Homeschooling First Grade Science (A Sample Curriculum)
Posting this for my friend Madora who asked for a bit of guidance on how to homeschool Science with a first grader without the use of a textbook. Prior to fifth grade and often even beyond, I rarely use a textbook. I find that living books very much fit our...
How I Didn’t Teach Science
A close friend and fairly new homeschooling mom recently asked, "How do you teach science?" I told her the truth. "I don't." There was a time, years ago, when I would have been embarrassed to say that, because I would have interpreted my own answer as an admittance of...
My 6-year-old’s Christmas/Birthday Wish List
Sharing this in case it's helpful to anyone who's gift-planning for their own kids. A catalog came to the house a few weeks ago, and today I found these items circled in it. LOL. He just made our gift-giving easy. I'm giving the list to our older kids so they can...
AlDub and The Thrill of the Chaste
Of all the things I could write about here at Patheos, I didn't think I'd be writing about a Filipino love team. And yet here I am, prompted by this video making the rounds. Here's a good primer. Since I'm in the US, I comment as an outsider, piecing together what...
Mama Mary, the Rosary, and Me
She was there when I learned my first prayers, in bed with my mom waiting for Papa to get home, the Sacred Heart of Jesus image in the hallway lit, as we prayed the Angelus and Mommy taught me how to use her Rosary beads. She was there as I was growing up, praying the...
Bacon and Contraception? Not the Same Thing
A pro-lifer friend shared his concern with me this morning, asking if we should oppose bacon along with contraceptives, since bacon has been declared a Class 1 Carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. First of all, the processed meat and cancer...
How Do We Help Others Carry the Cross?
Much guidance can be found on how to suffer profitably, how to think of suffering, and why it even exists. But one of the things I've struggled with in my prayer life is how to pray for loved ones who find themselves in the midst of suffering. And now that I seem to...
The Gentle and Arduous Task of Shepherding Little Souls
Yesterday after supper, the 6-year-old squeezed himself into the space between me and the back of the couch while I tried to catch up on reading. He does this often, using me alternately as pillow, footrest, jungle gym or whatever else suits his mood and restless...
Help! We’re having a baby! How do I homeschool the toddler/older child(ren)?
[I wrote this post a year ago because a friend who was new to homeschooling AND was expecting a baby wanted to know how she could possibly homeschool when the demands on her time potentially could be endless. Reposting it for another friend who's due with her fourth...
Why I’m Leaving Facebook, for the Nth Time
Pardon the me-centric post, please. I'm leaving Facebook, again, this time for longer. I wish I was strong enough to say "forever", but I know my weaknesses. Friends prayed for me as I was discerning this latest departure, and I have no doubt that this is what God...
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness (Rethinking College 3)
Our Declaration of Independence says life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are our God-given rights, and yet we make many choices today that seem to invalidate that claim. Our government isn't exactly protecting these rights any more either, but that's another...
Helicopter Parenting, Hypersexualization and College Readiness (Rethinking College 2)
In my previous post, I suggested that perhaps college is no longer the best way to prepare our children for life and career, but while hypersexualized youth is a big problem, that's just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to our young people's cavalier attitude...
College and Hypersexualized Kids (Rethinking College 1)
We send our kids to college because we want them to become positive contributors to society. To do that, they need to reach a certain level of maturity in the different areas of their lives, sexuality being only one of them. But in many colleges and universities...
Let’s Talk Submission, Part 3: Last Thoughts
Let's Talk Submission: Part 1 Let's Talk Submission Part 2: Some Practical Suggestions I'd like to go back to some women's concerns about their husband's inability or unwillingness to lead, and ways to help with that. Try writing out a family mission statement. That...
Let’s Talk Submission, Part 2: Some Practical Suggestions
Let's Talk Submission: Part 1 Let's Talk Submission Part 3: Last Thoughts We can do a lot towards rebuilding the husband's role in our marriages: We need to stop being control-freaks (speaking to myself here really) and let men take the lead whenever possible....