Summer Bucket List

1) Read some novels that are for ME.
2) Read Sharon Creech's Ruby Holler to the kids.
3) Teach Kennedy to play some piano.
4) Play guitar with Rory outside under the tree.
5) Build a pergula (sp?) on my deck. (Help Jeff!)
6) Strawberry pick with my kids and niece.
7) Go to see "Wicked" with my kids and Mom.
8) Force my Mom to watch the Wizard of Oz prior to #7.
9) Swimming Lessons in Carberry for the kids.
10) Take the kids golfing with Uncle Jeff and Auntie Jodiene.
11) Cheer for Kennedy at the Carberry Fair.
12) Camp with just Rory at Shady Oaks while Kennedy and Steve are away.
13) Buy a kayak. Kayak with Kim.
14) Watch the rest of Season 2 OITNB
15) Camp at Spruce Woods for the first time ever.
16) Hit up the Spray Park with my niece and kids.
17) Make homemade iced tea.
18) Watch Rainbow Stage's Little Mermaid so that Kennedy can see her character from Little Mermaid Jr.
19) Make fancy cupcakes.
20) Dig out the charcoal pencils and have some fun drawing with the kids.

In Defense of the iPod: The Farm Kid/Technology Balance

I wanted to write a piece about why I let my almost 7 year old take his iPod everywhere. His 9 year old sister does too. It is very easy to find article after article about how bad screen time is and how kids are needing to be more active and so on and so on. I agree with many of these articles but have found my own voice on the subject on the fence post of the argument. Technology bad? Technology good?

Well my friends...technology here.

Like it or not.

We live in a world where one to one devices in schools is not a far off fantasy worthy of laughing at but instead already happening! Why wouldn't I let me kids carry the devices that power their future? 

Now, before you get all upset with me...you need to know some important things.

A) My kids are very healthy...they play outside and imagine and create and run and jump and act.

B) My kids read. They read everyday. They read in our living room, in our bathroom, in the yard, on the deck, while they are camping, to their cousins, and sometimes...when they don't think I can see them...they even read to each other. They do well in school.

C) My kids have friends! Good ones! They get into trouble, they bicker, they invent, they celebrate.

D) AND I know this is going to go against every recent article I have read about how to be a good parent....they have IPODS that they can take where ever they want! They take photos, they make movies, they (eeek!) Play MINECRAFT (Parent of the Year is WAY too hard for me to win)...they text their grandparents, they have even been known to send spelling words to friends that live a distance away. They dance and sing. They YouTube musicals coming to Winnipeg and Google the Goldeyes' schedule. They find their favorite authors' websites and listen to stories downloaded from itunes. These are resourceful kids. AND I can brag. Because they are mine. And parents love to brag about their kids. Including me.

I do not believe that Technology Bad (said in cavewoman voice). I think that with every new change in our lifestyles comes hesitation and skepticism. New things are not easy. And these new things are changing fast. It is exhausting to keep up. Texting is evil - beware of Minecraft addiction - your kid's brain is going to mush. Maybe our kids' brains are working in different ways. That doesn't necessarily make it bad. Or maybe it is! I don't know...but I do know Apple is here.

 

SO instead of getting all worried that my kids are doomed to an anxiety filled, deaf, and robotic existence, I plan on making these my priorities:

1) Teaching  iPod etiquette (it doesn't go into the bathroom, you may not take photos of people if they don't want their photo taken)

2)  Teaching how to find the information they need in a safe and responsible way. What sources are reliable? You cannot believe everything you read.

3) Self Regulation - Vitamin D comes from the sun. Get outside. 

It is all about balance. Find the balance that makes you happy. I promise I will not judge you for your choice in not allowing your child technology yet, if you promise not to judge mine making science videos about how the baler works. 

Love That Boy

I am reading a book to the grade 4s that was inspired by this poem. The book is called Love That Dog by Sharon Creech but I was drawn to the poem.

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

Love This Boy by Walter Dean Myers

Love that boy,

like a rabbit loves to run

I said I love that boy

like a rabbit loves to run

Love to call him in the morning

love to call him

"Hey there, son!"

He walk like his Grandpa,

Grins like his Uncle Ben.

I said he walk like his Grandpa,

And grins like his Uncle Ben.

Grins when he’s happy,

When he sad, he grins again.

His mama like to hold him,

Like to feed him cherry pie.

I said his mama like to hold him.

Like to feed him that cherry pie.

She can have him now,

I’ll get him by and by

He got long roads to walk down

Before the setting sun.

I said he got a long, long road to walk down

Before the setting sun.

He’ll be a long stride walker,

And a good man before he done.

Rory is the scientist of the day tomorrow...we debated all weekend what to do. Then I re-read the newsletter (I hadn't lost it yet) and realized that all of our really cool ideas did not fit the criteria. We debated learning the science behind the hockey stick and then we were going to be paleontologists. The project had to be related to water. Behold...we made it rain! He was a bit nervous to be on video (unlike Ms. Dee) but ran and put on a dress shirt and the more we talked, the more excited he became, and the video turned out better than he ever imagined. He is all giggles about our slow motion rain drop. ALSO IMPORTANT: He is finally getting the hockey hair-do he is after and wants everyone to notice that he has a slight flip behind his ear now. My favorite part of this was Rory taking ownership. He so often has to listen to Ms. Science Experimenter boss him around when we do stuff like this and he thoroughly enjoyed telling her she had to stay out of this one. The satisfied look he gives me through the kettle handle when we catch the rain drop is the look that made this night so special. Love This Boy. Like May clouds like to rain.

She will prick her finger on a spinning wheel

Sleeping Beauty.

She is currently sleeping in her bed with a makeshift eye cover (not sure what the real terminology is here), that is made out of a headband and a piece of felt.

I should really just buy her an eye mask at Ardene's.

She wants to do sports. She comes to baseball and she tries her very best. When I asked the boy and her tonight what they thought they could work on...her answer was "my throwing...and my batting...and maybe my catching."

True. But, she did her best and I am so proud of her.

But Kennedy thinks outside the box...and that is what makes me even more proud. No one tells her what to like, or how to behave, or what she can or can't do (even me!).

So, she told me she was writing a play. Okay. One more pack of paper to spread all over her Cave of Wonders. I can handle that.

After I emptied her back pack, I noticed 5 or 6 scripts that have been printed off and stapled together. "Where did these come from?"
"Mr.M printed them for me."

Next day...she takes loose leaf and markers to her drama practice in Portage. Along the way, she informs me that she needs a spinning wheel. Do I have one? Uh...no.
Then perhaps we can just order one off of ebay?
uh...no.

But she doesn't give up.

Then maybe I could just use a bike wheel and make my own?

(Me...smiling at the thought of throwing her some tools and telling her to dismantle Dad's bike)...why yes! What a GREAT idea!

Next day...I get home from school and she is on the deck with the wheel in her hand. A grin a mile wide.

I then get a text from Grandma Early: "Kennedy asked me to buy some brown spray paint so I have it."

Oh dear.

I hear she has loose leaf posters up all over the school.

Tonight, in the tub, she took her crazy hair and started making the parts around her ears point in on her cheeks. I told her she looked like she had a moustache. How was I to know she was trying out a costume idea for Malificent!?

Steve is quite concerned. He keeps asking if there are any adults involved with his little production of hers. I am not concerned. This kind of learning and experimenting and problem-solving is EXACTLY the type of thinking that more of the world needs. Go Kennedy!

Regan Manns - Raise-A-Thon - Central Plains Challenge Walk & Run

Regan Manns - Raise-A-Thon - Central Plains Challenge Walk & Run

I am walking for 3 people. I am walking for Kennedy's friend who is far too young to be suffering with cancer. I am walking for my cousin. I am walking for my sister in law who keeps her Mom's memory alive. Help Central Plains Cancer Care by sponsoring Kim, Tammy, Michelle, or I (OR all of us) in the annual Walk and Run a-thon. You can donate online by clicking the link above. THANK YOU!!!

Crosby's Mom Doesn't Carry His Stick to the Rink

Wow. Great Job Canada!

Yes, we are good at hockey. So? I take offense to anyone who has a problem with that. In typical self degrading fashion, some Canadians didn't want to cheer for Canada because they are "too good?" Um...what? A country that sprung from so many cultures and from other countries' histories...can't we own something? Can't we be "too good" in something? Lots of other countries are "too good" at something...why can't we just celebrate and be proud that for a few weeks, every 4 years, we are united for one common goal...pun intended. We are Canadians.

Why I think the Olympics are FUN:

1) TOGETHER TIME: Steven and I rolled from our beds and crawled onto the couch at 6. Coffee pot on and sausages in the oven. Kennedy joined by 6:10 and Rory moved his blanket the couch about 6:30. All four of us on the couch. SOMEONE was a tad too spry at 6:30 on a Sunday.

Kennedy!!!!!!! In all 5 attempts she made faces and crossed her eyes....

2) GOLD MEDAL BREAKFAST:

Ingredients: 1 bag of Tater Tots, 6 eggs, 1 cup milk, salt and pepper, 2 pkg of sausage pre-browned and cut into pieces, cheese.

Instructions: Put the cut up, pre browned sausage into the greased 9x13. Mix together the milk, eggs and salt and pepper. Pour over top of the sausage. Grate cheese over top to suit your cheese loving taste buds. Pour the bag of tater tots over top and then finish off with another round of grated cheese goodness. Bake for 40 minutes at 350. Very tasty with a side of orange slices.

3) INSPIRATION: The number one goal is to have fun - but with hockey you also learn how to work hard to get what you want. You learn to take the hits and keep on rolling. You learn what it takes to keep your body working at its finest. You get fresh air. You learn to have patience when learning how to tie your own skates. You learn that it is okay to still ask for help. BUT Crosby's Mom does not carry his stick to the rink. 

4) PATRIOTISM: I love my country. My kids should too. We are very lucky to live in this peaceful and beautiful country. Every one of those hockey players, men and women, regardless of their NHL price tag, has worked hard to get to where they are. Let's put on our skates and go play! 

Making Sochi Gold Medals for Hockey with Salt Dough.

On the ice immediately after the game. Thank you Daddy for our own ice to play on!

The Box: Holiday Memories Day 1

I have decided after my perfect day at home to begin a nightly countdown to one of my favorite times of the year. Tonight I will tell the tale of my Grandma Early's Christmas box.

Every year (EVERY YEAR), my 15 months younger brother and I would resist sleep, pace the basement, throw up and then spend Christmas day passed out on the couch, ill,  because we were so excited.

But NOTHING could keep us from Grandma's house. Down we would go with little Jeffy and we would await our Christmas box. We knew there was one gift for us each. One GIANT gift. For the Earlys have always been known for having a lot of fun with Christmas. My Dad believes that Christmas is for toys, not for practicality. That being said...my parents did NOT approve of early risers on Christmas morning...but that story will be for another day.

The box though...was no ordinary box. Grandma would plunk it down in front of our eager, just vomited faces and we would begin the tearing and clawing of rabid animals after a prized meal....even though the smell of the pancakes cooking didn't help our over-excited stomachs. Inside, was a mound of newspaper. You see, Grandma wrapped all of our gifts in one box. Each gift was individually wrapped in newspaper. I remember unwrapping a black remote. Then a black Porche car. I couldn't believe it! I thought that for SURE my Grandma had given me my brother's gift! I was so excited to have a remote control Por-Shay as I affectionately called it (and no one thought to correct me). The world stopped for a few minutes. I remember nothing of the day after that moment. Just that I had a black Porshay car all of my own. But in that moment I remember every detail. I remember the pyjamas I wore. I remember Grandma's pink easy chair. The brown carpet. The sun coming through the large patio doors into the living room. The newspaper everywhere.

I have now grown out of puking every Christmas. I enjoy my sleep much more these days. I wonder if Grandma would have enjoyed giving 'the box' to what would now be 3 great grandchildren. I smile as I remember times past and as I imagine times to come. Kennedy is getting her Maplelea doll this Christmas and I can't wait to see her face. I hope she remembers the smell of the Christmas scentsy (according to Rory, this is quite sacred.."I PUT OUT THE CHRISTMAS SCENTSY" he claimed as he ceremoniously placed it on a shelf). I hope she remembers her grandparents next door coming over for pancakes. I hope she remembers every Christmas for the friends, family and well wishes for the years to come. I hope she doesn't puke with excitement.

But really...I won't put it past her brother...