Five Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do.

I can't take credit for the title of today's post. My sister actually shared this link on Facebook the other day and I was intrigued. Gever Tully; 5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do.  Go ahead and click on that link and watch the video...it's short, only ten minutes long. (FYI - If you've never been on TED.com there are soooo many great videos you could watch for hours.)

I'll wait. 

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So, what did you think of Gever Tulley? 

(From TED.com) Gever Tulley writes the best Twitters: Just landed my paraglider in an empty field behind Santa 8arbara. ... Making amazing tshirts with a laser cutter at the maker faire in austin. ... Washing fruit, putting sheets on bunkbeds, and grinding up aluminum foil in a cheap blender ... Updating the school blog, trying to figure out how many cubic feet of air are in a 5 gallon cylinder at 200 PSI. ... Trying to figure out if the tinker kids are going to be able to get molten iron from magnetite sand ...

A software engineer, Gever Tulley is the co-founder of the Tinkering School, a weeklong camp where lucky kids get to play with their very own power tools. He's interested in helping kids learn how to build, solve problems, use new materials and hack old ones for new purposes. He's also a certified paragliding instructor.

I was pretty impressed by Mr. Tulley by his short video. Okay, if you didn't watch the video, here's the gist. Tulley says that our culture has gone went a bit crazy with the child safety regulations. Packaging warnings can get kind of absurd and our culture has gotten to the point where we have protected our children for so long that when they do come across something dangerous they will get hurt because they've not learned how to control their environment. Playing with dangerous things can help children become creative, confident and help them be in control of the world around them. 

As I was watching this video I got to thinking how these 5 dangerous things did or did not play a role in my childhood and also my boys. 

1. Play with Fire - I do admit I AM the Pyromaniac of my family. I grew up  in an old farmhouse with a wood burning stove that had to be checked multiple times during the day. Inevitably first thing in the morning the fire was usually dead. Being the oldest I became pretty darn good at building a fire. I bragged a lot during my teen and college years that I could build a fire better than most of the guys I knew (probably the reason I didn't date much either!) 

The boys and I have played with fire too. Occasionally when the weather is decent and the wind isn't blowing too hard we'll build a fire but I really haven't allowed Yip and Yap a lot of freedom around the fire pits. Not that I don't trust them, but the environment we live in now (Kansas) is so very different from home (Indiana) I don't feel confident building a fire here with the dry conditions and high winds. But I guess that's good fear I have from growing up with fire. I realize what my environment is like and I'm not going to be foolish enough to start a grass fire...they're pretty scary. 

2. Own a Pocket knife - I remember getting a pocket knife when I was a kid and then crying my eyes out when I lost it. I love to carve! Before I had kids I carved little figures and sticks off the ground, I have lots of scars on my hands where my knives have slipped...I survived. I've always wanted to try carving with a chainsaw....yep, just what I need a chainsaw bear in the front yard! (Not really, I just want to try it) Like Tully says a knife can be a powerful tool and with some guidance and rules it can be a great learning experience for kids. I hadn't really given it much thought until watching this video but Yip and Yap probably are ready for a pocket knife. When I mentioned it to my mom she promptly volunteered Grandpa and uncles to buy them their first pocket knives for Christmas morning. Wonder what kind of photos I'll have to share on Dec. 26? 

3. Throw a Spear - At first I kind of shrugged this one off. I've never thrown a spear but really this one isn't so much about throwing a spear as it is about throwing something. I grew up with a big woods that I would often go wander on my own or with my sisters as kids.  And I can remember a little ditch that occasionally had water running through, where we spent a lot of time. We'd throw rocks across the ditch and throw sticks. I don't ever remember throwing stuff in a manner of "playing war" like I see my boys do but I remember the joy of throwing stuff just to throw it and see where it would go. As Tully says, throwing builds a child's visual acuity and problem solving skills. My boys throw stuff ALL. THE. TIME. They are forever throwing ropes or sticks or green tomatoes! I think they've got this one covered. 

4. Deconstruct Appliances - I admit I've never done this. I think this is much more a boy thing. Really, I never even wanted to. I hadn't thought Yip and Yap had had this experience but then  DR reminded me that yeah, all three of them tore apart the VCR when it stopped working last year. Mostly because when they asked DR how it worked he answered, "Little men live inside and make it work." So of course they had a great time proving their dad wrong! I love when Tully says in this part of the video, "a sense of know ability, things are knowable. Might not understand all of it but they know they are capable of understanding it." As I was telling my mom about this video I told her that our OLD tv was just about to die and that I'll let the boys tear it apart when it's finally gone. Yip, who I didn't think was actually listening to me, whooped with joy at this revelation and wants to know exactly when the TV is his to examine! 

5. Drive a Car - When I was growing up I learned early to drive a truck, a stick thank you very much. Not so much because my dad thought I needed the experience but because he needed an extra driver. I was the oldest on a 40 acre farm remember. Mom had my younger brothers and sisters so as soon as my feet could work the pedals I was expected to drive the cattle feed to the barn or bring the corn seed to where Dad was in the fields. In this respect I wish my boys had a 40 acre farm to drive around on. Though when we lived in Illinois, and the boys were 4 or 5, DR would get home and the boys would meet him at the road and drive down the lane and behind the house on his lap, about 1/5 mile. Boy did they love that!! 

I really enjoyed Tully's talk and it gave me a kind of parental shove and helped me re-examine what kind of things DR and I have done or are doing with the boys. Yip and Yap are 8 and that begins a neat age for boys. I think that allowing them some freedoms to test their limits, without being encased in bubble wrap, will help them become creative and confident. 

After watching this video I went over to Amazon and searched Gever Tully and he has a book called 

50 Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do that I'm going to order. 

Because I never want to be this mom

  

Sunday Devotions - Courage in Captivity

³ Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility — ⁴ young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.^[b] 5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.

⁶ Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. ⁷ The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego. Daniel 1:3-7

Our church held our Vacation Bible School this week with the theme Daniel's Courage in Captivity. One of the college age girls from the community dressed up like Daniel and talked to the kid's about 'his life' in Babylon. It was fun for me to see the kid's introduced to this period of history but also to see their awe at all the Daniel endured during his decades of living in Babylon. 

Not only was he taken from his home but he was given a new name and a new language to learn. Then he had the courage to speak up against Nebuchadnezzar's, king of Babylon, royal training.

 ⁸ But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. ⁹ Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, ¹⁰ but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your^[c] food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”

¹¹ Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, ¹² “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” ¹⁴ So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.

Next Daniel testified of God's power and strength to the king, an unbeliever, when he was asked to interpret the king's dream under the threat of execution if he got it wrong. 

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; 
    wisdom and power are his.
²¹ He changes times and seasons; 
    he deposes kings and raises up others. 
He gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to the discerning. 
²² He reveals deep and hidden things; 
    he knows what lies in darkness, 
    and light dwells with him.
²³ I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors: 
    You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
    you have made known to us the dream of the king. ”

Then he had to endure watching his friends being punished for worshiping God rather than Nebuchadnezzar's statue and being thrown into the fiery furnace. Surely Daniel knew that their fate would eventually be his fate as well. 

¹³ Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, ¹⁴ and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? ¹⁵ Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”
¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us^[c] from Your Majesty’s hand. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. ”

Finally in the sunset of his life when he was most likely an old man Daniel was thrown into a den of lions, reluctantly, by King Darius. 

¹⁶ So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”
¹⁷ A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. ¹⁸ Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.
¹⁹ At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. ²⁰ When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”
²¹ Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! ²² My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”


"I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty." 


For an innocent man poor Daniel sure had to endure quite a lot. I've moved around a lot and I haven't always found it easy to settle into a new home, and that was with my own name and language! I can't imagine how much courage Daniel had! But despite the hardships Daniel was blessed because he always remembered that God was with him, God always keeps his promises, and God NEVER FAILS! What a wonderful testimony to carry throughout one's life and into a new kingdom!! I often wonder how many converts Daniel influenced in Babylon. 


Courage. It's not always easy to have. Imagine if you were followed around everyday by a huge capable bodyguard, like the celebrities have but better. Your bodyguard is equipped with the utmost knowledge and superior fighting capabilities so that you knew that no harm would come to you no matter the circumstances. How brave would you be then? Awfully brave I bet. 


That's how brave and courageous and fearless we can be everyday because we DO have that bodyguard in God!! Hallelujah!! 


Dear God, Thank You for never failing us. Thank You for always, ALWAYS being by my side. Thank You for providing me strength, faith and bravery in every situation!! Life is so much easier to face with You next to me. Amen!!!!

Week 17 - Fire

This week's photo theme was Fire. Yes! A great excuse to roast marshmallows! Though, do you really need an excuse? 

1/60sec, f6.3, ISO 200

1/60 sec., f6.3, ISO 200

1/60 sec, f7.1, ISO 200

I'm not quite sure what the ghosty white curve is in the upper part of the photo above but I thought it was a pretty cool effect. I purposely left my exposure time slow to get a blurry fire. 

Before I even started shooting the fire I noticed that most of my photos so far in this 52 week project have been shot zoomed in on the subject. Very rarely do I find myself shooting a wide angle of a scene. I TRIED this time to shoot far away but I just kept getting drawn in. (Still, overall I'm really happy with these photos.) With the remainder of this project I'm going to TRY to be more aware of shooting both close up and far away, we'll see how it goes. 

Next week - Ice!

Ha, maybe I'll have to break out my Paintsicles :) 

Remnants of a Fire

A couple weekends ago there was a large prairie fire 35 miles to the west of our little town. It ended up covering 10 miles of so of prairie. Thank goodness it wasn't closer. Although I couldn't see it, I could smell the smoke and that in itself made me pretty anxious.

A few days ago I got the chance to drive over to the area and check out the damage. I was expecting great swathes of blackness but what I found was this.

Lots of burnt fence posts. The blackened plants you see are charred yucca plants with drifts of sand filling in empty spots.

I was surprised at how much blackness I didn't see. But the grass that did burn would have been brown and dry and with the high winds that are so common out here I don't imagine the ashes settled anywhere near the vicinity of the fire. Once out there I realized the greatest danger of a prairie fire is probably the smoke and not the fire itself.

It's hard to tell by the photos but piles of sand have drifted between the burnt yucca. Even from the road it was kind of eerie to see. DR and I watched a PBS documentary on the Dust Bowl and the burned fields with it's abundance of sand looked very much like the Kansas windblown prairie of the 30's.

I can't imagine the fortitude it took for Kansans to have survived the Dust Bowl when they were faced with a landscape much harsher than this.

I am very happy that I live in 2011 vs. 1935. Until recently, I never knew how lucky I was.

The Grass Fire

Sunday afternoon was fabulous; sunny and in the 80's!

DR and I thought it was too nice to stay at home so we traveled about 35 miles to Meade State Park to the southeast of us.

On the way we spotted a little grass fire being attended to by a couple fire trucks. At the time I thought nothing of it but now it seemed like ominous foreshadowing.

We spend the day walking around the state park enjoying the sunshine and the stiff breeze.

Hmmm, more remnants of fire....

The day was gorgeous as we walked around the lake even though the wind picked up considerably. By the time we loaded into the car to head home two hours later I'd say the wind was gusting into the 40 - 50 mph range. As we were pulling out DR asked me, "Does the sky seem darker to you?" The forecast hadn't been calling for rain that afternoon so when I looked at the sky and saw a haze, not clouds really, and I was confused. Back in Indiana a hazy sky like that meant heavy rain on its way. It looked like a storm was heading our way but I didn't feel the cool air on my skin of a coming of a spring rain. 

Driving home the wind was really kicking up. There were fields full of dust; more dust than I've ever seen in the air before. It was just wild and I thought to myself, "This dust isn't even close to the Dust Bowl days either!" Halfway home one of DR's coworkers called to let him know there was a major grass fire to the west of where we lived, about 35 miles. It was 10-12 miles wide, had jumped a highway and the town of Santana, KS had been evacuated. The fire was heading east and only 12 miles away from one of the elevators that DR manages. The haze we had seen in the sky was smoke and dust was probably from this grass fire which was 50ish miles away.

Five miles from home this is what the sky looked like. A sky that had been bright blue that morning was gray and I could barely see the wind turbines. Needless to say I was getting a bit worried.

When we got home DR immediately left to check on employees of his who had been evacuated and to check on the elevator closest to the fire. The boys and I headed to the back yard to take dry clothes off the line.

The smell of smoke was incredibly strong in the air.....and the grass fire was 35 miles away. The kids and I packed a bag of clothes, and our favorite toys, and threw it in the car ready for evacuation. Looking back now I realize, yes, that was probably an overreaction on my part but I was anxious. I know nothing about prairie fires!

Tornadoes, sure! And aren't tornadoes and The Wizard of Oz the first thing you think of when you think of Kansas? I grew up with tornado drills and running to the basement and seeing the hit and miss destruction they leave in their wake.

But prairie fires? I couldn't see where this one was or where it was going. I was really concerned after hearing a whole town was evacuated. With the wind blowing up to 50 and 60 mph, how far and fast could a prairie fire go? Could it possibly get to DR who was only 12 miles away or all the way to our town? And with a fire, pretty much everything burns up right? It's not the hit and miss of a tornado.

This is a picture a friend uploaded on FaceBook of the fire or at least the smoke of the fire. You can barely see the truck lights on the lower left.

DR said even being 12 miles away he could see a wall of ashes and dust rise on the wind. The grass fire to the west of us was big, one Kansan firefighter said it was the worst he'd ever seen. There were fire companies from all over western Kansas and Oklahoma battling the blazes for over eight hours.

I didn't see the fire, I don't have pictures of it and I'm not sure if I'll get over that direction anytime soon to see the damage. Grass fires are something I am not used to prairie fires regardless of the stories I've heard from my Oklahoma family or Pioneer Woman. I was much more keyed up by this fire than I expected to be.

I think I'd rather face a tornado. At least they are quick. But thank goodness it's over and we are all safe. I'm not sure what kind of total damage was done but I know it could have been much worse.

You can read more details about the grass fire here.

The RV's on Fire!!

On our way through Richland, MO heading to KS we stopped at a little restaurant for lunch. About the time we were finishing up we saw smoke out the window and this is what we saw...

A camper on fire right in the restaurants parking lot!! See that car on the lower left? Yeah, that's our car. I was a bit nervous at this point. It was just a bit close for comfort.  

Of course the boys and I rushed over to window to see the show. Yap kept asking the waitress, "Did you expect a fire today? Wow! That is so neat! I didn't expect to see a fire today!!"

We stuck around to see the firemen suit up and put out the fire. We had to...the firetruck was blocking our car. I do believe this was the highlight of the day, even better than Meramac Caverns!

Good work guys and thanks for the free entertainment!!

Photo of the Day - Marshmallows!

He is now a self proclaimed expert at burning marshmallows!

Photo Thursday - Sunrise, Dew, Fire and Sunset

Sunrise

Dew

Fire

Sunset Silhouette