The Trophy is as Big as She Is!

She won first place in her kata, against twelve other kids, some with higher belts.  What a smile!

Even better her team (consisting of her, Bridges, Miss Duval and Master Lamy) won first place, even against teams consisting entirely of black belts.  Woo hoo!

A Homeschooling Thought

As I've continued on our homeschool journey, it has gotten harder and harder to imagine my children in school.  I am not at all a hardcore homeschool parent ("schools are BAD") or an unschool parent ("planned schooling of any sort is BAD"), and yet enrollment in a school, public or private, just gets harder to imagine.

Here's a case in point.  Today, Lee and Lila were talking about vocabulary (what else do two smart kids talk about?), and Lila, who at ten years old is in fifth grade, mentioned to Lee that three of her vocabulary words this week were "wavy", "officer", and "ancient".  Really?!?  In 5th grade?  I guess my expectations are just too high.  Three of Lee's vocabulary words this week were "superfluous", "tangible", and "apprehension".  Lila's a pretty smart kid and she reads a fair amount and at a fairly high level.  How is she not bored to tears?

I still have this plan in the back of my head that our girls will stay home through middle school and then attend high school.  This is because from my own experience I imagine middle school as the worst time to be in school.  Whether this is a valid assumption or not, I do not know, but I'm sticking with it unless they scream to go to school.

But high school is something else.  I cannot imagine them still homeschooling in high school.  Maybe it's just too far away.  But it's really hard to imagine how that would work:  how I would manage it, and how they would be happy being at home at that age.  But, then again, it gets harder and harder to imagine them in high school either.

Straight on to college, I say!

Christmas Lists

Another modest list from Lee this year.  How many nine-year-olds still put candy canes and truffles on their Christmas list?   When I asked her if she didn't have enough love, she said "I can never get enough love!"

Clara, however, is another story.  Her list is 26 items long and surprisingly includes such high tech things as a phone, an iPad, a watch, and a camera.   Although, in keeping with her artsy-collector side, she also lists cool paper, an art kit, really good books, notebooks, bags, and "a box with tons of big compartments."

Inheritance

The other day Clara wanted to look at my jewelry.  Not that I have much jewelry.  When I was young my mother's jewelry box was like a treasure chest.  But, I do have a few things.

She came down a bit later, all decked out.

"Mom," she said, "I know you're going to say No if I ask if I can have this now.  So I'm wondering if maybe I could have this jewelry when you pass on?"

Ah, that's thinking ahead.

When I grow up...

Lee recently told me that when she wants to be a third-grade teacher.  I think that's actually changed now, as today she is saying she wants to be an architect.  But at the time, my reaction was "huh?"  This is a kid who never ever has wanted to go to school and has never been in third grade.  Yet somehow she thought she wanted to be a third-grade teacher.

Clara is going to have three careers.  The first is of course to be an artist.  That's been a constant.  Her next career will involve training people to do things "like sing or swim."  And the third is to be an inventor.

The Saver

Lee has already shown hers colors as a saver.  I will always remember flying somewhere with her when she was really young.  We gave her some candy for the flight, and she parceled it out so that it lasted the entire flight.  It showed incredible impulse control for someone her age.

The kids get an allowance for doing their chores (emptying the dishwasher, changing the cats' water, taking out the chicken scraps and compost, setting and clearing the table, and sorting and folding the laundry).  Every week they get $2, $1 of which goes into a "savings account" (a spreadsheet we have which gives exorbitant interest rates), $.25 of which goes into a "charity account" (which they give away at the end of each year), and $.75 of which they receive as spending money.

Lee spends her money (which she supplements with dog walking and other jobs around the neighborhood) going to the Green Grocer with Lila or buying Japanese erasers.  Yesterday she and Lila rode their bikes to Ava Marie's for ice cream.  But generally, she's not a big spender.

As a matter of fact, when Bridges gave her $.75 this week, she asked to put it into her savings account.
"I'm saving for my pick-up truck," she said.

I knew she was planning on buying a pick-up truck when she gets older so she can go camping with Lila, but I had no idea she was already saving for it!

The Fairy Who Entered the Dishwasher

Well, Clara finally lost her first tooth.  It was a long time coming, and she's definitely been a bit slower then others in this area. Luckily, it was a no drama event (and we haven't had one of those before).

"Mom, my tooth came out!"

No tears or hysterics despite a bit of blood.

I put the tooth for safekeeping on a plate on the counter so that she wouldn't lose it.  Only, about an hour later when I cleaned up after lunch I put the plate in the dishwasher and ran the dishwasher.  Gone was the first tooth.  It was one of those really proud mom moments.

Now there were tears.  No hysterics, but lots of tears.

Well, Clara wrote her tooth fairy a note explaining the situation, and Lee also wrote a note vouching for her.  Luckily, her fairy, Mystery, was quite understanding.  Not only that, but she is so small she was able to find the tooth inside the dishwasher!  Luckily for Clara her mom thought ahead and left it open overnight.

Whew!