Here We Go Again
This was my older son (and his twin sister) three years ago. He was receiving an albuterol treatment with a home nebulizer. It was one of many, many treatments over the course of two years. He had “reactive airway disease,” his pediatrician said. It’s a precursor to asthma, which apparently cannot be diagnosed reliably until age six. When I was a kid, they didn’t have reactive airway disease. I would have been promoted straight... Read More
A Marathon Field Trip
I had a another post planned for today, but I’m out of steam. There seem to be plenty of people I know who are out of steam lately. Can we just take a break today? Want to leave the house and worries behind and come with us on a field trip?! This is a virtual field trip, so we can visit the zoo, the gardens, and the aquarium all in one day! We can also skip the blowouts, the meltdowns, and the sore feet. Virtual field trips are awesome. By the... Read More
Teaching Young Children Not to Lie
If I could have a superpower, it might be omnipresence. I would love to be at all places at all times, especially where it concerns my kids. I’d love to keep them from falling down, to make sure they didn’t eat crayons, to stop them from throwing sand at each other. And I would love to be able to witness all infractions of the house rules, so I’d never have to ask who colored all over the table… In these cases, omnipotence... Read More
Of Felines and Phonics: Teaching Preschoolers to Read
My older daughter is enamored with cats lately. Here she is, below, with Aunt Annie’s remarkably patient cat: This is more than just a brief, passing phase. In the house, she crawls around looking for bowls of milk. When she takes a bath, she’s a catfish. When she gets hurt, she cries, “MeOW!” This is serious. I wasn’t worried until one day when she was “reading” her Bible to her little sister. She announced... Read More
A Homeschool Preschool Schedule
I think that if I never had children, I might have flown through life by the seat of my pants, accomplishing things in bursts of energy followed by down times. God apparently thought it was a good idea to give me a child who is different from me. My oldest girl thrives on schedules. She stretches me as I try to serve her. We don’t follow a schedule every day. But even doing some of it every few days brings smiles to faces around here. I don’t... Read More
Gearing Up for A One-Year Homeschooling Trial
Most endeavors – even the most fun ones – hit a lull at some point. I hit one recently with my section of the blog. I can’t describe how much I’ve loved “meeting” with friends and family each week to talk photography, kid antics, and even the occasional identity crisis. 🙂 This has brought some positive things to our home, and I’m thankful for that. I hit a lull because I’m deciding what direction... Read More
The List: A "Typical" Homeschool Morning
Each morning, I hand each of my kids a clipboard with a list attached to it. This list, folks, is a pipe-dream, a wild hope that they can manage to get through all of their assignments before 4:00. It rarely happens. But, after seven years of homeschooling, I still hope. And, after most-of-their-lives of homeschooling, they still react with shock and dismay to The List. Our days start quietly. Each child operates according to his or her own... Read More
Her First Haircut is DIY
The other day I was busy getting ready for a trip into town, and the kids were occupying themselves nicely and being quiet. They were being very, very quiet. It was one of those “I know something’s going on, but I just want a moment of peace” times. My younger daughter has never had her hair cut. I think she’s simply gorgeous, and I was beginning to develop sentimental attachments to her uncut hair. Similar to Samson and his... Read More
Homeschool Books and Materials: Singapore Math to Memoria Press
I opened the door to my daughter’s room Friday morning, camera in hand, to tell her that she needed to help me get some pictures for my blog, and this is what I saw, just inside her door: We’re not taking dowry offers yet, so don’t even ask. Anyway, my idea was to use the blog to answer the question that I so often am asked, “What do you use for homeschool books and materials?” I told the kids to gather up their main... Read More
Spiderman Cracks Under the Pressure
“I’m thuper thtrong, Mom!” Villains, beware. I don’t look forward to the kids outgrowing their mispronunciations. Last week I had a perfect opportunity to get a shot of my son in his hand-me-down spiderman pajamas and blanket cape. He was being a boy, chasing his shrieking sisters like a true superhero. I passed the moment by, probably because the floor didn’t look picked up or mopped enough to be in a photo. Yesterday... Read More
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