Tag: teach

Wimpy Atlas

Ever feel like everything in the world is raining down on your shoulders and you can’t keep anything up? That was today…

December 20, 2018

Wimpy Atlas

Am I the only one who feels like Atlas with wimpy shoulders sometimes?

Yesterday was a good example:

I got up at 5:30am to work, the guy cancels as I’m just on the road.  Bummer.

Get back home, waste of a half-hour prep and 20 minutes gas and time, but I try to stay positive.  My breathing flared up; can’t lay down to go back to sleep.  Grrrrr… hot tea and honey while I work on my character cards for the 6th in The Devonians – 26 characters in this one because it is set during a community planting season.

I write a program for translating ages – this will make future work easier.   I had my tea.  I hoped I would avoid having to take the allergy pill (discovered a natural antihistamine as I’m allergic to both Benadryl and the emergency inhaler I was supposed to be taking 4 times a day, but I still prefer not to take anything).   I pick up the second ride.  I’ve now made $20.

I chose not to dwell on sad things pinging around the back of my brain.

But when I got home about 11, I was starved.  I made my Shakeology because Louis wasn’t hungry (the kids had already eaten, and I wasn’t going to make a whole breakfast just for me).  Louis took the next call so I could finish eating.  I gathered all my stuff into neat little piles so I could use my tools to guide my story.  Christina needed help on an Algebra problem so I set my Shakeology cup down.

But… (that word NOT in the positive this time!)

As I finished with Christina’s problem *BAM* I turned and knocked the full Shakeology cup over ($3.50 meal – I hate waste)!   *SPLASH* the broken blinds, the window, the lamp, the wall, EVERY ONE of my 26 cards, my hand-written “cheat sheet” I’d created almost a year ago for the Devonians families, and the floor are covered in goo.  Imagine slightly soupy pudding – that’s the consistency of Shakeology + coffee.

Immediately, as quickly as the drops of fluid, everything negative that I was trying to hold back rained down on my brain.

The evening before, Mom got Daddy’s ashes… all that’s left of his body is in two boxes on her table.

Didn’t get to stop by Mom’s on the way home (*thoughts* you are a horrible daughter.)

Didn’t get to snuggle on the couch with Lucas because I was cleaning while he fell asleep (horrible mom.)

Didn’t get to fix my pie or anything to take to the party (horrible guest.)

I had to drive in the morning but only had two calls & the would-be big one canceled (horrible provider.)

Lucas wanted me to play trains… I was busy teaching (again, you never play with him!)

…and on and on and on… my brain just rained down things I wished I could have done differently, things I wanted to do but hadn’t, and things I should have done.

I felt like the world was falling on my shoulders and squishing me flat.

Now I was hungry, it was noon, and the very next call was “make some rice for lunch” because we had one pound of beef in the freezer and “stir-fry would be good.”  All I wanted was to type my frustrations out and make another Shakeology to actually eat.  I wanted to get to my vitamin shake before I went to work at 2. (I was leaving early to stop by my mom’s today!)

I read somewhere that a mother is the Chief Mood Officer in her home.  When I start getting lost in emotion, I remind myself of that.  I turned on Christmas music, started cleaning so I could start rice, and prayed I’d be able to pull my own mood up (and keep the house from growing dark).  My siblings’ party is tomorrow.  I can choose to shift my focus on the positive.  Hopefully it works!

*By the way* I didn’t get my shake until I was on the way to work, my mom wasn’t home when I got to her house, and on… BUT I was working playroom so had brought my Devonians folder and was able to use the 40 “lost” minutes to recreate some of the destroyed cards.  I forced myself to focus on the positive again… this week has been a constant challenge for me.  God.  God is totally in control. (I just need to lean on Him – His shoulders are not weak.)

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

Movie Thoughts: Happy Feet

When you look for the good… you will find it! One point of view (review) of a movie we discussed.

December 5, 2018

Movie Thoughts: “Happy Feet”

We were watching a movie the girls got from the library.  In this movie, the hero is searching for why his people are starving, the elders don’t like his “different ways” and command him to stop so that their “God” will restore the food supply, and the hero refuses so is “kicked out” by the elders.  On his quest, he discovers another predator is taking their food and appeals to them to bring back the food using his “different ways” and since this is so uncharacteristic of his people, the other predators try to fix the problem (and they end up fixing it).

I’d heard mixed review about this movie.  Some said it was a “cute little movie” and had some adult humor, yes (I will say; the use of older classic songs and caricatures of famous singers from the previous generations’ era is neat).

One of the most common negatives I heard was that it was sacrilegious and projects a negative view of authority.  Check and check from one point of view.

But there’s the other point of view.  The one my kids came up with.  (I’m a homeschool mom who loves to find teaching moments in everything… so we usually discuss movies after watching them.  I choose to use these discussions to teach literature basics – analyze, review, react.  Everyone is involved and gets to support or debate the others’ summary.  We “review” songs, movies, stories, and even cartoons.)

This is what they got from “Happy Feet:”

  • Mumble was born with the difference because God (represented in the movie by “the Great Guin”) knew that the humans were taking too much fish and that something different would be the only way for the humans to take notice of one animal.
  • The reason Mumble has the encounter with the birds is to cause his curiosity to spike and him to believe that the “aliens” have a “better nature” and want to fix things.
  • This is why he is not discouraged by discovering that the humans are taking all the fish and left a sea of trash (even though one of his buddies is almost strangled by said trash) – rather he is determined to ask them to stop. He believes they are good-natured.
  • Rather than Mumble’s “fancy feet” being something against the “Great Guin,” it was the plan of the “Great Guin” for Mumble to be different, catch the human’s eye, and cause them to fix the problem they caused.
  • My girls believe this movie shows how God prepares unexpected people to do great things in often unexpected ways. It champions determination, the beauty of our differences, honesty, and love.

That is what I like to see when I watch it too.  Overly simplistic?  Maybe, but then simplicity is often the outlook of most children and sometimes the simple is used to confound the wise.  I pray my children will always “look for the good” in people, movies, songs, stories, and life so that they will find it.

Thanks for reading!

Type at you later…

~Nancy Tart

 

Proper Burial

When you can’t fix it, it needs a “proper burial” – for electronics… but maybe for more than that.

November 8, 2018

Proper Burial

Rebeccah likes to tinker with stuff.  She always has.  Most of the time, she can fix electronics when we think they are broken.

If it is headed for the trash, she always gives it at least one try (and she likes seeing the “guts” of the item too).

Today it was the playstation 2 unit (for the 5th time).  We bought it used in the first place and it had a short from day one.  Rebeccah has fiddled with it four times successfully, but this morning, all of her efforts led to naught.  She had it completely apart.  Every breadboard, wire, connection, screw, etc. was separated in her ordered little piles.  (Conclusion was “I have no clue what’s wrong with this thing!”)

So I’m trying to work on “Fibbing Fishermen” (#5, it will be out soon) in the Devonians series when I hear Kimberly show up:

Kimberly: “Becky, what are you doing?”

Rebeccah: “Putting it back together.”

Kimberly: “I thought it was really garbage this time?”

Rebeccah: “Yes, but when something dies, we should at least bury it in a proper casket.”

…

Seriously?  For me, this was just apropos timing.  We’ve closed a business, I’ve started a totally unexpected but awesome job, life is shifting into a strange limbo for us right now, and every time we turn around it appears something else is stealing something of value from us.

Bury it.  Wrap it and every part of it back in the casket and hide it from sight.  That so made me laugh.

Perhaps that’s what God wants us to do with these remaining bits of the past; bury them completely.  Hide them away so we are fully open to what God has planned next!

For me, right now, it’s pretty awesome: my job is teaching children (I love this!) and I get to expose each of y’all to something I’ve always wanted to do (gymnastics) as a perk!  Granted, we can’t live on this income alone; but it is something I can do very well.  I’ve felt a peace about our life right now despite the fact that our insurance is due in 8 days and we are $1350 short, I can’t focus on that.  All I can do it do my best and let God take care of the rest.

God will provide a way.

***NOTE*** You know what’s really funny?  After Rebeccah put that Playstation 2 console back together for its “proper burial,” it now works.  No short, no sticking CD tray, no dying.  She and Lucas have been playing football for almost an hour now and no issues.  Even though she couldn’t find the problem, just resetting everything back the way it was supposed to be fixed the problem. (It is almost time to go to work so, I’ll think about that more later!)

Thanks for reading!

Type at you later…

~Nancy Tart

Number Seven

Yes, ambiguious title and puzzle til the end of a long post…

October 24, 2018

Number Seven

Ambiguous title?  Yes.

Am I being cryptic on purpose?  Yes.

You are supposed to figure out the puzzle from the clues in this story.

(WARNING!  LONG STORY! – and it’s pretty deep because there’s a lot of feelings and thoughts smashed in here.)

Anyway, in April and May, I was in and out of clinics and the hospital because of a severe reaction to black mold.  (I know, crazy, right?)  I researched the medication I was to finish and every side effect possible happened to me (they always do, it’s just my weird, unique biology) so my hair fell out, hormone levels changed, pimples exploded over my face, and various other physical changes happened, I wasn’t watching for anything else.  It was a low period for me because it seemed my favorite parts of my body (long hair, my figure, health) was disappearing.  (Crazy reason to be depressed, isn’t it? After all, I was still alive!)  Although I kept telling myself this would work itself out, and I kept praying and believing God had control of this situation too (He has everything in His hands.), it was sometimes hard to face it without feeling sad.  Especially for me when I brushed my hair and it seemed there was more hair in the brush than stayed on my head.  (Of course, shedding hair means length disappears, so I went from semi-thick long hair that was below my waist to thin few-strands-to-the-middle-of-my-back.)  My hair was something that even as a child I was really proud of.  I’ve never cut it.  I always wanted to have long hair like Lady Godiva (ever seen the version where Maureen O’Hara plays Lady Godiva? I loved that movie because she was a strong, bold woman who loved her people.) and loved the Bible verse that says our “long hair is our covering.”  Plus, Louis likes my hair long. (Yes, after getting married, I thought it would take too much time to have to style short, plain hair so it was cool that my husband liked it long and straight.)

Being that I’m allergic to almost everything chemical (latex, cleaning fluids, pills, antibiotics, the inhaler I was prescribed!, etc.), we pretty much rely on natural family planning and some non-latex help.  Usually, I know my body well.  Part of the side-effects to one of the drugs was hormone imbalance which threw my body off where I wasn’t sure what it was doing.  Not considering it a good time for pregnancy, we decided to hold off on any potential baby-making.  Period.

Oh well, God laughed at that.

Certain things began to reverse during July.  My hair began to grow back (I have one-inch-long sticking-ups all over my head), my figure returned to normal, and other small things in my body seemed to reset.  I was very curious because although I’d been off the huge assortment of “we-don’t-know-what-this-is-but-treat-everything” drugs in the hospital for two months, everything I’d read about the steroid they’d given me was that it took twelve to eighteen months for the hormone imbalance to correct itself and I was still taking one occasionally to prevent asthma attacks.  What was turning my imbalance around?

Yep, God decided to reset my body himself; with a baby.

I love being pregnant, but worried that the drugs I’d been on had effected the child – then relaxed about as soon as I thought about it because if we were trying to keep it from happening (Starting in mid-April with the only 100% sure way), yet God said “haha, you thought you knew this stuff,” He obviously was in charge of baby’s health.

For the first time in my reproductive life, the only “date” I have can’t be.  I keep calendars that are honestly way too detailed, but those dates don’t match with the dates counting backwards.  (Every other time in my life I knew the day/night we came together to start our little blessing!)  Based on these “diary facts” as my girls call them, I can’t figure the time.  (What happened?  The little swimmers had to get through sheepskin & sit around inside of me for eight to ten days?  Really?  If I use the LMP date, that’s what had to happen because after that was nothing. Period.  I didn’t know hanging around inside was medically possible.)

Now, I’m totally enthusiastic about being pregnant (I am one of those crazy women who LOVE carrying life – every part of it); I just am amazed at the mystery of this baby.  I figured you know, I know what protection is, we use planning, and yeah, I get it, I’ve seen women on the pill, using protection, and even two who had their tubes tied get pregnant, so I know anything is possible.

I mean, philosophically we trust all to God’s hands, including family size and timing.  (Or say so, we were technically trying not to get pregnant with the whole breathing and health thing “at least until we moved to a mold-free house”)  But can you say surprised?  Yes.

So, “number seven” is this little precious life growing inside of me!  (Yes, I know most people, including many member of my family, think we are completely nuts, and maybe we are – but we are loving this adventure!)

New job, new baby, surprise!  God says!  Now I have an awesome job I can’t believe I really get to do and seriously get paid for (I love teaching children!) and a new little life growing inside that Lucas can’t wait to wrestle with (he comes and mashes on my belly, talks to “his baby,” and the baby responds by racing around, kicking, punching, whatever inside me).  I’m so excited… what does God have next?  A plot of land we can call our own and a trailer to stick on it or some plot with an old house that needs work – maybe?  Or are Kimberly’s dreams of building our own “movable house” accurate?  Okay, I’m totally open to the next step in this adventure!  (And, yes, I’m fine if that means, “rest, sit tight, you’re in pause mode right now.”)

Thanks for reading!

Type at you later…

~Nancy Tart

Awesome Job

God’s Timing is Perfect!

October 22, 2018

Awesome Job!

Louis and I operate a small business that pretty much shrunk from seventeen co-workers to one in the span of four months starting about two years ago.

Since just before then (I’m an analyst, I did see that we would shrink due to changing marketplace), I’ve been applying for various jobs all over in any industry I have experience for or my degree fits with.  I’ve been turning in applications for almost two and a half years.  Nothing.  That’s rather tough for my ego, but hey, I had a three-inch binder with book and article rejection letters that kept coming for fourteen years before my first book was traditionally published.  So I can say I’m used to rejection!  (Honestly, when it came every other job I walked into the business and three of the four was hired on the spot, the fourth I was called back that week – so it was a bit frustrating being well-qualified but not getting any offers.)

I answered an ad that I almost didn’t.  I knew the lady who owned the business, so I knew I would like working for her.  Although the ad was for a gymnastics school, it did say “no gym experience,” and when I arrived, I was asked if I liked working with children.  I LOVE teaching and working with children; I’ve taught and worked with children all my life – literally oldest sibling of 7, volunteered at schools, churches, and groups since they would let me (10), student taught, tutored, and I have 6 children.

The idea of teaching children a sport and getting paid for it is totally amazing!  I consider myself active, so a job where I’m working out a bit while teaching is perfect.

It’s really cool when God’s timing ends you at a place you know you’ll love being, a boss you know you’ll enjoy working for, and the schedule you’ll have really doesn’t mess with anything you already do!  (The girls’ college classes are during morning or early afternoon, we can still pick up Anastasia, it doesn’t change my ability to work early AM shuttle rides, it doesn’t interfere with the farm or schooling, and we can still  do weekend craft sale events and church!)

Bonus was that I didn’t have any workout pants, but the weekend before I started training, my brother and sister brought us bags of clothing and in them were three workout pants and socks!  So I didn’t need to spend money to start!

God’s timing is always perfect and sometimes what plops on your radar isn’t what you thought you would get, but it’s just perfect for you!  This job is almost too good to be true for me.  I’m going to get paid to teach children a fun  sport on a schedule that works with my family’s lifestory… Amazing!

I’m feeling so blessed and a bit awestruck.  Thank you, Jesus!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

Teaching Textbooks

Finding Teaching Textbooks, a new style for a different learner

August 2, 2018

Teaching Textbooks

I’ve used Pearson, A Beka Book, Nelson, and pretty much any textbook I can find.  Most of the textbooks seem to be aimed at a traditional learner.  One who can read and remember.  This worked well for Christina and Rebeccah.  With a little teaching and a few explanations as needed, they understood.

Kimberly has been a different type of learner.  She is more tactile; she has to hear, see, watch, and do.

Another parent who has several learners like Kimberly, suggested I try Teaching Textbooks.  I found a used copy of Geometry because I was about to help tutor another student who was using it and I like to understand the curriculum so I can help in a style they are used to.

Oh my goodness!

Kimberly was beginning to struggle with math in A Beka’s Basic Mathematics.  She’d tried “Life of Fred” but that was only more confusing to her.

When the box arrived with Geometry everyone was excited… until Christina and Rebeccah saw it was textbooks and were like “MOM!” and went back to the Game of Life.  I went through the first two lessons to see how this textbook worked.  Kimberly got really excited, “Mom!  I get what he’s saying!” and asked if she could do that as math instead of Basic Mathematics.

Kimberly loved it and seriously started to understand the concepts presented.  I was so excited that I researched Teaching Textbooks further, hounded EBay until I found used complete sets of Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, and Algebra II.  Kimberly was super excited when Pre-Algebra arrived and is now doing both Geometry and Pre-Algebra.  Jaquline watched (her learning style is somewhat tactile, and her abstract thoughts lead her to overthink lessons she reads) and is now doing Pre-Algebra with Teaching Textbooks too.   The material is presented so thoroughly and with clear explanations that anyone with a good understanding of basic math operations can understand and retain the subject matter well.

I will certainly be checking out any used Teaching Textbooks course I find.  Check out their site at www.teachingtextbook.com for more information!  (I buy everything used, mostly from homeschool book sales or from friends, 2nd place is EBay when hunting something specific, and lastly, I order from A Beka Book, or Apologia when needing a specific title quickly and can’t find it used.)

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

 

Meet Kalam Tevortae

June 19, 2018

Meet Kalam Tevortae

We’re going to meet another fictional character today.  Kalam Tevortae began as a small part in the story, Web of Deception, but when my little brother became interested enough to actually listen to my odd world, Kalam took on more of my brother’s traits and filled a larger role.  (Yes, Kalam was modeled after the young warrior my little brother perceived himself to be.  Many of my brother’s character traits actually filled Kalam.  And the little friend who was my brother’s crush was added as Rosali because at six, my brother insisted, “you can’t have me in your story without my girlfriend.”) Kalam’s age changed as the story matured, but none of those who inspired characters are the same age as said character!

Kalam arrived at the Warrior-Spirit training school of Ja’hline at three.  Although starting to begin training between three and five is common in the World of Kings’ province of Swavaria, most Warrior-Spirits begin training closer to five.  Kalam keeps a secret from his friends about who his father is because he wants to stay near him and doesn’t want to break the Warrior-Spirit code.  Jordan discovers Kalam’s father shortly after Kalam arrives, but doesn’t break the secret because he respects him.  The book only gives you hints to figure it out, see if you can!

Kalam is loyal, protective, inventive, and encouraging.  He admires Jordan Binak and becomes one of his closest friends.  Kalam sees Jordan as a big brother.  Kalam learns easily and has a problem solving mind.  He leads without understanding that he is.  His example inspires many around him, including those who are elder.  Kalam wants to be a guru and teach when he graduates. Kalam, like every warrior-spirit trainee, studies various weapons and is already skilled at the short sword, bow, and dagger.  He prefers the bow, to keep his enemies at a distance.

Read “Web of Deception” to see Kalam in action!  He and his friends have a quest to complete, but can they unravel the stories to find the truth?  Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

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