Don't Count Your Chicks

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch." 

When you hear this idiom, the first translation might be that "one shouldn't think they have MORE of something than they might actually end up with."  However, today I found myself underestimating my eggs before the even started to crack.

This morning we ended up going to Jungle Java, a fun coffee shop/cafe and kids playscape, with a friend whose children had a day off of school!  This was a rare opportunity for Asher and Cady to play with two of their best friends during the school day, so I jumped on it... especially since our original plans to visit an historical park with another fun family were up in the air at that point.  (Thankfully rescheduled for later this week.  Yay!)


Anyway, all the kids had so much fun that we ended up staying at the Jungle until well past lunch.  I think we got home after 1:30pm, at which point I let the kids run around outside for a bit in one of the last days of beautiful Autumn sunlight we might see for some time.  Ah, as it is with Michigan seasons.


When the kids came in, instead of doing math or English or silent reading which I had not prepared due to the prospective field trip, we watched the first half of a National Geographic film called "The Human Machine."  It was truly an awesome movie, and it had Asher's complete attention.  I'm not sure if that was because of his utter exhaustion after navigating slides and tunnels and swinging punching bags for three and a half hours, or if it was entirely because of the fascinating content and tasteful delivery of the information.  Anway, it seemed to do the trick.


After this film experience, I asked Cady to silent read at least one book and Asher to rehearse his lines for "The White Spider."  That was meltdown time.  He read through the lines one time and thought he was done.  When i asked him to recite one section back from memory (he has a ton of lines) he couldn't do it.  I offered to use my iPhone's voice recorder to recite the lines so he could play them back to himself over and over.  No way.  I "knew nothing."  That "wasn't going to work." 


The lines were too hard and he couldn't do it, according to my son who always underestimates himself.


At this point I had to let him walk away. His temper was flaring and I didn't want to have any regrets. I sort of threw up my hands and said to myself, "We haven't done ANYTHING today!"  I admit, I sulked a little.  I stewed a little. 


Then I pulled myself together and recorded his lines into my device.  I played them back.  I sounded goo-ood!  Then I just left the voice recorder app open and my phone on the kitchen table.  We went about our evening.


When Dad got home I darted off to The Teacher Store, which is like the Wonka Wonder Land of teaching tools and supplies.  I enjoyed a nice hour there drooling over new things and making a few purchases.  I also ran into my kids' guidance counselor from their elementary and we talked for a long time.  She is so awesome.  (But more on that in another post.  It has nothing to do with my chickens.)


I brought home a great game called "SomeBody."  After dinner we played the easy version, which was using the body organ cards to play a hilarious game of "go-fish."  Who would have known that the pancreas would entice peals of shrill laughter from adults and children alike.  We especially loved when Asher asked his dad, "Do you have a brain?"  And dad's response was, "No, go fish."  I'm laughing again just thinking about it.


Anyway, after that we played the more difficult game where you have to draw cards and stick the apropriate organs in their places on your personal human body board.  The first one to complete his or her "guy" won!


So, one egg hatched that I hadn't anticipated... Science!  Human Anatomy.  To further the subject, we finished our night completing the Human Machine documentary, which ended with a clinical study proving  Buddhist meditation's ability to actually rewire the human brain.


Wait, wait, it gets better!  After the film ended, Asher began chanting an Indian chant that we learned at our churches Friday night service last week.  He remembered the entire thing plus another.  So Asher taught the rest of the family the Loca chant and the Ganesha chant.  We ended up chanting in our meditation room before bed.  Well, at least Asher and I did.  Cady was too busy being her usual nutty self.


When the two of them were in the bathroom brushing their teeth, she was making weird faces and loud obnoxious noises.  Asher put his hands together, looping his thumbs and flexing his fingers.  He said to his sister, "See this?  This is the crazy bird flyin' out the window."


So I love this connection that Asher made between the human anatomy we were studying and the meditation he learned at church.  After doing the chanting he said he felt much calmer and he asked if I would do it with him every morning and every night!  Pshhht, yeah.  Of course I will.


Wait, there's even more eggs that I thought were duds that actually hatched!  When he was lying in bed to fall asleep, he played the audio recording of his lines twice!  I'm sure he'll have them memorized in days if he keeps it up!  Yay!


So at three o'clock I thought I had maybe one egg.  Maybe just a small one.  But by bed time, I had many.  Count them with me will you?  A full first lesson in Human Anatomy, memorization in preparation for a "presentation," chanting (World Religions/ anatomy-nervous system), lots of physical education, silent reading (Cady), and the invaluable lesson of connecting subjects together to embody a holistic education.


Now, at... oh, yikes... a little after midnight, I realize our basket really was full enough today.  It doesn't have to happen on someone else's timeline.  As long as you're giving yourselves credit for what you do, by the end of the day you'll see that you've done enough.  (Thanks again, Paul, for that excellent advice.)


And enough is enough.....