Its finally done

Rhett was invited to a costume party and of course me being me would not go out and buy him one. Why should I? So I decided to torture myself and make him one.
I wanted to make him a Japanese outfit. It has Hakama pants, kosode and jacket.
Now, I really can't sew. I like to think I can, but I really do detest it. I am not that methodical. I do not like to do things in order and sewing makes me do things in order.

I don't think it came out all that bad. My sewing machine hates me and made sure the thread broke about every 30 seconds or so. It took me such a long time to get the jacket done whereas I had no problem with the pants.
I would have made Rhett dress up, but he fell asleep on me. I was even tempted to wake him up and make him try it on. Oh well. I shall get pictures of him tomorrow at the party.

Unschooling method (yes, its a rant)

This is in response to those who tell me: "I know some unschoolers and they just let their children play video games all day, every day. They do absolutely nothing with their kids..."

I love unschooling and I realize that it is not for everyone. It does take a leap of faith to believe that your children will learn while letting them follow their own interests.
It may look like, to others especially critical ones, that my children do nothing all day. It may look like they play games all day or are on the computer all day. However, they are not with us all day. My four year old does play quite a bit of games but he also tells the most amazing stories from imagination, is learning to read, can recite songs as well as make some up on his own, is learning about different types of bugs, learning to sew, knows how to needle felt as well as wet felt and is learning to crochet. He is learning to read in Japanese, loves to help me cook, plays with the dogs, gardens and collect pieces of wood that he calls swords. This is pretty much on his own without my coaxing, coaching or making him sit at a table for hours on end.

My older son has a wealth of interests although you wouldn't think that with the amount of time he spends on Facebook or texting his friends. He wants to write a book, he is interested in atvs, motorbikes, horses, taking things apart, and music. He does awesome in public speaking and goes out of his way to help people.

Most unschoolers are not doing nothing all day. It may seem like it but there is usually a lot more learning going on than they let on and unless you spend 24/7 with one, you will not know it.
So before a person says: "I know an unschooler and they do absolutely nothing..." Make sure you have your facts straight and hard evidence before you start ranting about how the parents are ruining their children by this method and they are neglectful. It just might stop some animosity from growing.
Oh~I'm sure there are some homeschooling parents out there that do neglect their children and they are the ones that get the most publicity because they are the ones who get in the news. However, they are really few and far between.

Projects

Keeping busy and putting my mind to other things has been an obsession. If I stop to think I cry so I try not to think. I miss my mom. Its hard not to wish the person who hit her is suffering as much as I am. But I know she has her own thoughts and feelings to live with. Forgiveness...I am really trying.

So here are some of the projects that I have been working on lately. I made another drop spindle so I can work on two projects instead of waiting to clear one spindle before starting on another. I want to make a top whorl spindle next.

I love how the green dye came out. In one bath I ended up with three shades of green due to the Ascorbic Acid I added to it. This is sheep wool from an unknown donor. I got a couple of bags of wool from a wonderful person off of Craig's list.

Yes, before you ask, that is a drop spindle made from tinkertoy parts. It works fabulously too. This is a mixture of white and blonde from an llama. Another wonderful find off of Craig's list. Eight bags of llama fleece of varying colour.

Here is a finished hank of the green. I used food colouring. I was thinking of raiding a neighbours walnut tree, but then I thought...I already have some beautiful natural brown wool and llama fleece. I was trying to dig up some yellow dock that grows in the area, but they are hard to get out. I hear they make a vibrant yellowish orange. I suppose I should just try a little harder.

I am going to dye this using tumeric. I want to see the difference between tumeric and the dock root once I get it.

I am not much of a knitter or crocheter. I am learning to knit but I am slow and clumsy and forget where I am at often. I did make my little one some socks to run around the house in. They were full of mistakes, but of course he didn't mind. He watched me make them so he thought they were very special and each day he would ask me if they were done yet.
He loves to help me spin as he spins the spindle while I draft the roving. He also loves to play with the fiber and is getting quite good at needle felting.

Herb 101...for Neil. =) Pt.1

You can take herbs in several forms, but the basic ones are teas (infusion), decoctions or syrups.
To make a simple tea using a single herb you would mix 1 oz of herb to 1 pint of boiling water. Infusions would be used for light herbs such as leaves, berries, flowers, etc.

Decoctions are used for harder materials such as twigs, bark, etc. The measurements are the same: 1 oz herb to 1 pint of water. Place herbs into a glass pot pour cold water over the herb then gradually bring to a boil. Boil for at least 15 minutes although certain herbs will require longer.

Syrups are basically a sugar concentrate that has reached saturation point. Syrups can be made and stored separately then add a dry herb or tincture to it or you could make an herbal syrup. For an herbal syrup, you would begin with a concentrated herb liquid (infusion or decoction) at least 1 pt of liquid...so take 2 pts of herb liquid and simmer it til it is down to a half to concentrate it. Add 1-2 ozs of honey and 1-2 ozs of vegetable (food grade) glycerine.

Local First Day of School

August 31st was the first day of school for many of the children around here. While they were lined up for the bus early in the morning, my son Dusty was walking to the place he has come to love. Hidden Valley Ranch. They raise Paint horses and he goes there two days a week to work in exchange for riding privileges.
His spirit free and happy doing what he enjoys, while the numerous children looked sort of downcast and tired for their first day. I am sure they were wishing that the summer had not ended.
As for Rhett's day, we spent the day in the garden, reading books and playing hide and seek. We caught grasshoppers and looked for a Praying Mantis that had found its way into our yard.
He is asking me to spell everything for him now, so we spend the days spelling out words and of course I must not go fast or he tells me to "do it more slowly..." You can see his little mind working as he tries to picture the letter in his mind as I spell it out.

So while the children were sitting at desks inside a building, my boys were outside enjoying the things they do best...being themselves, learning the way they want and what they want. I feel this is part of raising a holistically healthy child.

Its the end of August already???

We have been here for 2 months. I am sorry to those I promised to drop a line to but haven't yet.

So much has happened. Cody is back home. YaY!!! He is not so happy though. I told him to take this time to solidify his plans for the future. If it means school, then go to school. If he wants to learn a trade, then do so. He has the time right now.

School is starting next week for the locals here. I hear mixed reviews from parents and children alike.
I love the fact that my children will be kept out of the massive crowds at the schools and have the freedom to pursuit their likes. One of the girls who also volunteers at the ranch has to quit even though she homeschools. Dusty said something about her not having time now that school is starting again. So I am thinking virtual school or her parents are pretty strict. Which is ok if that is what fits their family. I think it kind of sad that she loves being around horses and cannot be even though she is homeschooled.

When Dusty is working at the horse ranch, Rhett and I take long walks by the canal. It is supposedly illegal to swim in the canal because of dangerous undercurrents. But there is a place where we can go down to a sandy spot that is pretty level. I let Rhett go up to his knees. The water is still pretty cold. We have been finding all sorts of interesting things in the water from pond skaters to water snails. He loves to throw rocks in the water. Its quite a relaxing way to spend the mornings.

Most of our days are spent playing in the backyard, taking walks and sitting in the garden reading books. We venture out to the library once a week and spend a couple of hours there where he plays with other children and the library's pets. They have such a cute guinea pig named CoCo that Rhett is quite fond of.

Soon we will begin visiting the local flora and fauna. There is a place called Bogus Basin that is supposed to be a great place to go hiking. The downtown parks are supposed to be really nice as well. We still have to visit the nature center and zoo here. Supposedly the first Thursday of the month are free days at the museums and such so we shall see.

We are still adapting and Rhett talks about the "pink" house often. Especially how he had to leave his toys there. I hope to replace them soon, I know he is sad about that. I am sad as well. I had to leave some things that were important to me. I know they can be replaced, but not the sentiment.
Life is full of disappointing things, I just have to adjust and move along.

Our New Library

I really miss the library in Aurora. The Smoky Hill Branch was the most awesome library I've been too. It was mostly due to Woody's Coffee and Smoothie shop within it. He had really tasty strawberry truffle smoothies and on cold days I loved to get a caramel cider.
The library we go to now is pretty small. The fines are outrageous and they have no coffee shop. I know we were spoiled, not every library has a coffee shop in it. But I do miss the smoothies especially on days like today (103 degrees) and I am craving something sweet.

They do have pets in the library though. They have a guinea pig, a dove, two Australian walking stick bugs, fish, a tree frog and a gecko. They are all down in the children's section of the library.
Rhett fell in love with the guinea pig named Coco. He thinks the dove is sad because they keep her in a cage and she cannot find her babies. I wonder where he got that from...
They have a small playroom with couches and a couple of toys and a few puzzles. We are still learning where things are there and of course they don't have as many books on certain subjects although we can request books from other libraries.

I haven't found many homeschoolers so I've been toying with the idea of putting up a notice on the board there. I'm sure there has to be more than I've already found in the area. This is supposed to be an awesome state to homeschool in with very little regulations. So far no one in the new neighbourhood homeschools their children and the school is a little ways away. There is a performing arts school down the street and an elementary school built within a very ritzy hoa neighbourhood that I think is only for the kids who live in that area. I think I like to keep my children with me so we can explore and have fun rather than have them sit in a classroom getting in trouble for wistfully looking outside and thinking what might have been.

Sad...

A good friend of my mother's died yesterday morning. She and her daughter always had encouraging words for me and mine when my mother died.
We knew she was dying, but it is never easy. I cannot make it out there for the memorial talk and it makes me sad. They were there for my mom's.

Getting Settled

We are finally getting settled in the new house. It isn't home yet. I don't know if it will ever feel like it. We are renting so there is only so much we can do and I keep telling the kids what they can and cannot do...
I can't wait til we can buy another house. We are still waiting for the one in Aurora to sell. I hope its soon as we cannot afford two places.

The house here in Boise has three bedrooms and one bathroom. We are trying to make it work. The house's saving grace is that it has a really huge backyard that the kids and pups can play in. The front yard is fenced as well. We have been keeping the kitties inside since they do not know the neighbourhood (and its filled with dogs) and might get lost. Oh! Did I mention that hawks carry off kitties around here???
The backyard also has fruit trees, raspberry canes, lemon balm, mint, sage, rosemary and blackberries. Someone started an herb wheel but never planted the herbs. There are also three raised garden beds one of which I've already planted some things in.


We are on the outskirts (unincorporated) part of Boise. It takes 20 minutes to get to downtown. People in the neighbourhood are pretty friendly here. We had chocolate chip cookies waiting for us on the counter the morning we got here. The neighbour lady across the street from us has a bobcat for a pet. There are backyard horses here as well as chickens. Down the road from us is a huge corn field...

I will have pictures later. Some photographer I am...always forgetting my camera.

On hiatus

Since I am in the middle of packing and trying to sell the house, I am taking a temporary hiatus. Hopefully when I get settled in Boise, this blog will be more active with some more interesting stuff.

Did you ever...

Did you ever think that you could accomplish anything only to find out that you can't? Did you ever feel that you are on top of the world only to find out that you are at the bottom of the pile? I think that is where I am now. I know...you are thinking "Oh no. Not another pity party for her." Actually its not a pity party. I'm done with the pity. I know it doesn't get me anywhere and I know people don't want to hear it.

Anyway...

I was working on the basement getting it all packed but I have to do it in spurts. I don't know what it is, but something is setting off my allergies really bad. So it has set me back a couple of days. I don't know whether to finish the rest of the house on schedule and come back to the basement or to just finish the basement and let it take longer to pack the rest of the house.
On top of that, Dusty is getting sick. I think it is his allergies compounded by whatever is in the basement and is now having a hard time breathing.
Off to the doctor's on Monday to get that taken care of. Right now I have him in the shower with some eucalyptus oil to help clear up some of the breathing problems. I am going to make him a little pillow with flax seed mixed with eucalyptus and peppermint. If it gets worse then I will have him inhale some smoke from a lung cleanse herb.

I found some papers that my mom had stashed away. I have someone coming to translate them for me. I think one is an official marriage license from Japan as well as one in English. The others I am not sure. I think one may have something to do with her brother whom I have spent the last 10 years looking for. I really want to just go to Japan and search for him. I think that it would be much easier than putting ads in newspapers or online sites.
It has been seven months since the accident. I still miss her terribly.

The house goes on the market on June 1st. We don't really expect it to sell. The market is horrible here.
Too bad it tanked.

So that is where I am at now.
I have most of the basement done, part of my bedroom done, all of the books done. (That was a chore in itself. We can open a small library.) Oh and the garage is mostly done.
This weekend we are removing the wallpaper and painting. I wonder how many coats of primer is it going to take to cover a dark blue wall?

Destressing

I do have to say that in the past 9 months I have had my fair share of stress. I think I have hit all the markers for that stress test doctors give. I miscarried, my husband decided that he no longer wanted to be married to me (then keeps changing his mind.), my mother passed away, I was diagnosed with a heart problem and had to be on meds, my oldest son moved away, and now I am moving...oh and can't forget the job that I was supposed to start, but never quite did.
I don't think I have had time to process everything that has been going on.

So I have set out to find a way to destress. I know it really isn't possible at the moment since I have to pack up the house and get it ready to put up for sale within a week or so. (And here I am on the computer writing...)
I would love to get a massage. I could really use one. I would love to just sit and draw or paint. Veg out in the backyard watching the birds and squirrels.
I'm thinking of getting a loom and a spinning wheel. I think that would be a wonderful de-stressing tool. Not to mention it would be great for the business I want to start. I already have a lot of yarn I've spun. I have some wool that is ready to dye and be spun. I have to decide what colour. I also have to find the time...
I got a book from the library on Chinese knot tying. I've always found it fascinating so I figure I'd give it a try.
I really hope the library in Boise is as good as the one here. Guess that will be one of the things to check out when we drive up there at the end of the month.

Well, times awasting...back to packing.

Where are all the children...

Blog: 5/15/09

I am wondering where all the children are. It is noon. It is sunny. It is a beautiful day outside. I am sitting here at the park and there is only one other child out here besides my four year old son. I know the older children are at school, but where are the younger ones. This neighbourhood has a lot of children in it…I’ve seen them.
How can children be indoors on a beautiful day like this? I think it inhumane. I should be seeing children running in the huge grassy area here or zipping down the slides.
It makes me sad that my little one has no one to play with. His older brother is off with friends and his oldest moved to Tacoma four days ago. He misses him terribly.
I think about how children today are stuck more indoors not getting enough exercise and sunlight. How children are losing their playtime because of busy schedules and such.
I would love to see playgrounds full of children, laughing and running. Making up stories and pretending and not t.v. based play or characters. I would love to see children outside and not stuck indoors playing video games or stuck in front of the television with mindless blank stares on their faces like a zombie had eaten their brains.

Another adventure...

The family and I are moving to Boise Idaho at the end of June. Shocker!!! Me, who spent 19 years trying to get back to Aurora Colorado is now moving away.
There are several reasons for this:

1. It is really hard to stay here when everything reminds me of my mom. I had to drive by the place she had been hit and all I could think about was her lying in the street, bleeding and all those questions I still have bottled up inside. I don't think I can heal while staying here.

2. Its a less expensive cost of living there.

3. Its closer to Tacoma than Denver. I know...why not just move to Tacoma. At this point I am relying on someone else for help so I have to go to Boise...not a perfect situation.

There are some good things though. The homeschool laws there are awesome. There are lots of places for me and the boys to explore. Hopefully I will have my business up and running within a couple of months and then I can stand on my own two feet. Its only 7 hours to Tacoma and 11 hours to Denver. I can handle that.

I think I am more trying to convince myself than anyone else.

Oh the Whims...

I love creating things. I love to draw, write, spin, take pictures, play music...
Lately I've taken to dyeing wool rovings and then spinning them with a drop spindle.
In this picture, the roving is supposed to be peach, but it came out more orange than peach.







This is the same peach colour that I had spun. I'm not sure what I am going to use it for yet. I'm thinking hair for one of the waldorf dolls that I am going to make. I have more of it sitting on my drop spindle.
I am dyeing more wool, but this time a pretty turquoise. I am not good at knitting yet. Oh so many things I want to try.
I have about 40 pounds of wool sitting in my garage that needs to be cleaned, carded, dyed and spun. Some of it will be used for felting, that I can do. I can also crochet although I haven't made anything spectacular.

I also make jewelry. Well, its more like stringing beads and stones together. I would love to learn how to do silver. One of these days...
I made a similar necklace, but I am sending it to my friend in Japan. Her name is Yukie. Yukie means snow in Japanese. Right now she is battling cancer and I'm not sure how she is doing. I think she does not want me to worry about her. She is so sweet. So please offer up thoughts about her so she can beat this.

Lunch

I love to cook and bake. We decided to have pizza today on this cold, rainy/hail day.
Doesn't it look yummy? It has a homemade basil/garlic tomato sauce and topped with red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, onions, and spinach.

Nature walk

Wouldn't you know my other post was eaten...Don't know what happened to it.

We are getting snow!!! Yea!!! I want it to keep going for at least another 24 hours. The weatherman said that we would get at least an inch an hour and it was supposed to go strong for 9 hours. As usual...they lied. Even though it is supposed to snow throughout the night, I seriously doubt we will get the 15 inches.

Our unschooling is going along right on schedule. (^_^)

We went to a nature center last week. We had so much fun. Rhett was fascinated with the baby snapping turtles they had. He spent a lot of time watching them. One boy came up and was looking at them. He made a comment about how ugly they were. Rhett turned around and said, "They aren't ugly. They are just fine."
He got to put on costumes and became a thistle. He went around showing off his "leaves". Dusty spent his time talking with other homeschoolers his age.
We then went for a walk along the trails. I thought we'd see more wildlife than we did, but it was a nice jaunt. It was such a beautiful day. Rhett made a friend his age and stuck by him almost the entire time on the walk.
It was fun watching the two interact, they kept watching out for each other and spent time trying to throw sticks into a small stream below.

We were there for over four hours, exploring, walking and talking. I can't wait to go there again. The boys and I usually go and explore the trails off of the main one. We try to identify all the tracks we see. There have been plenty of deer, raccoon, fox, coyote, and bird tracks. Once Rhett found a very tiny frog hoping along in the grass. He wanted to take it home, but we let him go closer to the water. He even spotted a praying mantis.

We ended the day with a supposed bookclub meeting, but the only other boy dropped out and Dusty was excluded as the girls went into the bedroom and shut the door. Oh well, its not like he wanted to read a girly book anyway. But it would have been nice for them to include him since he showed up.

Embracing oneself

The other day I got a little questionnaire and one of the things on it was: What do you like least about yourself?
My answer was, why do I have to not like something about myself? I'm sure there are things that I don't, but I never really thought about it. Things that I probably would change, maybe. Such as lose weight. Things I would adjust, like, not feel so much. But I don't think there is anything I don't like about myself.
I think people tend to dwell on the negative about themselves instead of the positive. I overhear conversations where someone will say that they hate "(insert something here) ." I rarely hear I really love "(insert)" about myself. If they did, I think there would be a lot more happiness around. If we look at the positive in ourselves, we notice the positive in others. If we are negative about ourselves, we see the negative in others.
In this society, it is difficult to do that since we are constantly bombarded by negative things. Pictures of skinny women who are airbrushed to look beautiful that makes people think they want to be like them...
The news with mostly negative things in it...death, destruction, someone hurting someone.
T.v. shows that usually portray the bad things in life. Even reality shows that pit one person against another.

Can you look at yourself and think, "I love myself just the way I am."?
If no, is it something you can change? If you cannot change it, can you find something good about it? If you cannot find anything good about it, can you overlook that one part and see yourself as a whole?

I love meeting people. I am usually viewed as stand offish and I suppose I am to an extent. Sometimes people overwhelm me so I have to adjust when I meet someone new especially in a crowd. I try to find something good in each person that I meet and I like that with each person, I take away something positive.

Passing of a legacy

I often wonder what people will remember of me when I am gone. My mother was well remembered and at her memorial, people were able to comment of what they remembered of her. Most of it was that she was a hard worker, a good friend, humble...
She tried.
Another person I looked up to just passed away. His students remember him for being generous, full of knowledge and willing to help.
My mother passed on to me ideals that most mothers leave their children. She left me my heritage of being Japanese. To be proud of what I am. I remember growing up and being made fun of for being Japanese and having dark skin.
My mentor passed on a love of herbs and to be generous with my knowledge. What good is the knowledge of being able to help someone if it is not shared freely?
I want my children and friends to be able to have fond memories of me also. I want to impart my knowledge onto them if they so choose to accept.
I wonder if they will not only think good things of me...or bad...but also the things that I have shared with them?

Keeping Busy

Time has a way of getting away from me. Its already towards the end of February. In a little over a month, my oldest son will be moving away to the state of Washington. All I can hope is that I have taught him to be able to take care of himself well in any situation. I cannot think of this as a loss. I have lost too many thing in the past few months. Another chapter of my life. Like graduating high school, getting married...having my firstborn child and now watching him go off to start his own life.

Learning around here goes on all the time. We each have been doing different projects. Right now Rhett is learning the ins and outs of video games. It is really sad when a four year old can beat you in video games. But then they have never been my favourite things. I do better at puzzles than games that make you complete tasks and walk all over the place. I get bored very easily. They have also been playing with a race track that we got at a thrift store pretty cheap. Oh the endless possibilities with that one. They have also been on the look out for a train set.
Its been warming up here little by little. I was still hoping for the one big snowstorm so we could bring out the snowboards. We shall see. One more month.
We will start seeds buying seeds soon so we can start them in planters. I have plans for my garden, now only if it will cooperate. I really hate the soil out here as it is mostly clay. I am going to see if Dusty can build me a solar powered greenhouse. He is getting good at building things. I can't wait to pose the problem to him to see what he comes up with. I want to be able to have herbs all year round outdoors.
I am going to study to take the Japanese Proficiency test. I think it will be the Kanji recognition that will kill me. Over 2,000 characters. Kana is not so hard. I told Dusty that he has to study to take it also. He was not so thrilled. I told him after that, I will teach him Spanish and French.

Not much else has been going on. I have been missing my mother horribly, but I also know my boys miss her too.

Projects

I just replaced my drop spindle that my littlest one broke/misplaced. He was experimenting with it and it disappeared. Well I did find the bottom of it. They aren't hard to make, but I've been busy with so many other things like the death of my mother and my husband flaking out on me. It is going to be a long journey in the healing process for us.

I am trying to get back into the things that bring me joy. So I made another spindle, got out my big bag of wool, washed a bunch, carded it and am now spinning it. I still have to get better at knitting, my fingers just aren't that nimble. I can crochet though.
I've also been doing research for some articles I am writing plus a couple of manuscripts that have been collecting dust over time.

The boys each have been doing their own thing. My oldest, besides getting a job finally, has been writing non-stop. I wish he would try to publish some of his stuff, but he says that its just for fun. Dusty, my younger son, has been taking his little brother out to the park and flying a glider plane or playing with the neighbourhood kids. Its been rather warm here as of late. We have our days where it will be 60 one day and 30 the next. Man has been messing with Mother Nature for way too long.

Since the boys have found my stash of beeswax, we will be making candles this week. I am so glad that I bought 75 lbs of organic beeswax awhile ago. It has kept the kids busy in making crayons, candles, gum, lotions, salves, etc. I love the smell of pure beeswax.

I am patiently waiting for Spring. I do love winter. I love watching the snowflakes fall, watching the boys play in the snow and build snowmen, going sledding, the promise of hot cocoa with whipped cream and marshmallows. A nice warm fire in the fireplace and curling up with the boys and a book. But Spring...the birth of the new. I want to go foraging for yellow and curly dock. I want to eat fresh dandelion greens. I need to replenish my herb stash. I need to make my oils and tinctures.
I will be able to teach my boys about different herbs and how to make medicine to take care of themselves. Hopefully they will be able to pass it down to their children. I want them to know that they don't have to take all the junk that passes for medicine in the stores or pharmacies.

So as we sit here and rest as the Earth rests, we keep busy with little things. I am looking for work so I can support me and my children since I no longer have a spouse to help with the biggest of burdens. How lucky of him to call it quits and he gets off with little responsibility and I am going to have to try to keep the children in the only home they really know.

Letting Children be Children

I was reading a book called Taking Back Childhood by Nancy Carlsson-Paige. It stated how the school systems were taking away playtime from children in favour of teaching children to make the best test scores on the state standard tests. She also said that children do not play like children played a decade ago using their imagination and playing outside, instead they spend countless hours in front of the t.v. or playing hand held video games.
Then I was reading on a site about some parents of gifted children pusing them to read, not because the child wanted to, but because the parent thought the child should be reading at the age of 3. She said something along the lines of I had to take a break from the reading progam because ds was just not getting it.
I thought how true for what Carlsson-Paige said and how sad for that child. Where did that child's childhood go? That three year old should be playing, making up imaginary things, being read to, exploring. Not made to sit and do worksheets and lessons. I could see if it was the childs choice, my oldest wanted to learn to read at the age of two, was reading simple books by the age of three and reading chapter books by the age of four. But it was his doing not mine. He would bring me a book and ask, "What's that word?" It was constantly, "What's that word?"
My middle child did not want to read, loathed reading when he was younger. So I took the leap and let him be. He built things, he explore, he played with power tools. You should have seen the look on people's faces as they walked by my house and they would see a three year old playing with a jig saw and sander. At the age of eight he decided it was time. He started off hesitantly, but by the time he was nine he was reading fluently and getting up in front of people and giving public readings. Now he reads adult books and he just turned 11 not too long ago. So there is hope for those who have late readers.

I remember when I was young going out and catching garter snakes and taking them to school with me. This was always a fail safe measure to getting out of reading when I was in the 3rd grade. I hated reading because I am dyslexic. More with numbers than letters though, but at that age it was all bad. When it was my turn to read...out would come Mr. Snake with my book and that was the quickest way to clear the teacher out to the room (and me to the principal's office). Then mid-year had a teacher change and the teacher actually worked with me to read. It's not that I couldn't do it, it was just that I hated to struggle at it...when I am nervous it makes it worse. Nothing makes me more nervous than to have all eyes on me when trying to read...
I read a lot better silently. Since she worked with me it got better little by little. Then lo and behold they found out that I was gifted. Then came the real pressure. Teacher always said..."You can do better than that." or "I'm disappointed in you that you did not try harder." Work got piled on me and I was at home studying instead of catching crawdads and snakes like my brother and his friends...who were once my friends. While they ran around playing chase and tag, I was inside studying, reading, doing worksheets.

I wanted something different for my children. I know they are gifted...each in their own way. Three children, talented, in separate areas. Its great to watch them. I want them to have time to play and imagine. I want them to be able to find an area they excel at without someone pushing them into an area that they are not happy in. I want them to have a childhood.
I know my three year old is ready to read but he has more fun building with blocks and learning about physics. He has more fun catching bugs, dancing in the yard, and watching the clouds go by on a summers day. In the winter he loves to watch the snowflakes and try to catch them on his tongue.
That is what childhood is about. Not trying to get ahead academically, not making them sit for hours at a young age to test for a standard that has nothing to do with them. They should be able to make believe, imagine, play, dance...
Imaginative play is important for a child's development. It builds necessary pathways in cognitive development. It helps with problem solving and developing coping mechanisms and this is the stage that is being denied children with early work, the ever decreasing play time at school, pushing young children to accomplish things they are not ready for.
It is time we as parents give back our children their childhood. We as parents, are our children's first advocates for what they need because we know our children best.