Exciting Things Happening!

I know it's been awhile since I've posted.  I'm sorry if I've left you wondering what's going on.  So I'm here to share a little of what's going on!

First, I've been having fun over on my blog's facebook page (www.facebook.com/hswotrainingwheels) producing daily under-five-minute thoughs for mamas.  If you click on over there, "like" the page and then turn on notifications, you should see them pop up in your news feed (most) every day Monday through Friday.  As I say in the videos, I try to do them every morning, where "morning" is defined loosely as "before lunch".

The other bit of news, the news that has me almost giddy with excitement, is that we are about to move!  No, not houses.  Blog locations!!  Coming soon (very, very soon!) you can find me over at www.hswotrainingwheels.com!!  If you click on that link now you'll just get an ugly screen that says the blog is "coming soon" so here's a sneak peek at part of the new design and color scheme:

Don't worry - all of the content from this blog has been imported over there.  Some of the posts are "live" now and some I'll roll out a little at a time going forward.  Everything is in place; I just need a little more time to work on the "window dressing" and we'll be open for business!  If you are reading this post in e-mail, your address has already been uploaded for inclusion in the new blog's e-mail list.  (The first time you visit the new blog you will probably be prompted to give your e-mail address.  Go ahead and put it in.  You won't receive duplicate e-mails, but the blog will stop bothering you about it.)

I'm planning some fun "grand opening" events.  I'll keep you posted as I get closer to "go time"!  Would you please pray that I will make wise choices about managing this new space?  The moment one purchases a domain name, one is inundated with plugs from all kinds of services to "grow your subscriber list!" and "increase traffic!".  I'll be honest; I do want people to see the blog.  I do want the work that I put into writing and designing posts to be of benefit to people.  I do need to put some effort (and perhaps some money) into letting folks know that there is something available.

But I also know that numbers are not the clearest measure of whether or not the blog is a blessing to others.  And I'm not really interested in numbers showing up at my blog.  I want people (mostly moms or parents) who can be encouraged or inspired to think about things from a different angle.  It's not a popularity contest.  But it is a marketplace of ideas in which one needs to put out a shingle in order for folks to know that there might be interesting stuff happening inside.

Big adventures ahead.  And big challenges, too, I'm sure.  The support of those who have followed me here is more precious than I can say!

Enchanted Learning

There is value in "learning to love what must be done".  But there is also value in embracing the natural passions that flow out of a child and his or her particular gifts.  One of my takeaways from last weekend's session "with" Julie Bogart of Brave Writer was this:

"One of our goals in partnering with our children in their education is getting the feelings they have about the things they are passionate about into the things we want them to care about."

I've been thinking a lot about this since I returned from my trip.  My son, Luke, definitely has a knack for sketching.  He loves to draw and any time he's not required to be doing something else, you can often find him drawing.  He is also a huge fan of Mega Man video games, especially the classic, old-school Mega Man.

Recently, my brother told him about a website gallery (http://www.themmnetwork.com/gallery/) full of Mega Man images.  Every boss, every hero, every character is represented.  Luke still spends a lot of his free time drawing, but now his preferred method is to observe one of the images on the computer screen and try his best to copy it on paper.

Luke busy drawing.

Mega Man soundtrack playing in the background.

Several years ago, we gave Luke Mark Kistler's "Imagination Station" - a book all about how to "draw 3D".  In that book, Kistler says this:

"Some folks have told me that copying artwork is wrong or bad.  I don't agree at all.  I believe copying artwork is great, fantastic and wonderful! The best way to learn how to draw in 3D is by copying other 3D art! When you are coping, you are learning techniques that will help you create your own 3D drawings.  The more you copy, the more you will learn.  The more you learn, the more you will draw.  The more you draw, the less you will have to copy.  Got it?"

So this week, when my son asked to use my computer again to copy more Mega Man drawings, I squelched my "hmmm ... is that a video game obsession?" and instead thought "His passion for Mega Man is driving him to self-train as an artist."  And do you know what happened?  Just this week (maybe because God knew I needed a little reassurance that we were moving in the right direction) Luke came and said to me "You know what?  I'm not just copying what I see anymore.  Now I'm kind of looking at the picture to get an idea and then I'm making my own drawing."  Apparently, Mark Kistler's prophecy is coming true!

But I think that the best win of all was when he laid out all of his art work on the floor and I asked if I could take a picture of it to share on the blog.  He was astonished that I was so enthusiastic to document and appreciate his art work.  I couldn't decide whether I was thrilled that he was so encouraged ... or whether I was chagrined that my enthusiasm was so astonishing to him!

Another sweet blessing has been his siblings' fascination with his work.  Once he has completed a drawing in black-line, he photocopies it and they have hours of coloring fun!