I enjoy watching them with my children and discussing the events and dilemmas they present.

I found our first FFF movies at a yard sale. I brought them home and my kids really enjoyed watching them. I started keeping my eyes open for the brand and found more at thrift stores. I liked how they had a summary of the story on the video cover, along with suggested questions for family discussion.

After we finished residency and Mike got a “real” job, I ordered a few movies directly from Feature Films For Families. I had never paid full price for a movie before that, since I was used to getting ours at yard sales, but I wanted to support a company that was creating wholesome entertainment.

I’ve long been dissatisfied with the appropriateness of what’s coming out of Hollywood. For a long time we didn’t go to the movie theater more than once a year. We didn’t feel there was much worth watching or spending our money on. As we started to have kids, it seemed even harder to find shows we felt were appropriate for them, not to mention inspiring.

As I collected and watched FFF movies I realized they were appropriate entertainment for our family, and they were also inspiring us and building our characters. This was the type of educational material I searched for when we made the decision to home school our children.

It wasn’t enough anymore for something to not be “bad.”  If we were going to spend our money and time on media, I wanted it to build us, help us learn the difference between right and wrong and motivate us to be better people.

Every year or two since, I have bought another batch of movies for our family. From time to time, outside media does capture our attention, especially as my kids get older. I’ve been getting lots of movies and classic shows from Netflix.

Sometimes my kids aren’t as interested in watching our FFF movies. In order to beat the competition, I just plan to put one on when not much else is going on.  Family trips in the car are perfect opportunities. Not only are my children a captive audience, but my husband and I can hear the story and talk about it when it’s over.

Most these movies are available for $12.95 on the Feature Films for Families website. Amazon has many for $5 including shipping from individual sellers. (Click on the DVD pictures if you want to read about them.)

It’s easy to be passive about media. If we are aware of how much our children learn (good or bad) through this medium, we as parents can be proactive in using this powerful tool to reinforce the principles we’re trying to teach at home.

Raquel was so excited to have a cute, baby bunny as a pet.

We were a bit nervous, but figured it probably wouldn’t bite her, and it never did. I wondered about the challenges of trying to keep a huge wild hare as a pet in the future, but decided to just wait and see what would happen.

We’ve been eating goat yogurt made by a friend of mine, and it just so happened that there were baby goats at the time. So I thought the raw yogurt would make fairly good food for the little rabbit. We tried some stuff from the local farm store, but the bunny wouldn’t touch it.

Raquel just poured the yogurt in her hand and the bunny lapped it up. The other kids loved the bunny also.

Most the time Raquel kept the bunny (who she named Skyler) to herself, but when she shared everyone was happy.

The bunny came out of shock within a day or so, and was social and fun.

One time she left the bunny unattended and it hopped off. It took us a couple hours to find it, hiding behind a cabinet. Things got a bit dramatic with Raquel wailing in despair and then screaming in elation when the bunny was found.

The bunny started eating food out of a dish. Gradually Raquel spent less and less time snuggling because of school and other activities.

One day the bunny got really weak. Raquel spent a whole day nursing it back. I think if she had spent one more day, the bunny would have been all right.

But we didn’t think much of it, and Raquel went to school as normal the next day. The bunny didn’t survive. Raquel was so sad. I felt badly that I hadn’t been more aware of the bunny’s needs myself.

Sometimes as a mother I walk a fine line between managing things myself, and letting my children be responsible enough to learn the tough lessons and consequences of life.  Losing pets can be hard on the heart of any mom, and it has been on mine.

But as I reflect, it was a joyful experience that taught us all some valuable lessons.

These aren’t ordinary Dot to Dots. My younger AND older kids love these.

They start out with basic instructions, like how to draw a straight line.

Then there’s helpful hints with a couple places to practice. They even mention a little history, with astronomy as “one of the first examples of connecting points (stars) with lines to make a picture.

They start out somewhat easy with 60 or 70 dots, but get more difficult.

Book 1 goes up to around 200 dots. It’s so good for counting skills!

This one’s really creative. It has a code you have to match up to connect the dots. My kids seriously love this stuff!

Book 2 has more great similar leveled activities. They retail from $6.95 to 7.95 on Amazon.

Book 5, on the other hand, is has more intricate drawings,

going up to 1,6oo dots!

There are at least 8 books in the series. If this is book 5, I wonder what book 8 is like. I may need to pick up a few more myself!

These activities have helped my younger kids with their pre-writing and number skills.

This Homework Helper book offers much easier dot to dots for my youngest ones who are just learning the alphabet and their counting.

My youngest daughter doesn’t recognize all her numbers yet, but can do the ones with letters.

These make excellent quiet activities.

In fact, my kids saw me creating this post and ran to the copier to choose some new dot to dots, which they are intently working on while I write. Ahhh…wonderful!

Quiet time, better writing and tons of fun…you should try some!

It’s possible to do all these things through the medium of music. I know because I’ve done it, and I’m going to share some of my tips on successful use of the power of music in our families and homes.

Music is a great way to teach children values and academics. From birth to grade 5 they love repetition, and are hungry sponges memorizing and soaking up all to which they are exposed. After grade 5, they tire of repetition more quickly, but they still absorb the examples and messages in their environment. I have tried to maximize this consideration by choosing fun music which teaches facts, ideas, principles and values I want my children to learn.

Here’s an ideal example by one of our family favorites, Tom Chapin.

I could base half my home school curriculum on this method of teaching! It’s so fun! We learned the names of many countries from this song, but it also provided a concrete example of how people on the other side of the world are much like us.

My experience has taught me that when I lead the way, my children often enthusiastically follow and internalize things long-term. So exposing my kids and actively participating myself as much as possible has been key for me.

My mother taught me and my siblings a love of music from her example. We sang as a family regularly for friends, family, and on the Welk Christmas shows.

I never took any singing lessons until after I started having kids. I loved music and wanted to sing better. I joined a community choir, and really enjoyed producing beautiful music with that group. From this time that my children were young they could see I had a passion for music and singing.

Singing at the piano with my son Nathan

I’ve heard lots of people say they just don’t have a good voice or can’t carry a tune worth anything. The fact is, singing and appreciating music is a learned skill. I’ve learned to appreciate many forms of music over the past few years, just by exposing myself to it, and finding new music to love. Anyone can do it if they’re willing to invest the time.

I will say that it is easier to develop your ear as a child, just like learning our native language, which is why it’s so important for us to expose our children to lots of great music when they’re young. My kids have excellent ears, meaning they can find and hold a pitch. They can listen to a song a few times and be able to sing the melody with the right notes.

It’s just exposure and practice. Anyone really can do it. The extent to which you are successful in helping your children love music and develop a good ear depends upon your own personal passion and mindfulness. It also helps to have a strong starting point.

#1 Invest a little time finding good music. I found a bunch at the public library when we lived in Tucson (I’ll share my favorites in a future post). Now there are so many more places to look. Amazon sells songs and many karaoke versions for 99 cents. You don’t have to buy whole albums anymore. You can just pick the songs you want and make your own custom play lists.

#2 Play the music in your car, when you’re working around the house, and anywhere else it’s convenient. The car is a sure winner, though. I just play it in there for a while, and we all learn and enjoy songs that way. I change CDs when I get tired of them.

#3 Get over your self consciousness and hesitancy to sing along. Let your kids hear you. It’s fun. They don’t care that you’re not a star. And singing along will actually improve your own ear, ability to sing on pitch, and quality of voice. Music lessons are great, but you can learn tons by just experimenting with the sound of your own voice. The shower is a great place to do this, because the moisture helps your vocal cords not get hurt. Find the sounds that feel good to sing and ease up when your voice starts to get tired. Tell whoever lives with you not to pay any attention, and sing your heart out.

#4  Find the music without the vocals after you and your kids learn certain songs (find ones you love or feel strongly about). Order it on Amazon, find computer software that can remove vocal tracks, browse your local music store for songbooks with fun music and a sing along CD, or tape record a friend that plays the piano (if you have the sheet music).

#5 Make time to sing. Your kids will either join you, or at least be influenced positively by what they’re hearing. Practice in the car, at a piano or keyboard, or at the CD player. Then look for opportunities to sing for relatives, grandparents, neighbors at school, church, local talent shows, and Christmas programs. Your kids will feel so good about themselves when they do this, and their confidence will soar

#6 Inspire others by your example. There is so much worthy music out there, that is motivating, educational, fun, and even life changing. Seeking out music like this has not only had a great impact on my own family, but sharing it has inspired others. Most importantly, it helps me on a daily basis to be a better person.

Here is a recording of Nathan (13 yrs)  & Raquel (11 yrs)  singing a song they’ve sung often for patriotic occasions. Click to hear One Voice

Stay tuned for posts on our favorite music resources and more recordings of our family!

I pulled out my peppermint when I was writing the thesis for my master herbalist program. It cleared my mind and helped me focus better.

You can just open the bottle and smell it, or you can put 3 drops in a little water in a diffuser like this.

One reason I love this is it's beautiful! It looks like a work of art!

This diffuser breaks up the molecules of the oil and sends it throughout the room. You can also put a few drops in a bowl of boiling water, it’s just not quite as effective.

My kids are getting older, and find themselves in more situations where they need to remember a good amount of information. I need an easy way for them to utilize peppermint.

I just found an affordable method. Some brilliant person discovered that clay holds the aroma of an essential oil for a whole day. They’ve created clay pendents on a necklace, which is the easiest thing I’ve found.

I’m going to buy a couple of them for my kids. You can too, here.

Peppermint rubbed on the tummy (diluted) is great for bloating and digestion, too. If you want to get the purest (no joke!), strongest peppermint on the market, contact me or visit my Doterra site to order.

I’ve searched high and low for the best quality oils and found them at Doterra. Just smell them and you’ll know too.

*AromaTools has the research details.

These first ones are very simple, for ages 2-5.

Let’s Color! has very easy first activities. The one I have is More Let’s Color!

Let’s Fold has big lines to follow. On the opposite side is a picture of the outside of a lemon, so when it’s folded you see the outside and open it to see the inside. These are hard to copy because they’re double sided. So cute!

As the book progresses, the activities get more challenging, little by little. This is beginning origami at it’s finest!

Let’s Cut Paper starts with straight lines, then lines that bend. This one is More Let’s Cut Paper.

On the cover of each book is its age range.

My First Book of Tracing has easy activities and mazes for ages 2-5.

My First Book of Cutting has colorful pictures with big lines.

My First Book of Mazes starts easy . . .

but gets harder.

Once your child can use scissors and glue, My Book of Pasting builds skills from there.

My preschoolers absolutely love these activities!

My Book of Easy Crafts is appropriate for ages 4-8.  It says ages 4-6 on the cover, but my 7 yr-old will be doing the harder ones for a while.

They are double sided and so creative.

My Book of Amazing Crafts has even more exciting projects. This simple one makes it possible to change the faces and dress of the characters.

The projects get much more challenging (and popular) in the second half of the book.

I’m just starting to use this one with my 5 and 7 year old, to teach and improve their writing skills.

Not only does My Book of Writing Words offer an interesting format for writing practice, but it also uses short rhyming words and phrases throughout the book. Rhymes make everything easier to learn!

I’ve never been big on formal curriculum. I’ve always tried to find the most fun, pleasant (for me too), colorful, engaging books and activities for my kids (without dropping a wad). Nurturing their love of learning is a number one goal for me.

These books retail for $5.95-6.95 each, but run on average, new and used from 15¢ to $3 each plus shipping. So for some you’re mainly paying shipping. Amazon has good prices, but if you can find a seller on Half.com that’s offering multiple items you want, they will discount the shipping. This savings can really add up.

It takes a little time to hunt down the best deals, but you and your kids will love these!

Bolivian children

When we moved to Cedar City, one of the doctors Mike worked with was taking annual humanitarian trips to Bolivia with his family and some co-workers. Both he and Mike had spent time in South America previously, and had developed a love of the culture, language and values. Mike immediately joined in on the trips. Part of the draw to visit South America has been to inculcate in our family the powerful aspects that the Latin American culture has to teach: specifically the value of community, family and relationships above individuals, peers, and worldly “success” as the purposes for life.

Mike and his partner started out using established non-profit organizations to coordinate their trips, but after a couple years realized that the administrative costs were inflated. They decided to start their own non-profit organization called World Village. Their physician colleagues have contributed and they have been able to do much good with no administrative costs.

Along with the great work of remodeling clinics and taking down much-needed medical supplies, these trips have given our children wonderful learning experiences and service opportunities.

One of the projects our kids have done several times is puppet shows for children at health fairs.

Raquel letting me get a picture during a show

The show is given along with a recording in Spanish about the importance of good hygiene, avoidance of alcohol and drugs and what foods are healthy.

Practicing for the puppet show

Mike loves to interact with the locals and expose our children first hand to their culture and sweetness of character.

Mike speaks fluent Spanish and enjoys playing with the kids

I got a big dose of culture one night after we went to a health fair. There was a party held where the people performed traditional dances, rich in color and music. I got to participate in one. After our last trip the community presented a ceremony of appreciation, a cultural exchange of giving and receiving, filled with food, music and dance. These are powerful highlights of our trips.

They pulled me into a dance and lent me some traditional garb

The first year the group remodeled the emergency room at an adult hospital. The family members painted a world map mural at a local school. The next year the group participated in construction of an emergency room at the children’s hospital and the family members helped pave a driveway for the ambulance.

The school room behind Nathan was open to the elements until World Village paid to have it bricked up

The next year we helped construct a clinic, painted a school and had a couple school rooms remodeled.

Me painting

This past trip the group helped supply a new clinic and participated with the clinic staff in public health measures including tuberculosis follow-up and mosquito abatement to control the spread of yellow fever. Our kids walked around the neighborhood with clinic members helping people drain any standing water in their yards.

We usually take down medical supplies which are given to local doctors. We pack our clothes in our carry-on luggage and check the supplies in crates as our regular luggage. I also took some Scholastic books in Spanish for the school.

Crates of Supplies

The doctors there are very knowledgeable,  they just lack funds and good equipment. Locals have to pay cash before they have treatment or surgeries. Mike spoke with one doc who told him that he does surgeries on people, even if they don’t have enough money to pay, until he himself runs out of money. What a sharing heart! Mike was so happy to give this doctor some desperately needed supplies.

Sorting medical supplies

We made some time to see sights,

Soaking up local art

and observe some animals . . .

Nathan with a llama

Mike holding a boa constrictor

These sloths were in the town square. In Spanish they are called “perezoso”. We called them “very-slow-slow.”

We got to see a sloth up close and personal

There were no amusement parks, but these natural rock slides were just as popular.

These slides are eroded right in the rock!

Mike has taken the kids on a couple side trips to see ruins,

Visiting ruins

and hike Machu Picchu,

Breathtaking view of the top!

among other places.

Mike & Nathan

Traveling can be expensive. Some of the families that have gone on these trips held yard sales and other fund-raisers to earn money. We’ve acquired a air-miles card, and Mike writes off many travel costs as humanitarian contributions.

The farther down in South America you travel, the more expensive it is to fly ($900 round trip to Bolivia). But there are many destinations in Central America that are more affordable (Mike flew to Guatemala for under $500).

A great resource I’ve found is a book and website called Have Kids-Will Travel. They offer many good ideas and even coordinate trips which include humanitarian service.

Expanding children’s minds by exposing them to other cultures is so valuable. There is much that can be learned and seen on the internet for free. Just make it a priority and seek out the things that interest you.

Tie the lessons in as you go and you will find many rewarding experiences.

After reading A Thomas Jefferson Education, I think about “learning” differently, and I see history through new eyes. I have more of a desire to know WHY things happened and pass that desire on to my children. For this reason, I jumped at the opportunity to accompany Mike to his continuing medical education conference in Boston with our older kids. It was a chance to make history come alive for us.

Luckily the sun was shining on this fall day in Boston as we were off to walk the famous “Freedom Trail.” We started at the Boston Common (a big park in the middle of town that’s been there since early America) and ended at the Bunker Hill Memorial in Charlestown. It was like following the yellow brick road, except it was red. There were red bricks laid in the concrete that led the way of the trail all through town.

There’s a visitor’s center on the Common that has free maps and some great guides. I bought one for kids in a fun format, and another that had interesting stories and information for the sites along the trail. I’ll share some of what I liked best, which is the kind of stuff I seek out to teach and inspire my kids.

This beautiful sculpture of the Shaw/54th Regiment Memorial was the first thing we saw. It signifies interracial cooperation as well as individual heroism. Many of Massachusett’s black residents wanted to fight against slavery in the Civil War, but the U.S. Army wouldn’t allow it.

Finally the Army relented and prominent young white men volunteered to lead the black troops of the 54th Regiment, including Robert Gould Shaw, only son of one of Boston’s first families. It was risky for both white officer and black soldier. If captured the black soldiers would become slaves; the whites were seen as traitors to their race by the Confederate Army.

Across the street is the NEW State Building. It’s called the “new” State House to distinguish it from the “Old State House,” which still  stands and is also part of the Freedom Trail.

Construction on this new building started in 1795 and took 3 years to complete. Only in Boston would a “new” building be more than 2 centuries old! Samuel Adams and Paul Revere presided over the laying of its cornerstone. The original wood shingled dome leaked, so in 1802 Paul Revere clad it in copper.

It had some beautiful murals,

these were on the inside, around the base of the dome.

I couldn’t resist capturing this gorgeous mosaic floor on camera.

Art like this sculpture memorial to army nurses catches my eye and pulls at my heartstrings. I love exposing myself and my children to art like this, the kind of art that makes you think.

Around the corner from the New State House is the Park Street Church. During the War of 1812 it was nicknamed “Brimstone Corner,” after the gunpowder stored in the crypt. It’s the home of many “firsts,” such as America’s first Sunday school (1817), the first prison aid society (1824), one of the earliest temperance societies (1826), the first public anti-slavery address by William Lloyd Garrison, and the first public singing of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.”

Next stop, was the Granary Burial Ground. Paul Revere’s grave marker was a shrine of coins and rocks on the top. Of course, my kids wanted to contribute.

Ben Franklin’s parents were also buried in this cemetery.

This is Mother Goose’s grave! The family name was Goose, but historians doubt that this woman actually made up the nursery rhymes that are so famous now. She did raise 20 children though – 10 of her own, and 10 by her husband’s first wife. That makes for a lot of years reciting nursery rhymes!

A statue of Ben Franklin stands next to the “King’s Chapel” which was built to the indignation of the Puritans in 1687. Since no Puritan would sell land to the Anglican church, the governor simply seized a corner of a burying ground. You can imagine the hostility that was felt for the structure until after the Revolution.

Close by is the site of the first public school, where John Hancock and Samuel Adams studied, in addition to Ben Franklin, the school’s most famous dropout. This public school continues, now called Boston Latin, and still requires 4 years of Latin to graduate.

We then passed the Old South Meeting House – location of the famous meeting before the Boston Tea Party, the Old State House – location of the Boston Massacre, (which has a visitors center where Raquel bought a pocket watch on a chain and I bought a book entitled “Fart Proudly” consisting of the lessor known writings of Ben Franklin) and a statue of Samuel Adams in front of Faneuil Hall marketplace.

Right alongside the Freedom Trail is the New England Holocaust Memorial.

I had heard about it before, so I knew what it was when we saw it. Six square towers of glass stretch skyward (like smoke stacks), each engraved with 1 million numbers signifying the many people who died.

There was a story etched at the bottom of each tower. One of them was told by a young man who was commanded by concentration camp officials to dig up dead bodies out of a mass grave so they could be burned. In the process of doing so, he recognized his own family members. Heart wrenching.

This memorial stone reads, “THEY CAME FIRST for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.

THEN THEY CAME for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.

THEN THEY CAME for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

THEN THEY CAME for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant.

THEN THEY CAME for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.”

I stood in front of this stone, overcome with emotion after reading the stories etched in the towers. I had to dry my eyes and regain my composure before moving on.

As a side note, having this kind of experience with my kids is so powerful for them what I want them to learn–the value of human life, the tragic things that have happened in history that could be prevented in the future with enough people willing to defend what’s right, the blessings of living in a mostly free country, etc. etc.

Across the street we picked up the Freedom Trail again.

Isaac with a militia man by the famous Union Oyster House. And here’s a rare picture of me (since I’m usually the one behind the camera) in the famous “North End.”

We also passed Mike’s Pastry Shop, which the kids regarded as being famous after it was featured Ruff Ruffman on the PBS show called Fetch.

Next was Paul Revere’s house right in the middle of the crowded North End section of town.

Outside is this bell crafted by Paul Revere. It was really interesting to learn more about his history. He was a master craftsman, who also created the famous carving of the Boston Massacre.

“One if by land, two if by sea.” The Old North Church is perhaps Boston’s most famous landmark. From it’s steeple were displayed two lanterns as a signal of how the British were planning to travel on the eve of the Revolution’s first battle.

The church’s clergyman, Robert Newman, helped Revere by sneaking into the church to display the signal, and then escaping out a window. The lantern was seen by British soldiers, who tried in vain to find the culprit.

We passed one more burying ground before crossing the large Charlestown Bridge to get to the U.S.S. Constitution, the most celebrated ship in American History.

It was one of the U.S. Navy’s first vessels, launched in 1797 to protect American merchant ships from Algerian pirates.

If you ever plan to walk the Freedom Trail, don’t go on a Monday, because the ship exhibit and the Bunker Hill museum are closed on Mondays.

Luckily the U.S.S. Constitution museum was so kid friendly and fun that we weren’t too disappointed.

We had a needed rest and at the same time learned a lot about how it was to be a sailor.

Even after a rest, facing the walk up to the Bunker Hill memorial was almost too much for my legs, which were well tuckered out by then.

I almost hailed a cab, but decided to persevere. It was worth it. Nothing so tremendous had been built in America when this monument was dedicated in 1843, and it was grand to see.

During this infamous battle, before which the Americans had very little gunpowder, they were given orders not to fire “’til you see the whites of their eyes.” The Battle of Bunker Hill actually took place on Breed’s Hill just adjacent to the real Bunker Hill. There was as much confusion about which hill was which back then as there is now. So the Bunker Hill Memorial stands on what is actually Breed’s Hill.

It felt good to review and internalize so many facts of American history that I had forgotten over the years or perhaps never really learned. I have loved getting more acquainted with the Founding Fathers and great men that brought about the freedom of our nation from the British.

Mike has read much more than me on the topic, and we occasionally have discussions about the meaning of freedom and what prepared so many strong leaders to succeed in obtaining it. It’s stuff I want my children to hear.

Hope you enjoyed seeing the Freedom Trail through our perspective!

We saw the beautiful Boston fall leaves

We had a blast! We packed so much into each day, it amazed us all. The education and inspiration we got from each one of these days is equivalent to a month of formal learning, in my reckoning. Good planning helped and so did super helpful hosts.

I mentioned in another post how our little cousins made their traditional dinner for us the first day. That day they helped lay the ground work for our walking the Freedom Trail by taking us to a couple key places ahead of time: The Minuteman Museum and the Old North Bridge.

I snapped a picture of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s house as we drove by.

Then when we got to the Old North Bridge, this quote by Emerson was engraved in the pavement and was the first thing we saw as we crossed the street to get to the bridge.

"The thunderbolt falls on an inch of ground but the light of it fills the horizon"

My cousin Lisa’s husband, Dave explained the story of what happened at the bridge when we got there. This was the place where the colonists were stock piling arms and the British found out about it. They came to confiscate the weapons. By the time the British got there, the colonists had been forwarned and their numbers had steadily increased until they were a significant force with which to be reckoned. It was on this bridge that the first battle took place.

It reads "Here on the 19th of April 1775 was made the first forcible resistance to British aggression on the opposite Bank stood the American Militia. Here stood the Invading Army and on this spot the first of the enemy fell in the War of that Revolution which gave Independence to these United States. In gratitude to God and In the Love of Freedom this Monument was erected in 1836.

This marked was to the side of the monument: Grave of British soldiers.

It reads, "They came three thousand miles, and died to keep the past upon its throne-Unheard, beyond the ocean tide. Their English mother made her moan." April 19, 1775

Here we are on the Old North Bridge. Isaac wanted to show the huge leaf he had just found.

Bridges are just fun, even if they don’t have tremendous historical significance.

What’s the name of that game where you drop a leaf or twig on one side and see if it comes out the other side?

There were a few leaf races on the side.

I took this picture of Raquel, Nathan, & Isaac and I was so intrigued by the boathouse behind them, we had to go check it out.

This is what it looked like on the inside.

And what’s more inviting to kids than a moving dock?

Calvin, Raquel, Jake & Lisa keeping balance

This statue is on the other side of the bridge. Later on our trip when we went to the Alcott house I learned that the man who created this statue was mentored by Louisa’s youngest sister May, the artist (think of Amy in Little Women).

After we had our fill, we headed over to the Minuteman museum.

The Minuteman museum had a brief, but fabulous multimedia presentation that outlined the events that began the Revolutionary War. I certainly did not remember the events of that night the British marched on Concord just behind Paul Revere.

The story was riveting.

The scenery was breathtaking.

We were ready to walk the Freedom Trail.

Stay tuned . . .

My mother is on left with red hair.

This had a real impact on our family. We’ve all enjoyed singing our whole lives, although none of us have achieved degrees in music.

I want to make a connection with a concept I mentioned in my last post called “You, Not Them.” This concept involves teaching your children through your own example. Hence the importance of developing your personal talents, increasing various skills, and investing in your own passions and dreams. When your children see you doing these things, they follow your example and become passionate, too.

I have to explain to people that we don’t always do formal school in our home. We do some formal programs and curriculum with our children, but it’s usually seasonal as we feel necessary. As our children grow, we place them in more and more formal learning environments, the ones we feel are best for them at the time.

I love to have my children help me can food and make nutritious meals for our family. The time I spend working with them teaches them lifelong skills that are practical and important to me.

Children notice and absorb everything, just like little seeds germinating in rich soil. They will follow our example, whether for good or for bad. If we only force them to do the things we think are important, without leading them ourselves first, we run the risk of them developing “hate of learning.”

For example, when my kids are playing and my husband is singing while strumming his guitar in the background, they are absorbing by osmosis the lyrics and messages my husband is passionate about.

I’ve seen this principle at work many times in my own children. If I can find ways to inspire them and help them learn without forcing them, their speed and depth of learning increases exponentially.

So, without further ado, here is a video of my mother on public television, involving me at 2 yrs of age in her passion for music. It’s the Lawrence Welk Christmas show of 1972. We’re singing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

So, the moral of the story is . . . if you want your children to learn something, think about learning or doing it yourself, or at least having them often see that for you, it is a passion.