Today's Conference call and daily reflection....

 What a beautiful day!  We have been enjoying this wonderful white stuff.....
While this is a rare occasion, sometimes we get to even build a snowman that lasts for a day or so, this will be our third day of snow.  I'm still trying to decide how much I like it.  It is beautiful, as it warms up here, then we live in mud until it gets colder or dryer.  I do like this better than rain in the cold wind as we have had a while ago.
  Our call today was so wonderful!  I enjoyed hearing about how each Homeschool group is doing, how the scholars are enjoying their project, and what challenges they are experiencing.  They are loving the experiments and class activities, but how do you get them to want to do their math?
  To want something, you have to have a reason.  You must experience the WHY factor.  Helping to find that why is the challenge.  What is their why?  What is your why?  Why do you want to do math?  What inspires you to do the hard work?  How do we find the why?  Just as each scholar has individual needs, they also have individual values, those desires and things that matter most.  What interests your scholar?  As you build a relationship with them, you begin to find those little sparks of interests.  It might be that your scholar is a BMX rider, an ice skater, animal lover, a digger, a builder, a thinker, or a day dreamer.  Find out.  What sparks their interest and what kind of math can you find to show them about it?  Certainly math is divinely instituted in everything that exists, their are physics, equations, patterns, and lines of logic to be found in everything we have interest in.  Let's find it and share our enthusiasm for the math that they are already interested in.  How do we write an equations for it?  How do we measure it?  How do we mathematically communicate it?  If they like something, find an exciting math reason to like it and share it!  It's right there.
  If you don't see the results now, you are building connections for later.  My daughter hated math (past tense).  She took Pyramid Project.  I was her mentor.  She struggled to find her why.  She found her why three years later when she was in her first year at George Wythe University.  She made connections from her intense philosophical study of Aristotle and Galileo with her memories of Carry On Mr. Bowditch.  Those connections inspired her to study the math language more, and find the patterns in the equations.  Building on those connections showed her a path she had never seen before.  It was always there, she just needed a reason to connect with it.  Once she found the connections there was no stopping her!  She worked on the Newtoinian Math and posted her favorite equations on Facebook.  It was so fun to see her enthusiasm.  She just needed to find that connection and the spark happened.  

Be a builder.  Build with enthusiasm.  Be a connector and share the sparks.  Have fun, show that you're having fun and it will be contagious.  Love the kids you mentor, find their interest, and be enthusiastic about them and what they love and the math will be there, it already exists.

The Jungle of the Unknown, What You Can't See.....

   I came home from training with the determination to finish the war of clearing the jungle of weeds in my two rows of planting this season.  I started this war a few weeks ago.  I could only tackle on the field of battle in the evenings.

Before the light was gone and the night was about to settle, I put on my well used, purple flowered, mud dried gloves.  Shaking them out before slipping my fingers inside.  I added battle worn armored grubby capris, very long, sheilding socks, and my mud crusted gardening shoes (they had seen many battles).

I marched out to the jungle of what I thought was familiar to me.  I did well the first few minutes of twilight, with my gloves protecting me from whatever creepy crawly creature that might be waiting, with the light dimming, I was fearless and strong.  I could not see the life within the soil as I attacked my foes, ripping them one by one from the moist land.  I felt triumphant, the thought came, "What I can't see won't hurt me."  I chuckled at this idea as I continued to defend my crop from vine-invaders.

 I pulled and I tugged, feeling the satisfaction with each grasp, wringing the neck of my enemy, shaking my soil from the root system of their destruction and throwing the dead weed in the pile to die an agonizing defeat.

I went along fearlessly, it seemed a very long stretch of time, when in a very quick realization, I had the sensation of movement on my bare, unwisely, unprotected arm.  Tremors of chills started from the hairy sensation of the crawling creepy unknown reaching my whole body at the speed of darkness.  I jumped into the warriors dance of shaking and throwing my arm around, trying with vast skill to fling the unsuspecting intruder off my person.  Realizing there was a bit of weight to the unknown creature, I quickened my dance and added the warriors yell of dread (a high pitched squeal know as panic and calling other warriors to the battle.)  As it continued its journey towards my shoulder, I realized I would have to inflict the weapon of mass destruction to remove it, my most feared weapon, my other gloved hand.  Using it like the sword as the Samari of old, I swiped hard and fast with precision, knocking the creature to the earth.  Though, I did not see where it took shelter, I knew it fled for its life.  I came to the realization that "what I can't see, may indeed hurt me."  I struggled to continue and decided a retreat for the night would be best.

The next morning, I decided to water the field and then work to remove the rest of the enemy.  I then understood the true battle of fear, that was presented in my mind as I viewed the rest of the jungle. I had to talk myself into facing the hidden enemies of the earth.  Once I crossed the boundaries of argument within the depths of my psyche, I was able to begin.  Victory soon approached and as I vanquished my foes I recognized that when we need to remove the enemy, a softening of the soil makes the task easier. As I remove the enemy sheltering the soil bugs of destruction, those foes leave of their own free will, for they have nothing to hide in any more.  As I study my life and my core book, I understand that as I remove sin from my life, I rough up the foundation and loose more ground when the soil is hardened than when it is softened, like my heart.  As my heart is softened with true principles, I can add to my foundation (my soil, my land) and remove the false enemies that invaded, and they seem to retreat on their own, for they no longer have the shelter that protected them from the light of truth.

Core Book: *D&C 124:9, *1 Nephi 2:16, *Mark 8:17, *Hebrew 4:7

Salt Lake, Utah Training Reflections

Wow!  What an amazing training experience!  This training flowed smoothly and fluently.  I loved it!  I came away inspired by the wonderful mentors, some new found friends and some life long friends that returned.  I am so grateful for the memories and the learning experiences we shared together.  I enjoyed observing how community can be formed in a very short amount of time, with openness, communication, pure listening, and spiritual connections through the lecture exercises.  I loved coming in each day watching all of the connections you were making and I could tell there were bonds of lasting friendship being created by having to get your attention through the discussions you were having with one another.  Everyone was willing to share and connect personally with others that they were just getting to know.  What a difference it makes in our trainings when personal fears are overcome by sharing and loving, giving and receiving.  Thank you, for being real and giving of your true self!

I wanted to let you know that I sent out our class slide show in pdfs for those of you that requested that information.  I did have trouble with some of your emails that were written down for class.  Please email me with your correct email information so that I can make those corrections and send you the information that you wanted.

I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Misty

We had a fun call today!  Thank you for joining us!  We spent time navigating the open waters of the project to gain insight for mentoring.

Vision:
Take a moment to visualize a vast ocean (the journey of the project).  There are waves, winds, and reefs.  As mentors, we are on the shoreline, having sailed this sea, we set up our light house and are very familiar with the reef and the shore.  Our scholars are on a journey.  They are Captains of their own sailing vessels and we would like them to reach the shore.  As Captains, they are responsible for choosing to put up their sail, using the blowing wind as their ally and steering through any rocks that they may or may not see within the water.  Can they see the shore? Do they know what it looks like?  Is there a fog?  Are they clear about the reef?  Do they feel a desire to come to the shore?  Do they have the vision, and what does it mean to them?  The vision of the shore is their "Why" and their first motivation to get to their destination.  What is their vision of their potential?

Mission:
As they learn to sail their ships, they undertake a journey.  In this journey, it may be their mission to navigate and reach the shore, it may be their mission to learn the skills of sailing the ship, other missions of the journey may show up much later as they come into contact with other shorelines.  What is the true mission and can we answer that question at the beginning of the journey?  We give them a destination on a course heading, turn on our lighthouse, as they sail their own ships, their missions come into the light.

Abilities:
Different Captains have different abilities.  Some are great leaders, great navigators, others are great at lashing, hoisting, or splicing.  Sometimes we may see their vice show up, it is actually their gift.  Can we see the great defender in the one who argues?  Can we see the detailed thinker in the one that is quiet?  How well do we know them?  What are their true abilities?

Skills:
Learning to sail means practicing the skills to navigate the waters, using the wind, putting up sails on the mainmast, and reading a compass.  They may have to practice their skills more in one area or another. Some Captains may complete the project, making it to shore, learning the art of navigation, reading the map so they can reach their chosen destination.  Do they have the skills to read the map and sail? What are the skills they need?  Is there something that they can practice to improve their skills?

Knowledge:
What knowledge could help them on their journey?  What knowledge could help build a skill to develop an ability to captain their ship?  What knowledge will help them see the vision of the shore and feel a duty to their mission?

In the Journey:

Sometimes, all of the Captains come together in a fleet, enjoying one another's company (through lectures, discussion, colloquiums), even when the waters are rough (simulations).  Other times, their ships may collide on purpose or accident.  Some Captains may want a competitive victory within a race.  They choose where and how they steer their ships, and consequences of good or bad result.  Rifts can be caused when they invade another ship's boundary, and waves have impact.  Are the waters calm in the ocean or are storms brewing?  What's the lighthouse supposed to do and is there a communication with the Coastguard (parents) for assisting and understanding the Captain?  Do you have buoy systems and maritime boundaries in place and do the Captains have a working knowledge of them?  Can they sail by "ash-breeze" maintaining their motivation?  Does the vision inspire them to continue the journey?  Will the Lighthouse be there for them in the storm even if they choose not to come to the shore?  

It is my sincere hope and reflection that the Lighthouse (mentor) will be, no matter the gail force of the winds, the Captain can look to the shore line and see the Lighthouse standing firm on the horizon welcoming them with love and encouragement.

    

 

Reflections on Todays Conference Call

We had a great call today!  We talked about different things we can do for Georgic Projects even though we cannot plant yet due to the cold temperatures:  Making the Garden Plan, gathering seeds, experimenting with sprouting, lighting techniques, working with live stock: chickens, goats, sheep, and cows.  We also have other animals to help with live stock and pest control: dogs for herding and protection, cats for mice, and birds for bugs.  Prepping the areas that we want to plant, some things may need to be removed and cleared of debris, and or getting permission from our family to move forward with our plans.  It may also include cost planning and what we may want to build, such as planting boxes, covered beds, watering systems, potato garbage can growing methods, and many more methods that need planning.  Other thoughts I had were that if we are planning to have live stock, we would need an area ready, fencing for the appropriate animal, feed boxes, and figuring the cost per month to feed the animal and if there are any laws regarding your area for housing certain live stock animals.  Taking the time to gather information is part of planning for our Georgic experience, and having your semester end with a presentation of their plans would be wonderful.  Encouraging them to do a photographic journal of their plans or using magazine cut-outs to create their plan would also be a benefit to their experience.

We also expressed ideas on how to help our book discussions along.  Suggestions given were: using a talking stick to pass around so that everyone has the opportunity to choose to share or not share, giving responsibility to the students for their education by having them bring their own discussion question, asking our own questions with depth other than questions looking for a right or wrong answer, and giving the students a turn to take the lead in guiding the discussion.  I also enjoyed hearing about one class that turned their colloquium over to the students as they, the mentors stepped out for the book discussion, then returning to have a debrief on the experience.  The outcome seemed significant as the students realized they were in charge of what they learned from the book and that the classroom experience was truly theirs, they were the ones that decided what their experience would be.

Additional comments and ideas are welcome, along with any other resources you would like to share with us.

Here we go!!  Prisms, Patterns, and Truth, OH MY!

What are Prisms?  Fractured light, rainbows, patterns and discovery of truth!  The best way to create a prism is to wonder about something interesting to you.  Where to find them?  Everywhere!  Where there is light, there are patterns, and truth is inevitable.

So my prism for the day.....
I wonder why its colder just before the sun rises?  This is the pattern.  I now have to wear a jacket when I go for morning walks.  I noticed this pattern years ago when I spent early winter mornings transporting a youth group to breakfast.  As I waited for the van to warm up, it was freezing cold compared to when I first walked outside.  I would find myself gazing to the horizon, hoping for the sun to peak over the tip of the mountain.  As it would get closer to the time of that peak, the temperature seemed to fall, and just when all hope of getting warm was further down the thermometer, finally the sun came to my rescue!  All of the sudden there was light and warmth, and my toes were saved not to mention my red nose.  What is this?  Well it continues, even in the summer!  Any thoughts?  Share your  ideas!

Welcome to our first Pyramid Project blog!  I am so excited to get it going finally!  I hope that it will be inspiring and helpful to everyone interested in exploring our world with prism eyes.  Join me as we share patterns, aha's, resources for our scholars and mentoring.

This is a work in progress and I hope to be working on it weekly!