It’s that time of year. When I’m buying school books and supplies…organizing school schedules…re-vamping how we do house responsibilities, etc. etc. During all this flurry of activity, I tend to also look at things that I’ve been slack on or missed in the past. Things like…
Let’s just call this the “things my boys should know by now but somehow fell through the cracks” book. They’ve jumped right into reading it. It looks very formal, but it’s not. Written for teens, it’s engaging and funny – but touches on all those areas that make moms swoon…how to pay a compliment, take a phone message, accept an apology. I love the chapters titled “knowing when to keep your mouth shut” and “how to act in places where you are bored”. I’m already seeing an increase in “yes ma’am” and “thank you”. I may have to write this author a thank you note….guess I should make sure to read THAT chapter beforehand.
Speaking of chores, I did something new this year. Rather than making my own charts, I ordered them from www.creativechanges.com Can’t wait for them to arrive – they include charts for the bigs, charts with pics for the littles, and charts for me to help keep all those balls in the air. Heh heh. I’ve already cleared off the side of the fridge in anticipation.
This falls under the category of “things I neglected to teach my kids through the years and I hope it’s not too late”. Abbey may be a lost cause, but we’ll see. Not sure why typing (i.e. correct positioning) escaped me. Guess I’m not the perfect homeschool mom.
Oh my.
On to the next item.
“Mom must make time for reading all the books my friends recommend” And, this one comes highly reviewed. It’s full of real-life stories of Chinese women. Not what the government has told them to say, but the stories of their lives and the choices they’ve made – or been forced to make. I expect lots of tissues with this one.
Right now, I’m reading Red Scarf Girl, by Ji-Li Jiang. An autobiography, it details her life as a young girl during the Cultural Revolution. I’ve become more interested in that time period, after reading Lisa See’s “Dreams of Joy”. Oh my, that was such a wonderful book! And, it opened my eyes to just how horrific the effects of Mao’s ideas and policies really were. And, made me want to read more about it – even though the details can be absolutely heart wrenching.
A few things I felt like sharing…feel free to tell me your “must haves” for this upcoming year! I’d love to add them to my list…
August 20th, 2011 at 2:49 am
First, can I borrow the book “50 things Every Young Gentlemen Should Know.” ??? I think I know “somebody” that never read this book growing up. LOL Please’s and Thank You’s are always appreciated (especially by the older generations).
I like the idea of the “chore boards” too.. especially having different ones for the littles.
As for the correct way of typing… it shouldn’t be too late for Abbey to learn. It will be more of a “breaking of a habit” type thing for her. Since we didn’t have computers when I was young, we didn’t take typing until high school and then not a lot of the guys took it as they didn’t see any need of it for them. Wow… things really change so much…
Question: just when do you think you are going to have all this time to read with everything else you have going on all the time???
August 20th, 2011 at 9:37 am
It’s not too late for Abbey to learn to type. I can remember my late mother-in-law deciding she needed to learn to type. She bought a “teach yourself to type” book. In the early 80’s, I signed up for a word processor (pre-computer) course at the local community college because it was obvious that it was going to take the place of electric typewriters. Typewriters didn’t have a “1” so you used a lower case “L” instead. One of the first things I had to learn to do was use the “1”. I’m not sure how anyone learns the correct way of typing on a laptop or iPad though because you don’t get the actual feel of the keys. I wish everything about me was a fast as my fingers on the computer keyboard.
August 22nd, 2011 at 2:06 pm
Thanks for the book suggestion Donna! I am going to place my order immediately! Certainly need it with a houseful of boys :-) Looks like you’ve had a great summer! Have fun with the homeschool plans!