Category: Learning Lifestyle

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Delaware Fun-A-Days 14 and 15: Tomb Raider and Space Heist Shootout

I realized my dream of including other home educating families in our one-piece-of-art-every-day-in-February journey.

These boys went for action and adventure. I love getting in on the process and sometimes being completely ignorant of it.

The Tomb Raider creator is 13 and his ideas were pouring out. I could hardly keep up with writing them down.

He wanted to build a pyramid with a cutaway cross section to reveal the ancient contents. Once constructed, the scene evolved to include a ludacrisly large bandit brandishing Wonder Woman’s golden lasso and riding an impractical beast in the desert.

This young man built quietly and mysteriously. Every time I saw him duck his head out of a drawer of bricks he was wearing the biggest smile in the room (maybe next to my own).

With over-the-top alien criminals and a familiar pallette, I love this Star Wars-inspired scene.

God bless and thank you for reading,

Jason

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Rare Disease Day at A.I. duPont Hospital for Children

Home educators are hyper diverse. Each family has its own reasons for choosing to take full ownership of their child(ren)’s education. Within multi-child homes, there are varieties of reasons for choosing the lifestyle, or not choosing it as some siblings attend brick-and-mortar schools. Temporally, the reasons may change as children and family dynamics grow.

My personal journey evolved from not knowing the words “unschooling” or “deschooling” to being a cheerleader of these approaches.

Illness can be one of the saddest reasons a family chooses to home educate. Not only do these families bear the burden of a child with compromised health, but they often take on the responsibility of educating that child. It was a world I hardly knew about before joining the home ed community.

Rare diseases are an extra burden as families have to navigate uncharted territories, at home and in health care.

Today will be a learning experience for us. We will learn humility. We will learn about pain. We will learn about how blessed we are for the health we have. We will learn hope. We will learn about the strength of children and families and the human soul.

The most important learning is uncomfortable. It must kill old beliefs and renew them like the Phoenix from the ashes.

God bless and thank you for reading,

Jason

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No Losing, Just Learning

Someone tried to step on this child’s dreams this weekend.

It nearly broke my heart.

This morning I watched this match from Sunday. Westen’s opponent is bigger and stronger. He has an advantage position early on that leveraged his weight against Westen’s.

Westen’s skill and speed are significant in his game, but he’s got deeper qualities that make him unstoppable through wins and losses.

He doesn’t give up, he doesn’t stop believing in the win, he doesn’t stop working. After physically and mentally crushing losses he’s asked, “When’s the next tournament?” He doesn’t know how to lose, he only knows how to learn. And damn if he doesn’t learn quickly.

I’m sure he was listening to the other coach (I was standing behind him, his voice is clear on the video). We’ve noticed that kids will follow coach instructions literally and immediately, giving Westen an easy way to predict the next opening.

But it’s not tactics that give Westen this win. It’s the opponent’s coach. “Not that, don’t do that, oh, don’t do that,” with laughter from the sideline. This kid’s lifeline, the one thing he trusted to get him the win, laughing and giving up. Westen’s a shark hungry for hesitation and indecisiveness. He uses his speed to take a stronger position (one he says he’s never tried), then slows down to work the breath out of his opponent. He takes his little frame and presses every ounce of it deep into the earth, planting his foe beneath him. By the time he losses his balance and the kid gets up, Westen is watching the him turn blue and silently praying he’ll tap.

It’s a brutal exercise, to play a game that is more real than any other I know. I can’t help but think that his body was acting out against the person who tried to muscle his dreams away. He may not have the tools to verbally justify a dream that would be impossible for an earlier generation, but he has the heart, potential, and work ethic to overcome seemingly insurmountable opposition.

To the point on coaching: Kevin from Elevated Studios has coached both boys in competition and his style is so right for them. He’s soft spoken, minimalist in direction, only talks about the next move, and trusts. They know it and trust him back. His tone is even and he never betrays a lack of confidence in the chance for a win.

I needed this video. I forget that my sons don’t need me barking out every move or deriding their mistakes. They need my trust and love. They are powerful on their own. If I’m a quiet, trusting coach, no one can crush them. They can’t lose, they can only learn.

God bless and thank you for reading,

Jason

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Z3 Adventures: 3 Dog Garage

I’m not a “car guy” in the classic sense. I love attending everything from drag racing on the beach or asphalt to monster trucks and NASCAR races, but I don’t know makes, models, and history.

That’s why it was such a thrill to be among experts at 3 Dog Garage today. Many of the cars on display have raced and some currently still do. There’s an energy in a building full of beautiful machines and art with hardly a dividing line between the two.

With polite requests, my sons were allowed to sit in a few of these gorgeous beasts.

The neon sign came from a restaurant in California and was a stunning highlight of the third floor gallery.

I was impressed by Ross Myers’ library and dreamed of having something similar one day.

Myers’ first car became his national award winner, “First Love.” It’s accented by this powerful symbol of love throughout the design.

I’m intent on finding the artist responsible for the pop art pieces featuring Audrey Hepburn, Elvis, Steve McQueen, and Marilyn Monroe. They are fun, inventive, and hold lots of exciting surprises.

On par, we were nearly the last group out of the museum. It’s a rare treat to visit this special place and we squeezed all we could out of it.

God bless and thank you for reading,

Jason

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Delaware Fun-A-Day: Open Loveshop

#ItAintAWorkshop

Today we expanded our Delaware Fun-A-Day project to include other homeschoolers and friends. We opened up our Lego Loveshop to showcase those who share our passion for the learning lifestyle.

Nothing was finished today, but much was started.

I look forward to sharing more creations as February progresses.

God bless and thank you for reading,

Jason

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Walking the Walk in Christ’s Footsteps

Energy. My wife and I could feel it the first time we visited Aldersgate United Methodist Church. From potluck dinners and member-led Bible studies to food drives and homeless outreach missions to the countless efforts being made by the clergy and congregation, we felt that this was an active faith community. It was a community where our talents could come to use.

Mary was always a giver, volunteering at Ronald McDonald House and Sunday Breakfast Mission, organizing many service opportunities through her position at Bank of America, and donating blood to award-winning levels.

I’ve modestly continued her amazing ways by saying “Yes,” as often as I can to chances to serve our community. Fortunately, Aldersgate offers many such opportunities.

This week we were able to help deliver canned food and monetary donations to several local charities, including Neighborhood House in the Southbridge neighborhood of Wilmington, Delaware.

For me, there is no separation between “acts” and “love.” We must act, there is no choice. We choose to love. When we choose love in every possible moment we will act in love.

Mary chose love. She acted in love. Through Aldersgate I not only get to act in love, but I get to visit Mary’s resting place while doing so. Her remains are at the memorial columbarium there, a beautiful, quiet place I often visit and share with friends.

God bless and thank you for reading,

Jason

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Shakespearean Completists?

After this weekend’s Othello at New Light Theater my sons will have seen 11 full length Shakespeare productions, acted in several, and been participants in each of Delaware Shakespeare‘s Shakespeare Day events.

We’ve discussed the plot and watched Kenneth Branagh’s 1995 film adaptation. It’s a challenging story for anyone who pays attention, even more so for 8- and 10-year-old boys.

They’ve thumbed through the various graphic novels and children’s versions we found at the library and I have no doubt they are well prepared.

I love experiencing live theater by their sides. They disappear into the story, as if they were sitting right there on the stage (nearly the case at times). Even better is to hear their analyses of a production. From costumes and lighting to comedic choices and character portrayals, they come up with magnificent observations, criticisms, and wonderings.

So will they see all 37 (39?) of Shakespeare’s plays one day? I don’t know, but they’ve got a heck of a start.

God bless and thank you for reading,

Jason

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Resting for My Sons (and Myself)

We are a hyper active unschooling family. Museums, parks, nature hikes, library programs, live theater and music, Brazillian jiu-jitsu, church gatherings, and gymnastics make up most weeks for us.

Although our lifestyle allows for sleeping in, mutiple breaks in the action, and the occasional nap, it can get intense.

A Saturday morning downpour provided the perfect opportunity to take a day off from adventuring. We built Lego most of the day and watched a couple movies. Granted, one of those movies was Othello, in preparation for a stage production we’ll see next week, but we ate ice cream and chips for nearly two hours, so I’ll call that rest.

A necessary component of unschooling is rest. Keeping up with my sons’ energy is no joke. Feeding their curiosity; exposing them to new ideas, people and places; and encouraging their multiple passions is a thrill ride. It’s a ride that needs to go offline for maintence on a regular basis. “Regular” may not look like a standard schedule, but the rest must come at the right times. My advantage as their educational facilitator and father is that I can read their signals and know when to put the brakes on. I already know we need another day of rest tomorrow. It’s an unusual way for us to spend a weekend, but it’s right and I know they’ll be ready for another exciting week of exploring our inner and outer worlds.

God bless and thank you for reading,

Jason

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I Got What I Wanted

My children teach me at least as often as I teach them.

Most of our visits to The Lego Store don’t involve a purchase. I learned this habit of using retail spaces for free entertainment and enrichment quite by accident. I’m now blessed to have children who don’t expect to leave a store with goodies.

Today was different. My sons had some gift cash and were determined to spend it. Their rampant consumerism infected me and I saw that the Disney minifigures were on discount. I have wanted the Jack Skellington and Sally figs for a while and thought I’d kill some time trying to feel through the blind packs and find my treasure.

I found Sally and her oh-so-goth black bouquet quickly enough and my boys helped me continue the search for Jack. We went through the entire display box with no luck. I assumed (gasp) that was the end of my quest until my son said, “Why don’t we ask if they have another box?” The clerk was busy and I replied, “They’re discounted because they’ve been on the shelves for months, this is probably the last box.” He wouldn’t have it. He asked and they looked and found another box. Well. Game on. We’re not leaving without Jack.

We didn’t pinch more than two bags when my son said, “I think I have him!” I looked up from my hands, “Me too.” I had to buy both Jacks, the luck was too good and they’ll always serve as a reminder for me to ask for what I want.

God bless and thank you for reading,

Jason