Chronic illness. Professional obligations. Faith. Safety. These are just a few reasons parents homeschool their children. Some families travel or move a lot, so homeschool makes more sense than irregular attendance or constantly changing schools. Many students don’t thrive in a traditional school setting. Other children are prodigiously talented and need unusual amounts of time … Continue reading Homeschool: Standards are Good. Flexibility is Key.
Category: Essays
Wasps and Leaves
He asked me this last night, his words tripping over each other. His little hand tightened on my forearm as he waited for my answer. It’s been deliciously cool lately--a presentiment of fall in the early days of July--and the mornings are especially fine. I said yes.
Life With Five Kids
It’s like herding cats into the shower, then feeding them caviar from gold-plated bowls monogrammed with diamonds. (Okay, so you probably don’t need me to tell you that it’s sometimes crazy and expensive.) Thankfully, there’s a lot of joy and laughter as well. And most of the time, it’s just plain fun. Way more fun … Continue reading Life With Five Kids
Holy Week: Nature Tells The Truth
Maybe you've shoveled compost into your garden beds, mixing the dark organic matter that some gardeners call "black gold" into your native soil. Or, maybe you've walked into the woods and inhaled the moist, verdant fragrance of humus, that soft, springy top layer of the forest floor. What does that fresh, earthy fragrance have in … Continue reading Holy Week: Nature Tells The Truth
In the Company of Trees
Six years ago, when my family moved from a suburban lot in Texas to the feet of Great Smoky Mountain National Park, I felt we had entered Eden. Rivers brimmed with water, the landscape curved voluptuous, and trees covered hills and mountains in the rich, warm shades of autumn. Soon after our arrival, I wrote the following. I … Continue reading In the Company of Trees
In the Quiet 