The other night I went to a fantastic concert by a jazz orchestra and an Ethiopian vocalist. I, along with hundreds of audience members, enjoyed every moment of it. As I looked around the mass of concertgoers I noticed, as I often do, the dearth of children in attendance. I counted at least three under… Read More Making kids welcome in the world
“My early successes in life were…a product of the consistent love and high expectations with which I was surrounded as a child.” — Michelle Obama, Becoming I just finished Michelle Obama’s excellent memoir. It made me laugh, cry, rage, and ponder. In many ways it was a respite, a reminder of the best in people,… Read More Instead of expectations
Recently I had the opportunity to see a bunch of moms from my old homeschooling days. We talked about our adult children, how and what they’re doing, and we engaged in some reminiscing. One mom and I discussed how we feel now that our kids are grown and we have more time on our hands.… Read More Homeschooling, feminism, & the third way
Even though semantic bleaching, the evolution of a word’s meaning over time, is a natural process in language, it can sometimes create confusion, annoyance, and even protest (think of the ongoing media lament over the word “literally”). In homeschooling circles, the current buzz is all about the word “unschooling.” Weeks ago I wrote about it… Read More The semantic bleaching of ‘unschooling’
A friend of mine volunteers for an organization called Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. In a time when marketers have unprecedented access to children, I think it’s a worthy cause. I had occasion to think about this last night after running into a fellow homeschooling mom I hadn’t seen in a long time. Our kids… Read More A commercial-free childhood
Recently I spent some time going through copies of my old Growing Without Schooling magazines, and rediscovered this article I wrote for Issue #141, in which I describe one of my favorite things about homeschooling. Four years ago, when my third child was born, our family was given a great gift from our homeschooling community.… Read More Homeschooling in community
I was delighted when I saw a recent New York Times article touting ‘Reading Aloud to Young Children Has Benefits for Behavior and Attention.’ Reading aloud was a huge part of our lives as our kids were growing up, and it still is. My husband and I read to each other every night, and we… Read More Reading for the joy of it
