Fierce

"And though she be but little, she is 

fierce."  

Shakespeare 

(brought to my attention by KD)

(check out the knee)

So, to give a little evidence of what I was saying last time about our determined girls...Grace recently taught herself to ride a two-wheeler.  I took her out last week for a lesson and almost right away, she asked me to let go of the bike.  I have honestly never seen a kid fall so many times while learning to ride.  She ran into the curb, skidded onto her side and the worst--fell into a pricker bush, scraping her whole upper thigh on one side.  There was a  little fussing after that but for the most part, I didn't hear a complaint out of her.  She just picked up the bike and tried again.  And now, she's riding like a pro.

Not all of the behaviors that our strong-willed ladies exhibit are positive.  Defiance, stubbornness, resistance to compromise (which leads to fighting that drives me crazy!)--all need correction.  But I'll take all of that if it comes with the kind of determination Grace showed this week.  She is tough--fierce--in a way that I wasn't as a kid.  I think she will be able to do anything she wants to do.  If only she survives.....:)

Characters

So, I'll be honest with you--the last few months have been less than stellar ones for the Doyle Homeschool.  An outside observer might wonder what the girls are actually learning.  I have enough of the "un-schooler" in me though to value the informal learning that goes on in conversation and on our every day journeys.  

Whenever I am having trouble keeping the girls moving through their schoolwork, I fall back on an old staple--I read to them.  A lot.  We have made our way through quite a few of the great works of children's literature.  As we go, I ask them comprehension questions, "word detective" questions and we do basic analyses of settings, characters and themes (my Master's degree hard at work :).  I know moms who gravitate toward math when all else fails--or spelling, or science.  For me, it's always a story with at least one girl on my lap.

What I've noticed as we've read is that all of the great female characters that we come across are...characters.  Anne Shirley, Jo March, Laura Ingalls, Helen Keller, (both biographical but still favorite "characters"), Heidi--we're reading that now.  Not one can be described as docile, submissive or "good" in the sense of being completely traditional.  They are fiery, curious, adventurous and interesting.  They are leaders.  Which makes me feel better about the house full of strong-willed ladies we are raising. 

Just today, I assigned one of them to write "I will not shriek.  It hurts Mommy's ears" ten times.  I put another down for an immediate nap for being exceptionally defiant and listened to ear-piercing wails for fifteen minutes (it was truly an award-winning performance).  I have to remind myself that this is not a contest of wills.  I do not have to win.  I just have to teach them how things work in our family and how to express their feelings and desires peacefully.  Besides, if it were a contest of wills where the goal was to "break" them in the manner of wild horses, I would surely lose.  Strong willed as I am, I am a bit weary after 15 years of parenting.  Oddly enough, after all these years, I am still navigating the terrible twos.  So--I have a lot of years to go and these days, when I see that look that stubbornly insists, "you can't make me", I sigh inside and want to say, "oh--do what you want--I'm going out for a margarita".  (And sometimes I do.)

New Rides

Grace and Sophie recently got new bikes for no reason other than the proverbial "un-birthday".  The idea was that they ride them to swim practice in the afternoon.  We do that (I push the stroller as fast as possible to keep up while issuing many reminders to stay out of the middle of the road).  They like the bikes so much though that we're doing a lot of riding around the neighborhood too.  Sophie and I have done quite a few circles around the block just the two of us--I've enjoyed our chats.  With all of the practice, we're hoping to take off some training wheels this summer!

Blue

Who is that girl?

Today was crazy hair day at SMMCS and, to our surprise, Madeleine was the only eighth grader to show up with a dye job.  I drew the line at the semi-permanent options and we went with a temporary bright blue.  I like it so much I may try it myself.

In other news...the count down is on.  Graduation is near.  She's counting the days.  I'm...well, that's a story for another day.

Sophie Sophie Sophie was a little blue herself today.  This is the second time she has colored herself all over with markers.  I put the scare in her today and told her that the marker seeps through her skin into her bloodstream and that's bad.  Very bad.  (That's true, right?)

Tonight when I picked Grace up to go upstairs, she looked at me and said, "You're cute."  I'll take that.

Ella loves big sis' Mia.  Mia has started carrying her around on her back whenever possible--a huge help to me.  Ella continues to insist that she will not get in the pool this summer.  Little does she know, under, bubbles, kick is coming...soon!  I can't wait.