Time to land the helicopter!

We're back! We've traveled three times during the month of May...also known as "Maycation" in our home. Two wonderful family visits and one fabulous vacation to Vermont. We had a blast and we're so thankful that we were able to take school with us!

Today, we start to finish our year-end assignments, projects, etc. For the next couple of weeks, we're wrapping things up. I was concerned that our son was going to give me a hard time and push back with "Summeritis". You know, that lovely syndrome when kids "check out for the last month" until the end of the school year. It happens to our son (and millions of other kids) every year, usually around the end of May. Anyway, our son needs to finish his final copy of a story (language arts project) that he has been working on for a few weeks. I'm also trying to foster some independence in his schoolwork. Leaving the room for a while, letting him figure things out and asking me for help only when he absolutely needs it. So, I'm landing my "chopper" as a Helicopter Mom! Today, I asked him to sit at his laptop, with his written notes, and type his final copy of his report. Then I left the room for a while....

Would you believe that was more than an hour ago and he is actually enjoying it?!?!  His typing skills are pretty decent now, thanks to an online typing course. The best thing about his finishing this  story? His creative juices are flowing! Just from the little bit that he has shared with me, his story has action, suspense and it's so funny. I can't wait to read it, because he has become quite the writer! We always knew he loved sharing stories. He has the gift of gab and telling stories. Never in a million years would I have thought that he would love to write stories, too!

This is something that I can nurture as a homeschool mom. His new found-love of writing...OK, typing stories! Giving him the confidence to try new things and do them on his own and develop his own style of writing. So, my helicopter is landing...and the laptop is going into overtime!

The Journey of a Seaheart

This is a drift seed (also known as a sea bean). We found it last week during our family vacation to Boynton Beach, Florida- where we visited my husband's parents. In addition to seeing family, we were blessed enough to spend some AWESOME time at Boynton Beach. My husband and son found this beautiful Seaheart Sea Bean during a walk along the shore. It probably has an amazing story, of course, we turned it into a hands-on, learning experience for our family (Much to our son's dismay, our new motto is "Learning never stops!").

We believe this sea bean is an Entada gigas or a Seaheart Sea Bean. and originates from the Amazon Jungle. The Entada giga vines will curl around trees that extend over the Amazon River. The sea beans, that are inside the pod (on the vine), will fall into the river. The seeds will separate from their pods, and eventually, will make their way the ocean.  The currents of the ocean will take these mahogany-colored beans on long journeys to far-away lands.  The waves of the ocean will also polish the thick, dark skin of the Seaheart. A Seaheart can remain in the ocean for many months, even years until it finds it way to shore.

When I was 10-15 years old, I spent my summers in South Florida.  I often visited the beach and I remember finding these sea beans along the shore.  I loved hearing stories of how sailors thought Seahearts were good luck, because of their thick skin and their ability to withstand long journeys in the ocean. I even remember a story that Christopher Columbus was inspired by a Seaheart to sail west in search of new lands! I shared all of these stories and legends of the Seaheart with my husband and son, who were eager to hear about our new treasure from the beach. Of course....the first thing I thought of, as a new homeschool mom, when they found our Seaheart? What a fantastic Unit Study this will be when we get home!

In many ways, our journey in life is like the journey of a Seaheart. We start out in one land, surrounded by the things we know and encompassed by a protective "pod". Then, we are trusted by God, to take a journey in unknown waters to faraway lands. Just like the Seaheart, we can buoyant and resilient, during our travels through the rough waters of life and we can do this through faith and strength. To someone else walking along the beach, this may look like something ordinary that washed up on the shore.  However, I think its a reminder from God...that this ordinary seed was transformed, by the ocean, to turn into something pretty special. If we continue to trust in Him, the journey will be just as amazing as the destination.....and we will become polished by Him, just like the Seaheart.