Consider it pure joy!

Passage: James 1:2-4

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perserverance. Perserverance must finish it's work so that you may be mature, and complete, not lacking anything."

OK...last night I perservered through a night without sleep. My brain was on speed! Not even about anything in particular. I have had this happen before and have gone into complete panic. I tend to overreact, if you don't know this about me. "I want to sleep...NOW!" But I tried to pull together all my calming resources and decided to just have a sense of humor about it. After a couple of hours of laying there in some kind of mind blazing confusion, I decided to get up, make a cup of decaf hot tea, finish valentines, fold clothes, and watch an episode of sex and the city. I even tried laughing at myself. It worked somewhat. I never got into a deep sleep but the hours seemed to while away in a timely manner, so it wasn't too bad. If it is one thing I have tried to learn...maybe I have learned, but application is a different story...is that attitude is everything. I was trying to pull this verse up from the dredges of my memory last night and couldn't get it. Then this morning while observing in Weston's class it hit me...Consider it pure joy....everything! Wow. Hard to do, but a command from God nonetheless. I will consider it pure joy to have perservered through a sleepless night and come out with folded laundry and completed Valentine's.

Tomorrow I visit our Montessori school and will have more to update on the Saga of First Grade!

New Age rebel in my "Old Age"!

Here we are back at home and I find myself incredibly confused. I am sure I should not be, but nonetheless, here I am. I decided to put the kids in school and went public. It was free (ha), and appeared to be well run and appealing. I allowed those outer appearances to convince me of it's innate goodness. However, Weston is having such trouble or maybe it's me. I can see him coming to this incredible age where the world is opening up to him. He is reading some and is proud of his little self. I am so proud too. He is opening up to the idea of school and is really branching out and I can see him unfolding so beautifully. However, the school in their quest for grades and competition among peers is not going along with this natural state of growth he is in the midst of. Red pens with big red letters are coming home marking up his papers and warning of big tests and grades coming up and his teacher tells me he is just not performing. I beg to differ. He is performing more authentically than his teacher. And I as the parent act concerned, naturally. Then I get angry and wish I had told her what I really feel. Who cares if you grade my first grader, give me a break! Grade him on what? Being a 6 year old individual? It is not that I am against criteria, standards or general necessary education, but come on! Let the kid discover how great learning can be before you stomp all over his little ego. Oh well, we will figure something out!