Home School Life

Well, I’ve been putting off posting because I’m afraid my posts are going to be photo-free for awhile. Somehow my camera went missing in the midst of an (already somewhat miserable) trip to the miniature golf course. We think it may have something to do with the two guys golfing behind us who mysteriously gave [...]

Tags: camera, homeschooling, knitting, language arts, spelling, waldorf

The Girl loves food. She almost always has a little nibble in her mouth and has a fine appreciation for the culinary arts. Above is a picture of her working in her book during main lesson today. Amid the tabletop full of pencils, books, and bags is an empty popcorn bowl and a mug full [...]

This weekend The Girl and I went on our first (annual?) mother/daughter backpacking trip. The weather did not cooperate too much and I learned that my tent needs more waterproofing, but we still had a great time. When we started on the trail it was cold and foggy and dismal, but there is something about pulling out [...]

Tags: backpacking, camping, homeschooling, nature

I am, quite often, a dreamer. I love to think about what the future will bring — dreaming about moving to England and working on a Camphill for a year, imagining taking another group of students through the grades, even thinking about the far-off future days when my children have flown the coop and I [...]

Tags: early-childhood, Life, thoughts, waldorf

I knew I wanted to paint with The Girl soon, and given that she’s getting pretty tired of writing about the things we study together and that algae didn’t seem as engrossing to her as mushrooms — I thought a painting would be the perfect recall for our study of algae. It also really lends itself to [...]

What is it about Mondays? I was so completely unprepared for the absolute lethargy that overtook my daughter today. I tried jumping jacks, sending her on chores around the house, a protein-rich breakfast — but still, she just couldn’t do anything today! After a little bit of work in a lesson that was already shortened due [...]

My oldest is 14 today. It is so clear to me that he is at the end of one of those 7-year cycles of life. With each passing day I am reminded how he is leaving the realm of childhood and entering the world of young adulthood. I look forward to having an adult child [...]

This morning Alice and I went on a mushroom walk. After dropping the boys off we went to a nearby trail and walked along, searching for mushrooms. I never cease to be amazed by the change that overtakes my children when we start upon a trail in the forest. The complaining and bickering in the [...]

I remember from when I was teaching that it is often the second day that knocks you flat. Everyone is so happy and excited on the first day that it all goes just swimmingly, hence you are lulled into a false sense of security about the second day. Our second day was a bit like [...]

One of the virtual places I frequent is the “Schooling at Home” message board on Mothering.com. There is a group of homeschooling mothers there who share tips, ideas and curriculum advice — it’s a very supportive community.
Some of these moms also have blogs and there was a suggestion that we choose a daily topic, post [...]