How Shamus Learned

Read Shamus’s story and think about what the death of a canary means for your own child in the public school mines.

My American Gods Dream Cast

I just learned that a book I love, American Gods by one of my all-time favorite authors, Neil Gaiman, is coming to HBO as a series. I am so excited — and nervous lest they mess it up as they...

Our Reading Stack

As in any homeschooling home, many things are being read most of the time. Here’s a recent run-down: Reading for a 9-year-old girl Mica (who is 9 and 3/4, which seems oddly appropriate to note in a...

Don’t Be a Hero?

Yesterday I read about a Canadian youngster who was reprimanded and sent home from school for stopping a bully who was threatening another child with a knife. “We don’t condone heroics in this...

Forcing Independence

This image appeared on the Facebook page Homeschool Quotes a couple of months ago: One of the commentors responded (this is her post as is, with no corrections): That’s some silly stuff !!! Don’t...

2012 Top Ten … or Thereabouts

I keep meaning to do a 2012 wrap-up … I guess I really ought to get to it before January runs out, eh? Here are my top posts from 2012. It may be ten … or it may not! We’ll see what I find when I...

As the Wood Turns

So I was bopping around on my computer yesterday and happened upon a the notice for a demonstration of wood turning by a local artisan. The demo started at 2:00. It was already 1:55 and we were 20...

Unschooling Till It Hurts

There are lots and lots of right ways to unschool … as many as there are unschooling families! And there aren’t many wrong ways to do it, except one I can think of: unschooling until it hurts. To...

What the Best-Dressed Daleks Are Wearing

So my adorable nine-year-old daughter decided to be an evil, soulless robot killer for Halloween. Specifically, a Dalek, one of the most feared creatures in the Whoniverse. (That is, the Doctor Who...

Snippets from Unschooling: Singing, Dancing, and NaNoWriMo

Have we been BUSY around here! Okay, mostly me, the chauffeur. The four kids get to rotate activities, but I have to take at least a small part in each and every one! ~ 1 ~ First we have our...

Life Hack: How to Seal a Bag

Oh my goodness, a life hack that totally works! I love this! I’ve seen this idea for how to reseal a food bag on Pinterest a couple of times and decided to try it out! The tiny water bottle I used...

Can Unschooling Be Scheduled?

Do the words “unschooling schedule” constitute an oxymoron? No! Sometimes a schedule is the only way for an unschooling mom to survive, especially when her unschooled children choose to participate...

Snippets from Unschooling: Mining, Building, Exploring!

~ 1 ~ “This is so cool.” [40 seconds later] “Okay, this is SO cool.” [30 seconds later] “This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!” This AND MORE LIKE IT from my ten-year-old son, after I referred...

Of Mystery Bruises, Medial Epicondyles, and Fuzzy Pink Socks

Anatomy lesson! Feel the inside of your elbow and find the big knob – not the one on the end, the one on the inside, toward your hip. That is the end of your humerus, called the medial epicondyle....

Wordless Wednesday: Say Yes!

When Strewing is Successful

“Strewing” is the practice of leaving interesting things in your children’s path to spark their interest. Unschoolers tend to swear by it! Over at the Christian Unschooling blog we’re exploring the...

Saying Yes: DIY Cake Decorating

Minky is having a (much delayed) birthday party and instead of a decorated cake or cupcakes, she wanted brownie cupcakes, and paraphernalia for each girl to decorate her own. Say YES to the mess!...

Wordless Wednesday: Sunset

Got this one with my phone, y’all.

Just Wing It: Being Colorblind

Lock (his other online handle is Retlock) is colorblind and is pestered by his friends who want him to identify colors for him. Okay, and we his family do it sometimes too! See my previous post on...

Protanomaly and Deuteranomaly and Colorblindness, Oh My!

My father wears shades of blue almost exclusively. That’s because my mother always bought his clothes in shades of blue. And that is because neither of them wanted her to have to dress him every...

Do Humans Have Vegetarian or Omnivore Teeth?

I’ve gotten a bit fed up (get it?) of seeing vegetarian sites claim humans should be vegetarian based on physiology, and then compare human form and function to herbivore and carnivore, but ignore...

Just Wing It: Wedding Gift

I’d like to say she exaggerated, but … yeah, this is about right. Mind you, I knew we still had a wedding gift or three still in boxes – lovely glass serving platters. (I’ve packed and unpacked...

Repurpose Old Books

In the past week I came across a couple of fabulous ideas for recycling old books. Mind you, these are for books that are beyond saving, or books that are truly past being useful, because they are...

For Lauren

Elijah Rainbow, 11.26.11 - 06.23.12 “I’ll lend you for a little time a child of mine,” He said, “For you to love the while he lives, and mourn for when he’s dead. It may be six or seven years, or...

In Memory: Elijah

“It is better to treasure the transient rainbow, than hope for something that might come later. Sometimes there isn’t a later. There is just today.” ~ Karen of The Unshackling A dear online friend...

Just Wing It: License to Drive

In case you’re wondering, yes, “To kill?” were my husband’s exact words when I told him (texted him, actually) that his daughter had a license. Just Wing It is drawn by my 16yo daughter Nova. See...

Snippets from Unschooling: Comedy, Comicon, and Driving Lessons

Time … okay, past time … for another seven snippets from unschooling! ~ 1 ~ Time … okay, past time … for Nova to learn to drive! She will be 17 this fall, and earlier this week she finally went in...

Wordless Wednesday: My Backyard Palm

Can Christians be Unschoolers?

There are a lot of varied opinions about homeschooling, but one that persists is a belief that unschooling is not something good Christians would or should do. The claim is that it is unbiblical...

Snippets from Unschooling: Jungle Book, Family Weddings, and Why I Haven’t Posted Much Lately

So, yeah. I haven’t gotten on my blog a lot lately, and frankly every May will look sparse around here – there’s always so much going on! This week’s Snippets will show why this May in particular...