Not Exactly What Newton Had In Mind

We've been casually exploring Newton's Laws of Motion, mostly in the form of dropping marbles from heights, creating marble whirlpools inside a big metal bowl, magically dropping a marble in a bottle without touching the marble. I've also been seeing proof of Newton's Third Law of Motion as I look around the house.

For every action there is an opposite but equal reaction.



I'm caught up on laundry, but behind on dishes.
My bedroom is clean, but my bathroom is not.
The chickens are fed, but the children are hungry.
We've got a little extra money in the bank from overtime pay, but we've hardly seen daddy the past few weeks.

Yeah, I know those examples don't quite fit Newton's equation, but I find it amusing to view my little world as an expression of non-negotiable physical laws.

Here's another example: I haven't blogged or taken any photographs for nearly a week, but we've made incredible progress in Aidan's education. Something has got to give for something else to flourish, and I've gladly set aside my own endeavors to see Aidan skyrocket in his pursuits.

We've been skirting around his math book the past few months, carefully avoiding double digit addition because "it looks too hard!!!". OK, no problem. Let's just move on to simple fractions. Can you color half of this circle? Sure, that's easy.

But earlier this week, he opened up his math book to the first incomplete page and tackled double digit addition. No problem. Easy peasy. The next day he wanted to do more - but this time with regrouping. BAM. He got it. The next unfinished page is double digit subtraction. Hmmm. I wonder if we'll skirt around that page or if he'll decide to tackle it head on.

Then, as if I tackling two big math concepts in one week wasn't enough (at least for a first grader working on a second grade math book), Aidan decided to take a huge leap in reading. On our way out the door yesterday to go fabric shopping with Grandma, I told the kids to grab a book for the road. Aidan chose a chapter book - no pictures, single spacing - and read the entire first chapter. To himself! No help from me! Sorry - I know I'm bragging, but I just can't help myself! Homeschooling moms spend a lot more time worrying about their children's progress than applauding it, but right now, I want to rejoice and revel and jump up and down! So much progress in one week! This elation will keep me from worrying for at least the rest of the school year. (And yes, I've disgusted myself with the number of exclamation marks in this paragraph.)

One of the great joys and benefits of homeschooling can be found between the lines of Newton's First Law of Motion: Inertia. Sometimes a student is at rest, and we let them stay at rest. But other times, a student is in motion and we let them roll on ahead, removing any barriers in their way (physical or imagined), clearing our schedules if need be, stalling our own motion so we can just stand still and watch their incredible movement forward.

And that, my friends, is why I've been absent. Blame it on Sir Isaac Newton and those darned Laws of Motion.