Lesson #2: the journey vs. the destination

So I was about 12 when Aerosmith's Amazing hit the radio. And I remember hearing the line "life's a journey not a destination." And I was like, whoa. I get it! How deep. Imagine my surprise when I learned that Mr. Tyler, philosopher though he may be, was not the original author of those words. The song maybe, but not the timeless words of wisdom.

 The old adage takes on a whole new meaning with a toddler. In our little town, we have a great park. A really great park. With a playground specifically for the littlest little ones. Baby swings, a mini slide. And a train. A train! My little E loves trains. And it has the soft rubbery ground and shade, a necessity in sunny FL.

 I like to take him to this park. In fact, when I tell him we're going to the playground, I better be ready to jump in the car because he runs to the door in excitement. He's at an age where he tells me when he wants to get down, "down! play!" he demands as soon as I dare try to carry him on my hip. So as soon as we're on the sidewalk that heads to the playground, I put him down.

He loves to run on sidewalks. And stop and touch storm drains. And manhole covers. And grills (that aren't being cooked on). And benches. And mulch. Whenever I try to take his hand and guide him in the direction of the playground, he pulls his hand away, refusing to be led astray. "But the playground is this way!" I plead. "There'a a train. You love trains!"

He sits down and screeches in protest when I try once again to guide him. He is quite content right where he is, thank you very much. With the sidewalk, and the storm drains, and the manhole covers, and the grills, and the benches, and the mulch. W

hen we (finally) get there, he enjoys the playground very much. He likes to climb and swing and go down the slide as much as any 18-month-old. He just really enjoys the getting there part. He is equally content just being free to run where he pleases and touch what he wants.

For him, the sidewalk and the storm drains, and you get the picture. All of that, the journey to the playground, is just as fun as the playground itself.

 Oh, to be that content again.

Lesson #1 planting with a toddler

As you can see, it's been a while since I started this blog and actually returned to write. When I started, I had a fifteen month old. Now, he's eighteen months. That should explain why I haven't posted.

I had originally started out thinking I would be just another bloggy mommy who posted cute pictures of my kid and our glorious Pinterest masterpieces. And I would tell all the witty stories that are running through my head.

I was thinking my first lesson would be all about planting seeds together. With a toddler. Clearly I am not thinking clearly. The seeds got planted. And dug up. And dumped out. And drowned. And the toddler was covered in "doot" as he says. Head to toe filthy. As for the pictures, I realized halfway through that he was still wearing his pajama pants and I forgot to put a shirt on him. His hair is crazy. And if you look close enough, you can see he has boogies and probably breakfast on him.

What kind of bloggy mom would I be if I posted those on a blog for all the world to see?

Then it hit me...I would be a real mom. My pictures may not be perfect. My Pinterest projects sure as heck may not turn out perfectly, or even close. But we have fun and learn things and mostly enjoy our time together.

Lessons in Drool

When you think about it, blogs are like Lays potato chips. You can't have just one. They're also like Pringles. Once you pop, you can't stop. Ok ok, but really I think I just want to east some potato chips. And start a new blog. Because having two teaching blogs and a baby blog or two, just isn't enough. Here we go, lessons in drool. 

You may wonder why I chose that title. Well, I have a fifteen month old, and right now, he is getting three teeth. At one time. And he is drooling like a wild man. Like I put a new shirt on him, and it is soaked in a few minutes kinda drool. 

I have the amazing opportunity to be a stay at home mommy with this little man, and I am fresh out of the classroom, so I can't help but be obsessed with books and abc's and counting and colors and shapes. So my obsession of course runneth over onto him. Luckily, he really likes all of the above. Since he was just a few months old, he would sit through and enjoy Dr. Seuss's ABC's. Now, he requests it, and others by bringing them to me or if I hold two up for him to choose, he will knock the one he doesn't want out of my hands. 

We don't have any kind of structured curriculum. We just read and point and walk and play and sing and laugh and run and climb, and learning just seems to happen. He likes to say "What's that?" To everything, and he likes to hear the answer and sometimes repeat it. He picks up so much. I love watching him learn new words and new skills. 

It's not just him learning lessons, though. I've learned so much about language acquisition and the amazing ability of the human brain just watching my little boy. I've also thought a lot about my beliefs about teaching and learning. Lessons that I think will carry over when I do go back to the classroom. 

So I thought it would be fun to start a (nother) blog. One to document the learning we do together.