The storm surge at Fort Myers Beach during Hurricane Ian One touch of nature makes the whole world kin. William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida As longtime readers know, our family lives in Fort Myers, Florida, where Hurricane Ian made landfall this week. Words cannot express how much we appreciate those of you who reached out to … Continue reading Trying to reason with hurricane season
Tag: Homeschooling
Postcards from La-La Land
The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest A few weeks ago, I saw a post on Facebook from Jamie Erickson's page "The Unlikely Homeschooler." It starts off with how she tried to read J.D. Salinger's classic novel The Catcher in the Rye, but quit after a single … Continue reading Postcards from La-La Land
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)
Good works
As it is not one swallow or a fine day that makes a spring, so it is not one day or a short time that makes a man blessed and happy.Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics One of the strange things about being a Roman Catholic is all of your non-Catholic friends and acquaintances will eventually start peppering … Continue reading Good works
The start of a new homeschooling year
Our daughter, Elise, will be 10 years old at the end of January, but last week began what we are calling 6th grade. I say "we are calling" it 6th grade because, in reality, she's already doing high school- and college-level work in most subjects. But the first question adults ask your child when they … Continue reading The start of a new homeschooling year
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
Days of Sunshine 