the road to inspired learning
I started early. When my firstborn was two, I went to my first homeschool convention. I wandered the hall stopping at 342 booths, looking for the perfect thing: THE curriculum—the magic I was sure I’d find. Add fourteen years, and my little guy is now sixteen. If I could go back to the early version […]
The noticed popped up on my Facebook feed: "Sunrise Eagle Watch" at a local state park. I jogged up the stairs to hunt for my first born, the fourteen-year-old boy who used to be little and obsessed with big bald birds. Before I reluctantly uttered my invitation, I was sure his answer would be "no". […]
I like to be in the background. Not because I'm this amazingly humble person; it's just that I'm not an all-out-there kind of gal. I like a low profile. I never even tell some of my homeschooling friends about this blog or my secret operation. Incognito is fine with me. So, I don't usually do these kinds […]
I've never blogged about this before, so I asked my sweet son who has sensory processing disorder if I could share a bit about what I've learned. He asked that I not use his name. I'm going to respect that. I cried through parts of this post. I wish I would've known these things at […]
Charlotte's Web was our last read aloud book. I expect a good book to be a lot of things, but I didn't expect a little quote to choke me as I was reading: "Life is always a rich and steady time when you are waiting for something to happen or hatch." A rich and steady […]
Last fall this blog was nominated for Best Nitty Gritty Homeschool Blog. I don't allow myself to jump into that contest because I am a super-competitive-maniac. You might not believe it, but you would never ever want to play a game of Settlers of Catan with me. I will scratch your eyes out if you […]
2013 will be the year of waiting and I don't like waiting Wait. Lord, I can't possibly choose wait as my one word. It's ugly. Can you give me something {anything} else? I like to rush. Hurry. I want things done fast. With furry. Lightning-quick. Speedy. But I know I will have to wait . […]
You know, sometimes this blog gig is really impersonal. And too much about me. I've told you before that I am just a normal girl . . . because I am. Sure, I can crank out some cute printables here and there, but I'm not wonder woman. And my superpower is not cleaning the house […]
Our Bibles and Kindles are necessary. And of course our shelves stuffed with books are vital. Library card? Yes, we like it, too! But when I think of top ten must have items . . . I think life savers. I think game changers. I think about the ten things I've fished from the sea of […]
On your mark get set STOP. Stop buying {more} curriculum. Stop trying to keep up with other homeschooling moms. Stop comparing your kids with other kids. Stop wishing your days were easier. Stop wasting so much time on the computer. Start recognizing the giftedness your children possess. embracing the blessing God has given. praying over […]
It's here . . . that after-holiday, mid-winter, off-my-groove, are-we-there-yet-? place. It's super easy to slide right into the doldrums during February. At least it is for me. So I created this calendar to remind me of my calling; to remind me to praise; to remind me that it's His strength I depend on for […]
We're currently reading Pollyanna, and Pollyanna's response to her new music lesson-reading lesson-cooking lesson-sewing lesson schedule got me thinking. "Oh, but Aunt Polly, Aunt Polly, you haven't left me any time at all just to–to live." "To live, child! What do you mean? As if you weren't living all the […]
I've had words in the past. Words that I hoped would shape my year, give me focus. Words God used to shape me. Strong words. Delight. Peace. Deliberate. This year my word is a simple preposition–leaving the before and after to be written. Beyond. Lord, I need x-ray vision– the ability to see beyond the […]
I get phone calls from friends and emails from strangers. "I'm not doing enough . . . I feel like a failure . . . Are my kids going to be okay? . . . I think I need to just put my kids back in school." Many of us agonize over the education and […]
dirty dishes reminding of the abundance of food I'm thankful piles of laundry proving we have clothes I'm thankful books needing reshelved after repeated readings I'm thankful children interrupting me reaching into my space and asking for my time I'm thankful because my boys will grow up dishes will be done laundry won't tower bookshelves […]
November, you always seem to bring the nagging, needling thoughts– accusing me of being behind. I start the year with an outline complete with goals and plans. I keep my sketch stretchy– allowing room for life, real learning, and even a little lazy. But somehow, every year, August's you can do this! is replaced by […]
"Spend at least ten wildly happy minutes every single day reading aloud." "Read with joy and enjoyment: real enjoyment for yourself and great joy for the listeners." "Read aloud with animation. Listen to your own voice and don't be dull or flat, or boring. Hang loose and be loud, have fun and laugh a lot." […]
Every once in awhile I receive a comment or email that reads something like this, "Great blog. I should be doing more with my kids. How do you do it all?" I smile at the compliment before screwing up my forehead at the rest. I'm not doing it all. This morning I asked God to […]
"You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me […]
Once upon a time there was an English teacher. When asked what she taught, she would reply, "literature" or "writing." Once upon a time the same teacher eventually realized she wasn't teaching "literature" or "writing." She was teaching students. Once upon a time that very teacher became a mom then a homeschooling mom. She taught her little […]