The Autodidact

High School. It happened so fast; I looked away, and then I had kids in High School. This is a point at which many home educators, for a variety of reasons, enroll their kids in a traditional school. And I considered it, too. The weight would be off my shoulders! I could concentrate on my younger kids! Think of all the money I could save on curriculum! But then I would have to accommodate an outside entity's schedule. The younger kids would  no longer see their older siblings. There would be expenses with a child in school, just different ones than we were used to. So, to me, it just was not worth it. I had already invested 8 or 9 years in their education, all or most of it leading up to their final four years, and I was not willing to just hand that all over to someone else to finish. I guess I can be stubborn that way, wanting to finish what I started. And it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. As I stated in an earlier post about  the middle school years  by ...

Saturday morning. It's been a long week, full of caring for sick people, on top of the usual busyness, and I'm sleeping in. I hear a door open, and the 2 year old's feet making their way to our room. She skips across the room and crawls in bed, always on my side, even though Daddy's side is closer. She snuggles under the covers, moves the pillows to suit her, nestling into her spot, pressing her little body close to mine. Her sweet smell, her soft skin, her quiet breathing; I soak it all in. Her little hand reaches over to my face, and caresses me. My cheeks and chin, eyebrows and lips; she giggles softly, taking joy in the closeness. She and I have a whispered conversation about anything and nothing. It doesn't matter. She looks deeply in my eyes and makes a face at me, then closes her eyes and sighs. I roll over toward her Daddy, and my hand finds his immediately, and he holds on. And she is enclosed in a nest, between her Mommy and Daddy, enclosed in a picture of...

Here's a simple meal for a busy day, or a day when you are not feeling up to cooking, or, if you are like me, lost in a really good book. You need a crock pot, a boneless pork roast and barbecue sauce. If the roast is frozen, no problem, just get it cooking in the morning on high. But if it's thawed or partially thawed, getting it going by noon is good enough. Put the roast in the pot, turn it on high, add about 2 cups barbecue sauce and cover. Don't give it another thought until dinner. If you want to make your own sauce, this is an easy recipe using items that are found in most pantries: 1 1/2 cups brown sugar (sometimes I use 1/2 cup molasses and 2 teaspoons stevia instead) 1 1/4 cups ketchup (I use the kind with no HFCS, or a small can of tomato paste and add more sugar) 1/3 cup red wine vinegar (apple cider vinegar is OK too) 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 2 1/2 teaspoons mustard powder 2 teaspoons paprika 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon black pep...

Once you announce you are going to home educate your kids, you may be asked if homeschooling really works. Many people out there have never met a homeschooling family; They have never spent time with young children who are thriving in a homeschool environment; they have never met a teenager who has spent his whole life being educated at home. The folks who are questioning your decision, then, may be simply asking out of curiosity or ignorance, but sometimes out of fear or suspicion. I used to cringe when asked this question when the kids were really young. I remember being questioned by my husband's family; all of them asking me if we really knew what we were doing, and if it was going to work out, and weren't we sheltering our kids too much? I knew that they were motivated by love and concern; my husband's family is a close knit Italian clan that values family ties dearly. I knew they meant no harm, but I still couldn't help feeling stupid and unsure about homeschool...

Ever see a mom out in public with small children who are running wild? Mom is helplessly on the sidelines, weakly calling out to her little offspring to stop and please come here. Then, putting a bit of authority in her voice she calls to him, but when that won't work, she starts to plead with little junior. And all the while he is happily running away from her and telling her 'no' and 'one more time, OK' or just ignoring her. Then she sighs and gives up and tries to justify her child's behavior with one excuse or another. I find this painful to watch, because I do feel sorry for the mom who just can't seem to get a grip on things; but I feel sorry for the kid as well. The mom is clearly miserable and the child seems to be having fun, but I doubt it, because he knows no one is really in charge, except maybe himself, and that scares him. Even scarier is the fact that most kids are better behaved in public than they are at home; at least this has been my e...

I've hit the sweet spot, I think. Lately I have noticed that I have more time and energy. I wondered about it for a while, thinking that maybe there was something I should be doing and forgot (I am getting older and forgetful, you know). I realized that for the first time in 19 years, I am not pregnant (one out of 8 pregnancies was tolerable) or nursing (it was a joy, but exhausting), or changing diapers and trying to keep up with a toddler. But more than that, while I do have teenagers that are going through the usual growing pains (and it can be painful) I have sweet little ones. During a typical day, I am snuggling the 2 and 5 year-olds, reading stories, teaching the 8 and 11 year-olds, witnessing the drama in the 14 year-old's life, talking late into the night with the 17 and 18 year-olds. Playing and laughing, discovering the wonder of the world around us, learning how to calm turbulent emotions, struggling with life's big questions; it's all going on under one ...

If you are avoiding wheat and dairy, or if you just want a slightly more healthful brownie experience, this might help. Combine in a food processor: 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed 3 eggs 1 cup sugar (I used half brown sugar and half sucanat) 1/2 cup coconut oil 2 teaspoons vanilla 1/3 cup cocoa powder Process until smooth. You will have to scrape the sides and bottom of the processor to make sure the beans are all smooth. When done, add 1/3 cup chocolate chips and pulse a couple of times. Pour into a greased 8x8 pan. Press into the batter a handful of chocolate chips and a handful of chopped nuts. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. A knife, inserted into the brownies should come out clean, but they will still feel soft. They are like the store-bought-in-a-box kind: moist and rich. The recipe said to store in the fridge, and they are good cold as well as warm. I could not tell that there was no wheat or dairy in them, nor could the kids. Enjoy!