I had the extraordinary privilege of traveling to China in May for the Chengdu Homeschool Conference plus a few days of sightseeing. I spent the first part of the trip in Chengdu, which is in the Sichuan province. After the...
Under the Willows by James Russell Lowell, 1819 – 1891 May is a pious fraud of the almanac, A ghastly parody of real Spring Shaped out of snow and breathed with eastern wind; Or if, o’er-confident, she trust the date, And, with her...
Is there any reason for an ordinary person to learn decent penmanship? I believe there is, even if handwriting seems difficult or unnecessary. Clear italic or cursive penmanship is an art form that virtually anyone can master. Because handwriting is...
Praise has power. Well-earned and properly given praise has the power to motivate and build confidence, while improperly directed praise can create unhealthy attitudes, provide an inaccurate self-concept, and even make children unwilling to try new or hard things. What...
My granddaughter called this morning, and we talked about building snowmen. Since we are both living in a snow globe, it seemed a perfect topic. However, I did experience a pang of guilt upon hanging up. Remembering the years of...
A Simple Year-End Planning Routine Each year at this time, I try to spend at least an hour each day planning, organizing, and tidying. A tidying of my physical space helps to organize my mind and heart for the new year, but I’ve discovered that year-end planning works...
The greatest gift of all When you are planning a gift, it can be hard to know what a loved one might need or want. There is one gift that is truly one-size-fits-all, and when truly given, it will not...
Almost everyone I’ve talked with for the past few weeks has sounded overwhelmed and exhausted, so although this week’s post was supposed to be about planning, I’m going to postpone that for something a bit lighter—a review and giveaway of...
Charles Dickens (1812–1870) is one of the best-known authors of Victorian England, and he has created some of the most memorable characters in British Literature. Early Life He was born on the 7th of...
John Milton (1608–1674), author of Paradise Lost and other works, was an English poet. He was born in Bread Street, Cheapside, London, on the 9th of December 1608. Milton’s Parents and Early Life His father,...
In “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General” from The Pirates of Penzance, Gilbert and Sullivan’s character introduces himself by presenting an absurdly detailed résumé in the musical form of a “patter...
The Ballad of Reading Gaol (gaol is the British spelling of jail) narrates the story of an execution that occurred while Oscar Wilde was imprisoned in the late 1890s. It does not attempt to...
Robert Burns (1759 – 1796), a Scottish poet and lyricist is not only the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, but he has long been considered the national...
