A tool for teaching kids discipline and respect

I bought this notepad for our daughter. It's such a nifty idea that I had to share it. Each page is exactly the same - a daily checklist of things to do to help make their household a happy place and develop their talents, then a checklist of "good deeds." Our eight-year-old loves trying to … Continue reading A tool for teaching kids discipline and respect →

Raising children that flourish and will be taken seriously

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 I came across this 2017 article from Forbes recently, 13 Things Mentally Strong Parents Don't Do, and thought I would share it … Continue reading Raising children that flourish and will be taken seriously →

The CDC guidelines for reopening schools are next-level bonkers

To be honest, I have stopped following most of the coronavirus "news" because it's all too agenda-driven and stupid for words now. Living in an aggressively open state that isn't hell-bent on committing economic suicide or censoring well-meaning dissent, it feels like the descriptions of life in other more... draconian? fascist? cruel? ... places relate … Continue reading The CDC guidelines for reopening schools are next-level bonkers →

Two fledglings!

Of the two bald eaglets in our neighborhood nest, Jules and Romy, both have now fledged the nest. Jules just up flew the nest for good a while back, though the fine folks at the American Eagle Federation think Mom and Dad are taking care of her off-site, bringing her food and teaching her to … Continue reading Two fledglings! →

This video made my heart sing

You all know I love unapologetically aggressive homeschooling / after-schooling parents, and this guy definitely gets it. https://twitter.com/RexChapman/status/1254238940917387270

Responding to Harvard Magazine’s insane article on homeschooling

I wasn't going to respond to that spectacularly ignorant article in Harvard Magazine about homeschooling because it falls into the "someone is wrong on the Internet" category from which no edifying debate can emerge. But so many readers have hate-shared it with me now that it would be more efficient for me to fisk it … Continue reading Responding to Harvard Magazine’s insane article on homeschooling →

Nostalgia

I spent most of my youth in Doc Martens and Vans, so it was kind of hilarious that I found these for our daughter. Yes, they do leave a trail of glitter everywhere. I wish I could still get away with wearing stuff like this in public.

Homeschooling by flashlight

This has been a surreal day so far. It is normal to have tornado outbreaks across the Deep South as the seasons change, and I associate this time of year as being all rain, all the time. (Hey, at least it's good for my gardens.) The storms from the last couple of weeks have been … Continue reading Homeschooling by flashlight →

How your children remember this crisis depends on your emotional maturity

I have seen a ton of Facebook mommy group types carrying on about how this event is going to "change" their children and how they will probably live with this permanent fear of the world. I suspect that was probably already true of their children, because they are growing up in a household where emotional … Continue reading How your children remember this crisis depends on *your* emotional maturity →

The secret language of children

Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to loseNothin', don't mean nothin' hon' if it ain't freeKris Kristofferson, Me and Bobby McGee One of the silver linings of this moment in time is that it has turned our neighborhood into The Sandlot. Our daughter is finally getting the childhood we'd always wished she'd have during … Continue reading The secret language of children →