Let's Play Some Games!: A look at our current schedule

For about a year, the Spirit (my gut, my intuition...whatever you want to call it) has been telling me to play more games.  And I have been busy doing all those school classes and house work and clubs that I was determined to finish first so I could "get to the fun stuff."

Well, I have been finally playing games and passed a personal hurdle today: I played Imperial Assault with my 15 year old! Imagine Axis and Allies...in Klingon.
The first time I played with him it was 10 pm and my mom and I had no idea what was going on.  Drew won, we laughed a lot, and that was that.

This time, Drew has been prepping me with a request to conduct a full out Imperial Invasion against him.  Whew.  First I had to read this game instruction book that might have well have been written in Klingon considering how little I understood what it was taking about.

"I am just going to have to play some practice battles first," I told him at one point.  Part of me wondered why I was doing it at all. I mean, it wasn't going to change the world and I didn't even see really how it was going to do more good than, well, just take up time. 

As I pondered about purpose, it struck me that there were three powerful things that could result from this game:
-quality time with Drew doing something he is passionate about (bonding with 15 year old boys is important)
-I could learn strategy, or (more likely)
-I could develop better sportsmanship and learn how to lose well.

This last thing is something we have all been struggling with lately, acquiescing gallantly in the face of defeat in a game or in a conversation or in any situation.  There is a deep lesson to be learned, the art of sportsmanship, and how well it will serve my children in the years to come.

So for now, I can model it gracefully, right :)?  Or at least somewhat, with a little bit of feisty-ness thrown in for good measure.

My brain is fried.  The game is finished...and I even had fun. If this is the priority for homeschooling right now, I think I better just buckle down and enjoy it :).

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A fantastic game with all sorts of learning that happens is Cash Flow. It is expensive if you pay full price but can be found for much less.  Math, economics, long-term investing or even patience and the frivolity of whim spending...all these are part of this game.  And you will learn a bunch as you play!

Combine games, devotionals, a few crust classes (ours this week are Latin and Grammar) and reading time and discussion and it is amazing how much they learn!  Have accountability each night and planning as part of their basics each morning...then have fun learning and sharing your own studies!  So fun!

Oh, and don't forget to give them time and eliminate distractions...the only videos we have watched have been devotional ones and ones that we are doing for our "happiness" theme I mentioned in a previous post.   At least this is what has worked for us.  The key is following what is right for your family and trusting it no matter how different it looks :).  You can do it!

The Power of Purpose

I have recently viewed a video on the power of purpose.  When our purpose is aligned with good and true principles and motives...that is when awesomeness happens.  
Just think about it:
--what is my ultimate purpose in playing games with my children?  It can be many things: to help them learn; to enjoy time together; to win; to assert authority; to kill time. If my purpose is one of the first two(service-based), it will guide my actions to create a fantastic environment. If it is any of the latter (which are all pride-based), contention will arise.

--what is my ultimate purpose in having jobs done in the morning?  Let's look at superficial purposes in this case: to get the house clean and to teach my children to work.  Okay, but why?  Why do we want the house clean?  Why do we want to teach our children to work?  First one: well, we want it clean so we can learn better together, so things don't get ruined, so we have a feeling of peace in our home...so I'll choose the last one as the higher purpose.  Okay, why do I want a feeling of peace in my home?  Well, the main reason why is because then we are more free to feel the Spirit direct us.

Now, let's look at the power of that godly purpose: to feel the Spirit.  If that is the purpose of my cleaning and I recognize that purpose, I will move forward in a manner that is more true to that purpose: I won't yell at my children to get it done.  The end is not a clean house, remember? It is to feel the Spirit.

--what is my ultimate purpose in teaching children math?  To pass the ACT, to prepare for higher levels of learning, to learn to reason, to discern truth and patterns.  Well, it may be different for each one of us.  For me, it is the last.  Why do I want them to discern truth and patterns?  So they can be prepared to discern truth and patterns in all their learning.  Well, if that is my ultimate purpose in teaching math, is their daily math "requirements" going to look different?

Now, let's take this one step deeper: what if the students also knows the ultimate purpose and that it is tied to their well-being?  Not in a manipulative, authoritative way, but in a way where they truly know that we love them and we are seeking their best interest.  Then invite them to participate.

Check out the second story in "Mathematicians are People, Too": "The teacher who paid his student," the story of Pythagoras.  What price are we willing to pay for our ultimate purpose?  It might just change the way that we approach our children with education plans and goals.

And it will look different in each home.  Enjoy the freedom of following a good and true and personalized purpose in your home!