Malcom X was known to remind African Americans that their history “did not begin in chains.” Well, duh, right? Everyone knows that, right? Except that, somehow, I didn’t. I’ve done a fair amount a anti-racism work in my life, trying to dig up and destroy all of its ugly roots from beneath the surface. Perhaps a sense of justice might have been enough to motivate me to do the work; but the truth is that the health of many... Read more
“Momma? Momma?” Zach was mock whispering and rocking my nearly comatose body back and forth, hoping to rouse me so that I could answer an urgent question. I should have been up, but it was June and I was sort of hoping we could all just pretend that school was out for the summer. “Mmmmm,” I managed to grunt. “Momma, Bro and I want to go on an adventure today.” “Can that wait until after I use the bathroom and... Read more
I love homeschooling in ways I couldn't have imagined three years ago. But it's never been easy, and many days I worry that we are not preparing any of our children well enough for what lies ahead, especially as we adopt a less-than-driven approach to schooling. When that happens, I stop and remind myself of why we are doing this. And it has nothing to do with reading, writing, and 'rithmetic. Read more
In that moment, I knew we had made the right decision to send the boys to camp. And in the panicky moments since then, I keep reminding myself that my boys will see a truer version of themselves in the eyes of those counselors than they often see in mine. And then I pray that I would have eyes to see that version too. Read more
When it comes to homeschooling, I've answered every question and critique in the book. From now on, I'll just refer people to this brilliant video. Read more
“I give you a lot of credit. I could never do it. If I homeschooled, we would all kill each other.” I hear some version of this nearly every week. The implication is that somehow I am different from those other mothers, the mothers who breathe a sigh of relief when they drop their kids off in the morning, the mothers who start getting a knot in their stomach the first week of June, wondering how they will make it... Read more
Blogging is good for her spiritual life. Blogging is bad for her spiritual life. What's a girl to do? Read more
Ezra’s been excited about painting lately, and he’s always over the moon about the aquarium. So for his birthday we got him a set of paints, brushes, and canvasses, along with a painting done by a seal and a voucher to go behind the scenes with one of the seal trainers. This video is of him receiving the painting and the voucher. I’ve written three different posts now, trying to say something about it. None of them are quite right,... Read more
When I was baptized, a woman came forward and prophesied over me, which, if you didn’t grow up in a Pentecostal church, can be a tad overwhelming. Referring to a biblical promise I hadn’t read, she said that God was going to restore to me all that the locusts had eaten. I had no idea what she meant, so I just stood there and smiled. She also told me that I was going write a book and become the mother... Read more
Church is not an adults-only resort. Yes, many parents need to do a better job parenting at church, but your hostile eye-rolling is not helping. Read more
The Homeschool Chronicles
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