Godly Play

I am so excited I can barely contain myself. Just a couple of weeks ago I was thinking about our church Sunday school and wishing there was a different way of teaching it. The reason I started thinking was because I received a call asking if I would teach again.  I said no to teaching this year because this is my first year of homeschool teaching and thought I would be overwhelmed. I've been a Sunday school teacher, and followed a curriculum and did what the book said, and it was fine. But after experiencing the Montessori way of learning academics, I wished there could be a Montessori way of learning about Christ and the Bible.
Well, I had no idea!
There is such a thing, and our church is starting Godly Play Sunday School this weekend!!! (There will also be traditional grades Sunday school.)
I am so excited for Sean.
And when I mentioned it to my friend Shane, she said her little boy Jacob-Joshua had been in a Godly Play Sunday school in Germany and she was looking for one here. She tried one in another city that didn't quite get it right, she said. So I think they are going to visit our church soon.
I feel like it is a validation for me in a way, on my decision to Montessori homeschool. Sean's academic and faith education will be based on the same philosophy of learning.
If you want more information about Godly Play check out this site.
Here is a description from our Sunday school letter:
The Godly Play classroom is designed so that children can use and explore everything in it. It is a safe, engaging and loving environment where what children say and do is valued and respected. The walls of the classroom are lined with shelves, each containing baskets of stories made out of beautiful, natural materials. Children are thus surrounded by the biblical story in the classroom.
And this:
During the "work" time children are invited to use the enrichment materials of the classroom to further explore the story. These include books, maps, and art materials, as well as the stories themselves. During this time, besides having fun, the children are linking up the religious language of the story with their own inner understanding, which helps them understand the story and makes it come alive. This makes sense, because in so doing they are entering into relationship with God--opening themselves to grace.

Rain and home work

Here comes the rain again...

Rain puddled onto the bottom of a metal bucket I plan to use as a planter.

We have had a little dose of fall with a cool 59 degrees and hard rain last night and today. Makes me want to curl up with a bowl of soup and watch some cool old movie. But I can't. I've got fours stories to write. Maybe later on the soup and movie.

I enjoy working from home. It is something I have wanted to do for years, and prayed that someday I would be able to do it. I have freedom to work in my pajamas if I want to, and I can go to my refrigerator whenever I want. I control the temperature here. I can't tell you how many times I just wanted to leave work because the office was soooooo cold. 

Karen and I have had conversations about this. We've both admitted to spending some time with our hands under the hot water faucet in the bathroom just to get warm. I shocked co-workers at one office because I actively sought out the maintenance guy to remedy the problem. I was shivering, and they were also cold but looked at me like I was crazy when I placed the call. I believe I left early that day because nothing was done about the temperature.

There are other positive things about working from home. If my child is sick I don't have to get permission from anyone to take off from work, and if I need to write a story at midnight, I can do that. It makes so much more sense to me to work this way. I believe I am more productive working from home. 

Working from home has made homeschooling Sean possible, and for that I am so thankful.

The only drawback, and I wouldn't even go so far as to say negative, is that I never feel like I'm "off from work." Work is always right here. I don't get a lot of down time from it, and it is always on my mind. 

But I try to think of it as a hobby that I get paid to do. I enjoy my work, and try to grab moments here and there to think of something else. Like when we go to the beach, or I take Sean to a museum.

Life is Good. I'm enjoying the ride.

Change is in the air

Sunday was beautiful, so we spent a little time at the beach.

Sean found this cool log lodged on some rocks, and he loved balancing and walking across it. I tried not to think of the jagged rocks below and just let him be a boy.

There is a different glow when the sun rays hit the water, and the chill in the air as the wind picks up is telling me to enjoy every summer moment possible before autumn arrives. We have had a very warm and pleasant summer, so I should not be as disappointed when the rain comes. There have been summers here that we didn't put on a pair of shorts the whole season, and this year we've worn them every day.

Soon the grass will be green again, and I'll be racing to get it cut before the rains come. We'll be chopping carrots for our carrot stew, firing up the pot for our beans and cornbread, and baking breads.

But we still have a little bit of summer left, and we will spend as much of it as possible at the beach.