Category: Uncategorized
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Ode to Aunt Teresa
Aunt Teresa was a woman ahead of her time. Born in 1925 into a family headed by my relatively-recently-arrived-to-Connecticut-via-Ellis-Island Italian grandfather, she grew up during the Depression with her parents and three brothers, one of whom became my father. She, like many of that era, retained a level of frugality that could seem insane to…
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Homeschooling during COVID-19? Don’t worry
Yesterday a social media friend shared an installment of the web series his two young daughters are creating. It warmed my heart, and reminded me of similar exploits undertaken by my own kids. In our slow homeschooling lifestyle, brainstorming, scripting, acting, and filming a web series is the kind of thing they had plenty of…
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The rise of hybrid homeschooling
It’s a new year, time for new intentions, resolutions, and oh yes, predictions. Last week I came upon an article that predicted four major education trends in 2020. One of them is “hybrid homeschooling.” It could just as easily be called “part-time school.” “For many families, the costs and obligations related to homeschooling are simply…
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Homeschooling: choice or sacrifice?
Recently I read an article that addressed sacrifices homeschooling parents must make. I appreciated the author’s thoughts and the honestly conveyed experiences she described, but I found that many of the sacrifices she wrote about are things I would not have thought to describe that way. That, in turn, got me thinking about the whole…
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Making kids welcome in the world
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…
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Let the play times roll
Imagination is a key component of being human. It enhances creativity, empathy, and happiness. As anyone who’s observed children knows, pretending and imagining are activities kids engage in naturally and with gusto. Unfortunately, adults sometimes come along and squash it. I was reminded of this by a new article by Dakota Antelman titled “A Young…
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Homeschooling on a shoestring
Originally posted on A Potluck Life: Recently I heard a parent casually remark that in her experience, homeschooling one child costs about eight grand a year. That certainly hasn’t been my experience. During the first ten years of my kids’ lives, the amount we spent was negligible. As teens the kids had interests they wanted…
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Why I’m giving up on ‘self-directed’
self-directed: making your own decisions and organizing your own work rather than being told what to do by managers, teachers, etc. — Cambridge Dictionary Language is like a living organism, growing, changing, and evolving over time. Sometimes I feel like these days, that process of language shifting happens all the more rapidly, reflecting the ultra-fast…
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Instead of expectations
“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,…
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Homeschooling, feminism, & the third way
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.…
A Potluck Life 