The Autodidact

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...