The healing journey of a widowed, unschooling badass in Delaware.
I shouldn’t have let my boys read Deadpool comics three years ago.
But how would I have had the ecstasy of my then 9-year-old bringing this to me and saying, “Dad! There’s a Wyeth in Deadpool!”
Bonus learning: We discussed how the subject in the painting was not his daughter.
My younger has returned to Junior Rifle Club after a long hiatus.
He came back strong to earn his Pro-Marksman certificate, and is struggling in his second week to meet the same standard.
This is an interesting discipline I know little about. Consistency might be the greatest challenge. It takes discipline, patience, and preparation. These skills are transferable to every pursuit.
Today was packed. The boys started with an improv theater class, then we came home for lunch and a wind down before biking to the library. There, I took care of some exciting personal business (more on that in the very near future) and they engaged in self-directed learning on how to create Roblox games using coding script. Once back home, they played with neighborhood friends for a couple hours before dinner. During dinner we watched a lesson from Tom Woods’ Western Civilization course and followed it up with an episode of Ancient Apocalypse.
An unhealthy assumption is one that doesn’t serve one’s purpose. It is individual, there are billions of philosophies and ways of living and the difficult part is uncovering the best personal philosophy while critically evaluating the philosophical assumptions we absorb as we mature in society.
My focus for raising my sons is on virtuous behavior, loving relationships, and self awareness. These are the foundations I want them to have. Those, along with a modeled love of learning will allow them to be successful in whatever they choose. I don’t assume calculus needs to take years to learn and the chance they will need that knowledge to pursue their passions is very small (I think less than 1% of careers demand it).
I also don’t categorize learning into subjects, but I understand the usefulness of doing so, we are watching a wonderful series of history courses right now.
My deschooling approach boils down to one simple reframing. When I speak or think the phrase, “I need to…,” I change it to “I want to…” I take that “want” and define why it is important to me. If it turns out that the reason I want to do X is because of an outside perception or an old pattern, then I can better direct my energy toward my goals.
We are rain or shine, year round.
Lots of families came out today to enjoy a deserted Glasgow Park, sausages, hot dogs, dutch oven popcorn, board games, and wet, chilly play.
We’ve been wanting to visit the Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion for years. We finally got a chance this weekend and loved the experience.
Handling a scorpion, a tarantula, and a snake were highlights of a super fun and educational afternoon.
I have more pictures and stories to share, but technology is battling me this week.
My younger son returned to Junior Rifle Club today and had a lot of success. I’ve been patient in recent years as he hasn’t showed extended interest in any one endeavor. This week he expressed desires to return to jiu-jitsu and shooting and I was quietly elated.
After three hours of impressive focus, he was enthusiastic about returning next week. If we can pair that with a return to jiu-jitsu, I will be a happy dad.
Big changes are coming to our lives and I’m working to make room for them.
I dug piles of books out of our attic today. I’ve been collecting them my whole life and it is time to let some go.
Once I sorted through them, and the boys granted their amnesties, we delivered most of the remainder to our local Little Free Libraries. We’re blessed to have six within walking distance, although it was getting late, so we drove the books around.
The Zerbeys showed up strong to win multiple awards in the design categories. My younger son won the second-place trophy for all-around best design. I wasn’t sure his bridge design was sturdy enough to make it down the track, but it had respectable times and a judge-pleasing look. I was happy to be so wrong.
My older son started a great idea with a crocodile head, but when he changed his plan, I took over and made it into my own creation to win the adult design award. His own build came in second in his division for design.
