This week I attended a screening of Clara Bellar’s film Being and Becoming. The movie portrays the filmmaker’s process of learning about unschooling in order to determine whether to choose it for her own family. It’s a personal journey that takes us to the United States, France, England, and Germany. One of the movie’s strengths is… Read More Unschooling: All you need is love
The nights are getting cooler, our first butternut squashes from the garden have been picked, apples are showing up at my local farmers’ market. Fall is coming, the season of mists and yellow fruitfulness, to quote John Keats. It’s the season of the bittersweet, harvests of plenty, and the last gasps of beauty and fullness… Read More Not back to school time, again
This was supposed to be a celebratory post. It’s been on my list to write about the Boston Area Homeschoolers’ Queer Straight Alliance (BAHS QSA), and the HEDA Project, the new venture they’ve just launched. The group is close to my heart for many reasons, including the fact that my own kids were among its founding… Read More Spreading love with the HEDA Project
We all have them, right? Summer memories of lazy days, popsicles, swimming, pick-up games of tag or kickball, and oodles of fun. Well, maybe we don’t all have them, especially since summer has become just another season for scheduling stuff. These days, when people ask What are your kids doing this summer? the answers generally include multiple… Read More What are you doing this summer?
This morning I came across a new book written by Michael Kenmore, a homeschooled adult. It purports to be a neutral analysis of homeschooling by someone with firsthand knowledge of growing up outside of school. I really want to read the book. I think homeschooled adults can have valuable perspectives we should all look at.… Read More Homeschooling without polarization
Today I read one of the best articles about homeschooling I’ve encountered in a long time. In How to homeschool a 4-year-old, Amy Wright Glenn discusses why and how she and her spouse homeschool. Reading it was like taking a short walk down memory lane. When Wright Glenn talked about her son’s engagement in physical activity… Read More Why to homeschool a 4-year-old
Today my baby turns 17. Where did the time go, hard to believe, seems like just yesterday she was learning to walk, wearing the same yellow tutu every day, small enough to nestle comfortably on my hip and cling to me as I held her. I don’t think I’m the only mom who, on her… Read More Happy home birth day
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the concept of normal. Yesterday I thought about normal again when I read about two brave individuals living the lifestyle of their choice. Sarah A. Chrisman and her husband Gabriel embrace their love of the Victorian era with a rare level of commitment. They use an old-fashioned… Read More If the quirky shoe fits, wear it
The other day I was talking to a fellow homeschooling parent about the Boston Magazine article. She pointed out that the homeschooling families profiled were depicted in the living room, not the kitchen. That’s true. The photo of my family was taken in our living room, as was the picture of Robert Holzbach and his… Read More Out of the kitchen, into the living room
The Boston Magazine article has only been out for a few days, but it’s generating a lot of discussion, which I think is great. The biggest complaint I’m hearing and reading about in comments addresses the use of the word elite. I understand the criticism. I cringed when I saw it, too, because when we… Read More As elite as you want to be
A Potluck Life 