A word

Yesterday was the last day of school before winter break! It was an extremely long day full of sugar, sugar, and a side of sugar in the classrooms. At lunch, we had the 5th grade singing Jingle Bells as loud as possible. Lucky me, huh? But now, as I sit on my couch in my pj's with the sounds of the dryer in the background, I am thankful that we are officially on winter break and the only off pitch sounds of jingle bells is coming from the TV!

I can not tell you how excited I am to have winter break! It was time! Of course our break will be spent packing and moving to the new 4 bedroom! Emmie has promptly requested that she be allowed to have her own art desk in her room. The one with the light and pencil holder she saw at a local art store. Santa won't be bringing it since his elves have finished making their gifts before we found out about the move. Maybe after the new year.

Emmie and her love of art has had me thinking a lot lately. I am not an artist, big surprise huh? But, I know how important it is to her and how much of a difference it has made in her life. Not only does it nurture her creative side and allow her an outlet, but it also allows her something to be good at. Art isn't pass or fail, it isn't about coloring inside the lines, or making sure something is spelled correctly. Art is about expression. Color where you want, how you want, and with whatever tool you want. It allows her to be perfect in her own way. It doesn't come with a red x over the missed problem or the mark over the work she misspelled. It allows her to be free.

It is very important that we nurture what our children love and what they are good at. I have never been one to push the kids into something. I'm not the crazy parent at soccer games, or the one making the child join three different after school activities. I just want them to be kids and be happy! If my son loves playing with skateboards and could care less about joining the basketball team, so be it. If my oldest wants to play the clarinet instead of creating friendship bracelets, Let her. And if Emmie wants to put paint on paper and call it a duck. Guess what? It will be the best duck I have ever seen. She won't need validation from anyone else. She knows she's good at it and that is all that matters.

So, because of her love of art and because of the doors it has opened up for her education, I have been researching Art therapy. I believe I will apply for an art therapy program in the next few years. I'm excited about it, even if some won't understand.

Remember the sentence structure problem we were having? Well, we have started a journal and we are making progress. I also bought this lovely book called "The Aspiring Writer's Journal" at the Scholastic Warehouse Sale. Seriously, why didn't I know about these sales YEARS ago? Anyway, it's a book for older children. However, it provides some great writing prompts to help me get Emmie started some days. Some prompts are too advanced for her right now, but I am having an interesting time digging out my creative soul that has been buried for some time.

Writing prompt for today for mom. "If you could have one word to be your guiding light, what would it be and why?" One word huh? Is that possible to have one word? I am from the south and we often have 15 words for every one word for a northern. We talk. Okay, honestly, we talk A LOT! But, my one word, if I had to come up with one word is "Serendipity". I love this word. A happy accident is my life. It is my guide. My husband and I met as friends. It was a happy accident that we became more than best friends and married. It is a happy accident that we have three amazing children and one fat, lazy cat. What is your one word?