Tagged: parenting

What can you learn with the freedom to adventure?

Learning through Freedom to Adventure

What is education? Is it sitting in a classroom; watching video lessons; or reading stacks of books? Or is education the process of gaining knowledge through study and experience — learning through the freedom to adventure? For two boys in...

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose by John Singer Sargent,

Take your children outside! Here’s why.

Most of my favorite childhood moments took place outside. I remember hours of playing with neighborhood children — skating, riding bikes, playing hopscotch, and acting out stories around my swing set and playhouse. Other happy hours were spent with my grandfather...

Learning Styles: Do they really make a difference? Can they be a roadmap to better teaching?

Learning Styles: Do They Make a Difference?

In the How to Homeschool a Boy series (the three previous posts), I talked about some of the things I learned through the homeschooling years. One of the first things I learned about was learning styles, or preferred ways of...

Momma, Want to See a Snake? How to Homeschool a Boy, Part 1

It was a beautiful spring day, and we spent most of it with doors open, happily going in and out with various tasks and projects. It was mid-afternoon when my youngest son came in. “Momma, do you want to see...

Give Your Child the Benefit of the Doubt

Do you remember what it’s like to be a child? Do you remember struggling with something and being told, “Come on, it’s easy! You’re just not trying.” Or worse, “You could do better if you weren’t so lazy/careless.” Do you...

Family dinner conversation can create many pleasant memories.

Family Dinner Conversation

Sharing family dinner Is there anything more delightful than sitting down to dinner with family? Even if you’re having something as pedestrian as grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, the company and conversation can be joyous and memorable. And as...

Carnival of Homeschooling- The Spring Fever Edition

Is anyone else ready for spring? The daffodils are up, forsythia is glowing at the edges of the woods, and from my cozy spot by the woodstove, the bright sunlight offers the illusion of warmth. It’s quickly dispelled by the...

Do what you can with what you have, right where you are. It's all you can do.

Decision-Making: The “Anti-Supposed To” Manifesto

Learning to make good decisions is a lot like learning to walk. Babies do a lot of creeping, crawling, and falling before they are walking well. If you tried to keep them safe by never letting them out of the crib, you’d end up with a disabled adult. If you never allow your children the freedom to make small decisions and fall when necessary, they may be safe, but they’ll be crippled.

156th Carnival of Homeschooling- Winter in Paris

Welcome to the December 23, 2008 edition of carnival of homeschooling! As you browse through the posts, I thought you might enjoy some of the scenes from a December trip to one of my favorite cities, Paris, appropriately nicknamed “The...