For The Love of Tinkering



Not a third world country just a 100 year old basement

 These kids come from a long line of tinkers.  Their great grandfather enjoyed tinkering with stained glass and terrariums.  Their grandfather enjoys tinkering with wood and electronics.  Their dad enjoys tinkering with paper and pencil. They enjoy tinkering with everything! 

They recently received a huge cache of figurines from their great grandpa's collection. They are thrilled!  They set right to work tinkering up an environment for the little guys. The paper, scissors and tape are flying in the basement.  I love it. I love seeing them engaged. I love watching them move and manipulate the pieces. The ideas are flowing and so is the teamwork.  Have you ever noticed that? If my kids are actually engaged in a project there is so much less fighting.  Don't get me wrong, the Tindle kids argue plenty but when they are really interested in something the squabbles dissipate. I love it! 



Logan floating his homemade canoe
He's pretty excited!



So what is tinkering and who is a tinker?  Well it can really be anything but it generally has to do with making something, especially a surprising something.  It can be big or little, take months or seconds.  Tinkering is what the tinker makes it.  Here are some photos of things we've tinkered in the past year. 

Carter displaying his bat box.
This kid has mad building skills.

They've worked with paper, wood, cloth, yarn, paint, glue, tape, string, branches, water, plastics, bricks, rocks, leaves, acorn caps, lots of recyclables. Most everything we've tinkered has come to us second hand or been purchased for very little money.  Many of these things were just something that the kids thought up and decided to do.  Some were more directed but most were kid led. Really that's the best kind of fun, right? 

Layne with a syrup arch shortly after
 visiting the St Louis Science center.

                                         

 We take as many opportunities as we can find to let them just go for it. There are tinkering spots everywhere.  We love the many child based museums, art and science centers that we have visited and we've had some amazing tinkering experiences there but most of the time we tinker at home or in our community. 

We built this sculpture on the beach
at one of our favorite campsites.

Tinkering is great.  It isn't a craft or a science experiment.  It isn't really art or math. It's definitely not report writing or spelling. Yet, somehow it is all of those things.  My kids would never be able to build a pulley system for their tree house without a little understanding of how simple machines work. When tinkering a recipe, units of measurement become critically important.  They use color, line, contrast, tints and shades to tinker cards for their family and friends.  Every academic discipline can be explored more fully through tinkering.  What a lovely thing.



Everyone tinkering with their new
color wonder cars. 



If you would like more information on tinkering check out this info by Gever Tulley the founder of Tinkering School.  You can also check out the blog Get Your Mess On to meet a mom who has taken the concept of tinkering and run with it.  Take a look at Berkeley's Adventure Playground for the ultimate example of child led tinkering and how far it can really go.  Don't you think every city should have one of these?



The sower and the soil

Am I a consumer or a producer?  Big question.  So far I would have to say consumer. I consume products, stories, ideas, inspiration, scripture, experiences... What do I produce? Do I produce fruit? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control; these are the fruits of the spirit. Do I produce these? If so, how much? Jesus said that the seeds that fell on the rich and fertile soil were held with a pure heart and that the holder produced fruit with perseverance even to a hundred fold.  A HUNDRED FOLD. I can't imagine taking a seed of God's love and being able to produce a hundred times more.  Whether I can imagine it or not isn't the issue.  The issue is whether I believe what God says. 
I used to think that my heart was the dry rocky soil that Jesus spoke about.  The heart that would have the seed fall upon it, accept it with joy and then have it whither away because it lacked a good root system.  In fact I think I was that person.  Hear that, WAS.  Jesus has done an amazing work in me.  He has tilled that soil, conditioned it, watered it and cared for it.  He is capable, not me. 

Now I am working on holding fast.  Holding fast to God is so easy though.  Willingness is really all it takes. It reminds me of my little daughter.  She is four and still has to hold hands while we cross the road.  Sometimes she is stubborn and does not want to take my hand.  So... we don't move.  As soon as she pulls her little hand out of her pocket and makes the slightest movement upward I reach down take her hand securely in mine and we proceed.  That's how it has been with God. Just a movement from me has allowed him to hold me securely; to whisper his words of guidance, love, correction and direction. Just the tiniest concession in my heart has allowed him to dig away at it until the soil is rich and fertile ground...

God is amazing.  He has given me provision. He has given me love. He has shown me joy.  He has been gentle with me. He has been kind when I have not deserved it.  He has been patient through all of my ups and downs.  He has persevered in our relationship.  He has been there with me through all of my failings.  These are the seeds that he has given me.  These are the things that he has planted.  Willingness on my part will allow a crop of a hundred fold to rise up... God is the farmer.  It is his skill, his determination, his sweat, his sacrifice, his love that will bring about a crop.

I am beginning to see the faint yellow green of spring.  Sprouts are topping the soil, it is an exciting and sometimes painful time.  I am thankful though, life is poring through and there is nothing in the world like it. 

LT

My side of the Mountain

My Side of the Mountain is a wonderful story about a young boy named Sam Gribley.  Sam lives in New York with his large family in a small apartment in the city.  One day, he decides that he has had enough of the city and he tells his dad that he is going to the mountains to make it on his own.  His dad gives him a chuckle and says that every boy should try it at least once, then relates the story of his own adventure running away to sea and how he was back on dry land before the ships bell could ring.  Sam surprises his dad though and catches a ride up to the Catskill mountains to an old homestead that belonged to a previous generation of the Gribley clan.  Pretty soon, Sam has made a home for himself and his adventures just keep getting better. 

The book by Jean Craighead George was a fantastic read for our family.  My kids adore survival shows such as, Survivorman and Man vs. Wild.  Sam Gribley's year in the mountains fell right into that vein.  They loved the adventure.  They were intrigued by Sam's independence. They were awed by his skillfulness. The lure of the Catskills was strong. 

The book was also a fantastic springboard for a wonderful word study.  We were able to look up tons of birds, plants, animals, trees and geographical terms that might not have come up otherwise.  The kids were excited to learn the difference between a Nuthatch and a Junco or an Aspen and a Hemlock.  It was so easy too.  We read a chapter, made a list of the words we didn't know and then googled each word and added them to a slide show.  In this way, the kids were able to understand the text much more fully and were even able to take some of that knowledge into the world with them. For instance, we were playing in the park and my eight year old ran down the hillside and under a bridge so that he could play in the "ravine" just like Sam.  Here are some of the slides we made.

We did several more but Blogger is being a pain and won't let me format them the way that I want to. So these will have to give you an idea. If you would like the rest for your own study, email me and I will send them to you.  All in all, it was a fantastic reading experience.  A lot of time spent cuddling together and a lot of new concepts introduced. 

Do it yourself Clowning

So for this months' book club we have been working on Clowning.  "Clowning?" you say, "it is January, why clowning?"  Well, it is January, that's why.  Every year when January rolls around I am pretty tired of grey trees and grey skies.  In December it is okay but once the  Christmas season is over, I am pretty well done with old man winter.  So when contemplating this months' book club I decided to go with something cheery, bright, colorful; hence, clowns. 

Week one we read Roarr Calder's Circus.  I love this book, it is an absolute riot.  Maira Kalman takes Alexandar Calder's wire and twine sculptures and tells a circus tale that had my kids rolling.  What  a fantastic book.  The art was wonderful and engaging and while I didn't have time this go around I thought it would be a wonderful spring board for an art project of 3d sculpturing using found material.  Also you can add in this video, Alexandar Calder uses his figurines to perform a circus! So fun. 

After we read Calder's we got to work on some Tempra Clowns (idea came from deepspacesparkle.blogspot.com).  They were so much fun.  I gave them each a 12x18 sheet of white construction paper and set out muffin tins with the basic six plus black and some brushes.  The kids used pencil to sketch out their clowns with me reminding them to draw large and giving them a lesson in facial proportions.  Then they filled in their clowns with the tempra and once it was dry to the touch went back and did the outlines with a fine brush and some black paint.  The clowns came out so unique and very clowny looking.  The paintings will be used to decorate a wall in the library later in the month.  Here are a few of my young artists' paintings

Okay, so that was week one of DIY Clowning.  I'll share everything else we've done in upcoming posts.  So check back here for a four sessions of hands on clowning activities.

Talk to you soon, LT

Radical~ The Experiment

Boy boy, so the book by David Platt will knock you right between the eyes. 
Well, maybe not you, but it sure did me. I've been a christian for a while; a church going, praise song singing, devotion reading christain. Radical will change that. 

First of all what is the purpose of Church going, praise song singing, and devotion reading?  Is the purpose to glorify God, to become a better person, to have support in this wonderful thing called life?  I thought so.

According to Radical, not really.  All that stuff is great and all; but what really glorifies God is when his church (the people who follow him; not the building) sacrifice themselves (lives, comfort, interests, etc.) to take his gospel to the nations.  When they care for the orphans, the widows, the poor, the lost, the helpless and hopeless then the business of God is being done. 

In my life how many hours have been given to God for his business?  How many times have I thrown change at the Salvation Army and walked into a store to purchase luxuries for myself?  How often have I bought clothes for myself or my children and patted myself on the back for passing on what we couldn't or wouldn't use anymore. 

As I look at my past, I am dissappointed by  my negligence to those in need.  I am dissappointed that even when I gave, I gave second rate not first string. I can make it to the library, the grocery store, the homeschool group but not the food pantry; for that I don't have time. I am ashamed of leaving my Bible, neglected on the nightstand day after day after day.  Some in this world are killed for the Word of God. I have all the freedom in the world to read it, digest it, memorize it and pass it around and I do nothing with it. I've regarded it as a chore that should be done but like the laundry it is often left to the last minute and shoved off til tomorrow. I pray when I need something, or when I want to praise God for some little blessing or when someone asks me to, short and sweet lest I start to act like the pharisees with 'empty words' right?  How about, I just don't like taking the time.  I've done all this with the idea that God loves Me, Jesus died for Me, I've lived a pretty 'good' life and Accepted Believed and Confessed, I am going to HEAVEN.  That is where all of us Christians want to be right?

God is more. Jesus is Lord.  The Spirit has power.  Heaven won't matter if no one else is there with me.

So what do I do about it.  Let it happen!!!  Stop staying comfortable.  Stop being apathetic.  Stop being flat out lazy. 

God nudges and whispers and slaps me over the head.  I fight and shout and kick and scream or worst yet, I turn just to where he is not in my line of vision cross my arms and pretend he's not there and I can't hear him.

I'm done. So here is to repentence. Here is to more than willingness but movement. Here is where the direction of my days changes from me centered to him centered. 

Now this post is getting pretty long and is looking more smattery than I like but it's where I'm at right now.  I'm going to hit the publish button before I chicken out.  LT

Catch Up Day

Every Monday around here is deemed catch up day.  It is the day when we return from our weekend bliss and get back to the business of everyday life.  There are loads of laundry to be done, stacks of dishes to be cleaned, floors to be swept and lessons to be resumed.  It is a very busy day in our home, but also a good one. 

All weekend long we can run around or not.  Play games, watch movies, do some crafting, take a walk... or not.  We can visit relatives or friends, go shopping, cuddle on the couch... or not.  All weekend long we have the time and the freedom to be loose with our schedule.  Head to the city for a spontaneous trip to the zoo or call a pajama day, build a fort in the living room and watch It's a Wonderful Life.  We can call it Saturday night pizza night or Sunday night Donuts at Poppy and Me Maw's night or we're not going to cook, its peanut butter night.  The weekend is a beautiful wonderful time in our home.  Yet it is only made possible because of Monday- Catch up day.  A kind of holiday in reverse. 

Laundry, dishes, toilets, beds, homework....
Yes, I know that running some dishes or laundry through on Saturday or Sunday would lessen the burden on Monday.  Yes, I know that it is going to be a ton of work to get everyone caught back up.  The loads will be huge considering the six active people in this house; several of whom still change their clothes at least twice daily.  The dishes will be yucky and will take at least an hour to get all clean (oh, how I dream of a dishwasher or a teenager).  But, surprisingly Monday morning I wake up ready to go.  I grab a basket of laundry left from Friday and start folding, quickly creating neat stacks ready to take to the kids' drawers.  The kids get going on their chores.  My hubby works on putting some breakfast on the table.  We'll work all day on chores and lessons; but the whole time we have the thoughts of all those fun things we did (or didn't do) over the weekend.  It is extra work today but by eight o clock, we'll be able to look at a house that is ready for another week of living and know that all the extra work was worth it.

Makeovers = Fun?

So, we have a little girl.  Did I ever think that I would have a little girl? Nope.  I am a tom boy who prefers blue and green to pink and purple, pants to skirts, trees to dolls.  As I carried my second child I just knew that the doctor would confirm my 'hunch' and tell my husband and I that there was another baby boy headed our way.  Not so.  That moment was amazing, surreal and scary all at the same time.  "It is a girl." Four little words. I didn't know what to do with a girl.  I was excited but terrified.  Then all I could think was, well she'll probably be like me and it will be fine. 

Nope.  God blessed us with the most beautiful, adorable girly little girl I have ever known.  She loves pink.  She loves princesses.  She loves babies.  She loves dresses.  I love her.  I have stretched more in the past four years than ever in my life.  I have painted nails and rocked babies and bought pink and allowed dresses (even if they are totally impractical). We have worked out a wonderful girly relationship.  She is so much fun.  She hikes through the woods and picks up frogs and then directly deposits them into her pink princess purse, that she just had to bring along.  She is notorious for wearing cute little pink or white dresses and destroying them in short order by rolling in the grass or digging in the mud.

Today we spent the morning with our home school group doing girly stuff. We painted nails, applied makeup, did hair; honestly, we had a blast.  The organizational/crafty side of me came up with some beauty recipes that the girls enjoyed. It was so neat watching Layne, she was absolutely in her element.  So for those girly moms and those moms like me who profess to be tom boys; here are a few of the activities we did.  They would make great party activities for a princess party or sleep over or just a little extra something for a playdate.

Sugar Scrubs.

Put 1 tbsp sugar into a cup, add a few drops of water to the sugar and mix until the mixture is a thick grainy paste.  Place the mixture in your palm and massage it into the

front and back of your hands. 

Rinse with warm water and enjoy the softness. 

Glitter body lotion.

Put 1 tbsp Cetaphil (or other emolient cream) into a cup, add a 1/4 tsp fine glitter and three spritz of your favorite scent to the cup.  Mix throughly and apply to skin. 

Bath Salts

Put 1/4 cup epson salts into a ziploc baggie, add 4 drops of food coloring.  Seal the baggie and shake the salts until the color is distributed throughout.  Add them to the tub at bath time and they will change the color of your water while softening your skin.

We also had a nail station, a makeup station and a hair station.  The girls enjoyed making some custom jewelry with beads and string that we had set out. Another mom brought in some dress up clothes and all the little girls went to town.

My comfort zone does not include makeovers; yet, I am truly having a great time experiencing this girlhood with my little one.  Thank you Lord for blessing me with a daughter.  Thank you Lord for the changes it has brought about in me.  Thank you Lord for knowing, much more than I, what it is that I need. Now I can say that makeovers do equal fun.