I wasn’t allowed to ride my bike. Back in the 80s, homeschooling was not hip. Homeschooling was not even a category anyone but a few families who listened to Focus on the Family had in their heads. So riding my bike during school hours was not ok – I’d be stopped as a truant for…
Have you ever walked into a conversation halfway through? Perhaps, unbeknownst to you, it was a conversation that had been going on sporadically between these friends for weeks or even months. It’s a fascinating conversation, let’s say, and one that you want to at least listen to, maybe even participate in, but you feel like…
If you’re like me, you try – at least occasionally – to become better, more effective, more competent in your roles and responsibilities at home. And then after a period of trying, you peter out because it turns out it’s quite exhausting to grow and change and fight entropy and bad habits. We have to become…
What is a principle? Principle noun A basic truth, law, or assumption A rule or standard, especially of good behavior: a man of principle. A fixed or predetermined policy or mode of action. A principle is something we know to be true, something that is foundational to our thinking that informs our choices. A principle…
It’s February. Like clockwork homeschool moms hit burn out mode this time of year. Yes, it might be cloudy skies, lack of sleep, or holiday sugar-binges catching up with us, but if it’s a serious case – a break-the-pencils, I-quit sort of case – we will probably need to dig a little deeper. You know I’ve…
I like to talk about education philosophy and principles much more than methods, though I do have a soft spot for practical tips. However, unless we are grounded in our principles, we will be tossed to and fro by all the practical tips out there. Every practical tip is born from underlying principles, and if…
Repetitio Mater Memoriae, or Repetition part of the Education Is for Life series This motto is a bonus principle! When I started the Education is for Life series, I said I had five principles, trying to condense Christopher Perrin’s eight. But it turns out I couldn’t leave this one out. With each post, my thoughts…
Cum dignitate otium, or Rest The Education is for Life Series This principle was another where I had to do my own searching for an applicable Latin motto. I could not leave out the concept of Leisure, the Basis of Culture, or Rest, or scholé. However, I had to laugh at myself, I started with…
Festina Lente, or Faithfulness part of the Education Is for Life series This series was inspired by Chrisopher Perrin’s great webinars on the principles of classical education. One of my favorites so far was his “deep dive” into the principle Festina Lente. Erasmus wrote of this proverb in his Adagia: If you weigh carefully the…
Esse quam videri, or Virtue The Education is for Life series In Christopher Perrin’s lecture, “Eight Essential Principles of Classical Education,” he talks about educational virtues, but for these musings of mine, I want to expand it beyond education and to our lives generally and broadly. While outlining this series, I wanted each of my…