The Autodidact

In an earlier  essay  about Elementary education, I focused on older kids. But if you are brand new to the home school thing and your kids are just starting school, here are a few thoughts: Remember the old saying "Reading, Writing and Arithmetic?" There is a lot of wisdom in this philosophy, and it's really all you need for the first year or two. Certainly, you can do more, but you don't have to. Reading: Read out loud to your children every day. Comb your local library for books and/or build up your home library. One source for extensive reading lists is the Five in a Row series. It comes with activities to do with each book, but they aren't necessary. If you can get your hands on just the table of contents and use the books listed there, you will be reading great books! Every child is different, and you may have an early reader or a late one. Don't push the reluctant reader, but keep a sharp eye on them for possible learning delays or issues that may ne...

As I was waiting in line at the grocery store today, and elderly man looked at my cart and asked if I was stocking up. I get asked that often because my cart is usually overflowing and stuff is piled on the bottom as well. But I told him I was stocking up for the week. He asked how many children I had and when I told him I had seven, his eyes lit up. He was the sixth of seven kids, but he was the only surviving sibling. I expected him to go on about the good times and how it was to grow up in a large family. But then he told me two of his sisters had died in a concentration camp and he had been in one when he was 15. After the war, he left his native Czechoslovakia and settled in the US. He had only been here about a year when he was drafted into the Army and served in the Korean War. He is a Holocaust Educator and gives presentations to schools and other organizations. Then he told me the flowers in his cart were for his wife of 50+ years, and he was on his way. I was so humbled b...

The school year is winding down, and it makes me reflect a bit. Debbie finished up her first year of college, on the dean's list and making straight A's. She worked a couple of jobs while in school and finished strong. I am so proud of her work ethic and drive to do her best. Lewis also held down a job during the school year, swam on the swim team and ran track, and still managed to do well in his studies. He placed first in the pistol shooting event at the Heart of Ohio Law Enforcement Explorer Competition, a state-wide competition among law enforcement Explorer posts. I love his motivation for excellence, as well as his taste in hats. Margaret struggled with health issues this year that would have derailed most kids. But she stuck with her studies, making straight A's and pushing herself to do her best. She sings for hours a day around the house, blessing us all. I love hearing her sing. The braces are coming off soon! Jared draws almo...

Homemade tomato soup. I know, it's really easy to open a can or a box of soup for dinner, and I do it from time to time, but this is a homemade tomato soup that got rave reviews here. It's so easy! Throw it all in one pot and cook: 2 cans diced tomatoes 2 cans white beans 1 onion cut up 3 carrots, cut up 3 stalks celery, cut up 4-5 cloves garlic 4 cups chicken broth (vegetable broth is OK too) 1 cut up fresh jalapeno 1 handful of fresh parsley 2 tablespoons dried basil Cook until the carrots are tender (20-30 minutes or so). Transfer to a blender or Vitamix and blend until completely smooth. Transfer back to the soup pot. Stir in about 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese until melted. Serve with more grated Parmesan OR ( and I recommend this ) crumbled blue cheese on top of the soup. A few kids called this "divine" and "delicious" and went back for seconds. Thirds even! The two year old ate it, so that tells you something. I suppose you could mak...

Lately, I have been reading about moms with young kids who seem to be completely comfortable (if not reveling) in their messiness (theirs as well as their kids'). Some even say that a messy house must mean happy kids. I even recently read an article with tips on how to show love to a mom with young children. It was a nice little essay, filled with things you'd expect. Drop off dinner. Borrow one of her kids for the day. Offer to babysit. Surprise her with a gift just for her. And they were lovely ideas. But nestled in the list was an item that caught my eye. It was unexpected and different. It was something I would never think to do (and never will). It just didn't fit in with the whole idea of hospitality. Since we all know that (according to the author) moms with young children are incapable/too tired/too busy/whatever to keep a reasonably tidy house, invite your friend over and don't clean up (and that's OK). But not only don't clean up, throw some clutte...

He races past me wooden sword in hand. Adventure! Danger! Saving his princess sisters from dragons and orcs. Rolled up jeans with the hole in one knee. Feet bare and dirty, Red paper crown, Old skirt for a cape. A prince, a hero, the day spent. He falls into bed and dreams of dragons and danger. One day, soft cheeks and body will be replaced with stubble and muscle. But inside the man will always be this little boy.

Mud and kids. They go together like chocolate chip cookies and milk. Like a hot day and lemonade. A large hole opened up in the yard after we removed a dead bush, and it became another world for the kids to play in. Then the rain came, and created an even better world; a muddy, wet one. They played for hours in the mud with a few random items: a dinosaur, croquet balls, a frisbee and some little plastic people. A bucket filled with muddy water served as a rain storm for the poor little people in their frisbee boat. I almost hate the thought of planting a new bush in their mud hole, they are enjoying it so much. But with kids, and especially boys, holes appear in the yard from time to time, providing endless entertainment. And this is one thing I love about my kids: their imaginations and how they get carried off into far away lands and distant times. Give them some mud and a bucket, or a stick and an old sheet, and they are gone. Gone to another world and they ...