At a recent meeting at our charter school, Abby was admiring the keyboard skin on our ES’s* laptop. Abby has long had a fascination with technology. (Her running birthday request for the last three years has been a phone, and she was legitimately disappointed not to receive one when she turned five.) The skin was … Continue reading "What I’m Teaching My Kids"
Read MoreCategory: Family and Parenting
There Will be Time for the Other Stuff Later
I’ve read a lot about abortion over the past week. News articles. Legal analyses. Fact-checking pieces. Personal essays. Opinions. Twitter threads. (Confession: I tend to do this when a big issue catches my attention. I take a deep dive, become consumed by everything there is to read about it. I don’t necessarily recommend this approach … Continue reading "There Will be Time for the Other Stuff Later"
Read MoreHappy Chaos, or, Babies are Good
Maybe it’s because Emmeline’s still so little. Maybe it’s because we homeschool, so I have Katie and Abby with me when many of their peers are at school. Maybe it’s the spacing of our kids, or maybe there’s some magic tipping point between three and four that pushes us into the “large family” category. Whatever … Continue reading "Happy Chaos, or, Babies are Good"
Read MoreOn Making Lists and Not Wasting My Life
A few months ago, I implemented something new in our homeschool: I started giving Katie a list. It always has the same things at the top. Get dressed. Tidy your room. Brush your hair. Practice the piano. And then, checkboxes for whatever she needs to accomplish that day. Math pages. Copy work. Spelling. Addition practice. … Continue reading "On Making Lists and Not Wasting My Life"
Read MoreIt Seems Like They Change Every Year: Some Thoughts on Routines and Striving for Perfection
Sometime when Katie was in preschool or kindergarten, my mom gave her a magnetic calendar. It had bright, colorful tiles, with places to note the weather and the season and the user’s current mood. It was the perfect addition to our nascent homeschool, and I was diligent to use it as a part of our … Continue reading "It Seems Like They Change Every Year: Some Thoughts on Routines and Striving for Perfection"
Read MoreOn Pink Sunglasses and Growing Pains, or, Joy in Every Stage
I was recently chatting with someone about young kids and their development. I told her how amazed I am whenever I think about how much is happening in their brains and bodies from birth to age three. She nodded, then grinned at Emmeline, who was busy being adorable in my lap. “Is it hard being … Continue reading "On Pink Sunglasses and Growing Pains, or, Joy in Every Stage"
Read MoreThree Sixteen
Three sixteen. If you grew up in the church (and maybe even if you didn’t), there’s a good chance those numbers bring to mind the best-known verse in the Bible, the Gospel in a nutshell. Here’s John 3:16, from The Message: This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one … Continue reading "Three Sixteen"
Read MoreThe Romantic and the Mundane
Gifts in padlocked boxes notwithstanding, we’ve never paid much attention to Valentine’s Day around here, so when we had the opportunity to see friends from out of town on February 14th, it was an easy decision. We had a not-in-the-least romantic but thoroughly enjoyable evening of conversation and toddler wrangling. After a few minutes of … Continue reading "The Romantic and the Mundane"
Read MoreAm I Doing This Thing Right?
Once, when Katie was three and having a hard time obeying, I told her, “When Mama or Daddy asks you to do something, you need to listen.” Her response? “I don’t believe that.” The incident is clear in my mind because that was the moment I knew I was totally and completely in over my … Continue reading "Am I Doing This Thing Right?"
Read MoreOn Grout and Wooden Trains and Things That Last
A few weeks ago, entirely by accident, I learned something about my steam mop. (How’s that for a riveting lede? I bet you’re on the edge of your seat.) There was a stubborn bit of something stuck to the floor, so I removed the mop head and used the scrub brush at the bottom of … Continue reading "On Grout and Wooden Trains and Things That Last"
Read More