Culture

The first grade has been studying culture.  Students have been discussing cultural similarities and differences.  And  the students are being encouraged to share information about their families' cultures.  Tonight at the dinner table Lacey asked, "Mommy, were your parents born in the United States?"  We were impressed with the question.  First of all, she has learned one aspect of our culture - polite dinner conversation.  But, we were also impressed that she is beginning to understand that families have histories.  We answered her questions about our families' backgrounds.  We listened to her definition of culture:  music, clothing, language and food.  She was really demonstrating a wonderful understanding of culture.

Next, we asked the tough question  - had she volunteered any information about Chinese culture?   Despite our efforts, Lacey has not shown much interest in Chinese culture.  Her knowledge of China was limited and she has yet to really appreciate her heritage.  We keep trying and hope that she will be interested as she grows.  Therefore, we were pleasantly surprised when Lacey smiled and said that she had told the class all about Chinese people.

"What did you say?" we prompted.

"Chinese people speak Chinese.  They eat rice all the time.  And, they keep their shoes on until they go to bed." she explained.  The last was a reference to our habit of removing shoes when we enter the house.  

"Great!" we all praised her.

Later, Lacey and I were quietly folding laundry.  "Mommy," she volunteered.  "I learned something else about culture!"

"Really?"  I replied.  "What did you learn?"

"Now I know how boys pee!!" she trilled.  "They have a tiny thing and they pee standing up!"

Maybe I should have wondered or worried where she gathered this significant cultural fact.  But, instead I silently congratulated her, thrilled that she has already discovered that men are most definitely a unique culture.

Life After Odyssey

On Saturday my team competed in the regional Odyssey of the Mind tournament.  And, if I may say so myself, my team rocked!!!  The kids scored third place and they were recognized during the awards ceremony.  But, it wasn't about winning for us.  It was about seeing what these kids, ages 9, 10 and 11, can accomplish.  They pulled together and supported each other all the way. 

I was anxious to have my house back.  And, Les was anxious to have his garage back.  But, now the house is too quiet.  I miss the atmosphere of creative energy.  I've been walking around the house picking up scraps of poster paper and stray bits of pipe cleaner.  Several times over the last couple days I've found myself starting to jot down a list of things the team needed to get done.  At the supermarket on Sunday I was automatically shopping for snacks to feed the team.  Yesterday, while driving home, I noticed that my neighbors had put an awsome box out with their trash.  Without a second thought, I pulled over and started to get out, wondering if the box would fit in my trunk.  Sadly I realized that I no longer need to collect things for the team to recycle. 

By today, I have started adjusting to having a little more time on my hands.  I'm catching up with laundry and starting to unpack spring clothes.   Lacey won't be eligible to compete in Odyssey until she's in third grade.  So, things might be quiet for awhile.  Then, Cassie came home and announced that she wants to play in a violin competition next month.  I'll need a few days to think about that!

Remembering Dad

My Dad taught me to cherish and nurture the Earth and its plants and creatures.  In remembrance of my Dad's birthday, we are celebrating the coming of Spring.  The girls and I walked around the yard and discovered each popping bud and every tender, new plant.  We filled the bird feeder and put out yarn and soft scraps for the birds to build their nests.  Finally, we surveyed Jung's seed catalog and sketched out plans for this year's gardens. 

We miss you, Dad.  But, I feel your spirit every time I see the beauty of nature reflected in my children's eyes.

Two young onions - descendants of onion sets my Dad gave me two years ago
A small horseradish plant, grown from roots my Dad gave me

A first bud

Tiny chives growing in Cassie's kitchen garden

Our "secret garden" had to be excavated to install the new drainage system.  We have to redo a lot of it.  But, what potential it offers!

Books

Like most people, I realize there are some advantages to eBooks.  I've actually spent a lot of time pondering the merits of eBooks versus "real" books.   Many textbooks are now available in eBook form.  Teachers can project digital versions of the textbook in class and make it easier for students to follow along while reading.  

Another great advantage of electronic textbooks is that many can be accessed by students from home.  Of course, the student must have access to the Internet, either through a computer or smartphone in order to do this.  (Yes, I used "access" twice in a row.  Even my beloved thesaurus doesn't have a suitable synonym for the situation.)   That eliminates most of my students.  But, it's still a wonderful option.  Many students no longer have to carry backpacks full of heavy books.  All they need is a cellphone.

Of course, eBooks are cheaper than paper books.  We have 10 iPads at school to be used by our students.  If we want to purchase a novel in eBook form, we only have to pay once to download the novel onto all iPads.  You can see how that might make our limited budget stretch much further.  However, the iPads can be used in class only and cannot go home.  A student loses an iPad or a student loses a paperback that cost $5.99. . . I have to vote for the old-fashioned paperback.

My thoughts turn to home.  We have two 7-foot tall bookshelves in the family room; a bookshelf in the basement; two more in the computer room, a couple more in the hallway for the kids' books, and a newly-added basket filling with books that the girls are setting aside for Gaby.  Even with all those shelves, there are books stacked next to our beds.  There is a pile of books from the school library on the family room floor and another pile on a chair in the kitchen.  Several books sit on the steps, waiting to be carried up and shelved.  Clearly, if we converted to eBooks we would eliminate a lot of clutter.  That's not even worth an attempt at an argument.  Less paper might be better for the greater environment too.  I haven't done any research into the cost to the enviornment of lost trees versus electrical power for eBooks.

We got Les a Kindle for his birthday and we are talking about getting Cassie an eBook reader for her birthday.   I read books on my iPad.  A week ago I eagerly purchased an eBook that wasn't yet available in paper.  I could have waited to get it at the library.  But, new additions can only be checked out for two weeks  with no renewals allowed.  An eBook was clearly the best choice for me.  Ten minutes into the book, though, I realized that some of my friends would enjoy reading the book.  Ooops!  Can't share this book unless I'm willing to relinquish my iPad for awhile.  And for me, the experience of reading an eBook just doesn't equal holding a book in my hands.  I love to thumb the pages of a paperback while reading.  I love to curl up with a book, and can't quite envision curling up with my iPad.  I usually don't have much time to read and typically steal a few pages while drying my hair in the morning.  Water, blow dryer, eBook - not really a good mix for me.   

Cassie has always loved books because I began reading to her when she was newborn. This wasn't the case for Lacey, who had never held a book before we met her.  We had our work cut out for us.  Several weeks after we brought Lacey home, we were at the pediatrician's office.  Lacey dug through the basket of magazines and presented a parenting magazine to me and a puzzle book to Cassie.  Wow!  In such a short time she had learned that there are genres of literature.  This was the beginning of empowerment for her. 

To develop a love of reading, kids need to interact with books.  Yes, they can interact with a book that is reading aloud, flashing video and playing music.  So, we have routinely presented both electronic and paper options to Lacey.  Several times a week, she practices with an interactive reading program on the computer.  She does enjoy this.  The experience probably ranks somewhere between sorting socks and playing Wii.  But, she has more fun hiding books under her pillow to read by flashlight.  After all, this is what her big sister does!   

As I'm writing this, I'm also reflecting on the role that books play in just a single day in our home.  Yesterday I read aloud to the girls during breakfast. This is one of our weekend traditions.  I suppose I could have read an eBook. But, that would deny the girls the pleasure of huddling in front of a bookshelf, debating our next choice.  And, Cassie has so much fun introducing Lacey to her favorites - reading book jackets aloud, showing her illustrations, describing series, etc. After we ran our errands, I took Cassie to the used bookstore that now occupies the old Borders shop.  Borders Bookstore was our special occasion store.  We'd visit there before a roadtrip or as a reward for a good report card.  We didn't always buy books.  Sometimes, we just sat in the coffee shop and Cassie would write in her journal while I graded papers.  Simply being surrounded by books made Cassie happy.  Cassie entered the store half-heartedly because, in her mind, nothing could replace Borders.  Once inside the store, however, she couldn't stop beaming.  She headed for the closest bin, then closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.  She ran her fingers over the spines of the books and began pointing out the titles of recent favorites. 


 "Ten minutes,"   I told her firmly.  "Two books for you and two for Lacey."

"But, Mom, it's so wonderful here!" she lamented.

Later that day, the new books were the reward for the girls having finished cleaning their rooms - a chore that took the past seven days.  Cassie had selected a book for Lacey that we have probably checked out from the library 25 times.  The girls sat together on the couch and Cassie read to Lacey, explaining how much she had always loved the story. 

In the evening, Gladis and Gabriela joined us for dinner.  Before they went home, Gladis changed Gaby into a pair of pajamas.  (an old pair of Cassie's, much to her delight!)  Lacey then ran upstairs and returned with a book so that she could read Gaby a bedtime story.  In a short time, Lacey has gone from hating books to wanting to share a love of reading with Gaby.  This experience just wouldn't have been the same with an eBook.  For now, "real" books will continue to play an important role in our home.