Disclaimer: I have only a vague idea where this post is headed. I am thinking as I am typing and that can be slightly dangerous. Forgive me for any rambling and rabbit trails that occur.
I admit it. I am a technology geek. I love new gadgets. I have always been amazed at the ingenuity of people. I confess that I do not understand the technology that I enjoy, but I am in awe of it. This may seem absurd from someone who does not text or use bluetooth. While it is true that I like electronics, I do not have the opportunity to put them to much use. This desire to use new technology puts me in an awkward position as a homeschooling mom. I want desperately to use all of the amzing educational websites and electronic devices to their fullest potential, but our bank account and some nagging concerns holds me back.
My struggle is trying to discern what I am preparing our children for. Will they be best served to learn all they can about computers and be completely comfortable sitting in front of a screen for hours? Or, should my goal be to keep them away from electronics at all cost? Obviously it must be somewhere in the middle, but I truly do not know where. My husband would love to throw out all of our computers and tvs, literally. I lean in the direction of wanting our kids to do all of their homeschooling online. Admittedly, I tend to gravitate toward the lazy end of the spectrum if not careful.
Our older boys try their hardest to see how few words they can get away with writing. Typing is a different story. How important is handwriting these days? I know that I handwrite very little as an adult, but I type a good deal. Does the fact that the keyboard is used to a greater extent relieve me from the necessity to make my kids handwrite their work? Part of me wants to scream “YES!!!!” Yet, there is a small voice saying that pressing through the harder things at a young age will help produce better character down the road. My most important goal is to raise children with Godly character that seek to please Him above all else. Does He care about whether our children hand write, type, or dictate their work? Probably. What does all of this mean I will do when one of the boys fusses about how many sentences they have to do for their copy work tomorrow? Unfortunately, if I am not careful, it may depend completely on how chaotic our home is at that moment.
Somehow, Thanksgiving seemed to get here quicker than I expected. Yes, I am aware that it is always the last Thursday in November, but time has been blurry lately. Some days seem to last a week and some weeks go by so fast that they are gone before I realized they started. I have been absolutely certain that today was Monday, I even argued with my husband about it. I did apologize, albeit reluctantly. It is sad that I trusted my computer to say that it was Tuesday, but not my husband. Sorry, dear. Back to my original point. I had earnestly planned to do a Thanksgiving, Mayflower, Pilgrims, theme during the past week and a half. No one who knows me would be surprised that until tonight I had only done one token attempt at a Thanksgiving theme. Thankfully, I had no need to worry, a bald headed boy and his strange dog came to my rescue. ABC aired A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving tonight. I was quite impressed with the Mayflower segment. It gave a quite accurate and detailed account of the pilgrims’ trip to America and their first Thanksgiving. Our kids loved watching it and learned a great deal or at least were reminded what they had learned a few years ago. I usually blame the TV for all of my kids problems and now I can thank it for something. Go Charlie Brown!
