2017

(The last few months have been empty - life is busy and my writing time is devoted to school work. Nevertheless the blog isn't abandoned, just infrequent.)

A new year is arriving, and although I'm in the throes of schooling, and in spite of previous posts about September always being the new year to me, my mind seems to be rolling about new year ideas. And so they will make their way here.

"Create" is my word for 2017.  A friend told me that her goal as a school librarian and keeper of the school technology was to encourage students to create instead of consume.  Her words have stuck with me.  Our entire family has fallen into a tech zombie-like state.  The constant demand on my brain of schooling has led me to want to completely veg out with my free time (ha - what free time?!) I've watched more mindless Netflix and played more video games (what?) than ever before. Similarly, I've been very lenient with allowable screen time for the kids.  100+ hours of school every week has completely changed how life is running in our house. I'm giving myself a bit of a pass for the 16 months or so I'll spend in school.  But I still have some very pressing things on my mind.

Create, not consume. When was the last time my kids created something in their spare time? Voluntarily decided to use the talents they have to explore their own ideas? When was the last time I did the same?  Do the kids even have the idea to do this? Do they see it being modeled around them?

Over the last couple of days I've offered to get out the actual real paint for the kids. Juliette and I co-created three different lovely paintings that hang in the wall on the play room now, and Caleb did one on his own.  I've once again picked up my instruments (violin, flute, guitar and piano for right now) to create my own music. I'm writing again. I have an idea that the kids and I can write our own little book.  It's so cheap to publish little photo books now that we could actually write and publish our own book, staring the kids, or featuring illustrations they have done. Juliette and I did some beading and make jewelry.  That's about the end of my ideas right now, but I'm on the lookout for more.

The truth is, the kids will love and do the things they see around them all the time. When they see the love and passion that creating brings me, they will want to create also.