I have been sitting in chairs for over forty years. During those forty years, I have sat my posterior down in many different chairs. All those many years of sitting, and you know what? I cannot remember breaking one chair. Well, maybe one of those cheap resin chairs that...
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I’ve been in the homeschooling community for quite some time. I was educated at home from kindergarten until I graduated high school in 2011, and this upcoming school year will be my third year as a Challenge director. I’ve seen the best and worst of homeschooling through the years....
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I have just finished three days of speaking at one of our Parent Practicums in Georgia, and once again, my own heart has come away enriched and grappling with deeper truth and greater insight. We spent the past three days analyzing and sharing with one another about the arts...
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We sit side by side, propped up on pillows on my bed. It’s midday and neither of us is sick. We just like to do it this way. One by one each grandchild comes by “Grammy’s room” to do their math with me in turn (they fight about who...
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Something is different this year. When we went through Cycle 2 three years ago, we were completing our first round through the cycle of Foundations memory work, and my eight-year-old daughter felt that she now understood all mysteries and all knowledge. Her hard-won memory master certificates stood alongside the...
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Sitting at a Parent Practicum last week, I couldn’t help but remember the early days of homeschooling. More than seven years ago, I attended my first Practicum and had no idea what I was doing. My head swirled with questions as I wondered why I was here, who were these people,...
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Summer—a time for refreshment, for renewal. And for many of us, for review. I don’t know about your children, but I have found that my daughter quickly loses math skills, speed, and insights if they are left to lie dormant for an entire summer. And sometimes we just don’t...
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“Hard work and perseverance remain the answers. In college prep, as in everything else, those who prepare far in advance and work like they are running a marathon are the ones who succeed. The college admissions process is just another thing to learn and do as a family” (Leigh...
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When I was a new Latin student many years ago, my teachers showed me the power of the daily quiz. I took those quizzes very seriously and always aimed for getting 100%. My teachers emphasized mastery, therefore they would let us take the quizzes over and over (some students...
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Do you remember Playskool Weebles, those round-bottomed, wobbly toddler toys? You could tip one all the way to the ground, and after some over-correction, it would always right itself. These precarious little people provide a wee picture of my students in our Challenge II debate strand. It usually happens...
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During my time as an undergraduate student, I had the pleasure of working at my university’s writing center. My main responsibility was to coach students who needed help on their papers. Most of them were wonderful to work with and it was a great job. However, one day I...
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“A broad education in the arts helps give children a better understanding of their world…We need students who are culturally literate as well as math and science literate.” –Paul Ostergard, Vice President, Citicorp I can’t listen to the great composer Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture without being transported to the middle school...
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