Does Editing Count?
I didn't get any "crafting" done last night. Edison has a speech due today (the written version) and although this one is much better than last year's speech (it's a yearly event) this one needed some assistance.
Edison really is a good kid. He's smart, witty, charming, very helpful, sensitive, and funny. I'm just finding, lately, that it takes real acrobatics to get top-notch work out of him. He has the ability. He has an expansive vocabulary and amazing recall. It's just like pulling teeth to get that above-average work to come flowing out of him.
So, at 8:30 last night, we began proofreading and editing a 558-word essay/speech extolling the virtues of Yellowstone National Park. He was supposed to write a speech about a famous American Landmark. We've never been to Yellowstone. It was not his first choice.
Other choices were:
The Statue of Liberty (never been there)
The Grand Canyon (ditto)
The Twin Towers (again, not in our lifetimes)
Other kids had chosen these sites, and he graciously gave them up and chose Yellowstone. I don't think he minded. . . although I really would have loved to hear what he would have said about the Twin Towers.
My favorite part of his speech are his opening and closing thoughts. He unified them by bringing it back full-circle at the end of the speech. He starts out telling how the praise & worship chorus, "How Great is our God" is one of his favorite songs, because when he thinks about how great God is, he cannot help but think about God's creativity. At the end, he brings it home with the idea that this beautiful national landmark illustrates the words of this song.
I love it. I love him.
Edison really is a good kid. He's smart, witty, charming, very helpful, sensitive, and funny. I'm just finding, lately, that it takes real acrobatics to get top-notch work out of him. He has the ability. He has an expansive vocabulary and amazing recall. It's just like pulling teeth to get that above-average work to come flowing out of him.
So, at 8:30 last night, we began proofreading and editing a 558-word essay/speech extolling the virtues of Yellowstone National Park. He was supposed to write a speech about a famous American Landmark. We've never been to Yellowstone. It was not his first choice.
Other choices were:
The Statue of Liberty (never been there)
The Grand Canyon (ditto)
The Twin Towers (again, not in our lifetimes)
Other kids had chosen these sites, and he graciously gave them up and chose Yellowstone. I don't think he minded. . . although I really would have loved to hear what he would have said about the Twin Towers.
My favorite part of his speech are his opening and closing thoughts. He unified them by bringing it back full-circle at the end of the speech. He starts out telling how the praise & worship chorus, "How Great is our God" is one of his favorite songs, because when he thinks about how great God is, he cannot help but think about God's creativity. At the end, he brings it home with the idea that this beautiful national landmark illustrates the words of this song.
I love it. I love him.
posted by Angie at 9:10 AM
3 Comments:
A wonderful story Angie. Thank you for sharing it. What a wonderful young man you have there. Must be his super parents and the great job they are doing. Hats off to you Angie.
It's too easy to skate by, to take the lower road instead of striving for the best possible.
Been there, done that. No incredible words of wisdom, except that the change has to come from the inside. It can be encouraged, nurtured, and cultured, but it can't be forced.
I don't mean it as bad as it could sound, but God be with you all. Not doom and gloom, but God's upward pull. (along with parent's upward push at times [grin])
I too, like his opening and closing thoughts. He sounds like a few that have grown up in this house. I knew they had it in them, they just needed some help pulling it out.
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