At Fantasy Fortress

On Wednesday we met some other families in our ward at the Fantasy Fortress playground. Because there were adults I knew and trusted present, I was only a little nervous about taking my little ones to the playground. Sterling enjoyed baby swing, and being carried around, Kaith pretended to be an ice cream man selling ice cream, Miriam and Trevor practiced sliding down the fire pole.

To my surprise, Trevor made a friend who is just his size. They spent about an hour together, climbing, sliding, and chattering cheerfully.

After two delightful hours at play, I decided it was time to go home. Sterling was the only one to calmly accept that decision. The others were so beligerent that I wondered if the outing was worth my new reputation as a kill-joy. Then I remembered that Trevor had made a new friend. Yes, it was worth it.

Sterling, who had spent so much time in arms at the park, decided that afternoon to crawl. He picked up and moved his right hand, then his right knee, then sat up.

Little Mother

She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness . . . Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. -- Proverbs 31:27, 29

After lunch, Miriam curled up for a nap on the piano bench, with my shoe.

As usual, she's had a busy day, trying to walk in my footsteps: she voluntarily lays out the bowls and spoons for breakfast, pointed out that I sat down at the table without having gotten my breakfast (I was feeding Sterling first), got down the bag of chips and handed them out, was the first to the table for worksheet time, and so on. This evening, she put on her apron and stayed with me during dinner preparation, carrying vegetables, finding measuring spoons, measuring and tasting the peanut butter. Later she tried to open the Benadryl for Trevor and tried to feed peanut butter soup to Sterling.

I think she's dreaming of filling Mom's shoes.

Smile Shutter Technology

A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance --Proverbs 15:13

We replaced the camera that broke. Our new Sony Cyber-shot comes with "Smile Shutter Technology." When in this setting, the camera will take a picture the instant smiles appear. However, it seems to only recognize grins: large smiles with teeth. No Mona Lisa smiles here!

My Happy Childhood

In response to a previous post about a happy childhood, Mom had to ask if I'd had one. So using the "Twelve elements of a connected childhood," I'm going to list a few events and memories. Mom, this is for you.

Unconditional Love, Family Togetherness We often had Family Home Evening, and sometimes Family Fun Saturdays. We read scriptures together as a family and ATE MEALS TOGETHER. Sometimes, in the Summer, Mom would plan outings for the children. I remember going to Flowing Lake together. Then we ate off the new cafeteria style trays we had. We had enough unstructured, at home time that I think we knew where we most belonged. I remember when I was about ten or eleven, Mom would shut herself in her room to talk on the phone with someone. I would lie on the floor outside the door, listening to her talk (sorry if I was eavesdropping, it didn't occur to me that I might be), just to enjoy being closer to her.
Nature I played in Grandpa West's orchard. I remember Great Grandma Clawson's cottage garden. I wish I had a picture of it. We went on hikes with Granpa Hanna. I loved our Granite Falls property. It had a beautiful view of pasture, forest and trees. The leaves of some of those trees twinkled like glitter. We even had a little orchard. We visited parks, lakes and beaches.
A Pet Grandma had bird feeders and a hummingbird feeder. David briefly had a rat, and I more briefly had a mealworm from Science Alliance. What I remember most, though, are the horses. Two long sides of our Granite Falls property bordered pasture. My bedroom window faced it. I chose a favorite horse and named it Strawberry. We would stand along the electric fence, offering fistfuls of grass to the horses.
Ideas, Information, and Knowledge We assisted our local libraries in maintaining healthy circulation. Mom always introduced me to my favorite books. Once, on a long road trip, I started to read Pride and Prejudice. It just happened to be in the van. I think I was thirteen. Actually, there are a lot of classics I would never have known without Mom. School did not introduce me to Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, A Little Princess, The Secret Garden (unless you count the movies), and others.

Then there was Summer Home School. Some summers, for two or three weeks, Mom would put together short school days for us. As much as I had longed for summer, I often found myself bored stiff--but not the week we had Summer Home School. Lessons were short, about an hour or two, which was just long enough to feel some structure to the day, and some mental stimulus and satisfaction at having accomplished something, but not so long they were burdensome.
Beauty, the Arts I took ballet lessons one Summer. In fourth grade I was a Sugar Plum Fairy in Emerson Elementary's production of the Nutcracker. It was an honor I treasured. In the Spring of fifth grade my parents paid ($40, I believe) for an after school art class. We had a piano, and beginner piano books. Sometimes, right after putting us to bed, Mom would play the piano, and I would lay there, listening to it. At my desire, they bought me a flute, which I played for four years (a long time commitment, when you acknowledge a standard University education. It had been more than a quarter of my life when I stopped). I also sang in several choirs. Then there was interior decorating. Around my teens, Mom often checked-out library books and experimented. It rubbed off. The best thing Granite Falls School District did was their career pathways. At the end of eighth grade we took an aptitude test, which sorted us into about six areas of interest. Once a month, in High School, we met with our peers who shared our area of interest, and an assigned teacher counselor. Once we chose a possible artistic major, then spent an hour learning what was involved in which school to get there. I wish I'd had that every year of high school.
Friends, Neighborhood, Community I had best friends in Provo, and knew several other people on our block. When we moved, I soon had a best friend in Marion Gallagher. We moved a couple more times, and while we often didn't know our next-door neighbors well, I learned the neighborhood pretty well, and sometimes walked to friends houses. Robin Lynn lived next door, in Granite Falls, and we were friends.
Organizations, Institutions I enjoyed Jump Rope Club, Science Alliance, Merry Miss (Mom as leader), Highly Capable Program, band, Young Women, and Church.
Individual's Own Self Having my own room (thanks to Mom's ingenuity, and brotherly sacrifice) helped a lot. I enjoyed thinking things over and reaching my own opinions, conclusions, and tastes. I don't think I could ever have survived daycare. I wouldn't have had an away place to recharge. I also went through a good share of journals.
God, Spirituality I started reading personal scriptures when I was eleven, and have kept it up ever since then. I remember getting pieces of a testimony --feeling the spirit--as young as about five or six. I don't think I've ever not known the Gospel is true.
chores, work,responsibility to contribute
Hobbies and/or Sports I've already mentioned drawing and ballet. I would have done tennis in high school if I could ever have figured out when and where things started. I did some hand embroidery and part of a silk ribbon embroidery project. When I was young enough, I played with Barbies and My Little Ponies. I cut things out of paper and made collages, almost compulsively, for a while. After a long time wanting to, I finally began studying French at my first opportunity: my sophomore year of High School.
A Sense of the Past We began studying history in second grade. Mom and Dad gave me my first American Girl book, Meet Kirsten, that Christmas. Over the next few years I read all the books and some of their suppplementary materials. Grandma and Grandpa West had a large, circular family tree on their wall that I would study when I was there.

A Movie in the Park

As the sun set Saturday evening, our family arrived at the park. We walked on an unfamiliar paved trail past the exciting play equipment to a large soccer field. We heard the movie before we saw it: the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Grandpa W. and Uncles Alex and Daniel met us (the kids, myself, and even my husband Cory). We had brought our own bowls of maple popcorn. Grandma W. had sent chocolate cupcakes. Sitting on our large quilt, I wished we had brought more blankets; there was little to block the cold air that came off the ocean, over the wetlands, and up into the park. The big screen was to the West, with the last oranges of the sunset behind it. Suddenly, flying above the screen, flew a large bird: an owl! Forgive my excitement. I don't think I had ever seen an owl in the wild before. It was nearly eleven when we left. The children were temperamental at church on Sunday, but the good memories will outlast the sacrifice.

Fancy Car Seat

"A girl car seat!" exclaimed a child as Cory carried this inside. Miriam got a new car seat so 23 lb. Sterling could get her plain convertible booster. Miriam was so thrilled with her new riches that she asked to be buckled in, right away. Then she didn't want to be unbuckled. I offered a book, which she was happy to receive. Fancy Nancy hit the spot!

Candidates for State Superintendent, Part 1

All six 2008 candidates for State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) were invited to a public forum at the Marysville YMCA, Saturday, July 19, 2008. Of the public attending, I appeared to be half or less the age of everyone present, who was not a child of someone else there. I felt self-conscious, but was too determined to be informed. Two candidates, John Blair and David Blomstrom, did not reply to the invitation and were not present. The remaining candidates: Randy Dorn, Enid Duncan, Donald Hansler, and incumbent Terry Bergeson were present. I tried to take thorough, objective notes. I will post them as I get them transcribed.
Randy Dorn has served seven years in the State House of Representatives. During part or all of that time, he was the Legislative Member assigned to House Education. He was also there when the House did the Education Reform Bill. He has been a high school principal and is certified to be a superintendent. He recalls one mistake he supported while in the House. Looking back, he sees how foolish it was to require fourth graders to take a two-week test. It took him only a few hours to take the SAT for college. School should be about Hope, Opportunity and Opening Doors, not closing them. We need to look at all opportunities for kids: Military, Technical or University.
Enid Dorn helped the dyslexia pilot program bill. She first came to the US on scholarship. Enid emphasizes brain differences. We think in different ways. She is not about testing.
Donald Hansler is a retired science teacher. He has been involved, off and on since 1951, in scientific research. He has worked with forty different principals. He has spent fourteen years volunteering. He gave out (free) a book, Purls of Wisdom, as well as a hand-out explaining his views. His e-mail address is DonHansler1@aol.com, and he encourages people to e-mail him for his position papers on 18 different topics in education. His book shares his life opinions. He doesn’t believe teaching abstinence in schools is effective at changing teenage behavior, does propose that condoms should be available cheaply in every public restroom in America, the maximum sentence should be five years (ending in either freedom or death) and 92 other ideas.
Terry Bergeson is the incumbent. She has held this position for the last twelve years. She has a Doctorate of Education, and is a former teacher. For the last five years, Washington State has been first in SAT scores (of states where 50% or more of students take the SAT).

What strategies would you promote to incourage and support students who are minorities?
Randy Dorn: recognize differences. Have parents involved in all the grades. We need to get rid of road blocks. We need to eliminate the English essays in the Math section of the WASL (although, of course, essays could remain in the English section). We need to follow the guidelines of the National Math Advisory Panel (NMAP)! We’re way off.

Everyday Math Not for Everyday

Young Aunt Keira just showed me a video that shows several different elementary school math programs. Two of the often-accepted new math programs, Everyday Math and Terk, are displayed in their full atrocity. Calculators are pushed in Kindergarten to "teach" counting. The real problem, though, is in what they don't do. They don't teach the simplest, fastest, most reliable methods of solving a problem. The lessons are quite colorful. Some might say their playful. In a class where core math principles are understood, these programs might be useful as a Friday fun activity, or a think-outside-the-box Math Challenge of the Week. Some "gifted" children might like them, too.

Fortunately, Washington Virtual Academies subscribes to the K-12 curriculum. I'm putting a lot of tentative faith in Bror Saxberg (chief learning officer of K-12). Kaith tested borderline between Kindergarten and First Grade Math. I chose to have him start Kindergarten math this fall, with the assumption that he will be ready to move up by Thanksgiving. The only special interest I have is in my child, so if the curriculum fouls up, I'll be sure to post about it!

Marks of a good mathematics program, by David Klein

It is impossible to specify all of the characteristics of a sound mathematics program in only a few paragraphs, but a few highlights may be identified. The most important criterion is strong mathematical content that conforms to a set of explicit, high, grade-by-grade standards such as the California or Japanese mathematics standards. A strong mathematics program recognizes the hierarchical nature of mathematics and builds coherently from one grade to the next. It is not merely a sequence of interesting but unrelated student projects.

In the earlier grades, arithmetic should be the primary focus. The standard algorithms of arithmetic for integers, decimals, fractions, and percents are of central importance. The curriculum should promote facility in calculation, an understanding of what makes the algorithms work in terms of the base 10 structure of our number system, and an understanding of the associative, commutative, and distributive properties of numbers. These properties can be illustrated by area and volume models. Students need to develop an intuitive understanding for fractions. Manipulatives or pictures can help in the beginning stages, but it is essential that students eventually be able to compute easily using mathematical notation. Word problems should be abundant. A sound program should move students toward abstraction and the eventual use of symbols to represent unknown quantities.

In the upper grades, algebra courses should emphasize powerful symbolic techniques and not exploratory guessing and calculator-based graphical solutions.

There should be a minimum of diversions in textbooks. Children have enough trouble concentrating without distracting pictures and irrelevant stories and projects. A mathematics program should explicitly teach skills and concepts with appropriately designed practice sets. Such programs have the best chance of success with the largest number of students. The high-performing Japanese students spend 80 percent of class time in teacher-directed whole-class instruction. Japanese math books contain clear explanations, examples with practice problems, and summaries of key points. Singapore's elementary school math books also provide good models. Among U.S. books for elementary school, Sadlier-Oxford's Progress in Mathematics and the Saxon series through Math 87 (adopted for grade six in California), though not without defects, have many positive features.--by David Klein

Byzantine Art History

I just submitted my art history post. This is the picture I chose to discuss.

This icon, called “The Harrowing of Hell,” comes from the Katholicon (cathedral) of the Monastery of Hosios Lukas. Circa 1020, it appears to be original to the building, which is dated to around 1011. While the word “harrowing” usually is a synonym to distressing or agonizing, its root “harrow” is an archaic word meaning to plunder or sack. It appears that the title of this icon refers to the latter, archaic meaning. Here, Christ, through the power of his cross, is plundering hell of her victims, one of which he holds by the wrist. This is symbolic of the belief that, without Christ, all would endure the agonies of hell, and that people are only saved from hell through the redeeming power of Christ. Here, Christ is holding a Byzantine “three bar cross.” The upper bar is the wooden plaque that had the criminal accusation written on it, in three languages: “This is Jesus the King of the Jews.” The middle bar is too narrow in this icon to function in its original purpose. It is stylized, representing a wider bar that his outstretched arms had been nailed to. The bottom bar was for his feet. More modern likenesses of the crucifixion show Christ’s feet overlapping, with a single nail fixing them to the upright bar behind him, but the early icons had a bar for his feet. In this image, Christ is not victim of the cross, but master of it. His pose is similar to a hiker with a walking stick or a wizard with his staff. The cross is now his instrument of power. To the left are two holy persons, identified by the halos around their heads. They are less holy, however, than Christ, and therefore appear smaller to us. This is similar to the ancient Egyptian tradition of drawing the servants and warriors much smaller than pharaohs or gods. They stand to the right of Christ symbolizing that they have now come into his favor and may reside with him in Paradise. To Christ’s left, then, appears hell. One humble, kneeling figure has his arm outstretched, which is now held by Christ. He is in the act of rescuing this man from hell. Another man, clean-shaven, (or is it a woman?) stands, beginning to stretch forth his arm, which is concealed under his cloak. He looks uncertainly at Christ, as though wondering if he, too, will be plundered away from hell.
Citations
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, fourth edition
The Holy Bible, King James Version http://instructional1.calstatela.edu/bevans/Art101/Art101B-2-MiddleByzantine/WebPage-Full.00004.html

A Happy Childhood

Being a perpetual goal setter, when Cory and I read the first part of Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families, I was all over the family/parenting mission statement. So over it, that I rephrase it periodically (if you look closely, the different ones mean about the same thing). Currently it reads:

We give our children a happy childhood, and prepare them for a happy adulthood.

My only problem is the desire for clarification on what constitutes a happy adulthood. I know what I mean though. There's a pleasant book called Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness, by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D.. It lists a dozen things that can help children either have a happy childhood, or survive childhood. The author says that having all of the things may not be necessary, but more is better. Rephrased by me, here they come.

Twelve Elements of a Connected Childhood

unconditional love, family togetherness

nature

a pet (we have squirrels in our backyard)

ideas and information

beauty, the arts

friends, neighborhood, community

organizations, institutions (i.e.-Cub Scouts, Primary, school, etc.)

individual's own self

God, spirituality

chores, work,responsibility to contribute

hobbies and/or sports

a sense of the past

Call Me On a Mission

For Family Home Evening, we sang "Called to Serve," prayed, reviewed the children's Behavior Charts, and colored unidentifiable pictures for Uncle-Elder West. Kaith's is a snake. He draws ghosts the same way. It appeared that the Liahona was not available in online PDF format for Japanese, so I had to scratch my hope of printing-off a coloring page with a Japanese caption. To prove my forethought, ingenuity, and effort, however, I printed "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" in Japanese.

I'm sorry the picture is fuzzy. The children broke the camera. It no longer zooms or focuses. I guess we're doomed to buy a replacement before my fall classes start up.

Trevor's Primary Talk

Today Trevor gave a talk in Primary. I know Trevor. He could memorize his talks, but he refused to practice with me this week. So I fed him each succeeding phrase at the pulpit. Then Kaith volunteered to give a talk next Sunday on the same subject. I was quite annoyed at my having to write another Primary talk so soon, until I realized that Kaith can use the same talk. I doubt anyone will ticket us for it--the mike wasn't on today, anyway!

Trevor's Talk

My grown-up Uncle Nathan was a missionary. Now he plays with me. My grown-up Uncle Andrew used to play with me, but I had to say goodbye on Thursday, because now he’s a missionary. I won’t see him for two years because he will share the gospel in Japan. I am not a grown-up, but I still want to be a missionary.
On Sundays, I can wear church clothes. If the neighbors see me get in our van,, they will think I’m going to church. I can tell neighbors about the music, and the happy, smiling people at church. I can tell them that Jesus and I want to see them at church. If they come, they will feel the Holy Ghost and have a testimony, like me. I can be a missionary now, while I’m young.

Nephi's Courage

For Miriam's "personal" scripture study, we get out a big board book of Book of Mormon Stories. Instead of reading the story summaries provided, I sing a corresponding primary song. She almost always asks for the "Wabin [Laban] Song:" verse one of Nephi's Courage. I took a camera video of her this morning, but after two hours the computer was still downloading, so I canceled it. Maybe after we clear up our computer we can try again.

Mom's Movie Night

Tonight will be the sixth weekly Mom's Movie Night at the McRae house. This is when I choose the film, as cultured as the kids will stand, and sit down with them to watch it. Previous movies were: Monster's Inc., Finding Nemo, Enchanted, Rodger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella ('97, with Brandi), Johnny Tremain. Miriam has not enjoyed the last several choices, so tonight is fully animated for her sake: The Jungle Book.

Our dessert of choice will be Fresh Strawberry Pie, keeping with the tradition of having a semi-healthy dessert with the movie. Healthy usually means it involves a lot of fresh fruit. This is healthy compared to our Family Night treats which may be sugar cookies or brownies.

Milk

Winston Churchill once said, "There is no finer investment for any community than putting milk into babies."

A healthy body is the best home for a growing spirit.

Greetings, World!