Elijah completed a whole session of tennis lessons and loved every minute of them. When asked if he would like to continue to attend the weekly lessons, he declined gracefully. Upon further probing, it appears that he has reached saturation with the repetitive activities and that, though it was all great fun, feels that he can better spend his time doing new things or practicing these exercises with us at the high school tennis courts.
Chris’ mom came to visit all the way from New Hampshire! We were all very excited to spend time with her!
Here the kids greet her at the airport with a million things to say.
We stopped at Christina’s for some yummy Mexican on the way back to the house from the airport. Such a good restaurant and everyone must have a little (or a lot) of Mexican in Texas.
We spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the pool and relaxing in the hot tub. The kids were super-psyched to show Grammy their extensive self-taught swimming skills. Margaritas were poured, water fights ensued, frisbees were tossed, and snuggles were had.
Chris had a league basketball game that night and was thrilled to have his mom present like the ‘old’ days. While he was warming up, the kids took Grammy on a short tour around a beautiful portion of Bear Creek Park. They rode their bikes and we hustled to keep up. 
Chris’ team burned it up. It’s inspiring to see grown men doing something they love to do and putting all of their critical thinking and critical mass into it.
Sadie snuggles up with Grammy for part of the game.
Friday was a trip into Ft. Worth! We wandered around the Ft. Worth Water Gardens and Sadie, Grammy, and Chris went down into The Active Pool. It’s amazing everytime. Elijah prefers to watch from above.
The kids and I climbed The Mountain and looked out over the city.
This picture’s just cute. Two hot kids sporting their Boston-wear that Grammy brought.
From the Water Gardens, we were off to the Ft. Worth Historic Stockyards. We wandered around appreciating the ambience and had some BBQ at Riscky’s (another must when one travels to Texas). Elijah saw the flying clock above outside a storefront and said, “I’ve heard time flies, but that’s ridiculous!” That boy is a crackerjack.
Yes, then back to the pool for more swimming/play!
Saturday was the 2nd tennis clinic that Sadie and Elijah were burning to attend. Unfortunately, there were just too many kids and the location was shifted last minute to a parking lot for the little kids rather than a court. It was clearly not as organized or fun as the first that we had attended. These instructors also had a heavy focus on doing it ‘right’ versus doing it ‘wrong’ which made a big difference in the energy. That didn’t squelch the kids desire to play, though- just affirmed that the country club with the instructors that focused on fun, games, and engagement is the place for us! The kids were really happy that Grammy got to see them wield their racquets a bit.
Thank you so much for coming to visit us, Grammy! We really enjoyed our time with you and look forward to doing it again soon.
Recently I picked up a promotional card for a tennis clinic put on by the Northeast Tarrant Tennis Association (NETT). Elijah immediately became very excited and said decidedly that he wanted to attend. This was shocking from a child that generally avoids structured learning situations of any kind. In the days that led up to the clinic, his excitement continued. He could not wait to play tennis! Sadie- the child who will attend and be enthusiastic about anything and everything- was thrilled to have been invited to join as well even though she was slightly below the minimum age listed.
The kids and their partners practice tossing a bean bag back and forth on their racquets for hand-eye coordination.
It was a 2-hour clinic in the afternoon on a 100-degree Texas day but the kids didn’t seem to mind. They had a great time with these instructors learning to play tennis through lots of fun games. Elijah’s excitement about tennis continued and he requested more opportunities to play. We attended another NETT clinic 2 weeks later at a different location with different instructors. It was mayhem due to an overwhelming turnout of children. Elijah’s excitement, however, could not be dampened. Observing these two different experiences, it was obvious the type of learning environment that would continue to fuel his love for the game for as long as he decided. The country club where the first clinic was held has drop-in sessions twice a week. Elijah has attended 3 weeks in a row and says every week that this class was the best ever. There are 3-5 kids in the classes depending on the day and the instructor is lively and witty. The children giggle and play nonstop doing hand-eye coordination, stamina, and ball handling exercises. Elijah says, “Mama, I love playing tennis lessons.”
OK- so I still haven’t been able to find the video that I took of Sadie’s acting debut. How can this be? I’m not allowing myself to be devastated because that would mean accepting that I will not find it. It is out there somewhere. I’m considering hacking into the acting school database to find personal information on people in Sadie’s class from whom I could abscond said video. Oy- now my evil plan is documented which will serve as evidence should there be a formal investigation. Blast- I’ll have to continue brainstorming. While I do, here are some pictures from after the show of Sadie, Elijah, Ehlayna, and Ethan (unschool friends who came all the way into Ft. Worth during the dinner hour for a 10 minute show)! Thanks for your support! Sadie felt so special that you came to see her performance.
This is the culmination of an entire semester of acting classes. Sadie IS Princess Leia. She knows the whole play by heart. She is pumped about being on the big stage! Upon seeing her all bunned up and ready, her adorable brother says to her, “Sadie! You look great!” They all wore black as their acting was to speak for itself. The Pretend Players were beyond cute and brought down the house. Unfortunately there is an issue with the video- I can’t find it. Once I figure out this *(&*%$#@ technology, I’ll post it. It’s got to be in there somewhere.
How cute are they?! That’s Sadie- 2nd from the right on the bottom.
Sadie is about 1/2 way through with her semester of acting classes at Casa Manana and continues to enjoy them immensely. After a few classes of acting games and warm-ups, the class (about 6 girls and 2 boys aged 4 & 5) wrote their own play for the final public presentation. It is loosely (and hysterically) based on episodes 4,5,&6 of Star Wars.
Guess who’ll be playing Princess Leia? She’s thrilled and we’ve been practicing the hair-do. Here Sadie acts irritated at having her picture taken.
While Sadie is in her class each week, Elijah and I sit together on the floor playing Blokus, checkers, doing math problems in a practice book (that he will not write in b/c he loves to do them over and over), and other logic-based games and exercises to which he is drawn.
The session of ballet classes has ended. Sadie had a wonderful time making friends, playing, and dancing in front of tons of mirrors. She had a lovely teacher who she adored.
During the classes, Elijah made a friend too. Another big brother with a Lego fascination. They would bring their little sets and build together.
Sadie made a friend that we would play with after every class at the playground. She speaks Spanish which endeared Sadie even more to the language. She had fun showing off her (albeit limited) Spanish vocabulary
I love this picture of Elijah. He’s tough to catch on camera these days and thinks it’s pretty funny to run away when the camera emerges. I caught him right in the frame trying to flee the scene this time.
While Sadie enjoyed her ballet class, her interest waned toward the end. She doesn’t understand why she needs to just stand there and do everything the teacher does. The idea of copying someone else to achieve mastery of basic skills has been discussed and she really thinks it’s boring.
Despite Sadie’s recent hand injury, she’s still dancing! Can’t keep a tough girl down. She’s enjoying ballet class very much and learning some French as she goes.
We happen to live 10 minutes from the only Lego Education Center in the United States! What a find! Elijah attended his first homeschool workshop there- focusing on the Olympics. He built the Olympic rings (stipulations were that they must have a hole in the center- keep in mind that Legos are angular and rings are circular- and arranged with the appropriate colors in order) and then built a diorama of the Olympic diving area- complete with high dive board, bleacher seating, and changing area.
The boy who would rather be home than almost anywhere else wants to know, “when can we do this again?”
We have been waiting over a year and a half to attend this conference so it was with great excitement that we checked into the hotel and embarked on a 4-day adventure of play, intellect, support, camaraderie, and FUN! Some rooms were devoted to certain themes. Sadie found the dress-up room right away and spent quite a bit of time in there.
We had loads of fun dressing up and photographing each other!
Elijah and Daddy had their fun in the video game room where there were TVs and various video game systems and games on tables all around the room.
One of the ballrooms was open every evening for remote control cars. Elijah waited all day for this and, when asked to race, would matter-of-factly explain that his car is not made for racing but rather is amphibious and great for rough terrain.
There were also random activities that were set out each day for kids and adults to check out when we weren’t in other sessions. Here Elijah searches through old plastic toys getting new life- as in we used hack saws and glue guns to make new toys/inventions. Chris and I had way too much fun doing this.
The kids join lots of other kids and adults taking apart electronics in the hallway outside the ballrooms. We took apart several DVD players and this crazy looking vacuum. Sadie was also tinkering with a blender. An older boy helped Elijah get in touch with his destructive side by showing him how to pry open electronics with a giant flat-head screwdriver.
And then there’s Kid Village! A playroom… the size of a ballroom!
Sadie checks out the yurt made out of heavy duty cardboard and lacing made earlier in the conference.
Elijah was very busy with these long tubes. Here he directs other children that wish to join his game (already in progress) of putting balls in one end and holding the tube at different angles to direct the ball through.
Rachel, Sadie, and L have a snack while they wait for the fencing demonstration to begin.
Sadie fences with her partner during the instructional portion. Who knew she was into swords?!
A few of the sessions that Chris and I wanted to attend were occurring simultaneously. Saturday night as Chris went to the Dads’ Group, Sadie, Elijah, and I trekked off to the Law of Attraction session. They set up camp behind our circle and Sadie fell asleep!
Building the age-old egg drop craft. Elijah studies the supplies around him as we talk about what would create a safe craft for his egg.
Sadie paints a magic wand. I think the glitter is what makes it magic…
Sadie made a new friend this weekend. They wandered around the ballroom area taking pictures and giggling. It was so very cute to watch. “Can we take your picture?” “Can we take your picture?” Here is a Sadie’s Eye View of RE:
In addition to all of this fun (and way more that wasn’t documented on film), Chris and I attended sessions on:
Law of Attraction
Dad’s Discussion Group
The Extreme Inventor (kids attended with Chris)
Helping Your Children Live Their Dreams
Nurturing Your Children’s Passions
Unschooling Advocacy
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
The Ultimate Unschooling Adventure
Parenting By Silliness
Touching Earth/Nature Awareness
Respectful Partnerships
Raising a Strong Child
Credit::Jess Niles
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