While walking in our backyard creek today, Susan came upon a box turtle. She said it tumbled down from the creek bank into her path. I’ve never heard of clumsy turtles, just slow ones.

It’s a rare fine around here to find a turtle. We have snakes, crayfish, frogs and toads plenty. Turtles . . . I think this is our third.

I’ve never seen kids run so fast to go see a turtle either. All dropped their various activities to go see and touch.

Susan calls him Rollie. Yes, we’re sure he is male. Peter explained all; something to do with the underbelly of the shell.

We went to the indoor pool. Each time we are there during the day, I’m amazed at the absence of big kids. Pity.

Happy Hour at you-know-where. (No free ads here. You’re welcome.)

Then onto Geocaching. Our first time. We didn’t have a pen, so we have to go back again to sign the log book. Edmund complained it was too easy. He is used to us having to retrace wrong steps while looking for a letterbox. Parents: I think this is the proof we need : work can be fun.

Wading. Pollywogs. Fresh water clams.

Home.

What did your learning look like today?

A day in the life : June 2, 2011 is a post from: Paper Bridges, © 2005-2010 Monica Brand

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*cheeky grin*

All kidding aside, there is a bit of a debate afoot in the homeschool blogosphere about unschooling, especially if one is a Christian. As I happen to be a Christian (evangelical, pre-trib, Bible-is-all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips believer), and one who has embraced unschooling, I feel the need to stick my blog into the middle of the conversation/debate.

And I’ve entitled this piece, Confessions of a reluctant Christian unschooler because that’s exactly how I came to this educational philosophy. I never wanted to be an unschooler. I liked classical homeschooling. You should see my copy of The Well-Trained Mind. It’s dog eared and underlined with yellow highlighter.

With this post I want to tell you how I came to embrace unschooling as a Christian parent. This is not a rant against classical education; just my experiences as a homeschooling parent.

So. Are we cool?

Good. Let me tell you my story. . .

Homeschooling in the early years

I have a girl, Susan. She learned to read at about 6 years old. Susan loved her Latin studies. Sat still for grammar lessons. Produced beautiful copywork. This was a child who absorbed every Bible verse you could throw at her.

All was good perfect in my little homeschool.

I added my next pupil to the lineup. My boy, Peter.

Peter finished our phonics book, but didn’t start to read everything from cereal boxes to street signs like his older sister did. In fact, he hated the idea of Latin, cried over a simple grammar lesson. Copywork? No way. Learning Bible verses? It got done, but not at the rapid fire, human-sponge rate like Susan. He loved books as long as I was reading aloud to him.

Needless to say, all was not good in my little homeschool. In fact, if I wasn’t so stubborn, I might have pitched the idea of homeschooling him. But the Lord gave me an Irish heritage and I continued on with homeschooling, still clinging desperately to a traditional way of learning and teaching.

Peter would cry over attempting to read. I would get mad because I didn’t think he was trying hard enough. He would cry more because he still couldn’t read no matter how frustrated I got. We started the phonics book over again and I still couldn’t get this kid to read.

My classical homeschool in chaos thanks to my eight year old boy.

I did a lot of worrying back then. What was I doing wrong? Maybe I need a new, better phonics book? How can he advance to the next math book if he can’t remember multiplication tables? How will he take the SAT??

If it were possible to go back and re-do those years of mothering, I would jump at the chance.

I wish I hadn’t been so hard on him. I was so stubborn. So angry.

It took me years to let go of the idea that classical was The Best, the only way I would conduct a successful homeschool. (This post about Peter explains what pushed me over the edge to finally let go.)

Forgive me, Lord for that idolatry. May I never again uphold any educational philosophy as the bee’s knees.

And that prayer applies to unschooling too. Yes, I’m not a radical unschooler. (I’ve often said the only thing I want to be radical about is my faith in the Lord.)

Learning as unschoolers

I believe unschooling NOT to be the best way to learn for every child, nor the only way for a family to successfully homeschool. If I had a houseful of dutiful, early reading young ladies things might have been very different.

But unschooling sure did a world of good for my family – especially my boys.

Let me continue my story:

Next-in-line Edmund finished that same phonics book. Did he vault into reading? No. But an interesting thing happened.

At about the time he finished phonics, and I was mentally ready to unschool, my children found a gaming website for kids. The game has a chat feature. Edmund loved the game, but was intrigued with the written conservation scrolling by on the screen. The next thing I knew, Edmund could read the chat, then read everything else that crossed his path. He’s eight now and today he and his older sister disagreed on who would get to read a library book first.

Unschooling did that, not me. Sure, I taught him phonics, but I never asked him to read on his own. He found words and wanted to know what it said. The rest was all his motivation.

That’s the beauty of unschooling – a child motivated to learn because he wants to know.

Today. . .

As for Peter: he’s come a long way. It’s been awhile since I’ve written about his struggles to read. He’s eleven now.

Friends, you should hear him read from his own Bible.

Yes, my boy who gave me fits because he didn’t let me continue with classical homeschooling. The boy who forced me to reexamine why I homeschooled the way I did, the boy who set us all on a path of non-traditional learning – is reading!

Within the past few months, he’s been reading aloud to me again. It’s been years since I asked him to do that. As he reads, I correct mistakes; no more tears. Now it’s like he’s a different boy; I guess he is a different boy. He’s older, more mature. His brain is no longer the brain of a nine year old, but a more ready eleven year old.

Wow. What a difference!

I’m thankful that I found unschooling at a time when I didn’t see how I could continue to homeschool without it destroying my relationship with my boy.

Adding Susan, Edmund and Lucy to unschooling seemed the right way for all of us to go.

Today, this is what works for us.

We are all happier because of it.

***

What’s your flavor of homeschooling? Love unschooling? Swear by the classical method?

If you unschool, did you come to that decision easily or did you struggle letting go of what you thought your homeschool should be?

Add to the conversation in the comments below or link up your own blog post.

Confessions of a reluctant Christian unschooler is a post from: Paper Bridges, © 2005-2010 Monica Brand

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Project FeederWatch Homeschool lesson plans

Enjoy! Let me know if you are participating.

Participate in Project FeederWatch is a post from: Paper Bridges, © 2005-2010 Monica Brand

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Now that my children are getting older, I want to use the Internet more to our advantage. I have my Delicious bookmarks account that I’ve been using to hold sites I find for my children, but that always felt awkward to me. I didn’t want the kids to have to wade through my personal bookmarks to find what they needed. I thought of using email, but they don’t have email accounts yet. (Does my 8 year old need gmail? I’m going to go with No.) I thought of writing down the website addresses on scraps of paper, but that seemed too cumbersome.

Thankfully, I found a website that solves the problem.

At findingeducation.com, you set up a “classroom” to give “assignments” to your students/children. You can tag assignments by grade and subject and make “due by” dates. If you blog with WordPress, you will feel comfortable right from the start with how the site works. (I’m not sure it’s run on WordPress, but it looks eerily similar.) I’m not too keen on the labels (classroom, subjects or due dates), but since that’s the language of the rest of the world, those of us with a nontraditional approach to homeschooling will just have to ignore that part.

This is my findingeducation.com classroom. So far, I have one lesson posted for my baking-crazy preteen.

I’ll be posting links of educational interest for my kids; feel free to poke around my site. Let me know if you make a classroom too. There are no comments, which I love. No way for spammers to come and stalk my kids. There is a built-in search engine that looks promising.

I’ll let you know how how my kids respond to this virtual way of helping them pursue their interests and our learning at home.

Does any one else think the future has arrived?

New learning resource : FindingEducation.com is a post from: Paper Bridges, © 2005-2010 Monica Brand

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Isn’t she sweet? Meghan has bestowed a lovely award to my humble, little space of the Interwebs. Thanks, Meghan! Now it’s my turn. I answer the questions and pass the award on to other bloggers. The questions, with my answers, are:

What is one thing we don’t know about you? Did you know I can juggle, love spicy food, hate Lima beans, have an older brother and younger sister? (Aren’t I fascinating!)

If you were able to go anywhere today, where would it be? International: Ireland; State-side: Seattle, WA

What is your mission statement for your blog or the reason behind your blogging? The purpose of paperbridges.net is to point you to  good books, warn you of the less than stellar ones and to encourage the homeschooler freaks free spirits (especially you of the unschooling/super-relaxed mindset. I want to lift you guys up to do Great Things.)

What is your favorite trait about yourself? I am not afraid to try new things.

What is your Twitter handle or Facebook page? I actually have two Twitter accounts. Most of you follow me as @monicabrand. Now I have an account for all my book related tweets as @PaperBridges. If you want to hear about my kids, homeschooling and what I had for breakfast, follow monicabrand. Follow @PaperBridges if you could care less about the little details of life. Or follow me both at both accounts, I’m trying not to give the same tweet twice.

I’m not as active on Facebook, but I will be your friend. Let me know in the invitation that you know my from my blog. My account is http://facebook.com/monica.brand

I pass the award and questions on to An UnTraditional Home,  Sparking Adventures, Growing Urban Wildflowers, The Path Less Taken, Almost Unschoolers, and Adventures in Unschooling (Girls, I hope you all play along; I’d like to see how YOU answer the questions).

Readers, if you don’t know their blogs, please take a moment to go visit with a nice comment.

I win! is a post from: Paper Bridges, © 2005-2010 Monica Brand

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My daughter is a huge fan of the Guardians of Ga’ Hoole books, so this recipe for cutey owl faces in cookie form was a big hit. The recipe is from Hershey’s Chocolate and Cocoa Cookbook (which I’m guessing is out of print).

Hoot Owl Cookies

Makes approximately 2 1/2 dozen

3/4 cup butter or margarine

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour

2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup Hershey’s Cocoa

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon water

1/4 cup Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips

1/2 cup whole cashew nuts

Cream butter or margarine, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla in large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Blend flour mixture into creamed mixture. Remove two-thirds of the dough to a floured surface. In small bowl combine cocoa and baking soda; add to remaining dough. Blend water into chocolate dough.

Roll half of the vanilla dough into a 10 x 4 inch rectangle. Shape half of the chocolate dough into a roll 10 inches long; place in center of rectangle of vanilla dough. Mold sides of vanilla dough around roll of chocolate dough. Repeat shaping steps with remaining dough. Wrap in plastic wrap; chill at least 2 hours or overnight.

Cut dough into 1/8 inch thick slices; lay two slices together side-by-side on a greased cookie sheet. Pinch a corner of each slice to form ears. Place a peanut butter chip in the center of each slice for eyes; press a cashew nut between slices for a beak. Bake a 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Remove from cookie sheet ; cool on rack.

The Homeschool Village is swapping kids in the kitchen recipes. Add your recipe and find new ones for your family here.

**

Can you believe I just now realized my girl celebrates 12 years today?? I am a bad mother.

Nah. If she were home, I would’ve remembered right away.

We haven’t heard a word from them at camp; no news is good news, right? I’m glad she and her brother are having fun, but I do so miss them. Especially today.

For your Guardians of Ga’Hoole fan: Hoot Owl Cookies is a post from: Paper Bridges, © 2005-2010 Monica Brand

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As I have only had one cup of coffee so far, and stayed up too late shopping for groceries online, I have nothing else to add that sounds remotely intelligent. I’m going to be needing a nap today, yet in true unschoolish style, our day is busy, going tither and yon with dentist, picking up said groceries, library and 4H meeting. Perhaps I can sleep at the red traffic lights.

~ Monica

PS  RSS readers, come see what’s new in my sidebars. I’ve added other bling, working on adding more!

PSS  Can’t get button to stay centered. Makes me crazy.

Bling for the Unschooling Christian blogger is a post from: Paper Bridges, © 2005-2010 Monica Brand

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Homeschooling: A Family’s Journey by Gregory and Martine Millman is such a book. In the beginning, the authors describe how they left behind Catholic education to homeschool in New Jersey (yes, another plus for me: this is another New Jersey homeschooling family), how homeschooling works as a better way to educate our children and the failure of public education today. The book ends with a advice on college. Everything in between those chapters – how the Millmans taught at home, the heart of their journey as a homeschooling family.

I didn’t need any convincing to leave public education, yet I enjoyed reading these chapters. If you have a skeptical family member or spouse that has yet to get homeschooling, these chapters are recommended reading.

Then we have the testimony of how the Millman children learned, grew and thrived at home. The Millmans do various activities and call it school. Life (moving to a new house, tragedy, and the unpredictable nature of daily living) trumps what the outside world would call schoolish learning. I love it, love it. These chapters made my homeschooling mother’s heart sing.

They take on the label “unschoolers” and we all know how the media has been presenting these people in the news lately. I would love to see a follow up book by the authors touting the benefits of unschooling.

Two of the children go to the public high school but quickly return home. I love that story. Read it for yourself to find out why. This family loves to read, they have a party as each child joins that club of Reader. The authors discuss the benefits of traveling to foreign countries as learning.

The chapter about choosing a college is excellent. Another recommended reading.

What else? What else to gush about?

I wish I had the book here right now so I could pull quotes, but, alas, a homeschooling friend has it on loan. I’m sure you’re not surprised. This is the homeschooling book you want all of your friends and family to read. Here is my Amazon affiliate link if you are so inclined: Homeschooling: A Family’s Journey

Gotta run. Meeting up with friends. Maybe pictures later,

~ Monica

Edited to trackback to The Homeschool Village’s Mr. Linky. Homeschoolers, add your link regarding your favorite book about homeschooling or read what other homeschoolers recommend.

Question: What’s your favorite book about homeschooling? is a post from: Paper Bridges, © 2005-2010 Monica Brand

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We’re getting more eggs everyday. And all I can say is: It’s about time these ladies started earning their keep. With Susan’s love for baking, and neighbors wanting to buy fresh eggs, we can’t keep up.

I bet you didn’t know is a post from: Paper Bridges, © 2005-2010 Monica Brand

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This week I witnessed Susan’s relationship with books deepen.

We were at the library, and as chance had it (or maybe it was a God-ordained meeting?), our dear friends came in right behind us. This is the one family in our homeschool fellowship that my children adore, and I believe the feeling is mutual on their part. When we meet, there is much hugging, giggling and shouts of joy. Because we are both homeschooling families, we don’t see much of each other. Busy at home, busy with activities. So a spontaneous, accidental meet-up in the children’s section of the library is a lovely treat.

As I chatted with the mother, I noticed Susan and her friend kneeling on the floor, heads bent towards each other, in between the shelves. They were talking, sharing secrets about something, I was sure of it. I hoped it had to do with books. Usually when we go to the library, I suggest titles to my eleven year old. And she resists, unwilling to try all my old favorites and all the new titles that look appealing to me. Susan would get books about baking or collecting TY Beanie Babies, which is fine, I’m glad she’s interested in collecting and cooking. But what of the fiction? Why wasn’t she falling in love with all those characters I adored as a young girl?

I knew Susan’s friend loved fiction, her mother told me both her daughters read constantly. As I peeked around the bookshelf to watch the girls, I hoped my Susan was considering bringing home fiction this time.

Sure enough, when it came time to leave, Susan had selected several books in the Pony Club series, a Wishbone book and an American Girl title about a blond named Julie. Finally! I thought to myself.

Susan read during the drive home. I think she may have gone straight to her room to read when we got there. Needless to say, she did a lot of reading in a short period of time. Those were easy reads for her, but that’s not the point. For the first time, my girl was captured with an imaginary world found in fiction, so taken in that reading was the activity chosen above all other enticements (computer, a sibling, writing or play).

In two days, Susan had finished all her books and asked to go back to the library for more. We went and she took more books home. Again, Pony Club, American Girl and Wishbone. She read as we walked to the car.

Me again: Finally!

But the story doesn’t stop there.

Last night, the two of us were out for her 4H club meeting. The bookstore open late. Could we go? I’m never one to pass on an opportunity to be surrounded with the written word, and I want to encourage her, so we went.

And this time our visit was remarkably different.

Susan went straight to the juvenile fiction section, found City of Ember and embraced it like an old friend. No Pony Club this time. She said she wanted a “thicker chapter book.” Last night there was no plea for a Klutz book, what she usually wants; she’s crazy for the ones with the fill in the blank pages.

Right now, it’s almost 10:30 and she came out of her bedroom looking overtired. Susan fed the bunnies, ignoring food and Internet, and is now back in her bedroom, door shut. It’s a gray day and we have no plans to take us away from the house. I suspect she will be finished with her new book by nightfall.

It’s going to be a beautiful day.

Watching her read is a post from: Paper Bridges, © 2005-2010 Monica Brand

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I’m going to record a quickie blurb about both anyway, so I can mark the activities here so I can find them years from now when I’m wondering what the heck we did that was fun. I’m sure I will forget.

No. 1 Activity sans picture: First Lego League Robotics Competition. Way cool. We got to hang out with the High Schoolers. Very much fun. My boys were in their glory. Husband – I convinced him to go too, because in my mind he is head of our Science Department – enjoyed it. Tween girl – sort of, eventually. Littlest girl. Yes, we all enjoyed very much. It’s a lot tougher to drive those robots than it looks.

No. 2 Activity sans picture: Shakespeare play at Raritan Valley Community College. A Midsummer’s Nights Dream, a student adaptation. Kids loved it. Having the boys listen to the Jim Weiss version before we went was a good idea. All four hung on every word, every scene. Yes, even my four year old. True, this was only an hour play, but they got it. The next day, Peter called his brother an acorn as an insult. Edmund ran around referring to himself as Puck.

Ha. Acorn.

There you go. Sorry this is isn’t so flashy. I just want to get it out of my head so I can replace it with something else. Now as long as my blog doesn’t blow up, I’ll be okay.

Okay?

Two cool things we did this summer and me with no pictures to prove it is a post from: Paper Bridges, © 2005-2010 Monica Brand

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My story. This was a short story Susan wrote without any help from me, and as a intentional home schooling mom, that is saying a lot. I like to think I had enough sense to stay out of her way, allowing her to discover her love for writing and words on her own.

But let me back up for a second. I’m getting ahead of the beginning of the story of how this all came to be. This is a post about my eldest – whom I refer to as Susan. I’ve recorded my son’s reading journey and how I’ve come to let go of my expectations for him. Now I want to tell you about Susan.  This is her story: her birth as a writer.

The beginning

Susan’s home schooling began at age six with math, oral grammar and lots of read alouds. (You can read earlier posts about teaching her here and here.)

By age seven, she was reading on her own. We continued with oral grammar lessons and read alouds. I assigned her books that she was interested in reading, like Little House on the Prairie or a Rod and Staff reader. We dabbled with history. She did Awana. She loved attending church. She visited with Grandma. She lived life.

The one thing Susan did not do was write. No book reports. No creative writing. No required writing of any kind. I did attempt the first level of Writing Stands, but it was quickly abandoned. “She’s not ready for this” was my reasoning. She did copy work easily. Sometimes Susan would write a letter to a friend, but it was always her idea and for fun.

Whenever we came across a writing assignment in Spelling Workout or Story of the World, I would have her skip it. The one thing I did require from her was narrations. And, how she hated those! Those narrations, done a few times a week, was the closest she ever got to a formal writing assignment.

We continued with a mix of oral and written grammar lessons. Still reading lots of books; Susan developed a fondness for non-fiction (reference books, Fandex and the dictionary are a few). We traveled. We stayed busy.

And she played a lot with her non-reading, younger siblings.

Connecting it all

Susan read books and magazines to her brothers and sister; sometimes the text they shared would become part of their imaginary play. Susan began making up her own stories based on toys and imaginary creatures of their playtime. This oral storytelling, along with input from her siblings, morphed into her forming her own stories in the privacy of her room, or in the backyard, away from interruptions – a talkative toddler and pesky boys (and perhaps even me, her hovering, homeschooling mother.)

Needless to say, it wasn’t much of a leap to begin writing these stories down on to the computer.

All of this without formal writing lesson from me.

This week, at age of 11, she proudly read me a short story she submitted to a kid’s website, thrilled with the comments she gets from her peers. My girl is a confident writer. Her grammar and punctuation are excellent; spelling fine. The art of well-crafted fiction she will be learning for the rest of her life, but for now – most importantly – she enjoys writing. It’s fun, bringing her joy and a sense of accomplishment.

Now if only I can transfer that passion to fractions…

The birth of a writer is a post from: Paper Bridges, © 2005-2010 Monica Brand

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Let me tell you about my first boy…

The other day I was at my mom’s when she asked Peter, my nine-year-old, to read something. We were gathered in the living room, playing a game, having a good time goofing off together. Peter looked at that little paper slip held out to him, glanced at me sitting on the sofa across the room. His eyes void of all confidence.

“No, I won’t. Not with my mom in the room.”

Heart-broke home schooling mom, that’s me.

That flash into my boy’s heart was a real eye-opener.

Peter never has that look when talking to an adult, playing a video game or riding his bicycle.  This is the child who always wants the WHY and HOW. This is the kid, who at the age of five, took the logical leap from knowing how his baby sister would come out of me, to how baby got in there in the first place.

He loves Story. Magic Tree House, The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, My Side of the Mountain, Story of the World – he listens to audio books for hours at a time. He takes apart the VCR to get it working again. He’s discovered the power of combining hammer and nails. There are chickens to chase, crayfish, snakes and turtles to catch in our creek. A bedroom over-populated with Legos. His knowledge about reptiles, birds and animals is impressive. He doesn’t watch Animal Planet, he absorbs it.

But reading? I’ve succeed in turning it into a battle zone. I’ve pushed too hard, too soon. His eyes told me all.

Okay, I admit it: I screwed up.

I should’ve backed off years ago, leaving him alone to play with letters and books, letting him come to reading in his own way and timetable. Alas, I’m an imperfect home schooling mom with an agenda. Not only am I a gung-ho home schooling mom, but I’m passionate about language and words. I love books, writing, anything that smacks of literary, I’m totally into it. I have a B.A. in English with a writing concentration; my own education is language rich; to have a late reader is… unnerving and somewhat scary.

Trusting Peter, trusting God

So how has this affected our home school life? When it comes to reading and traditional “school work,” I’m backing off, letting him absorb the world around him for now, letting him be a nine-year-old boy. Since May, since daily life became busy with travel and summer outdoor fun, I’ve asked nothing formally of Peter in regards to seat work (no math, reading or grammar).

What an amazing and fun age for a child!

Most importantly, at the heart of all this do-no-school-work-existence, is the quest to repair that mother/son relationship. I’m going to do that by letting him read what he wants, when he wants, with no demands from me. Right now as Peter’s mom, and as a Christ-following home schooling mom (that makes a huge difference, right?), I need to trust that this is the right road to travel.

That scared look from across the room? I never want to forget it. Peter – and really, the Lord – told me how I need to keep my eyes fixed on the personal needs of the child, not focused on a how-to-home school book I read years ago. I shouldn’t even be looking at the past success of a sibling.

Each child is unique. I’m thankful that the Lord reminded me in my mom’s living room that day.

A boy and a book

Last week a few of our chickens disappeared from the yard, a trail of feathers the evidence we have a chicken-hungry critter lurking nearby. Peter spent hours building a trap involving a cardboard box, string, bait and an impressive hole. When I asked him where he got the idea for such an elaborate trap, he just gave a nonchalant shrug.

“Oh, I found it in a book.”

Cool. In my mama heart, I’m rejoicing, but I’m not going to say a word to my boy… yet.

Truth in his eyes is a post from: Paper Bridges, © 2005-2010 Monica Brand

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Bwahahahhaha. Perhaps it can be done. Let me know how it goes for you and yours.

Learn Nothing Day is a post from: Paper Bridges, © 2005-2010 Monica Brand

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Cooking up fun is a post from: Paper Bridges, © 2005-2010 Monica Brand

Share or Bookmark this post if you like it. Thank you.

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August 1 in Madison, NJ. The Taming of the Shrew It’s outdoor theater and Shakespeare – what could be better? Picnic before the show. Bring a lawn chair and a sweatshirt. It’s been years since we attended, and I’d love to go this year, but I’m not sure this is the right play for my young kids.

A note about the link: Don’t be fooled by the website. Scroll down to find the information regarding the free performance.

Homeschool for free: The Taming of the Shrew on August 1 is a post from: Paper Bridges, © 2005-2010 Monica Brand

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And so it begins.

Friends – behold, the interesting creature known as The Nine-Year-Old Boy. He runs everywhere. He plays computer games obsessively. This Boy, he who will only be nine once (“Thanks be to God!” says his mother), engages occasionally in behavior we won’t speak write of again. Ahem. The Legendary Peeing on the Grill Incident, for example.

Then there are the days when The Nine-Year-Old Boy gets is right.

Today my version of this boy-man child made his father breakfast in bed, then proceeded to build this quite lovely and extremely functional foot/bike bridge. It’s the Age of the Hammer. Building, creating, pounding wood with nails. No wood scrap is safe from The Boy looking to create a bike ramp. Or tree fort. Whatever captures his imagination.

You did good today, kid.

Tomorrow? You never know with the creature known as the Nine-Year-Old Boy. As the mother of said Nine-Year-Old Boy critter, I’m gonna just go with it, no matter what he choses to create: a mess or a work of art, because that’s what you do when you’re the mother of a mostly domesticated/always entertaining Nine-Year-Old Boy.

Pray for me!

And be jealous.

The Age of the Hammer is a post from: Paper Bridges, © 2005-2010 Monica Brand

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