Hallowe’en Spirit

Hallowe’en used to be my favourite “holiday”.
When the kids were small, we’d spend weeks making Hallowe’en crafts, decorating the house and making costumes.  For years we threw a family friendly costume party with prizes for best costume, a full out buffet style feast and a myriad of games and activities for the kids.
In any case, [...]

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How Important Is Deschooling?

For us, deschooling has been a major part of our homeschooling venture.
Daughter spent almost 8 years in public school before we pulled her out. At first I saw deschooling as a phase we would go through and eventually come out on the other side of.
First, what exactly is deschooling?
I refer you here [...]

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Infertility Awareness Week

Thanks to MaryP @ It’s Not All Mary Poppins and her guest author Amy for this reminder that what many of us take for granted, being able to have children, others are suffering from an inability to conceive and that it’s a very lonely road to walk.
Amy writes:
“As it became apparent with each passing year [...]

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Evidence that School Was Trying to Dumb Her Down

When we first started homeschooling almost two years ago I was very tempted to just throw out everything she brought home from school with her. Sort of like a ritual cleansing of the past and a starting point for our new life without school.
But I didn’t. Call it procrastination, call it laziness, call [...]

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Wasn’t A Mistake

How do I teach my thirteen year old daughter
That being sixteen years old and the mother to her brother
Wasn’t a mistake
That though it was the end of life as I knew it
That it also didn’t mean that I totally blew it
How do I tell her that from that moment on
In this other human being, I [...]

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Giving Thanks

Monday is Thanksgiving here in Canada and I just wanted to post a few of the things I’m thankful for this year. Not in any particular order.
My family and friends – They like me! They really like me! Okay well, they put up with me at any rate and that’s worth being [...]

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Please Tell Me

Reassure me, that it’s not all about the booty
That T and A is not what life has amounted to
With a son in his early twenties
And a daughter just entering her teens
Please tell me that substance still means something
Please tell me that I’m not all by myself to think
That we’re selling our children short and out
That [...]

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From Here to Where Exactly?

We started getting our bearings for the BIG Volcano project. We built a mini one last month, a kind of prototype if you will.
Today was our preliminary project assessment. We discussed our options, listed our needed supplies and then came up with a few designs through drawings. Daughter wants to use paper [...]

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Civics Lesson

I took Daughter with me to the advance voting station today. Oh, didn’t you know, Canada is also having an election.
Anyway, I figured I’d take advantage of the advance polls and vote today instead of waiting for the 14th. Seeing this as an opportunity to show Daughter democracy in action, I insisted she come [...]

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Teens and Time

Teenagers have no concept of time!
Well, none that’s based in reality.  It’s like when they hit the teens a gear shifts and all of a sudden they confuse minutes with hours and vice versa.
Here’s just two examples:
Daughter (13): Mom! I have nothing to wear to Youth Night tonight!
Me: So do a load of laundry.  (D’uh!)
Daughter: [...]

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