Soul Renovatus

Remembering something I said years ago...

As I've watched my daughter develop over the years, discovering her uniqueness, I realized quickly she is a highly artistic and creative person.  She reminds me much of what I was like at her age.

I said to myself (and to my wife), "I sure hope I never get in the way of her creativity." 

I am involved with a ministry that not only values creativity, but implements it ways that have tremendous influence in spiritual formation.  

It is this revelation that we have decided to put Grace in another school.

Currently, she is part of a traditional, public school, but she has struggled this year in certain areas. We were told in our conferences with teachers to test her for ADD.  I was quite offended at the suggestion, although I realize this is the only option this school has in trying to help her.

We heard the common mantra, "She has a hard time focusing, but she is a very creative, artistic person, she is such a joy to have in class!"  We suggested some unique ways to work with Grace, but the school has too much pressure to test to the Michigan standards for testing.  This is also another mantra we kept hearing.

Thus, Julia and I starting seeking some alternative options for her.  We think we've found a great one.  Some friends of ours recommended the Child Discovery Center in downtown Grand Rapids, a public charter school based on the Reggio Emilia method of education. Basically, this approach prioritizes the arts as essential in education, integrating it with other subjects to provide a more holistic educational experience.

I'm not going into more detail, but the fact that I have said "I don't want to get in the way of her creativity" is now applicable to her school choices.  We are excited at the possibility of unlocking who she really is, hoping to foster these amazing gifts and talents she has.

One of my dart buddies, who was raised in a Montessori setting (who uses the Reggio approach) told me that he may not have been prepared for advanced academics like some of the more affluent schools stressed, but he discovered how to learn. It is something he said he's used for the rest of his life. I pray that our schools realize that the arts are NOT an option, but a necessity for a child's success in learning.

We hope this will be a huge step in Grace's life.  I have confidence it will.

I thought this wouldn't happen yet...

Recently, we've been having conversations with Grace about boyfriends.  Apparently, some things she watched on Disney (or maybe HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL) have implanted these ideas in her brain.  When I picked her up at school yesterday, she had written the following letter to a boy named Donovan:

Julia had been talking with her about finding the "right boy" when she gets older, just like mommy did with daddy, hence the apparent conclusion that Donovan is the right boy for her. I also love the ending, "Love, the one that you love."  She is SO dramatic. To the right of the heart is Donovan's response to her letter (they sat together at lunch yesterday).  I told Grace that she can have friends that are boys, but not boyfriends.  She said, "But Donovan doesn't want to be my friend! He wants to be my boyfriend!" She also said, "I hate you!" That got a few toys taken away. I wasn't expecting to hear that line until she was 12 or so!

Julia responded, "Those are the kind of boys you need to stay away from."

She also said to her teachers that yesterday was the greatest day EVER.  After a brief discussion about said letter, she made this while I was doing the dishes:

 

Apparently, everything I said just went in one ear and out the other.

I thought I didn't have to worry about this kind of stuff yet? It's amazing though at the glimpses you get now and transpose them on when she becomes older.  She's going to be that girl. The one boys are going to start chasing, and she is going to eat it all up.  I can laugh now, because it's just so darn cute, but I don't know how I'll react when she gets older.  One thing for sure, Grace is such a passionate person, and I'm glad that she expresses it so vividly and unabashedly. I am praying that those passions are channeled in the right direction, toward the way of Jesus and changing the world.

Donovan and are going to have a talk soon.

Okay...this is one of the cutest videos ever...

Well, I have to say that because I'm her dad.  Grace put on a classic show for us last night. She's going to be a handful when she gets older.

I hope you enjoy it. This song was one she sang at her school concert last night.  Enjoy!

Just don't ask...Grace does it again...

I was a little late picking Grace up from school today. She was upset.

I haven't seen her much in the last couple of days, so she was extra lovey-dovey when we got home. She also got a few Valentines stickers from Grammie and Papa, and told me, "I love you so much because you're so special!"

So I pressed, "What makes me so special, Grace?  What makes me unique?"

Grace looked like she was being quizzed, "Because you're my daddy!" She proceeded to squeeze me like a teddy bear.

But I pressed further, "But what makes me different than other daddies? What makes me different than everyone else?"

Grace thought really hard, then guessed, "Because you're colorblind?" 

I knew I shouldn't have asked her.

Another Grace classic...

Let's just say my daughter is a drama queen. I have no idea where she gets this from.  However, Julia dictated a conversation to me regarding Grace's recent dilemma:

Grace: (crying) "I hate my life!"

Julia: "What do you mean you hate your life!"

Grace: "I hate everything about my life!"

Julia: "So do you hate your toys? Do I need to give them away?"

Grace: (assertively) "No! I like my toys!"

Julia: "Do you hate mommy and daddy?"

Grace: "No...(starts trying to find a way out of her statement)...I hate my future!"

Julia: "What do you mean?"

Grace: (frustrated) "I can't be respectful, I'm making bad choices...I can't change! I can never change!"

Julia: "Sure you can change, sweetie. You're a great person.  Everybody can change."

Grace: "I want to go back to when I was 3, THEN I'll be more respectful and make better choices!"

Grace had just watched a movie, Minutemen, on TV, where these kids built a time machine, went back and made better choices (or ones that would give them an advantage).  Grace was sick all weekend, and of course was a little short on the temper, and had just gotten in trouble for some disrespectful comment or action.

It's eerie how similar Grace and I are.  I may not say those kind of things externally, but internally those voices are speaking all of the time.  I think 2-3 years ago, I listened to them constantly.  Now, not as much.  I can't say they're completely gone, but I've come a long way since 2 years ago.

There is no doubt that these stories of Grace are making a book someday.  She is so adorable and teaches Julia and I way too much about who God is to ignore it.

Grace's Halloween message...

The fad/cult that is High School Musical…

 

Let's just say I like High School Musical...to a point...for the sake of some kids...but the cult has hit full swing...in the tune of 42 MILLION DOLLARS this weekend at the box office for their opening weekend of High School Musical 3.

Click here for the story.

I'm still waiting for it to come out on video before Grace goes bonkers…or until she or Jim Kast-Keat pressure me hard enough to take her.

Another classic Grace quote...

This comes from Grace's parent-teacher conference:

Mrs. Root (her afternoon teacher), I would like to have ten teachers because...u...u...u...u...u...u...u...I don't know...u...u...u...u...u...nevermind."

I asked her what it meant, she said it was because she couldn't remember (she was also grinning because she knew she was being silly with the nevermind).  I was about peeing my pants.

Interesting quote about children classroom behavior...

"Surprisingly, a good number of children's classroom 'behavior problems' stem from teacher error: lack of a good lesson planning, poor pacing of the lesson ("dead time" between activities), or use of irrelevant activities."

Regarding discipline: "If we have not given attention to close relationships, failed to identify meaningful responsibilities, or infrequently recognized growth, then we have not earned the right to correct our students' behavior."

-Klaus Issler and Ronald Habermas, How We Learn

My daughter the poet...

Ok, so my daughter continues to amaze me.  I already know that she is extremely creative, but it's getting to the point that it is something way beyond the norm.  I'm sure some would think I might have "daddy bias," which I'm sure I do, but these poems she wrote were just classic.  I scanned both of them so you could see them.  The first one is entitled "Dogs" that she wrote for her 1st grade class:

It was very Dr. Suessish.  Even the symmetry was pretty scary. 

The second poem she wrote came today while I was meeting with my friend Steve.  She was writing in my journal, and I remember Julia saying something before that she was bummed Grace didn't write about cats (since we have three and no dogs).  So Grace just spits out this poem in my journal entitled, "Cats."

I about peed my pants laughing.  I told her she had to pick a line to stop the purring, and she ended on the exact line she showed me.

I definitely need to encourage her to do more writing.  Heck, because of this, I think our whole family should have a "writing time" for our family time and just make up stuff.  It'd sure be a hoot!

I am awed at the many talents Grace continues to display.  I pray that I will not be the type of parent to hinder that type of creativity.