This last week, my 12 yo daughter decided my 6 yo daughter needed to learn to ride a two-wheeler (bike) without training wheels.

But… my 6 yo wasn’t really that into that idea. So my oldest got creative.

She took a necklace her sister has been trying to “borrow”, and turned it into a reward for her sister for learning to ride a bike.

The necklace has five stars of different colors on it, so Kate (my daughter) made up names for each of the stars and assigned a milestone step for each star.

The last star was pink (my 6 yo’s favorite color) and was earned with the necklace only after my little one succeeded in riding her two wheeled bike by herself in the cul-de-sac.

I first became aware of this, when I looked up from a project at my computer to see Kate pushing Little E on her bike around the backyard. I just smiled and periodically looked up to watch them.

Later they came in all excited that Little E was ready to try riding in the cul-de-sac. A little while later, I was called out to watch.

As you can see… Success!

The right motivation and a clever scheme from big sister, plus lots of encouragement, brought my 6 yo into the land of big kid bike riding

And Kate tells me she’s not a good teacher…

In part 1 of the bookshelf tour, you got to see my personal office bookselves, where my reference books, writing books, fiction, and many of the kids’ books are located. So, now I thought I’d give you a tour of the shelves that contain our homeschooling resources.

The challenge with this is that these don’t contain the many of the books and resources the kids are actively using right now, as those are in the kids’ schoolwork boxes or on their computer desks.

But it does give you a good overview of what resources I have on hand and how I keep this stuff contained and organized when it’s not in use.

Enjoy!
…Shannon

In response to my home office tour video, Karri asked about the bookshelves and what was on them. So I thought I’d share with you a tour.

They say that what’s on your bookshelves tells a story about who you are and what you care about and enjoy. Can you tell what I’m into?

What do your bookshelves say about you?

It’s a Sunday afternoon and I’m sitting here at my desk trying to get some editing done while the kids play. Outside it’s a beautiful day. After three solid months of colder weather, and even snow, the weather has turned to sunny and warm, with a gentle breeze.

The birds are in the trees out doors and the cats are lounging around. Yesterday I got out and cleaned up a couple of the garden beds and planted a few short-season, cool weather items that hopefully will grow before the weather turns hot.

Inside I have a small green house holding my tomato seedlings waiting for the cool weather to go away so I can plant them out in a few weeks.

The kids are playing on the patio right now, drawing with chalk and joking around with a friend.

Soon one or more of them will hop on a bike and take a ride around the yard.

That’s their latest thing – riding around the yard.

 Early last week, the kids dug trenches to drain the water out of the “pond” I showed you a few weeks ago, and now there’s bumps and bridges, and all the makings of a modest dirt/mountain bike track.

So they’ve been riding around on that. They won’t even go out in the cul-de-sac to ride now, because it’s so much fun to race around the yard with all the bumps and obstacles

It’s a wonderful beautiful day. And while I need to work to meet my deadlines, it’s a awesome thing to look up from my desk and see the kids playing and riding around.

In fact right now, Jazzy (Kate’s little Bichon) is chasing Kate (on her bike) around the yard.

Here is what it’s all about… enjoying a beautiful day, nature, and the companionship of family and friends.

Gotta love it!

Today, I wanted to share with you a lesson I’ve learned about getting out my kids’ way and allowing them to be creative and follow their imaginations. As you will see, my yard is a mess according to adult standards, but to my kids, it’s a bounty of creativity.

I cannot even begin to count the lessons they have learned while playing out there, and the lessons I have learned about what goes on in my kids’ minds, about their abilities & interests, and about who they are.

What do you think? Where’s that line between giving them the freedom to be creative and engage in imaginative play and keeping things neat and orderly?

…Shannon

P.S. Not even an hour after I shot this video, the other kids came out and built on what my duaghter created. Now there’s wooden bridge all the way across the pond, brick sides to the corral, and an obstacle course. Who knows what it will look like tomorrow