jaunt 2 miles to the post office. Esshhh......I'm staying inside. It gives me an excuse to prepare for my next undertaking.....NaNoWriMo.....(for more details, see my own personal blog-- FeenyxRises -- click the link over there ----------------------->

The kids are so much fun! I spend more time during the day feeding them than much of anything else. We just had a totally fun day out at Riley's Farm in Oak Glen, CA http://www.rileysfarm.com/index.html


Here's a few photos:



The kids were impressive with their ability to actually write with quills and ink.

I'm off to clean up the house before the winds die down and I can clean up the yard.

~~Mama~~

Way too long

As the title suggests, it has been WAY too long since we last posted to the blog and that requires rectification. Since it's been so long since we last posted there are quite a few things that have been happening here:

I had some minor surgery on my hand (taking out a ball of fibrous tissue) which went extremely well. All that's left is a very small scar. The hand has healed up nicely. Other than that, I've been keeping myself busy with work, business, kids and fantasy football. :-)

Momma has been busy as usual with the kids. She is super, and does such a wonderful job raising our incredibly special children. She also excels at continuing to expand their knowledge
and experiences through local trips. These pics are from a recent trip to Kidspace, an interactive museum in Pasadena, CA. http://www.kidspacemuseum.org/site/PageServer?pagename=index

N is growing like crazy and doing extremely well with his reading and martial arts. That brings me over to the little one, who is the newest member of the family to start taking classes. She may look like a cute blond marshmallow in her outfit, but don't let that fool you. She packs a whallop when she throws that knee out!

The weather over the last few weeks has been a bit cooler and we've even been getting some rain (and boy do we need it). The last two days have been gloomy by CA standards, but I have been glad for the change in pace. The Santa Anas have not really hit us too much yet, though that is likely to change in a few weeks or so. If it were up to me, I'd rather skip them altogether. Personally I prefer winter to wind. I know that goes against all CA theory on weather, but it's hard to have a frame of reference when the temperature variation is only about 30 degrees! :-)

Overall, the West Coast Z's are doing well and flourishing. More to come soon.... I promise :-)

Daddy Z

The Final Chapter....

After much hype, waiting, anticipating, cajoling, begging, gnashing of teeth, disappointment of early spoilers.....

It is over.......

*Phew*.....finally. We didn't take any chances in our house, Daddy bought several copies of the book. One for me to read, one for him to read and one to give away.

I won't give anything away, but let's just say I was stunned, shocked, saddened and relieved. The story is finally complete.

And it was AWESOME!!! Ms. Rowling....you are brilliant! And we'll miss waiting for your wonderful stories....We hope you keep writing more, even though we know they won't be about Harry and Hogwarts.

~~Mama

Translatio Imperii!!

It has been a bit since I've put my perspective out on the blog, and now when I do I end up using Latin. So why use the dead language and even more pertinent... What does it mean!!!
Well, I used Latin for a few reasons,: 1.) It sounded cool ; 2.) It grabs attention and 3.) I wanted to make this announcement sound much more formal.

Now to what it means. Translatio Imperii is "transfer of rule", or the succession of a great power in favor of another.

Of course, now I've explained why, and what the phrase means, but not the most important question. Why is this phrase even significant?

Now for all of you that are not from the East Coast, this is not going to be quite as awe inspiring as those that knew me growing up.

For those of you that know my history with the game of RISK, this is why I am making such a formality and using Latin.

My son has handily defeated me in only his second attempt of playing RISK.


He hit me with 2 RISK trade-ins in a row at 30 and 35 armies a piece. If that weren't bad enough it also doesn't hurt that he inherited this weird ability to roll lots of 6's. :-)

All hail the new Pax Zawroticana!

~~Daddy

Hot Fun

...it's summertime!
Jeez-Louise! I can't believe how fast time goes. Here it is already July and I feel like I just put away all the Winter Holiday decorations. Pretty soon....(like next weekend!), they (those at the Mall) will be putting out the Hallows decorations.

Tonight it is a gorgeous night. The day was sizzling !HOT! But, it's summer in Southern California. So, I know I can't expect anything less. I am on my patio in my lounge chair (with the laptop and a wireless connection....got to LOVE technology!) sipping a cool drink, watching bats fly through the yard as the sun goes down and all those yummy bugs come out of the caves they have been hiding in all day. But "bugs" around here isn't at all like in New England. It's way too dry here for mos-qui-toes.

The summer has been going for a couple of weeks now. Our "year" activities with the other homeschool group finally wound down. Girl began a dance class and Boy is taking a rock climbing class (indoors with A/C--thank the gods!). They are both on the same day, so there is minimum running around for this mom.

The biggest issue right now is our park day for the "elf" group. For three weeks now we have trucked on out to our usual, quiet, wide open spot and if none of us had a calendar we would have all known it was summer anyway. Our park was completely crowded! Here is N's reaction to all the kids in the park now:


Actually, this was taken after everyone had cleared out. But it's a very funny picture so I have included it.

That's all the news for now. We are missing everyone.


~~Mama

Come Now.....

....what masks? What Dances Shall we Have? Call Philostrate!.....

Oh! Our little budding thespian has completed a wonderful study of Shakespeare. He performed as Duke Theseus in "Pyramus & Thisbe" (the play within the "Midsummer Night's Dream" play)

He was wonderful! (Though I am a bit biased....his teachers all did say he was wonderful, too.)

*sigh* I've almost gotten to where I can understand the Old English language. Maybe I'll just stick to the children's versions of the Bard's stories........

~~Mama

On a Roll!!!

After not being able to blog for so many months, I'm catching up nicely, I would say. This photo is me, JB and JW, enjoying Mother's Day with our families (and some champagne among ourselves).

Daddy and I and the kids have been working on the yard during our "wet" season (translation; only have to water twice a day). Things are coming up ROSES!


(ABOVE) This bush was here when we moved in. I have no idea what it is called, maybe "Sexy Rexy". But it's pretty and produces a ton of flowers. They have a delicate scent, if any at all and the bees are crazy about them.


This is my "Double Delight" bush just outside my kitchen window. These flowers are very strongly scented and they are "delightful" to behold. I never thought I would ever have any type of rose interest. But the more I care for them, the more they produce. In some parts of California, (like Lancaster which is in the middle of the desert) rose bushes thrive wildly with little or no care. Go figure.... one would think roses are delicate. I'm learning that this is not the case.

We are coming up on two full years here. The enjoyment we have here is so wonderful. It's a great place to be all day long as a homeschooling family. Not that we are here as much as that last sentence makes it sound. Between two park days a week, classes, playdates, field trips and oh yeah, that reading and writing thing, we have to PLAN to stay home! But we are never bored and are totally loving our life.

Many Blessings to All

~Mama

Hear Ye! The Lostus of the The Firstus Toothus!

Boy has lost his first tooth! He was determined to have the tooth fairy visit that night. He worked it loose himself and pulled it! What a smile. He got 4 Quarters!

Our little thespian is going to be Duke Theseus in "Pyramus and Thisbe". This is the current gathering of costumage: (we still need a crown).


Not to be outdone, Girl has been "reminding" me every day that I need to get her into a dance class. She is very persistent. Here is playing with the globe that JiJi got Boy for Solstice. (They like to fight over it). She's picked out Greenland. She really likes the music there. I hope she doesn't start her dance tour there.

Fog City Getaway

My first images of California are of this bridge. Is there anything like it in the world?




The photo above was taken at Baker Beach, just West of the Presidio.

We checked out Alcatraz. There was even a former inmate, Darwin Coon, there that day plugging his book, Alcatraz; The True End of the Line.

We stayed in this GREAT little place, Hotel Del Sol in the Marina District.It is the BEST place for kids. There were cookies and milk every night, videos for loan, games, *BRIGHT* colors (see photo below) and it was remarkably quiet for being in the middle of the City.



Our favorite babysitter attends SFSU. We got to drag her to the Exploratorium. I don't think she liked it much. (I'm being sarcastic.)




We wandered around Fisherman's Wharf, ate clam chowder from a bread bowl, had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and even found the USS Pampanito.

As I have done my time with the military, I choose to stay topside. Submarines are way too close quarters for me.




















It was windy (not on the submarine) alot and we throughly enjoyed ourselves for the rest of our trip. I remembered what I originally loved about California. Things you can only find up north; Eucalyptus on the Bay breeze and fresh green vistas. But in the end, we returned home to SoCal safe and sound after having left a teeny bit of our hearts in San Francisco.









~~Mama

A Spring-y Celebration!

We celebrated the arrival of Spring on "Irish Day" (you'll see the date on the photos, so you'll be familiar with it) with some very good friends. (Translation: we ate corned beef and drank to everything Irish we could think of.)

The kids had a spectacular time as did the adults and we all went home happy and full of good cheer, I mean...Cheers...





We would normally do a celebration of Spring, but....alas, we all forgot. Too stout with Stout, I guess.

Cheers!
~~Mama

Nicolas is 7!!!

Boy turned 7 and it was a racous time. We have a standing NASCAR date with our dear friends, Lady and Smuffy and their kids and there just happened to be a race on Boy's birthday. Yes, his hair is quite long. He's been working on a padawan braid (like the Jedis) and so the rest of his hair was growing. But then it got too long and I had to give him some bangs. MORAL; never let Mama near your hair with a pair of scissors!!!! (It's since been fixed.)

~Mama

Fun at the Races

It has been too long since this reporter has graced the web with his witty dialogue, engaging writing style and his humble outlook on life...
So since that reporter is not available, I want to talk about racing.
It's only been a couple years since I started watching NASCAR and becoming a fan. In that time, I have to say that NASCAR is the best at educating it's viewers on the terms, rules, and strategies that make up racing.
In the times that I've become a fan of racing, I've picked a driver at random and started watching races now and again becoming more and more educated. What's funny is that I am a die-hard Steeler fan in football and they are dressed in black and gold. My driver is Matt Kenseth. What color is his car? Black and Gold. Coincidence? hmmmmm......
What I had not done is actually gone to a NASCAR race.

Last Sunday at the California Speedway, I did just that.

My good friend Ed and I got up really early and headed over to Fontana, CA. The race was set for noon, but we also got pre-race pit passes and wanted to make sure we got full use of that priviledge. We parked in general parking which is free, but a decent walk to the Speedway. This may sound like a pain, but it was totally worth the walking as leaving was not the ordeal it was for the other 90,000 people trying to worm their way out of the parking lot.

So we wandered about the trailers full of merchandise and "outfitted" our families, with shirts and hats then made our way to the pits.

What I didn't realize was that the pit pass allows you to actually go out onto the track itself, into the infield grass, and through all the pits themselves. The only thing you can't do is go up to the cars themselves. The pits have all the gear from high-tech screens to precision repair devices like aluminum bats.. :-)

After walking around for about 3 hours (one wouldn't think that there would be that much to do before a race...), we grabbed some grub and headed to our seats.

Oh yeah, we also go these headphones and track scanners that allow you to hear the driver-pit chatter throughout the race.

Now logically, I cannot explain how it would be fun at all to sit down with 90,000 other people and watch cars turn left for 250 laps. I have to tell you though.. I LOVED IT!! It was such a blast! The track scanners were awesome and I spent most of the time listening in to my driver.
At the end of the day, it was an exciting race and my driver won the first NASCAR race that I've ever been to. (By the way, Thanks honey for getting the awesome seats!!!)

So in conclusion: Racing= good, Live at the track= fun, Marc = silly.

Coming soon: We're going to be taking a family vacation up to San Francisco! So stay tuned for pics and stories from that adventure.

Signing off......
Marc

Tu-be or Not Tu-be

My little patriot--she found this headpiece soon after we were finished watching "Liberty's Kids".

Yes, we watch television in our house. As anyone who reads my blog on a regular basis (or talks to me in person for more than 2 minutes) knows, we school at home. Sometimes television is part of the day's curriculum. We've learned that within our family, too much TV can seem like the brain has been sucked right out of the body. But that is where our family rule about "everything in moderation" comes into play.

I hope that before anyone passes judgment on what they think they know about home education, time is spent talking to a child who is allowed the freedom to explore the world their way. Talk to them. You won't have to "dumb down" your speech or avoid using big words. They will have a full conversation with you (usually involving Legos and Star Wars and Dora the Explorer or Diego).

Having the freedom for my children to explore who they are at any given moment and taking advantage of that freedom is one thing I am grateful for today.

Now....it's time for Disney's Playhouse, so I have to go.

Ciao!

Happy Love Day

I'm not the only one who has renamed this original Hallmark Holiday. My friend, T, and I spent some time talking about this yesterday and the topics of discussion all around me were the nuances of Valentine's Day in the schools, both public and private.

In my niece's private school, the kids were asked to bring Valentines for each child. My sister couldn't find any boxed Valentine's that were not commercial in some way (SpongeBob Squarepants or Barbie Princesses) so she found some cardstock at JoAnn's and we spent the day cutting out hearts for my niece to decorate. That in itself was a great experience for me. I got some time to spend with my sister and the kids all had a great time playing dress-up.


My niece, "D", was looking at the list sent home by the teacher of all the kids in the class and she was giving me bits of information about each as she was making valentines for them. One child is mean to her and to all the other kids in the class. He always talks about stealing all of his Dad's money". She also doesn't like that he teases her about her relationship with my son. (Boy & D were "womb mates" of a sort and are inseparable.) I have had people tell me that this is "normal" socialization for children. Normal??? negative attitudes and snotty comments all the time? I wouldn't want give that kid a valentine, either. But, in this day and age of political correctness, there's no leaving anyone out.

I think I have the greatest MIL (mother-in-law). She sent packages to the kids for Love Day. In it were the coolest treasures! For each, she found these really interesting card games in little lunch box tins, a new t-shirt and--books! Books are the best. S's were painting books and N's were classics (yay!!!). Yep, my MIL totally rocks. She called to see if they enjoyed them. How could they not? There was paper strewn all over the room! And got to have a few words with each of the kids before they shooed themselves off to fight over who was going to play their game first!

She and I had a great conversation about how much she enjoys reading these blog entries. I am so thrilled and inspired (especially to watch more closely what I write about--Hee-hee!) My audience is more varied and diverse than I originally thought. (Hi Mary!!!)

On some days I feel the distance between our family and our extended family more strongly than on other days. For those days, I am very grateful for the telephone, internet, e-cards and regular cards. For all this "technological closeness", one would think it would be very difficult to feel those large spaces. But, we do. So, what do we do? We just love everyone wherever they are.

Happy Love Day!

~~Mama

Shmitle (rhymes with 'title")... OR.... the Beast at the Beginning

I would like to be a good writer. My sister and friend, bkwurm, whom I have mentioned before, is an aspiring writer and one of the best I know. Some of her prose rattles around my head at the most interesting times. The one about the trees and the seeds, in particular. She will know of what I speak and I don't have permission to publish the rest of that, but trust me, it's awesome! She writes all the time!

I have another friend who I mainly "see" online and she is a great inspiration on writing, too. She's a kick in the pants, a published writer, a great homeschooling mom and I really enjoy our discussions.

I used to think that being a writer meant that you had to write *good* all the time. Now I am beginning to realize that being a writer means only that you have to write *something* all the time, maybe even EVERY DAY, no matter what it looks or sounds like.

So, I carry my current books around (in case I get inspired by something I might by chance read, when I have a chance waiting in line or something) and my journal so that I have ONE PLACE to keep my thoughts. Because sometimes I feel as though my brain is too full of kid "assignments" and schedules and what all the little groups around me are doing....I can hardly remember the things I would LIKE to do, never mind all the things I HAVE to do. But if that is one bane of motherhood, pshaw! There are so many other wonderful things to dilute that.

Like this photo:

(Quick subject change and I get to talk about the kids). This is the kids idea of "shopping for boring new rugs for the kitchen with Mom". But, they learned about spatial relations (like my son can't actually fit onto the shelf in the store, at least not the way he wants to which is with his legs straight up in the air) and we talked about fractions and percentages and sale prices v. everyday prices. There was way more learning going on for all than I had originally planned. I just wanted to get new rugs! And we did, and they were a good price. Good for them, good for me, good for the house "finance department".

So, back to my "title". When I open a new post for posting, I immediately balk at the idea of giving something a "title". So, I try to find something random that might be eye-catching. Does today's "title" have anything to do with what I'm writing about? *SHRUG* You decide, dear reader. But I am getting new photos of the kids on the blog on a regular basis like I promised and I'm babbling a bit for purely entertainment value.

I do realize today that I'm beginning to get the hang of this writing thing (oh yeah, and that I can edit my posts!). And I'm enjoying it....

Now I'm off to write about completely different topics in my journal. And I don't give those pages a shmitle, just the date on the top of the page. Oh, I number my pages now, too. Thanks, Sistah!

Maybe I'll start giving those entries titles-shmitles, too. To practice-shmactice.

Hey! That's a good Shmitle.


~~Mama

New Discoveries

One can never be "too old" not "too young" for education.

I've been having these really great conversations lately about books with my friend and sister, "Bkwurm".




I found this poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay in a book she had lying out on the kitchen counter:

Sweet love, sweet thorn, when lightly to my heart
I took your thrust, whereby I since am slain,
And lie disheveled in the grass apart,
A sodden thing bedrenched by tears and rain,
While rainy evening drips to misty night
And misty night to cloudy morning clears,
And clouds disperse across the gathering light,
And birds grow noisy, and the Sun appears--
Had I bethought me then, sweet love, sweet thorn,
How sharp an anguish even at the best,
When alls requited and the future sworn
The happy hour can leave within the breast,
I had no so come running at the call
Of one who loves me little, if at all. -- Edna St. Vincent Millay

I was talking to J earlier and sort of teasing her about Emily Dickinson's poetry. I heard recently that most of her poems can be sung to the tune of "The Yellow Rose of Texas" and also the theme song to "Gilligan's Island".

So, I found a book of Emily's prose and this poem struck me:

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me. -- Emily Dickinson

So, time for bed, the little one said...........

~~Mama

ZBooks Partaken - 2007

Isn't our new library beautiful?!? It's in the South End addition. NOT!!!! Someday......

These are the books that we, Zawrotny-West, are reading or have read this year. This list was begun on January 19, 2007 and will be frequently updated.

1. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde (mpz)
2. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald (mpz)
3. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Jules Verne (maz)
4. Thinking for a Change - John C. Maxwell (mpz)
5. Dumbing Us Down - John Taylor Gatto (mpz)
6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling (all)
7. A Horse and His Boy - C.S. Lewis (audio - nqz)
8. The Persian Pickle Club - Sandra Dallas (mpz)
9. Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card (maz)
10. Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert Heinlein (maz)
11. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey (maz)
12. Forty Million Dollar Slaves - William C. Rhoden (maz)
13. Personhood: the Art of Being Fully Human - Leo F. Buscaglia, PhD. (mpz)
14. Solitary Witch - Silver Ravenwolf (mpz)
15. The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft - Christopher Penzcak (mpz)
16. Tales from Shakespeare - Tina Packer (all)
17. Cutting the Ties of Karma - Phyliss Krystal (mpz)
18. Sai Baba; The Holy Man and the Psychiatrist - Sandweiss (mpz)
19. Our Town - Thorton Wilder

Except for "CSI", we have given up any television habit now that football is (almost) over. Back to reading.........

How Do You "Know" That They Are Learning???

This is a question I get constantly as a homeschooling mother. Most of the time I think "well, DUH!? How does ANYONE really "know" that they are learning?" Oh, right....they get a D+ on an English test right after the teacher got a speeding ticket that morning or they are "average" because they got great grades in one class, but failed another because they argued with the teacher.

When you fall on your face and break your nose, you will "learn" that you shouldn't skate around on the freshly waxed kitchen floor with new socks. When you get slapped with a late charge of $50 and the interest rate on your credit card goes from the 8.9% special to the "for normal instant gratification-ers" rate of 35.99% you might "learn" to pay your bills on time. There is no end to these types of lessons.

Our current "average" standard is to "test" and "measure" and for our children to memorize facts for one purpose...one short-sighted, momentarily milestone.....THE EXAM. That is so backward to the Realism of life.

Our family considers itself an organization of "LifeLearners" so the "tests" are every moment, every single day.

I have a story in mind here that has prompted this musing.

Daddy has the day off in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. So, we thought we would take the day rather leisurely and sleep in a bit (perhaps 8:30am vs 7:15am).

Our two children were making the usual noises in the living room. "That was MY spot!" "Where's green blanket and ducky?" .... "No, that's MY crossbow!" (a very elaborate, original structure made from Lego's). Girl's first words nearly every morning are "I'm Hungry, Mama!" I've discovered that bread is a quick precursor to breakfast and ... they can get it themselves.
They can turn the television on and watch "PBS Sprout" since they are 7 and 3. So I heard "Teletubbies" in the distance while I was working myself casually out of sleep.

So, Boy wanders into the bedroom about 9:00am, gives me a kiss on the nose and whispers "Mama! We have a surprise for you!" Here's what we found:

Our 7 year old and our 3 year old, without hollering at each other and working as a team, pulled out the silverware, china plates, matching placemats (*I* don't even remember where I put those!!!), glasses, set the table, poured water, made toast for me and, get this.....a ham sandwich for Daddy! ... AND managed to find "oranges" for garnish (the are actually lemons off of the tree from the backyard, but, SO WHAT!?!?!?) Oh yeah, they didn't break anything or make a huge mess (probably because they have "learned" that they are responsible for cleaning up their own messes).

Perhaps you think there is nothing so unusual about this. Well, here is what is particularly interesting....we don't set the table this way for our everyday family meals. So, it isn't like Boy has learned to set the table because it's his "job" at mealtimes. We have, however, experienced this treatment when we have been guests at other's homes or if we have had special holiday meals or have guests over. So, what prompted my children to get up and give us this special gift? Well, they LEARNED it somewhere and I *know* that this was never a specific, structure, "lesson" in our house. However, they have seen Daddy and I be kind to one another and make breakfast for each other and/or the family, you know.....everyday stuff. They have seen (and heard) us each own up to our mistakes and offer sincere apologies when necessary. In our very exclusive private school (the tuition is just the right price, too) we do not use any structured curriculum. I run quickly the other way whenever such things are offered or suggested or I am criticized because I don't use one. We are raising Leaders, not automatons.

Normal life is learning every moment. The "training" that is suggested in public schools that life is a series of "jumps" from test to test to exam to graduation to first job rejection to working 50 years to retirement at 67 and then death the following year is so oppressive and depressing! We have chosen to guide our children and lead by example. We are kind to each other and those around us. We stand up for ourselves, we work to protect those that need protecting from tyranny and abuse and we live our lives in love and joy. We realize, as a family that all of our seeking and yearning is useless until we learn that whatever we search for outside of ourselves will never be achieved until we can look inside and find it for ourselves, first.

This cute little table with toast for breakfast (and chocolate donuts for dessert) may not be such a big deal in First Grade, or "count" in other structure curriculum but it showed us without a doubt that our children have "learned" valuable skills. And they never had to stress out studying for The Test. This experience brought tears to our eyes and swelled our hears with pure joy. All of us.

How do we *Know* our children are learning? We talk with them. We communicate with them, we don't push them to "memorize" or "conform". Their integrity speaks for itself. And we learn from them as well.

We ARE "the changes we wish to see in the world".

~~The Mama