Self-care and YOU
Long walks. Hyperventilating into a paper bag. Meditation. Locking yourself in the bathroom with the vent fan on high so no one can hear you scream yourself hoarse into a towel. Journaling. Hooking up a barrel of wine to the …
Lifelong Learning
Back to School: Once More Into the Breach
Despite the sultry temperatures outside, the calendar doesn’t lie and so this morning Jack hopped on the big yellow cracker box to start 7th grade. It was a glorious summer, hot and sunny and fun and relaxing and chaotic and crazy …
What I’ve learned from four years of reluctantly homeschooling a twice-exceptional kid
If it’s February, it’s winter in Chicago, and I’m again suffering from a terminal case of AAS. It’s cold and dark (even when it’s sunny) and you wonder if you’ll ever be able to sit on a toilet seat again …
Last minute gift review: Compose Yourself
We’re at T-minus one week, ONE WEEK PEOPLE, until Christmas Eve. Are you ready? I am. Maybe. Kinda. I should probably wrap gifts and make sure I’m not missing anyone. And I think I need to get a few more …
I walk the line
And so the school year began. The boys are now back to whatever passes for school for them. J is into his first full week of middle school, and Andy has started the first of his online classes. I’m having …
I didn’t opt my son out of the PARCC tests
When you make a decision, it’s YES or NO in one form or another. When you don’t make a decision, or put it off so long that it’s made for you, you’re still making a decision, you’ve just decided to remove …
Is your kid dedicated or obsessed?
Two students. Two similar scenarios. Student one: Young, talented musician. Plays the cello, piano, and oboe. Listens to music constantly, on the radio, streamed on the internet, live. Composes in every clef with ease. Is homeschooled so has the flexible …
{GHF Blog Hop} No one told me I’d need these five things to homeschool a twice-exceptional teenager
In under a month I will be the mom of a teenager. I’m going to sit here and reread that sentence a couple thousand times and use the deep, controlled breathing I last used during childbirth. In under a month. …
Our homeschool motivation is just out of reach…because reasons
Because reasons. Because reasons is now my go-to explanation for when life goes pear-shaped sideways and things don’t get done. It’s shorthand for “I am in so far over my head that it would take a couple hours plus at …
How to prepare for parent/teacher conferences
It’s that time of year again, friends, when you toddle on into a school, sit in a wee little chair with your knees in your ears, and are presented with hard evidence of your child’s successes and struggles in school. …