I have been so moved by the pictures and voices of love and hope after the recent election.  Tears well up each time I hear the people of the world express their feelings of unity.  I came across this talk by Abdu'l Baha, son of Baha'u'llah the Prophet Founder of the Baha'i Faith.  You need not be a Baha'i to appreciate these words.  Abdu'l Baha' gave many talks during the early 1900's to an endless variety of people from many walks of life and his talks speak to my heart today as we .... more >>

Our family went camping for Halloween weekend and it was a great success!  In fact, we would like to keep it a family tradition.  Our tradition used to be to go to the houses of people we know in our neighborhood and then hop in the car and travel to all the homes of the Baha'is in our community.  It was a lengthy process which involved lots of getting in and out of the car, but still it was lots of fun.  Our Baha'i friends would expect us to drop by and, of course, the boys would get special treatment and nice short visits with close friend.... more >>

Today, my youngest son came into the kitchen while I was cooking and wanted to share a thought that came to him.  It turned out to be a great analogy and I asked him to say it again so I could type his words.  I only added one word for flow and the punctuation, but the words are all his.  Nice!

World Peace Poem by Garrett Atwood (age 7)

The wall is like the world,
And there are cracks in the wall.
Some leaders try to open the crack,
And make it more into a hole,
to destroy the wall.
People who go against it,.... more >>

So what did the boys think about the Rethinking Education Conference?  The pictures tell it all!  This was their first year to attend and they had a blast!  Garrett spent most of his time doing his favorite thing; building.  Building friendships and building with boxes in Box City, with junk in Junkyard Golf, making sock puppets and, of course, Legos.  Stewart enjoyed his favorite things; video games and Pokemon.  The boys loved having the freedom to go back and forth between activities while we attended various sessions.

There .... more >>

At the Rethinking Education Conference, Dayna Martin led an open discussion on Nurturing Passions.  She recommended parents find resources and opportunities related to their child's passions and interests.  She expressed the value of embracing a child's passion and even learning about or participating in the topic of interest too.  She explained that When a parent shows the same interest level in their child'.... more >>

We learn language because we are constantly surrounded by it and immersed in it every day.  Math is around us every day too, but we tend to think of it as hidden mainly due to the way we have been taught math.  Where is math around us in the world?  Everywhere.

In this session with Rachel Gathercole at the Rethinking Education Conference, we began with listing as many places we could think of that math exists.  .... more >>

I had the privilege of hearing Joseph Chilton Pearce speak at a recent Rethinking Education Conference where he talked about the brain/heart connection.  As he spoke, I could not help but see the beauty of the harmony of science and religion from a Baha'i perspective come to li.... more >>

Our second class of Releasing the Powers of Junior Youth, Book 5, began with prayers followed by the sharing of pictures of ourselves from the Junior High years.  I had asked each class participant to be prepared to share an ideal they had during that time in their life.  This was an optional assignment, but it proved to be very valuable before we went forward with the the study book.

The activity helped us remember our fears, hopes and wishes between the ages of 11-14.  Some felt fear at that time in their life for themselves and their family.... more >>

It was a priviledge and unique opportunity to be able to see and hear Joseph Chilton Pearce at the Rethinking Education Conference.  His work with many scientists and psychologists in the study of the brain spans more than 30 years.

In this session, he explained the difference between the functions of the forebrain and hindbrain.  The hindbrain, designed for survival, serves fundamental purposes involvin.... more >>

There is no easy way for me to write about this.  Putting this entry together has been the source of many tears.  We had to put our first adopted greyhound, Buzz, back up for adoption a couple of days ago after having him for 4 years.  He was the first dog we had ever rescued and we kept him that long despite the difficulties we were having because we are committed to responsible pet ownership and don't easily flake out.  It was a difficult decision and it has been very sad and emotional since.  We will miss him terribly, but the fact .... more >>

In this session at the RE Conference, Krenie Stowe led an open discussion about the question "Do kids need adults and, if so, why?".  She mentioned that the title was "tonge in cheek" and that obviously there ARE things kids need from us, but that often they don't.  We discussed the many situations where kids really need to be left alone to figure out and discover without the interference of adults.  The constant interference of adults has created a culture of restriction and the abili.... more >>

In this session at the RE Conference, Maria Whitworth talked about the power of saying "Yes!" to your kids.  Choosing to say "yes" is a concious choice and for some takes a bit of work, especially if you came from a family of naysayers.  What constitutes a "no"?  Interrupting, forcing, guilting, bribing, expecting and ignoring is saying "no".  I liked Maria's suggestion for replacing "no" with words like "danger" or "caution" instead.  It was brought to our attention that "no.... more >>

This was my first session at the RE Conference and was attended by a variety of families who were either brand new to home/unschooling or making the transition into unschooling.  It began with participants collectively listing their concerns and questions and then moved on to discussion of those topics.  Rachel Gathercole shared her personal family discoveries regarding unschooling as well as a few accounts of unschooling families she h.... more >>

The excitement and anticipation is building as families prepare to attend the Rethinking Education Conference in Dallas that begins tomorrow.  My kids are really excited and can't wait!  They did not attend last year and don't really know what to expect, but I've told them about all the fun opportunities open to them and they are most excited about the activities that involve building things and the chance to play and trade Pokemon.

My interests are in the Inspired Immers.... more >>

I love pictures!  I really do.  I've always said that if there was a fire, I'd want to save my photo albums and digital photos (and my family of course).  But my pictures of family and friends are so meaningful to me.  I invite you to visit the Gallery.  I'm STILL (and will be for a while) loading pictures to the Gallery so check back often.  With the help of technology, it makes it easier to share photos (even old ones) and you may be surprised to see yourself or someone you know from my life over the years.  As.... more >>

Our family will be attending the Rethinking Education (RE) Conference in Dallas this September ‘08.  (www.rethinkingeducation.com)  It’s an unschooling conference, but don't let the word "unschooling" scare you like it did me.  Last year I began my journey to learn about and understand unschooling and I was finally able to figure out why I had always been intrigued by it, yet put off at the same time.  But I’ll explain that shortly.

First, I'd like .... more >>

Well, I just got some more information on the Phases of Learning.  There are still four main phases, but after scholar there are more.  I got these from the www.tjed.org web site.

Leadership Education Phases: (Ages are Approximate)

0-8     Core Phase
8-12   Love of Learning Phase
12-16   Scholar Phases (Practice, Apprentice)
16-20  Self-Directed Scholar (Superb Education)
20-24  Depth Phase (Liber.... more >>

The Private Eye program is all about looking and thinking by analogy.  Metaphors and smilies are compressed analogies, allegories and parables are extended analogies.  An analogy is a comparison that involves four parts:

First you make a comparison between two things or actions.  The book uses the example of seeing a crowded subway and making the comparison of bees in a hive.  You then have the comparison between "crowds" and "bees".  That's the first two parts of the analogy.  Then you ask yourself in what way those two thi.... more >>

This year our family is embarking on a new homeschooling journey using A Thomas Jefferson Education.  This philosophy of education refers to the 4 Phases of Learning and the 7 Keys to Great Teaching as the pillars.  I've been reading and reading and trying to really wrap my mind around the 4 Phases and it took actually sitting down, sharing and talking through it with my kids for ME to finally get it.  I highly encourage those who want to do A Thoma.... more >>

As I tutor this class, I'm going to document the activities I do with the class as well as any other helpful tips and experiences I encounter so that others who tutor it can use what they like or get ideas for their class.

We started the first class with a game called 'Put A Penny In' as an icebreaker.  This is a baby shower game I learned that can be used for just about any setting.  You give each person about 25 pennies and place a bowl, hat or other container in the center of the room.  Then you proceed with various di.... more >>

Well, tonight we started Book 5 of the Ruhi sequence of courses entitled Releasing the Powers of Junior Youth.  This book trains individuals to facilitate Junior Youth Groups, which are for ages 11-14.  Although inspired by and taken from the guidance of the Bah Writings, these Junior Youth Groups are for the youth of the world. 

I was invited to tutor this book, which is such a bounty!  I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!  I think out of all 7 books in the sequence, this is my favorite so far (Ive only got book 6 left to take).  It reall.... more >>

My mind is buzzing with analogies right now.  I'm preparing my lesson plan for a class I will be teaching for our homeschool co-op.  If you haven't heard of The Private Eye program (www.theprivateeye.com), you've GOT to check it out!  What a cool concept and approach! 

There are so many subjects you can cover with this program and really encourage kids to think in analogies which tap them into their higher level thinking skills.  The most interesting thing I'.... more >>

The poppies on my site are a reminder to me that my children's lives are a creative adventure I should not disrupt.  Years ago, before I had children and when I was performing with KIDPROV, I saw a very inspiring PBS TV series entitled "The Creative Spirit".  It highlighted a school in Italy called Reggio Emilia.  WOW!  If you get a chance to see this video or to read the companio.... more >>