HomeSchooling
That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you're not alone and isolated from anyone. You belong. - F. Scott Fitzgerald
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five finds friday (silly and sweet)
Because I want to write stuff you want to read, I’ve got to ask – do you still like these Five Finds posts? (I really do want to know.) It’s been a good week – one that had SUNSHINE in it. You guys had such fun responses to my dating post and I love you for it. My dad is out of the country currently, visiting my brother who lives in New Zealand. One of my other brothers went with him. Who, as a matter of fact, has never left the country, so it’s a big deal. I’m excited for them. Likely, that means Dad has no time to…
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weekend ramble (soccer starts & the sun is back)
This weekend . . . Piper played her first game of this year’s soccer season. It was muddy. Very muddy. Wet. Also cold. Turns out, London’s really into cheering – and offering unsolicited coaching advice – loudly. I took eight kids to see How to Train Your Dragon 3. It was fine. It felt like, oh, I don’t know, versions 1 and 2. I begged/pleaded/forced London to make me another of her delicious grilled cheese sandwich creations. It took more convincing than it should have for the child to whom I gave LIFE to craft me said sandwich, but whatever. I procrastinated on my work articles for the entire…
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books that work their own magic.
This post is about a book. But it’s also about parenting and homeschooling and personality differences and what we can never fully understand and about getting out of the way of ourselves as often as we are able and letting beauty and truth and ideas educate whenever we remember to step back and shut up already. I’m a talker. An explainer. I give too many details. To my kids.To you readers.To the lady behind me in the grocery aisle. And I often am dangerously close to doing the same to good literature. Superimposing MY words on top of already beautifully crafted other words. (This is an especially difficult habit to…
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five finds friday: Dickens and Twists and a cake baker and a cuddler
It’s the end of another week full of . . . . well, full of everything. In the literature and writing course I teach my students are assigned copywork each week. The copywork is a quote or a short poem. It’s their task to write the quote down each day for a week. Then, when we meet together during class, the first thing we do is dictation. But really, for these students, it’s not even dictation – it’s just from memory. They write the quote down on a blank piece of paper – attempting to recreate the quote perfectly, with identical punctuation and spelling. Last week I assigned the longest…
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Latin Everywhere, Everyday: A Timberdoodle Review
First, can we all just agree that it’s a ludicrous system we’ve all created and sustained that we should think about or plan for the NEXT year of homeschool during the months of January or February? Those are the exact months where I want to quite EVERYTHING. At least one day in February my brain literally rebels and I question my sanity and why I ever boarded the homeschooling ship to begin with. (I like to start off my reviews with a real boost of positivity and encouragement. It’s my love language.) Alright, so we know it’s difficult to think about the next year while we’re drowning in the dregs…
Keep Reading . . .
In Praise of Small Homes
Mand Labs Lit: A Timberdoodle Review
this little moment.
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Five Finds Friday (this, that & the other, also blanket sweaters, food documentaries and college thoughts)
It’s been a little while so let’s see if I have Friday Fives within my abilities this week. You just never know. funny During last week’s writing class at Meadowlark, we worked on a project where we created bad titles and then tried to turn them into good poems. It was fun and I loved hearing what the kids did with their poetry. Some titles that they created were . . . Where Did My Sibling Go?What’s on My Sandwich?The Obsolete OreoUncle Hitler’s Birthday The time spent together with this group of bright and funny and interesting kids is always time well spent. fashionable Here, I just don’t know.…
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101 Doodle Definitions: A Timberdoodle Review
This is a sponsored post by Timberdoodle. All of the opinions are my own. __________________________________ This year our homeschool has been a bit more streamlined than it ever has before. Less fluid and more structured. Some this has to do with life circumstances. I need the schedule to be more predictable so I can arrange meetings and work hours around what is known and planned. Some of this has to do with the ages and grades of my children. Older students have greater demands on their school days, a larger amount of studying is required for say, Chemistry, versus a nature walk for a second grader. Some of…
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routines. chore lists. schedules. I share a few and I’d love to hear from you.
We’ve been extra diligent about getting up on time and starting school on time. This year. And yet – school is taking a loooong time lately. I mean, that’s normal. It’s fine. I have two high school students and one middle schooler and two elementary students and that all just equals a lot of educating and computer sharing and mom-help-needing. Add in work and teaching at Meadowlark and I don’t know how to manage it all mostly. I was laughing with a couple other families after church on Sunday about busy schedules and meals in the car between karate and soccer practices and whatever it is your family is…
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five finds friday (meadowlark and a ryder photo and let’s talk whole 30)
It’s been a while – hasn’t it? I forget when I last did a Five Finds post. I’m going to try. It’s been a great week, but full as ever. I hired an intern for Travelers Rest Here. What a great thing that is going to be! Can you hire an intern for regular life too? Are there interns out there who want to do my laundry or plan my meals? Interns that specialize in home pedicures or lesson plans? Interns that run by the bank and pick up books at the library and mow the grass? Interns who manage my texts in a timely fashion for me? …
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Little Time, Big Time, No Time
This week the girls are taking a biology camp. No, it wasn’t exactly their choice. But it’s a really wonderful opportunity for them to dissect things that need dissecting, to learn how to create lab reports and how to document their findings and to have a reminder of how to use a microscope accurately. These are areas that perhaps I have not emphasized enough at home. Or, you know, at all, when it comes to dissecting. I mean, they took another dissection lab earlier this year too so I make sure it’s covered, but I like to have alternate teachers besides myself cover these specific requirements. Because, well, it’s…
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Five Finds Friday (funny photos and my dog’s grin and how we homeschool)
It’s been a good week. And a rainy week. And a regular old week week. All at the same time. Like it does. funny London likes to take my photos and turn them into silly things. Recently she grabbed this silly photo of herself and did this. I like that she can laugh at herself too. Also. Ryder’s birthday was this week. There was a dog cake made. And – he’s smiling in this photo – isn’t he? fashionable Oh these gorgeous kantha blankets from Basha and Open River Imports. They are incredibly beautiful. flavorful Sometimes history meets…
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five finds friday (on a SATURDAY, featuring cute letters and free stuff)
Unscheduled. Awry. Shifted. Not as planned. Those are all the correct words to describe this week. Mostly stemming from car issues, nearly nothing that I thought was going to happen or scheduled to happen actually occurred as planned or anticipated. All. Week. Long. Some days my car would start. Some days it would not. Some days I spent trying to get it repaired. Some days it looked repaired. Some days it did not. Also, several of the kids began to feel off this week – a cough there or a fever here, light headed for one, extra exhausted for another. Again – changed up all the plans. I’ve got…
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Inside Out & Back Again: A Book Club Book Review
Reading books with my kids is one of my simplest joys. Years ago I started a Mother-Daughter Book Club with my older girls. Since then Piper Finn has been begging for her turn at a Book Club. We’ve been meeting for several books now and this week we gathered again to discuss the beautiful story in Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai. My friend Addy chose the book and I am so glad she did. I had never heard of the story before. It’s the story of a young girl and her family who were living in Saigon during the Vietnam War. The family is…
