It’s the perfect time for me to read Free Range Learning: How Homeschooling Changes Everything, which author Laura Grace Weldon sent me for review consideration. My husband Aaron and I spent much of February visiting schools because our five-year-old son Ezra will be eligible to attend kindergarten next year. Although we’re planning to enroll our…
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” – Lao Tzu Full confession: I like fast. I like to move fast, work fast, learn fast. My dad used to tease me about how quickly I walk. “That’s not walking; that’s sprinting.” I love running and zipping across town on my bike. I like page-turners. But…
A few months ago, I said “shoes” in a conversation with my husband, and one-year-old Ira appeared in the doorway carrying his Stride Rites. That’s when we realized he can understand everything we say. It seemed to happen overnight. Every day Ira learns a new word or two. “Doggy, doggy, doggy,” he squeals as the…
“Can we plant the pumpkins this day?” “Let’s go see if the peas are growing!” “Mom, the chickens are in the garden again.” Oh yes, those are the sounds of spring around here. It’s our fifth year growing vegetables in our backyard. It’s amazing how much easier it is than that first April, when seven…
Recently I heard an interview with the herbalist Cascade Anderson Geller. She shared a story about a teacher and healer she met in the remote Choco region of Northern Ecuador, where she went to learn about the local plants and healing methods. Geller had been suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome and had consulted scads of…