The Silver Maple School has been met with many challenges over the last few weeks. Attitudes and personalities have been on the front line of the battle field for many days. The casualties (Mom's frayed nerves) lay strewn across the countryside.
Today started with yet another bombing attack. Amidst all the smoke and shrapnel, an unknown ally came to the defense. His gallant name is Butter. Butter was able to help Attitude and Personality see past their differences, if for only a brief moment, and unite in a common goal. A cease fire occurred, and for one glorious moment, the Silver Maple battlefield rejoiced in Peace!
How, you ask, did this occur? A simple science experiment, of course!
Today, I decided to interrupt all other activities with a neat little experiment, making butter! It's simple enough, it just takes a lot of arm work. We used:
1 recycled peanut butter jar
1 container heavy cream
salt
muscles!
I filled the jar 3/4 way full with heavy cream, and added about a tablespoon of salt. Then, I put the lid on tightly and started shaking. The kids also took turns shaking the jar. We had to shake it for 20 minutes total.
It was a neat experiment. For the first 15 minutes, you really can't tell that anything is happening. Then the changes begin to happen. The children were excited, and they couldn't wait to try out our creation. It was during this brief moment that all the stress of the morning fell away, at least for now!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Humbling experience
Today started off rough already. Both kids have been intolerable. The sounds of bickering were filling all of the rooms in the house. And, of course, they had their mommy ear plugs in, so neither child heard my cautioning words.
This, if you can imagine, made me quite angry. I was irritated to the point that every minuscule thing aggravated me. I could tell it was going to be a l-o-n-g day.
I decided to brew a pot of decaf and nurse my "wounds" so to speak. After prepping the coffee maker, I stepped away for a few. When I returned to the kitchen, the entire floor was COVERED in coffee. The counters were soaked, the walls were splattered. In my haste, I forgot to put the coffee pot in place. Having an older coffee maker, that didn't stop anything from brewing!
OI! I wanted to get mad at someone, but it was my fault! Quickly, I felt all my rage melt away, and I just had to shake my head. My son saw the mess and lovingly stayed patient with me as I cleaned up the place. In fact, he found the mop quite fascinating. He never paid attention to me mopping before, and didn't understand how the coffee got out of the mop.
Now, I feel much better, oddly enough! I know God used my "oops" this morning to humble me a bit.
Now, let's see if I can get through the rest of the day without starting any fires.
This, if you can imagine, made me quite angry. I was irritated to the point that every minuscule thing aggravated me. I could tell it was going to be a l-o-n-g day.
I decided to brew a pot of decaf and nurse my "wounds" so to speak. After prepping the coffee maker, I stepped away for a few. When I returned to the kitchen, the entire floor was COVERED in coffee. The counters were soaked, the walls were splattered. In my haste, I forgot to put the coffee pot in place. Having an older coffee maker, that didn't stop anything from brewing!
OI! I wanted to get mad at someone, but it was my fault! Quickly, I felt all my rage melt away, and I just had to shake my head. My son saw the mess and lovingly stayed patient with me as I cleaned up the place. In fact, he found the mop quite fascinating. He never paid attention to me mopping before, and didn't understand how the coffee got out of the mop.
Now, I feel much better, oddly enough! I know God used my "oops" this morning to humble me a bit.
Now, let's see if I can get through the rest of the day without starting any fires.
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