tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234Fri, 20 Sep 2024 10:57:54 +0000interplayvacationNotes on life. Dominated by four kids.http://hergracereports.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)Blogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-2872805199321526696Sun, 22 May 2011 00:22:00 +00002011-05-21T22:26:16.798-04:00It has been ages since I posted to this blog. I blame two things: (a) I directed at play in the beginning of the year which took all my time and (b) I have spent the time since then catching up where I fell behind.But, today was something special.I woke early. I intended to write, but sat with a cup of coffee and caught up with my online social networks instead. It was peaceful and comforting andhttp://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2011/05/some-days-are-almost-magical.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-3182026600456393020Wed, 26 Jan 2011 15:58:00 +00002011-01-26T11:13:57.815-05:00I try to work mathematics literacy into our day. For breakfast, for example, we have often have toast cut into several different varieties of quarters. Most popular are ″finger quarters″ which involve dividing the toast in half vertically and then dividing each half vertically again. ″Square quarters″ and ″triangle quarters″ are also popular. ″Halfs″ and ″eighths″ are less popular, but known http://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2011/01/math-with-aliens-and-boots.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-8551681142830441905Fri, 24 Dec 2010 02:44:00 +00002010-12-23T22:30:44.408-05:00My busiest season is ending. The fall always seems to be a mad rush from event to event without time for planning or reflection and I get to the end of the year desperate for rest.This pattern started when Patrick started school. Every year, the process of getting the kids settled in their new classes seems to take until mid-October. And, now that we are in Canada, that means that we are still inhttp://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2010/12/ready-to-hibernate.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-5286434175126663882Tue, 02 Nov 2010 02:21:00 +00002010-11-03T13:59:04.584-04:00We had an eventful Halloween weekend. On Saturday, we had a party for Patrick and some of his friends. I invited a few family friends and kids William, Michael, and Jocelyn's age, but most of them couldn't make it. I had fun planning the food (including punch with plastic spiders in ice cubes) and decorating the house. Cleaning the house enough for company and making room for a lot of 6-8 yearhttp://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2010/11/halloween.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-5199566665560971526Sat, 25 Sep 2010 20:19:00 +00002010-09-25T16:41:18.058-04:00We are now well into our first month of the school year. Patrick is continuing French Immersion for his grade 2 year. William, Michael, and Jocelyn have started at a local Montessori school. So far, so good. Patrick continues to struggle with the fact that school-based learning has too many worksheets and not enough interactive experiences for his taste. But, he is being a good sport about it. http://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2010/09/starting-school.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-237617590547260730Sat, 11 Sep 2010 23:49:00 +00002010-09-13T12:02:07.872-04:00interplayvacationThis summer, I didn't make time to write about individual events as they happened. So, rather than overwhelm you with details, I will give you the summary, InterPlay style. In this InterPlay storytelling form, players take turns completing the phrase "I could tell you about...." Like this:I could tell you about hiking in gorges and walking under waterfalls.I could tell you about face painting, http://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-i-did-on-my-summer-vacation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-7323408975050375089Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:27:00 +00002010-06-24T20:20:41.695-04:00Teaching Patrick to ride a bicycle hasn't been easy. It is not a skill that has come naturally and Andy and I have been short of opportunities to teach him or even inspire him to practice. For at least three years, we have been failing to help him master a tricycle or a bicycle (with or without training wheels). At some point, we decided pedaling, balancing, and steering was too much for him to http://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2010/06/on-bicycles.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-994653767587928359Sat, 08 May 2010 11:21:00 +00002010-05-09T07:51:27.669-04:00There are moments that make the hard work of motherhood worthwhile. Sometimes they are subtle and hard to describe. Not this week. For the first time, prompted only by an opportunity at school, Patrick arranged a Mother's Day gift for me without any help from his father.We began giving Patrick an allowance this year to teach him about money and money management. So far, most of the lessons have http://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2010/05/pansies-from-patrick-mothers-day-story.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-6153545687428575911Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:00:00 +00002010-05-09T06:53:31.240-04:00William, Michael and Jocelyn had their third birthday this week. They have easily grasped the fact that now they are 3 instead of 2. They have absorbed the key elements of the North American birthday ritual. Cake and candles and the birthday song were all expected. Cards and presents seemed like an extra bonus. By next year, I expect they will be asking for specific presents. Actual http://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2010/04/birthday-reflections.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-9079897596642009766Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:58:00 +00002010-03-29T12:35:39.796-04:00I don't have a lot of conversations with other parents at school pick-up and drop off these days. I am generally too busy trying to keep track of three two-year olds playing in an area that is not separated from the parking lot. But, I overhear the other parents talking. Today, the conversation was about plans for next year and which of the kids would be at the school in the fall. It is a http://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2010/03/after-overhearing-other-parentss.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-4281941300972770419Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:36:00 +00002010-03-23T19:54:32.141-04:00The intensity of toddlerhood is magnified with multiples. If things are working, they are wonderful. But the meltdowns are spectacular.William, Michael and Jocelyn have been developing the ability to play independently, together and with Patrick, in ways that require me to engage infrequently. This is a wonderful development. Of course, fights and disagreements arise and I have to help them http://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2010/03/moments-of-method-moments-of-madness.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-9219390892394051763Sun, 21 Mar 2010 13:35:00 +00002010-03-21T09:36:44.955-04:00It has been months since I found time to articulate my thoughts enough to post an update. I apologize to those of you who want updates and don't get them any other way.December was busy getting ready for the holidays, which pounced on me with less warning than usual, or at least it seemed that way. I was in rehearsal for a play that would be in performance in late January. Dangerous Obsession is http://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2010/03/why-break-in-blog-posts.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-1716499677507767966Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:43:00 +00002009-11-16T10:02:49.519-05:00I have budding "musicians" in the house. Just the other day, we had our first real jam session. Jocelyn was over-blowing a recorder. Michael was strumming a badly tuned guitar. William had made a drum kit out of some kitchen utensils and metal garbage cans.It took some time for a band style to develop because these musicians all have very different inspirations. Jocelyn was imitating her http://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2009/11/band-practice.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-1641554360709319684Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:23:00 +00002009-11-16T09:39:29.620-05:00This week of "The Joy Diet", Martha Beck instructs us to laugh at least 30 times a day.I must confess that I haven't been counting my laughs. Although, I do think counting my laughs with a manual counter might increase my laughs. Instead, I have been focusing on finding the laughs that I have been missing.As I mentioned last week, motherhood has brought my serious persona to the fore. And, http://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2009/11/joy-diet-laughter.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-1880936608669865769Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:28:00 +00002009-11-07T16:25:12.043-05:00Oh boy, this has been a rough week.Play shouldn't be so tough for me. I am an InterPlay leader. I spent years dressing up in costume to attend Rennaisance Faires. I spent my college years playing Vampire Tag. I have a lot of experience with play beyond my childhood years. I have even taught a seminary class that included finger painting. But, the truth is that play challenges me to my corehttp://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2009/11/joy-diet-play.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-8137712379686055281Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:00:00 +00002009-11-01T06:47:06.944-05:00This week's ingredient is to add at least 3 treats a day: one after your risk for the day and two just because. Martha Beck's definition of a treat is something that makes you feel like smiling. For me, this idea, lead me back to my InterPlay training.In InterPlay, there is a concept called the Physicality of Grace. In English, there is not a good, common word for what we feel when we feel http://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2009/11/joy-diet-treats.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-585508586382864827Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:29:00 +00002009-10-26T21:42:51.885-04:00This week's daily task was to take a step towards our true desires that felt risky. This is the chapter I have been waiting for. I am chronically risk-averse and need nudging and support to keep taking the steps that feel risky to me. Martha Beck instructs us to take the smallest step that feels risky that moves us towards our desires. The hope is that these baby steps will stretch our http://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2009/10/joy-diet-risk.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-4275529429480930257Fri, 16 Oct 2009 01:41:00 +00002009-10-15T22:04:57.258-04:00The task this week: Every day, conceptualize and write down at least one new, concrete idea that will help you obtain something your heart desires.This was my hardest week so far, simply because I wasn't committed to making the time for my "Nothing" practice and missed several days of that practice. Because I know that I can be deluded by surface desires if I don't get the meditative time in, Ihttp://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2009/10/joy-diet-creativity.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-2720567626165983163Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:47:00 +00002009-10-09T07:06:48.217-04:00Menu Item 3 on the Joy Diet is Desire. And, by "desire", Martha Beck means what your heart really wants. Her theory is that if you honour your deepest desires, you will be on the path to an authentic, joyful life. In this chapter, she has some techniques for distinguishing the things you think you want from the things you truly desire. Part of the trick is asking yourself what you want http://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2009/10/joy-diet-desire.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-3392483992157597886Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:21:00 +00002009-10-09T06:47:34.748-04:003 years after moving north from the United States, I still haven't got the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday into my system.When I was 17, I travelled in Europe with a friend of mine. While we were staying in England, she commented that she had expected to experience culture shock in France and Italy, but hadn't expected England to be so different. I feel similarly about Thanksgiving in Canada. Ithttp://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2009/10/thankgiving.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-3689339239667105423Sun, 04 Oct 2009 11:58:00 +00002009-10-04T23:05:33.570-04:00We live in hockey country.Three of the kids on our block play very serious competitive hockey. Spring and fall find games of hockey in the street. Although the main players are the kids who live on the street, there are often fathers who join in.Andy and I are not particularly sports-minded. Our hobbies are creative and artistic. Our physical exercise tends to be solitary activities (biking, http://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2009/09/street-hockey-beginnings.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-8739932022797257450Sun, 04 Oct 2009 11:14:00 +00002009-10-04T08:34:25.811-04:00Menu Item #2 in the Joy Diet is Truth. The assignment is to tell ourselves the truth about our experience at least once a day - in the context of having found the place of stillness through the practice of Nothing. That sounds fancy, but it is simple. And, like so many simple things, it can be very hard.When Beck talks about Truth, she is not talking about philosophical Truth. She is talkinghttp://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2009/10/joy-diet-truth.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-3302158043679104321Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:36:00 +00002009-09-25T14:18:27.461-04:00The 10 ingredients in the The Joy Diet are intended to be added slowly and retained - this is a habit building exercise. Week one's new ingredient is Nothing. The instructions are to "do nothing for 15 minutes each day."Wow. Nothing is hard for me to do. Simply making the 15 minutes to be unavailable is a challenge. It has to be a time when I do not need to be on call for the children - http://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2009/09/joy-diet-nothing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-7938811440043152862Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:23:00 +00002009-09-24T13:18:25.363-04:00I've been reading Gretchen Wegner's blog and she is participating in a bloggers book group hosted by Jamie Ridler. I'm intrigued, so I'm joining in - albeit a little late. The current book is "The Joy Diet" by Martha Beck. The plan is that we read the book a chapter at a time, and spend a week with the ingredient of joy in the chapter and then blog about it on Fridays.I've been pretty http://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2009/09/joy-diet-beginning.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287529143353837234.post-6535411911457759468Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:56:00 +00002009-09-22T14:49:48.636-04:00I never used to take birthdays particularly seriously - it just wasn't part of my family's traditions. In my family, the tradition was that a kid's birthday was an excuse for a big present and a meal out, all deliverable around the date of the birthday. There were a few parties, but only a few. I don't remember celebrating my parents' birthdays at all. But now, things have changed.For one http://hergracereports.blogspot.com/2009/08/birthdays.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Her Grace)0