Nathaniel Hawthorne’s obsession with homeschooling

Were all instructors like him, the world would soon be wise.Julian Hawthorne, son of Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his biography of his parents I suppose it is a strange fascination, but I have long been interested in what sort of education the great minds in western civilization received growing up. One thing folks with genius intellects … Continue reading Nathaniel Hawthorne’s obsession with homeschooling

Our adventures in Nantahala National Forest, part one: Standing Indian Campground

Exploring the AT at Rock Gap. We have had an extraordinary past two weeks playing around Georgia and the Carolinas. The first part of our trip was spent at Standing Indian Campground in Nantahala National Forest, at the headwaters of the Nantahala River, a river that is very popular for whitewater rafting. (Something to do … Continue reading Our adventures in Nantahala National Forest, part one: Standing Indian Campground

A review of Tara Westover’s Educated (by a homeschooler)

On Saturday mornings, we drive our daughter down to Naples for fencing lessons. Although Naples is not far away geographically, it takes roughly 45 minutes each way to get there with stop-and-go brunch and farmer's market traffic. Then her fencing lessons usually run about two hours long. This ritual requires that I tow along a … Continue reading A review of Tara Westover’s Educated (by a homeschooler)

How “Christian” homeschooling publishers like Memoria Press are selling out during the school choice boom

Long-time followers know that I am not much of a fan of social media. However, sometimes you learn some interesting things from participating in Facebook homeschooling groups. Today, I responded to a woman who was ranting on Facebook about Memoria Press's history curriculum. Specifically, she wanted to know why Memoria Press "deified" the Founding Fathers … Continue reading How “Christian” homeschooling publishers like Memoria Press are selling out during the school choice boom

A politics and law homeschool curriculum for middle school-aged kids

As promised... Here is a curriculum for introducing middle school-aged kids to topics in law and politics. (I'm planning to work through this material with our daughter next year.) It starts off with a general overview of political systems and how they have evolved from ancient times. It then gets into a discussion of how … Continue reading A politics and law homeschool curriculum for middle school-aged kids

An economics and finance homeschool curriculum for middle school-aged kids

Photo by Ibrahim Boran As I have mentioned here before, I have worked in economics and finance for decades. I started off managing portfolios for high net worth investors, worked as a government economist, then managed a multibillion-dollar portfolio of government debt as the head of a government agency. My husband and I now own … Continue reading An economics and finance homeschool curriculum for middle school-aged kids