Hello Hodgepodgers!
Katie at graduation from the University of Washington.
Joyce From This Side of the Pond has a fresh batch of questions for us this week.
1. What’s something you wish you’d figured out sooner?
That even though our daughter was very bright (she was reading at age 3) she didn’t need to be in the ‘gifted’ classroom setting. I should have pulled her out of school and homeschooled her sooner in her elementary years. Her early primary teachers didn’t identify her giftedness and labeled her in some negative ways. In the 3rd grade she was identified as ‘gifted’ and then put in a special program for the 4th-6th grade at a different location than her regular neighborhood school. She was bullied by the other ‘gifted’ girls and it caused un-necessary stress and trauma in her young life. We pulled her out of school in the 4th grade and I homeschooled her until 7th grade. She was ready to go back to the public school setting at that time.
Katie and one of her pet rats. I think it’s Fats but it could be Pinky.
2. Something from childhood you still enjoy today?
Toast with avocado, lightly salted.
3. Are you a fidgeter?
I can be when I think things are taking longer than they should, especially in waiting rooms.
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word fidget?
Toddlers or kindergarteners in a classroom setting.
4. Your favorite fall vegetable?
Sweet Potatoes/Yams
How do you like it prepared?
Classic candied with marshmallows on top.
5. What’s something you find mildly annoying, but not annoying enough to actually do anything about? Might you now?
Having to facilitate events with large groups of people going through buffet lines and beverage areas makes one uber aware of space and the smooth flow of lines of people, etc. There are clueless people who have no conscious idea that they are blocking the process. Groups of people will form a circle of conversation right in front of the beverage area or other areas blocking others from getting to and from those spaces. As annoying as it is I have found that it is what it is and it will always be that way so the only thing I might do is say, ‘could you move your conversation from in front of the beverage area, please’? Mostly, I need to just go with the flow and after I’ve made sure everything is out and available I hide in the kitchen so I don’t have to watch.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
D is for Dirt. So thankful that our DIL is homeschooling our grands and that they can play outside and get dirty!
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 
I had to look twice for the pet rat. Sweet potatoes are my favorite too. It is great the grands are homeschooled. Take care, enjoy your day!
…playing in the dirt has been my life’s work.
Tom, lots of beauty comes out of that dirt!
We have homeschooled too. 🙂 Always good to hear of others.
We homeschooled our 2 boys all the way…they are now adults, and they still thank me for homeschooling them. And, they still have a Love for learning! Your DIL will never regret homeschooling her children!
Linn, thanks for the encouragement. Love of learning is a gift!
I’m not sure about a pet rat – eek! 🙂 I’m not sure I would have been a good homeschool mom.
Haha…rats were never a choice of mine but our son and his best friend brought those two rats home without asking for a junior high science project. Our daughter fell in love with them and the rest was history. It was so sad when it was time to lay them to rest.
I have only become a fan of sweet potatoes fairly recently, within the past few years.
Hello, We homeschooled our boys. We thank God for that blessing. It was a wonderful time for our family. Our boys thank us for doing so as well.
I laughed at your #5! It is true! 😉
Carla, homeschooling is a sweet blessing for sure. Oye about #5, I need to keep smiling and not getting an attitude about it. 🙂
We went to a concert recently and the woman in front of us stopped right in front of the door. I think she was unaware but still….I love sweet potatoes and mostly eat them just roasted whole. I do love to sweeten them up around the holidays. Have a great day!
I do enjoy your blog, Ellen. So interesting to hear about your homeschooling time. How awful that your gifted daughter was bullied by other girls in the same program! Very wise of you to do what you did.
My daughter is homeschooling her 2 boys (Kindergarden & grade 2). It’s amazing the negative comments I hear when I tell someone she is doing that. I applaud your daughter-in-law & I will share your post with my daughter. Thank you so much for being transparent & sharing about an earlier time in your daughter’s life.
Don’t know if you follow Tim Challies blog. He recently had a post about his daughter who is in public high school. She wasn’t happy with what is going on in school so Tim & his wife have taken her out of school & she is doing a Christian homeschool program. She is much happier.
It’s so easy to think at first that your child is part of the problem. But the world today & even when your daughter went to school is so different from the world we grew up in. Kids today (not all kids) are mean & girls are mean too. My 14 year old grandaughter is struggling in her first year of high school. It’s hard to make friends & girls are mean. I
would really appreciate prayers for her, for her protection & that she would make friends.
Thank you, Ellen. Continued blessings on you & your family ♥
-Sharon
Hello Sharon, thank you for leaving an encouraging comment. I do follow Tim Challies and have for years. I was heartbroken over the sudden death of his son. I am praying right now for your dear Granddaughter and her struggles in high school. May God protect her heart and mind and may she know that she has a God who is closer than a brother or high school girlfriend!
Thank you, Ellen ♥
-Sharon
My brother had a pet rat called Zoro. I was always a little in awe of it! Homeschooling is a brave thing to do. Looks like your grandchildren are thriving on it. Sad your daughter had a difficult time in her younger years. B x
Barbara, I think Zorro is a great name for a rat!
Enjoyed reading your answers. Love the photo of your daughter. The toast and avocado sound delicious. I love sweet potatoes too. Looks like they had fun in the dirt! Cute pictures. Take care.
thank you, Debby!
I love sweet potatoes too.
Always nice to read your answers.
Yes, those gifted classes can be a blessing and a curse. My son wasn’t in a gifted class but I wish I had pulled him out of the private Christian school we’d had him in a lot earlier than I did. He’s done much better being homeschooled.
I’ve noticed that congregating in front of certain tables at church potlucks – that is actually annoying. Never thought much about it before. I just rolled my eyes and walked around them. 😂
Lisa, happy to hear your son is doing better now! Oh, I might have rolled my eyes here and there when I’m in charge of potlucks! 🙂
Hahaha! I can understand!
I too had to look twice for the rat!
I can so relate to the annoyance of people gathering in inconvenient spots during a potluck. We used to see that around the beverage area a lot as well. It’s better now, I think maybe because we have a designated person who helps everything to go more smoothly. A related thing that used to annoy me was when grown men would steal cookies off a tray (covered securely with plastic and awaiting a potluck lunch). One of them in particular was a “stickler” type of person who was very rigid about doing things in a proper way. Apparently he didn’t see snatching a cookie ahead of time as stealing. He would have been incensed had he seen a child do the same thing.
This hodgepodge is right up my alley. I applaud your daughter-in-law for homeschooling your grands! It can be such a rich way of life . . . for the whole family actually!
Eek. I hope that I have never been one of those people congregating in the wrong place. I can become very focused on conversation and people, so . . .
(But I would definitely heed your friendly reminder to relocate! 😊)