We had an amazing trip to Tennessee/North Carolina. It was ten days packed with seeing old friends, family and four of our countries states. We made our way from Nashville, TN to Fayetteville, NC for a wedding...
To make flying easier, I put Reagan in this funky wrap. It was AWESOME. I was hands free for all of the security stuff and then she snuggled up in it for a nap on the plane! SCORE!
We landed in Nashville and got to see Uncle Paul and Aunt Susan! Reagan got to meet them for the very first time!
Then we headed to Chattanooga, where Reagan met her Aunt Grace (my sister) and her cousins!
Zane (7) could not get enough of her. He wanted to make her laugh.
Zane was so excited when Reagan climbed up into his lap to play.
Ethan (2.5) and me chillin:
We started our journey to the wedding by stopping in Knoxville to see my Aunt Joy and Uncle Charlie.
Reagan found a Big Orange soccer ball. Go Vols!
Hello from North Carolina! Reagan and Mema (my mom) at the rest area.
We had so much stuff. It was nuts! And we still forgot a few things we ended up buying at the store! I won't count how many times we loaded and unloaded the car. I got really fast at it.
Thursday night we made it to Cary, NC to spend some time with the Rundles!
Finally made it to Jon and Katie's wedding! Here are the newly weds! Aren't they a charming couple?
Charlie is a good friend from High School and his wife Tori at Jon's wedding. Kevin and I chatted with Charlie and Tori about, well, everything. It was so much fun to get to know them as a couple!
I was thrilled that Jon and Katie were able to meet Reagan on Sunday morning!
Okay, maybe this isn't the best photo, but I tried all week to get a picture of Reagan making this fish face. She was doing it ALL THE TIME. And then EVERY TIME I went to snap a picture of it, she'd stop. So, here's my little Fish Face:
Reagan had a big week for doing new things. 1. Pulling up to standing in her crib 2. Crawling (a teeny tiny step) on all fours (instead of just belly) 3. Climbing stairs - Here's the evidence of #3:
She's getting so big! I can't believe that she's almost 11 months old!
Joy and Reagan are in Tennessee for a while hanging out with Joy's family and getting ready for a wedding in North Carolina this weekend. Here are some pics of Reagan. Her teething process is resulting in some funny faces! Looks like MeMa has a lot more toys and books to play with than we do. That's what grandparent's houses are for! RHC at 10 1/2 months.
As I continue my journey towards the education of my children (well, child), I am surprised by how much I am learning.
It's not that I think I "know it all." It's just that I never thought about doing anything different with my own children than what I experienced growing up: tradition public school. (Wake up, go to school, move from subject to subject, memorize facts, take a test, bells and 20 minutes of play.)
But, the more I learn about HOW we all learn and especially how children learn, it makes me realize where my own education fell short and marvel at the possibilities!
Children learn through experiencing life.
I started my educational journey wondering "what do I need to do to TEACH" Reagan. There must by a perfect curriculum, sets of flash card, books and memorization, right? Then I thought "How will I structure my time, my day with her?" I felt like I must not know enough about traditional teaching to help her to become a functioning person. Things like classroom management, music time, craft time, math time, reading, outdoor time, science (etc... etc...) Surely there is a reason that people have TEACHING degrees... THEY are the qualified ones. THEY KNOW.
BUT, I know better now.
It is far better for an individual to LEARN than it is to be taught. It sticks more deeply and as we explore the problem gain a greater understanding of other parts of the world (related and not).
John Holt, in his book "Learning All the Time", Explains:
"Anytime that, without being invited, without being asked, we try to teach somebody else something, anytime we do that, we convey to that person, whether we know it or not, a double message. The first part of the message is: I am teaching you something important, but you're not smart enough to see how important it is. Unless I teach it to you, you'd probably never bother to find out. The second message that uninvited teaching conveys to the other person is: What I'm teaching you is so difficult that, if I didn't teach it to you, you couldn't learn it.... The problem is that we human beings like teaching. We teach and we learn... We have to restrain that impulse, that habit, that need to explain things to everybody... unless we are asked."
Obviously when safety is a concern this is an exception, but this resonates with me.
When I graduated from college, I went through a "detox" period. I had not really been using my mind to explore the world on my own. I was always given assignments to complete. Someone else was deciding what I would think about, what I needed to be learning. I believe I was handicapped because I did not have the freedom to figure things out for myself. I was too confined by papers and assignments due. My thoughts were consumed with passing. Not learning.
I have learned more and love learning more since graduating than I did through all 17 years of my "education."
As I watch Reagan explore the world, she is figuring things out without my help. My greatest challenge will be to expose her to a variety of experiences so that she might discover the world for herself. And learn that her greatest asset will be figuring things out for herself.
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