A hundred years ago, the term teenager wasn’t used—at least not in everyday circles. Instead, people were either children or adults, usually distinguished by marriage and/or “leaving the farm”. With the Industrial Revolution and mandatory high-school attendance, the gap years between 12 and 20 became something more significant. Now, teens could choose to go work […]
Parenting
Monday Mess-Ups Made Acceptable
Monday felt like Monday today. I tried to avoid it; I even gave myself a pep talk before getting out of bed. “It will be okay. You have so much to be thankful for. Choose joy.” Before breakfast, the third sibling tells me what the first one did and how angry they are over the […]
Yes, Fathers Matter
I grew up during the era of dumb-father shows: Step by Step, Home Improvement, and later, Everybody Loves Raymond. Although other shows like Full House featured a motherless home, it took three quirky men to take the place of raising the daughters. Most of the time, the dads were seen as ignorant and lost–hopeless cavemen. […]
Rethinking Education
I don’t agree with this guy 100%, but he does raise some interesting questions. Does our educational system need revamping? Even if a child “succeeds” through high school and college and graduates with a 4.0, how much of that information will they remember? Have they learned more than how to regurgitate facts? “Forgetting is almost […]
A Few Things Homeschooling Has Taught Me
I rarely write about homeschooling, even though I’m passionate about this area of our lives. Despite the world’s quick—and often ignorant –judgements on homeschooling families, I don’t want other families to feel judged or condemned from me if they choose to utilize the public or private educational vectors. Parents can parent well regardless of how […]
Reconciling the Various Stages of Who We Are and Who We Become
Because the kids spent the night with grandparents into Labor Day, I had the rare opportunity to wake up to an empty house Monday and then spend the whole day alone. I can’t recall when that happened–not one person for 8 whole hours. The house was so quiet, I heard noises I’m not usually able […]
Helping Your Kids Deal with Stress
Everyone’s heard of our natural response to stressful situations with the “fight or flight” mode. When our adrenal glands overwork, our liver dumps extra sugar into our system, the hormone epinephrine fuels the body, the heart rate accelerates and the lungs work harder (Exploring Creation with Anatomy and Physiology). But what happens when we can’t […]
What I Learned from Wild Kratts and the Musk Ox
Life can be harsh and unrelenting and sometimes the cold is just too much for one person–or ox–to face alone. My boys love watching Wild Kratts, and the other day I overheard an interesting fact about the musk ox (a goat-like animal that lives in the arctic regions). When wolves or frigid temperatures overwhelm the […]
Common Sense Has Left the Building
Imagine your neighbor comes over and plants a rose seedling in your yard. You don’t notice it right away, but even after you do see it start to develop and grow, you think, “Man, this isn’t a convenient time to have a rose bush. What do I know about growing and maintaining roses and do […]
Getting Your Kids to Think Deeper
The things my children say–and I in response to them–would never have crossed my imagination prior to having offspring of my own. You just can’t believe the quirky quips they toss….without even trying. At lunch time last week, my youngest–and most talkative–assessed the items on his plate. “What is this orange thing here?”My response: “Um, […]