Sunday, January 19, 2014

1000 Apprenticeships

I once heard the statement "Life should be a 1,000 apprenticeships."  We just saw "Lone Survivor" and among the many quotes I could pull from that, one of my favorites is "Been around the world twice and talked to everybody once." Those statements coupled with viewing the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" gave us the inspiration and motivation for our ever developing homeschool theory.  If you've not seen Slumdog Millionaire the general theme of the movie is about one boy raised in the slums of India and how he was able to win one million dollars by answering all the questions on their version "Who wants to be a Millionaire?" show from all of his numerous life experiences. 



This theory, along with my general interest in the hows and whys of everything, propel us to take and show our children to so many different outings, speakers, events, and places.  I constantly am looking up anything and everything.  I do believe that the practical life skills of the home and making of the home are as important (if not more important) than their textbook education we hope to offer them.



I have said it before, but there truly doesn't seem to be enough time for us to show them all the wonders of God's great world, even if that wonder comes from a book.  I am naturally a very inquisitive person so finding the origins of the red Solo cup I am holding is very intriguing to me.  I get a great kick out of Dominic as he knows how much I love facts and trivia.  He throws one my way most days.  "Hey Mom, Do you know why pencils are yellow.?"  He tells me that one often as he knows I love it.

He is my child through and through.  He told me that the weeks before we first flew on an airplane together he read over and over how to land an airplane in case of emergency.  He told me he practiced over and over in his bed at night. I couldn't decide if I should laugh or cry how cute he was telling me the whole gig. 



Anyway, I(we) hope that our children's lives will be filled with 1,000 apprenticeships big and small.  I have begun a list of things I hope to teach and show them.   I have my BIG things.  I want to travel to Washington, DC as a family to the March for Life.  I hope to visit all 50 states with them in their lifetime.  Dominic and I want to go to New Zealand to see where "The Hobbit" was filmed. I hope to work our way through all the old Disney movies.  I hope they all learn how to make my mother's cinnamon rolls.  I want them to have tried as many different ethnic cuisines as possible.  I want them to know where every soup kitchen or literacy center is so they are able to offer their time back.   I am teaching the older four how to do a back flip. We will learn how to change a tire, how to bake a wedding cake from scratch, how to write your congressman, and how to properly make a phone call.



My small list is as long.  I want them all to know CPR.  I have taught them how to turn off the water to our home.  We learned last week how to plunge a toilet and turn off the water if it is overflowing.  On Fridays, we started a new tradition of "Potties and Popcorn."  The older four children and myself cleaned all of bathrooms Friday night.  Dominic did showers and tubs.  Lillie did the sinks.  Rose did mirrors and soap refills.  Zellie and I did toilets and floors.  I told them next week we will do all of our toilets then watch a movie and eat popcorn. Potties and Popcorn (after we wash our hands.)  I want them all to have taken Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University class before they leave home. 



I found a great tutorial on pinterest to help children learn to tie their shoes and also a double knot.  Often, I can get so focused on teaching them the BIG things that I realize I have forgotten to teach the small things.

The tutorial recommended teaching them first with a jump rope and then move forward from there.

The demonstrator

Teach them each step with precise instructions and don't move on until they've conquered each step.






10 comments :

  1. 1. I am using that jumprope idea.
    2. I am googling why pencils are yellow.
    3. You are the best teacher.

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  2. Great idea for teaching how to tie shoes, it has been hit or miss with my kids - some really grasp it, others do not. Interestingly enough, the ones that struggle also struggle with reading for a while.
    I love your inspiration, it sounds so much like me. I feel everyday that there isn't enough time for all I want to do, see, teach, and understand. Every day is a gift, but the years are flying by way too fast!

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  3. I love this post. It teaches us to be intentional with the short amount of time that our little ones are at home, even though sometimes that doesn't feel so "short". Thank you.

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  4. If you every come to Washington DC for the March for Life, you are all welcome to stay at our (small) house although it will probably require a lot of sleeping bags on the floor! You could all hop on the shuttle downtown from the church down the street (I am totally serious although I am not sure how much longer we will be here. Perhaps you should plan it for next year. :). -Elizabeth in Arlington VA

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  5. Lindsey - I want to be just like you when I grow up. Problem is, I think I am older than you and so I have some time to make up! That being said, I love, love, love this post. I did google the pencil question and wow, that is really cool.
    Here is one for you and Dominic today that I have found interesting. It comes from the tv show "How the States got their Shapes" which actually was really interesting. The one that liked in particular was their episode on Minnesota. Granted I live here, so I was familiar with the topic - the Northwest Angle. If you look at MN, there is a little piece that jutts up above the 49th parallel - the only place along the US border that does this (the northern border from MN westwards is relatively straight as you know from looking at a map). Anyway, what I think is so cool about the Northwest Angle is that one cannot drive their without leaving the US. You need to drive across the border into Canada and then cross back into the US to reach that isolated part of Minnesota. You can reach it by boat without leaving the US, but not by car. Pretty cool, huh? And it was all based on a map drawing mistake by the early cartographers.

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    Replies
    1. You are awesome! I wish we could be real life friends. God bless You.

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  6. so engrossed in this post - loved every bit. haven't read blogs in six months so it was a great first read back ;)

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  7. What wonderful thoughts on teaching our children. It is such a huge responsibility to prepare these little people for the world, and I like your strategy for helping them have a variety of experiences on their journey.

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  8. Hello, oh how it warms my heart to hear you speak of New Zealand! We run a farm which part of the hobbit and the LOTR was filmed on, if you do come, I am sure we can arrange a tour,

    But pretty much all of rural new zealnd is breath taking and it doesn't take long from any city to see the countryside :) Ip

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