Advice, humor, and burnout from a 30 year veteran.
Has your homeschooled teen outgrown you yet? Don’t freak out. It’s a normal phase of development. I remember how it was with Miss Number Five. She didn’t do the schoolwork when I told her to do it. She didn’t do it the way I said to do it. For example: now. But mostly she just …
When your Homeschooled Teen Outgrows You – with Audio Read More »
To be good at homeschooling, or at least to not let it lick you, you have to be good at the failures that are part of the everyday – the drawer full of broken pencils, the quarrel over the last working pen, the notebook that fell in with the odd socks and was swallowed whole.
My alma mater, Thomas More College, recently asked me what my liberal arts education did for me. TMC: You are a homeschool consultant as well as a speaker and author. How did the education you received at the College prepare you for your writing career, as well as educating your children and helping others to …
It was one of those homeschooling days. The kids were brutes and I was a beast. Later, when I forgot the soup and it turned to swill, I thought, “How appropriate.” The family assured me that it tasted fine but I didn’t like it – not the swill, not the beastly behavior, not the whole …
Homeschooling with a baby in the house seems distracting but it teaches kids values and life skills that go way beyond books. On this episode of Homeschool Impossible, we answer one of homeschooling’s frequently asked questions: How do you teach older kids with a baby in the house? Stay tuned. The answer will surprise you. …
Homeschooling with a Baby in the House – with Audio Read More »
If you’re barely getting homeschooling done because there’s too much going on, take a lesson from your junk drawer. Do you have a junk drawer? I do. It has dry pens, broken pencils, grubby crayon stubs, rogue staples, crumbs, and erasers that some long grown baby tried to eat for breakfast. But that isn’t the …
Barely Getting Homeschooling Done? A Lesson from your Junk Drawer – with Audio Read More »
What is a homeschool dad? If you said it’s a guy whose wife homeschools, you’re usually right. These dads come in more or less helpful varieties. The unhelpful ones put their wives on trial with a “let’s see how you perform” mentality. They’re not sold on homeschooling, merely tolerating it. They are dubious that it …
Cries of “Feminist!” greeted a recent compilation of articles under the heading, Homeschool Moms Discuss Raising Strong Daughters. Not your usual reaction to the phrase “homeschool moms” so I suppose the “strong daughters” were to blame. Anyway, it was a title guaranteed to interest me – a homeschool mom of six daughters. It didn’t hurt that …
Homeschool summers are those glorious three months when we get to enjoy all the benefits of homeschooling without doing any of the work. Summer is the sabbath of homeschooling. We’ve done our 180 days, finished all of our books, ended our co-op, completed our testing, seen our evaluator and turned in our paperwork. It is …
Are you stuck in homeschooling? Do you feel as if you’re running in place? Gasping for breath, feeling the burn but going no where? Time seems to loop like the movie Ground Hog Day; every day is like the one before. The only sign of growth is the mold on your shower curtain. Everyone is …
What did Melville write again, “The damp, drizzly November in my soul whenever I find myself pausing involuntarily before coffin warehouses?” That is exactly how homeschool burnout feels – only forget November. November is National Decorating Season in America. Having died before reaching the age of one hundred seventy-two, Melville never knew. I feel certain …
Got February Homeschool Burnout? Take 20 Minutes of Joy Read More »
It took me twelve years to complete this modesty article. Why the rush? Let’s just say I enjoy this topic about as much as men enjoy talking about childbirth. Would it surprise you to learn that I’m not alone? Many of my friends feel the same way. I’m not talking about my neighbors who wash the car …
The people on Hotel Impossible are all alike. They are hard working people with a simple dream: like running all the operations of a hotel even though they’ve never even been to a slumber party. They tend to make the same mistakes over and over – because they’re so good at them. Reminds me of …
Some spiritual works of mercy are more popular than others. “Comfort the Sorrowful” and “Counsel the Doubtful,” for example, have their own line of greeting cards with flowers and small, fuzzy animals on them. People buy them by the millions. But then there’s “Admonish the Sinner.” Has anybody bothered testing the market for this one? …
Do we really get Mother Mary? We know God made her perfectly sinless. She needed to be perfect, because Jesus would take his human nature from her. That’s why she was humble, meek, and so, so good. And that’s where we get stuck. Everybody focuses on Mary’s goodness. Some see her as a model disciple …