A fresh perspective...
Category: Homeschool Life
Excellent, Not Perfect
My greatest challenge: teaching my children. I began more than ten years ago with the crushing pack of my children's education pressing down on my shoulders, and it has become a burden light and wonderful to carry. There are some days when the weight again seems unbearable and any mistake whispers the lie: "You're …
Come Home With Your Shield Or On It
The first week back to homeschool. One week down, 31 more to go. Week increments don't sound so bad. Like marathons... just 26 miles. Week 1. The bad news is that we had tears every day. The good news: they weren't mine. I'm reading The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, in which …
Knowledge is Power
My children enjoy making "forts" to sleep in or read on, whatever. It's becoming clear to me that my children hate to use items in the manner for which they were intended. Whether it's playground equipment, stairs, dowel rods, couches, beds (that's a big one), they would rather create a new use for it because …
Thoughts On The Painful Examination We Endure When Critiquing Our Own Parental Decisions “We are just God’s instruments. It’s all up to Him.” My friend Nancy sent that to me today. I count myself richly blessed by the friendship of Nancy and her husband, who often encourage me, challenge me, and have literally “been there …
The Prince and the Pupil
Were I a sailboat I'd presently be foundering on the homeschool doldrums. By chance I also happen to be reading The Prince by Machiavelli, a sort of rule book for tyrants. Machiavelli writes, "Men ought either to be well-treated or crushed, because they can avenge themselves of lighter injuries, of more serious ones they cannot." So is it …
I’m taking the good with the bad
This is me doing Algebra II with Tory, who refuses to have her picture taken (she would be to the right). Notice the birds on my back and arm. They are waiting for me to die so they can eat me. The cat is hoping I'll survive the lesson on experimental data equations so that …
Spontaneous Learning
My boys were fighting over legos during school time- super distracting to our learning groove. Grrrr So I told them I intended to take all their legos out of their rooms and put them in a common area for them to play with whenever. No one would "own" any legos. Sharing would prevail and peace would abound. …
KL Griffiths 