7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 88)
UPDATE: Linky list now fixed! Sorry for the problem — the host was having technical difficulties. We’re going with MckLinky this time.
I’m a bit short on time today. I would love to tell you that the reason is because I was doing something really productive, but the truth is that I spent about 60% of my free time this afternoon messing around with my Amazon wish list. Honestly, I work on that thing like other people work on their gardens. I could easily spend hours reorganizing the 11 different categories of books, re-setting priorities, deleting ones I’ve already read, etc. It’s one of my favorite hobbies. (And, yes, I realize how much it says about me that I consider “sitting in front of my computer and staring at my wish list on Amazon” a hobby.)
I’m becoming increasingly interested in non-traditional school options. It’s neat to see people thinking outside of the box to offer parents and children new ways to approach education that combine elements from both homeschooling and traditional school models. I mentioned once before that we’re considering a part-time private school for our kids, but I’m still researching other options as well. If anyone knows of any cool “Education 2.0″ models (e.g. One Day Academy, Texas Virtual Academy), I’d love to hear about it! I’ve started keeping a list.
We got my five-year-old son one of these “balance bike” things a while back, and it’s really helped him learn to ride a bike. It’s small enough that he’s not intimidated by it, and the lack of pedals lets him focus solely on balance. He’s almost ready for a real bicycle after just a few days of spending time going up and down our driveway on his balance bike. I highly recommend it as a gift for toddlers. (Note: this is not an ad, just a product I like.)
During our visit to Mt. Angel Abbey I learned all sorts of interesting stuff about my family history from my cousin, Br. Claude, who’s really into genealogy. One cool tidbit is that I’m related to Brad Pitt. Br. Claude, Brad and I are all direct descendants of a man named Tidence Lane who lived in the 18th century (notice I call him “Brad” now, seeing as how we’re kin). This has led to no end of self-congratulatory, self-aggrandizing jokes between my dad (who is also in this family line) and I about our good-looking genes.
A big THANK YOU to those of you who recommended that I read read Son of Hamas. Based on your recommendation I bought it to take on our vacation, and I ended up finishing it in three days. (For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, it’s part real-life spy thriller, part family saga, and part spiritual conversion story, written by the son of one of the founding members of Hamas.) I’ll talk about it more in my next book review post, but it’s one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read. Thanks for the tip! Keep ‘em coming!
The kids and I recently put together this corkboard (made from our own corks!) as a gift for my dad and grandfather:
It was surprisingly fun and easy to do, and it made a great Father’s Day present. It took almost two weeks to save up enough corks from the wine we drank, but it was well worth it! (Kidding. We’ve been collecting corks for years.)
I just love this quote. When new bloggers email me asking for tips on what to write about, I often suggest that they simply follow this advice:
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
-Howard Thurman
That applies to so many things in life.
I look forward to reading your posts!
