Monday, November 10, 2008

Kids Are Kids

Last week, I was loving homeschool. This week, Carmen is being toad-girl again. Sigh. I guess she can't help being 7 and female - two totally explainable reasons for her behavior. Not that females act like toads but her yo-yo personality reminds me of myself sometimes. And I am female and all.

Our triops are nearly 2 inches long! Ugly, ugly critters! One is so bold, he jumps at anything I put into the tank (for cleaning purposes). I have read that they are blind but with three eyes, I can't help but wonder if they really do see something. The tank is really green but it's supposed to be that way. I'll be glad when this science project comes to an end. However, Carmen has taken responsibility for feeding them twice a day and that's definitely a good thing.

I love how young children are so honest about life. How they say exactly what they are thinking. Except, however, when they are talking about me. I don't want to hear what they think about how I look or what I'm doing or how I'm doing/not doing something. THAT is stinkin' annoying! And my opinionated little darlings ALL like to tell me exactly what they think. Like, way more often than I can tolerate. It's so hard to bite my tongue and let minor comments roll off my back. It's even harder to explain why certain comments may be insensitive to others. But such conversation is necessary, at times. My kids aren't always being disrespectful, just honest. Tonight, when Carmen kissed me goodnight, she said, "Your cheek feels like a blown-up balloon." I said, "Is that a good thing?" Her standard answer, "I don't know."

On the other hand, tonight as I was reading "By The Shores Of Silver Lake" (Laura Ingalls Wilder) to my younger son and daughter, I thought about how this time is not forever. I look forward to our nightly reading but I know it will end at some point. Even now, Alec doesn't always want to hear. Chad comes in and listens sometimes. Carmen is a devout listener. I would read to them forever if I could. But they will grow and change. Perhaps someday, when they are (hopefully) reading to their children, they will remember our nightly readings. I know I always will.

7 comments:

Katie said...

Toad girl! I love that you called her that, it's too funny!
The Shores of Silver Lake was always my favourite in the series. I haven't read any of the books for years now so actually I have no idea what goes on in Silver Lake, but I remember it being my favourite ;-)

Mama Self said...

You are so good to read every night to them! I only have one that is still occasionally interested, but I do make them read...it's a good habit, ya' know. :)

Toad girl...definition? Hillarious, nonetheless!

Leingang Family said...

My kids all still listen to me read aloud every day, as well as read on their own. I just had to change the kinds of books we read. I no longer choose what I would like to hear or what I think would be "educational". :o)We read books about pirates, or battles, or surviving in the woods, or living on a desert island... To be fair, I have enjoyed these books, too. But sometimes I have to throw a Jane Eyre into my mp3 just for me. LOL

You have a challenge because was Carmen wants to listen to and what the boys want to listen to are not the same.

All you need to do is read a "girls' selection" and a "boys' selection" or find something that will appeal to all. :o)

Mama Self said...

Thanks for the definition. Love it!

Any snow where you are? I don't know how I'll be able to get used to this. Well, the Christmas music is helping some... :)

Cat said...

I have been known to tell my daughter that she is "acting like a toad" before today as well, hehe :-)

And it's so true - my "babies" turn 16 and 18 over the next 2 months - the time flies by. Make the most of it.

C x

PS. I so appreciate your prayers over the past few months.

Paula Vince said...

We have the night time reading ritual in place at our place too. It the cosiest part of the day. Have you ever got into those spin-offs from Laura IW's series by other, modern authors, such as the Rose years and the Caroline years? We tried but they really seemed to snowball over recent years and we couldn't keep up.
Blessings,
Paula

40winkzzz said...

I agree w/leingang that you might be able to keep the boys interested by changing what you read. But then you may lose Carmen. That has happened sometimes here, too. Most of our read-alouds, everyone enjoys (meaning Spaz, Fuzz, Huz, me), but there have been some that Fuzz didn't like & some that Spaz didn't and even some that I didn't! Sometimes I make them listen anyway and sometimes I don't. I do try to vary our read-alouds quite a bit to accomodate different tastes, although they are still almost always history-related.

I read the 1st 2 Little House books w/just Fuzz, but we're now reading On the Banks of Plum Creek with Spaz & Huz as well, and Spaz does enjoy it. Cheez hasn't been part of the read-alouds since starting high-school, but she does listen in sometimes while doing other things. I always enjoy that.