Wrapping up an Awesome day…
I know it’s long after bedtime for Bonzo and the boys, and probably even me, but I’ve had an awesome day. It ran over a bit into the evening. Over the years, I’ve had many friends who kept me entranced by conversation, sometimes spiking to high decibels, and other times filled with tender moments, but this one takes the cake… We’ve never EVER dated, and probably wouldn’t even if we did have the opportunity, we’re both hot headed and on opposing sides of the political spectrum, but we find the fun in an occasional political conversation excruciatingly painful – and do it anyway.
But, that was really not the course of an amazing day… I’ve spent time with my kids, all of them, some via phone, one by text and the boys face-to-face at home. As ever, I’m amazed at my children and their view of life. I feel in awe of them, but more in awe of their ability to speak out what they believe, respectfully, while disagreeing with anyone. They’re amazingly well versed in the art of communication.
The truly amazing thing about today was a compliment I received in reference to my granddaughter. At age two and three months, she’s an amazing conversationalist. Her vocabulary is extensive and well formed, but she’s a deep thinker too. Today’s encounter didn’t include my granddaughter, but did include a teacher who has met her.
We discussed current students in elementary schools and the problem teachers are having with students coming in from pre-school. She mentioned that she wondered if I had the same problem with home schooling and asked how I handled the lack of interest in reading at young ages. I said, “I don’t worry about it.”
She stepped back and asked what I meant.
I said, “Well, early years are spent reading to the children. By elementary age, their either reading for themselves or too busy for books altogether, but we still read some to them. Usually in the afternoon or evening, they’d want to read for a while, so an older sibling or I would read to them.”
Then she brought up my granddaughter, who sits by herself flipping pages on the books as if she’s reading. (She really is reading many words already.)
“My daughter’s read to her all the time, and when I’m there, she often asks me to read to her too. She loves books and her vocabulary is excellent.” I acknowledge, ” Her mother was reading the Bible by the time she started kindergarten, because that’s the book I kept by the bed and she chose it to start reading.”
Then she said what made my day wonderful…
“You know, you really should take your children to Washington and show them what real education is all about. It isn’t this time in a class room, forcing children to focus on specific test based education. It’s about living a life where education is part of the whole spectrum of living. That’s what they need to know in Washington. These kids, coming into school from a full regimen of pre-school are bored with life already and tired of playing tin soldier. They want to play and work in the sunshine, live a little and enjoy a good book. They don’t want to drill and quiz and learn constantly. They just want to live the educational life that you’ve taught your children.” And then she walked away…
I know my children are a blessing and that their education has been a real boost to their ability to accomplish great things, but it’s always nice to hear it from someone who knows the real focus of education is not the classroom but the living room.
What an awesome day!
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