If you're a fan of juvenile and YA fiction as I am — or if you have kids who love to read — don't miss The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy. This book is pure delight and one I plan on reading aloud to the boys over the summer. I'm happy to say that it won the National Book Award for young people's fiction. And I'm happier to say that a second book about the Penderwicks was just published. This may help ward off that slight feeling of depression that usually sets in when I've read the last word of a book I've thoroughly enjoyed. And my geeky inner child is looking forward to learning more about the author, Jeanne Birdsall.
And if you're looking for more delightful juvenile fiction, check out The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate Dicamillo (author of Winn Dixie).
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
The Verdict Is In
Well, obviously my limited devotion to blogging has waned considerably in the past six weeks. Even I had forgotten what my last post was about. Lots of questions apparently.
Well...many of those have been answered. The homeschooling is a go. Wonder what I'll have to say about this next fall once we've gotten underway.
I know this is the right thing to do for Son2. He's not meant for school, and I'm not meant for stupid school policies. In my opinion, who cares if the kid misses six weeks of school as long as he makes up the work and gets good grades? But the school seems to think that this requires a load of summer school, which we, of course, would have to pay for. Mmm...yeah...let's punish the kid three times over for having migraines. Good idea.
As I was still mulling over this decision, I heard this great interview on Fresh Air with the guy who wrote the Academy Award-winning-song for and played in the movie Once. Now, I was less than thrilled when this song won the Academy Award because I thought “The Happy Working Song” from Enchanted was the award worthy song. It’s an instant Disney classic. Alas, I suppose this just shows why I am not a part of the Academy.
Anyway. This was a great interview with that songwriter/actor, and he told a wonderful story about leaving school when he was thirteen. He said that the headmaster called him into his office and said it was time for him to leave school and go and learn more about music and see if he could possibly make a living at it. So the kid headed off to some street in south Dublin and the rest is history.
And somehow, this was the final thing that made me able to set Son2 free from traditional school. If a headmaster can tell a student, you’re not made for this…go and pursue what you are made for, then surely I can do that for my son. It’s not like I’m asking him to make his way on the streets of Dublin.
At the moment I don’t have a clue exactly what he’ll be learning, but I’m excited to orient his education toward the arts and his interests. Last week he had a neurologist appointment and since he was missing a field trip because of the appointment, I took him to the Brandywine River museum to make up for it. I love that museum. Andrew Wyeth is one of my favorite artists; his paintings grip me in some unexplainable way. Son2 loved it, and it was great to share that with him. The best moment came when we read a quote from Andrew Wyeth that said something like this: “Sometimes when it looks like I’m doing nothing, I’m getting the most done.” Son2 said: “That’s just like me!”
I’m telling you, that kid can break my heart sometimes. He would love to be a person who plays sports and wins things and has no trouble with math. But that’s not who he is, and we desperately want him to be happy with the wonderful, creative person he is. So anything that affirms the normalcy of the creative experience is a relief to him, I think.
After that museum visit I found an article online about the fact that Andrew Wyeth was withdrawn from school when he was still quite young and tutored at home for the remainder of his schooling. He talks about the fact that he believes artistic kids should be homeschooled.
One last note. Lately I’ve been noticing that when he stays home from school with a migraine, he spends a lot of time doing creative things. It got me wondering whether the migraines sometimes come as a result of a build-up of creative energy. A good theory anyway.
Well...many of those have been answered. The homeschooling is a go. Wonder what I'll have to say about this next fall once we've gotten underway.
I know this is the right thing to do for Son2. He's not meant for school, and I'm not meant for stupid school policies. In my opinion, who cares if the kid misses six weeks of school as long as he makes up the work and gets good grades? But the school seems to think that this requires a load of summer school, which we, of course, would have to pay for. Mmm...yeah...let's punish the kid three times over for having migraines. Good idea.
As I was still mulling over this decision, I heard this great interview on Fresh Air with the guy who wrote the Academy Award-winning-song for and played in the movie Once. Now, I was less than thrilled when this song won the Academy Award because I thought “The Happy Working Song” from Enchanted was the award worthy song. It’s an instant Disney classic. Alas, I suppose this just shows why I am not a part of the Academy.
Anyway. This was a great interview with that songwriter/actor, and he told a wonderful story about leaving school when he was thirteen. He said that the headmaster called him into his office and said it was time for him to leave school and go and learn more about music and see if he could possibly make a living at it. So the kid headed off to some street in south Dublin and the rest is history.
And somehow, this was the final thing that made me able to set Son2 free from traditional school. If a headmaster can tell a student, you’re not made for this…go and pursue what you are made for, then surely I can do that for my son. It’s not like I’m asking him to make his way on the streets of Dublin.
At the moment I don’t have a clue exactly what he’ll be learning, but I’m excited to orient his education toward the arts and his interests. Last week he had a neurologist appointment and since he was missing a field trip because of the appointment, I took him to the Brandywine River museum to make up for it. I love that museum. Andrew Wyeth is one of my favorite artists; his paintings grip me in some unexplainable way. Son2 loved it, and it was great to share that with him. The best moment came when we read a quote from Andrew Wyeth that said something like this: “Sometimes when it looks like I’m doing nothing, I’m getting the most done.” Son2 said: “That’s just like me!”
I’m telling you, that kid can break my heart sometimes. He would love to be a person who plays sports and wins things and has no trouble with math. But that’s not who he is, and we desperately want him to be happy with the wonderful, creative person he is. So anything that affirms the normalcy of the creative experience is a relief to him, I think.
After that museum visit I found an article online about the fact that Andrew Wyeth was withdrawn from school when he was still quite young and tutored at home for the remainder of his schooling. He talks about the fact that he believes artistic kids should be homeschooled.
One last note. Lately I’ve been noticing that when he stays home from school with a migraine, he spends a lot of time doing creative things. It got me wondering whether the migraines sometimes come as a result of a build-up of creative energy. A good theory anyway.
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