It’s not a typo. I actually meant to write M.I.B. It stands for “Mind in Boat.” It was one of the slogans the University of Washington rowing team used to help themselves focus and win gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. I am reading all about their story from The Boys in the Boat, a nonfiction book which reads like a novel, written by Daniel James Brown. (affiliate link)
I have been going to the Anna Porter Public Library Book Group monthly meetings for a year now. We vote on several books we propose in the summer. We read one book a month, except for December. In January, we have a lovely dinner after the regular meeting, generously provided by John and Lee Mellor at their Buckhorn Inn.
I love the intellectual stimulation these books provide. You see, I would love to go back to school and get a graduate degree in law or French. If I had to choose today, French would probably win. But I cannot. I feel compelled to homeschool my children, blog about it, and publish books to help others. Compelled is another way of saying called. I feel called.
I get exhausted by the end of the day, but after a good night’s sleep I pick the challenge back up and go forth with renewed strength. So the Book Group gives me an activity I can do aside from the children, stimulating thought and provoking discovery, but not taking too much of my time with them. A graduate degree would be too consuming at this point in my life. Maybe later, as they get older. Who knows? I might switch to teaching them via independent study through DVDs like some people I know who are homeschooling high school age students. I can’t imagine what I would do with all the time on my hands at that point.
John Bradshaw says that teachers teach what they need to learn. If that is true, then I guess I needed to receive an education all over again by teaching my own children before going on to graduate school when they get older.
So I keep my mind in the boat. M.I.B. Mind in Boat. Mind in homeschooling. When the kids get older, I will have time to get that elusive Ph. D. in French. Until then, I enjoy going through Kindergarten and first grade and second grade. Honestly, homeschooling is the best part of my day. I know because I don’t want to stop. Cooking, cleaning, laundry and chauffeuring them to classes outside the home are fun to a degree. I enjoy taking a break from these activities. But I never want to take a break from teaching my children. That’s how I know that I love homeschooling. I don’t want it to stop.
