Little Slice of Heaven

I remember when I watched my newborns sleep in the bassinet, and their little pouty mouths sucked in their sleep because they were dreaming sweet dreams.  I remember little chubby legs in bubble outfits, sweet wispy curls on the back of their necks, and sending them off to school in uniform and a lunchbox nearly as big as they were.  I watched them in school concerts, I handed them library awards, I videotaped them in horse shows.  In the hot gymnasium, I watched them get their diplomas.

I sent one off to the Army, and fly the flag for her every day.   I tried not to cry as the other walked up the aisle.  It could have been over for me, but it isn't.  I am SURROUNDED by kids, the best teenagers you could ever hope to have.

Last night we went out on the Sea Scout Ship Odyssey.  There were a lot of them as our unit has been getting more and more members lately.  I just like to listen to them, ask them questions and see them smile.

So there we were, on a perfect June evening in Tacoma's Commencement Bay.  Was the moon coming up over Mt. Rainier?  Was the side of the mountain aglow in pink wash from the sunset?  Was Vashon Island the perfect green backdrop for the chugging ferry boat and sailboats puffed along in the breeze?  I don't know.  I wasn't looking at that.  I sat in the cockpit, squeezed in among fellow sailors.  They were laughing and telling stories about their camping trips and what fun we are going to have when we go north next week on our 11 day voyage.  They gently teased me about the veracity of my stories and told me how eager they were to hear "The Upper Berth" and "The Lavender Ghost".  A former Sea Scout, now a college graduate, was out with us last night and it was so rewarding to see the fine accomplished woman she has become.  The breeze on my face, the silken evening, the laughing kids.  It was a slice of heaven.

My favorite quote by John Muir so often comes to me in such happy moments:
"Oh these vast, calm, measureless mountain days
Inciting at once to work and rest.
Days in whose number everything seems equally divine
Opening a thousand windows to show us God."

Timed Tests or Puzzle Solving?

How many times do we have to take timed tests in school?  Most tests are timed.  Consequently, it has been reinforced in most of us that we are in a hurry.  In a society with deadlines, this makes sense.  However, I’ve noticed when doing puzzles, this is my overriding concern.  Hurry up!  Finish!  Go faster!

I suspect that there are a lot of people that don’t stick to finishing a puzzle simply because they are in a hurry, eager for the answer, or think it is too hard.  I know that if I slow down, I do better, but even more surprising is that I often solve a difficult puzzle when I give it an extra effort, even if I don’t think I have the knowledge.  Let it rest, then come back to it.

This past week I visited my daughter’s classroom and read various signs around the room, urging the students to persistence.  The students were encouraged to ask specific questions rather than saying “I don’t get it.”  They were reminded that problems might seem hard because thinking is hard, and some problems require lots of thinking.  They were encouraged not to be cursory nor cowardly in tackling problems.

Think how eager we are to tell children what the right answer is if they begin to struggle.  Consider what the future would hold if we had more “tests” wherein the goal was to solve a problem rather than finish in a certain amount of time.  We might be surprised what we can do.

Creating Sock Puppets and New Sewing Terms

Sock puppet day Mrs. Logan’s fifth grade class! Their upcoming fairy tale theater will feature either the Three Little Pigs or Little Red Riding Hood, so they will get to do lots of funny voices and overact to their hearts content.

Mrs. Logan didn’t have to ask me twice to come and bring my fabric and craft leftovers.  There were pipe cleaners, googly eyes, plenty of fabric scraps to create with.  Some kids had a bit of trouble visualizing how to move from their two dimensional drawings of proposed sock puppets, to actually creating a three dimensional puppet.  A few snips with the scissors on some pink felt is easy to demonstrate, and soon pig ears, snouts, and creative curly tails were sprouting. 

   

The wolves grew fangs out of pointy fabric, and one girl even found some real fur in my fabric scraps from a historical reenacting project.  Her furry wolf looked great.

A boy wanted a hat and with glue and pins, we made one just like his drawing.  Now a hunter could creep through the forest.  The sock puppets came out pretty well indeed.

One girl decided her Red Riding Hood needed a basket, and we cut paper strips out of a spare manila folder.  She and many of her friends had never seen a basket woven out of strips before.  Goodness, when did we baby boomers learn to make Easter baskets?  First grade?  These kids can figure out cell phones, photoshop and computers like lightning, but I am amazed they’ve never seen a basket woven out of paper strips.  Glad a boomer like me still has a few tricks up her sleeve.   

Grannies, Red Riding Hoods and pigs are so much fun!

But the interesting aspect of the day was a new concept I learned that had to do with sewing terms.  A student wanted a gathered apron for Granny, and I found a sewing kit in my purse.  I showed her how to knot the thread the quick and easy way, and take a few running stitches. The girl mused that it should not be called a “running” stitch, but rather a “swimming” stitch because the thread swims up and down along the fabric.  True!  So it shall be throughout all time to me and anyone I can influence.  Tommy Smothers, are you listening?  Because of you no one in America has frogs saying “croak” anymore.  Frogs say “ribbit”. 

Now here is a better way to describe a sewing stitch.  It swims up and down through the fabric and should be called the swimming stitch.

Of course! 

What a fun day we had creating and learning from each other.