STEM vs Liberal Arts... or Little Bear vs Mama Bear

STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math....

STEM is the in thing for education these days. All we hear about is STEM this STEM that. Little Bear's elementary school is always posting pictures of STEM projects on Facebook. I see the Chevron STEM for girls commercial on TV all the time. I get that science, technology, engineering, and math are cool, or hard, or something... but what about the arts.

Little Bear loves STEM. He has loved it before I heard the term STEM. Before elementary school, he was already looking at how things work and why. He was noticing the difference between the way a rocking chair moved and the way the footstool moved. He was building with Legos and creating new things. He was building with Legos and following the instructions on his own at an early age. He has always loved building and creating new projects and simple machines.

In school Little Bear loves coding. His gifted and talented teacher says he is a whiz at it. His favorite subject is math. He enjoys his math homework. When he picks up a book, he often picks up a non-fiction book about science or technology before he chooses a fiction book.

I am proud of him for having interests and for doing well at the things he loves, but it breaks my heart a little to see the focus of school turning more and more towards STEM and away from literature and history. I have a bachelor's degree in history. I am a freelance writer, a stay-at-home-mom, and a blogger.


My child has no interest in writing and little interest in history or literature. Don't get me wrong, Little Bear loves a good story and even a good non-fiction book from time to time, but his first choice is almost always non-fiction. He wants to learn things not be transported through words to a magical place with wizards and elves, knights in shining armor, or monsters under the bed. He doesn't get wrapped up in a story like I do. He doesn't feel like the characters in his favorite books are friends or long lost family members.

STEM is great. I am thrilled my son enjoys it and I pray he will always be better at math than I am. (I'm terrible at math, truly terrible.) I really wish there was more focus on literature, fiction, imagination, arts, and history in his school and in our modern world. I feel like the arts are being lost in our STEM-focused society.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

We all have treasured memories and magical times from our youth. Some of my most magical memories are from Christmas Eve. It was a special day for our family. Growing up we never missed the family gathering at my grandparent's house to celebrate together on Christmas Eve.

My aunt, uncle, and cousin met up with my family at my grandparent's house each year on Christmas Eve. I don't remember a year that we missed Christmas Eve until I was grown up and moved far away from home.

These Christmas Eve celebrations were usually joyful occasions, but as we got to our teenage years there were some grouchy teenagers there, namely my brother and I.  Especially when Grandma forced us to bring our band instruments and play. My brother and my cousin were good and I was not, but Grandma did not care. We played Christmas carols and she was happy.

One of my favorite memories of Christmas Eve was how Grandpa would label our gifts from him as from Santa. We all knew his handwriting even as kids, but the joy these gifts from Santa brought were fun. I always treasure that he went this extra step to make our Christmas magical.

Grandpa always bought chocolate covered cherries for the ladies in the family. He would buy the cheap red Queen Anne's boxes you see in the stores. They are not fancy and now that I am an adult I am not that big of a fan, but it was his thing and we loved it. My dad has carried this tradition on since my Grandpa passed away. It still brings joy to my heart to see those red boxes of chocolate covered cherries sitting under the tree.

Each year on our way out the door, Grandpa would say, "Make sure you are watching for Santa on the way home. You might see Rudolph's nose or hear the sleigh bells." My brother and eye would keep our eyes peeled the whole way home looking for Santa Claus.

So tonight, love your family. Remember the good times. Make Christmas magical. Oh, and read "'Twas the Night Before Christmas".

"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!"  ~ Clement Clarke Moore 

10 Great Gifts For Elementary Age Boys

Sometimes it can be really difficult to shop for elementary age boys. Having one of my own I know how hard it is. He has things he loves but I don't want to get him the same type of gift every single holiday. I also want to get him things that are fun, but will require using his imagination and his brain while he plays.

1) Kinex Sets

Kinex sets are an amazing gift for elementary boys. My son got his first set around the age of 5 and has loved them ever since. He now builds complicated projects and all kinds of simple machines with them. There are a wide variety of Kinex sets from simple sets to fancy sets that allow you to build roller coasters.
You can buy Kinex Sets here for $17 and up.

2) Lego Sets 

We all know kids love Legos and there are some amazing and fancy Lego sets out there. There are also some really great inexpensive Lego sets. Kids can sit and play with Legos for hours building all kinds of fancy and imaginative creations. We really love the Lego Creator sets because they have instructions to build 3 different things from one set of Legos.
You can buy Lego sets here for $4 and up.

3) Books

There are so many books that are great for elementary school kids. My son has loved The Indian in the Cupboard, Pippi Longstocking, many of Beverly Cleary's and Roald Dahl's books, The Magic Treehouse series, and so much more. Reading opens the doors to the world. It gives children insights to the world and how things work, as well as teaching them fact and fiction. The world of books opened my eyes and my imagination so much as a child. 

You can buy books on amazon.com new and used for $4 and up. 

4) Sticky Slugs

We have all had sticky hands and enjoyed them, but sticky slugs are even better. They are fun. They are sticky and they are just plain awesome.
You can buy a pack of sticky slugs here for about $7.

5) Nerf Guns

This Nerf N-Strike Elite Target Set comes with a Nerf gun and a target. I love this set because of the target. I love a good old fashioned Nerf gun fight, but frankly, as a mom, it is nice when my kiddo has something else to shoot at.
You can buy this Nerf gun set here for approximately $20.  

6) Science Kits

This Mindblowing Science Kit is pretty awesome. It comes with everything you need for several experiments. The kit has great directions. It does recommend adult supervision, but they are really fun experiments to do with younger children and older kids will enjoy them, too.

You can buy the science kit here for about $10.

7) Stomp Rocket 

Stomp Rocket is awesome. My son has a blast with it. He can play with it for a long time by himself until he gets all the rockets stuck on the roof or in a tree. The wind always blows them off so he can play and have more fun. 

You can buy stomp rocket here for about $15. 

8) Minecraft

Minecraft is a fantastic game, even though it can quickly become an obsession for kids. It requires, skill, critical thinking, imagination, and logic to make things work properly. My son LOVES Minecraft. In the last year, he has become a huge fan and would play all the time if we would let him. It can be played on numerous platforms including PC, Xbox, and Playstation.
You can buy Minecraft here for  $13 and up.

9) Art Kit

If you have a little artist in your life, an art kit and some paper is a great gift. Most art kits come with a huge variety of mediums, including paints, colored pencils, markers, and pastels. These give kids a variety fo tools to work with to create their own masterpieces.
You can buy a great art kit here for around $30. 

10) SnapTite Model Kits

SnapTite makes great models for both beginners and more advanced model builders. One of the best things is they have some really great models that kids will love. They have Star Wars models, cars, planes, trucks, ships and more.

You can buy SnapTite Models here for $10 and up.

A Loving Kid with a Big-Heart and a Lot of Faith

A couple of weeks ago, Sunday morning church both wonderful and emotional. It started like every other Sunday morning does. I was dragging because I hate mornings and am never ready to get up. Little Bear and Popeye were up and ready long before I was. We left for church and were only a couple of minutes late for Sunday School. I blame traffic, not really it was all me and my slowness.

This Sunday was a special service at our church. It was our celebration of All Saint's Day. They read a list of names of our church members that passed away during the last year and they lit candles for them. After this, we had a time for people to speak the names of family members and friends who have passed away in the last year.

I have been extra tearful lately, I blame hormones, but the tears started rolling down my face and I could not speak. Little Bear looks at me and whispers "say her name mom." When he realized I couldn't say it for my tears he shyly says "Great Grandma." Then, he whispers to us "I don't know her real name." Popeye told him and Little Bear said it quietly just as the prayer started.

The next thing Little Bear did was crawl into my lap and hug me tight until my tears stopped flowing. Then, sweet Little Bear looked into my eyes and apologized for messing up her name. I whispered to him that he did well and thank you and hugged my big-hearted boy tight.

Later in the service, we had the Lord's Supper. Little Bear accepted Jesus several years ago but has always been in children's church when we have done the Lord's Supper. This was the first time he participated in it. I whispered as much explanation as I could about how and why we do it. When the tray of tiny, gross, dry crackers (you know you have had that thought, too) came around, I reminded him to only touch ONE cracker and then I told him they are dry, hard, and do not taste good. I also told him not to make any ugly faces or say anything about how bad they taste.

The time came to eat our bread and the look on Little Bear's face was one of dismay and disgust and trying really hard to hide it. He chewed and chewed trying to finish the tiny piece of cracker. When he finally swallowed it down, he looked at me and whispered: "You were right, Mom, they are bad."

The best part of Sunday came when Little Bear walked down the aisle to make a profession of faith and ask to be baptized. He was shy and nervous so he took Popeye and me with him. He talked to the pastor about his decision and our church welcomed him with open arms. Little Bear was shy about standing up in front of everyone and having everyone stare at him. When people came up to shake his hand after the service, my Little Bear was in his element. He loved shaking hands and talking to everyone. He even asked me if he could do that part again sometime.

So, all in all, our Sunday was beautiful. Our Little Bear is turning into a loving kid with a big-heart and a lot of faith.