First it was J . . .

This morning Miss M was very annoyed because brother L told her that she couldn't have last night's chips for breakfast. She came to me and said indignantly, "L is a mean guy! We need to get rid of him!" I asked her what she thought we should do with him, and she said, "throw him down the stairs!" And then she started laughing at her own silliness.

Quote about C.S. Lewis from J Austen Book

"C.S. Lewis said every time you make a decision, you change the central part of you that chooses. He meant moral choices--whenever you choose to lie, for example, or not to lie, you change the substance of who you are and what you are likely to do the next time you have a choice to make."
(from A Walk with Jane Austen by Lori Smith)

She says the quote is in Mere Christianity. It reminds me of Charlotte Mason's perception of habit, how it changes the substance of the brain.

Spoiling Children

Last night Miss M had a tantrum, a pretty good one. She wanted something to eat that I wasn't going to give her (she wanted something that took some preparation and that I had finished and put everything away - and that she's not been eating lately, anyway - I wasnt going to drag everything back out and make something that would end up in the trash), although I offered to get her something else. I usually take her into the bedroom when she does this to calm down. So we went into the bedroom and I offered to make her a sandwich, no good. I offered peanuts, no good. I offered a slice of (soy) cheese. No good. I had been contemplating making myself some popcorn (this was after dinner), so I said, "How about popcorn?" She stopped crying and looked at me in amazement. "Mommy! You're going to spoil me!"

We have a friend who does sweet things for her (her college aged daughter, does, too) and I've told Miss M that they spoil her. So, in her mind, I think "spoiling" means doing something unexpectedly nice.

Quote on American Christianity from a book about Jane Austen

Mr. B. surprised me with a book he'd heard about somewhere (perhaps Focus on the Family?) called A Walk with Jane Austen by Lori Smith. The book isn't really about Jane Austen - it's about Lori Smith's thoughts and questions about her life during a trip she took to visit historical Jane Austen places.

Here's the quote:

"The American Christian mentality can be a dangerous one. We are so successful, so rich, that we begin to equate these things with the blessings of God. They are great blessings, to be sure. But in some ways this leads to a faith that evaluates God's work in our lives and the lives of our friends by the amount of stuff we have received. When things work out--our marriage, children, 401(k)--God is clearly present. When things do not work out, we tell ourselves and others to hold on, that God will surely come to our aid and act quickly on our behalf, bringing us what we want/need/desire/cannot live without. This is not entirely untrue; God loves to give us good things. And yet what we end up with in many ways is a faith focused on all of our riches, a faith that works only in America. Just thinking about trying to encourage Third World Christians the way we talk to each other belies the fact that these 'truths' we hold on to are not universal."

Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills

Thanks to LauraK who posted this on the MBG message board. Here's just a sample from this NPR article, which you can read in its entirety here:

"Instead of spending their time in autonomous shifting make-believe, children were supplied with ever more specific toys for play and predetermined scripts. Essentially, instead of playing pirate with a tree branch they played Star Wars with a toy light saber. Chudacoff calls this the commercialization and co-optation of child's play — a trend which begins to shrink the size of children's imaginative space."

"one reason make-believe is such a powerful tool for building self-discipline is because during make-believe, children engage in what's called private speech: They talk to themselves about what they are going to do and how they are going to do it.
'In fact, if we compare preschoolers' activities and the amount of private speech that occurs across them, we find that this self-regulating language is highest during make-believe play," Berk says. "And this type of self-regulating language… has been shown in many studies to be predictive of executive functions.'
And it's not just children who use private speech to control themselves. If we look at adult use of private speech, Berk says, 'we're often using it to surmount obstacles, to master cognitive and social skills, and to manage our emotions.'
Unfortunately, the more structured the play, the more children's private speech declines."

Emma by J Austen and Miss M's Desire for a Dog

Ginger and I finished Sense and Sensibility and today we start Emma.

Miss M has been asking for a dog. L informed her that brother J is allergic to dogs, so she suggested that we "get rid of J." Just yesterday she told someone at church that J is her favorite brother. My, how things change! Or maybe nothing has changed, but her priorities are set and even when weighed against a favorite brother, a dog comes first? When I told her that getting rid of J wasn't an option, she said, "Then I'll grow up and marry myself so I can live by myself!"

Mister Rogers: "Won't You Wear a Sweater?" Day

In honor of the late Mister Rogers' 80th birthday, Thursday March 20 is Wear a Sweater Day. See Mr. McFeeley's YouTube plea here.

Three Yr Old's Narration of Star Wars

This YouTube video was shared on another message board - this little girl is a great example of narration - although I think that, if I had such a bright, articulate child, I might find something more worthy than Star Wars to familiarize her with. I'll bet she has older brothers.

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Found on Katie's blog. I don't think this is quite accurate. And I was secretly hoping to be a semi-colon. But when I changed a couple of my answers, I scored as a comma, not a semi-colon.

You Are a Colon

You are very orderly and fact driven. You aren't concerned much with theories or dreams... only what's true or untrue. You are brilliant and incredibly learned. Anything you know is well researched. You like to make lists and sort through things step by step. You aren't subject to whim or emotions. Your friends see you as a constant source of knowledge and advice. (But they are a little sick of you being right all of the time!) You excel in: Leadership positions You get along best with: The Semi-Colon

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Correct Coughing Technique

"Are you still coughing and sneezing the way they did during the plague? Into the air, your hands, tissues and handkerchiefs? Then you need to see this video. You’ll learn to cough and sneeze in places that are less likely to spread infections and keep germs alive."

This site has a video of the proper way to cough and sneeze so that you risk less spread of germs. The site has options for video in English, Spanish and sign language.

The video is also on Youtube.