Yup, there’s a problem. And it’s not that our government is slashing funding to NASA, so I had to see ads for Guitar Center before I got my mission control update at the Houston Space Center today (although that did disturb me). The problem is that there are two wildly different versions about what happened here in Houston today. I’ll share them both, and then you can weigh in. My Version: I saved up frequent flyer miles to visit a... Read more
I introduced the definition of verb today. We focused on those verbs that convey action. After having the boys repeat the definition several times, I read a list of verbs aloud while they acted them out. I picked verbs I knew they would have fun with: Fight. Kick. Laugh. Burp. After nearly twenty verbs, I had them sit down and asked them to name some more. Zach shouted, “Wrestle!” and they began their version of a Greco-Roman throw-down. When I... Read more
Barbara was an early supporter of this blog. She commented on several posts, both on and offline. She knew far more about educating young kids than I do, but she was intrigued by this crazy project of ours. When the boys were looking for service opportunities, she introduced them to her brother-in-law, who needed some help that she could no longer provide as her illness was progressing. Then she wrote the boys a long letter about her husband’s family and... Read more
Tonight as I was putting the boys to bed, I prayed, “Thank you, God, for letting my boys tap a maple tree.” “You’re still jealous of us, right Mom?” asked Ezra. I don’t think I was jealous of my 6 and 8 year old sons. I think I was just psyched that they had so much fun, learned so much, and came home from their naturalist class all fired up about tapping trees. Really, I begrudge them nothing. So on... Read more
Did you know that NONE of the kids’ books on bees or frogs or penguins or pandas mentions the father’s role in reproduction. At first, I thought it was a fluke, but I’m starting to think it’s some kind of conspiracy. It could be the much feared castrating feminists. Or maybe it’s some segment of the Bible brigade, the one afraid that if we tell kids that bees copulate, they will all become crack-addicted teen parents. Either way, it’s weird.... Read more
Your lips drip nectar, my bride; honey and milk are under your tongue; the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. (from Song of Solomon) Those crazy, biblical lovers really knew how to pour it on, didn’t they? And what exactly does it mean to have honey and milk under your tongue? Deep, theological explanations abound, but I like to think that she simply tasted and smelled good. In any case, it sounds aromatic and yummy. I... Read more
So, I helped them. So what? So what if I typed every other sentence for Ezra because he was going along at about a word a minute and I had a lunch date? So what if I went back with Zach and corrected all of the sentences that he didn’t start with a capital letter – which would be ALL of them? So what if I corrected all of the spelling mistakes and put in all of the paragraph breaks... Read more
The boys made snow volcanoes today in their “Home Schooled Naturalists” class.” They could not stop talking about how amazing it was, far more exciting than the active volcanoes we saw last month in Costa Rica. I can understand it, though. Six boys, snow, vinegar, baking soda, food coloring, and thing erupting. How could that not be great fun? Zach called me this afternoon and asked me to leave work to buy supplies so that he and Ezra could make more... Read more
Today was a big day. For me anyway. We took out the fancy timeline books I bought for the boys and made our first entries. Why is that such a big deal? Because a coherent timeline is perhaps the single biggest gap in my education. (Hence my embarrassing confusion about dinosaurs and humans.) I never made the links between bronze and kings, between silk and imperialism, between anything that happened in one part of the world and something that happened... Read more
The most common type of prayer we do as a family is called Thank you, Sorry, Please. You start by sharing your feelings of gratitude and thanks, follow them with sorrow over any wrongdoing, and end with any requests. Thank you, Sorry, Please. Simple, but powerful. But not always, as in this especially charming prayer from Ezra this morning: God, thank you for this day. Like all the others. Because that’s what people usually pray for. And I’m sorry for... Read more
The Homeschool Chronicles
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