"A man of character finds a special attractiveness in difficulty, since it is only by coming to grips with difficulty that he can realize his potientialities." - Charles de Gaulle. As of this post, Luke has achieved the rank of Staff Sargeant in the Lorain County Civil Air Patrol, a program I can't recommend highly enough. CAP …
Category: Homeschool Life
Homeschool: A Weapon of Crass Destruction
First difference between summer and school: Summer. Kids: "We're bored. Amuse us. Divert us. Spend money on us." Me: Can't you go play Legos or find something to do for just a little while?" School. Me: "Kids? Where are you? It's time for school... Kids?" chirp... chirp... So school has begun, and I can't …
Learning From Experience
Recently Luke (12 years old) was given an assignment to relate an experience in which he learned something valuable. The catch: the lesson could not come from a book. Funny that we now consider experiential learning to be the exception rather than the rule. Curve ball coming: when have you learned something from your life? …
Good Morning
Upon waking, I sip my coffee either upstairs or downstairs, depending on which living space is less messy. Today was a toss up. These are my slippered feet and my PJ's; that is my cat, and this is what my view usually does NOT look like in the morning. Warning: this may sound like …
A fresh perspective...
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 …
KL Griffiths 