Stuff We Like :: 10.27.17

Happy Halloween weekend!

around the web

I bet a lot of homeschoolers will agree with me that this start-up dedicated to teaching people endangered languages seems pretty darn cool.

Marilynne Robinson on why we should care about the humanities now more than ever: “Now, in a country richer than any they could have imagined, we are endlessly told we must cede that humane freedom to a very uncertain promise of employability.”

Making is awesome. But so are teaching, criticizing, caring, fixing, and lots of other things.

I would love to see this Harry Potter exhibition!

At home/school/life

magazine: Have you picked up your copy of the fall issue?

on the blog: When you have anxiety (or depression or chronic illness or …), some homeschool days are better than others. Nadine has some really wonderful advice for making the best of the hardest days.

one year ago: The embarrassing things I’ve tried that haven’t worked

two years ago: Let’s talk about Teddy Roosevelt

three years ago: What my children have taught me about pursuing my personal goals

Reading list

I have finally convinced my daughter to read Every Heart a Doorway with me—I loved it when I read it last fall, but it’s taken me this long to convince my daughter to give it a go. 

I had a great bonding moment with one of my favorite students this week when we both geeked out over the new Philip Pullman book. (He’s listening on Audible, I’m reading it, and we’re trying to pace ourselves to finish at the same time so we can talk about the ending.)

My 4th grader and I always reread The Children of Noisy Village in the fall, and he pulled it off the shelf yesterday to start next week. I love the way it sets up the rhythm of the year.

At home

Halloween is also my daughter’s (gulp!) 16th birthday, so we always make a big hullabaloo out of it it. We’ll be finishing up our costumes and baking cakes this weekend. I often feel like I completely lucked out in the kid lottery—my daughter is really the sweetest, most generous, most open-hearted person I know. I feel like everything I know about being a kind person I have learned through being her mom.

Are you watching The Good Place? I know I talk about it all the time, but there is a Kierkegaard RAP MUSICAL. 

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The Anxious Mom's Guide to Surviving Low-Energy Homeschool Days

Everyone else was in high speed, high energy, go go go. And it felt like all I could do was sit there and watch. Like I was in slow-mo and everyone else was in fast forward.

Living with anxiety means that some days are much harder than others. Some days I feel anxious, and shaky, and scatterbrained. But the worst of the worst days? The low energy days. The days where I feel like the most simple, mundane tasks take Herculean strength. Where all I can do is sit there and watch the world zoom around me.

But you guys, I'm a homeschool mama. 

I can't just sit - all - day. 

I can't let the days pass me by, because then they pass my kids by also. So what do I do? 

On the low energy days, with high energy kids, a home to run, and a homeschool day to facilitate — I have had to figure out ways to manage.

When I started out writing this post, I thought I would focus on being a homeschooling parent who struggles with anxiety disorder. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that what makes homeschooling hard when you're an anxious mom are the low-energy days. Those stretches of time when it feels like you're moving in quicksand. 

Then, I considered that the same things that work for ME on those low-energy homeschool days will work for other moms who have days (or weeks or months) where their energy has bottomed out and they're just trying to keep their heads above water. 

Low Energy Days :: Survival Guide

Self Care Can Be Simple: 

I know when we first hear the term self-care, we envision beautifully restful days of sitting at your favorite spa, or taking yourself on a night away at a hotel, or maybe a lunch out at your favorite restaurant. For some people, however, those types of self-care can feel more exhausting than helpful. 

When you are having a low-energy day (or week? Month?), sometimes the very simplest acts of self-care can be deeply helpful. Sit for 5 blissful minutes on a lawn chair in the sun, keep a stash of dark chocolate in the back of the fridge and grab a piece when you need a treat, say no to an outing, take a nap. You don't have to spend a lot or go very far — but you DO need to put yourself first and take good care of you. 

Have a backup school plan: 

I have recently been taking part in Pam Barnhill's "Homeschool Consistency Boot Camp", and it's been a total game changer. On days when normally I would have felt low and unable to 'do school' with the kids, I am now getting it done. How? Well, one of the things we've had to do as part of that course is to create what WE consider a "Minimum Viable Day" — meaning, the very basics of what needs to be done to satisfy OUR idea of a good enough homeschool. Doing this has allowed me to see what two to four things I CAN do and still feel like we had a good day. And it's been a lifesaver for us so far in this school year. 

Plan for Success - But Keep It Realistic:

Look, I am not a good planner. I mean, I love to PLAN. But not often would those plans come to much actual DOING. This past summer, I took a lot of time to think about not just who my kids are, but who I am also. This year, my focus is on making sure that THEIR school work does not suffer for MY low-energy. 

So, how did I plan for success? I did the following steps, slowly and with a lot of careful thought:

• Decided what our year would look like — mark off big holidays, field trips I knew about, and I decided this year to once again use a 3-term school year. I chose three terms of 12 weeks each, with a one week break in the middle of each term. December, the whole month, is a short term in its own in addition to the three full terms — just holiday prep, maybe drop the other school work and pick a unit study. It'll be a laid back breather before we kick it back up again after the holidays. 
• Chose how many days a week will we 'do school.’ based on outside commitments. 
• Looked at MY OWN BOOKSHELVES first — before I got overwhelmed with curriculum shopping!
• Decided with the kids which subjects THEY wanted and which were ones that I felt were really important this year. 
• Decide which subjects would happen how many times a week, and slot those into my planner. No specifics, just "Monday: Science, Reading, Math, etc.”
• I did NOT schedule which pages or lessons. Not yet. I want to see how our first half-term goes, and in our week break I can reassess and see if we're ready to plan specific lessons. 
• Make your minimum viable day list — for me, it was "morning basket, science, and independent reading time." For you, it can be whatever you want. 
• I only write in my planner in two week spurts — what we will do each day together, and what each child will do in their own lessons (with or without me). 

This is just a rough overview — but in each step, I was putting my kids' needs/abilities into consideration. I was also thinking about what I can ACTUALLY do. Not what I wished I could do, or daydreamed I could do. What was I actually capable of. Most importantly, I crafted a plan for our school days that could go on auto-pilot on the days I didn't have the energy to think — it's listed out for me, for two weeks at a time in my planner, and on the bad days I can just look at the list and do the next thing. 

Fake It Til You Make It

I know, this is the last thing you want me to say, right? Well. It does work — most of the time. 

If you have a bad day, that's okay. If you have a couple of not-so-great days, that's okay too. But one of the things I have noticed in my own struggles through anxiety and some other health issues? If I have a bad day, and I sit in that for too long, it becomes a bad week and then a bad month. 

If you just acknowledge the struggle, acknowledge the low-energy day, and then just put your shoes on, put your hair up in a ponytail, and walk outside. Just go do the thing — a walk, a hike, a trip to a park, or a play date with friends. Just do it. If you get yourself out the door, most times you MIGHT just find that it gets a bit easier. Plus, getting out into the fresh air will help lift your energy a bit. 

Let Go of The Guilt!

Having a bad day/week/month? Can't quite get a grasp on the schedule or get outside to shake it off? It's going to be fine. Your kids will be fine. We can beat ourselves up and drown in guilt (ask me how I know), but at the end of the day — we have a lot of time with our kids. Going through a rough patch is not going to damage your kids or destroy their education. 

Some days are high-energy, we-get-it-all-done, days. Other days are not so much. And in planning my school year, I really had to keep both of those extremes in mind. I crafted the first term of our school year to be a little on the light side, with lots of time each day to actually DO the things we want/need to do. 

My homeschool may not always look like other families' homeschools. We may not go to all the places, do all the things — but I am still able to give my kids a great education and many, many lessons in self-care and compassion for the struggles other people go through. 

If you find yourself having low energy days — hang in there, mama, you are doing a WONDERFUL job and your homeschool really is going to be just fine. And if you need a little reminder, come find me — I'll always have your back. 

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5 Spooky Writing Exercises for Your Little Monsters

Halloween is a great excuse for a little creative writing! Here are five ideas to add a little Halloween writing fun to your homeschool this fall.

The Haunted Mansion :: Creative Writing

Draw a creepy haunted mansion. Then do some research into the conventions of gothic literature. Write a gothic short story that’s set at your haunted house.

Monster Parts :: Expository Writing

Choose a partner, and then go into separate rooms, where each of you will draw a monster. Don’t share your monster drawings yet! Then, being as specific as possible, write directions for your partner to recreate your monster. Exchange directions and draw your partner’s monster exactly as directed. (No adding extra parts, and no oral additions to the directions!) Compare the original monsters to the partner-drawn monsters. 

Garbage Pail a Menu :: Descriptive Writing

Have you noticed the Cabbage Patch dolls in the toy department? Back in the 1980s there was a yuckier counterpart to the sweet Cabbage Patch Kids, the Garbage Pail Kids. Their faces were drawn in a like fashion, but that’s where the similarities ended. Garbage Pail Kids were delightfully disgusting, so parents hated them, and kids loved them. Characters included Orange Julius, whose skin was being peeled off like an orange, Freddy Spaghetti, who had noodles oozing out of every hole in his head, Foul Bill, whose face was being smashed in by a foul ball, and Doughy Chloe, who was mixing her own head in a bowl.  

Find a restaurant menu online, and then write a Garbage Pail Kids-style rendition of each item. Enjoy making your readers squirm with all of your graphically gross descriptions.  

Flash Fiction :: Creative Writing

Flash fiction works are stories with a low word count, ranging anywhere from just a few words that imply a story to a couple of pages. Ask a member of your family to give you a number between 5 and 10. Write the scariest story possible using only that number of words. Write several very short stories, and then ask your family to vote on which one is your scariest.

Urban Legends :: Creative Writing 

Urban legends are the scary folklore of our time. They aren’t true (though some of their elements may be based on facts), but people spread these tales to their friends and family as though they are, often warning them about some danger. 

Read some examples of urban legends here. Then invent your own urban legend. You’re all set for your turn at storytelling the next time you’re sitting around a campfire!

Homeschooling 2nd Grade for the Second Time

This year my youngest son is in the 2nd grade. I’ve been thinking a lot lately how different it feels homeschooling him than it did when I was homeschooling 2nd grade with my eldest son. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but homeschooling for the second time around seems so much easier. Maybe it’s because I’m an experienced homeschooling mom now, or maybe it’s his personality, or a little bit of both.

Now that I’ve “been there done that,” I am more laid back about teaching academics. From the experience I had with my elder son, I know my younger son will become fluent at reading in his own good time. Though I’m doing the same kind of reading lessons with him as I did with his older brother, I have no inner angst about whether what I’m doing is right or not. If he can’t remember something, I simply say, “That’s okay. You will.” 

My younger son is also different from his brother. For example, it astonishes me how he’ll fill out worksheets with minimal complaint, and sometimes he asks for certain workbooks! I couldn’t use any worksheets with my eldest when he was younger. Now he’s fine with them, but back then, I had to be more creative about teaching him. We did a lot of things orally, watched a lot of YouTube videos, and did hands-on projects that took several afternoons to complete.

My younger son loves hands-on projects, too, but he doesn’t initiate them or request them like his older brother did. I have to make a point of giving him an opportunity to do some of the fun experiments and building projects I did with his older brother, but he doesn’t always want to do them. He likes to play independently, so I give him plenty of time to do that. 

When I look back at my eldest son’s 2nd grade, it seems like there was more time during the day even though I was trying to teach while also handling his younger brother. We went on more play dates and nature walks. But now this same young man has different interests, and as he gets older, there is more to teach. So I do more lesson planning, and as a result, I do more lesson planning for the 2nd grader, too. He’s getting lessons that his older brother didn’t have to do in the 2nd grade, such as Spanish, history and cello lessons. He also listens to more middle school-age books that I read aloud.

Each of the 2nd grades I’ve conducted in this house has been similar, yet very different, too. They’ve each fulfilled the needs of the individual child while also fitting into what our family needs at the time. This makes me happy. My boys would not have gotten this individualized 2nd grade in a traditional school, and they would not have had the opportunity to figure out what they like to do, if they had they been restricted to a one-level curriculum with a heavy emphasis on a few academic subjects. Being part of a family where all the members are working on individual goals alongside each other has been enriching and inspiring for my boys as well as for my husband and me.

Do you have more than one child that you homeschool? What have you done differently each time, or what has the experience of teaching multiple children taught you?

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What’s in the Fall Issue of HSL?

The fall issue is out! And in addition to our updated-for-2017 list of best cities for homeschoolers (which I know some of you have been counting down the months for), we’ve got some great stuff that you might want to check up. (You can view the full table of contents here.) Here’s a little roundup of some of the things we love in the fall issue:

• I loved digging into Native American history to put together a high school reading list for U.S. History. (In fact, I got a little carried away on the research end of this, so you can expect to see an elementary and a middle school reading list on the blog in November.) 
• Blair’s tips for vetting science curriculum are excellent and (sadly) essential as curriculum publishers continue to vague up what “secular” means when it comes to curricula. With her expert guidance, you can make sure that you’re getting peer-reviewed, facts-based science for your homeschool.
• Thurgood Marshall is so awesome that I spent most of August interjecting “You know another amazing thing about Thurgood Marshall?” into conversations, and people weren’t even that annoyed because he really is that amazing.
• Writing personalized book lists is one of my favorite things, so I was delighted when Nicky asked me to put together a list of books about bugs for her homeschool. (She also gave me an excuse to finally read Wicked Bugs, which I kind of loved.)
• Amy’s DIY stamp art project feels like an art project that I can actually do, and I am excited to use it to try to make holiday wrapping paper this year.
• I always enjoy stories that let me check in with real homeschoolers, so it was a pleasure working on our feature about ways to bust through a homeschool plateau—you know, when everything is fine, but it’s just fine, and you’d like it break through to the next level. I talked to several different homeschoolers about the little and big epiphanies that changed their homeschools for the better, and I’m excited to test-drive some of the strategies that worked for them in my own homeschool.
• I was glad a reader wrote in asking how to help kids recognize fake news because I think that’s a particularly relevant, important question in these days of instant-access information. Being able to assess and analyze information feels more important than being able to memorize it, and there are some specific skills you need to build in order to be able to do that.

If you’re a subscriber, you can download your copy of the fall issue right now. If you aren’t a subscriber, maybe you’d like to be? home/school/life is a quarterly magazine for secular homeschoolers, and we pack every issue full of ideas to make your homeschool more entertaining, richer, and happier for everyone involved. Many issues are completely ad-free, and we never include more than five advertisements (from carefully screened, totally secular companies) in any issue so you always know you're getting tons of relevant content in every issue.

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Readaloud of the Week: Stonewords

STONEWORDS by Pam Conrad

Continuing our month of spooky readalouds, I give you Stonewords, a book that's part time-travel story, part ghost story, and all creepy.

Zoe doesn't think it's strange when her very entertaining friend Zoe Louise disappears whenever a grown-up enters the room. She's not worried when she sees an old gravestone with the name ZOE on it. Zoe dismisses the fact that while she is growing up, Zoe Louise is always eleven years old and celebrating her birthday. But when Zoe follows Zoe Louise up the back stairs and finds herself in the late nineteenth century, Zoe realizes that something strange is going on. Slowly putting the pieces together, Zoe realizes that her friend is from the past—and that she's going to die if Zoe doesn't do something about it.

The chills in Stonewords: A Ghost Story come largely from ghostly Zoe Louise, who is petulant, willful, and increasingly terrifying as the tale progresses. (In fact, if Zoe had other friends, it's unlikely that she'd put up with Zoe Louise, who is a spoiled brat of a ghost.) As the book builds inexorably toward its climax—can Zoe change history and save her friend?—the book becomes un-put-down-able. If Zoe changes the past and saves Zoe Louise, she loses her best friend. If she doesn't, Zoe Louise will wither away to nothing. 

This is a genuinely scary book (with a few gruesome bits to boot), so it's only for kids who can handle a good scare. But those readers who like being spooked will appreciate its eerie vibe. 

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New Books: Human, Monster, Other

Monster, Human, Other

By Laurel Gale

Buy on Amazon

Isaac and Wren were born not to fit in.

The kids of the clespsit and human ambassadors (respectively), they’ll spend their childhoods with the other world: Isaac will grow up as an ordinary human kid (as long as his tail stays taped down), and red-haired Wren lives with the clepsits, who—except for her adoptive parents—aren’t big fans of humans. Though the two species share the same planet, they almost never interact—most humans have never even heard of clepsits, and it’s rare for a clepsit to see a human. The ambassadors keep peace between the two worlds, and that’s what Isaac and Wren will do when they grow up, too. If they grow up, that is.

Life has never been easy for Isaac or Wren, but now it’s downright dangerous: The voracans, spiny underground dwellers, are preparing to conquer the sunlight realms, and kidnapping one of the kid ambassadors is part of their plan. Even worse, somewhere in the clepsit and human world is a traitor who’s egging the vorcans on for sinister reasons of his own. When Isaac gets kidnapped and Wren sets off on an impossible mission to save him, the fate of the world rests in the hands of two kids who are meeting each other for the first time.

The tension between humans and clepsits feels particularly timely, and it’s easy to read parallels between current events and Gale’s world. Though the plotting is fast-paced, it’s also bumpy at times—there are some glaring inconsistencies in the story, and occasionally, the reader is asked to swallow a pretty big coincidence. Still, Wren and Isaac are so likable and the Gale’s world-building so interesting that these feel like fairly minor quibbles. It’s a fun story and one that should start some interesting conversations.

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Stuff We Like :: 10.20.17

It’s fall! I’m hoping since the fall issue is out and my midterms are all done, we can make time for a little hike in the mountains this weekend. (Very little hike, very big funnel cake afterwards!)

around the web

I’m not sure if I’m just slap-happy or if this is genuinely hilarious, but this Lutheran insulter has been cracking me up all afternoon.

I actually interrupted my husband’s Spanish class because I couldn’t wait to tell him that Ishiguro won the Nobel Prize for Literature. (It’s my Tonys!)

I will read anything about Alice Roosevelt because she is amazing and delightful. Can't you just imagine her on Twitter?

At home/school/life

in the magazine: The fall issue is out! (Thank goodness! :)) 

on the blog: How do you catch up if you’ve fallen behind?

on Pinterest: Our nerdy Halloween costumes board has a lots of fun ideas

one year ago: Reflections on mentorship (with a little help from Harry Potter)

two years ago: Spooky Halloween readalouds

three years ago: Welcome to My Salon: A Different Approach to Everyday Learning

Reading list

We are going to have to record the new podcast soon because I really want to talk about The Rabbit Back Literature Society, which is SO TOTALLY WEIRD. In a good way.

Now that the fall issue is officially out, I can dive — well, at least wade a little! — into my TBR list. First up: A Morbid Taste for Bones, which I’ve always meant to read and never got around to. (I love a historical mystery, so I am hoping this is a good one.)

I’m getting ready to read Euripides with my humanities class, so I am having a grand time loudly declaiming speeches on the front porch. Our neighborhood squirrels are not impressed. 

At home

Halloween has really snuck up on me this year, and I’m going to have to be SuperMom to keep up my tradition of homemade costumes. I managed to pull this off with two broken ankles two years ago, so I am optimistic but hoping their costumes of choice do not involve articulated wings or hand-sewn sequins! I did manage to find time to make our little dog a wizard hat, though.

My kids are also very excited to get some of my attention back, and we have an exciting weekend plan involving hot chocolate, Arete (the philosophy board game!), and The Great British Baking Show. And pajamas. Lots of pajamas!

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Library Chicken Update 10/17/17

Welcome to the weekly round-up of what the BookNerd is reading and how many points I scored (or lost) in Library Chicken. To recap, you get a point for returning a library book that you’ve read, you lose a point for returning a book unread, and while returning a book past the due date is technically legal, you do lose half a point. If you want to play along, leave your score in the comments!

This was a better week for me, in terms of book count. This is good for my household as it turns out that I get very cranky when I don’t have enough reading time. Some people need to work out every day; I need to work on my to-read list.

Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente

This book is weird and mind-blowing and surprising and I spent a lot of time not having any idea what was happening AND I loved every word. The book-flap describes it as “a decopunk pulp SF alt-history space-opera mystery” and yeah, that probably sums it up. Set in a universe where the milk of Venusian whales allows travel through the solar system, we learn (via news articles, interviews, diary entries, movie scripts, etc.) about the strange disappearance of a talented young documentary filmmaker, herself the daughter of a famous director (who lives and works on the Moon, as does most of the Hollywood set). This is one of Valente’s adult novels (like Deathless, and unlike the Fairyland series), and veers toward the bizarre-and-occasionally-disturbing side of the street (where Valente can hang out with China Mieville and Helen Oyeyemi). Valente is awesome and wonderful in all the ways and you should read her books immediately.
(LC Score: +1) 

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The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz

This Sherlock novel (by the author of Magpie Murders) does a good job recreating the world of Holmes and Watson. It’s always fun to see the old crew (including Mycroft Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars), but my favorite recent Holmes novel, Dust and Shadow by Lyndsay Faye, is in no danger of being knocked from its number one spot.
(LC Score: +1)

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Orlando by Virginia Woolf

I have read a handful of Woolf’s books and am always meaning to return and systematically work my way through her oeuvre, but I picked up Orlando after having read a little bit about Vita Sackville-West (and knowing that Orlando is supposedly Woolf’s love letter to Vita). I knew a little bit about the title character, a gender-switching immortal who we follow through 400 years of English history, from the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but I didn’t really know what to expect from the book. IT IS SO CHARMING. Why didn’t anyone tell me how funny and charming it is? It’s just wonderful and I’d like to gush on about it some more but I’m off to watch the movie adaptation starring Tilda Swinton. SO CHARMING.
(LC Score: +1)

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Emerson: The Mind on Fire by Robert D. Richardson

I’m sure I read some Emerson in high school. I had to, right? In American Lit or something? Whatever I did read left me unimpressed with the Sage of Concord, who I generally thought of as a boring old white guy going on and on about the outdoors and the fabulousness of trees or something like that. (It’s entirely possible that I had confused him with his best bud Thoreau.) I wasn’t all that interested in returning to Ralph Waldo, but I’ve been working my way through the Alcott-adjacent biographies, and <eyeroll> I guess I should know a little bit more about him since he’s one of the giants of American literature or something like that. And, hey, it appears that Emerson has suddenly gotten a lot more interesting in the past 30 years! Richardson calls his book an “intellectual biography,” meaning that he tracks Emerson’s life through whatever Ralph Waldo was reading at the time, so as to trace the influence of literary works and philosophical texts on Emerson’s own thinking. As an obsessive reader myself, I love this idea, but mostly I learned that I am pitifully uninformed when it comes to Western philosophy, and there’s no way I can keep up reading-wise with Emerson (or Richardson, for that matter). Even so, I thoroughly enjoyed this bio and found that Emerson’s writing now resonates with me in a very powerful and unexpected way. I’ve put all his greatest hits on my to-read list, so there’s quite a bit more Emerson in my future.
(LC Score: +1)

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Narrative of Sojourner Truth edited by Margaret Washington

Meanwhile, as I fill in the gaps in my Transcendentalist knowledge, I’m still trying to fill in the holes around African-American history. By which I mean: learn some basic African-American history. I wasn’t taught much of anything in school and (embarrassingly for me) I didn’t go looking for it until fairly recently. Sojourner Truth is one of those names I recognized, but could tell you next to nothing about. This is the (short) narrative of her life and experiences, as dictated by Truth to a friend (Truth was illiterate). This particular edition has a helpful historical introduction to Truth’s life and I can’t wait to read more about this amazing woman and her life as an abolitionist and women’s rights activist.
(LC Score: +1)

Library Chicken Score for 10/17/17: 5

Running Score: 107 ½ 

On the to-read/still-reading stack for next week:

• Sojourner Truth’s America by Margaret Washington (I enjoyed Washington’s introduction so much I thought I’d read her biography of Truth)
• Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom by Catherine Clinton (another amazing woman I know very little about) 
• 2 A.M. at the Cat’s Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino (because I recently heard a recommendation and it has a wonderful title)
• Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero (another great title for a new YA novel by the author of The Supernatural Enhancements)

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Homeschool Transitions: Making the Shift from Kindergarten to 1st Grade in Your Homeschool

Kindergarten is fun. We might play games, foster make-believe time, spend hours at the park, read books, sing songs, or any number of activities that feels easy to plan and implement. Around 1st grade, however, many of us need to register our homeschools with the government. Now, it feels real. Now is when we become not just parents, but also—really, officially—teachers.

Can we really do this? Yes, we can.

First grade actually is not the year you need to stress about getting that perfect curriculum, or determining exactly what style of homeschooling you like best, or figuring out how you are going to juggle school with a toddler and a baby. Rest assured, the main work of first graders is still playing and exploring.

Researchers have learned that children learn self-regulation through make-believe. That is, they learn the skills to control their emotions, learn new things, and delay gratification, which will be more essential to learning in the long run. Susan Engel, senior lecturer in psychology at Williams College, wrote in an op-ed in The New York Times: “Research has shown unequivocally that children learn best when they are interested in the material or activity they are learning. Play—from building contraptions to enacting stories to inventing games—can allow children to satisfy their curiosity about the things that interest them in their own way. It can also help them acquire higher-order thinking skills, like generating testable hypotheses, imagining situations from someone else’s perspective, and thinking of alternate solutions.”

It’s not that you shouldn’t start doing your homework about curricula, if you want to use a curriculum, or evaluating different homeschool philosophies, but you shouldn’t feel overwhelmed by the possibilities. Don’t get caught up in the worry of how, what, and when of homeschooling right now. If you enter homeschooling with a sense of adventure and curiosity (just like your kids!), you will find that all those things tend to work themselves out.

CURRICU􏰏LUM

If you find a curriculum that you fall in love with, try it. But remember that all children develop differently. If you love it but your child doesn’t, it may mean that you need to wait another year. Or, you might want to experiment with other resources. There are plenty of free and inexpensive materials out there. You might want to exhaust these—especially the library—before making a big purchase.

Chances are, if you do this, you will:

• 1) learn more about your student (is nature her thing? would that nature-based curriculum be the ticket?), 
• 2) learn how your student learns (is he more of a visual learner or hands-on?),
• and 3) get a feel for what works for you. (Do you need something that does the planning for you, or is it easier for you to piece together some curriculum of your own?)

You don’t have to stick to a curriculum if your child balks at it. While you want to foster good habits, you need to pay attention to your child’s reactions so that you start to understand when he really needs more time—a little growth and maturity can go a long way—or when he might just be stubborn. If your child is in tears, it’s probably wise to pack the lessons away for a while. You will see a big difference in the reaction of child who can do the lesson but just doesn’t want to. That usually means some complaining and sulking on his part and some nudging on your part, but not tears or a loss of spirit. If a child can do the lesson, but he absolutely hates it—so much so that he’s losing his enjoyment of learning—you might want to reconsider your tactics, too.

The bottom line is that school should not cause tears, and you want to remember why you decided to homeschool in the first place. You can get creative. You don’t have to stick with any curriculum or method if it doesn’t seem right for you or your child.

“Do you want your child’s education to be about checking off a bunch of boxes, or do you want it to be about exploration and fostering a love of learning?”

COURSE OF STUDY

Before you consult one of those all-encompassing “What Your 1st Grader Should Know” lists, sit down and make a list of what you believe to be the most important elements of a well-rounded education. It may include subjects, such as the most influential artists of our time, and your priorities, such as to learn at his own pace or having plenty of time to move around and play.

As you learn more about educational philosophies and what interests your child, your list might change, but it is an important tool to refer to throughout your homeschooling journey. It will help you keep from getting steered in the wrong direction when, say, you hear the local school is teaching xyz in your daughter’s grade, and you realize you haven’t even touched on that subject. Or when your friend’s child loves a cool class, but your son isn’t interested at all. Your list will remind you what is important. It will remind you that while you can’t cover everything, you are covering the things that matter.

When you consult a course of study for 1st grade, such as the thorough lists on World Book’s website, take a look at the lists for 2nd grade and 3rd grade, too. You’ll find that while some concepts are added in each grade, many are repeated. So if your child just doesn’t get skip counting in first grade, don’t fret—skip counting is on the 2nd grade list, too. And, of course, these lists should be taken with a grain of salt. Talk to a seasoned unschooler, and you’ll find that most children will learn everything they need to know as they need to know it.

Before you get overwhelmed by the lists and go out and buy an expensive curriculum that is supposed to cover everything, challenge yourself to make the library your main homeschool resource. (If you don’t live near a good library, be sure to find out if your state has an interlibrary loan.) Let your child pick any books he wants, but keep a list of your picks, too. In the 1st grade, you might want to find books on these topics:

• literature—Any storybook goes

• math—Yes, there are storybooks for math!

• holidays—find books to read to help you learn about the history and how different people celebrate

• animals and their habitats

• plants and how a seed grows

• the water cycle

• the planets

• science experiments for kids

This is not an exhaustive list, but if you get in the habit of going to the library and showing your children how to use it, the world will open up to them—and you.

You might find lists are burdensome, or you might find them a helpful guide. Either way is OK. The bottom line is don’t worry about it, especially in the first grade. Do you want your child’s education to be about checking off a bunch of boxes, or do you want it to be about exploration and fostering a love of learning?

Experiment with schedules, resources, and take the time to get to know your child and different ways of homeschooling. After all, in first grade, you have a long way until graduation. 

This article is excerpted from the summer 2015 issue of HSL.

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Shelli has more advice for making the 1st grade transition in her book The Everyday Homeschooler's Guide to Teaching 1st Grade.

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Readaloud of the Week: The Screaming Staircase

THE SCREAMING STAIRCASE by Jonathan Stroud

England has a “Problem.” And it’s a big one.

Around 50 years ago, a mysterious event occurred, which has left the country haunted by specters, spooks, and other supernatural beings. The hauntings begin at night, and every sane person wears protective charms to repel spirits and makes sure to be safe at home well before the supernatural power surge that comes at midnight. Because these ghosts aren’t just creepy—they’re deadly. And the only people who can fight them are kids.

Lucy is one of these kids, a girl with a talent for ghost-fighting: She can hear the voices of the dead, and when she touches something that belonged to a person who died, she can experience fragments of that person’s memories. She’d like to work for one of the big, fancy ghost hunting agencies—the ones that were founded back when the Problem started—but instead, she finds herself settling in as an agent at Lockwood & Co., a ramshackle agency run by a couple of kids instead of a team of grown-ups. Suave, elegant Anthony Lockwood and grouchy, sloppy George Cubbins quickly become Lucy’s misfit family, and the three of them manage to scrape a living banishing phantoms until a case goes terribly wrong, leaving the agency on the brink of disaster. Their only hope to keep the agency alive is to tackle one more high-publicity case: to spend the night in the most haunted house in England and solve the mystery of its screaming staircase. Lucy knows they’ll be lucky if they make it out alive, forget actually finding the source of the haunting, but ghost hunting is all about facing lost causes. 

What makes it a great readaloud: This is the perfect Halloween series, full of terrifying ghosts (including a very creepy skull in a jar who will figure largely in the book’s sequels) and haunted places. Lockwood & Co. are a likable bunch of misfits who manage to fit together perfectly—while Lucy is maybe the flattest of the characters in this first book, there’s enough action that her minimal character development here probably won’t bother you. In our house, we’re big fans of asking “What if…?” so alternate histories make very appealing readalouds, and this book has great questions: What if ghosts were real? What if they were dangerous? What if kids were the only ones who could stop them? This first book in the series can definitely stand on its own, but if you love it, you’ll be happy to know there are four more books that follow.

But be aware: Some of the spookier scenes may be too much for sensitive kids—there are some genuinely frightening moments sprinkled throughout the book.

Quotable: “When you go out hunting wicked spirits, it's the simple things that matter most. The silvered point of your rapier flashing in the dark; the iron filings scattered on the floor; the sealed canisters of best Greek Fire, ready as a last resort... 

"But tea bags, brown and fresh and plenty of them, and made (for preference) by Pitkin Brothers of Bond Street, are perhaps the simplest and best of all. 

"OK, they may not save your life like a sword-tip or an iron circle can, and they haven't the protective power of a sudden wall of fire. But they do provide something just as vital. They help keep you sane.” 

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8 Ways to Be Happier in Your Everyday Homeschool Life

Ask any homeschooling parent what she wishes for her child’s future, and happiness will be at the top of the list. Of course, between trying to master the facts of multiplication, battling over how many episodes of Mythbusters a person can legitimately watch in one day, carpooling to co-op too early on Tuesday mornings, and trying to squeeze in a load of laundry so that you’re not perpetually out of underwear, happiness isn’t necessarily something we homeschooling parents float around projecting every day. In fact, 87 percent of moms and 58 percent of dads say that feeling like they’re falling short as parents keeps them from feeling happy in their parenting lives. It’s not that we don’t want to be happy—it’s that we trick ourselves into believing that we should only get to be happy when we’re doing it all just right.

Well, I’m here to tell you: You’re doing it right, and it’s time to put your own happiness back at the top of your to-do list. Next time your friend’s fabulous homeschool Facebook updates make you question your own choices, or your kid has a Target meltdown in aisle nine, or you have to choose between guitar lessons and drama classes because life on a homeschooler’s budget can be a little pinched, make a conscious effort to find your happy place with these practical tips to beat the homeschooling blues. You’ll find that happiness is sometimes just an attitude adjustment away.

Smile more often.

Just the act of smiling can make you feel happier, says Dacher Kellner, Ph.D, who conducted a study at the University of California comparing women’s high school yearbook photos with their self-reported happiness levels decades later. Across the board, the women who flashed the biggest, happiest smiles for the yearbook photographer in high school had better marriages, more mental focus, and reported a greater sense of overall wellbeing than the women who barely cracked a smile in their yearbook photos. Next time you catch your reflection in the mirror, make a point of smiling a big smile, even if your brain’s not in it at first—it may be all you need to turn on your inner happiness.

Spend less time on Facebook.

Every time you log onto your social media accounts, you run the risk of sabotaging your good mood. Nearly 33 percent of Facebook users say spending time on the site makes them feel unhappy because their friends’ lives seem so much better than their own. Rationally, we know that social media posts are just part of the picture—we’re not seeing the piles of laundry or preteen pouting off-screen — but it’s not easy to hold onto that knowledge when you’re scrolling through happy photo after happy photo of fabulous homeschool vacations and cool science experiments. This holds especially true when we’re checking Facebook because we’re bored, frustrated, or tired—which is when so many of us log in to our Facebook accounts. Instead of fretting over how your friends’ post-worthy moments compare to your not-so-photogenic morning, enjoy a glimpse into the lives of other families. Take a moment to interact—leave a comment, post a photo, or, better yet, write your own status update. The same Facebook study found that lurkers on the site were the most dissatisfied, but the more people interacted with their online friends, the better able they were to keep their own lives in perspective. 

Schedule a girls’ night out.

The more time you spend with your pals in real life, the less likely you are to feel like they’re having Pinterest-perfect lives while you’re missing out. People who get the majority of their social interaction online tend to think their friends are happier and having more fun than they are, suggests research published earlier this year in the journal Cyberpschology, Behavior, and Social Networking. When people had more face-to-face interaction with friends, they tended to feel that they were as happy as their pals. But the benefits of friendship aren’t just perception: Researchers at the University of Illinois found that the number-one thing the happiest participants in a 2003 study had in common was strong relationships. Study participants who consistently described themselves as very happy all had strong ties to friends and family and made spending time with the people they cared about a top priority. If a night out is hard to pull off, consider forming a once-a-month get-together group. Bring the kids, a potluck dish, and a bottle of wine to share. Even with the occasional “Mo-o-om” from the kids, you’ll reap the benefits of a night with your friends.

Evaluate your week, not your day.

We experience happiness in two ways: The happiness of the moment, which can get knocked around by miserable math moments, squabbling siblings, or dysfunctional dishwashers, and remembering happiness, which reflects the experience as a whole. When people use their remembering happiness, looking back at an experience, they tend to see it more positively than they do if they’re asked to evaluate their happiness at a given moment during the experience, found researchers at the University of Texas. That’s why studies like the one conducted by Time magazine in 2005 can show that people say their children give their lives the greatest happiness, while the everyday job of taking care of the kids falls fifteenth on a list of nineteen happiness-generating activities—just barely more fun than house-cleaning. The more you focus on the homeschooling big picture, the more confident and happier you’re likely to feel. In other words, don’t let a bad day trick you into thinking you’re a bad homeschooling parent. Shifting your focus from a rough morning to the big picture may be all you need to boost your mood.

Think small.

You don’t always need to make big changes to feel happier about your life. Sometimes a little adjustment can be all you need to see your way to the bright side. Little things—like getting a good night’s sleep or breaking for a snack when you’re hungry—can have a bigger impact on your happiness than big-ticket fun like taking a vacation or buying new shoes, says Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project. Even better, little changes like these build on themselves, creating a happiness momentum that keeps growing. Next time you feel stuck in a rut, think of one thing you can do to boost your health or happiness—and do it. Something as simple as starting your homeschool day with a walk around the neighborhood to get a little exercise or buying a pretty scarf to wear over your wrinkled T-shirts and jeans can make your everyday life a little happier.

Write it down.

If you’re not keeping a homeschool joy journal, you’re missing the opportunity to pat yourself on the back—and the opportunity to feel happier about your homeschooling life. In a study at the University of California at Riverside, a team of researchers led by Sonja Lyubomirsky found that people who kept a gratitude journal for six weeks felt much happier and more satisfied with their lives than those who didn’t jot down the good stuff. A gratitude journal helps prevent you from fixating on little problems and steers your attention toward those just-as-valid little successes instead. Keep a notebook on your night table, and make a point to pencil in one good moment of each homeschooling day before you go to sleep at night.

Make some alone time.

Me-time may seem impossible, but it’s essential, says Meg Meeker, M.D., author of The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers: Reclaiming our Passion, Purpose and Sanity. Not only does a little alone time give you a break from the constant pull of double-duty mom-teacher responsibilities, taking a break literally lets your body recharge physically and emotionally. Eighty-five percent of moms feel guilty that they don’t spend enough time with their kids, found researchers when they compiled data for The Changing Rhythms of American Family Life, but that same data suggests that parents today spend more quality time with their kids than any previous generation. That’s why it’s not too surprising that 71 percent of parents say that the one thing they really yearn for is a few minutes of alone time. Especially if you’re spending the vast majority of your days homeschooling and parenting, taking a me-break is essential for your mental health. If you truly feel like your homeschool schedule won’t accommodate any parent time-off, it may be time to rethink your to-do list.

Do something different.

Here’s something interesting: When she was working on The Happiness Project, Rubin found that the more comfortable people were in a given situation, the more likely they were to unfavorably compare themselves to other people. When you’re moving through life on autopilot, you have time to obsess over what that cute mom at co-op is wearing (seriously, how does she find time to brush her hair, much less put on eyeliner every day?) or how much better your neighbor’s lawn looks than yours. Change your focus by changing your routine: Start a book club, take a sewing class, bike to the park, do anything to change your everyday pattern. When you’ve got something new and interesting to occupy your mind, you’re less likely to fixate on things you feel might be missing from your own life—and at the same time, you’ll be making your life the happy place you always knew it should be. 

This article was originally published in the Fall 2013 issue of Atlanta Homeschool.

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Stuff We Like :: 10.13.17

Happy Friday the 13th!

around the web

Yikes, this sounds eerily familiar: The new midlife crisis

And possibly related: We talk about the inequity of pay for men versus women (not as much as we should, but we talk about it), but we don’t talk enough about the inequity of emotional labor.

I think we all know that I am always going to read accounts of writers snarking about other writers. (In this installment, Hans Christian Andersen is a TERRIBLE house guest, according to Dickens.)

Tough week? I bet you’ll feel a little better after Idris Elba reads you a bedtime story.

at home/school/life

on the podcast: There’s finally a new episode! We’re talking about finding new rhythms, juggling work and homeschooling, Ancillary Justice, and more.

in the magazine: I promise the fall issue will be available soon! 

on the blog: I loved doing homeschool makeovers, and this one—helping a mom figure out a way to schedule part-time work into her homeschool schedule—was one of my favorites.

one year ago: At home with the editors: Our order of things

two years ago: Teaching the solar system in elementary school

three years ago: How to talk about homeschooling so people will listen

Reading List

Suzanne and I are reading The Rabbit Back Literature Society for the next episode of the podcast, mostly because Suzanne says it’s a combination of Twin Peaks and the Moomins. Who can resist that? (You should read it with us if you want to!)

I’m rereading The World’s Religions for the secular world religions class I’m co-teaching with my friend Shelly. (She covers the Asian religions, I’m jumping in next week with the Abrahamic ones.) I think this is a great resource for studying world religions because it includes Confucianism, which doesn’t always seem to get included in collections of world religions and which can start such interesting conversations about what a religion has to include to be considered a religion. Plus, I mean, who doesn’t like Confucius?

My 4th grader and I are starting The Book of Three together—he sat in when I was reading it with his sister, but he doesn’t remember much. (He was two!) I’m hoping he loves it—I feel like this series could be right up his alley.

At Home

True story: There is absolutely no balance in my life right now, and it’s driving me crazy. Either the house is not an insane mess, the children are actually getting some quality homeschool time, or I am actually on top of my work—never more than one of those at a time, though! I’m hoping things settle down soon.

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Curriculum Review: Philosophy for Kids

Start honing critical thinking skills early with a philosophy curriculum designed for elementary-age kids. 

Four hundred years ago, French Renaissance writer Michel de Montaigne asked society a thoughtful question: “Since philosophy is the art which teaches us how to live, and since children need to learn it as much as we do at other ages, why do we not instruct them in it?”

Tuned-in parents and educators would agree that children are natural philosophers. As a group, young people are highly inquisitive, imaginative, wide-open thinkers. With enthusiasm, they constantly seek opportunities to develop a sense of self and an understanding of the world they inhabit. On many levels, children wrestle, just as philosophers do, with questions of morality, social justice, and human understanding. Oftentimes, they attempt this without a proper context in which to frame their questions.

Even an elementary understanding of philosophy provides the tools our kids need to question and evaluate ideas constructively. Philosophy teaches how to conduct organized and civilized debate. It cultivates appreciation and under- standing of diverse thoughts, and opinions and grows its students into responsible, empathetic, articulate world citizens. Philosophy, it seems, aims to achieve the very goals so many of us aspire to reach each day in our own homeschools.

Philosophy for Kids: 40 Fun Questions That Help You Wonder about Everything!

Philosophy, and the thought-provoking discussions this subject inspires, can lead to deeply satisfying exchanges between you and your child. Fortunately for us, Prufrock Press has published an excellent resource to help families get started—David A. White’s Philosophy for Kids: 40 Fun Questions That Help You Wonder About Everything.

White has been teaching philosophy in colleges and universities since 1967, but clearly he understands the value of providing philosophical understanding to much younger students as well. Written for children ages 10 and older, Philosophy for Kids might also appeal to younger, highly motivated learners who enjoy engaging with thinking of this kind.

Philosophy for Kids is divided into four sections: values, knowledge, reality, and critical thinking. Each of these sections receives a brief overview from the author and is linked to a specific branch of philosophy—ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, and logic. Only one page in length, these introductions set the stage for a series of compelling problems for readers to ponder.

Each of the four sections is accompanied by a series of 10 units that open with questions such as “How do you know who your friends are?,” “Do you perceive things as they are or only as they seem to be?,” “If many people believe that something is true, is it true?,” and “Do you have free will?”. The first 29 questions in these units are connected to the work of a great philosopher. Kids will have fun deciding if they agree with such thinkers as Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates and will also love defending their own divergent beliefs.

To help learners consider all angles of each issue, White provides various exercises that include true or false and multiple choice questions as well as the chance to rank ideas according to the reader’s’ individual ideology. Although this traditional approach might sound dry to some homeschoolers, in this context the approach works well. The questions are entertaining, fun to wrestle with, and relevant.

“Children wrestle, just as philosophers do, with questions of morality, social justice, and human understanding. ”

Each short lesson closes with a section called “For Further Thought,” providing opportunities for students to delve deeper with more questions and activities. In one unit students are asked, “Can another person understand your feelings?” After completing several exercises addressing this question, students proceed to the “For Further Thought” section to consider “Is language the best way to express our emotions? Would the arts of music or painting represent emotions more vividly and truly? Select a work of music or art and analyze whether or not this work expresses emotions better than language.”

Additional ideas of great writers, mathematicians, orators, poets, and playwrights pepper the pages of this book and are wonderful aids for launching further thoughtful conversations.

The final 60 pages or so of Philosophy for Kids provide teaching tips, a glossary of terms, and helpful suggestions for further reading. Here White’s writing is as straightforward and pleasant to read as the rest of the book. With minimal effort, parents are able to glean excellent suggestions to enhance and facilitate meaningful discussion.

Whether your family chooses to work through this book chronologically or prefers instead to skip around to those questions of greatest interest, it makes no difference. A particularly fun aspect of a curriculum such as this is that it does not have to be a presented using a traditional format. If you like, simply use the material to foster deeper dinner time conversation or to pass time on a long car ride. However you choose to work with the book, your child will likely develop a new approach to critical thinking and have a terrific time in the process!

Philosophy for Kids could easily be adapted for use with one student or with many. I can imagine using this in a homeschool co-op with great results. Although a student could work through this book alone, I suspect an interactive approach would be preferable and loads more fun.

Very little preparation is required to use this book effectively in a homeschool. Parents may wish to read ahead to obtain a better command of the information. However, opening the book and reading it for the first time aloud with your child is absolutely fine. The book is a solid resource that is thorough enough to stand on its own. Especially enthusiastic students might enjoy supplementing with parts of the original texts cited throughout the book or with biographical information about featured philosophers. On average, expect a typical discussion to last 30 minutes or so.

The publisher’s price of $29.95 for this 193-page, soft- covered book is reasonable. This is a resource you should be able to find in your library as well.

In the introduction of his book, White writes of his desire to “foster a sense of wonder and to aim it in many directions.” It is my belief that the author achieves exactly what he set out to do. Taking subject matter that many might initially find intimidating, White presents philosophy as highly relevant, playful, challenging and fun.

Philosophy for Kids is a thought-provoking resource that will appeal to curious learners who enjoy puzzling over life’s mysteries. As a parent, you are likely to gain new insight into the wonderful ways that your child views the world as you delve into fascinating new subject matter together. 

This review was originally published in the winter 2016 issue of HSL.

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Book Nerd: Library Chicken Weekly Scoreboard (10.10.17)

Welcome to the weekly round-up of what the BookNerd is reading and how many points I scored (or lost) in Library Chicken. To recap, you get a point for returning a library book that you’ve read, you lose a point for returning a book unread, and while returning a book past the due date is technically legal, you do lose half a point. If you want to play along, leave your score in the comments!

Man, Library Chicken gets a lot harder when I actually have a job and people expect me to do things. I’m going to have to give up sleeping (since I’ve already given up housework and interacting with the family) if I’m ever going to make it through the giant stack of library books next to the bed.

Rest You Merry by Charlotte MacLeod

Granted, it isn’t time to break out the holiday reading just yet, but I enjoyed this murder mystery with sleuth Peter Shandy (professor and radish expert), set on a college campus that goes way overboard with the Christmas decorations. There are several more Peter Shandy mysteries, so it looks like I’ve got another series to keep up with.
(LC Score: +1)

Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente

Valente is at the top of my list of “amazing authors that distressingly few people seem to have heard of.” If you haven’t read her Fairyland series (beginning with The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making), you should do so immediately and then share with all the young people in your immediate vicinity. Deathless is another fairy tale of sorts, a retelling of the Russian story of Koschei the Deathless, set in the early days of the Soviet Union. It is wonderful and weird and much more adult than the Fairyland series (meaning I wouldn’t necessarily pass it along to younger fans). With Valente I never know if I should be upset that I didn’t hear about her sooner, or grateful that I can look forward to reading all of her books that I haven’t gotten to yet.
(LC Score: +1)

Hawthorne: A Life by Brenda Wineapple

One of my favorite Alcott-adjacent biographies so far, which was a bit of a surprise given the subject matter. Nathaniel Hawthorne was the grumpy loner in the Concord set (when he wasn’t using his political connections, including best friend President Franklin Pierce, to get government work), but Wineapple’s biography is entertaining and engaging, with just the right amount of quiet snark.
(LC Score: +1)

How to Read Novels Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster

Follow-up to Foster’s How to Read Literature. Amy said I probably didn’t need to read this one once I’d read the first one, but WHATEVER, AMY, YOU ARE NOT THE BOSS OF ME. (Except, actually, in those circumstances where you are.) I thought it was worth reading for this comment (on T.S. Eliot and symbolism): “I believe that when very young, Eliot was badly frightened by a double meaning, hence his determination to exert absolute authorial control,” but maybe that’s just me.
(LC Score: +1)

And as I may have hinted above, the RETURNED UNREAD (AND OCCASIONALLY OVERDUE) count keeps going up. Sigh.
(LC Score: -6 ½)

Library Chicken Score for 10/10/17: -2 ½ 

Running Score: 102 ½ 

On the to-read/still-reading stack for next week:

• Radiance by Catherynne Valente (just give me all the Valente books)
• Blindspot by Jane Kamensky and Jill Lepore (American Revolutionary era hijinks co-written by one of my favorite historians) 
• The Luck Runs Out by Charlotte MacLeod (Peter Shandy mystery #2)
• Emerson: The Mind on Fire by Robert D. Richardson (have I mentioned that the Alcotts had a LOT of famous neighbors?)

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6 Curriculum Shopping Tips that Will Help You Make the Most of Your Homeschool Budget

However much — or little — you have to spend on homeschool materials, you’re always going to want to feel like you made a good investment.

However much—or little—you have to spend on homeschool materials, you’re always going to want to feel like you made a good investment. That feeling comes from a combination of things: finding a curriculum that you actually use more than once or twice with you kids, feeling like the curriculum did work you couldn’t easily have done on your own, and being satisfied with the cost-to-curriculum satisfaction ratio of your purchases. Before you click “checkout” on a new curriculum, mentally run through this checklist to make sure you’re on the path to homeschool spending satisfaction.

Limit your shelf space. If you know you’re prone to overbuy, set a physical limit: “These two shelves are all I get for curriculum.” Limiting space will encourage you to be thoughtful about what you add and vigilant about letting go of what doesn’t work. (Not sure if you’re prone to buy more stuff than you need? Count the number of history curricula on your shelves—if you’ve picked up more than two or three this year, there’s a good chance you might benefit from a self-imposed space limit.)

Shop for the homeschool you have. A new curriculum is probably not going to make your craft-hating kids magically love crafts or your fidgety 1st grader want to settle in for long stretches of quiet work time. It’s easy to buy into the fantasy that the right curriculum can steer your homeschool in a whole new direction, but you’ll get the most bang for your buck if you acknowledge the reality of your homeschool before you click buy. That doesn’t mean the right curriculum can’t make a big difference—it definitely can. It just means you shouldn’t expect any curriculum to change your student in a fundamental way.

Do not buy curriculum for the future. I know! It’s such a good deal! Why not go ahead and stock up? You just don’t know what’s going to happen: your perfect-right-now program might not be a good fit in three years, or you may realize that your child learns better a different way. Shopping for the future isn’t a waste of budget, exactly, but it’s rarely the best use of your dollars. Focus on what you need now.

Keep a master list. You will forget the cool book series you bought for earth science or the nifty novel unit study you snagged on sale unless you write them down. Use a notebook or a spreadsheet (I keep a low-tech index card file) to keep track of purchases—group by broad category (science) and then specific categories within that broad category (physics,chemistry, etc.)

Stick with what works. Suzanne’s homeschool mantra is “If it works, don’t change it.” She’s used the same basic curriculum for all four of her kids, and it’s worked fine for all of them. A curriculum doesn’t have to be life-alteringly joyful and exciting to be a good fit for your homeschool, so if you find something that’s working fine, stop shopping around for something that might be better. (Obviously if it’s not working for a particular kid, that’s a different story.)

Don’t automatically default to curriculum. Not every subject needs a structured curriculum. Hit the library, load up your Netflix queue with documentaries, and look for resources online before you spend money on a full curriculum. Curricula can be great resources, but make sure you really want to use one before you buy.

This was originally published in the winter 2017 issue of HSL.

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Readaloud of the Week: Wait Till Helen Comes

Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story

By Mary Downing Hahn

I'm a little bit of a chicken when it comes to scary books, so keep that in mind when I say that Wait Till Helen Comes still scares the heck out of me. The first time I read this (under the covers, with a flashlight, natch), I had to sleep with the lights on for a week.

The book's plot is pretty straightforward: When Michael and Molly's mom gets remarried, they get saddled with a younger stepsister, Heather, who is jealous, mean, and bratty. According to her dad—their new stepdad—Heather has been this way since her mother died in a fire when Heather was just three years old. They also get a new house in the country—a renovated church right next door (of course) to an old graveyard. 

That's when things start to get weird. Heather starts talking constantly about her new best friend, Helen. The grown-ups (who, like almost all adults in kids' books from the 1980s, practice a super-relaxed kind of parenting) think Helen is just your average imaginary friend, but Molly suspects there's something more sinister going on, especially when she sees Heather visiting one of the cemetery graves with wildflowers every evening. The old caretaker warns Molly and Michael away from the pond, telling them that children have drowned there under mysterious circumstances. When Molly visits the library to see what she can find out, she learns that Helen and her parents died more than a century ago in a terrible fire—the same way Heather's mom died.

And that's when things get really scary. Because Heather's threats—"Wait till Helen comes," she warns Molly and Michael when she thinks they're being mean—aren't idle. Helen is coming. And she wants something.

What makes this a great readaloud: There’s plenty of spooky in this book—ghostly little girls, haunted jewelry, atmospheric old graveyards—but what elevates it above the classic ghost story is its acknowledgment that the worst horrors can be the ones we keep inside ourselves. Heather is susceptible to Helen's friendship because she has another, darker secret that she has to face if she truly wants to be part of the world of the living. And Molly, who would like nothing better than to get rid of her bratty little sister, finds herself fighting to save Heather. If your kids can handle a healthy dose of scary, Wait Till Helen Comes makes a great spooky season readaloud.

But be aware: The parents in this book are TERRIBLE. I mean, really terrible—they have no idea what’s going on with their children, basically yank the older two kids out of fulfilling summer opportunities so that they can baby-sit their new stepsister, and pay not attention to the worries that all of their children keep bringing them. I did not notice this a kid reader, but as an adult, it really bugs me.

Quotable: “‘Oh, Molly,’ Michael laughed, ‘next you'll be telling me you actually saw a ghost.’”

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Stuff We Like :: 10.6.17

It’s definitely one of those thank-goodness-it’s-Friday Fridays!

Around the web

Living the dream: “I Ate Hundreds of Bowls of Queso and Somehow Lost 10 Pounds” 

Why we should care about the end of Indian Country Today

Your kids should definitely enter the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival. (At least browse some of the previous years’ entries—some of them are awesome.)

I love this little essay on all the reasons one writer loves Latin.

At home/school/life

on the podcast: Suzanne and I literally dusted off our headsets to make a new episode of the Podcast with Suzanne and Amy. Look for it this weekend!

in the magazine: The fall issue is out next week! The Best Cities issue always seems to be a doozy of an issue to wrap up, but it always feels particularly satisfying to officially be done with it.

on the blog: What do you do when you hit a middle school math slump? (Start by recognizing that this happens for almost every student.)

one year ago: Shelli’s Bugs in Our Backyard citizen science project

two years ago: Rebecca’s review of History Odyssey

Reading List

My humanities class is reading Timaeus for the history of science, and we are having the best conversations around it.

I always so happy when I have an Official Reason to reread Pride and Prejudice. This is—gosh, it must be something like the twentieth time I’ve read it, and it still always feels to me like the Mary Poppins of books: Practically Perfect in Every Way.

I lucked into an advance copy of the English translation of the Dutch book The Song of Seven, which is playful, whimsical, philosophical, and pretty much all the things I like in a middle grades/late elementary-ish book. I especially like that the protagonist-hero of the story is harried school teacher who has to feel guilty for missing grammar lessons to save the day—maybe that part just feels particularly relevant to my life right now, but I am really looking forward to reviewing it closer to its February release date. 

At home

It’s my best friend’s birthday this week, and I am so excited that I found the perfect t-shirt to give her this year. (We read Siddhartha for our student book club, and this happens to be all her favorite colors.)

I am in the market for more slow cooker recipes. If you have a favorite, please share! I’m terrible about pulling out the slow cooker, but it’s turning out to be a life-saver on the days when I get home right at dinner time.

I am determined to finish knitting my socks before cold weather hits, but I am definitely cutting it close on that one!

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Spooky (and Not-So-Spooky) Books to Read for Halloween

It's the season for spooky readalouds! Whether you're looking for a book that will have you hiding under the cover with a flashlight or just something that gives a nod to favorite Halloween traditions, we've rounded up a fun list of spooky (and not-so-spooky) books to enjoy in October.

Spooky Books

The House with a Clock in Its Walls (Lewis Barnavelt)

By John Bellairs

Lewis didn't mean to wake the dead or start an apocalypse. Really. In this deliciously Gothic adventure, Lewis discovers not just that his uncle Jonathan is a witch but also that former owner of his uncle's house left a clock in the walls intended to bring on the end of the world. Oops.

The Best Ghost Stories Ever (sch Cl) (Scholastic Classics)

By Collection

Tales by horror writing masters including Edgar Allan Poe and Bram Stoker make this story collection an ideal Halloween read. It's got a good selection of classics, including "The Monkey's Paw," "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," and "The Masque of the Red Death." (Also, weirdly, "The Yellow Wallpaper," which I guess is kind of spooky if you read it the right way?

The Halloween Tree

By Ray Bradbury

The history of Halloween comes to life in this haunting story of trick-or-treating boys who must travel through the past to save a friend. 

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

By Alvin Schwartz

All the classic slumber party scares (and some new ones) are in this spooky story collection. If you were ever afraid to get out of bed in the middle of the night, it was probably because of one of the stories in this book.

The Wolves in the Walls

By Neil Gaiman

A level-headed heroine keeps this book from veering into too-too-scary territory. Lucy is sure there are wolves living in the walls of her house—she can hear them!—but no one believes her until it's too late.

Skary Childrin and the Carousel of Sorrow

By Katy Towell

Three seriously spooky girls (and one pretty spooky boy) have to help save the town of Widowsbury from a dark curse. People are disappearing, and the four misfits are the only ones with the ability to set things right.

The House of Dies Drear

By Virginia Hamilton

Thomas is thrilled to learn his family's new home is haunted by ghosts from the days of the Underground Railroad, but he's not prepared for how spooky living in a haunted house can be.

The Battlefield Ghost

By Margery Cuyler

A Revolutionary War soldier has a ghostly secret to tell in this not-too-scary book. Bonus: You'll learn a lot about the Battle of Princeton and the role of German mercenaries in the American Revolution.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle: (Penguin Orange Collection)

By Shirley Jackson

After the rest of their family dies suspiciously of arsenic poisoning, Merricat and Constance live an isolated life in their family's grand old house. Jackson manages her usual balance of macabre humor and growing unease in this story that slowly grows more and more un-put-down-able as you read.

The Witches

By Roald Dahl

Witches are real, and the last place you want to be if you're a child is at their annual meeting. Roald Dahl is so silly, so funny, so charming that you almost forget to be completely terrified by this creepy tale. Almost.

Coraline

By Neil Gaiman

If you haven't read this creepy book about a girl who discovers a strange world inside her new home, you should add it to your Halloween list. 

A Tale Dark and Grimm

By Adam Gidwitz

Hansel and Gretel explore the darker side of Grimm's fairy tales in this book. Gidwitz is adamant that sanitized stories leave out all the good parts, so expect plenty of gruesome happenings in this wry retelling.

The Monster's Ring: A Magic Shop Book

By Bruce Coville

Russell's magic ring can turn him into a monster—but what will change him back? It's a fun intro-to-scary-books read with just enough thrills and chills to keep things exciting without keeping you up all night.

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Not-So-Spooky Books

Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery

By Deborah Howe, James Howe

A bunny vampire sucks the juice from vegetables in this story told from the perspective of the family pets. My kids have read this book so many times, I think we all know it by heart.

I'm Looking for a Monster!

By Timothy Young

Help this book's young hero find his perfect monster in the playful pop-up pictures.

Can You See What I See?: On a Scary Scary Night: Picture Puzzles to Search and Solve

By Walter Wick

The clues to tricky puzzles lie in the very detailed illustrations of this book.

Moonlight: The Halloween Cat

By Cynthia Rylant

This soothing book takes the spooky out of Halloween by focusing on its community spirit.

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything

By Linda Williams

The little old lady's creative solution for her haunting pursuers makes this a fun — and funny — readaloud.

In the Haunted House

By Eve Bunting

Spooky rhymes and a playful plot make this story more fun than fearful.

A Child's Guide To Common Household Monsters

By James Thach

What do you do with a house full of monsters? Make friends with them.

A Vampire Is Coming to Dinner!: 10 Rules to Follow

By Pamela Jane

A naughty boy breaks all the rules for hosting vampires in this silly story.

The Hallo-Weiner

Scholastic Paperbacks

Poor dachshund Oscar doesn't want to dress up as a hot dog for Halloween, but when his friends are in trouble, he proves that he's a hero, silly costume or not.

Mommy? ( a pop-up book)

By Arthur Yorinks

Monstrous pop-ups illustrate a boy's hunt through creepy creatures for his mother in this whimsical book illustrated by Maurice Sendak.

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Q&A: How to Deal with a Middle School Math Slump

Math has always been a perfectly happy part of our homeschool—until this year. We’re using the same curriculum we’ve always used, but my 5th grade daughter is either bored or frustrated with every lesson. How can I put the fun back in math to get us back on track?

If you’ve been happily buzzing along with a math program that suddenly seems to stop working in 4th or 5th grade, you may not realize you’re part of a growing trend: the middle school math slump. Between 4th and 8th grade, math grades and test scores plummet for students in traditional schools. In other words, that calculus class that’s been freaking you out may not actually be the biggest hurdle you face as a homeschool math teacher.

Math is one of those subjects not even bona fide unschoolers always feel comfortable leaving to chance. (For every unschooler, there’s another who unschools “everything but math.”) So the idea of cutting the cords of traditional math study to unschool may seem terrifying— and a little crazy, to boot, especially in middle school, when kids learn most of the math skills they’ll need for everyday life—statistics, rates, percents, basic algebra, and more. And even if we forget higher math and college admissions for a minute, these are also the skills kids need to thrive in the real world even if they never study astrophysics or engineering, explains Phil Daro, a math education reformer with the Strategic Education Research Partnership. They’re important. They matter.

And that may be the perfect reason for taking a hands-off approach to them.

By fourth grade, your child should have a handle on math basics: adding, subtracting, maybe multiplying and dividing. She doesn’t need to memorize more facts. She needs to see that math serves a purpose. It can solve her problems (how can we split this cupcake equally?), answer her questions (how many hours until our sleepover starts?), and help her make sense of her world (how can I figure out how high my rocket went?). To do that, she doesn’t need worksheets and lectures. She needs space to ask questions and find answers, making math a fun and useful part of her life. Instead of workbooks, stock your bookshelves with creative math books and manipulatives. Instead of answering questions like “How long?” and “How much?” when they pop up in everyday conversation, encourage your child to find the answers himself. As your child realizes he can answer these questions, he’ll realize that math—like reading, like science, like history—is a useful tool, and one he can use with confidence and skill.

Unschooling isn’t the only approach to middle school math, of course. But if you’re feeling stuck, it may be that a less structured approach to math could yield better results than a new curriculum.

This Q&A was originally published in the fall 2012 issue of Atlanta Homeschool magazine.

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