This post almost got named, “Child-Raising Wisdom from Pooh,” but I changed it to, “How to Make Quotes with Pictures,” since Pooh is not the ultimate source of wisdom. He is, however, a very adorable bear. I absolutely loved the quote on the left, not only for explaining rudeness (we hope involuntary rudeness) to children, but also for reminding adults…
Read More
12 Budget-Friendly, Easy Meals to Serve Friends
Maybe hospitality is an area in which you’ve wanted to improve for so long, but it seems overwhelming. You’ve seen the pictures in the magazines of people smiling happily around a table with steak, a gorgeous cranberry-arugula salad, and perfect little apple tarts. You’ve smiled, closed the magazine, and thought, “There’s no way I can get all that done without…
Read More
9 Free Resources for Adoptive Parents Teaching ESL
Whenever I hear about families who are adopting older children internationally, I think about a conversation I had with a woman several years ago. She sounded desperate when I met her that Sunday after church. “You’re an ESL teacher?” I looked up, surprised this strange woman knew anything about me, and nodded. “Your fiancé told me,” she explained (yes, this was…
Read More
How to Help A Friend Who Has Hyperemesis Gravidarum
At first, she was so excited. Her first baby, her first time to hear a heartbeat inside her womb, her first I’m-really-a-mom moment. You were excited with her–but then suddenly she disappeared. No social events, no church, no driving, and no shopping–ESPECIALLY for groceries! The beast of scary pregnancies just struck: hyperemesis gravidarum. That’s a long and very difficult name for…
Read More
Classical versus Montessori Education: the Preschool Years
Classical versus Montessori education—could there be two philosophies more different? One is very structured, with a formal progression from early ages to high school. (Read Dorothy Sayers’ influential essay, “The Lost Tools of Learning,” to better understand the trivium concept of classical education.) Classical education attempts to use rigorous, structured academics to train students to be individual thinkers by the time…
Read More