The Autodidact

I love it when Christmas falls on a Sunday. Going to church first thing in the morning, then coming home to open presents! The front page of the Sunday newspaper was mostly covered with a picture of a live Nativity scene. It was gratifying to see the birth of Christ portrayed in that manner. It was hard to miss- in your face, so to speak, and yet it was reverent and beautiful. Tucked away in the middle of the newspaper, a very small news article reported a new born baby was found in a trash can in a Wal Mart bathroom. An employee made the startling discovery- I can't imagine what that person must have felt. Panic? Wonder? Anger? A Baby. Placed lovingly in a manger by his mother. A baby. Thrown away in a trash can by his mother. The two stories seemed unrelated to me a first. Disconnected. One was so lovely. The other was so barbaric. One was a celebration. The other was never meant to be discovered. Yet, there is a connection. One so strong and obvious, I was surprised I

Here's a hearty dish for a cold night. It's kind of like chili; a bit sweeter, but just as satisfying. You can either bake it in the oven, or throw it in the crock pot. Typically, I use the following: 1 can green beans 1 can wax beans 1 can kidney beans 1 can lima beans 1 31 oz can baked beans But, sometimes I can't find wax beans, or I'm just not in the mood for limas. You can use two cans of a 3 bean salad if you can't find wax beans. Also, you can use another can of the baked beans in lieu of two cans of any of the beans. It's up to you! Anyway, whip up: 1 t chili powder 1 16 oz can tomato sauce 1 6 oz can tomato paste 1/4 cup water 1 T dry mustard 1 cup brown sugar OR 1/2 cup maple syrup and a pinch of stevia powder Set aside and start browning 1 pound of bulk breakfast sausage Meanwhile, cut up: 2 onions 2-3 stalks celery When the sausage is done, combine all ingredients in a very large casserole dish, or the crock pot. Cook in th

MERRY CHRISTMAS  FROM THE MARINOS  Here are a few items of interest (or not) from our family: Let's start with the middle child since they usually get ignored. Jared, 13, is now almost as tall as mom. He has discovered Jujitsu and plans on exploring that for the foreseeable future. He is excelling in swimming, ice skating and art, and would prefer to spend all his time drawing. He disappears for hours while exploring the nearby creek, and would live there, except for the lack of Mom's cooking. Margie, my other middle child (since she is the one who gets left behind too often) is 16. She is singing in two choirs, pursuing piano, participating in swim team, and drives herself in those areas as well as in academics. She spent the summer working full time at the city pool, life guarding and teaching. Her quick wit and intelligence serve her well. Edie, who could ably fill in as the oldest child, is 11. She loves swimming and ice skating, and does we

Here's a quick and simple meal for after church or a busy day. In a crock pot, place slices of a bell pepper and an onion in the bottom. Layer raw Italian sausage over the vegetables. Last, pour over the contents a jar of spaghetti sauce or a 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes, seasoned to taste with Italian seasonings and salt. Cook on high if you need this for after church, or you are in a hurry, for 3-4 hours. Cook on low if you are eating this for dinner for 6 hours or so. Serve on buns with a side of fresh baby carrots dipped in ranch dressing or a salad. Today, I had some corn on the cob that needed to be used and made for a lovely, colorful meal. \

Hey Newbies! You there, just starting out with your little ones! Yes, YOU! Having trouble teaching your 3 year old? Your 4 year old won’t sit still? Your 2 year old is fighting with you over school work? The 5 year old would rather be playing? Your 6 year old not even reading yet?? I have great news! This is normal! Your kids are OK. Kids are not meant for formal school work on a daily, consistent basis until they are about 8 years old. Notice I said “daily” and “consistent.” It’s so tempting to jump into formal schooling at the first sign our little ones express an interest in something. But then they lose interest and become frustrated with us for expecting them to conform to our notion of “school.” School is not natural. It is foreign to the wonderful, intricate mind and body of a child. It confounds them. They just want to learn, but too often we interpret that as a sign they are ready to sit still, hold a pencil and do formal schooling. But children are much more fl

Here's an easy Italian dish that pleases the whole family. Prep time is not long, and you can do all of it, except for the baking, ahead of time. You will need: 3 chicken breasts 4 cups seasoned bread crumbs 3 eggs olive oil- up to a cup 1/2 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 24-30 oz (or more if you want) of spaghetti sauce Cut 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts into strips with scissors. It's much easier to do this when the chicken is partially thawed. Whisk 3 eggs in a bowl, and pour about 2 cups of seasoned bread crumbs onto a plate. Have 2 more cups of crumbs ready to use as the old crumbs will get gummed up from the eggs. Just add crumbs as you need them. Pour about a quarter of a cup olive oil into a large skillet and heat on medium high. When your oil is hot, coat the chicken pieces with egg one at a time, and dredge through the crumbs. Place in pan and brown on one side, then turn over to brown on the other. You

Stuffed Peppers are so simple that no recipe is really needed. But sometimes things are so simple, we forget about them! These can be whipped up in minutes but look like you fussed. They are truly comfort food on a cool evening, and are so easy.  For my crew, I cut off the tops of 14 Italian style peppers. I used about 2 pounds of Italian sausage. You can use bulk, or links (just remove the casing). You can use mild or spicy sausage. When my husband makes these, he mixes in Mozzarella cheese. Stuff the sausage in the peppers and bake at 350 or so for about 30-40 minutes. Keep an eye on them and test inside the largest pepper to make sure the sausage is fully cooked. Ready to pop in the oven. While they are baking, pull out some homemade  Italian bread  bread from the freezer, cook up some pasta and heat up some spaghetti or marinara sauce. Open a nice bottle of red wine. The peppers will brown and shrivel a bit, but they are delicious. Mangia!

The kids and I are studying South America this year for school, and I decided it would be fun to find traditional dishes from each country and cook as we work our way around the continent. This is a recipe that looked easy to make and used easy to find ingredients. For a large family, you will need: 3-4 pounds boneless chicken 16 ounces bacon 2 onions 6 garlic cloves 1 chili pepper 1 can tomato paste 4 t garam masala 10 allspice berries 6 T soy sauce 3 T brown sugar 2 cups chicken broth 2/3 cups coconut milk ! lg can of pork and beans 1 t salt 1 t black pepper 1/2 t nutmeg 1 T peanut oil celery leaves for garnish 1.Cut chicken into small pieces and season with the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Set aside. 2,Mince onions, chili pepper and garlic. Set aside. 3.Cut bacon into small pieces and cook. Drain and set aside. 4. In a large pot, heat the peanut oil and a tablespoon or so of the bacon drippings and cook the chicken. Cook only halfway. 5

College and the real world weighs heavily on those homeschoolers whose children are not quite there yet. How will I get them into college? How will they function in the real world or the classroom? What curricula or method or type of co-op is the best to help in this endeavor? Now that I have two graduates who are out there in that real world of college and work, they have graciously given me feedback on what prepared them for the paths they have chosen to pursue. My oldest has an Associates of Arts, and EMT certification and is in Medic school, while working as an EMT and, for the summer, as a lifeguard instructor/pool manager. My second oldest is in the Army National Guard, is also working as a lifeguard for the summer, drills with the Guard once a month, and has finished one year of college. Do we really have such little faith in our kids' abilities to think that a classroom or a job would completely stymie them? Do we really think that once they set foot out in the real w

Recently, I was in a very encouraging and lively Facebook discussion concerning a newbie homeschooler mom who was ready to throw in the towel. With a 6 year old. It was great to see so many other moms come along side her and encourage her and ask good questions. Among things recommended by many, including myself, was simply reading to her children. To just push aside all the workbooks and projects and curricula and read aloud, and then read some more. Then go play and do some chores together. The mom and some other moms feeling the same were encouraged and open to the advice from the older, more experienced moms. During the conversation, the original poster said she liked the idea of shoving aside the school stuff and just reading and living life with her kids, but it felt like cheating. And a light went on in my head. Bingo! Eureka! She was so right. We ARE cheating, beating the system at its own game. We moms, some with "only" a high school diploma, armed with ve

Mothers's Day is hard for me, but not for the usual reasons. I just have trouble accepting any honor or credit for my mothering. I've messed up big time on more than one occasion; I have found myself doing and saying the very things I swore I would never do or say; I just don't feel worthy of the accolades and flowers, however much I like having them. And that's the struggle for me: the handmade cards, flowers, special meals and well wishes all feel good and at the same time point out to me my horrible failures. I look at my kids and see all the good things that they are and do, and I say to myself "How did that happen? How did they learn that? It surely wasn't something I did!" I look at their struggles and shortcomings and I say to myself "That's my fault. I did this, and I can't undo it. I hope they can forgive me and overcome it." Mother's Day for me is part beating myself up for the job I've done, and part being in

Now here is a savory, easy and filling meal. It's not quite a taco, and it's not quite a Middle Eastern dinner, either. It's something in between. This recipe is just enough for my crowd of 9, with no leftovers. Fry together: 2 pounds ground beef 1 chopped onion 2 stalks chopped celery 1/2 diced green pepper When the meat is almost cooked, add: 4 T Worcestershire sauce 4 T soy sauce 2 t cumin 2 t Italian seasoning 1 T granulated garlic Stir in, and let cook a few minutes. At first, this combination of seasoning may not seem to go together. Trust me- they do! Serve on top of pita bread with yogurt, cheese, lettuce and tomato, and slices of avocado. Simple! For a allergen free meal, you can just load it all on a plate full of lettuce, eliminate the cheese and yogurt, and use Bragg's Liquid Aminos, instead of the soy sauce. Serve with corn chips, or use taco shells instead of pita.

The rain strikes the sandstone Gently and persistently. What isn't subsumed  Leaves puddles for Bathing and loosening and the creatures indulge in it. The mist is hovering and descending  Toward the naked trees. They reach to receive nourishment And fulfillment from its Delicate hands. All of nature is pregnant with anticipation Ready to exhale in in ecstasies, Flower and perfume and life.  Droplets of life drip slowly From branch to leaf to flower. Opening the world Opening each living thing. Opening the soul To its power. And she joyfully receives The life.

Nit picking. Literally. Not nagging or carping or finding fault with your kids. But actually picking nits out of their hair. I never expected to find myself in this situation since I have always homeschooled, and my younger kids are never in Sunday School or co-ops or other regular group activities. But, alas, it happened. The 4 year old had a bug in her hair one day after a full day of playing outside in the warm sun. I flicked it out of her hair, and didn't give it another thought. Days later, she said her head itched, so I took a look. Another one of those bugs. And another. And another. Thankfully, a friend was over; a woman who spent years as a school teacher and who recognized immediately what I was dealing with. And thankfully, she was calm and reassuring. So, what follows is a result of research, trial and error, and my approach to the problem. And I must note, the problem spread to me. My 4 yr old is a girl, so shaving her head was not really an

Teaching children to read is tricky. When to start, how to approach it, and what to do if it isn't working are probably the most common questions or concerns. And just when you teach one child to read, the next one that comes along is very different, and you have to start from scratch! There is no magic age by which children must be reading or can read. Eliminating any special needs or delays in development, a child could begin reading independently as early as 4 or as late as 9. And I hate to even use the words "early" and "late" because there really is no such thing. They learn to read when they are ready. Ready to focus, sit still and put together the symbols on a page into words they can understand. There are many books and curricula out there to help teach your child to read, and several philosophies and approaches and mediums. There are apps for your phone or computer programs for your PC. It's overwhelming for some and hard to decide what is best.

I've been thinking about the "sending my busy kids to pre-K so I can spend time with another child" issue. Some moms just had a baby and want to get the older kid out of the house because she feels she just can't do enough for him. Some moms have younger kids that just get in the way when she is doing school work with the older ones, and she feels she just can't provide enough attention. It is a common lament among homeschoolers that homeschooling is hard to do with little ones underfoot, because they are all inconveniently of differing ages. The bottom line for all of us who have been there, or who are there is: it's plain hard. And sending a child away regularly to let someone else take care of him, and so he can spend hours with other kids his own age, seems such an easy solution. But it occurred to me that motherhood is supposed to be hard, and throwing homeschooling on top of it can be more challenging. We chose this life, this homeschooling/motherhood

When my kids were very little, I wanted to get them involved in some activities. Everyone else was doing it, so I figured that was a good enough reason to plug my kids in somewhere too. Just kidding. Anyway, we did ballet and gymnastics, some ice skating and swimming and possibly basket weaving, but it was a long time ago, and my memory is blurry. But after the 3rd child, and when it seemed apparent that more children would join us in the future, we realized that our time and money and energy would not be sufficient to have all our kids involved in a bunch of stuff. Nor was it really necessary, we realized, for our kids to be well rounded individuals, for them to be shuffled off to this and that 5 afternoons a week. Starting from the age of five. But we still wanted to introduce them to things, especially physical activities. (Music and art is a discussion for another time). But how to choose? How do we decide who gets to do what? And when and how many? After going around and a

Teaching your kids how to write is daunting, even for someone who likes to write and happens to have a degree in English. Many homeschoolers pull their hair out trying to get their kids to write well, and then when they do, more hair pulling ensues when mom tries to figure out how to grade their child's writing. It's not as easy as grading a math or science test, when all the answers are neatly laid out for you, and you can grade with a good deal of objectivity. But here's the thing about writing: it's not an exact science. Yes, there are grammar and spelling rules that must be enforced, but beyond that, writing is very subjective. It's a unique expression of thoughts and ideas, much like a drawing or a painting or other works of art. And while most people would agree that there is good writing and bad writing, it is largely a matter of opinion. I struggled in my early homeschooling years to figure it out, even though I have a strong background in writing and gr