This year marks Stephen’s fourth year in Essentials (which means this will also be my fourth year in Essentials – because we started in 3rd grade, back when Essentials was recommended for 3rd-6th grade). I have thought so much about words of wisdom I could offer to others who have asked, but it really has […]
Notebooking on a Shoestring & Scheduling Simplified
As we prepare for a new school year, can I take a moment to share what I’ve not been doing? (Actually, there’s a lot I’ve not been doing…) I’ve not been thinking much about paper, printables, and organization of papers and printables. I’m afraid I just can’t bring myself to battle the paper wars in […]
A Humbling Reality Check
“Comparison is the death of contentment.” Before I write any more posts about what we do (or plan to do) as a family, it is ultra-important to me that anyone who reads this blog knows the truth of our reality. [You probably remember that I’m not very good at cooking and cleaning? Yes, I’m much […]
When you’re not sure you measure up
A little girl digs deep inside trashcans at the local park to find bottles and cans that can be recycled for money. With grimy hands and a happy grin, she looks up at her mother, who is doing the same thing in the trashcan a little farther down the sidewalk. Together, they take their tattered […]
Plan vs. Reality: When You Spend All Year “Tapering”
I always look forward to sharing our plan vs reality at the end of each year. It’s my chance to show you just how much we don’t have it all together. So… here we are once again, looking back on another year gone somewhat awry. About this time last year, we were welcoming a fourth baby […]
Dealing with joy-stealers? Me, too.
bloom /blo͞om/ n. a flourishing, healthy condition; the time or period of greatest beauty, artistry, etc. -v. 1 to produce or yield blossoms 2 to flourish or thrive 3 to be in or achieve a state of healthful beauty and vigor 4 to glow with warmth or with a warm color. Today, I’m going to […]
A Trip through All About Spelling
Our family LOVES All About Learning products! But before I tell you why, let me provide a little background… As a Kindergartener, our second son spent four months struggling to use a reading program that was not working for us. When at the end of those four months, he still could not blend letter sounds into words, […]
CC Cycle 1 Usborne Book List
—This post was updated on July 8, 2017– For a little over two years, I embarked on an adventure as an Independent Consultant of Usborne Books & More to fulfill a dream I have for our family. While we still have the dream of working together in a family business, consulting with Usborne ended up requiring too […]
10 Things to Do with a Sixth Grader
Imagine for a moment… Your eleven-year-old child has been in the Classical Conversations Foundations Program for four years. He has successfully mastered three cycles of memory work, achieving the Memory Master award for Cycle 1, Cycle 2, and Cycle 3 (followed by a another round of triple-cycle “Mega” Master proofing). Now, he is entering his […]