Those Bored People Who Need a Dream

Some people really dislike temperament theories. I understand certain reservations, but I have found great help in considering personalities and motivational issues.

What I am realizing once again is my personal need for change. I get so bored. Try as I might to squeeze myself into another mold, this is who I am. It is no excuse for not learning plain old diligence. I know that is needed -- badly needed by this "quickly bored" individual. But after beating my head against the wall for years, I concede that I am not like that routine mom who figures out all her curriculum and never needs to change her approach. Even if the kids don't need it freshened up, I do! I used to consider that to be a mark of immaturity. I'm beginning to think that it is temperament.

I cannot often read the same book twice (though ask me how many times I have watched Parent Trap or Pride and Prejudice.) I get tired of cleaning the same old room. Rearrange it and suddenly it is a breeze to maintain, for a while anyways. In the same way, if we are doing Colonial History or European Literature again, I need a new twist.

So here it is; my new curriculum idea for the fall. I stumbled across a book at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. How To Talk To Children About Art presents 550 years of art in a simple, chronological approach. Voila!! A simple perusal presented fresh inspiration! This could be the skeleton for a year long study of the art, music, literature, and major political events of Europe. We would also follow the correlating history of the church.

You have to understand. This kind of thing excites and intrigues me. And if I am to impart enthusiasm about learning, I must exhibit some myself. Unfortunately, or not, depending on how you look at these things, that means we need something new -- something that requires creativity and invention. So I will design a curriculum around this book. I just happen to like it that way. I never was good at following.

So now I am dreaming about how to pace it, what novels and bios to include, where to find a simple presentation of church history, how to get my hands on Francis Schaeffer's How Should We Then Live? (there is a video version I think), and more.

Who knows what we will end up with come fall. But for now, the stuff of inspiration has come. And I was made for dreaming. Some of us are like that, you know.