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When my oldest was small, the Veggie Tales movies were just starting to be produced. One of my favorites is Madame Blueberry. In the video, Junior Asparagus sings this chorus:

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart!
I’m glad for what I have,
That’s an easy way to start!

For the love that He shares,
‘Cause He listens to my prayers,
That’s why I say thanks every day!

I remember thinking how great the lyrics were — so simple, yet so true. I would sing them with my kids, hoping that they would always remember to have a thankful heart.

And then they grew older. While they still enjoy watching Veggie Tales on occasion, now they watch other movies too. We don’t sing the song anymore, and sadly, somewhere among the ever-improving technology and the peer pressure, they forgot how to have a thankful heart. These days, they tell me about all of the things they don’t have — all the gadgets, the clothing, the furniture, the toys — that if I would just buy it for them, life would be much better. But I know that’s not true, and I’ve told them so; over and over and over, I’ve told them so.

And then I wondered — have I had a thankful heart lately? “Be thankful!” I say, while I go through the day exasperated and irritated. Have they seen contentment in me?

I am so thankful for my children — for their personalities, their strengths, their quirks, their thoughts, their talents, their character, their callings — but how often do I tell them? I have to admit, it’s been a while since I mentioned how proud I am of them, or how much I appreciate them. So this Thanksgiving season, I’m going to do more than just tell them to have a thankful heart — I’m going to show them mine.

This year at our co-op, I’m teaching a creative writing course using WriteShop as our curriculum. Ten students in grades 6th – 9th are taking the class, and even though there is a difference in ages and abilities, for the most part, the classes run quite smoothly. The way the lessons are designed, we sometimes end up with extra class time for supplemental writing activities. One of our favorites so far has been “Creating Story Characters.”

What you’ll need:

• Two large garbage bags
• Various hats (i.e. chef’s hat, football helmet, pirate’s hat, etc.)
• Other props (we used a Dr. Seuss book, a cape, a Hannah Montana wig, a pink feathery shawl, a fake beard)
• 3 x 5 cards
• envelope
• pen
• paper for each student
• pencil for each student

To prepare, place all of the hats in one of the large garbage bags and all of the props in another.

On each 3 x 5 card, write an emotion. You might include happy, depressed, angry, excited, thrilled, lonely, etc. Place these cards in the envelope.

To play:

Ask for a volunteer to come to the front of the class. Have him choose one item from the “hat” bag and one item from the “prop” bag  by simply reaching in the bags without looking. Whatever props he pulls out, he must put on. Then, have him draw an emotion card from the envelope. He must then act out that emotion.

The other students are to quickly create a character based on what they see. They can include as much detail as they want about the character, such as the character’s name, where he’s from, what his hobbies are, why he’s feeling a certain way, etc.

Students have one minute to write about this character. When time is up, go around the room and have the students share their ideas.

I found that as the game progressed so did the creativity the students displayed! They came up with some great ideas for the wacky characters they saw — ideas I never would have thought of. And I have to admit: we had a lot of fun in the process!

Photo by cohdra

This past week, my six-year-old was playing in the backyard, when he discovered a snake close beside him. He called to his sister who then called to me, saying there was a baby copperhead in the grass.  I rushed outside and caught it by the head with a stick; on first glance, it did look like a copperhead.  I told my oldest son to bring something to “take care of it” with. He came from the house with a container to put it in — not quite what I had in mind — so we pushed it into the clear little bowl.

The snake immediately flipped over, opened its mouth, and dropped out its tongue! It was playing dead!  Though the copperhead would have wanted it’s life spared, they don’t know that trick. A few years ago, we had found a much-larger, black-colored snake that did the same thing. This snake was a hognose snake.

Just to be sure, I did a quick Internet search of photos and found pictures of hognose snakes that are similar in color to copperheads — and just like ours. Through the bowl we looked at his nose; it was a little upturned. We now had a confirmed hognose on our hands.

Much relieved, I took out the snake so the children could hold it. When we found the previous snake, we learned that hognose snakes aren’t poisonous, rarely bit, and can make good pets. The snake cooperated; within a few minutes, it was no longer frightened.

That was on Sunday…we still have the hognose. His name now is Snake-ily, and he lives in our house. Fortunately, we had a “spare” reptile set-up in storage, so he’s very comfortable and doing well. And next week, we’ll be starting a unit study about snakes.

This school year is not turning out quite as I expected. With Child #1 high school now and Child #2 in sixth grade, I anticipated them doing more work on their own, leaving me a little more time to work with the Child #3 and Child #4. It hasn’t happened that way yet, though, and we’re already into November.

Our school day starts out pretty laid-back, and I begin working with my first grader, Child #4. Before we’re done, however, Child #1 calls my name.

“You’ll have to wait,” I respond. “Go on to something else until I can come.”

Since Child #2 already saw that Child #1 didn’t get help right away, Child #2 tries another approach and stands beside me with her book.

“I have a question,” Child #2 says.

“Wait until I’m done,” I answer. “Go work on something else.” But Child #2 continues to stand there. “It’s just a quick question,” she says.

“Oh, all right,” I say, interrupting the lesson with Child #4. That’s when Child #1 comes into the room.

“Why are you helping her? I asked you first, and you told me to wait.”

I start sounding like a pirate at this point. “Arg! Fine. Let me help Child #2 a minute, then I’ll help you.” Meanwhile, Child #4 is still waiting to continue his lesson.

“Mo-o-o-om!” Child #3 calls from the other room. “I need your help!  I can’t finish this.”

“Bring it here,” I call back, figuring Child #4 and I have lost our momentum anyway.

“Can you come here?” Child #3 answers.

My sweet teacher-like disposition is now almost totally gone. “No — you have legs — you come to me.”

Child #3 comes in as Child #2 finishes. I begin to help Child #3, when Child #1 says, “You know, I asked for your help a long time ago. Why are you helping Child #3 now?”

I look down at Child #4, still waiting to complete his lesson. “You can go play,” I say, and another school day has begun.