Gift

Yesterday the kids and I had a wonderful afternoon at a local park. Another home schooling mom and her four children came too, and they all had a blast in this wide creek, catching crayfish, salamanders and frogs. Peter caught a baby water snake. Sadly, my camera batteries died, so no pictures.

The best part about the day – I made a new friend.

She’s new to home schooling and our group this year. While our kids played in the water, we talked like old friends that hadn’t seen each other in years.

You know how sometimes you meet certain people and you just click right away, without any effort? This was one of those times. I feel like I’m finally making that friendship connection that I’ve wanted for so long.

I have a birthday next week. The older I get, the more I treasure close relationships. They’re precious like gold nuggets plucked from among mud and stone.

The Lord knew what I needed. He heard the cry of my heart and he has given me this blessing, the gift of a friend.

National poetry month

April is National Poetry Month. Follow the link to read more.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, poetry memorization is a lost discipline we should bring back into the classroom and home school. Plus, it makes a great party trick. Anyone remember how a Jabberwocky helped me out?

I call my Susan, 9, the human sponge. She memorizes easily. A Slash of Blue by Emily Dickinson is her current poem for memorization. She already knows:

  • The Bells by Edgar Allan Poe
  • A Time to Talk by Robert Frost
  • I Wondered Lonely As a Cloud by William Wordsworth
  • The Land of Nod by Robert Louis Stevenson
  • A Tragic Story by William Makepeace Thackeray
  • plus a handful of poems about childhood

Do you have a favorite poem? If you do, then try memorizing it.