Do You Blog About Your Homeschool?

Do you have a blog? And if so, do you blog about your homeschool? When you go online and type “homeschool blogs” into a web search, you have a wealth of information at your fingertips. Just a quick search in Google yielded me 4,110,000 results – wow. Think of all the resources those four million blogs could hold for me. Think of all the inspiration, the lesson ideas, the motivation I could get by tapping into that completely free resource. With all those blogs already in existence, is it still important for you to add the topic to your blog … Continue reading

Ask a Homeschooling Blogger: How Much Time Do You Spend on Each Subject?

Question: How much time do you spend on each required subject every day? I’m having trouble scheduling my year and am wondering what other moms who have kids my children’s age, do. I’m happy to answer this question with the following disclaimer: what works for me, probably doesn’t work for someone else and vice versa. I think that one needs to consider the child in question, his age, how he learns etc. However, I will attempt to offer some thoughts and practical suggestions on scheduling that will allow you to glean something to put into your own routine. Math I … Continue reading

What Would You Like to See in the Adoption Blog This Next Year?

What Would You Like to See in the Adoption Blog This Next Year? This blog will be a little different. I’m asking for comments from you, my readers. What has been helpful to you in the adoption blog this year? What would you like to see more of? More personal experience and reflections? More informational blogs? I, for one, would like to see more comments by readers, both in the blog comments and in the forums. The forums are a great tool to ask questions which I can then address in blogs. As many of you know, I have two … Continue reading

Your Blog: Doing Link Exchanges

One of the things out there in blog-land is the practice of link exchanges. These exchanges can drive more traffic to your blog, create a network of online blogging friends, and introduce you to people who share similar interests. Doing a link exchange is simply. You might have already participated in one or two without realizing it. Let’s say you have a friend who has a blog. You might add a section to your blog that says “Favorite Links.” Under that section is the name of your friend’s blog with a link to it. Your friend reads your blog and … Continue reading

Ask a Baby Blogger: Just How Do You Do It?

The question reads: I don’t know how you survive as a homeschooling mom with 5 children under the age of 7! How do you ever get out? How do you give everyone enough attention? How can you keep your house clean or attend to your husband? I only have one and am completely overwhelmed. Seriously—just how do you do it? I chuckle as I read this question because I promise you that if you saw my house with books stacked high in places that are NOT the bookshelf—that would answer at least part of your question. I almost didn’t respond … Continue reading

Ask a Marriage Blogger: Do You Know Where Civil Unions Came From?

I was hoping you wouldn’t mind answering a question about civil unions. You’ve referred to them in a few of your blogs and I was curious as to where this term came from? To be honest, it seems like in the last couple of years this issue is suddenly the front page everywhere and I don’t honestly recall where it came from. I get the impression I may be on the fringe of the issue, I’m divorced and considering remarrying a lovely woman that I’ve been seeing for some time now. Can you help me out here? – Curious George … Continue reading

Ask a Marriage Blogger: Why Don’t You Write More About Gay Marriage

Hey, I read your blogs all the time and I like them, but you don’t offer a lot of marriage advice for gay couples. I got the impression you supported gay marriage, so why don’t you write more about gay marriage and advice for gay couples? Martin Martin, thanks for writing and thanks for not minding if I answered you directly in the blog and I appreciate the conversation we’ve had on this topic. As it stands, this marriage blog is written for families.com and our material here is to be considered family appropriate. While I do support the right … Continue reading

Ask a Food Blogger: How Do You Create a Menu Plan?

I’m excited to answer my first food blogger question: I know I would eat healthier and we’d eat more meals at home if I had a weekly menu plan. But how do you go about creating one? You are correct on both counts: menu plans will help you eat healthier, stick to certain goals, and it will decrease the likelihood that you have to get take out for lack of preparation. One thing that can help with menu preparation is recipe software. Most recipe software has grocery list features as well as menu planning features. I have written before about … Continue reading

Are You A Snowplow Parent?

There are many different kinds of parenting styles to choose from. Some of them are very beneficial both to the children and the parents. Others are disadvantageous to not only the children, but also to their parents. Among the worst is the “snowplow parent”. Actual snow is not required for a parent to choose this parenting style. Emma Waverman, writing for Today’s Parent defined a snowplow parent as “a person who constantly forces obstacles out of their kids’ paths. They have their eye on the future success of their child, and anyone or anything that stands in their way has … Continue reading

Puberty Can Be Emotionally Overwhelming to Adolescents

Parents may have forgotten what it was like to go through puberty. According to Psychology Today writer David Schwartz LMFT, puberty can be emotionally overwhelming to adolescents. Your tween or teen may be experiencing emotional difficulty as their body changes. According to David Schwarts LMFT, adolescents start to experience a whole new world of feelings when they reach puberty. They start to have emotions, recognizing their own sexuality and longing for closeness with others of their own age. This can create an overwhelming sense of change and uncertainty. Many adolescents aren’t sure what is happening to them. Parents can help … Continue reading