Layaway vs. Afterpay: Thinking about How to Effectively Incentivize Ourselves
When was the last time you heard about someone putting something on layaway? It used to be that stores advertised the option […]
Elizabeth Goudge’s “Linnets and Valerians”: Children at Their Most Magical
“Free to go where you like and do what you like.” Such a thing had never been said to them before. If […]
The Homeschool Mother’s Essential Summer Reading: Sarah Mackenzie’s “Teaching from Rest”
“Restful learning is not throwing all care to the wind, eschewing worthy goals such as mastery of math facts, the ability to […]
Noel Streatfeild’s “Ballet Shoes”: The Rhythms and Routines of Life and the People Who Make them Happen
Summer is the time in between, a time for reimagining the patterns of ordinary life. Once September is underway with a crush […]
The Pattern of a Beautiful Summer in Wallace Stegner’s “Crossing to Safety”
Wallace Stegner, the legendary author of the American West, also spent time teaching in New England. A keen observer, he recreates the […]
Summer and Keeping the Big Picture in Mind
It’s easy to wax poetic about summer: endless open time, seemingly endless hours of evening light. The reality can involve more children […]
Life in the South, a Life of Delight
The Southern states are oft-maligned. Ah, yes: “flyover country” with its masses of uneducated religious nuts, known for shooting squirrels and wrangling […]
How to Birdwatch with Kids
How do you get kids get interested in birds? How do you spend quiet minutes scanning the trees and straining your ears […]
When Words Are Not Enough
There is a manner in which the person with greater access to language has a richer experience of reality. The generic “flower” […]
The Joy of Growing Plants Even When You Think You Can’t
Many people remark that they are incapable of growing plants. “Green thumb? More like a black thumb!” How odd it is that […]