I discovered Penelope Trunk this year. I’m slow, I know. I don’t agree with lots of things she says but boy, she says things brilliantly. There is no inhibition in her writing or thinking. I was intrigued to see Penelope Trunk interviewed on The Pioneer Woman earlier this month. She’s brilliant. Have I mentioned that? What…
I homeschool…but not for these reasons
I’m a lucky mama to be homeschooling my kids in a day when it’s not totally weird-o. Just kinda weird-o. For my first thirty-three years, I’ve survived living in the “kinda weird-o” box. I can handle it for a few more (not that I’ve found the exit). There are maybe a hundred reasons I homeschool….
Home
Tonight, in our bedtime reading–Laura Ingalls Wilder fare tonight– “‘Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.” Why, Mom? Why is there no place like home? Because it’s where you belong, your special place where you always belong. This isn’t my home, Mom. ? This…
Almanzo’s Milk and Popcorn
An experiment with popcorn? mmm… “Almanzo looked at every kernel before he ate it. They were all different shapes. He had eaten thousands of handfuls of popcorn and never found two kernels alike. Then he thought that if he had some milk, he would have popcorn and milk.” “You can fill a glass full…
Thorny figs
Oy, we had one of those days around here! Yucky yelling (me), blaming (me), tempers flaring (everyone), complaining (kiddos), disobedience (kiddos), impatience (me), tears (kiddos), and some words to pierce my heart. H: “Mom, I don’t like when you snap at me.” ouch. H: “Mom, you don’t say sorry as often as you say thank…
Chore Theory
How do you teach your kids how to clean and care for your home? Some mamas make elaborate chore charts. Or they use a complicated system to keep track of when who does what. To me, keeping track is a chore. I could, but I can’t. You know? But I don’t want lazy or incompetent…
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas from my family to yours!
learning on vacation
We just enjoyed a few weeks in another state and a province of Canada. For my kids, vacation means grandparents and grandparents mean story time, playtime, and so much love. I’m glad to have other adults share the load–but mostly, I’m happy to have my kids hear love and truth from older lips, from wiser…
4 ladybugs munching
We worked into the dark yesterday. All day, we had studied: grammar, math, history, science, penmanship, spelling. Yet you’re never fully schooled without your art project. Inspired by IEW, we talked about verbs ending with -ing. Each child chose an animal–penguins for J, pigs for H, and ladybugs for D. We counted from 1-10 and…
House Education 