Language Arts through Mad Libs

Count Dracula is the most famous of all knives. He trips during the day in a coffin. The Count is never seen without his black dentist which he drapes over his tummy. When he flaps his plants, he turns into a bat and flies off into the president in search of mommies. The Count can only remain immortal by sucking kefir out of human humans. He does this by biting them on the bird with his gooey teeth. Superstition has it that people protect themselves from a vampire by holding up a store or wearing a clove of sister around their neck. It is also believed that the only way to kill a vampire is to drive a wooden fence through his hair.

Birth

I haven't posted about birth in awhile. I am not quite sure why but I needed to step back for a moment to think, observe, ponder, assess the freight train I have been on for the past few years in helping families in their path. I have come to realize that I had to take a step back to take three steps forward.

Recently I have realized great peace and personal growth that has come out of the chaos of the past few months of stepping back.

Last night I was back in the saddle - at a birth that is. I have only attended two births since September quite a change from my 2-3 a month that I had been doing along with teaching, homeschooling and a small massage practice.

This birth was perfect - really as perfect as could be. The couple is adorable and charming to spend time with. The mother incredibly strong and partner terrifically supportive. She was present and amazing. It was a pleasure and blessing to be able to be there with them.

Over the night, witnessing the coming of this new person into the world, I observed the scene - the birthing mom, her partner, the midwife, the apprentice, the cats and myself. The cats were female and very interested in the goings on during labor and not too sure after the birth when the sweet little baby cried. The midwife and apprentice we present, aware, assessing, charting and doing what they do. The partner was calm, quiet, trusting, loving and in awe of his wife and her amazing strength in her journey. The laboring mom was working hard, trusting the process, opening to all that is, moaning that baby down, leading us all down the road scared at moments but plowing forward towards the unknown. As for me- I offered my hands in helping her stay in her body then backing off when she asked, I offered kind calm words of support and strength to be a gust of wind in her billowing sails, I offered my heart full of love for the process and all the women that have come and will come down that rocky road, I offered my mindful presence to their experience and mine.

This crazy life is more than words, numbers, conversations and thoughts. There is something so large and amazing in the feeling of life and being able to experience the simplicity of life in its purist form. I love the unexplainable part of it all.

On the flip side of this time we call life, when I was present for my grandfathers passing last year it was very similar but instead of where are we headed it is where have we been and of course the presence of the unknown. The unknown that will forever test our blind faith.

I am starting to embrace my blind faith. I have a long way to go but I will always have a long way to go. I embrace not only the blind faith of it All but also the blind faith in myself. There is a path out there for me and I say now that I am open to the unknown. I let my mind drift to enjoy the moments between the surges that bring me forward on this rocky road.

We can choose to make it hard and tumultuous or we can choose to ride the wave.
For now I am choosing to ride, open and at peace with all that may come.

Today is the Day

Today is the day we try something new. Obama.

I am having folks over and even baking a cake for this historic day. I am excited, scared, apprehensive, hopeful and so much more.

He will not be perfect, he may go back on some of his campaign promises, he will mess up but i do believe he will try his best which, is all i can ever ask of myself so it is all i can expect from others - including our new president.

I am excited for a new world view on the United States of America. I like the man we have chosen to represent us to the world.

I have hope.

Religious Education

For the past 3 years I have been attending off and on the Ann Arbor Unitarian Universalist (AAUU) Congregation. I went alone for awhile, then with the monkey, now the whole family goes (including my mother sometimes).

This past Christmas 10:30pm service (I have always loved the Christmas candle light service) I went solo. I cried through the entire service. Most services I tear up a bit but this one was full on. It was lovely and emotional. The next Sunday service I could not attend due to illness so it was a bit until I went back again. (This year I have been going almost every Sunday) When I did walk through those doors again it finally felt like home. Many of my friends were now going there also so I now had a community there. Going to church felt like a warm hug.

Now I have decided to take the next step and dive deeper into what this religion is all about. More than once I have heard the snarky comments about UU and it has been offensive but I acknowledge that there is much misunderstanding/misconception about what UU is.

I signed up for the Intro to UU class. My first class was this past Thursday. I will share with you a bit of what I learned. (i love the historical backgroud stuff)

History Factoids:

Unitarian beliefs have been around ince the first years of the Common Era (CE or AD) but they were forced underrgroud. There were the trinitarians and the Unitarians. The unitarians did not believe in the holy trinity.

In the Universalist history it was in 185-254 CE an early church father Origen was a proponent of theological universalism (all will be saved/no original sin). In 544 CE Council at Constantiople declared Universalism heresy.

In Unitarian history Unitarianism (known as Arianism at that time) was declared heresy in 325 CE

This was a time of fear mongering and control by those in power. The bible was only read by priests and the lay person waas told what to believe. The bible was read in service in Latin and only the wafers were given to the congregants and the priests only got the full communion if any communion was shared at all. Religion and politics were closely intertwinded the era of Constantinople was the time where free thinkers or an inclusive religion would hinder the powers of the state and church.

1425 - The Czech priest Jan Hus was burned at the stake for serving the communion wine to people and saying the mass in the language of the people reather than Latin

1498 - Pater D'Aranda, condemned for denying hell as everlasting punishment

1539 - Katherine Vogel, Krakow Poland, burned a the stake for denying the trinity

1553 - Spanish doctor and Bible scholar Micheal Servetus was burned at the stake by order of John Calvin with his book The Errors of the Trinity strapped to his leg

1568 - King John Sigismund of Transylvania issued an Edict of Tolerance, having been persuaded by Francis David, his chaplin, that God is one, not three, and that no one should be persecuted on account of religious belief. Thus was founded Unitarianism as a public religion rather than simply a private belief.

1620 - The Pilgrims founded Plymouth colony, incorporating government by covenant, seperation of civil and religious authorities, and congregationalism (the beginnings of the UU congregational polity)

1759 - "Union" a statement of Universalist theology stressing universal salvation, was sritten by James Relly and published in England.

1770 - John Murray, convinced my relly, came to America and preached a Universalist message from the meeting house Thomas Potter had hopefully built on his New Jersay farm.

1774 - Theophilus Lindsey began the first Unitarian church in England

1779 - John Murray organized the first Universalist Church in America at Goulster, Massachusetts

1782 - John Freeman takes King's Chapel into unitarian position.

1791 - Joseph Priestly, a unitarian minister and scientis in England, had his meeting house and laboratory attacked by a mob on account of his radical beliefs; he immigrated to Philadelphia and had major influence on Thomas Jefferson and the founding principles of his country.

1805 - Universalist Hosea Ballou wrote the "Treatise on the Atonement" arguing that human beings do not need a savior such as Jesus to save them from damnation for their sins, but that instead Jesus showed by example that sin can be overcome by love.

1819 - Unitarian minister William Ellery Channing gave his foundational " Baltimore Sermon" on the unity of god, the Bible as written by humans and subject to interpretation through reason, and religious tolerance.

1825 - The American Unitarian Association formed with 125 ministers, most of them educated at Harvard Divinity School

1838 - Ralph Waldo Emerson gave a Harvard Divinity School address that became another foundational expression of Unitarianism as well as Transcendentalism, stressing that direct intuition of God is available directly to each person, and that Christianity is not the only path to truth.

1841 - the third foundational expression of Unitarianism was Theodore Parker's South Boston sermon on "The Transient and Permanent in Christianity"

1863 - The Universalists ordained Rev. Olympia Brown , the first woman ordained by any religious organization in the United States.

1865 - The attempt to prganize Unitarians (not just ministers) through the National Conference, led by Henry Bellows, led the dissenting independent thinkers to form the Free Religious Association, with Emerson as the first signer of their "declaration of independence" from anything resembling a creed. Emerson then left the Unitarian ministry for a life as a writer and lecturer

1887 - William Channing Gannett wrote his "Things Commomly Bleieved Today Among Us" a significant attempt to bridge the chasm between the institutionalists and theists on the one habe and the atheistic free religionists on teh other, the latter group seeing themselves as both firmly non-creedal and believing staunchly in a strictly ethical basis for religion.

1893 - The Chicago Unitarian congregation of ministers Jenkin Lloyd Jones put on the first Parliament of Religions, associates with the World's Fair; this revolutionary event introduced to the Unitarians (and others) the wisdom of the world's religions, especially Eastern religions, so that "universalism" began to take on a new meaning, and American Unitarians began to be universalists in their thinking.

1933 - The Humanist manifesto was formulated in Ann Arbor, with many unitarian and Universalist ministers as signers. It stressed the universe as self-existing and evolving, science and reason as not seperate from religion, and the betterment of human conditions here and now as the purpose of life.

1937 - Sophia Lyon Fahs wrote the first ground-breaking curriculum for Unitarian religious education for children.

1940 - The Unitarian Service Committee was formed to launch efforts to bring out of harm;s was Jewish people, homosexuals, and others being persecuted in Nazi Europe. After merger, the USC became the UUSC, which partners around the world and in this country with groups working for the well-being of people who are persecuted or otherwise suffering.

1961 - The American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America merged to form the Unitarian universalist Association of Congregations.

The following is "Unitarian Universalism - The Religion" as prepared for the UUMA Convocation by Daniel O'Connel 03/08/02

=many scriptures, not one
=here and now, not the hereafter
=freedom, reason, tolerance,love as overarching values
=deeds not creeds, show your work, live your faith
=evolutionary theology, language changes
=we are saved by love, we are made holy by character

We share withother religious liberals:
=no original sin, God is Love
=unity of experience: faith & knowledge, sacred & secular
-non-creedal, authority of conscience
=need for religious community
=congregational polity, democratic methods
=a spark of "divinity" or the "highest good" in every person
=a destination: an earth made fair, all her people one, we co-create the world.

~~~~

This concludes my report on my class on Thursday.

One thing I feel is intersting to note is that Thomas Jefferson thought that Unitarian religion would become the popular religion before the end of his generation. This did not occur to any fault ar flaw in the religion but the fact that other religions started becoming more open and liberal in their practice.

Also there is a new book out about Joseph Priestly called The Invention of Air I heard an interview on NPR yesterday. Sounds fascinating.

Deciding to be happy

Deciding to be happy was my undeclared New Years resolution. Undeclared because really I just decided to do it. Clean up the crap and emotional and mental clutter in the house of my brain, body and spirit. I decided to really live the saying "if mama happy everybody happy" - now I realize that is a simplistic statement because some are very comfortable with mama being a train wreck and are not fond of change but they can learn to deal with the new ways.

I have been working out everyday for a week and a half and it has been wonderful. I get it now when folks have the NEED to work out. I think it was just not my time to be like that until recently. We have our homeschooling schedule that we try to keep to in a scheduled unschooly way (yes I acknowledge the conflict in that statement) We are still working out the kinks. But on the whole it is all good in the hood. Everyday we do our journal, reading, math from 9-12 and have something going on at 1pm regularly. Sometimes things get high jacked for example we have two very large boxes in out house right now so some things may fall to the side for a bit as we take on making a sarcophagus for the monkey pharaoh.

We are truckin' through Story of the world learning about the fertile crescent and Osiris and Isis and mummy's and pyramids and .....it is so exciting. We are also working through the Children's Illustrated Bible that I got at church this past weekend. I was raised in a great church but I never knew much about the bible. My husband knows it well as do my in-laws. It has left me with a great desire to learn the stories and teachings. It is an amazing piece of literature that I would like my children to know. I am very excited to learn more myself.

To compliment our path with the Children's bible I am independently reading Living Christ, Living Buddha by Thich Nhat Hahn. I love most all of his works including this one.

Amazon.com Review
If you have always assumed that Christianity and Buddhism are as far apart philosophically as their respective founders were geographically, you may be in for a bit of a surprise. In this national bestseller, Zen monk and social activist Thich Nhat Hanh draws parallels between these two traditions that have them walking, hand in hand, down the same path to salvation. In Christianity, he finds mindfulness in the Holy Spirit as an agent of healing. In Buddhism, he finds unqualified love in the form of compassion for all living things. And in both he finds an emphasis on living practice and community spirit. The thread that binds the book is the same theme that draws many Christians toward Buddhism: mindfulness. Through anecdotes, scripture references, and teachings from both traditions, Nhat Hanh points out that mindfulness is an integral part of all religious practice and teaches us how to cultivate it in our own lives. Nhat Hanh has no desire to downplay the venerable theological and ritual teachings that distinguish Buddhism and Christianity, but he does cause one to consider that beyond the letter of doctrine lies a unity of truth.

The monkey has very interested in working through his spiritual side for the past year and a half. It has been wonderful to walk with him on this road also looking at my beliefs. One great book that has helped me open my mind to this kind of philosophical wandering was Little Big Minds by Marietta McCarty

Amazon.com Product Description
A guide for parents and educators to sharing the enduring ideas of the biggest minds throughout the centuries-from Plato to bell hooks-with the "littlest" minds.

Children are no strangers to cruelty and courage, to love and to loss, and in this unique book teacher and educational consultant Marietta McCarty reveals that they are, in fact, natural philosophers. Drawing on a program she has honed in schools around the country over the last fifteen years, Little Big Minds guides parents and educators in introducing philosophy to K-8 children in order to develop their critical thinking, deepen their appreciation for others, and brace them for the philosophical quandaries that lurk in all of our lives, young or old.

Arranged according to themes-including prejudice, compassion, and death-and featuring the work of philosophers from Plato and Socrates to the Dalai Lama and Martin Luther King Jr., this step-by-step guide to teaching kids how to think philosophically is full of excellent discussion questions, teaching tips, and group exercises.

With MLK day coming up there is much to talk about. Not to mention the inaguration. what a great time to be.


In absolutley amazing news - the monkey went to his first theater audition last night for a Midsummer's Night Dream throught the Ypsilanti Youth Theater and He did great! The best part is that he loved it and had a really great time. We will find out this weekend what part he will get. Being that it is his first go at theater he is hoping for a nonspeaking part although once i explained to hime that in the play if you have lines you have to memorize then and not read them off of paper he was more open to a speaking part. (he is reading but just not super confident yet and Shakespeare is not exactaly Dr. Seusse) I am a giddy proud mama. I have waited a long time to get the monkey into theater he has it in him if he chooses to pursue it.

Yesterday I got two books out of the library that I am very excited to dive into. Both books I have heard much about and come highly recommended. Hold on to your Kids I think is a must read for any parent. The Teenage Liberation Handbook is for those adults and kids open to the idea of homeschooling and the concept of learning over schooling.

The Teenage Liberation Handbook by Grace Llewellyn

Amazon.com Review
You won't find this book on a school library shelf--it's pure teenage anarchy. While many homeschooling authors hem and haw that learning at home isn't for everyone, this manifesto practically tells kids they're losers if they do otherwise. With the exception of a forwarding note to parents, this book is written entirely for teenagers, and the first 75 pages explain why school is a waste of time. Grace Llewellyn insists that people learn better when they are self-motivated and not confined by school walls. Instead of homeschooling, which connotes setting up a school at home, Llewellyn prefers "unschooling," a learning method with no structure or formal curriculum. There are tips here you won't hear from a school guidance counselor. Llewellyn urges kids to take a vacation--at least for a week--after quitting school to purge its influence. "Throw darts at a picture of your school" or "Make a bonfire of old worksheets," she advises. She spends an entire chapter on the gentle art of persuading parents that this is a good idea. Then she gets serious. Llewellyn urges teens to turn off the TV, get outside, and turn to their local libraries, museums, the Internet, and other resources for information. She devotes many chapters to books and suggestions for teaching yourself science, math, social sciences, English, foreign languages, and the arts. She also includes advice on jobs and getting into college, assuring teens that, contrary to what they've been told in school, they won't be flipping burgers for the rest of their days if they drop out. Llewellyn is a former middle-school English teacher, and she knows her audience well. Her formula for making the transition from traditional school to unschooling is accompanied by quotes on freedom and free thought from radical thinkers such as Steve Biko and Ralph Waldo Emerson. And Llewellyn is not above using slang. She capitalizes words to add emphasis, as in the "Mainstream American Suburbia-Think" she blames most schools for perpetuating. Some of her attempts to appeal to young minds ring a bit corny. She weaves through several chapters an allegory about a baby whose enthusiasm is squashed by a sterile, unnatural environment, and tells readers to "learn to be a human bean and not a mashed potato." But her underlying theme--think for yourself--should appeal to many teenagers. --Jodi Mailander Farrell

and Hold on to your Kids by Gordon Neufeld PhD, Gabor Mate MD

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Like countless other parents, Canadian doctors Neufeld and Maté woke up one day to find that their children had become secretive and unreachable. Pining for time with friends, they recoiled or grew hostile around adults. Why? The problem, Neufeld and co-writer Maté suggest, lies in a long-established, though questionable, belief that the earliest possible mastery of the rules of social acceptance leads to success. In a society that values its economy over culture, the book states, the building of strong adult/child attachments gets lost in the shuffle. Multiple play dates, day care, preschool and after school activities groom children to transfer their attachment needs from adults to their peers. They become what the authors call "peer oriented." The result is that they squelch their individuality, curiosity and intelligence to become part of a group whose members attend school less to learn than to socialize. And these same children are bullying, shunning and murdering each other, as well as committing suicide, at increasing rates. The authors' meticulous exploration of the problem can be profoundly troubling. However, their candidness and exposition lead to numerous solutions for reestablishing a caring adult hierarchy. Beautifully written, this terrific, poignant book is already a bestseller in Canada.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

It is time for me to clean up and get ready for my day with the monkey and the bean. Soon I will post a bit more on the idea of homeschooling high schoolers. It seems to be something on peoples mind lately. Homeschool kids can go to college and do very well in the world in general. Also I would like to eventually cover the idea of parental rights and civil liberties in homeschooling.

BTW did anyone notice the artice in this past weeks Ann Arbor News Sunday paper about the Michigan Virtual High Shool.