I love watching and listening to my boys engage in imaginative play. And when they are imagining worlds together with their friends, it gets even better.
I firmly believe that play is the work of childhood, and that imaginative play is one of the fundamental reasons why play is so important. Kids can learn so much through engaging their imaginations. … Continue reading
After over 9 years of attending library story time every Monday morning (unless we were out of town, of course), our weekly routine is changing. As we prepared to leave for story time last week, my youngest son declared, “Mama, I think I’ve outgrown story time. I’d rather read our own books.” It’s a big shift.
I started bringing my oldest son to story time when he was a tiny infant. … Continue reading
Last week I was writing an appointment in my calendar (yes, I still keep a paper calendar; you can read about it HERE) when I saw something move on our deck out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look and saw this fox. He was sitting there watching me. And he watched long enough that I was able to observe him a bit, then decide to set down my calendar, retrieve my phone, and take a picture. … Continue reading
Last week my 4-year-old discovered he could put together puzzles. Not the wooden puzzles we had around while he was a toddler, but more complex puzzles aimed at older kids.
His growth and development have made many big leaps recently, but this is one that he’s latched onto himself as being proud of. (His better sleeping skills are the one my sweetie and I are most delighted with.) … Continue reading
At a time when lies and propaganda are paraded about as truth, and when documentable facts are derided as “fake news,” I see this advice as more important than ever.
Not only is this critical advice to me as a homeschooling parent, but it’s imperative for all of us as we guide our children in their learning and growth. … Continue reading
The other day, my boys and I were reading our favorite version of The Lion and the Mouse. It’s a wordless, illustrated version put together by Jerry Pinkney. My boys love the fact that a small mouse can help to save the life of a mighty lion. In it, they see the power that lies in every small creature.… Continue reading
We are fortunate to have a community that supports our homeschooling endeavors in a great many ways. Our friends, our library, our local Maker’s Space, our favorite market, a local farm, an art studio, and more. They all come together to expose our boys to a wide array of information and experiences that we wouldn’t be able to easily provide on our own.… Continue reading
My 8-year-old received a Ticket to Ride board game over the holidays. He loves it so much, we’ve played it almost daily since he received it. Some days we’ve even played it more than once.
The game looks complicated at first. It gives you several different things to think about and manage as you play. But once you’ve played through a game and see how it all comes together, it’s fairly straightforward.… Continue reading
The winter holidays have now passed. My boys decorated gingerbread houses sometime in November, and since that time they’ve served as holiday decorations. (You can read about all the reasons that making gingerbread houses are great learning fun HERE, and some things I learned as a parent HERE.) At this point, the houses have sat around for a couple of months and we’re ready to let them go.… Continue reading
We were planning to take a road trip out to California to visit my family for Christmas. But between snowstorms in the mountains, sick relatives in CA, and our own exhaustion at year’s end, we decided we would be better off taking the opportunity to rest and spend time together here at home.
While we enjoy these big road trips (see HERE), we always come home exhausted; and often my boys have picked up a cold or other minor sickness while we’re on the road. … Continue reading