This is a magical day for you.......

When Natalie and Noelle were about 5 or 6, I finally learned how to make a good loaf of bread.  After serving it for dinner, talking about it throughout the meal, and discussing my plans for rolls, cinammon rolls, and bread in our future, Noelle said, "This is a magical day for you, Mom!" 

Since then I think of that phrase everytime something really 'clicks' for someone at our house.  Today, it was Benjamin. 

Benjamin is nine years old.  He is a pretty good reader for his age.  Every morning during scripture study, he reads his assigned verses with ease.  However, getting him to read anything for fun, to himself, is like pulling teeth.  So, he spends a portion of every school day reading to me.  We usually have to wrangle to find a book we both agree to read.  He has to like the story; I have to like the story, too, and be satisfied that it is somewhat of a challenge for him.  This combination is never easy.  We have spent a great deal of time and money finding such books.

Last Friday I assigned each of the girls, Natalie, Noelle, and Amanda, a physicist to study about and write a paper on.  They chose respectively, Isaac Newton, Galileo Galilei, and Aristotle.  Benjamin wanted to be included and he wanted to research Albert Einstein.  Honestly, I was busy helping the girls and hadn't thought much about what he could do.  I figured we'd study something together.  Before I knew it, he had picked up "Who Was Albert Einstein?" by Jess Brallier and read two chapters.  Then, as if that weren't exciting enough, over the weekend he finished the book!  I must admit to being dumbfounded.  All the time I have spent finding silly little "boy books" for him to read, and he started with a biography about Einstein!  I'm certain that last week at my suggestion that wouldn't have been the book of choice, but he had his own motivation and that was the trick.  This is such a key to education.  Being immersed in the process so that these moments of inspiration and understanding can be found.  He wouldn't have been inspired to read Einstein if we hadn't been learning about science. 


This morning he made a poster showing what he had learned, and this afternoon he and I and Bethany spent some time reading and doing activities from "Albert Einstein and Relativity for Kids: His Life and Ideas With 21 Activities and Thought Experiments" by Jerome Pohlen. 

So, I wanted to let you know that I love both of these series, "Who Was" biographies and "For Kids" series.  I have over 20 biographies and they are awesome!  My ultimate top pick for biographies for kids.  I have three of the "For Kids" books and I love them, too.  I will be buying more.

But more importantly, I wanted to share Benjamin's magical day.  I told him today, since he had completed his first chapter book by himself that he didn't have to read to me everyday anymore.  (He really hates to.  He thinks it is baby-ish.)  He was so happy!  "That's all I had to do?  Read a book by myself?"  Who knew it could be so easy?  But we both know he wasn't ready for it before today. 

So, then I asked, "Benjamin, what are you going to read today?" 

He went straight to the biography shelf.  "I like these books," he said.  Then he made a pile of the ones that he wanted to try and ultimately chose "Who Was King Tut?"  by Roberta Edwards.  After two chapters we had a discussion on the Nile River (yes, geography!), mummies, and being married when you are ten years old! 

For a homeschooler, a day like today is like watching your baby take his first steps.  I would never want to miss this!

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