Seven Quick Takes on the Second Week of School, Books I Am and Am not Buying, Parenting Advice I Didn’t Give, and More!

:: 1 ::

We’re on our second week of school, and it’s been an interesting thing. I feel like I’m starting what I think of as the Long Goodbye. I think of a lot of things this way, but homeschooling is one of them. We feel like we’re doing it forever, but I know it will end up feeling like diaper changing: all of a sudden, it’s over. It’s sort of surreal starting my last student. Each time I read a story aloud to him — now so familiar after all these years — I start to wonder if I’ll ever read this story aloud again, or is this the last time? It’s strange.

:: 2 ::

This book is killing me! I am encountering great reviews from all sorts of people, but I told myself that I would. not. buy. another. book. until I had {1} completely finished with writing all of my conference talks for September and {2} finished at least two books from my scary-big book stack. And then Pam had to go and start reading it and tell me it was great. This is like putting a piece of chocolate cake in front of a glutton on a strict diet!!!

But I will survive.

I will write these talks. I will conquer the book stack. And then? Then I will buy The Awakening of Miss Prim!!

:: 3 ::

This week’s links collection:

• A world-famous chemist tells the truth: there’s no scientist alive today who understands macroevolution from Uncommon Descent
  • Interesting.
• Study of Holocaust survivors finds trauma passed on to children’s genes from The Guardian
  • Epigenetics is so fascinating.
• Ayn Rand Reviews Children’s Movies from The New Yorker
  • This week’s funny selection.
• We Finally Have Clues to How America’s Lost Colony Vanished from National Geographic
  • A mystery in which I’ve always been interested…

:: 4 ::

This month in 2013:

Some thoughts on our response when Johnny doesn’t like it. {Whatever it is.}

:: 5 ::

Speaking of September, I think there is still a bit of room at the conference, if you need some early-in-the-school-year encouragement and inspiration. I’m so excited. In addition to how great a conference like this would be in general, exchanging our perennially hot summer weather for Seattle in early fall sounds very nice indeed.

:: 6 ::

A-Age-Ten has been asking for books on Native Americans. While she’s a great little reader {she just finished The Adventures of Tom Sawyer}, I really couldn’t resist this beautiful picture book called Buffalo Bird Girl. It’s based on the true story of a gal that lived in the early 1800s and her tribe’s lost way of life, and I think A. is going to love it when I add it to the family library next week.

Do you have any suggestions on Native American books for little girls? I have found it difficult to find ones that are historically accurate, so this book was a pleasant surprise.

:: 7 ::

Answering your questions:

• Question: Can you please help me with my difficult child?
  • Answer: To be honest, I took a number of questions I received this week and mashed them together. They were all centered around mothering advice and dealing with difficult children. While I do actually have a difficult child, I am by no means an expert on homeschooling difficult children. I am really, really hesitant to advise anyone on parenting, especially when I don’t actually know any of the people involved. But, I totally get the frustration and the desire to seek out wisdom wherever it can be found. So, with that said, might I suggest the AO Forum? There is a lot more than curriculum discussed there, and the ladies there won’t just spout advice — they’ll ask you some really good questions and help you think through your situation. I highly recommend joining and asking those sorts of questions there. I think you’ll be glad you did. 🙂
• Question: My daughter is reading [enter AO title here] for history this year, and she is not connecting with it and is unable to narrate it well. It feels scary to drop this book, but I don’t know what else to do.
  • Answer: Sometimes, we really do need to drop or substitute out books. If a child can’t narrate a book, there is a problem — we only know what we are able to talk about and retell. With that said, before giving up I would suggest getting creative. Can the child narrate smaller chunks — like if you divide a larger chapter up into multiple readings? Can the child narrate through a creative way {like acting it out or drawing a picture}. My approach is always to try solving the problem this way before I say that a child can’t do a certain book. I want to be open to the idea that, theoretically, some children just aren’t mature enough for certain books, but I always try to see if we can figure out how to rise to the book’s level before we seriously consider giving up. Please note, though, that giving up doesn’t mean you’re a failure.