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Walking down memory lane
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Photo by Tonya Vander
Over Labor Day weekend, our family thought we were just going to go for a drive in the mountains, but ended up going down memory lane. I needed to look for photo ops that would help my photography students think outside the box when it came to autumn. So we were looking for harvested fields and tractors. Living in the Denver area, most people might just think of the aspens turning, but there is so much more to autumn than that. So our drive took us to Boulder and we chose to stop to eat. Since Red Robin is one of our favorite restaurants we found the nearest one in Boulder.
After dinner we were heading to the car when we saw this store, Play Fair Toys and as we were passing the window we saw all these wonderful educational and creative toys. All of us decided we had to go in and check it out. I am really not sure what the poor sales people thought when two teenagers and two, well, older people entered the store just to ooh and aww over their merchandise. But for us, it was like going back in time.
Amanda went straight towards all the horse paraphernalia and Jonathan towards the little knight figurines. I went for my all time favorite Ravensburger puzzles, which I tell any new mom to buy. They are a little more expensive than your regular puzzles that you can buy at Wally world, but they are so much better. The intricate designs of the puzzles are more challenging for the kids. At the back of the store we all congregated at their lovely sitting area with books. Jonathan found Lyle the Crocodile and sat down to read it. Amanda looked at the Velveteen Rabbit with such fondness. I saw so many wonderful books that I had read to my kids over the years. Chuck kept interrupting us with the puppets he found. The store has marvelous puppets, very well made. We looked over the science kits, the princess garb, the Play Mobile toys, the dinosaurs, and all the dress up clothes a home-school mom could want for her kids.
We must have spent forty-five minutes in that store remembering the early years with such fondness. Reminiscing about times spent reading, acting, playing, and learning with such zeal. It had come full circle that moment. Why I had home-schooled, all those years. To create in my children a desire to learn for their entire life. And just for a moment we were all back in the early years of homeschooling, discovering new facts, learning about new lands, and enjoying the journey.
Whether this is your first or 12th year homeschooling, may you find joy for the journey. Or if your are just starting out and in the Boulder area, stop by Play Fair Toys, it is worth the drive. They have excellent supplemental tools to help you foster a warm and inviting learning environment. I really can't explain in words the joy I saw on my kids' faces that day. They were able to remember all the joy they had when they were little as they were learning. Over the year of homeschooling it can be difficult to find new ways to spark excitement in you as the mom and teacher or in your kids. But I hope you won't give up, for this is my 12th year and I can say without regret, I would do it all over again. All the sacrifice and frustration was worth it. Saturday, I just got to see a glimpse of our tomorrows.
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