The gifts I dearly love to give are both memorable and educational. They invite activity and learning, fire the imagination, and provide many hours of enjoyment. The trick is to make sure that they meet present interests; I’ve found that gifts rarely spark a new interest. Here’s a list of winning gifts that we’ve given […]
High School
NaNoWriMo and Other Writing Inspiration
Our children spent the month of November writing madly for NaNoWriMo, a writing event in which you are considered a winner if you meet your word count goal. Miss 11 (3000 words) and Miss 9 (1500 words) both exceeded their word count goals. On her blog, Miss 14 points out that she did not achieve […]
Our Family’s NaNo
National Novel Writing Month has started! And just in time, too. After 8 weeks of formal schooling we’re all ready for a change. And what could more refreshing than dropping all English requirements, from phonics to grammar, from handwriting to typing, from simple reader to American literature, and from copy work to The Elements of […]
Learning from Real Writers
Last spring I discovered The Writer’s Workshop by Greg Roper, a little gem of a book meant to teach college students how to write. Its philosophy was appealing and its teaching fabulous, so I determined to use it with my children, ages 9-16. A college level book for such young children? Yes, with some (major) […]