Teaching Life Skills

teach your kids life skills
  A few years ago I needed to have outpatient surgery. As a homeschool mom with two young daughters, I worried how daily household chores would get done. Thankfully the surgery was scheduled during summer, which meant I did not have to concern myself with math, history, or other “core” curriculum. However, I still needed
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The Family Table

Turn Your Table Into The Family Time Zone
  My fondest memories as a child are of sitting around our family table. It didn’t matter if we were eating a meal or playing a game, it was a place where we could be together and enjoy talking and laughing. I always felt happy sitting there with my family. When I began having a
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Parenting Without Emotions

don't let your emotions control you
  Children of any age seem to generate the most advantageous, and also the worst parenting emotions. Without realizing, our voice becomes louder, our body starts to tighten, and breath shortens, and we have just engaged in a round of emotional exhaustion for ourselves and our child. To disengage oneself from swirling in a pattern
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The Battle of the Wants

give your kids what they want
  In our media driven society, being the right kind of mom is impossible. Feed your kids the healthiest food, but don’t go overboard and be that mom who always asks about ingredients. Don’t let your children dictate your life, but listen every time they have something to say! It is such a struggle to
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Awakening – Letting Children Develop at Their Own Pace

let children develop at their own pace
  This summer, I discovered something new in our yard — a beautiful, yellow lily with a burgundy center. In the decade that we’ve lived in this house, it has never bloomed before. About a week later, a solid yellow lily appeared in another part of the yard. A friend had given me some flower
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9-11 A Day Not Forgotten

let 9-11 be remembered
The day was a Tuesday. My husband, 3 sons (ages 12,6, & 1 1/2 ), and I had spent the previous night with a cousin in Maryland to take a homeschooling field trip to the nation’s capital, Washington DC. We live about 4 hours away from DC, so her house was a little closer. I
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Finishing the Race

Homeschool is like a marathon
  In April 1999, I ran the London Marathon. My version of “run” was a great deal different than that of the winner of the race. The winner completed the marathon in a mind-numbing two hours and some odd minutes. Me? I finished several long, hard hours later. The goal of every runner was different;
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Casting Down Generational Walls

Why Your Kids Should Spend More Time With Older People
  In the past few months, I have heard a troubling viewpoint. While it takes many forms, the gist of it goes like this, “It is all important that a child or young person be surrounded by others of their age.” Most of the time these comments fall from well-intentioned lips, but as a young
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