As much as I’d love to say that things are back to normal now that Momma has left the couch, I am realizing that is not quite accurate. There does seems to be a new normal developing, though. It seems to be the usual plan after any season of crisis-mode living, and with my fickle […]

So, I took advantage of the half price sale over at Heart of Wisdom this week, and we seem to have some interesting results already. I just have one question…

Did your kids do this when YOU studied Egypt?

We recently have acquired an Indoor Village in the kitchen, courtesy of Mr. Visionary’s installing new cabinets. When I was unable to locate several of the older children this afternoon, I found them cozied up inside working on assignments.

So, is this “school”? Umm…an emphatic, “No”. (At least it isn’t like anything I ever saw in […]

The List of Reasons:
~When Father is teaching me new things, it sometimes takes a while for it to filter through to a place that I can speak about it. I have to digest the new understandings before I can explain them to anyone else. This is the place where I am finding myself about […]

THE PARTIES
1. The Parties of the first part, Phil and Julie, are the happily married father and mother of seven homeschooled children whose principle roles include the training, nurturing, teaching, loving, instructing and managing the aforementioned children in and from the domicile shared by them, the children, four cats, four cows, two kittens, one guinea […]

For which other activity would I be excited to drag seven small children out on a cold, rainy day? Election Day is one of my favorites of the year since moving to a smaller town, but I can assure you that my giddiness stems not from being thrilled about the candidates from which I have […]

Although Hillary Clinton and I are diametrically opposed on say, every issue under the sun, I do have one point of agreement with her book,  It Takes A Village.  I have not read the book due to this same circumstance of being opposed to her opinions,  but I have to be honest-I rather like the title. […]

After much research into feline gestation, mammalian feeding,  and preparing a ‘habitat’ that meets a mother cat’s requirements for birthing, the children would like to announce the arrival of their cat Lovey’s new family:

Animal husbandry counts as science credit, right?

Just in time for my Elderberry syrup to be ready, the first episode of sickness has hit our family. For the average family, sickness is no sprint, but for a larger-than-average sized family, it can be a true marathon. The typical duration of an illness is compounded by the passing of germs from person-to-person-to-person… The more people, […]

Systems are good. They work for McDonald’s, large families and human digestion. The more planned-out and  prayed-over  the system, the greater the benefit from using it. The more variables involved in any given process, the more necessary a system becomes.  If even folks like the Duggars, who have crafted for themselves a life apparently void […]

Somewhere between allowing our children to be spoiled Prima Donnas and forcing them to be slaving Cinderellas, are a billion methods for teaching and training children to do chores. While methods are outside the scope of this post, we all need some method. In times past, I have wavered between the guilt (helped along by […]

The once-a-month opportunity for a morning of calm, peaceful “girl time” is not my favorite part. Compared to what we are used to, the quiet is actually a little disconcerting. As much as we enjoy our time alone for all things girly, we secretly (shhh…) are glad when our guys get home from their monthly […]

He taught me a lot about men and women-even though he was neither. Male-yes, human-no. Mr. McGillicutty was my first experience with roosters. And he was my hero.
When we ordered our billion Buff Orpington hens and roosters from the hatchery, Mr. McGillicutty was the free exotic breed chick. Being much larger than the others, he […]

Our second child, The Flower Child, was out this morning for her birthday breakfast with Dad. Tradition is, that while the birthday child is away, the rest of us scurry around to get party preparations in order, as well as start on any other weekend work.

Since I was missing one of my biggest kitchen helpers, others […]

My children love to read. Every one of them will pick up a book, or in the case of Little Napoleon, an arsenal of books, and read during any free moment (even moments when they aren’t supposed to be free). They come by this trait honestly, as Mom & Dad also have a healthy appetite […]

Last summer, just before our state homeschool convention, I happened upon a teaching philosophy that has so profoundly affected my view of “homeschool” that I am forever transformed. This ideology harmonized flawlessly with both my own fledgling theories, and the children’s and my experience. As I had been praying about our growing dissatisfaction and lack of good fruit in […]

I can’t decide if this means I have done something very, very wrong, or very, very right. The reaction I am receiving is surely not an accurate barometer, as I have been , against my will, cast in the role of Wicked Mommy of the West. The weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth has […]

***Introducing our guest blogger: The Flower Child.***
 
Once I had six guineas who were chicks when I got them. I held them a lot. They were very cute!
I kept them in a big box, and gave them food and water every day. I think they were happy. I was, too.
But one day I was sad […]

We’ve been invaded. Although only having arrived three days ago, they have migrated into every room of our home. There is no escaping their presence. Apparently they have some bizarre type of mind-controlling powers as well. The children and I have been able to think of nothing else since they came.

The worst part is […]