We also spend a lot of time talking about time because we time music practice. My ten-year-old is great at knowing how much time is left during piano practice. He is an ace when it comes to asking me ten minutes before his ten o’clock bedtime if he can just finish what he’s doing. Read more
Ryan Paugh and Caitlin McCabe, who I have known since when they were just out of college, sent me a Christmas card with the most adorable picture of them and their two kids. I emailed Ryan and said, “I love your card so much, that I decided to send my own.” Read more
I started out homeschooling with a curriculum plan in mind. I figured I’d teach my kids everything I like learning. That lasted for about three weeks. Then I became an unschooler. A militant unschooler. That lasted for about three years. Then I became a mom who is teaching to the test. Read more
I know there are lots of parents out there who are facing what seems like an impossible task of having kids home for two weeks, without having a household set-up for that. I want you to know that first of all, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad parent. Read more
This is a photo from the photographer who was at our house yesterday. Not that having a photographer at the house is unusual—we have one here every so often—but this one, Paulius Musteikis, was different. He was sent by a magazine publisher the first time, but he came back because I asked him to. Most photographers come from New York or Los Angeles, but he’s from Madison. So close! Read more
I’m reading a book about child prodigies because I’m fascinated by the mental health risks of having that label. I was first introduced to the negative impact of being labeled special when my grandma gave me The Drama of the Gifted Child. Read more
This is a guest post from Sarah Faulkner. She is a homeschooling mom in Washington state. She has five kids, ages 13, 11, 9, 5, and 2.
The part of me that makes me so socially inept is the emotional piece.
It would stand to reason that six years ago, when I adopted my son, life was laughing manically that I was adopting a child who is emotionally challenged forcing me to deal with my own ineptitude. Read more
Remember how the AMA recommendations concerning screen time have been terrible? For example, the AMA treats TV and video games the same even though one is passive and one is active. Read more
Once my unschooling son announced he wants to get a Ph.D. in biology I decided I had to get serious about making sure he can get into college. I had been hard-core about not teaching the kids to read (kids can teach themselves, really). And I read over and over again that there is no reason to start teaching kids math until sixth grade, so we didn’t do math either. Read more
It’s clear that the most effective way to teach kids is to customize teaching to the way the kids learn, and to the interests the kids have. Read more